Mid Stakes Shorthanded NL Poker Forums

This is a spot that comes up often enough that I think it could use some discussion. I've altered the hand slightly, but that shouldnt be a big deal

Poker Stars $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 889335
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $522.30
MP: $216.35
CO: $638.00
BTN: $466.85
SB: $402.00
Hero (BB): $740.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BB with Q T
2 folds, CO raises to $12, 1 fold, SB calls $10, Hero calls $8

Flop: ($36.00) 6 Q 9 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets $24, SB calls $24, [color=red]Hero


w a hand that is a bit stronger, like AQ and maybe KQ it seems like this is a spot where we should just be raising for value, but in this spot, where we aren't really getting called by worse, aside from draws, does anyone like a raise?

flatting here makes the hand pretty hard to play, we basically c/f whenever a bad turn hits, which will be fairly often (any flush card and some straight cards). at the same time, we probably cant raise and get it in vs someones flop 3 betting range

what do we think is the worst hand we can raise for value in this spot?

I realize it depends on villains, their opening ranges, SB flatting ranges etc..... but I'm looking to get a bit of discussing going

Think the answer is almost always Q9. You have to give the cbet of CO credit here on this board texture multiway, and he should give your flop raise credit for the same reasons.

Well, it's not like c/c and c/r are your only options. This is a good spot to have a donking range. I would be leading sets, big draws, but also gut shots like KT and KJ in this spot.

CO won't be cbetting wide on this flop which is bad for us when a big part of our range relies on fold equity to win the pot. We can combat this by leading out.

It puts CO in a difficult spot with SB left behind him to act which restricts his ability to make moves on us. He won't even want to raise all his draws. If CO just flats we will be able to take control of the hand and make life very hard on him on later streets, bc we also have strong hands in our flop leading range. Getting the pot heads up with SB puts us in a comfortable position as well.