First Poker Post

Played a tourney the other night. Was playing "okay" I suppose. Got to the final table and blew it somehow.

I'd love some input on how I should have handled this final hand. Thanks a bunch!!!
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PokerStars Game #9373540398: Tournament #47596044, $1.00+$0.20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2007/04/11 - 20:13:12 (ET)
Table '47596044 2' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 2: Emilydog (1385 in chips)
Seat 3: Zuess420 (8195 in chips)
Seat 5: doktordulle (2210 in chips)
Seat 7: gagatorgirl (3515 in chips)
Seat 8: cattlekate54 (6225 in chips)
Seat 9: joehoodman (5470 in chips)
Emilydog: posts the ante 25
Zuess420: posts the ante 25
doktordulle: posts the ante 25
gagatorgirl: posts the ante 25
cattlekate54: posts the ante 25
joehoodman: posts the ante 25
gagatorgirl: posts small blind 100
cattlekate54: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to gagatorgirl [Jd Jh]
joehoodman: calls 200
Emilydog: folds
Zuess420: folds
doktordulle: folds
gagatorgirl: raises 800 to 1000
cattlekate54: folds
joehoodman: calls 800
*** FLOP *** [3s Qd 5d]
gagatorgirl: checks
joehoodman: bets 1000
gagatorgirl: calls 1000
*** TURN *** [3s Qd 5d] [Ad]
gagatorgirl: checks
joehoodman: checks
*** RIVER *** [3s Qd 5d Ad] [Ts]
gagatorgirl: checks
joehoodman: bets 2200
gagatorgirl: calls 1490 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
joehoodman: shows [Kh Js] (a straight, Ten to Ace)
gagatorgirl: shows [Jd Jh] (a pair of Jacks)
joehoodman collected 7330 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7330 | Rake 0
Board [3s Qd 5d Ad Ts]
Seat 2: Emilydog folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Zuess420 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: doktordulle (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: gagatorgirl (small blind) showed [Jd Jh] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 8: cattlekate54 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: joehoodman showed [Kh Js] and won (7330) with a straight, Ten to Ace
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The below is just my opinion, and i'm not an expert at all:

You're preflop raise is good - maybe a little too big though? 5x BB seems a little excessive - although, you are playing out of position.

When JoeHoodman just "calls" that indicate to me some weaker overcards - if he had QQ-AA he would of reraised you without a doubt - even a min-raise to have you pot committed - seeing as you only have 2500 chips behind.

When you make your standard continution bet - and he just calls - to me it looks like he thinks you're bluffing with overcards. I think a strong bet on the turn would of taken down the pot right there. When you check, you showed weakness.

By the river, really, i think you are beaten , but pot oddd's dictate that you need to make this call.

This is my general perception.
Andrew.

Hey, welcome to FTR!!!

When you post HH don't post the results. You want people to think through the hand like they're playing it. It's very difficult to not let the results affect one's opinion.

Also we have a nifty HH converter that makes posts easier to read: http://poker-tools.flopturnriver.com/Hand-Converter.php

Pre-flop is definitely too big. (At these stakes people are bad, so it could be a good play, but you need to know what's "standard" and why it would be good to change. When you figure that out you won't be at these stakes anymore). You're typically going to chase out hands you beat, and you're still getting called by any ace.

So, standard would be a raise to 600, if people are very loose 800 is good, if they're tight 500 may be good. As played push the rest in on the flop. If they called with a Q there's nothing you can do about it except pray for a J.

Calling on the flop is pretty bad. You have no idea where you are. Villain is going to put in the rest if you're behind, and put nothing else in the pot if you're ahead. That's a horrible situation.

FWIW, your pre-flop raise screams 99-JJ. The people you're playing with aren't that perspective, but if we were playing I would know exactly how to proceed against you.

You have to raise or fold this flop.
btw I can't quite figure out what kind of tourney this is. 24K chips in play, but you mention "final table"... 2-table SNG?
If so I fold flop most of the time. but most of the time I've only raised 3BB at that point.

nobody likes to see the Q on the flop here, but YOU need to make the decision tough for your villain here. you either fold this flop or RAISE him back. if you raise him back, you have to shove to make any noise, so i think folding is best here.

also, in regards to the pf raise...smaller raises, at final tables, make the same noise as your huge raise....in that they fold out the junk. but with your large raise the only time you get callers is when you are beat, usually (i know not the case here), and thats no situation to be in with JJ...too many overs to hit and scare you on the flop.

welcome!

This is helping out a lot! Makes sense what you all are saying.

As I play more (just started a few months ago), I feel like I'm getting worse. I have no clue why. And I am seeing that I am having a hard time getting comfortable with betting - amounts, when to check/call/raise, etc.

You should cbet the flop. Raising smaller pf would give you better pot size control and you can then make a smaller cbet. I cbet this flop and probly shutdown if villain calls, but its all dependent on reads. As played i dont really hate shoving on the flop as a stop n go because theres 2000 in the pot and you only have 2500 behind. If he has a q gg.

I dont think the pf raise was bad. There was a limper, so 5x is about right. The only problem is, you then have to get it in on this flop. There is a draw out there and only 1 overcard. The pot is big and you still have enough to fold out a whiffed Ax/Kx, which isnt really a bad thing here given the size of the pot.

As played on the flop, definitely push the turn (although this may be results oriented) as you now have the flush draw and the A may scare a weak Q, although not likely.

Originally Posted by funeduc8or

This is helping out a lot! Makes sense what you all are saying.

As I play more (just started a few months ago), I feel like I'm getting worse. I have no clue why. And I am seeing that I am having a hard time getting comfortable with betting - amounts, when to check/call/raise, etc.

you are just going through what we all go through in the beginning...and still from time to time.

when you start out, you read a book/chart, and try to employ it. you hit some beginners luck, and think you are a stud. you start to outhink yourself, and OOOPPS! now what?

you also learn that there is a lot more complexity to this game, and you start to admit to yourself that you have A LOT TO LEARN. we all do...still.

then, one day, another light bulb goes on, and you start to tear it up again. then, you learn...again...that you have a lot more to learn.

it's a vicious cycle, and it never stops. it slows down, but never stops.

just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.
--Dory the fish from Finding Nemo

Hi gagatorgirl!! I thought it was you when you posted in the commune, but I wasn't sure.

Are you gonna play in the Gauntlet and not just rail soon?

And what's your relationship to the guy Gator? Are you guys married? Living together? Something else? I'm too lazy to go see if Gator is married or not, so I'll just wait for you to tell me

I'm sorry I'm adding contentless posts to your legit poker thread

By the way, I haven't read the replies yet, but this is what you should do in this hand IMO: raise to 700 preflop, bet the flop around 800, check the turn if called.

Originally Posted by courtiebee

Are you gonna play in the Gauntlet and not just rail soon?

And what's your relationship to the guy Gator? Are you guys married? Living together? Something else? I'm too lazy to go see if Gator is married or not, so I'll just wait for you to tell me

I'm sorry I'm adding contentless posts to your legit poker thread

Hey, Court! You found me out, Babe! It's me!!!

Dont' know about playing with you big dawgs in the Gauntlet. Maybe once just for kicks and to add another player to the pot! hehehe

As for Gator, we're very close!!! He's teaching me a lot about poker as well. But don't you worry! There's plenty of me to go around, Babe! hehehe

I missed the limper, add 200 to all my pre-flop raising numbers