Playing 6-12 today live game on the strip - same villian in both hands - fairly loose and mildly tricky, but certainly not an overall winning player. Kinda a prick too, so that may have colored my thinking!
I am generally very very aggressive and am starting to question if I am being too aggressive at times, especially against passive players (although that is a bit of a side note as I would not call villian passive).

1st one I think is simple but I was criticized by a good player after the hand so made me think twice, honestly I'm not sure why I'm even posting it but wanted to see if maybe I am missing something?

Hand 1: Dealt to me: in MP
All fold to me, I raise, villian on button cold calls, BB calls.
Flop:
I bet, villian raise, I reraise, and then keep raising until it is capped (1 bet and 4 raises). BB folded after villian raise.
Turn:
I bet, villian calls
River:
my action?

Hand 2: Dealt to me: in MP
Two limpers, I call, CO calls, SB (villian calls), BB checks
Flop:
SB (villian) leads out, BB calls, 2 limpers call, I call, CO folds. (should I have free card raised here? - I didn't because I wanted the weak CO player in the hand)
Turn:
SB leads out, everybody else folds, Hero ????
If I raise, do I bet the river unimproved if he checks? Or do I just call on the turn here?

lets look at the difference between those 2 hands.

Hand 1 - I want villain to have betting control going into the turn so I can check-raise, or simply check call if a 9 or ten comes. So, I'm not capping, I'm letting him put the last bet in. The only hand I can think he is playing here that beats you is 9Ts. Since he only called the turn I'm not putting him on a set.

Hand 2 you have to raise. Not only the free card possibility but because you have at least 4 opponents, possibly 5. you are not a 4 to 1 dog to make your hand. I don't like the flop call, way too passive

You played these 2 hands so differently that i would start to worry if you are too predictable. I know you play against mostly retards. But, even retards start to see the difference in how you play draws and made hands.

1) I keep firing. I really can't put him on anything that beats aces. His reluctance to raise the expensive street tells me his hand is vulnerable, and he's not so confident in it anymore. To me that rules out a set, KT is the only thing I see him playing here (maybe). But the chances of this board matching anyting in his hand the way he played it are slim, so I fire again. EDIT: (Steve may be right with 9Ts, but I doubt it. I still play it hard and fast)


2) He's got something. You said he's fairly smart, so I assume thats smart enough to not bluff a family pot from EP. I think a call is warranted. I like the call on the the flop, your FD is so weak that you may just end up giving somebody else the freecard. I try to see the turn/river cheap here. The turn added a few outs, and this guy would pay you off big time if the 7 or 2 hits, probably not as much if you catch the flush. If you miss, I think he will still bet the river, since the board is not scary, and you can't bluff him out, his hand and pot odds will warrant a call.

Board: Ks Qs 4d 3c
Dead:

equity (%) win (%) tie (%)
Hand 1: 34.0909 % 34.09% 00.00% { 6s5s }
Hand 2: 65.9091 % 65.91% 00.00% { KQs, KQo }

Hmmm.... The pot odds definately give you the right price to call the turn, but if you think theres a possibility (I really don't) that raising here will give you enough fold equity on the river.......

Not much to add after Steve-O and Marm's posts.

Hand 1 - You've been very aggressive and I assume tightish. Villian should know this so coldcalling your pf raise I would expect he's going to have something better than A-T, K-T (or he's a lot looser than I read). The way he capped the flop with you and then only called the turn I'm guessing he could have JJ.

Hand 2 - I think I would have raised the flop in hopes of getting a free card at 1 sm bet. On the turn you now have 15 outs and everyone folded to the SB so your flush draw is looking better and the str8 looks like the nuts if you catch it. I'd be tempted to put in a value raise here! If SB only calls he's only betting one pair and that most likely being the Q making a bluff on the river possible having set it up with a raise on the turn.

Originally Posted by Steve-O

You played these 2 hands so differently that i would start to worry if you are too predictable. I know you play against mostly retards. But, even retards start to see the difference in how you play draws and made hands.

This is my concern. Although most people at a 6-12 table would not expect anyone to raise a 6 high hand (which is what I did in the second hand), so it is not so much that I play draws and made hands differently, it is that I am very aggressive and while most players just try to stay away from me there are always on or two that go after me purposely.
I don't necessarily mind that, since they will spew chips doing it, but my aggressiveness opens me up to alot of checkraises since I bet alot.

At this same table I had A5s, limped after a few on the button, Flop 7 2 5 rainbow, everyone checked, I bet the flop, SB and BB called.
Turn: 3
SB and BB checks, I checked.
River: A
SB and BB checks, I bet, SB raises, BB cold calls, I made a good read and folded my two pair and SB flips over 46o for the turned straight.

So SB checked to me on the turn and then again on the river, and I feel like it is because he knew I would bet it, although it still takes balls to check that twice and not sure it was the best play for him. In other words, my aggressiveness picks me up alot of pots and alot of value bets, but I sometimes feel people are "gunning" for me. I try to stay real congenial and friendly at the table but it still doesn't work sometimes.

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Hand 1 - I want villain to have betting control going into the turn so I can check-raise, or simply check call if a 9 or ten comes. So, I'm not capping, I'm letting him put the last bet in. The only hand I can think he is playing here that beats you is 9Ts. Since he only called the turn I'm not putting him on a set.

I had been raising alot preflop and not having to show alot of hands so I felt as the flop got capped that his hand range was:
other two aces
KK
QQ
JJ
1010
99
A10 / maybe K10
But my real "read" was KK or QQ about 80%.

My feeling from having played with him (I had won several pots off him) was that he was steaming a bit, that he didn't feel I had much of a hand, and was trying to "trap" me with an overpair. I was 90% sure he had QQ, KK, or the other two AA. I was happy he capped the flop with me as I felt he would have trapped me on the turn with 1010 or 99.

Originally Posted by growlers

But my real "read" was KK or QQ about 80%.

I was 90% sure he had QQ, KK, or the other two AA. I was happy he capped the flop with me as I felt he would have trapped me on the turn with 1010 or 99.

I also figure he had an overpair but he coldcalled pf - I would expect a re-raise from QQ/KK. This guy doesn't strike me as a mouse after capping the flop! I also discount the sets for the same reason you do so JJ makes the most sense to me.

So this means you cap flop, bet out turn, bet out river in hand 1?

Originally Posted by growlers

So this means you cap flop, bet out turn, bet out river in hand 1?

When I played Limit I would often raise the flop but would seldom cap it. I usually tried to close the hand on the turn with the big bets. In this hand as long as I figured JJ or QQ were his likely holdings, I continue to lead out (and hope to get raised) although I might occationally use the ck-r tactic Steve-O advised if I had a read on my opps and was pretty sure he would bet on the turn.

Again I usually prefered to close on the turn so a ck-raise was a pretty powerful way of doing that and capping likely as long as I figured I was ahead (which usually takes more than 1 pair!). If it goes to the river and I had the last raise on the turn I would likely lead out if first or checked into but would only call a re-raise. I'd have to have more than 1 pair and pretty close to the nuts to cap the river.