Should I have been more worried...?

[Mr Mardy Bum]

Here's the thing I am trying to get into cash games, I've never been overly great at them. But people keep telling me I play to much like i'm in a tournament..... So just trying to get a bit of feedback as to whether I played a few hands correctly...


Texas Hold'em NL $0.25/$0.50 2008-04-13 10:02:11

Seat 1: IhaveJungleFever ($110.85 in chips)
Seat 3: duglas ($48.75 in chips) DEALER
Seat 5: TheMardyOne ($66.20 in chips)
Seat 6: KingFlea ($17.98 in chips)
Seat 8: bibisoftpoker ($53.07 in chips)
Seat 10: HappyNose ($60.15 in chips)
TheMardyOne: Post SB $0.25
KingFlea: Post BB $0.50


  Dealt to TheMardyOne

bibisoftpoker: raises to $6

Fold to SB.... TheMardyOne Calls $6

BB Fold.

*** FLOP ***
TheMardyOne: Bet $5.50
bibisoftpoker: Call $5.50
*** TURN ***   
TheMardyOne: Bet $5.00
bibisoftpoker: Call $5.00
*** RIVER ***
TheMardyOne: Bet $5.00
bibisoftpoker: Call $5.00

bibisoftpoker showed 

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $41.35 Rake $2.15
TheMardyOne: wins $41.35

I know I won, but would you of played different? No real reads on any player not long sat down.

Should I have got more/less here?

[DaveShoelace]

He opens for $6, thats 12 big blinds. What did you think of this? Most of the time for me its a scared hand, possibly AQ-AK or small pair. I like your call, because if you reraise and he shoves you might have to fold. You can also get away if there is an ace flop. I might reraise him if I knew more about him.

On the flop you lead into him for less than half the pot and less than the preflop raise. If he has a flush draw he is going to call here. I bet about $9 here to get paid by 77+ and a flush draw. QQ or anything that beats you will reraise here. The fact he called such a small bet here screams to me he cant beat jacks. I might also check raise here since he was the original raiser.

Ten comes on the turn, potentially nothing has changed here. You actually bet less than on the flop, which makes it look like the ten scared you. If I was him with the 55 I would be repotting it right now. I would have bet 2/3rds of the pot here to punish the flush draws and small pairs, by now a ten or a overpair will make themselves known.

I would never bet that river. With no reads on the player, you will only get called by a flush, a ten or better pair/boat. I check here and pick off a bluff from a lesser hand, plus QQ+ is probably going to check behind too. If the guy is a known donkey then bet the river.

So Im betting more on the flop and turn, I make my bets relative to the size of the pot, Im checking the river.

As it goes, you did well to get so much out of 55.

[Mr Mardy Bum]

He opens for $6, thats 12 big blinds. What did you think of this? Most of the time for me its a scared hand, possibly AQ-AK or small pair. I like your call, because if you reraise and he shoves you might have to fold. You can also get away if there is an ace flop. I might reraise him if I knew more about him.

On the flop you lead into him for less than half the pot and less than the preflop raise. If he has a flush draw he is going to call here. I bet about $9 here to get paid by 77+ and a flush draw. QQ or anything that beats you will reraise here. The fact he called such a small bet here screams to me he cant beat jacks. I might also check raise here since he was the original raiser.

Ten comes on the turn, potentially nothing has changed here. You actually bet less than on the flop, which makes it look like the ten scared you. If I was him with the 55 I would be repotting it right now. I would have bet 2/3rds of the pot here to punish the flush draws and small pairs, by now a ten or a overpair will make themselves known.

I would never bet that river. With no reads on the player, you will only get called by a flush, a ten or better pair/boat. I check here and pick off a bluff from a lesser hand, plus QQ+ is probably going to check behind too. If the guy is a known donkey then bet the river.

So Im betting more on the flop and turn, I make my bets relative to the size of the pot, Im checking the river.

As it goes, you did well to get so much out of 55.

Thanks for that.   I didn't raise big just incase he is sat with a monster, then after he called the first bet my mind started hurling thoughts of AA KK QQ or TT. Hence, the never increasing bet amounts. And, I was trying to limit my loss if that was the case.  But as you said if I was a tad more aggressive, I guess I would of got my information, unless he had the balls to bluff when it's obvious I am holding something.

[DaveShoelace]

He opens for $6, thats 12 big blinds. What did you think of this? Most of the time for me its a scared hand, possibly AQ-AK or small pair. I like your call, because if you reraise and he shoves you might have to fold. You can also get away if there is an ace flop. I might reraise him if I knew more about him.

On the flop you lead into him for less than half the pot and less than the preflop raise. If he has a flush draw he is going to call here. I bet about $9 here to get paid by 77+ and a flush draw. QQ or anything that beats you will reraise here. The fact he called such a small bet here screams to me he cant beat jacks. I might also check raise here since he was the original raiser.

Ten comes on the turn, potentially nothing has changed here. You actually bet less than on the flop, which makes it look like the ten scared you. If I was him with the 55 I would be repotting it right now. I would have bet 2/3rds of the pot here to punish the flush draws and small pairs, by now a ten or a overpair will make themselves known.

I would never bet that river. With no reads on the player, you will only get called by a flush, a ten or better pair/boat. I check here and pick off a bluff from a lesser hand, plus QQ+ is probably going to check behind too. If the guy is a known donkey then bet the river.

So Im betting more on the flop and turn, I make my bets relative to the size of the pot, Im checking the river.

As it goes, you did well to get so much out of 55.

Thanks for that.   I didn't raise big just incase he is sat with a monster, then after he called the first bet my mind started hurling thoughts of AA KK QQ or TT. Hence, the never increasing bet amounts. And, I was trying to limit my loss if that was the case.  But as you said if I was a tad more aggressive, I guess I would of got my information, unless he had the balls to bluff when it's obvious I am holding something.

If you want to limit your loss then dont bet. That is how I would have played it if one over card to your JJ appeared. Against a thinking player, your decreasing bet sizes would have smelt like blood to the preverbial shark and they would have pounced on you.

Dont worry too much about QQ-AA. You'll see over time that the bigger preflop bets are usually hands like AJ or small pairs that people want over and done asap. There are so many hands he could open with for $6, any pair, KJ-KQ, AT-AK. You are crushing this range of hands.

Download pokerstove (its free) and play around with it, its a tool that shows the strength of your hand on certain flops against a range of hands, you'll see that most of the time you are a monster favourite with jacks on the flop here.

[Mr Mardy Bum]

Ok got it... Thanks again.