[dad604]

This the second hand from the same cruise and I feel that I didn't play this right from the flop on.

I was UTG+2 on this hand.

2 folds to me and I have 88
limp or raise ????

[jojobinks]

sorry...stacks?

if you're deepish then limping or raising is fine. if deep it'll help you get the monies in when you flop the set. if you're short you should limp, as getting allin'll be easy enough if you flop it good.

[Poboy]

A little more detail would be nice. How many opponents? Stack sizes?

[dad604]

Full table of ten and eveyone has close to $200 in a 1/2 NL on the cruise ship NCL Star. I just won the 1st hand with JT. This is the second hand. No read on players yet except for the SB who chases my 1st hand with A6o.

How I got to UTG+2 on 2nd hand is because they deal new players in without having to post.

[jojobinks]

Originally Posted by dad604

Full table of ten and eveyone has close to $200 in a 1/2 NL on the cruise ship NCL Star. I just won the 1st hand with JT. This is the second hand. No read on players yet except for the SB who chases my 1st hand with A6o.

How I got to UTG+2 on 2nd hand is because they deal new players in without having to post.

issue #1: forget about how he chased you down with A6 in hand 1. this hand should not cost you any money unless you flop a set. if the flop comes 962 you need to swallow hard and check/fold. you'll be happy you did.

now raise (or not). make the monies with a set or move on. for me this is an either or and it won't make much difference either way. if they're really passive you should raise b/c they're not likely to reraise. if the game is a little more agro then you should try to just limp and hopefully call a small raise.

[TheMightyJim2k]

Originally Posted by jojobinks

issue #1: forget about how he chased you down with A6 in hand 1. this hand should not cost you any money unless you flop a set. if the flop comes 962 you need to swallow hard and check/fold. you'll be happy you did.

now raise (or not). make the monies with a set or move on. for me this is an either or and it won't make much difference either way. if they're really passive you should raise b/c they're not likely to reraise. if the game is a little more agro then you should try to just limp and hopefully call a small raise.

yep. in this kind of game I'm apt to raise small to $5 or something because I want to encourage a bunch of callers and build a big pot. Not because I plan on winning the hand a lot, but because I want the pot to get big for the times that I do flop a set. It is much harder for them to fold TP or their mid pair and gutshot when the pot looks so big and they could win it all. You can tie bad players to the hand by building a big multiway pot that you have no plans on moving on postflop unless you flop the joint.

[dad604]

Anyway, I make it $7, player 2 seat after tries to under raise, dealer make him put in $14 (dealer mistake again, should have been $12.)
Everyone folds to me.

I call and it is HU
flop was 976 rainbow giving me str draw to go along with my pocket 8's.

Check or bet???

[xtwalker]

Originally Posted by dad604

Anyway, I make it $7, player 2 seat after tries to under raise, dealer make him put in $14 (dealer mistake again, should have been $12.)
Everyone folds to me.

I call and it is HU
flop was 976 rainbow giving me str draw to go along with my pocket 8's.

Check or bet???

I throw out about a $15 bet right there if I read the other player as having a really strong hand. I take it as a cheap way to find out. If he min-raises, which way to many low NL players do way too often, I call based on odds of hitting the straight, and the implied ods of being paid off for it. Then I pray I don't hit the set.

I probably bet $25-30 if I think he has AK/AQ/AJ/KQ and is over-aggressive.

Key here to me is I will *almost* always throw out a continuation bet. Size does matter here based on what you think he is doing.

[shadesofgrey]

I like the up/down straight outs backed up by 88..

$15 or so feels right here. if you think the player completly missed the flop you could bet more, but 88 can be pretty dangerous IMHO. though not that dangerous given the flop in this case.

[jojobinks]

Originally Posted by xtwalker

Key here to me is I will *almost* always throw out a continuation bet. Size does matter here based on what you think he is doing.

yeah, but you don't have the lead. he reraised you preflop.