Could i Have played cuter and not so sute?

Hey there guys, joosebuck and Jack Daniels in particular, could i have played these hands better? by that i mean

With hand 1, could i have warranted a bit more "cute" play, or is the flop, just too darn scary, i mean QJ or 67 capped is not an option is it? 1010 most definantly is, 88 or 99 are questionable arnt they?
I suppose my true question is, could i have gotten more money? (when answering forget the result, imagine your in this hand and what would you do on the given streets)
***** Hand History for Game 14992287 *****
2/4 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Wed Dec 27 05:51:53 EST 2006
Table Card Room Table 235 (real money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Dmoneycali ($108.50)
Seat 2: amiralnahr ($53)
Seat 3: billybob11 ($130.65)
Seat 4: Husler ($56.50)
Seat 6: itscoreyb ($126.25)
Seat 8: J Davies ($143.25)
Husler posts small blind (1)
itscoreyb posts big blind (2)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to J Davies A♥A♠
J Davies raises (4) to 4
Dmoneycali calls (4)
amiralnahr raises (6) to 6
billybob11 folds.
Husler folds.
itscoreyb folds.
J Davies raises (4) to 8
Dmoneycali calls (4)
amiralnahr calls (2)
** Dealing Flop ** : 10♠9♥8♦
J Davies bets (2)
Dmoneycali folds.
amiralnahr calls (2)
** Dealing Turn ** : K♠
J Davies bets (4)
amiralnahr calls (4)
** Dealing River ** : 10♦
J Davies bets (4)
amiralnahr calls (4)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $44.75 | Rake: $2.25
Board: 10♠9♥8♦K♠10♦
Dmoneycali balance $100.50, lost $8 (folded)
amiralnahr balance $35, lost $18
billybob11 balance $130.65, didn't bet (folded)
Husler balance $55.50, lost $1 (folded)
itscoreyb balance $124.25, lost $2 (folded)
J Davies balance $170, bet $18, collected $44.75, net +$26.75 A♥A♠ [ two pair, aces and tens ]

And in a reversal, did i play this hand to "cute", should i have tried to shut this hand down on the flop? (again, when answering forget the result, imagine your in this hand and what would you do on the given streets)

***** Hand History for Game 14992774 *****
2/4 TexasHTGameTable (Limit) - Wed Dec 27 06:07:23 EST 2006
Table Card Room Table 235 (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: Dmoneycali ($85.25)
Seat 2: amiralnahr ($39.75)
Seat 3: billybob11 ($179.40)
Seat 4: Husler ($13.75)
Seat 6: itscoreyb ($123)
Seat 8: J Davies ($165)
billybob11 posts small blind (1)
Husler posts big blind (2)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to J Davies K♦K♥
itscoreyb folds.
J Davies raises (4) to 4
Dmoneycali folds.
amiralnahr calls (4)
billybob11 calls (3)
Husler calls (2)
** Dealing Flop ** : 6♦A♦K♣
billybob11 bets (2)
Husler folds.
J Davies calls (2)
amiralnahr calls (2)
** Dealing Turn ** : 4♠
billybob11 bets (4)
J Davies raises (8) to 8
amiralnahr calls (8)
billybob11 folds.
** Dealing River ** : 7♦
J Davies checks.
amiralnahr bets (4)
J Davies calls (4)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $47.50 | Rake: $2.50
Board: 6♦A♦K♣4♠7♦
Dmoneycali balance $85.25, didn't bet (folded)
amiralnahr balance $21.75, lost $18 A♠6♠ [ two pair, aces and sixes ]
billybob11 balance $169.40, lost $10 (folded)
Husler balance $9.75, lost $4 (folded)
itscoreyb balance $123, didn't bet (folded)
J Davies balance $194.50, bet $18, collected $47.50, net +$29.50
K♦K♥ [ three of a kind, kings ]

jasondavies said:

Hey there guys, joosebuck and Jack Daniels (How did I get so lucky?) in particular, could i have played these hands better?

I suppose my true question is, could i have gotten more money?

And in a reversal, did i play this hand to "cute", should i have tried to shut this hand down on the flop?

Click to expand...

Well, I should mention that I don't play as much LHE as others at this forum. But since you asked, here is my take on it.

Did you have any reads on these guys? Obviously that would help. So I tried to reply while only reading one street at a time. Next time just cut off the later streets and post them later on. It makes it easier to ignore results (and not be results oriented) if I can't see them to begin with.

Hand 1: Looks fine to me. That's how I would have played it. Cap PF. Flop is too scary to be cute here. Lead out on flop is correct here as it isn't completely unreasonable that one of your opponents is holding a Q or a J, maybe it is QQ or JJ, and is on a draw. QJ isn't so likely since PF action was capped. A set is possible too, I suppose, though PF action leads me to think larger cards like AK, KK, QQ, even JJ would be more likely. K on the turn isn't so bad for you, I don't think (unless villian is on KK, then not so good ). You have to lead the turn here. Even if the K helped him, odds are it only paired him and action thus far suggests high cards. He only calls the turn bet. I have to discount made hands in my mind at this point. pot odds are dictating his calls now. If he had a strong or made hand, raising you on the turn is the better play, I think. He should see that you (obviously?) have a strong hand and that you would likely call a turn raise. Therefore he's leaving money on the table. The 10 on the river isn't the worst card that could have hit. AT isn't so likely at this point I don't think. I think you most likely have the best hand here and need to value bet. He's going to at least call at this point as he loves his hand. I think checking would be weak here as the draws are busted and the hands that beat you are fewer and aren't as likely as the ones that don't. And poof, we win the pot. Too bad it doesn't show what he had. I'm guessing he had AK, maybe QQ/JJ. What else does he call that river bet with? A four card straight hoping you're bluffing?

And no, you couldn't have gotten any more money on this hand. You raised every chance you had and led out on every street. I don't see you opponent taking the lead betting to allow a check raise based on the strength you've shown and his propensity to just call, he likely would have checked behind you (okay this was a little results oriented - but I don't have any reads to work from).

Hand 2: PF is fine. Excellent, hit our set. But with two diamonds on the flop, I would have raised here. Online player are notorious for playing suited cards. If the flop was rainbow, I'd be more inclined to flat call. Also as you had three flat callers PF, holdings of Ax, Kbig, or any pair are reasonable. Raising on the flop is to drive out extra tag-a-longs. You want to play KK against fewer players. Turn and river are fine based on where we are at in the hand now. The four isn't too scary for that board, so raise is right. Diamond on the river is scarier, but I think you have to call here. He could have a flush now (which a flop raise might have dealt with), but action in the hand doesn't read like a flush to me. Either way, calling here is correct based on odds (and considering the likelihood you still have the best hand). I think raising would be incorrect.

Well, that's my take on it. Like I said, I don't play quite as much LHE as I do NLHE, so I'd be interested to hear some opinions from folks like FP that do play LHE more exclusively. Oh, and I did try to not be results oriented.