hi guys

I've still not managed to get a hand converter to work properly with willhill poker, but this is more of a general question about pocket pairs. Should hands like 77-99 be raised and how should they be played after the flop if you manage to have a hidden top pair?

I'd love to hear any opinions. I tend to play the small pairs cheap and hope to flop a set, while being prepared to dump them soon after. I still very much consider myself as learning, so would like to know if I'm making terrible mistakes

I'm prepared to be flamed for being a donk.. have mercy on me


Example:

Micro limits table, £0.03 and £0.06
Stack sizes were all about £3.00 - £5.00 (6 people playing)
No strong reads yet
I had 9c9d on the button

Nobody raised, 4 of us saw the flop, so £0.24 pot
Flop: 6d 2c 8c

They all bet the minimum £0.06 and I, perhaps stupidly, pushed all-in. Nobody called and I picked up about 8x bb.

My logic at the time was that I wanted someone to have top pair, or have a flush/straight draw. So many people seem to call with this type of hand (on micro limit tables anyway) especially people fishing for flushes. In the time I had to decide I thought anyone with 2 overcards could call a pot size bet and then I would be left doubting myself if one of those overcards came down on the turn, or the same problem if one of the cards helping a straight or flush came up. So I shoved and made them either fold or pay bad odds to see the cards.

My take on this :
1) It's ok you did not raise from the button. But I suggest you raise more often than you limp in that position. Limping is ok to mix up your play, but 99 is a vulnerable hand. Letting a free flop from the blinds can put you in a lot of trouble cuz you really don't know where you at and can get busted by a weird 2 pair. So I suggest as a general guideline, raise 80% of time, limp 20% of time in that position. Of course, it all changes depending on your opponent, chip stacks, etc, but as a general guideline, that's how I would play it. I'd bump it up to 24¢ here.

2) I would not push all in on that flop. Ok, people are dumb more often than not, but by going all in, you risk 5,00$ to win 25¢. If somebody calls you, he probably has at least a flush draw or str8 draw, with an overcard or 2 overcards (11-15 outs), which then becomes kind of a coin flip for the rest of the hand. If he calls you with top pair, good for you. But all in all, you can get the same results with a good bet here. Because it's micro stakes, I'd over bet it. Bet 50¢ on the flop. So here, probably most would of folded. If you get a call, at least, now you can put people on hands and start a more deeper thinking process. If get raised all in, you have a decsion to make. By making a good bet, you don't risk too much if your hand is beat. You lost 50¢ instead of 5,00$ and you can fold. But the important thing is, you did not rist 5,00$ to win 25¢. You risked 50¢ to win 25¢. A better bet should bet pot size 25¢, but I repeat, microstakes = people don't understand anything about pot odds and so... Overbetting is a more scarier bet and is a better play IMO. Again, that's my personnal take here.

3) Quote : " I thought anyone with 2 overcards could call a pot size bet and then I would be left doubting myself if one of those overcards came down on the turn, or the same problem if one of the cards helping a straight or flush came up. So I shoved and made them either fold or pay bad odds to see the cards."

That's why twice the pot bet should shut down hands like QJ, A10, K9, etc... But doubting yourself because you don't know how to play the rest of the streets is a very big weakness. You will be faced with though decisions, and sometimes you will make mistakes, just like everybody else here does from time to time, but the more experience you gain, you should make less mistakes. Just listen to yourself
"I bet all in because I doubt myself". That's fear right... ? You have to overcome it if you want to get better. We've all been there.

That'S all

I think rather than fearing those potential cards, I bet all-in because I was pretty confident of being ahead at the time, maybe I didn't work out the outs properly for the drawing hands though.. didnt have a lot of time lol so doubting my cards would hold up after a scare card rather than doubting myself I should have said

I saw the bet as claiming the £0.42 in the pot and giving people a chance to hang themselves for their stack. I wasn't too worried about the 2nd and 3rd guys who just called the min-bet after the flop, if either of those had raised or all had checked I would have bet much less. I see what you mean about raising 2x the pot though, that would have got rid of the weaker hands, but being micro stakes people fish a lot so decided to try and win big while ahead. I can see how raising PF would have helped a bit, as the crappy hands would have dropped out, ruling out some dangers.

Assuming I had raised PF with 99 should I be thinking about folding to bets/raises on the turn when there are 1 or 2 overcards on the board? like a J and K for example. I would normally stick in another bet if OOP to represent the K and try to take the pot, but fold to a reraise. Or start to think I'm beat if I get called and the turn doesnt help. I suppose it's when you raise PF and hit a set that you normally hit jackpot.

As I said, still learning, so any advice is appreciated