Worth the risk?

Silverdall

Should I have taken the risk here, think on reflection I was too cautious:

Player	Action	Cards	Amount	Pot	Balance
gassman50	Small blind		800.00	800.00	59543.33
pocket	Big blind		1600.00	2400.00	17675.00
	Your hole cards	9 K
Mys1ic	Fold
Silverdall	Call		1600.00	4000.00	45301.00
WIGSTER	Fold
gassman50	Call		800.00	4800.00	58743.33
pocket	Check
Flop
		6 6 K
gassman50	Check
pocket	Check
Silverdall	Bet		4800.00	9600.00	40501.00
gassman50	Raise		9600.00	19200.00	49143.33
pocket	Fold
Silverdall	Call		4800.00	24000.00	35701.00
Turn
		J
gassman50	All-in		49143.33	73143.33	0.00
Silverdall	Fold
gassman50	Muck
gassman50	Win		24000.00		24000.00
gassman50	Return		49143.33	0.00	73143.33

gpc70

sb may call any2 if u limp in if u wanna play k9 of raise it and sb probably fold his 6/7 5/6 suited or any other junk he may limp in with. if he 3 bets pre its an insta fold

hhyftrftdr

Where to start.....

Don't limp in.
K9o in the cutoff is fine to raise (just a min raise is fine), though if you had a couple of shoving stacks behind then a fold is also fine. Depends how the table is playing and the tendencies of the players in the blinds as to whether raise or just folding might be the best line.

Why are you then betting pot on a K66 rainbow flop? Because you've limped in you have no idea on the ranges of the hands in the blinds. As it turns out you've hit this flop reasonably well, but betting pot achieves absolutely nothing; you'll get action from better hands and thus bloat the pot when you have no idea where you're at in the hand, and if you're wanting folds then you don't need to risk a pot sized bet to achieve that. Half pot or less would be fine here. Probably a good argument for just checking back too, as you're unlikely to get 3 streets of value from worse hands and there are no scary turn cards.

These types of board textures mean you're either way ahead or way behind, but because you've limped in you really have no idea.

The SB then clicks your pot C-bet. Somewhat villain dependent but in a vacuum this is now the time to let go of the hand. He's only made up the small blind so he can have absolutely anything, but it would be a weird spot to take off with an airball (still an unknown hand to act behind). Save for a king on the turn, you have nowhere to go with the hand and the pot is getting big (only started with 30bb anyway) so you're probably playing for stacks on a later street.

At least you folded the turn

It's very easy to identify the main issue in this hand, and it's pre flop.
Unless you have specific reasons or reads on a player, just don't limp in.
The hand, and basically every hand, is much easier to play if you start the betting with a raise.

Good luck.

Silverdall

Thanks @hhyftrftdr great post.

I am still learning and obviously made a mistake with when to go in with the bigger gun.

I didn't realise that K9 was strong enough to bet stronger than call. I just thought it had potential but not worth wasting more chips on speculation. I take your point entirely though.

I find the trouble is, if you go in too aggressive with reasonably good hands then you end up gradually losing a lot of chips if someone else calls and the flop or river goes against you.

I thought betting pot on the flop would tell everyone else that I had at least K and unless they had K or aces they would fold.

I still have a lot to learn but think I am getting there gradually.

hhyftrftdr

Asking questions and posting hands is always going to be a useful tool as you develop your game. There are some great poker minds on here who often give their thoughts and their knowledge is invaluable as you learn the ropes. When people like Bates and Groggy talk, it's wise to listen.

As a starting point and general rule of thumb, don't limp in.

Once you've mastered that (there are odd occasions when it's fine but keep it simple for now) then you'll be well on your way.

There are many people on this site who have played thousands of games and still limp in, so knocking it on the head early doors will really help your game.

Danyo0

yeah I second @hhyftrftdr , I used to ask questions when first starting out. Helps alot with the insight. I encourage you to post spots you were unsure of even if u win, alot of great people on here. I am nothing special yet but I am growing and cant thank enough people on here. Daniel.

suneel7

BB could have any 2 here, safe to say when you get raised on the flop and barrel big on the turn, there's not much you're beating so GF imo.

Pre flop I think a raise to steal is slighly better than a complete. I wouldnt even mind a fold with that specific hand pre as you get alot of people limping in with KJ, K10s type hands.