Daily Hand Quiz

I’m usually the guy who says I’m not willing to go broke w/ top pair, but I voted raise big here, too. We’ve almost assuredly got the best had right now, and there are no draws out there to mess around with. He’ll either call if he has a Q or fold if he doesn’t, that’s fine w// me.

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Once again, over aggression by an aggressive player (ourselves) is certainly going to get this guy to shy away from his already bad technique. A lot of bad players are going to raise from SB, get re-raised, just call because they are bad and then bet any flop just like that. I would almost always put my opponent on something like Q9 here or even A8 with how he bet it out big. He is probably putting me on AK, which is just a huge trap the most players fall into.
I would almost always call here. When the turn comes, he will probably check, and then I would put out a bet 1/2 the pot and if he comes along then I would probably check down on the river with him.

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“AA or KK seems unlikely (and you have outs to both),”

um… what outs are you talking about, the two queens in the deck?

This is where my style is different from most other players, and I really believe it’s what allows me to make a living playing the game and why most decent players only break-even or lose a little.

I agree with Brett mostly and have to question the staff’s logic. Raising large is going to scare away all the hands you can beat. In fact they are probably not going to call ANY raise with 99, TT, JJ, or AK. But if you call here they will likely bet any of those hands again.

The reason most players raise large here is because they are playing scared. Scared of the turn or river beating them, or of a scare card hitting and them getting out-played. The truth is you are the favorite and want to keep playing and keep getting more money in there and calling is the best way to do it. Playing scared is not a winning style.

A good player can milk an overly-aggressive opponent here for a bunch more chips. An average player (or below) will make a big raise and only win the current pot.

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You have to call here. I would respectfully disagree with the staff on this one. If we’re thinking that flat calling an opponent wont get much more from a weaker hand, how can we say that pushing here will get a call? The idea is that we believe we have the better hand. The best way to get him to believe HE’S got the better hand, and to take advantage of our position and his aggression, is to flat call. If the turn isnt scary, I raise him after he assuredly continues to bet out and invest himself further in this pot.

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I agree with some of the staff’s analysis, but not their final decision. I think a call is the best value play here. I agree with some of the other posters…

The staff nailed some of the analysis. If our villain hit a set, it really doesn’t matter since we’re most likely looking at getting our entire stack in behind regardless of how we play it. Knowing that then, how do we get the most value out of the hands that we beat?

That board is so dry that there is really nothing to protect against. We are either way ahead or way behind on that flop. The only scare card to us would be to see a K hit the board and if our villain has a K, there are only three in the deck. If our villain has a mid pocket pair, he’s looking at two outs.

It’s clear that our villain considers AK to be a part of our range and even though he may have missed his set, there is still a chance that his pair of tens is the best hand. And, he is probably right to lead out on that flop to see where he is at.

While a raise from us tells him exactly the information that he needs to know and allows him to play correctly after that, a call from us keeps him guessing. He won’t know if we have a hand like AK and we’re floating his flop bet hoping to hit something on the turn or to take the pot away if he shows any weakness. So, he does not know if we flat call what the hell we’ve got. He is going to be pretty tentative to put any more money into the pot if we flat call, but there is a chance that he thinks he has the best hand and that his hand is very vulnerable. He may lead the turn or call a small bet on the turn.

Anyway, I think there is more value to get here by flat calling. Keep our villain guessing. Put him or her to the test. Don’t give them that great reason to fold their hand if it is in fact totally crushed.

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i just don’t think there’s a very likely range that’s going to pay you off on the turn, and i think it’s smaller than the range that will be tempted to call your all in. your flat call here will be pretty scary to most opponents.

i’d also suggest that you win more when you get the all in called, so it doesn’t need to be as successful as often to still be more profitable.

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Before deciding what our move should be, lets analyze this hand preflop. This should be a very comfortable hand to win, as we are in complete control of the hand. We are in position against just one player, and we are the preflop aggressor. This gives us great control of the hand.

Now, let’s analyze the flop. We have top pair top kicker, and on this ugly flop, it seems like it’s very probable that we have the best hand. This is clearly not a dangerous flop, there are no draws whatsoever, so it’s alright to try and slowplay here.

Now, let’s look at it from our opponent’s point of view. The only hands we are worried about here are A-A, K-K, and that he flopped a set of Qs, 8s or 3s. Now, if he had any of these hands, on this particularly safe flop, will he really bet out? Or is it much more likely that he will check it to you. On this flop, you will most likely make a continuation bet, regardless of your hand, since you were the preflop aggressor. So, we can safely say that our opponent does not have a monster here.

Now, what can his bet represent? I think he is either trying to take the pot, in case you didn’t have a Q. If that’s the case, great! Let him hang himself. Otherwise, he probably has a Q with a decent kicker. K-Q, Q-J, or Q-10 are very possible. In this case, I would expect him to make a tester bet. Betting the pot is a big tester bet, but an aggressive player is capable of betting the pot here, to see where he is at. A reraise will probably not chase him out, but will most probably keep him cautious, and he will be reluctant to put in many more chips here.

Therefore, I say we are in great shape. So, what do we do here to get the most out of it? I say act like you have a pocket pair, and you are worried by the Q. If this is a live game, act like you really have a tough decision to make, think a lot, look back at your cards, do everything to convince him you have a hand, but are worried somehow. Then reluctantly throw in the chips and say “I don’t know why I can’t believe you”. If this was online, take as much time as you can, and just before you time out make a call.

This way you’ll convince him that you have either 9-9 or 10-10. If he had a Q, expect him to check, or bet small on the turn, as he will be trying to sucker you in. If he had nothing, he may move in on you. In both cases, BINGO! You got him to commit his chips in, and you trapped him.

For this move to work, you have to convince him that you are worried by the Q. A great acting scene is a very important to get him to put in more chips in the middle. There are cards that may worry you on the turn. K, J, 10 are all scare cards. These may give your opponent two pairs. But to win the most in this hand, be willing to take the risk of giving away a free card.

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I think what the staff are saying is that by putting in a large raise to an aggresive players’ bet, we are trying to represent less of a hand than we actually have right now, say a mid pocket like 99 or TT.

If your opponent had a lower Q, a smart aggresive player might well be thinking your making a move and push all-in themselves

In summary, the staff are saying if we just flat call on a dry board like this, its more scary than raising large in the view of an aggresive player

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I raise here. Ill explain why.

We have to look at our general line. Not your line in one street in a vacuum.

The player here 3bet AQ Preflop.
Why?

I bet onlinepokerincome doesn’t understand the principles of 3betting, but I shall explain. When you reraise with AQ or similar we are raising for value. The value comes when out opponent calls with worse hands which overlap against our range. So for instance he will call with KQ,QJ,AJ,AT or worse. When they call here this means they are usually felting with when they hit their hands and this is where we get our vcalue from.

If our opponent has an underpair so be it, we can call but do you really think he will call with bets on later streets? Unlikely. If he is willing ot call bets on later streets he is willing to call a flop raise (as they are the least believable of all raises). Raising this flop also sets us up to go all in against a worse hand and prevents scaring out KQ QJ, or similiar if scare cards come on the tunr or river.

Only in rare circumstances would I call this flop whereby I believe villain will keep firing or trying to bet with a worse hand. Since this usually doesnt happen thts why I raise the flop.

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O by the way Onlinepoekrincome give up the Big Singsong about playing poker for a living.

Who cares!
Seriously. We dont.

All of your posts espeically at 6 max No limi do not use any concepts from NLHE and the way you argue your poinst suggests you know very little about the game.

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He bets big on this safe flop which looks like a steal. You raise big which might look to him like a re-steal because of both your images. If he has a hand (KQ, QJ and even JJ, TT) he will call a lot of the times. Just calling here is quite horrible for your image if the hands go to showdown.

Lol at the ‘I make a living out this game’-guy.

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FWIW I voted raise small – leaving Villain the option to overshove or perhaps call, in which case I get the rest of my stack in on turn.

However, people castigating staff for failing to opt for call seem to have missed a crucial point: flatting here and going into showdown undercuts the value of your future cbets. If you don’t raise this hand, what are the hands you WOULD raise with here?

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This is the time to get risky against an aggresive opponent and call. After this call our stack will only about the pot size and hope he will bluff it again on the turn with his mediocre hand.

TPTK on a very dry board against an aggresive opponent is like having a set. I’m committed here and slowplay my TPTK to get more chips from him.

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