Poker Hands and Strategy

Playing video poker. One low pair is better to keep vs. one face card right? But 2 face > 1 pair?

Btw this thing fails to record my tap about 30% of the time. Yay touch screen voting machines.

Just sat down at 1/3 - old guy with a German or similar accent raises to $12 UTG. I call with 77. 1 other caller. Flop J99. He leads for $20 into $36 pot. Hero?

Not in Jacks or Better. You keep the pair there. I haven’t learned any other game, though. Consult Wizard of Odds for VP. also, use the buttons, not the screen.

Big pot tonight at 2/5. Hero raises $15 UTG with QQ - $500 effective stack. I kind of snookered myself into always raising $15. I’ll definitely make it $20 next time.

Anyway I got 5 callers preflop. Yes I know that means be afraid.

Flop J62 rainbow which is about as good as you can get w/o spiking a Q. I bet $40 into the $75 pot. Tricky TAG grinder guy calls. Calling station guy here for the same conference as me also calls, everyone else folds.

Turn 3. So 54 got there but doubtful that was calling flop. Hero? Bet again or check and go into call down?

Anyway hero checks. TAG grinder guy bets $100 into the $195 pot. Calling station guy calls. Hero?

TAG grinder is probably not bluffing the river against calling station, so I think you can call the turn, but aren’t committed to calling a river bet. To the degree that you are capable of acting, you should consider either trying to convince him you might be slow-playing so that you can fold a river bet or convince him you almost folded to widen his river range so that you can call a river bet.

With calling station guy in there, you should probably bet the turn. Since the pot is protected, you are less concerned about tricky guy making a move.

Position matters here. TAG grinder calling your flop bet from UTG+1 has a stronger range than if he calls OTB with only the calling station behind him in one of the blinds after everyone else folded. You can probably bet more often in the latter scenario.

I don’t think it matters too much if you make it $15 or $20 pre, but I tend to care less about getting a bunch of callers.

as a general rule I don’t believe players when they said they folded whatever. One of my favs on this is simply on a WPT someone claimed they folded 77 but that was haralabob’s hand so he snapped I don’t believe you. (obviously guy who claimed he folded 77 did not in fact have 77)

fun spot, c/r shove turn I assume you did and ran into a set?

I’d probably make a smaller robot sized flop bet of like 15-20. Turn is interesting and I don’t think folding is out of the question, although you certainly don’t have to. My danger meter would be pegged. Overall I’d say bigger pre, smaller flop, cc turn and I would probably not overcall the river. Most likely would call heads up.

that’s what makes the spot interesting to me; I’m 100% ripping river with AJ or KJ on a brick if I’m TAG dude fully expecting to get called by worse. Other J’s I’m not sure if I’d try to turn it into a bluff or not.

I’ve never felt comfortable betting 20% pot on the flop unless my plan is to induce a raise by appearing weak, balanced by occasionally betting weaker draws that way.

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Yeah I shoved that QQ hand. Probably the worst option. Grinder guy had a set of 2s. Even calling station guy had J6 (he said, but he folded). So as played if I call turn and grinder shoves river and calling station calls I can get away I guess.

I think 90% of the guys I played with at 2/5 were just waiting for sets. Of course they hit them when I have overpairs. Lost another $1200 pot tonight when there was no way to get away. I 3 bet to $65 with AcAs over a $20 raise and one call pre - probably not enough but it wouldn’t have mattered. 2 callers. Flop T87 two spades. I bet $100. Reg-ish seeming dude shoved for $400 more. Has a set of 7s of course and I have a flush draw by the river that doesn’t get there. FML.

Earlier hand vs. same dude in $1200 hand. I bet $20 pre with 44 from MP. He calls in BB. Flop T94 all clubs. I bet pot or something. He calls. Turn 2c. He leads for 2/3 pot. I call. Is turn ever a fold to any bet with 4 clubs on board? I guess not.

River 9. I bet $100 he calls. I probably should have bet more.

Well you only have 10 outs on the river, which is a bit less than 1 in 4 to hit, if the pot OTT is say $82, then your equity share in that is $20ish. Say you can always get $150 more when you hit, which seems generous, that’s worth another $35 on average. So with fairly generous assumptions (in favour of the calling option) you should still be folding to any more than around $55 into a $82 pot OTT, but that’s if you’re 100% certain that he has a club. It’s hard to imagine he has anything other than clubs and bluffs though and bluffs are worse for you, since you still lose to the bluff when you don’t hit, as you definitely can’t call there, but you don’t get any money out of him when you do hit, because it’s clear he can’t continue the bluff when he’s called OTT and then the board pairs.

Oh and the other hand, that’s pretty close to a fold, even given the possibility of draws. Your equity just tends to look on the ugly side when their range is entirely a) hands that have you crushed and b) extremely strong draws. Something like Ts9s is straight up a favourite against you. They never ever have like AT there for a shove, though I guess something like JJ is a possibility.

It’s possible that you c-bet the flop too often with an overpair.

It’s something I’ve introduced to my game in the last six months or so after watching some PIO lords. It does give you a ton of options and typically you can still set up a pot sized river shove if you want

Yeah, those kind of textures are just a check against anyone competent.

It’s just unfortunate to bet/fold and you’re rarely winning a large pot getting it in good on those kind of boards.

Is this bad or can I play it better?
Full table that I’ve been at since it opened for the past 3 hours. No one new

Hero has $250. Villain had $255.

H: UTG raises to $12 with KQc
6 callers, including the BB who is an older guy but has splashed around a bit.

Flop: 5h10cJc ($84)

Check to me and I bet $55
Folds to Villain who thinks for like 20 seconds (which is long in the game we’ve been playing)

Turn: 3h($194)
Villain in the BB checks.
Hero:?

This is just a standard big bet and call if they shove right?

Yeah just bet something between like $130 and shove. I’d probably just shove, in my experience low stakes players tend to respond straightforwardly to bet sizing (i.e. they call less if you bet more).

I’d bet a bit more OTF as well because everyone folding is a fine result and it sets up an easier turn shove.

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Thanks man. I only play in the winter on days off now, so spots that use to be non-thinking I just like a check and really appreciate your input.