AK in the BB

[Webster]

I'm always having problems extracting money with AK but after looking at this HH I'm concerned I played the flop poorly. Bet? Check?

MP2 17/5/2

$0.10 BB (9 handed) Absolute Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

UTG ($3.05)
UTG+1 ($13.82)
MP1 ($22.90)
MP2 ($7.80)
MP3 ($3.65)
CO ($4.60)
Button ($4.55)
SB ($3.55)
Hero ($6.03)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">MP2 raises to $0.4</font>, <font color="#666666">4 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $1</font>, MP2 calls $0.60.

Flop: ($2.05) 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $0.5</font>, MP2 calls $0.50.

Turn: ($3.05) A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $0.7</font>,

I raised only .7 hoping he would see this weak and reraise me! Perhaps all it did was marry him to the pot.

<font color="#CC3333">MP2 raises to $2</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to $4.53</font>, MP2 calls $2.53.

River: ($12.11) J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>

Final Pot: $12.11

Comments?

[Alobar]

3 bet more PF. I would have made it like 1.45

I don't get the weak flop bet at all. what was your reasoning? I either would have made a standard cbet, or just checked. and I think I would have checked

[Webster]

[ QUOTE ]
what was your reasoning?

[/ QUOTE ]

The reasoning was inexperience!

I felt he was on an Ace draw also and did not take into account the flush problem.

NORMALLY I have learned to just be weak and check. People play ANYTHING and a cbet (what would yo suggest IF you cbet) just makes th pot larger for some guy chasing his pair of 7s (did not happen but . . . )

So you just 3 bet and take it right there?? normally?

[fabadam]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
what was your reasoning?

[/ QUOTE ]

The reasoning was inexperience!

I felt he was on an Ace draw also and did not take into account the flush problem.

NORMALLY I have learned to just be weak and check. People play ANYTHING and a cbet (what would yo suggest IF you cbet) just makes th pot larger for some guy chasing his pair of 7s (did not happen but . . . )

So you just 3 bet and take it right there?? normally?

[/ QUOTE ]

As a general rule, make your preflop 3-bet about pot-sized or slightly larger (BetPot script FTW).

On the flop, you have the disavantage of being OOP. Villain called your 3-bet, but I guess that doesn't mean much at NL10. You're HU, so make a biggish normal sized c-bet, 3/4 to full pot, since you want to charge draws.
Your weakish bet doesn't help in protecting your hand, or making clearer where you stand.

Now you are in trouble on the turn. Villain could have a set, or is trying to bluff you off the hand because you show weakness. However, his stats do not look very aggressive, so I feel safe to apply Baluga's theorem here: if your turn bet gets raised, TPTK is no longer good.

I would check/call the turn for pot control: I don't want to get all-in with just TP on this hand.

[Webster]

That turn bet was a deer in headlights bet. I'm sure my eyes were wide with fright LOL

I'm doing well in NL10 but only have 1000 hands under my belt so a lot of these style hands are first timers for me!

[Chicago Twister]

You could not have played this hand any worse.

Make it at least 1.50 preflop; possibly even more because youre OOP.

If you're going to cbet (and you should), cbet like you mean it. Not like your cbetting. $2.00 on the flop.

I think its a little amusing that you cbet the flop tiny presumably because you were trying to take the pot, but then you cbet the turn tiny too but this time because you wanted to look weak. Do you think that tiny bets look weak or strong? It can't be both.

As played $3 on the turn call the push.

[Webster]

[ QUOTE ]
You could not have played this hand any worse.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you for being so kind and understanding to a new NL player.

I like deconstructive and condesending criticism.

I don't like the cbet idea at all actually - the other guy normally has you beat. I consider cbetting the big mistake in this hand.

[Chicago Twister]

Webster -

I've been where you are now, and I remember what it was like to be constantly lost. Sometimes I'd play a hand basically correctly, but make small mistakes. Other times I'd just fundamentally misplay a hand. It wasn't me miscomputing the size of the pot, or not quite figuring out implied odds or anything like that -- it was just unsound poker caused by a lack of undersatanding of the fundamentals at play in the hand. If I posted fundamentally flawed hand I'd want to know that it wasn't the details where I was missing, but the fundamentals. Wouldn't you?

My comment was frank perhaps, but it was not intended to insult. I was simply stating a fact as I saw it. I'm not going to coddle you, but I am going to be honest with you and try to help you improve. That's how I'd want to be treated myself.

In my opinion, which you are free to debate the validity of, you misplayed this hand not because you messed up the details, but because you didn't understand the fundamentals at play. For example:

[ QUOTE ]
I don't like the cbet idea at all actually - the other guy normally has you beat. I consider cbetting the big mistake in this hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is incorrect because it is simply untrue that he "normally" has you beat. In fact, he normally has a worse hand. Perhaps 2/3 of the time the opponent has nothing, and virtually every time he has nothing you have the best hand. At worst you have a tie.

Once you cbet &amp; he calls, his range narrows. You very often still have the best hand, but depending on what he has your equity could be rather low. Moreover depending on how well you know your opponent you may be able to even win with the worst hand -- this is a part of poker.

[Webster]

Understood - again - just going on what the FAQ in the NL area says "never cbet".

I cbet but I'm timid because SO FAR - I'm always beaten! Again - only 1000 hands.

You say " cbet like you mean it". The problem is that it does nothing. The guy with bottom pair is STILL is there. BUT - I'm not aggressive enough on my cbet. lesson learned!

PLUS - as you pointed out - having 60BBs makes a cbet dicey.

I'll tell ya where I am. I consider myself better then most players in NL10 because I have literally a million hands in limit - YET - I still have that limit mentality that says a guy coming at me when I have TPTK is bluffing and he should be punished.

YEA - learned THAT lesson a few times!! LOL

SO - since I am battling THAT demon I don't have 100BB like I want but 60BB which makes me a little more cautious and if I get tilty I won't lose so much.

1000 hands 11BBETS/100 even with misplayed bone head hands!
------
I won't say anything about a hand before those posted.

OK - I will. 66 limp in hit 655 on the flop, get bets, I bets he goes all in and I follow - he shows 65. turn rag river A FIVE!!!

THAT is a bad beat! Lost $12 on that one!

[Chicago Twister]

Webster -

There's no shame in not cbetting. Just check-folding until you improve especially at these limits is a sound strategy. Perhaps not optimal, but certainly +EV.