Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

Game is $10 no-limit- blinds are $0.10 and $0.20. The game is 8-handed.

Preflop: ($0.30)I'm in the big-blind with Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 10 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, CO folds, Button calls, SB completes, I raise to $1.20 (everybody looked weak). MP1 folds, Button calls, SB folds.

Flop: ($2.80) 4 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 8 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Now I've got the flush draw and gut-shot draw to the nut straight. I bet $3.50 and the button calls.

Turn: ($9.80) 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I check, the button bets $1.00, I raise to $6.00 and he calls.

River: ($21.80) K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. I go all in for $26.30, and the button calls. He's got the nuts- A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].

I've gone over it at least a dozen times in my head and I don't know how I could have gotten away from that beat, short of going all-in on the flop. The button is a really weak player so I'm not even sure if he would have folded to an all-in on the flop. How much of a dog am I if I've got a flush+gutshot draw against the nut flush draw?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

You might not have lost as much if you didn't bet 1.20 preflop. It also might have made it alot easier to get away from the hand.

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

What do you mean? Should I have raised more preflop? I didn't have to get away from it, I won the hand unimproved.

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

I don't see too much of a problem here except your preflop raise was questionable.

with only 3 clubs on the board, the odds of him having AX clubs , KX clubs is pretty low. The highest he can have is A9 clubs or K9 clubs. Both of which I would not expect most tight players to call a 6xBB preflop raise with.

So I find nothing wrong with your post flop play.Although I have a question, if you were going to go all-in on the river, then why wouldn't you reraise all in on the turn?

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

Raising preflop with QTs is a mistake. Unless your goal was to buy the pot right there (on a bluff), you can't imagine your hand winning.

After the flop, I would have done the same. When I show my hand at the end, to explain my preflop raise: "I was varying my play."

Varying my play always loses me money.

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

some hands you are meant to lose. perfect poker isnt winning all the hands you play. at this level, you arnt folding this hand, ever, and you goal is to get allin. you did that.

Re: Getting away from the not-nut flush
 

Looking at the way you played the hand, I sensed you being a little greedy. You were tentative even after hitting your flush on the turn. Were you afraid to bet the turn and chase him away? Seems to me you wanted to slow play without really realizing you could have still been in danger. You had 12 outs post flop. This was your chance to be aggressive, your chance to present a huge bluff, your chance to take the pot then and there. This was also your only way of taking the hand after seeing the results, but you can't base your play on the results. I would have pushed on the flop. Yes, you may not have hit anything but that's the breaks at times. You need to take advantage of your best opportunity at the time and I think a lot of folks fail to ask themselves during play "what do I want to accomplish RIGHT NOW?"