Thought Process on a Decision
I was playing a game on Friday night.
Knowing I was the best player at the table, I was very comfortable in my surroundings.
I was against at the best a bunch of beginners I thought I was on top of my game.
I got Qh Tc UTG+1 and decided to call and try to exploit my tight position after the flop to make up for my lack of position.
Looking back it wasn't the best of decisions but sometimes it works.
The real interesting part comes after the flop of which 4 players limped including me.
The flop came down, Td 4h 7c.
Having top pair and a fairly decent kicker in the form of a Queen should be enough.
The way the hand then went down had told me otherwise.
The small blind a fairly new player and the type of player that only bet out when he had something that resembled a hand bet the minimum, the big blind of 100 out of a stack of about 2000 maybe a little bit less.
The big blind then raised him another 4x to 500 at that point I knew that my Queen wasn't good comparing to the big blinds hand.
So I managed to fold.
Sure enough the action ensued till showdown with loads of raising and re-raising taking place.
Sure enough the big blind showed the whole table his K T after the turn and river came Ad 2c.
His play with KT there was a bit questionable but that's not the point that is being made here either.
Remember, they are beginners at the very best.
The play which I am bringing into question here is my call preflop with the QT, if I could lay a hand down that easily when the flop comes assumedly what I was looking for, a ten high flop.
Then what was I thinking calling QT in that situation.
My read was certain that he had an AT or a KT, those were the only hand which I could rationally think of him making that play with.
Maybe it was the fact that I had no information and wanted to see what happened post flop.
Even at that my play was still got me in a bit of a pickle unless my instincts were spot on.
Which thankfully they were.
This is a trap I think many of people fall victim to, Calling preflop to see a flop with questionable hands just to lay down or be outkicked.
This is a mistake which can be fatal.
There are some players who pride themselves on their post flop judgement and play this way nearly every hand.
Though the fact is most of these players who play this "Small Ball" Strategy will either; go broke very early on in the tournament; go very deep or simply just die away when they hit no flops, which believe me happens VERY often.
Really it depends on their skill level and what they can do with the little cards that are offered up to them.
This style of play though is very dangerous.
Unless you possess the level of post flop skill required to lay down big hands at key points when you are beat and know when your opponents are weak.
Otherwise tight is most probably right in these situations.
I thought I had this quality to play this way, so tried my luck for a small period of time, which I was successful for a limited amount of time and then I managed to turn myself into a losing player.
Luckily though I managed to Figure out why, I was playing a number of pots and was making the correct reads around 70% of the time.
The times that I was not making those decisions correctly were costing me which shows the difficulty of pulling off this strategy.
30% can be bankroll shattering most of the time.
What I did there is the hardest part of playing poker.
Admitting your weaknesses and leaving your ego behind.
You have got to know your own skill levels and take them into consideration in every decision you ever make at the poker table.
This could be very crucial in maintaining and increasing your bankroll.
Take it from experience.
Overestimation is never a good thing.
So, back to the question at hand, Was that preflop call the right play? No it wasn't and it never will be unless I reach a level where I know that I am comfortable with my own game and can trust in my own reads enough to make the play.
I can experiment a bit in lower buyins but only for education purposes.
I think QT is a trouble hand with that kind of flop and really no one should be getting in with that hand unless you have position and chips or want to exploit your image.
Thinking through it I was incredibly wrong and never will make that mistake again.
Thinking through the hand at all levels of play and all betting rounds are essential to playing a winning poker game.
Playing Questionable hands are almost never correct.
Knowing I was the best player at the table, I was very comfortable in my surroundings.
I was against at the best a bunch of beginners I thought I was on top of my game.
I got Qh Tc UTG+1 and decided to call and try to exploit my tight position after the flop to make up for my lack of position.
Looking back it wasn't the best of decisions but sometimes it works.
The real interesting part comes after the flop of which 4 players limped including me.
The flop came down, Td 4h 7c.
Having top pair and a fairly decent kicker in the form of a Queen should be enough.
The way the hand then went down had told me otherwise.
The small blind a fairly new player and the type of player that only bet out when he had something that resembled a hand bet the minimum, the big blind of 100 out of a stack of about 2000 maybe a little bit less.
The big blind then raised him another 4x to 500 at that point I knew that my Queen wasn't good comparing to the big blinds hand.
So I managed to fold.
Sure enough the action ensued till showdown with loads of raising and re-raising taking place.
Sure enough the big blind showed the whole table his K T after the turn and river came Ad 2c.
His play with KT there was a bit questionable but that's not the point that is being made here either.
Remember, they are beginners at the very best.
The play which I am bringing into question here is my call preflop with the QT, if I could lay a hand down that easily when the flop comes assumedly what I was looking for, a ten high flop.
Then what was I thinking calling QT in that situation.
My read was certain that he had an AT or a KT, those were the only hand which I could rationally think of him making that play with.
Maybe it was the fact that I had no information and wanted to see what happened post flop.
Even at that my play was still got me in a bit of a pickle unless my instincts were spot on.
Which thankfully they were.
This is a trap I think many of people fall victim to, Calling preflop to see a flop with questionable hands just to lay down or be outkicked.
This is a mistake which can be fatal.
There are some players who pride themselves on their post flop judgement and play this way nearly every hand.
Though the fact is most of these players who play this "Small Ball" Strategy will either; go broke very early on in the tournament; go very deep or simply just die away when they hit no flops, which believe me happens VERY often.
Really it depends on their skill level and what they can do with the little cards that are offered up to them.
This style of play though is very dangerous.
Unless you possess the level of post flop skill required to lay down big hands at key points when you are beat and know when your opponents are weak.
Otherwise tight is most probably right in these situations.
I thought I had this quality to play this way, so tried my luck for a small period of time, which I was successful for a limited amount of time and then I managed to turn myself into a losing player.
Luckily though I managed to Figure out why, I was playing a number of pots and was making the correct reads around 70% of the time.
The times that I was not making those decisions correctly were costing me which shows the difficulty of pulling off this strategy.
30% can be bankroll shattering most of the time.
What I did there is the hardest part of playing poker.
Admitting your weaknesses and leaving your ego behind.
You have got to know your own skill levels and take them into consideration in every decision you ever make at the poker table.
This could be very crucial in maintaining and increasing your bankroll.
Take it from experience.
Overestimation is never a good thing.
So, back to the question at hand, Was that preflop call the right play? No it wasn't and it never will be unless I reach a level where I know that I am comfortable with my own game and can trust in my own reads enough to make the play.
I can experiment a bit in lower buyins but only for education purposes.
I think QT is a trouble hand with that kind of flop and really no one should be getting in with that hand unless you have position and chips or want to exploit your image.
Thinking through it I was incredibly wrong and never will make that mistake again.
Thinking through the hand at all levels of play and all betting rounds are essential to playing a winning poker game.
Playing Questionable hands are almost never correct.
Source...