Playing QQ doesn't have to be so hard as I think it is sometimes.
I've done plenty of math and written a few posts about how to play QQ preflop and on the flop.
But I neglected to discuss a different option, which is the most obvious move of all. In many situations, it's the best move:
Just 4-bet with QQ preflop and see what happens.
Many players will fold anything but AA and KK at that point. Others will call or push with AK. Some will call or push with even JJ-99 or AQ.
With a read on your opponent, re-re-raising with QQ is often the strongest and most profitable way to go, especially if you can get away from it when it's no good and call an all-in those occasions when it is.
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7 comments:
This is really a good tip.
I'd think that getting it all-in pre-flop with QQ is +EV against most opponents.
Even if your opponent will only get all-in with AA-QQ and AK, you're still looking at 40% equity. And by the time you're 4-betting all-in or calling a 4-bet all-in, there's usually enough overlay to make this correct against all but the uber-tightest players.
Am I wrong here?
Klopzi: In my experience, getting it all-in preflop with QQ is not +EV against most opponents.
Most opponents will assume your 4-bet means Aces or Kings, so they're unlikely to continue with the hand unless they have an equivalent or better hand.
I also don't find as many players as you would expect who want to get it all-in preflop with AK.
So I don't believe QQ performs well enough against most opponents' all-in preflop range. Of course, against donkeys, QQ gains a lot of value.
I don't think you have to get committed with a 4-bet preflop. For example, in a 5/10 game, let's say I raise it to $35 from the cutoff with QQ. The button reraises to $100, and then I would make the 4-bet to between $230 and $260. There's still plenty of room to fold if my opponent pushes all in at this point.
I'm not a fan of QQ. I probably lost $10K alone last year running it into KK or AA.
Bad luck or bad timing I don't know and I've played it about every way imaginable that now I treat it like TT or JJ.
Amazingly since I started laying it down more I've saved a ton of money since for some reason it still runs into monsters.
What to do if you 3-bet QQ and get 4-bet allin? Recently the last six or seven times that's happened to me, I've called for stacks and am always up against AA or KK. :(
Also, the last three times I've 4-bet QQ I've run into AA or KK. :(
Is this just variance, or classic setup poker, or do I need to adjust my expectations at NL100?
Gnome -
One thing I forgot to mention is that the better your opponents and the deeper the stacks, the less likely I'd be to push Queens pre-flop.
I tend to forget sometimes that most people play with 100 BB stacks or more. In this case, it might be best to simply see the flop and make a move then.
Also, I believe that the players at $5/$10 are much better than the players at $1/$2.
But I do agree with your points if I'm playing with a medium to big stack.
Shrike: Most of the time you have to find a way to fold unless you're against a huge donkey.
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