Picking up the pots when you miss ..

JonCass · #1 11-24-2006, 03:48 PM

Hia

I have a question I dont seem have the knack of picking up pots when I miss ..

Quick background : I started playing a couple of years ago on UB - Only ever played on the low limits ( 0.05\0.10 ) reason for that is that I cant justify whacking a lot of cash in poker each month etc. Anyway Ive grinded success at this level cashing out around $400 so Ive been happy.

Ive recently moved to 888 as UB was lagging and I have found the players terrible my initial 75 investment is 280ish 9 days later - nothing more exciting than playing good hands waiting to hit then rally it out. I very rarely bluff because I have found I get called.

What I struggle with is getting 1 - 2 callers eg with AQ having missed the flop and turn comes - no help .. I then feel obligied to bet on fourth street and I end up building up a big pot that I check on the river coz I realise Im probably beat or worried that making a big ( 3/4 pot ) size bet chances are Ill get called and lose my stack...

Dont get me wrong Im a happy grinder just you know - I can feel an area to address in my play

Any thoughts I'd appreciate or clarification on whats nearly turned into a rant [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks
J

big dummy · #2 11-24-2006, 09:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
getting 1 - 2 callers eg with AQ having missed the flop and turn comes - no help .. I then feel obligied to bet on fourth street and I end up building up a big pot that I check on the river coz I realise Im probably beat or worried that making a big ( 3/4 pot ) size bet chances are Ill get called and lose my stack...

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you betting the flop and getting 2 callers? This is the kind of flop that you can't "pick up" cheaply because, in most cases, one of them will have at least something.

Are you checking the flop? If so, try increasing your rate of continuation-betting. (My Cbet rate is 80% or higher) Should you Cbet or not? It doesn't matter if you've hit anything. Look at the flop and decide whether it looks like something that your villian(s) should/could have hit (given their tendencies). Once they call a Cbet - you usually need to give them credit for either a hand or a strong draw.

DeuceSeven · #3 11-25-2006, 04:08 AM

It all depends on what I what I raised with, texture of the board, position, and number of opponents that called my preflop raise.

EDIT: you can also add type of opponents who called, type of game,and stack sizes.

AggroFish · #4 11-25-2006, 04:29 AM

I think at low limits you'll find that sometimes you have to raise a little more preflop to get it heads up which is what you really want.

On the flop:
Most of these guys will call you with any piece of the board or even overcards. Guys love playing ace rag. Try to show down some hands against these guys cheaply to see what their tendencies are. Also, make sure you've got position when playing the floaters.

JonCass · #5 11-25-2006, 07:07 AM

Thanks for the infor I think GB and Aggro hit on something ( and Ive paid the price earlier today ) My Preflop raising is around 4%/VPIP 24% about 3rd of the time the flop comes and I do nothing.

I like PT but unfortunatly Pacific isnt supported .. Yet

archcity · #6 11-25-2006, 11:07 AM

I CB pretty agressively as well, here are a couple of things I have picked up...

Obviously having position helps, if they check in front of you and you put in a nice raise preflop and a 2/3 to pot sized CB more often than not they fold. If they call you can narrow the hands pretty well. If they hit the flop why didn't they bet? Probably a draw, mid-pair or high pair with a weak kicker. You see this a lot if there are two suited cards on the board.

If the next card doen't complete the flush, I always fire a second bet, it almost always forces a fold, if not then they have something.

I like being aggressive with CBs because if you happen to hit a card on the turn you can scoop big pots, and if you do have a big hand it is difficult for the villian to sniff it out if you are constantly firing CBs.

DeuceSeven · #7 11-25-2006, 03:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I CB pretty agressively as well, here are a couple of things I have picked up...

Obviously having position helps, if they check in front of you and you put in a nice raise preflop and a 2/3 to pot sized CB more often than not they fold. If they call you can narrow the hands pretty well. If they hit the flop why didn't they bet? Probably a draw, mid-pair or high pair with a weak kicker. You see this a lot if there are two suited cards on the board.

If the next card doen't complete the flush, I always fire a second bet, it almost always forces a fold, if not then they have something.

I like being aggressive with CBs because if you happen to hit a card on the turn you can scoop big pots, and if you do have a big hand it is difficult for the villian to sniff it out if you are constantly firing CBs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think you need to bet 2/3 the pot with a cbet. Half pot sized bet usually get the job done. Lets say I have 99 utg at a 6 max table, 2 players call with position and the flop is AKx. I will probably just check this flop.

Rook · #8 11-25-2006, 07:05 PM

Read this article by a well respected 2p2 poster. It may help.

archcity · #9 11-25-2006, 11:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think you need to bet 2/3 the pot with a cbet. Half pot sized bet usually get the job done. Lets say I have 99 utg at a 6 max table, 2 players call with position and the flop is AKx. I will probably just check this flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have stats but it seemed like my success rate went up when I started using larger CBs. Its a much tougher call if you are on a marginal draw or even a pretty good draw, or have a high pair with a weak kicker.

With two callers and out of position in your example above, I agree. But with position and two checks in front I'll give it a shot. Or out of position with one player I will also give it a shot. If they call and you happen to catch a 9 on the turn you are pretty much guaranteed to stack the villian.