QQ against ???

[Pelion]

Pokertracker calls villain loose aggressive-passive after 65 hands.
46%VPIP 4.50 flop aggression rating. (not a big sample though)

This first hand came immediatly before the QQ hand

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

UTG ($1.84)
UTG+1 ($4.32)
MP1 ($4.62)
MP2 ($0.94)
CO ($1.91)
Hero ($5.27)
SB ($2.21)
BB ($7.51)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, A.
UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 calls $0.02, 2 folds, CO calls $0.02, Hero raises to $0.12, 2 folds, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $0.10, CO folds.

Flop: ($0.31) Q, 4, 7 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $0.2, UTG+1 folds.

Final Pot: $0.51




So... did he actually hit a set or some decent hand or does he think im just trying to continuation bet him off when he has AK, JJ, 22, nothing

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

SB ($1.82)
BB ($4.20)
UTG ($4.62)
UTG+1 ($0.94)
MP1 ($5)
MP2 ($1.89)
Hero ($5.46)
Button ($7.49)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q. MP1 posts a blind of $0.02.
2 folds, MP1 (poster) checks, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.12, Button calls $0.12, 1 fold, BB calls $0.10, MP1 folds.

Flop: ($0.39) 4, T, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.26, Button folds, BB raises to $1, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $1.65

i decided the 2x pot checkraise was far too strong for my poor unimproved queens as this guy was far from a maniac, however there is a chance he was interpereting ME as a maniac because i had been getting some good cards and winning pots without showdowns on 'continuation bets' when i actually had good hands.

[Fnord]

I don't like the line of thought behind your betting amounts.

In the second hand, I think sometimes you play for stacks there.

[Pelion]

I don't like the line of thought behind your betting amounts.

my betting amounts are between half and full pot size and they get bigger if there are alot of draws or my hand is vulnerable. I would usually bet closer to pot size on the AQ hand but i have been experimenting with betting smaller amounts more frequently after reading a post on this forum (which i think may have been by you).
How much should i be betting and why? I was betting here because i believed i was ahead and had a vulnerable hand and because i believed KQ, QJ etc would call me anyway.

In the second hand, I think sometimes you play for stacks there.

What hand does he have that i can beat? The only thing i can think of that i beat here is JJ or maybe A10 and even A10 could have 2 hearts and draw out on me later.

Edit: i appreciate your input and i dont mean to sound defensive about this but i would like to know the reasoning behind your decisions.
1) What is the line of thought behind your betting amounts and why is mine flawed?

2) Why would you decide to play for stacks here?

Thankyou for your time

[Rondavu]

I agree with Fnord. Play for stacks with QQ at these stakes on this flop against most opponents. Your QQ is ahead often enough in this situation to make it a profitable move. If you're not ahead this time, then you will be the next 4 out of 5 times you have an overpair like this and action comes back at you.

Min stakes are less specific to a particular hand or situation. The reason is your reads are WAY less dependable against bad players. That's why you make a hand and play for stacks, because most of the time there's no telling what the dumbass in hand with you is acting aggressive with. You just have to "go with it" unless you truly think you have a tight read, which is very rare at these stakes.

You have to accept the high variance nature of min stakes. At these tables, you make a hand and go deep. There are a lot of bad players paying you off enough times to make up for all the other times you put your chips in with a good hand and lose. I mean even when you want to chase someone off a draw, you often have to put a boatload of chips in the middle to do so.

Listen to what Fnord is saying. He's not whistling dixie. Figure out higher stakes as you get to them, but for now understand the nature of the stakes you're at. Implied odds are high. Camping is the game. Make hands and push a lot of chips in on your edges. Forget about the roller coaster. Allow your hand selection and longterm decisions to roll you uphill.

[mouteut]

What hands beat you?

KK-AA unlikely, at this level they reraise you pre flop.

44 66 tt, im not sure but i think he might slow play it a bit more. its a possibility.

random 46 4t t6 is unlikely, unless hes very loose and fishy, however 4$ stack are usually not this loose.

I would push this at this limit.

I put him on a ten

[Pelion]

Thankyou for your replies. I guess i need to loosen up on what i consider to be a good hand. I am paying attention to Fnord. I have read alot of his posts and his HH and i respect him as a player and value his input.

The point is just saying raise QQ here or fold QQ here or whatever doesnt really help me because the next time this exact hand will occur will be along way into the future. What is far more important for me to understand is why you are telling me i should have played it differently so i can think about it for myself next time and (hopefully) get it right. Thankyou again for your replies

[Rondavu]

The point is just saying raise QQ here or fold QQ here or whatever doesnt really help me because the next time this exact hand will occur will be along way into the future.

The devil is in the details. When your reads are rendered impedent, It's all about making general good decisions. General is correct at these stakes when you're mired in a pool of unpredictability. Specific tight decisions come later. Don't forget you're one step above play money here.

[Fnord]

I don't like the line of thought behind your betting amounts.

Opps. I misread the first HH. I thought the flop bet was $0.02 and not $0.20.

[EricE]

I have a lot of experience from those stakes and the stakes I’m at now isn’t too much different ($.05/$.10). Play back at him in this situation every time. At times(rarely), people are willing to go AI with AT here. The point is you have an overpair and they are not going to really put you on that because they just aren’t that good. This could be a flush draw, it could be an unset PP, it could be AT or some other T. Playback until you think your overpair is beaten.

I had an almost identical situation last night. I held JJ and it’s raised before me in SB (we both hold full stacks). I reraise to 1.15, hehe, yes, reraised with JJ. He calls. Flop is 5c6h8h. I check, he bets $3, I call. Turn is Ts, I check, he checks behind. River is Qd. After some consideration I decide he likely doesn’t have a Q nor do I think he has the straight after his turn check, I bet $3, he raises AI for $5 more. I think I am ahead and call. He turns over Ac8c. Now most of the time people won’t play for stacks with TPTK but it does happen.

[Rondavu]

Now most of the time people won’t play for stacks with TPTK but it does happen.

I would see it almost every time at these stakes. Also, on a flop with no broadways such as the one presented in this thread, I would often see people pushing their whole stack in on second and third pair thinking they have your elleged unimproved broadways beat. You wouldn't believe the stuff people were pushing around with. Unjustified representation would happen almost every hand. You could never put anyone on anything.

I would preflop raise to 10xBB and get 7 callers on these tables. The flop would either beat me, or give me a TP fish to destack. Variance city. Make a hand and push. Forget the reads for now.

[Miffed22001]

my stack goes in on hand 2. Ill pay anything that beats me here. Calling is soooo bad it means you probably have to call his push. If hes setted pay it, if hes two paired that board hes a jerk (unless he has 74 ) and if he has top pair then unlucky.