decided to learn how to play poker: help with this 25nl hand, please.

[rothko]

greetings,

i am leaving my comfort zone of sngs/mtts/full ring and learning nl cash 6max. i have been a profitable player from day one, but i'm not making nearly what i could. i have never really studied the game or put any effort into improving. that's all changing. i am starting with only one table at 25nl 6max and am determined to plug my leaks and get a solid understanding of the game before moving up and adding tables. i played twelve tables profitably at full ring, but that's just autopilot, obv. i want to really understand every facet and play as high as possible.

i'm going to be here asking a lot of stupid questions, getting past playing on instinct. here is my first stupid question:

i think i missed a lot of value in this hand. first of all, are my bet sizes correct? secondly, when i was raised on the river i felt that the jack had improved the villain to a good hand, but i wasn't sure if it was the nuts to my second nuts. i just called, in case villain had 9T. however, i was thinking about the hand afterward and i realized that villain's range includes more hands that i beat then it does that beat me. i also know that villain would have called a reraise with those weaker holdings. so, my thinking is that if there is only one hand that beats me and a bunch that do not, but will still call my reraise then the reraise is the most +ev, since the majority of the time i win. it just seems so obvious. i suppose this is standard and i'm an idiot for calling, but please tell me if my thinking is correct. this has to be a reraise, right? also, how much do i make it?

thank you.



PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

CO ($30.90)
Button ($31.15)
SB ($80.30)
Hero ($39.10)
UTG ($66.10)
MP ($18.60)

Preflop: Hero is BB with , .
2 folds, CO calls $0.25, Button calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero checks.

Flop: ($0.85) , , (3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button checks.

Turn: ($0.85) (3 players)
Hero bets $0.75, CO calls $0.75, Button folds.

River: ($2.35) (2 players)
Hero bets $1.5, CO raises to $4.5, Hero calls $3.

Final Pot: $11.35

Results in white below:<font color="white">
Hero has 9s 6d (straight, nine high).
CO has Jc 7s (two pair, jacks and sevens).
Outcome: Hero wins $11.35. </font>

[Lego05]

I'd bet flop.

River's a little scary but I think you can still 3bet there.

[KEW]

BET the flop you need to start to build the pot if you want to get villains stack in the middle..As a rule do not slow play straights...Too many scare cards can come that either kill your hand or your action...

3 bet that river 9T is highly unlikely since IP villain do not bet the flop with a OESD...

[Khumalo]

You should definitely lead the flop for something like 0.75. People limped, so no one is likely to bet this for you if you're hoping to check-raise. People are more likely to have draws, and will call bets on this flop rather than make them. Plus a scary turn card could kill your action if it gets checked through and discourage anyone from calling a turn bet by you.

The river Jack is basically a cooler if it gives your opponent a straight; it's hard not to lose a chunk there. And it's a matter of preference whether you want to maximize potential value (and variance) by re-raising when your initial river bet is raised. It helps to consider the opponent's tendencies (overplays medium-strong hands, slowplays sets to the river, whatever.) I would say, if you have any kind of favorable read, try to extract the most; otherwise, just call his raise.

Whatever you do, the pot should be larger by the time you get to the river.