new player questions.....

[tedtodd]

i've been playing PP for about a year- and i've tried all different games. .5-1, 1/2, pl25 and now my favorite is NL25.
i've recently read the winningonlinepoker.com website, and have tightened up my play considerably, and i'm starting to do well. though i like to enter with a small amount- to minimize my losses- build it- and eventually i go allin and lose it all.
but i finally know what good starting cards are so i avoid too many tempting hands (though they're all tempting with .50 to call)
my problem is- i'll get AKs or AJs, KQs- if i raise to 4BB ($2) most people fold- if im in good position and i go 2BB- everyone calls because its only .50. so i still have someone picking up 2 crap pairs. any tips for spotting their trash?

also i just had AA- i bet 4BB- i finally had 2 callers.
flop: K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]4 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

i bet 2- they both call

turn: Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

i bet 2- next folds and other raises to 5.

i assume he's bluffing- call.
next card 6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

bet 2 he bets 10- i call.
he turns over QT- wins with Trips.
was it a bad move to call his raise???

any tips would be greatly appreciated!
BTW: anyone believe some times are better than others???
biggest loss- saturday night
biggest wins- sunday morning...

[crockpot]

with those hands, you really don't mind narrowing the field that much since they play well against many players, and KQs and AJs are not really that strong. with AKs, raising to 4BB and getting most of the people out is fine.

i think you need to do more thinking during the course of a hand. "i assume he's bluffing- call" is not the correct thought process here. you should be going along the lines of "he's played passively all along until the second queen hit. he didn't raise enough to force someone with a hand like K6 to fold. therefore, he is a huge favorite to have a queen, and i should probably believe his raise."

there is a slight flaw with this logic, being that you bet the same amount on every street and thus it's possible he thought you were continuing to bet a hand like TT hoping not to get raised. but if he wanted to put a play on you he would have raised more than this.

(by the way, you should have bet much more than $2 on the flop. your hand is very vulnerable to draws, and you will get action from anyone with spades, JT, or top pair. a pot-size bet is probably reasonable here.)

as for times to play, wednesday nights after the WPT shows are a good time.

[tewall]

When you hit a hand on the flop, bet it strongly. Make them pay through the nose to beat you.