Five hands from my first NL session. Am I on the right track? (long)

[Nigel]

Ok, the hands below are probably uninteresting and very simplistic for most everyone here, but I am hoping I can get some quick feedback.

I'm going to be playing some very short NL sessions, buying in for about 25-50BB's, so that I can keep a handle on the number of hands that I have questions on and hopefully not annoy everyone by posting too many. With any luck, and hopefully a little help from you guys, I can figure out what I'm doing. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

The hands below are a mix of 2/4 and 3/6. I thought I would try there before playing 5/10. Breif comments or criticisms would be very appreciated. I threw in a few questions as well. Apologies in advance for how basic this stuff probably is.


Hand 1:

I'm dealt Qc Qs with $156 in the BB.

UTG raises to $8, MP (who has me covered) makes it $24, I raise it to $40 (too aggressive?) UTG folds and MP calls.

Flop: 4d 8c 9s.

I bet out $50, MP folds.

Thoughts: Pre-flop, I wasn't sure if I should just call with the QQ and come alive on a rag flop or raise out UTG and consider folding to an all-in. On the flop, I basically pot commit myself with that bet, should I go all-in instead and if I do will I be more likely to be called by a weaker hand? What if the flop had come with and A or K, how should I proceed?



Hand 2:

I am dealt 9c 9d in the CO.

LMP (has me covered) raises to $24, HJ ($80) calls, I call.

Flop: Qd 3h 2d

Checked to me. I bet pot - $75. LMP folds. HJ calls for his remaining stack.

Thoughts: I assume I can get HJ to call me all-in for the rest of his stack with what I assume will be a lower pocket pair. I also don't want to give free cards to LMP. Is my flop bet too big though?



Hand 3:

I'm dealt 6s 8c in the SB with $193. HJ open limps, I complete and BB checks.

Flop: 5c 7d Kh.

It's checked around. Turn is the 4c hitting my straight. I check, BB bets $4, HJ folds and I min-raise (too weak/too obvious?). He calls.

River is the Jd. I bet $25 - the pot I think. BB thinks a while and folds.

Thoughts: I was clueless on this hand as to how hard to push. I was planning on CRing my OE draw on the flop, but that didn't happen so on the turn I'm just hoping someone catches something or opts to bluff. Was totally unsure on how much to bet on the river, or for that matter how hard to push my turn CR and still get a call.



Hand 4:

This hand is against same villian as above. Folded around to me in the SB with $203 and I'm dealt AsQs. I decide to only call and BB (has me covered) raises to $13, I only call.

Flop: 2d Ac 6h

I check, BB bets $12, I call.

Turn is Kc. I check, BB bets $25, I call.

River is 7h. I check, BB checks. I win the pot, BB has 93o high and is on total air.

Thoughts: Basically what I wanted to happen. I called hoping he would get out of line and he does. Once I flop my ace I figure it's way ahead/way behind type spot and just check call and hope he bluffs his chips off or has a weaker A. Reraising or betting the river for value just didn't seem to me to be the play. This ok?



Hand 5:

I'm dealt As 9h on the button with $222. I min-raise to $12 (bad? should I do a standard 3x open here when stealing?). SB folds. BB (has me covered) calls.

Flop: 5c Ah 4h

BB checks, I bet like 1/2 pot of $12, BB CR's me for $36. I call.

Turn is 5s and BB bets out $36 and I call.

River is the 2s putting up the 4 straight on the board. BB checks, I check. BB has A4s for a counterfeited 2 pair.

Thoughts: When he checkraises the flop, I figure an A himself, 2 pair, flush draw, or low pair and the straight draw. I really don't ever consider laying down my hand here, and on the turn A4 has been killed. I figure if he has 45 or A5 he will probably not put me all in as he'll want a call, so I figure I can just show this down and hopefully MHIG. The 2s river is not my favorite card to see, but he checks, so I check along. I don't see this as a spot to value bet, even though I would bet this in limit. Is this correct?



Other ?'s

No real action on these hands, but was not sure on SOP for these simple situations.

I raise KQo 3x the blind in the HJ and the CO cold calls. Flop is 359r. I bet 1/2 the pot and he folds. Obligatory continuation bet? And if he calls amd I done with it, or is a follow up on the turn standard? Opponent is unknown.

I raise AA UTG+1 4x the blind. Folded around to BB who calls. Flop is 5c 7h Jc. I bet 3/4 pot and he folds. Is this standard, or do I just want to push here on this flop? After my 3/4 pot bet, if he CRes me all in (unknown opponent) is this a call?


A big, big thanks to those of you willing to tackle these. Hopefully typing the hands out in the way I did makes it easier to quickly read through than with using the converter. Sorry the post is so long!

Thanks,

Nigel

[Allinlife]

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, the hands below are probably uninteresting and very simplistic for most everyone here, but I am hoping I can get some quick feedback.

I'm going to be playing some very short NL sessions, buying in for about 25-50BB's, so that I can keep a handle on the number of hands that I have questions on and hopefully not annoy everyone by posting too many. With any luck, and hopefully a little help from you guys, I can figure out what I'm doing. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
The hands below are a mix of 2/4 and 3/6. I thought I would try there before playing 5/10. Breif comments or criticisms would be very appreciated. I threw in a few questions as well. Apologies in advance for how basic this stuff probably is.


[/ QUOTE ]
These short stack plays should be posted in SSNL.

[ QUOTE ]

Hand 1:

I'm dealt Qc Qs with $156 in the BB.

UTG raises to $8, MP (who has me covered) makes it $24, I raise it to $40 (too aggressive?) UTG folds and MP calls.

Flop: 4d 8c 9s.

I bet out $50, MP folds.

Thoughts: Pre-flop, I wasn't sure if I should just call with the QQ and come alive on a rag flop or raise out UTG and consider folding to an all-in. On the flop, I basically pot commit myself with that bet, should I go all-in instead and if I do will I be more likely to be called by a weaker hand? What if the flop had come with and A or K, how should I proceed?



[/ QUOTE ]
As a general rule, every bet/raise in NL/PL should give you a chance to win the pot right there. your near-minraise certainly does accomplish that goal. make it 60+ to go and proceed.


[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Hand 2:

I am dealt 9c 9d in the CO.

LMP (has me covered) raises to $24, HJ ($80) calls, I call.

Flop: Qd 3h 2d

Checked to me. I bet pot - $75. LMP folds. HJ calls for his remaining stack.

Thoughts: I assume I can get HJ to call me all-in for the rest of his stack with what I assume will be a lower pocket pair. I also don't want to give free cards to LMP. Is my flop bet too big though?


[/ QUOTE ]
looks fine, but if the board was rainbow, I'd be more inclied to bet less. 1/2pot prolly.
[ QUOTE ]

Hand 3:

I'm dealt 6s 8c in the SB with $193. HJ open limps, I complete and BB checks.

Flop: 5c 7d Kh.

It's checked around. Turn is the 4c hitting my straight. I check, BB bets $4, HJ folds and I min-raise (too weak/too obvious?). He calls.

River is the Jd. I bet $25 - the pot I think. BB thinks a while and folds.

Thoughts: I was clueless on this hand as to how hard to push. I was planning on CRing my OE draw on the flop, but that didn't happen so on the turn I'm just hoping someone catches something or opts to bluff. Was totally unsure on how much to bet on the river, or for that matter how hard to push my turn CR and still get a call.


[/ QUOTE ]
The wrong thing about check-minraise here is that it makes it too obvious and easy to laydown a weaker hand. Betting out with the nuts will do you good in most cases over any check raises. (it's also beneficial to lead with sets in most cases, avoid check-raising unless you have a good reason to do so)

Also your goal in NL with nut hands is to play for stacks, not for some minbet value.

[ QUOTE ]

Hand 4:

This hand is against same villian as above. Folded around to me in the SB with $203 and I'm dealt AsQs. I decide to only call and BB (has me covered) raises to $13, I only call.

Flop: 2d Ac 6h

I check, BB bets $12, I call.

Turn is Kc. I check, BB bets $25, I call.

River is 7h. I check, BB checks. I win the pot, BB has 93o high and is on total air.

Thoughts: Basically what I wanted to happen. I called hoping he would get out of line and he does. Once I flop my ace I figure it's way ahead/way behind type spot and just check call and hope he bluffs his chips off or has a weaker A. Reraising or betting the river for value just didn't seem to me to be the play. This ok?


[/ QUOTE ]
these hands are real player-dependent. It will often be better to bet all the way though, because too often worse aces will call you down and possibly MPish hands.

[ QUOTE ]

Hand 5:

I'm dealt As 9h on the button with $222. I min-raise to $12 (bad? should I do a standard 3x open here when stealing?). SB folds. BB (has me covered) calls.

Flop: 5c Ah 4h

BB checks, I bet like 1/2 pot of $12, BB CR's me for $36. I call.

Turn is 5s and BB bets out $36 and I call.

River is the 2s putting up the 4 straight on the board. BB checks, I check. BB has A4s for a counterfeited 2 pair.

Thoughts: When he checkraises the flop, I figure an A himself, 2 pair, flush draw, or low pair and the straight draw. I really don't ever consider laying down my hand here, and on the turn A4 has been killed. I figure if he has 45 or A5 he will probably not put me all in as he'll want a call, so I figure I can just show this down and hopefully MHIG. The 2s river is not my favorite card to see, but he checks, so I check along. I don't see this as a spot to value bet, even though I would bet this in limit. Is this correct?


[/ QUOTE ]
yes try to avoid minraises pf.
looks fine overall.

Other ?'s

No real action on these hands, but was not sure on SOP for these simple situations.
[ QUOTE ]

I raise KQo 3x the blind in the HJ and the CO cold calls. Flop is 359r. I bet 1/2 the pot and he folds. Obligatory continuation bet? And if he calls amd I done with it, or is a follow up on the turn standard? Opponent is unknown.


[/ QUOTE ]
nice board for you to bluff on. rainbow/uncoordinated.
you should give it up unless you hit your cards because when someone calls you on these kinda boards, they often have a pair and won't be laying them down. you may try to bluff an A turn though.
[ QUOTE ]

I raise AA UTG+1 4x the blind. Folded around to BB who calls. Flop is 5c 7h Jc. I bet 3/4 pot and he folds. Is this standard, or do I just want to push here on this flop? After my 3/4 pot bet, if he CRes me all in (unknown opponent) is this a call?


[/ QUOTE ]
this question sucks w/o stack sizes...but with 50bb or less, It's a standard bet and mandatory call.

[ QUOTE ]

A big, big thanks to those of you willing to tackle these. Hopefully typing the hands out in the way I did makes it easier to quickly read through than with using the converter. Sorry the post is so long!

Thanks,

Nigel

[/ QUOTE ]
that will be 20$.

[Nigel]

Allin -

I very much appreciate the feedback. I am happy to donate $20 - even more - you just have to find me when I'm playing NL and sit to my left. You'll have it all in short order I would imagine. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, 143 people viewed thus far and you're the only response so I guess the hands were too basic - sorry about that everyone. I also didn't realize I was posting in the wrong forum either - I'll post any short stack hands over in SSNL in the future.

Basically I'm just trying to get a feel for what bet sizes to make and how easily I should be letting go of hands that I would never fold in limit. I'll keep reading and hopefully have more interesting hands for next time.

Anyways, thanks again for the feedback!

Cheers,

Nigel