Should I be playing missed hands like this?

[arch12]

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I don`t agree. I think it is essential for you to bet here as it is very hard for hands that do not include a k or FD to call.
You also want to buy the button.

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This is not the case at all. Since we are readless here, it's extremely hard to narrow down either opponent's holdings. However, there are several holdings that will call/raise this flop without a king, such as medium pocket pairs, any pair and both straight and flush draws.

Many players are aware of the follow-up semi-bluff bet, and as I stated previously this means it's highly likely your opponents will open their calling range. It's also important to note that hero is first to enter the pot from MP2, which may further suggest to the opponents that hero is attempting to steal this pot.

Add to this, your limited outs when you are called and this bet becomes very marginal at best, in my opinion. Since you have little outs to improve, you need fairly strong fold equity when semi-bluffing here. Betting into two opponents on a reasonably coordinated board does not constitute as strong in my view, and will rarely win the pot immediately.

[arch12]

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Quote:

1. There is very little fold equity. Since you were the preflop raiser, many marginal hands will be calling/raising your bet here. It is also quite likely this board has hit either player in same way.

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You have a CO who cold-called pre-flop, and a person defending his blinds. I see no reason to believe right away that anyone has anything good, or that this flop hit either of them. I think you have a decent amount of fold-equity, and the pot is already not insignificantly small.

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I believe there is little fold equity as you have to fold out both CO and BB on a relatively coordinated board. I also think it is highly probable CO has a hand that he'll call 1SB with, even if it only caught the flop very mildly.

Anyway, I'm not hell-bent on my line and apologize if it appears that one. I think it's important however to realize that checking here is definitely an option. I feel how you interpret your fold equity is key here, and in my experience there isn't sufficient equity to justify betting.

[MrEngenic]

I bet/call the flop and fold the turn here. Sometimes bet/call, sometimes bet/fold depending on read.
With no read, checking is not really an option IMO.

[SeaEagle]

I like your play fine. I generally fold immediately to the flop raise but peeling one before folding is OK too and protects your image.

Checking this hand is silly. You are ahead much of the time here and need to put pressure on the other hands. You're also giving up too much information if you only bet the flops you hit.

If you check this flop and CO bets (which he should with pretty much any two cards) and you only give yourself 4-4.5 outs, then you don't have odds to call and should fold. But you'll be folding the best hand more often than you should.

[Jake (The Snake)]

I've always liked how you explain in detail the way you think, it's very WD-esque... but you are overthinking here.

You have the best hand extremely often and you must bet in order to protect your hand. Remember, every villain has many outs against you, all they need to do is hit a pair.

Also, you need to bet here because you would bet if you had a king. You don't want your opponents to be able to figure out so easily what you have.

You have more folding equity than you think. Against only two unknown opponents, this is an easy bet.

[peterchi]

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I've always liked how you explain in detail the way you think, it's very WD-esque... but you are overthinking here.


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Agree... I actually liked SelfTaught's post a lot, even though I disagreed with it. It made me think.

[Bluffoon]

How I handle these situations is often image dependent. If I have whiffed and been called down or had to fold several times already with A high then I might check-fold the flop. With this board if I don't have image problems I am bet-calling the flop and check-folding the turn unimproved.

[arch12]

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I've always liked how you explain in detail the way you think, it's very WD-esque... but you are overthinking here.

You have the best hand extremely often and you must bet in order to protect your hand. Remember, every villain has many outs against you, all they need to do is hit a pair.

Also, you need to bet here because you would bet if you had a king. You don't want your opponents to be able to figure out so easily what you have.

You have more folding equity than you think. Against only two unknown opponents, this is an easy bet.

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I think the point you make about protection is very valid and a good reason to bet. Though, even when you are best I feel you will have to pretty much give up on the turn UI when you're called.

Personally, I still believe the fold equity here is being overrated. I've recently looked over my Poker Tracker stats (for 2/4 party 10-handed) and at plays similar to this, and found I very seldom win instantly and am called on by a huge array of hands.

With that being said, betting may be superior as you plan on calling a bet, and being the aggressor is always better. Though, the point I was trying to convey with my posts was that the fold equity isn't that great here and I think it's important not to always auto-bet in these situations.

[MATT111]

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I don`t agree. I think it is essential for you to bet here as it is very hard for hands that do not include a k or FD to call.
You also want to buy the button.

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This is not the case at all. Since we are readless here, it's extremely hard to narrow down either opponent's holdings. However, there are several holdings that will call/raise this flop without a king, such as medium pocket pairs, any pair and both straight and flush draws.

Many players are aware of the follow-up semi-bluff bet, and as I stated previously this means it's highly likely your opponents will open their calling range. It's also important to note that hero is first to enter the pot from MP2, which may further suggest to the opponents that hero is attempting to steal this pot.

Add to this, your limited outs when you are called and this bet becomes very marginal at best, in my opinion. Since you have little outs to improve, you need fairly strong fold equity when semi-bluffing here. Betting into two opponents on a reasonably coordinated board does not constitute as strong in my view, and will rarely win the pot immediately.

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I actually do not mind being raised here. I want to know where I stand to be able to fold the turn UI. The only situation that I feel uncomfortable is a j hitting on the turn.

I fire again on the turn if 1 opponent folds, the other one calls. I am still convinced that hands not including a K or FD will find it hard to even call the flop bet as they have to fear continuing aggression.

I generally play missed hands and made hands the same way in shorthanded pots when I raised preflop. I don`t do it against very loose and very aggressive opposition though.

[SeaEagle]

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With that being said, betting may be superior as you plan on calling a bet, and being the aggressor is always better.

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What's your plan with a check/call here? Are you going to fold UI to a turn bet? Under what conditions will you see the river and/or go to showdown?