One good, one bad

[Boolean]

First post for me here. I've been a lurker for about a week now, attempting to absorb all of the information my poor little mind can hold. I purchase SSHE (before I became a lurker here) and it's dramatically improved my game. As of right now, I've only played for play money, but I'm about to jump in to Paradise Poker's .05/.10 limit with the customary 300bb. I wanted to throw out a few hand histories first to see how I'm going to manage. Don't feel the need to be gentle. Oh wait, you don't. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Anywho, these are the hands in question, one good, one bad. Or both bad, I surely am not the expert. I'm posting them in this forum since this is a play-money game, and so Micro-limit wouldn't fit. Hope this is the right place. My first hand:

Paradise Poker (8 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is CO with 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Hero posts a blind of 3. SB posts a blind of 1.
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, Hero (poster) checks, Button calls, SB (poster) folds, BB checks.

Flop: K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(7 players)</font>
BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, MP1 checks, <font color="CC3333">MP2 bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, Button calls, BB calls, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls.

Turn: 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(4 players)</font>
BB checks, MP2 checks, <font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, Button folds, BB calls, MP2 calls.

River: 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(3 players)</font>
BB checks, MP2 checks, <font color="CC3333">Hero bets</font>, BB calls, MP2 folds.

This was my first hand at this table, hense why I'm posting a blind and why I'm not folding immediately. The raise on the flop after I catch my top pair was to protect my hand, and when everyone checked to me on the turn, I bet because I thought my hand was best. Had I been reraised on the flop, I would have been getting 17.5:1 or so, (please, correct me if I'm wrong), so I probably would have called there. Say I was reraised on the flop, and bet into on the turn, what should be my action? I suppose it all depends on what the odds are laying me. My second hand:

Paradise Poker (8 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB posts a blind of 1.
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, <font color="CC3333">MP1 raises</font>, MP2 calls, CO calls, Button calls, SB (poster) calls, Hero calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls.

Flop: 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(8 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">SB bets</font>, Hero calls, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 folds, CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(7 players)</font>
<font color="CC3333">SB bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">Hero raises</font>, UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, <font color="CC3333">MP1 raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">CO raises</font>, Button calls, SB calls, Hero calls, UTG calls, MP1 calls.

River: 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="blue">(6 players)</font>
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, <font color="CC3333">MP1 bets</font>, <font color="CC3333">CO raises</font>, Button folds, SB folds, Hero folds, UTG folds, <font color="CC3333">MP1 raises</font>, <font color="CC3333">CO raises</font>, MP1 calls.

I called on the flop with suited Ax. Is this a hand to raise with? The pot was large on the flop, however I was out of position to an UTG raise with only a backdoor flush/straight draw and an overcard. I'm getting 16:1 to call this, but again I'm opening myself up to being raised or reraised. How do I determine whether to stay in, or get out?

On the turn I pick up a flush draw, which I raise. There are 7 callers and I have a 19% chance to win the pot if I pick up a heart. As long as I get at least 6 callers on a very loose table, I'm increasing my pot equity, right? Looking back at this, I'm not quite sure I played it so bad. I had lost a lot of chips though, thanks to variance. Was my flop call okay? How about my preflop call? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Boolean

[AncientPC]

First hand was played fine, at higher limits I might just check the river with a TPBK because I'm not sure what they could have to be calling to the river.

No need to raise on the flop, you only have one over card and a backdoor flush.

No need to raise on the turn. You still have a drawing hand and you're not going to push anyone out of the pot. Just call it through to see a cheap river.

PS, in the future when you use Bison's hand converter add in pot details so it's easier to calculate what odds you're getting to call. Also these type of posts would probably be better for the microlimit forums.

[CT11]

[ QUOTE ]

...
[second hand]

No need to raise on the turn. You still have a drawing hand and you're not going to push anyone out of the pot. Just call it through to see a cheap river.

...

[/ QUOTE ]
I see this as a good value raise.

Any heart will give you the nut flush and any non-diamond J will give you the nut straight. There are two black Jacks plus 9 hearts. Any one with a jack already has a K high straight so these are probably your only good outs. So conservatively, there are 11 outs. This gives him 3.18:1 odds to the probable best hand. There are 7 others in the pot and for play money (and .5/1 PP even) no one is likely to fold especially when they called the turn bet and you only need 4 of 7 to call to make this a good raise for value.

Calling is +EV but raising is more +EV.

The river fold is fine I think because even know the pot is big (20+BB is my count) ace high wont win one in twenty with this many callers.

~CT11