2nl - cr on flop - b on turn w/ 2nd pair

15 hands with the villain, so far looks like a quite decent quite aggressive TAG. I wonder if he calls with enough worse hands on flop and if I can push him off 99+ on turn.

Poker Stars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker Stars Converter Tool from Play Online Poker, Site Reviews & Poker Forum | FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

UTG+1 ($2.91)
MP1 ($1.13)
MP2 ($2.44)
MP3 ($1.12)
CO ($0.80)
Button ($3.47)
SB ($1.17)
Hero (BB) ($2.95)
UTG ($7.11)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 6
6 folds, Button bets $0.04, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.02

Flop: ($0.09) 8, Q, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $0.06, Hero raises $0.23, Button calls $0.17

Turn: ($0.55) A (2 players)
Hero bets $0.33, Button calls $0.33

River: ($1.21) K (2 players)
Hero?

You don't win $2nl by bluffing

Call pre OK given deep stacks. However we are OOP vs a tight player so I don't mind folding.
c/c flop with intention of c/f most turns. The goal is to either improve or try and see a cheap showdown. Don't raise the flop.
As played, check turn, don't open.
As played c/f river.

Sometimes it is right to play passively, more so at 2/5nl. I do that with SC's at 2nl in limped or minraised multiway pots in position.

I would prefer c/r flop, lead turn on Ah with something like 7h6h, 7h5h, 6h5h, Ac4x, 5c4c, JhTh, Jh9h or Th9h. I think this line is probably okay with 8h6h against tighter ranges, but his pre-flop range is so wide that his flop range is going to be pretty weak, so this becomes strong enough to play for a c/c. You have tons of hands that you can make good bluffs with, so you don't have to throw in semi-strong hands like 86.

The thing about 8h6h here is that it's relatively strong in terms of making pairs and relatively weak in terms of drawing power. Compare that to a hand like JhTh that doesn't have much strength in terms of pairs but that does have a lot of drawing power. Hands like 8h6h are better for fleshing out your c/c passive-type lines, and hands like JhTh are better for playing with your more aggressive lines.

Along these lines, you're also going to look to play your top pair hands in a very strong way most of the time here.

I hope that helps. Your head's in the right place here.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

The thing about 8h6h here is that it's relatively strong in terms of making pairs and relatively weak in terms of drawing poker. Compare that to a hand like JhTh that doesn't have much strength in terms of pairs but that does have a lot of drawing power.

sorry...not sure what you mean here. could you expand a bit, please?

(i think it's the word "relatively" that's throwing me)

Once again what is your thought process for the flop c/r and turn barrel. I think both are perfectly fine but I want to hear you outline good reasons to c/r the flop w/ this hand v this villain and then reasoning on why you keep firing on the turn.

Originally Posted by DoubleJ

sorry...not sure what you mean here. could you expand a bit, please?

(i think it's the word "relatively" that's throwing me)

JT is a weaker hand than 86 in terms of showdown value and a stronger hand in terms of hitting shit that gives us a better hand than Villain, so it's a better bluffing hand.

Edit: Also I typoed power as poker in that piece you quoted.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

JT is a weaker hand than 86 in terms of showdown value ...

thanks spoon

ok - the drawing potential bit i get; let me see if i understand the rest...and apologies if i'm being a bit blonde here

JT and 86 will both hit a pair on ~30% of flops

When JT hits, ~50% of the time it'll be TP, compared to 4-5% of the time for 86. OK so far?

the majority of the flops 86 pairs will be middle/weak pairs, and these can't really be bet for value, but can still win frequently at showdown, and so represent a viable Plan B if we can get there cheaply.

pls feel free to berate harshly where necessary

JT gets out-kickered by any reasonable range when both players pair the same board card.

86 has better kicker value, since K8,Q8,J8 K6,Q6,J6,T6,96 are generally not in villains ranges.

Originally Posted by DoubleJ

thanks spoon

ok - the drawing potential bit i get; let me see if i understand the rest...and apologies if i'm being a bit blonde here

JT and 86 will both hit a pair on ~30% of flops

When JT hits, ~50% of the time it'll be TP, compared to 4-5% of the time for 86. OK so far?

the majority of the flops 86 pairs will be middle/weak pairs, and these can't really be bet for value, but can still win frequently at showdown, and so represent a viable Plan B if we can get there cheaply.

pls feel free to berate harshly where necessary

I'm talking about on this flop, not pre-flop.

i'd 3bet this hand preflop before i'd call it. folding is my preference though

i definitely like betting the turn once we get there in this fashion. sizing looks fine. could probably go smaller actually to target the hands < pair of queens in his range. he will never fold a Q to one bet just because the ace fell.

I'd just like to withdraw what I said about the turn bet: I completely missed the fact that Hero picked up a flush draw OTT. Betting is fine.

Originally Posted by Lucothefish

You don't win $2nl by bluffing

bzzzt, wrong answer. Thanks for playing.

Seriously, $2nl is a great place to learn about when to fire 2 and 3 barrels since your opponents are peeling so light.

That said, this hand is a spewy mess.