Two stupid live spots

[sweetjazz]

Live 1/2 game.

A couple of limpers, a bad player raises to $5 (he makes a lot of these random small raises), couple more callers, I have QQ on the button. I raise to $25 (a bit much, but the table is playing very loose at the moment and I think this amount is most likely to get me 1 caller, though I'll get 2-3 sometimes and 0 sometimes as well). Folds around to UTG+1 who limped, and he nows pushes for $100. Guy is tight, hasn't played many hands and I'm sure he's not bluffing. Folded to me, so I'm basically getting about $140-75 on a call. If QQ and JJ is in his range, it's a marginal spot. If he's got other hands (TT/AK?), it's a call. If he only has AA or only AA/KK or only AA/KK/QQ it's a fold. So I ...

Second hand I have Kh Qd and overlimp in EMP. (Raising or folding better?) A different bad player makes a raise to $5, a bunch of callers, I call the extra $3. (Pot is $30 or $35.) Flop comes Qs 7c 3s. EP limper bets out $10, I decide this is too small, so I raise to $25. Folded around to the limper who calls. Turn is the Qh. Limper pushes all-in for his remaining $110 (I cover). He seems to be a nittish player postflop (so he's not bluffing here) who isn't ridiculously loose preflop but probably plays a fair number of hands he shouldn't. I figure he has Qx or better here almost always (maybe a badly played hand like AA or 99 or something like that is a small possibility). I discount 77 or 33 somewhat because I think he would be more likely to check/raise (not afraid of the flush coming in). I don't know among his Qx hands what kickers he would play like this. Would he be scared about AQ if he had KQ? What if he had QJ or QT? I'm not sure if hands like Q5s or Q3s are in his range here. So I ...

[Guruman]

hand 1 is a fold i think. villain took a huge pot-building please call me because i aint skeered kind of line.

hand 2 overlimping can be fine depending on table dynamics (if a raise will get called in multiple places or if you're likely to see a cheap flop) I think the problem with this hand is that you didnt evaluate villain's stack size against your raise size. If you had raised more you would have had a much easier decision on the turn.

[James.]

hand 1: i likely call because i see even tight players in these live games do completely stupid things. if i'm playing well and KNOW he's not capable of LRR light, i fold.

hand 2: pf all options are fine, though in the game you describe i probably consider a limp the better play(how many limpers/stacksizes might matter). i would make it more like 35 or so to go on the flop. for me, there's no folding the turn.

[Nick C]

Hand 1: Folding might be best, but I probably call for the reasons James gave. People do some very erratic things in live 1/2.

Hand 2: Preflop seems fine to me.

On the turn, I couldn't fold to the push. There's a good chance Villain likes his hand if has any Qx, I think.

[bravos1]

hand 1 : I raise more PF.. you already have a few limpers, plus a $5 raise from an idiot and 2 more cold callers.. $25 IMO is too small and I'd make it $35. Anyone else feel this raise was too small even though OP feels it is too big?

hand 2: I also feel a limp is fine.. but raise more on the flop. This makes the turn a no brainer. I still call here as played since he will have a smaller Q here quite a bit I would guess.

[Man of Means]

Hand 2, I call the turn. Pretty sure he's like "well, I've got trips now, might as well" and your pot odds are enough to call (even when he's got AQ/underfull you still have chop or win outs)

Hand 1, a pot sized raise is what, $30 to go? $25 is fine is you want 1+ callers! I guess you have to make a read and go with it on the shove. QQ is generally good for 50BB stacks, he can easily have AKs/JJ, I've seen tight players do this (and I have done this when short down to TT).

[sweetjazz]

In hand 1, I think it was two limpers, $5 raise and just one more caller after that (so $17 in pot including blinds) ... so I think making it $20 - $25 to go is reasonable? That was the amount at the time that I thought would get 1 - 2 callers. I reasoned that 1 caller is ideal but 2 is better than 0 with QQ. I think the preflop call is marginal, but I figured that I was getting too good of a price to fold as worse hands could be making this move. I think JJ would be a fold though; do we agree?

In hand 2, I agree that I have to call the turn with KQ because QJ and QT are too much of his range (plus some Qxs hands as well). My feeling now after thinking about it is that QJ becomes a close decision and QT is a clear fold; do we agree?

[greggg230]

I cannot fathom folding trips in a live 1/2 game with those stack sizes in this situation. maybe if you have a completely worthless kicker. maybe. (but you don't, so not relevant)

live players are absolutely retarded. you'll see AA, KK, JJ, a heart draw a lot and even if he has AQ, you have outs to a chop.

[feelixthegreek]

In hand 2, Q2+ is in his range. It's an easy call.

Hand 1, you have to really know the player is tight, like makes-wild-overbets-with-the-nuts tight. I've seen many 1/2 NL players flip over weak suited aces when called. For the stack sizes, I can't see folding.