Pocket Queens

SCENARIO ONE

	As a general rule when playing online, don’t try to be clever. Most of the time weakness is exactly what it looks like

You are under the gun in a five-handed $2/$4 online cash game. You have just lost a big pot after being check-raised on the flop by the player now on the button when you made a continuation bet with A-K. He has been playing aggressively, but not overly so. You pick up Q?-Q? and raise to $8. You have not yet reloaded so have a stack of $240. Both the cut-off with a $380 stack and the button with $640 call. The flop is 3?-J?-K? and you lead out for $20 into the $30 pot. The cut-off folds and the button calls. On the 7? turn, you check and the button makes a strange $30 bet into the $70 pot. Now what?

PRE-FLOP

Why are you min-raising here? I don’t see how you gain any information with that whatsoever. For me the whole point of making a bet is to gain information, as information is king. If I min-raise and you call on the big blind you could be calling with 7-2 offsuit. You may think he will come over the top, but I would only do that if I was 90% certain someone was going to raise. I don’t think that’s a good play with Queens. I don’t mind flat-calling and letting them have a stab at it, but in this situation where I just got check-raised off a pot I would overplay it and make a big raise.

FLOP

If I make a substantial raise and the flop comes K-J-3 I am not coming out betting with Queens. You have to understand flop textures, and this flop presents plenty of possibilities for connecting with your opponents’ likely hand ranges. They may have A-10 for a gutshot, J-K for two pair or any number of other made hands and draws.

There are so many hands that will call you in this spot that you really won’t know where you stand. As such, the only bet with Q-Q on this flop is to check the flop and bet the turn. If both players check the flop, they have nothing hands and are drawing. If a blank comes on the turn I am gladly betting the whole pot.

Betting the pot on the turn is a lot stronger than betting the flop. If you bet the pot on the flop and your opponent raises with Q-10, you have to pass. If you call then you don’t know where you are. Basically I would rather check the flop and then bet the turn. That way, drawing hands can’t call because there is only one card to hit.

TURN

As a general rule when playing online, don’t try to be clever. Most of the time weakness is exactly what it looks like and strength is exactly what it looks like. In a live game a $30 bet into that pot is scary. Online this is a tester bet to try and find out where he is, and I would stick it straight back up him. I wouldn’t let him see another card with $30.

I won’t call. I may pass, but more likely than not I am betting $150. He’s not getting to see another card for $30. I don’t understand the call. You may as well set fire to your money. Even if I knew he had K-10 I would still stick it back up him.

SCENARIO TWO

You’ve just taken a seat in a six-handed $3/$6 cash game online and have a stack of $591, having just paid the blinds. You are on the button and get dealt Q?-Q?. The under-the-gun player sitting on a $468 stack and the cut-off who has $290 both limp. You raise to $35. The under-the-gun player calls and the cut-off folds.

The flop is J?-J?-6? and the under-the- gun player leads for $45 into the $85 pot and you elect to call, making the pot $175. The turn brings a 7? and the under-the-gun player bets $90 into $175. You raise to $250. The under-the-gun player calls, then open-shoves for $138 on the 6? river. Do you have to call here?

PRE-FLOP

The $35 bet from the button is absolutely fine. If you think about it logically, there is $21 in the middle and $30 is the minimum I would bet. Your hand could be any pair, any Ace or you could be making a squeeze play with any two cards. It’s a good-sized bet without betraying the strength of your hand.

FLOP

That’s a safe flop. It wouldn’t bother me in the least. I’m going to raise my opponent here. I’m not going to flat-call. I want to let him know that if he wants to pretend to have a Jack he is going to have to stick his money in and I’m not going to let him see another card for $45. He might be holding a pair of eights and hit another 8 on the turn and I am going to do my money. If I raise and he shoves I’m calling every time.

You have to take into account that you raised pre-flop and he decided to call, and there are not many hands with a Jack in them he would have called with. If he’s called with 10-J then good luck to him, but if you continually play thinking the guy has a Jack in a situation like this you’re finished. You have to grow some cojones to play this game.

TURN

When the 7? comes and he bets into you again he is just testing you. He can only make this play with A-J, J-J or 6-6 and all other hands you beat. I would be all-in by now, so we would already know. Here he calls, leaving himself $138, which is absolutely ridiculous. It’s of no consequence whether he shoves on the turn or river. He could tell me he has a Jack and I’m still calling an all-in on the river with the pot this size.

RIVER

You’re obviously calling the river here. But the mistakes were made back on the flop. One thing I teach players in the Bad Beat Trader programme is a thing called CPS – control, position and starting hands. That is the order in which poker is played. Everyone thinks starting hands are the first thing, but the whole point of poker is to have control of the hand. Control is not limping, it’s not flat-calling.

SCENARIO THREE

You’re playing in a $55 no-limit hold’em freezeout online and it’s the first level with blinds at 20/40. Everyone has roughly their starting stacks of 3,000 chips. You are in the big blind with Q?-Q?. An under-the-gun player, two mid-position players and the cut-off all limp, so you raise to 220. The two mid-position players and the cut-off call.

You check the 4?-3?-2? flop and the first mid-position player bets 600. The second mid-position player folds and the cut-off calls. You elect to call. On the 8? it’s checked round. On the 9? river you lead for 1,200. The mid-position player calls and the cut-off shoves. Now what?

PRE-FLOP

You’ve got 180 in the middle by the time the action gets to you so a raise to 220 is fine. If your opponents have to put in another 180 to call that is enough. There is no need to put in more. You want to entice a call, but you want to entice the minimum number of calls. You don’t want to just pick up the dead money.

FLOP

The check on the flop is bad. If everyone else checks you could be in a lot of trouble. You have raised from that position pre-flop and they have called, so wanting to check makes no sense. You are gambling that someone else is going to bet. Luckily someone does, and once the cut-off calls I am definitely not calling here. No chance. They can have all my money now – I’m all-in and good luck to them.

If I move all-in they can’t call with any pair other than Kings or Aces, and if they have either of those hands I’m doing my money on a blank turn regardless. What I don’t want to do is give someone with an Ace the chance to see another cheap card.

TURN AND RIVER

You’re just waiting to get beaten playing like this on the turn. You’ve shown weakness all the way through this hand, so when you lead for 1,200 on the river the first player may think his tens are good. He probably has a pair higher than fours based on his bet on the flop. If the guy in the cut-off has hit two pair on the river then losing that pot is the best thing that could happen to you because unless you are an idiot you have learned a valuable lesson in how not to play a hand.

So yeah, what the hell – I’m thinking I deserve to lose this pot so I’m all-in. Let’s spread a bit of happiness. Plus as a sick gambler I need a bit of adrenaline and at least I will get a bit of a rush putting all my chips in. It’s a cheap way of learning for $55 something that should have cost me thousands – that I’m an idiot and I need to improve.