[ev_slave]

Either miciczka is drunk or just an A-hole in general. Perhaps both. You're here to learn and that's good. Screw that guy.

At any rate, SB 3-bet PF in Hand 1, which tightens his range probably to JJ+ or big aces (prob AQ,AK). If the aces are suited, he may have the nuts here and be leading you along. A straight and set is no good here, and if he has an overpair (even one without a club) you are far behind. A generally good rule until you get more experience is to play mid PPs (TT and below, maybe even JJ and below) for set value only, and fold the flop if unimproved and facing a bet.

Hand 2: AJ here is a good candidate for making a squeeze from the BB, but I don't hate the check. After you pair on the flop, you need to test SB's strength. I doubt he's just completing AQ and AK, but maybe he has Ace-rag that made 2 pair or a low pair that made a set. Raise to $1.5 or so for two reasons: 1) discourage players left to act from calling and hopefully get the pot Head Up, and 2) you have a strong chance of winning right there, if he calls you're in position and can re-evaluate SB's strength on the turn. If he reraises, it's an easy fold.

Hand 3: I don't hate the call you made on the flop, but I donk-bet the turn (bet into him even though he's showed strenght). If he raises, you can find a pretty easy fold. If he folds, rock and roll. But the major problem with c/c here is that it gives you no new information. He showed strength on the flop by raising, so if you check on the turn he's 70% or more to bet with whatever he's holding, so you learn little. The best play here is to say, "if he bets 2.2, would I call?" The answer for you here was "yes," so it's better to go ahead and bet it yourself. If he calls, you've invested just as much, but might get a cheap showdown if you check the river, and you force him to reveal a little more about the strength of his hand.

A big lesson I learned that helped was to make bets that forced opponents to reveal information. Even if they reraise and you have to fold, you've saved yourself a river bet and played closer to perfectly. This saves you money.

Finally, a quote I heard, and I don't remember where... I think it was a book, was "the biggest mistake you can make in Texas Hold 'Em is to call." Raising when behind is much more forgivable than just calling when behind. Making aggressive mistakes is better than making passive ones, since it makes your opponent play incorrectly more often than playing passively. Sorry for the long response and about 50 million bits of advice.