Don't think I like how I played this hand

Quercus · #1 08-25-2004, 11:31 PM

Ok, so I've been playing a fair bit of 0.50/1.00 $25 buy-in NLHE on Party. According to my PokerTracker stats, I'd fit into the Tight/Aggressive camp (18.92 VP$IP, 8.36% PFR, and Total Aggression of 1.51). That said, I'm barely keeping my head above water, with a BB/100 of 1.24 over nearly 2900 hands. I *think* my problem is that I'm misplacing aggression and trying too many bluffs and semi-bluffs plus allowing myself to get trapped far too often.

After I played this hand, I thought to myself, "you know, you definitely had no clue what you were doing or why" so I figured I'd post it and see what the folks here thought.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) converter

UTG ($32.50)
UTG+1 ($26.50)
Hero ($52.27)
MP2 ($45.50)
MP3 ($24.50)
CO ($9.50)
Button ($27)
SB ($47.95)
BB ($12.35)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
2 folds, Hero raises to $1, 5 folds, BB calls $1,5,

Flop: ($3.25) 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
BB bets $0.5, Hero raises to $3, BB calls $2.50.

Turn: ($9.25) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($9.25) 6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
BB bets $0.5, Hero calls $0.50.

Final Pot: $10.25
Main Pot: $10.25, between Hero and BB.

My thinking on the flop was that 0.50 garbage bet was a lead-in to a trap, so I'd test him with a $3 raise. I figured he'd either fold or raise at that point. I was sort of baffled when he called. The only thing I could think was that he'd be on Jx.

So, I thought I'd take the free card that he offered on the turn and then just call his 0.50 on the river.

Help me improve-- rip it apart.

(Result was BB showed Q3o and took the pot with a pair of 3s)

Unarmed · #2 08-26-2004, 09:41 AM

Generally, if your opponents are calling stations, (and where you play they are) bluff rarely, semi-bluff less, value bet more. I think your style would be far better suited to higher limit games where your opponents will actually lay down a hand. Until you move up I'd tone down on the semi-bluffs. Remember, a semi-bluff only works if there's a chance your opponent will lay down a better hand. I learned this the hard way as I was constantly semi-bluffing and getting called by crap and thinking how the f*ck can he call with bottom pair...

Took a while to realize that it was my game that needed the adjustment, and I was guilty of not adjusting my playing style to the table I'm playing at.

My 2 cents.

BTW the hand itself isn't poorly played against DECENT opposition, so I wouldn't get too upset over it.

jac394 · #3 08-26-2004, 10:03 AM

I think that from MP, if you are going to play AQo (which more often than not you do want to play it), you have to raise more than min. raise. You don't want a lot of others in the hand (I would have expected more than one caller with a min raise, so that surprised me a little, and if I would have been the BB, I would have probably tried to steal by overbetting the pot). Then on the flop, I would have been surprised I was called also, but if I did not get reraised, I would probably have fired at the pot again on the turn (depending on whether or not I had a read on BB or not), I'd probably bet between $5 and the pot. I'm trying to win the pot right here, and if I get called, probably will call a small river bet, but will probably not bet, and will fold to any decent sized bet.

Quercus · #4 08-26-2004, 10:39 AM

One of the challenges I face in my game is that I tend to assume that the people I'm playing recognize my aggressive style. For example, if a preflop limper coldcalls my UTG raise and then raises my pot-sized bet on a rag flop, I'm most likely to assume they think I'm taking a stab at the pot (which I probably am) and test me than that they have made the nut set.

So, of course, I end up throwing a ton of money into a pot that I no chance in. Every time I do that, I resolve to remember that most people bet their own hands and not what they think my hand is.

At least for now, I'd probably be better off with the blanket assumption that people are playing "honestly" (for their skill level) with their betting and limiting suspicion to those players that have given me strong reason to suspect differently.

While I'm not overly happy with my win rate, I can see some of the leaks in my game, and I suppose that just beating the rake at this microlimit game is worth something.

jac394 · #5 08-26-2004, 11:00 AM

I'm the same way sometimes. It's hard to imagine that most of the players are really only playing their own cards, and quite a few of the remaining players will call, raise etc. with just about any two cards. One of the strategies I try and employ at Party (if I don't have notes on any of the players) is to play very tight in EP and MP for the first round or two until I get a little bit of a feeling about the table. Then you can tell if there are any maniacs, any solid players, and then the straight-forward players. It helps a lot to get a feel for the table and the players before committing too much of your stack to a pot. The more you play against certain players, the more your win rate should improve.

I like the fact that (like me) you've recently joined two plus two and are getting and probably giving feedback about hands. I've noticed that my game improves as I give feedback because there are situations I may not have faced (or noticed) and it also allows more than 20 seconds to think about them. Then when you do face that situation or similar again, you can easily recall the similar factors quickly and use those things to assist you in your decision making process. Good Luck

Daann · #6 08-26-2004, 11:49 AM

Preflop its best to either raise more or limp, min raising gives away cheap information about the strength of your hand.

Apart from that, I like your play. A min bet is almost always one of three things, a very weak made hand, a semi bluff or a monster. I'd rule out a semi bluff here, so a decent flop raise should generally be enough to fold out the crappy made hands (which is currently beating you). If I got called though, I'm shutting down. Without any reads, firing another turn bet is not going to work enough times to make it worthwhile. It's better to take the free card and if you hit, call any reasonable river bet.