few hands to critique please...

[Chopper]

i am trying like hell to figure SH NL out. and keep ending up frustrated. my FR game is very solid, but i try to transfer it over to 6max and keep getting creamed. i play tight...and its obvious when i hit a flop. i open it up...and get called off or raised off hands like no other. i cant help but think its not just variance anymore. HELP!!

1) only read on villain is he is 23/9/6.00...i assume he can bluff, but not often.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($9.25)
BB ($7.45)
UTG ($14.35)
MP ($10)
Button ($14.55)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, T.
UTG calls $0.10, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.40) T, J, 5 (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP checks.

Turn: ($0.40) 5 (4 players)
Hero bets $0.6, BB folds, UTG folds, MP raises to $1.2, Hero raises to $3, MP raises to $5.5, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $8.90

Results in white below:
No showdown. MP wins $8.90.

i can only assume he had the 5 in a limped pot? was the 3bet a good play, or should i have dumped after the raise?

2)villain is a total caller.. should i have checked river, or dropped a bigger hammer? in other words, are the bet sizes too passive/small?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

SB ($1.30)
Hero ($10)
UTG ($7.20)
MP ($10.85)
Button ($20.25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4, K.
UTG calls $0.10, MP calls $0.10, Button calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero checks.

Flop: ($0.45) K, 8, 5 (4 players)
Hero bets $0.3, UTG folds, MP calls $0.30, Button folds.

Turn: ($1.05) T (2 players)
Hero bets $0.6, MP calls $0.60.

River: ($2.25) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.3, MP calls $1.30.

Final Pot: $4.85

Results in white below:
Hero has 4c Kh (one pair, kings).
MP has Kc 7c (one pair, kings).
Outcome: MP wins $4.85.

3) did i play this too passively before the river? from my experience anybody will bluff the scare cards in 6max...should i have folded the river here? villain plays half of the hands dealt, raises about half of those.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (4 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($9.70)
Hero ($10.25)
Button ($19.50)
SB ($11.55)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 2, 2.
Hero raises to $0.3, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold.

Flop: ($0.70) 2, 9, K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.5, SB calls $0.50.

Turn: ($1.70) 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.1, SB calls $1.10.

River: ($3.90) 5 (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero calls $3.

Final Pot: $9.90

Results in white below:
SB has Td Jd (flush, king high).
Hero has 2c 2h (three of a kind, twos).
Outcome: SB wins $9.90.

felt i was taking away the odds to draw. do i have to bust them really hard in 6max or just on these wimpy stakes?

thanks in advance.

[benny999]

I can tell u need to work on pot control, meaning if you have a marginal hand like mid pair or TPWK, try to keep the pot small...but if you have a big hand like set/big draw, try to make the pot big.

also, it's nice if you edit out the results. that way the posts you get aren't biased (it's hard not to check them...)

1- good flop check, but lead the turn for a normal value bet, 2/3 to 3/4 pot. fold or just call the min raise, almost no value in 3betting besides as a bluff.

2- I like it with ur reads. maybe bet river a little less, and/or check turn...depends how loose he is.

3- bet full pot on the flop and turn. maybe even overbet the flop for like $1.
river is close since he is laggy pre flop, but without any reads on how he plays post flop, I lean toward a fold - his line reaks of flush draw, or possibly a bluff with something like JT or 9x.

[Chopper]

I can tell u need to work on pot control, meaning if you have a marginal hand like mid pair or TPWK, try to keep the pot small...but if you have a big hand like set/big draw, try to make the pot big.

also, it's nice if you edit out the results. that way the posts you get aren't biased (it's hard not to check them...)

1- good flop check, but lead the turn for a normal value bet, 2/3 to 3/4 pot. fold or just call the min raise, almost no value in 3betting besides as a bluff.

2- I like it with ur reads. maybe bet river a little less, and/or check turn...depends how loose he is.

3- bet full pot on the flop and turn. maybe even overbet the flop for like $1.
river is close since he is laggy pre flop, but without any reads on how he plays post flop, I lean toward a fold - his line reaks of flush draw, or possibly a bluff with something like JT or 9x.

thanks for the help. here were my "in-hand" thoughts. maybe these were way too aggro.

1) i have weak kicker and no position. i figure i am up against a draw or mid-pair against this guy. so, i figure to take the pot on the turn by betting the scare card when the board pairs. he plays back, i give it one more aggro shot to sell the 5 figuring he is being aggro back at my bluff. he's not, i fold. bad bluff against the guy with the 5.

2) i figure TP of any kind is usually good against passives HU. on the turn i give it one more decent shot to get rid of QJo...which is possible. river blank and i still figure i am good here more than 50% of the time, so i bet figuring something mediocre will fold...thats the mistake against a passive. he calls, i still thought i had the hand won, until i saw the 7 kicker. that one made me a little tilty. with a weak kicker, i usually dont get that aggro, but i figure any K that limp/calls pf cant be in the hand still, and KT would have shown some strength. and KJ+ would have raised pf. that wasnt a great read here, but is that usually right in 6max?

3) i figured on the flush draw, but when he leads out instead of check-raising the river, i figure it could be a bluff...so i call. i certainly dont raise because i expect to see the flush. i cant drop the set for a ps bet on the river...in a small pot. TPTK is an easy fold here, but i see too many flush boards bluffed at to drop a set....is this correct or should i tone it down a bit?

my fr game is no where near this aggro, but i seem to get pushed off a lot of hands on scary boards in 6max...so i have been experimenting with "pushing back." i just cant read the strength at this game when i play TAG.

[Robert]

chopper,

Hand 1: Fold turn to his minraise.
Hand 2: This hand is fine with your read (huge calling station). Maybe bet a bit more on the turn and river. Also I might consider checking the turn for pot control with a marginal hand.
Hand 3: Pot flop and turn to build a pot so you can as much as possible in on the river without making a huge river overbet. On the river I lean towards a fold, because so many draws came in on the river.

[Chopper]

i cant imagine you guys ALWAYS fold on this type of river and against this type of opponent?!

what are the signals you watch for that indicate a river bluff? this guy was very aggressive post flop rather consistently.

or do you only call off the bluff on the river when the draw does NOT come in?

[benny999]

Making a psb mistake in a built pot on the river is a big deal.
the river comes down to putting villain on a reasonable range and asking if ur ahead enough of the time based on the odds given for the call. It doesn't matter if u have a set, top pair, etc. if ur ahead of the range enough of the time to call given ur pot odds then call.

on 3, there are not many other draws he could have than a flush draw. I like to know if he will chase longer shots like gut shot, OESD, mid/bottom pair and then bluff scare cards to call, because it's pretty much assuming he's bluffing a lot (>33%) of the time.

[benny999]

also about #2, top pair is a little better in 6max, but what really makes it worth so much is ur read that villain is a call station. ur basically value betting mid/bottom pair and random draws.
but otherwise, I'm usually doing the same line(s) as in FR when OOP.

[Chopper]

Making a psb mistake in a built pot on the river is a big deal.
the river comes down to putting villain on a reasonable range and asking if ur ahead enough of the time based on the odds given for the call. It doesn't matter if u have a set, top pair, etc. if ur ahead of the range enough of the time to call given ur pot odds then call.

on 3, there are not many other draws he could have than a flush draw. I like to know if he will chase longer shots like gut shot, OESD, mid/bottom pair and then bluff scare cards to call, because it's pretty much assuming he's bluffing a lot (>33%) of the time.

so, what you are saying is you need a "specific" read in this situation to call his bet? without seeing him bluff like this before, you will fold a set to his bet on a flush card...even as aggressive pf as he is/was?

thats good to know because it tells me i am not taking people serious enough at 6max...meaning i am picking the wrong spots to push them off hands WAY too much. and that helps explain the spew.

theoretically, it sounds like 6max is still played a lot like fr, with the exception that you raise pf a good bit more...and thats about it...maybe c/r with TP on the flop or RR TP more frequently.

is that a fair assessment? i see a lot more maniacs when playing sh, but i wonder if they are getting lucky short-term buying small pots VERY often, but getting stacked thereby making them long-term losers.