AM I A DONKEY
 

I caught some flack for how i played these 2 hands, but i dont see how i could have avioded it.
I would like your suggestions.


after watching the game for about 10mins i realize the action on this table is post flop, and most preflop raises are folded to.
.50/1$ NL @ Absolute Poker
in the BB AhKh with 80$

4 limpers and i make it 3$ togo
2 players fold, 2 players call (both player1 has 35 player 2 has 25 behind them)
flop comes J74(rainbow)
they both check to me i bet 3$, both smooth call
turn brings a K i bet 5
P1 folds P2 goes all in
now im calling 14 dollars to win 34 should i call? (good ods)
player 2 turns over 77
hand #2
about 25 hands later i find myself utg+1 with the same hand except not suited with 45$ behind me.

i make it 3 dollars to go, this time 2 people call player1 has 35 player 2 has 17.
flop: A69
I bet 10$ player1 folds
Player2 reaises all in to 17
so now im calling 7$ to wim 36$ (good ods)
player 2 tuns over 99

now did i play like a donkey, ive only been playing 3 months, im more of a limit player, so i could still wear this crown and not be to insulted

just have some bad luck?
under bet my hand?
any suggestions would help, thanks

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

In both of these hands there is a point where you are referring to pot odds when thinking about whether or not to put all your chips in. You're holding TPTK on a dry board, though. What matters here is whether or not you think you're behind, because if you do, you're WAY behind.

First hand, if you're going to raise, make it maybe $8. There are 4 limpers and you're OOP. On the flop, the pot is $14-15. If you're going to make a continuation bet, it has to be much larger than $3. Try 1/2-3/4 pot. I lean towards checking the flop, though. Turn bet should be larger as well.

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

Your continuation bet in the first hand is really weak. Other than that, not too bad. Too bad the villain in hand 1 didn't re-raise the flop to let you off cheap.

It's easy for people holding sets against TPTK to start thinking they're the next Doyle Brunson.

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

Hand 1--(not sure what you raised but I probably would have raised a buck or two more)
Your flop bet wasn't enough to push hands out of the pot.
(how could they both check to you on the flop if you were BB?--that's impossible)
(edit--turn bet was way too low as well end edit)

I would have called the turn push for $14. You just got one heck of a bad turn card for you. (and unlucky he caught his set) Too easy for him to flip over a king weaker kicker.

Hand 2--instant call. Nothing wrong here. (way too easy for him to only have an ace weaker kicker) [it's not 7 to win 36--you most likely have the best hand here--everyone here is calling every time]

You just got unlucky I would have instantly called both just like you did the way these were played. Unlucky they caught their sets when you caught good as well.

You'll win more calling these short stacks with those hands than folding.

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

THANKS FOR REPLYING....
hand 1 i actuall posted (went back and checked), just used to waiting for the blind but that time i didnt.

so what im understanding is just raise more preflop, and on the flop to push them out

thanks

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

thanks,

i lean towards the smaller bets because of the amount of limit i play. the problem i have most in NL is making the best bet pre and post flop, its not something i have found easy to figure out, the only books i have read about poker are manily on limit, any suggestions

thanks

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

I agree that the biggest problem is the size of your bets. You gotta bet at least 1/2 the pot on the flop if you are going to bet. Most of the time, you raise, couple callers, you bet 1/2 - full pot and they fold. This is a good skill to have in nl. And those are just bad luck that they caught sets against your AK's. Nothing to worry about.

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

The vast majority of me bets are between 1/2 and 3/4 pot, although if I raised pre, I'll pot (i.e. bet full pot) any dry flop most of the time. After that I'll start betting less than pot for pot control purposes, usually.

If you're going to raise pre-flop, 4xBB +1BB/limper works pretty well ( so with 2 limpers, you'd raise between 5-6xBB). However, it also depends on table dynamics.

Aside from all that, you just got unlucky in both of those hands posted. Folding in either of those spots would've been borderline moronic.

Kirk

Re: AM I A DONKEY
 

thank you that helps