Poker Plays by PokerPeaker – Making the right play after bad play
I have a nice pocket pair, Q-Q, and I'm playing $.25/.50 NLHE on Bodog Poker.
Now before I start, I have a confession to make. I really hate Q-Q. I always have. Every time I get the ladies, it seems an Ace or King comes on the flop. When it doesn't, I usually get sucked out on.
So I always play them carefully. In fact, I probably don't play them as aggressively as I should because I've lost with them so many times. That's especially true when I'm in a cash game, and I'm not facing the increasing blinds of a tournament. Queens are my bad luck hand. Everyone has one of those, right?
In this case I have red Queens.
I raise, as you always should pre-flop. Hey, despite my speech, I don't believe hands have a memory. I have won with Queens before as well. So I raise.
I raise to $2. I am in the small blind, so I don't mind making them pay to see a hand with me out of position. Plus I don't like giving more than one person a reason to enter the pot against my pair. It's a high pair, but it's still only a pair after the flop, and pairs generally don't hold up against more than two players.
Two players who originally limped call my raise. OK, fine.
The flop comes 7♥ - 9♣ - Q♠. Wow. Jackpot! I might just win with Q-Q after all.
I am first to act. I check my top set. I also have another confession to make. I like to slow play my sets. I am betting them more and more, but the board doesn't look to bad to me, so I check. Unfortunately, the players check behind me. Rats!
The turn brings an 8♣. That's a fairly dangerous card. But I check again.
This is a mistake. There's an obvious straight draw, if not a straight already, and a flush draw out there as well. If anyone is drawing, they have a good chance of hitting it now.
Fortunately the first guy to act beyond my check bets $5.25. Wow! That's a nice bet. It's less than the pot but not by much. The third player just calls. It's back to me. I just call.
That's another mistake. Clearly there's some interest in this pot. I still think I have the best hand, and yet I admit it, at this point I'm spooked and greedy at the same time.
I'm worried about a straight being made here, which is not a rational thought, but again, Queens have gotten into my head because I've lost with that hand so much. I'm also thinking if the board pairs, I could have a full house and really scoop a nice pot. And I still have a great hand. Maybe I can get more money by just calling.
Well, the J♣ comes on the river. *Sigh* Unbelievable! Now if anyone was drawing to anything, he got there.
I check. I'm not betting out just so I can get raised. It's quite possible I'm beat now, but maybe it'll get checked down and I can still win.
No such luck. The first player checks, but the second player bets $12. Wow! That's a pretty big bet. And it's on the river. Clearly, I'm beat here. So I sigh, roll my eyes and fold my beautiful set.
I've made two mistakes in this hand. It would be easy to make a third. I've seen many, many players make their mistakes worse by calling off a ton of chips once they misplay their hands. I make a good play here after making two bad ones. I fold and save a bunch of money.
It turns out the first player flopped two-pair. He had 7♥ - 9♣. The last player had 10s, so he got runner, runner straight to beat me. The problem is I let him get there. Sad, sad, sad. Had I raised on the turn, it's likely he folds, and it's quite possible the other player would have pushed, and I would have won a huge pot. Instead, I wasn't aggressive, and Queens have done it to me again.
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