I need help playing after flop.

[greatest]

I play 5/10 no limit regularly, and it seems I am getting outplayed after the flop. For example, I have A/K or A/Q and I raise $30 to $40 and would get around 2 callers. If flop is rags like 5,3,9 and I bet $90, I would get a caller. Then if turn misses me, I would check, the other guy bets and I am forced to fold.
Sometimes when i bet the turn when blank hits, I would get called 50% time, 30% I would get raised and they fold 20% time. So what is the usual play like this?
80% time I am forced to give up my hand at the river if my hand don't improve. Any comments?

[Gonso]

First, figure out why your raises are always being called. Do you think other players think your post-flop game is weak? Are your opponents calling stations? Do you raise every other hand?

Lots of ways you can make adjustments here. Buy in shorter, raise more, go for a check-raise. Bet the turn more often when it misses.

Something tells me that your bet/raise sizing could use a little work. A couple sample hands to look at?

[greatest]

I play with bunch of calling stations. Bunch of millionaires who don't mind playing any two cards. They actually consider me one of the better players. they know when I raise, I always have A/K, A/J, A/Q, A/10 or high pocket pairs. This is cash game.

For example
A/K, I raise 30, two callers. Flop 10,9,3. I bet 90, two callers. Turn is 6. I bet 120. One caller. River is 2. I check, he bets 350. Now I fold. Is this right play?

Or sometimes I would check turn, and the guy bets 200 and I have to fold.. Any comment?

[Mhoram]

Bluff less, value bet more. That's the rule with calling stations.

I've recently figured out how to beat a table like this. Not the only way, but it's working for me.

Prefer drawing hands like suited aces, suited connectors, and pocket pairs over big ace hands. If they play passively, that means they are going to let you draw to the nuts for a good price, take advantage of that. When you make your hand, don't slowplay, go ahead and bet pretty big and expect them to call all the way to the river looking for a hand. This is especially true when you flop a set, make them pay to chase a flush.

I only raise with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, and AK. These are strong hands and you are usually ahead but they are only good against one or two players, more than that to a flop and you may get in trouble. Go ahead and raise it up as much as it takes to get it down to one or two players, especially with AK. You may find yourself raising 6-8xbb sometimes, but if that's what it takes, do it. You've got the best hand, get the money in the middle.

Everything else i'm limping along and waiting to hit a big flop. If I miss the flop I don't bother c-betting, especially if it's two players, somebody will call, just let it go and wait for a flop you do hit.

Also, play more hands if there isn't much preflop raising, start playing suited one gap connectors and offsuit connectors and suited kings.

[greatest]

So basically you are endorsing a straightforward poker. No bluffing, and bet only when you have a hand, and no trapping.

[SplawnDarts]

[ QUOTE ]
they know when I raise, I always have A/K, A/J, A/Q, A/10 or high pocket pairs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh, problem explained. They may be millionaires who don't value money, but they've got you figured out to a T. And somehwere along the way they learned how to count from adding up all those millions.

Here's the deal: there's sixteen ways you can have any given 2 high cards, and only 6 ways you can have an given pocket pair. So assuming you play pairs down to TT, there's 64 possible unpaired startinghands you can have, and only 30 possible paired hands.

That means, on a board all below T, they KNOW you didn't catch a piece, and they can call you with any piece of it or any pocket pair and be ahead 64/94ths of the time (ie every time you opened without a pair). Since they're putting in even money with you but are ahead over 2/3 of the time, they continually come out ahead on these boards. Whichever one of them caught a tiny piece just calls you down and/or eventually blasts you off your hand.

Your solution is that you need more pocket pairs in your raising range, and you need to mix in the occasional lower cards so they can't simply assume you missed the board.

Furthermore, you need to bluff the boards you miss with unpaired high cards less, and value bet pocket pairs above the board more. That way, when you bet into a low board, a much higher precentage of the time you have an overpair and a much lower percentage of the time you will have air. Make that adjustment, and their calls will become a mistake. Sometimes in NL you have to let a raised pot get away when you miss the board even when you think no one has much. If you try to get every single one, you'll end up paying dearly because you will be a predictable bluffer.

Hope that helps, and if I'm giving this advice to someone playing 5/10 I DESPERATLY need to get back to Vegas.

[Mhoram]

yep, without more info on the players, I know this is killing the guys I play with and they've been playing twice a month for a couple years, so they aren't absolute beginners.

[Rollos]

The flop examples you gave are horrible flops to be betting c-betting into. If your opponents know that you only raise with top hands, then of course they are going to call a flop c-bet when rags hit.
Frankly, I'm very surprised that someone playing this high does not understand what he/she is doing wrong. I would recommend dropping down levels and read Theory of Poker/No Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice.

[Mhoram]

Yeah, thats another thing, if they 'know' you have AK-AT, and the flop is all baby cards, why would they fold? Believing you have an overpair? Nice try.

C-bets are best against one player, two max, and you need to have something to represent, an ace on the flop preferably.

[greatest]

5/10 cash game has too much weak callers. All calling stations. Even 3X BB gets 4 or 5 players in it. Very hard to maneuver when you get constant callers. How do I mix my game to raise small cards just to mix my game up?? I've got so frustrated that I have been lot of limping to save some money. Is this a good strategy?