playing flop and beyond with nothing, common situations
 

Hi

I run into theese betting patterns multiple time a session playing the 1/2 6max game. I make theese two hands up but ill think you get the point. All players has 100 bb stacks its 6 max 1/2.

Hand 1

I raise 4BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] from cutoff and get a call from BB.
Flop comes T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] pot is 17
opponent checks to me i bet 14 as a statndard continuation bet, opponent calls.
Turn comes 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] pot is 45 opp checks, i check
river comes 2 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] pot is 45 opp bets 15, i fold

Opponent here probably had any pair from the flop, a pocketpair below 9 or a busted flushdraw.

Hand 2

I raise 4BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] from cutoff and get a call from BB.
Flop comes T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] pot is 17
Opponent checks and i check behind.
Turn comes 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] pot is 17 opp bets 7, i fold

Opponent can have whatever, probably bluffing but can also be valuebetting a pair of nines or tens.

I feel so stupid folding to all this small bets and giving my opponents way to good odds on their bluffs for just 1/3 of the pot. How should i change my game to not get trapped in theese situations. The obvious answer to hand 1 is to take less bluff stabs at the pot on the flop and valuebet more real hands since opp will call with bottom pair. The answer to hand two is to check through more real hands on the flop. Trouble is theese two contradict each other.

Re: playing flop and beyond with nothing, common situations
 

Sometimes, you can fire again on the turn despite having missed. Some opponents at 6-max will assume any flop bet after a preflop raise is missed overcards and will call with any pair or any draw figuring they can push you off the hand later. The frequency with which you should fire a second barrel is heavily reliant upon your opponents and what their image of you is for a given session; you need to figure it out on your own.

Also, there is nothing you should always do (yes, that sounds weird but I meant it). You shouldn't always make continuation bets when you hit and you shouldn't always bet flops that you hit ('hitting' could also mean having an overpair to the board).

As an example of a time you could check a flop that you hit, say you had AdKd, raised preflop and got 1 caller in the BB. He checks to you on an Ac8h3s flop. You almost certainly have the best hand but there are few free cards that can hurt you (he's probably got 2-3 outs maximum on this sort of board). Checking behind encourages him to try and represent the ace that "obviously" scared you on the turn and/or river but also keeps the pot manageable when you've only got one pair (which is highly desireable if he flopped a set of 8s or 3s).