Flop a boat-- caution advised?

[drtofu66]

I've been at this poker thing for about a month; I did well for a while probably because of beginner's luck and ignorant fearlessness but now I'm in that late newbie stage of seeing the possibilities on the board and worrying about what other people have and I've been on a downswing for the last 10 days.

So, here's the hand from memory in a 2 table SNG tournament (sorry if I don't get all the specifics you guys are used to in). It's still early, nobody knocked out yet, I've got the average in chips, nobody severely short stacked:

44 to me in middle position. No raises, 5 players in the hand.

Flop:
QQ4.

Great, I 've got the full house on the flop, but I could get sucked out on it if someone else catches a bigger boat on the turn or river (or god forbid has Q4). One bet, I call, one fold, 3 other calls.

Turn:
2

One bet, I call, 2 calls and a fold.

River:
2.

Any pocket Q beats me now and I get a little nervous. One bet, I call, everyone else calls. I won the hand.

So the question: should I have been more aggressive and raised on the river for a value bet? I've been overconfident with boats before and gotten clobbered. Should I have taken the fact that nobody raised above the minimum bet as a sign that I had the best hand and not worried?

[drmcboy]

bet this hand much harder than you did - why would you be calling here? Maybe if the pot is heads up, but with 3 others in SOMEONE has a Q, or something like 99 and either way they'll call at least 1 bet. OK call the flop (don't like it) but you must raise the turn. You even say you're worried about being sucked out on... but then you don't raise!

Doyle specificaly discusses the under full - you bet here, no one is going to pay you off unless they have a Q (or maybe limped AA/KK) , and if they do you want to make them pay.

On the river you should absolutely look for a showdwon. What stakes are you playing? This hand smells uber fishy to me.

[BreakfastMan]

I would have raised the flop and the turn. If they were still with you on the river, only then would I call. To get a more expert limit opinion, I would post this in the limit section.

[drmcboy]

ah, if this is limit, makes way more sense. I don't know much about limit but I have to think you should be betting like a crazed fool here.

[Grand_MasterB]

If this is limit...then raise every chance you get.

If its no limit..i would just call the flop hoping for some others to call with their crap. then when that undercard fell on the turn i would pound it hard. if you raise the flop anyone with any Q is going to call you. No chance they fold but you lose the chips donated by the other people who have nothing. Now when that undercard comes on teh turn you need to raise big... get everyone else out and make the q's decide fi their kicker is good. you got lucky to win this hand

[drtofu66]

This was a NL 2 table SNG tourny on Party, so I hope it makes it clearer.

Some of the bets might have been for small raises (sorry I couldn't pull up the exact hand history-- I'm at work now). If I can dig it up at home I'll post it later.

Thanks for the advice. I've been waaaay to cautious lately (result of being rivered to death on the 0.5/$1 tables I usually play).

[drtofu66]

Man, I'm getting old. Scratch my old situation description; it was a limit tourney, I was in the SB, last 7 players left and I was 2nd to last in chips

Here's the HH:

Hold'em Level:4 Stakes (50/100)
Table 2 - Table(324241) Table #2 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 7
Seat 1: Drtofu ( $720 )
Seat 3: rizzlegrizzl ( $1385 )
Seat 4: tasteTtaste ( $380 )
Seat 5: MazeKid ( $955 )
Seat 6: MoreBullets ( $3385 )
Seat 10: percddan ( $1070 )
Seat 2: marcoardov ( $2748 )
Trny:11789078 Level:4
Stakes (50/100)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Drtofu [ 4s 4d ]
rizzlegrizzl calls [50].
tasteTtaste folds.
MazeKid calls [50].
MoreBullets folds.
percddan calls [50].
Drtofu calls [25].
marcoardov checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qh, Qc, 4h ]
Drtofu checks.
marcoardov bets [50].
rizzlegrizzl folds.
MazeKid calls [50].
percddan calls [50].
Drtofu calls [50].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2d ]
Drtofu checks.
marcoardov bets [100].
MazeKid calls [100].
percddan folds.
Drtofu calls [100].
** Dealing River ** [ 2h ]
Drtofu checks.
marcoardov checks.
MazeKid bets [100].
Drtofu calls [100].
marcoardov calls [100].
MazeKid shows [ 6h, 3h ] a flush, queen high.
Drtofu shows [ 4s, 4d ] a full house, Fours full of queens.
marcoardov doesn't show [ Kh, Jh ] a flush, king high.
Drtofu wins 1050 chips from the main pot with a full house, Fours full of queens.


I'm such a dumbass, so many errors (my only defense is that I'm still learning). I should've read that there was a flush draw out there and that's what they were chasing. I'm so blinded by my own hand sometimes.

So, here are some questions:

1) My initial check doesn't seem too wrong. Should I have check-raised or would that have scared them all away?

2) This raises an interesting point-- being first to act each round, I get the feeling that check raising each round would have been too suspicious. Or not?

In retrospect, I would have checked on the flop, check-raised on the turn, and check-raised on the river with someone probably having caught their flush. I'm not so sure betting out each round would have gotten me any more money.

Thoughts?

[arkana]

On the flop you have close to the nuts (only pocket queens are beating you here and worrying about someone else having quads is not worth it). Theres 4 ppl in the hand and while you have a really good hand at the moment someone else with a PP can make a better hand later. Someone with a queen is coming along for the ride but even they can make a better full house if they pair their other card. Why not check raise? In for one, in for two. Thats how most low level limit players play. Otherwise you have to start raising on the turn. This pot is already big enough so that even if everyone else drops out you have won a nice pot. Raise Reraise play it like the nuts make them pay. Do this all the way up to the river. You have to be aggressive with your good hands! With so many ppl in the hand you can be sure someones got something and they will call you. Dont let them get off cheap. You could easily have won a much bigger pot. Sounds to me like you are a bit passive at the moment.

I'm not so sure betting out each round would have gotten me any more money.

You would be surprised.