How to lose your stack!

Local 1-2 no limit game, 7 players.

I'm on the button and get pocket queens, 4 chairs fold and I raise to 6 dollars.
Little blind folds and the big blind calls, flop comes (Q, 5, 2). He checks and I check.
Turn brings another 2, (Q, 5, 2, 2) and he bets the pot, I call.
River turn a 9 (Q, 5, 2, 2, 9), he pushes all in and I called. I got felted! Gotta love it when a trap gets turned on ya.

God I hate pocket Queens! My brother and I were just taking about them last week, only 2 ways to play them and they're both wrong. I'm about ready to just fold them on sight.

So what did he have? pocket 2's, pocket 5's, 5-2, flush draw?

Also, if he checked after the flop and you had trip queens, why did you check behind him?

Yeah that hurts. Looking back now it’s easy to say you should have bet heavy instead of following his check, but you just knew you had him dead in your sights and were trying to get more out of him. I probably would have played it the exact same as you did, and I would have lost just like you did. It’s a crazy game for sure, but I love it!

Best advise I ever got was to watch a players eyes after they see their hand. Most people will glance at their chips...or even touch them, if they have a good hand. Even if they check and try and lay a trap, they almost always look at their stack. If they are sitting with nothing they usually won’t even look that direction.

Keep playing, you’ll get him next time

Only one possible hand he could have had that would have beat me and that's exactly what he had. You don't set a trap by slamming the door shut, ya got to let them in. I might warn you though, sometimes they tear up your trap.

Ok, Im not a poker expert, just have watched it on tv a lot. Was asking because I don't know.

It's still gambling. Only had that can't be beat is a royal flush.. Five aces if you have wild cards

He had a pair of 2's, I had a pair of Q's. The flop gave him a set of 2's and me a set of Q's. The turn gave him four of a kind and me a full house. Kiss them chips goodbye.

On a hand like that the, you play the way you did. That's why it's gambling, can't always win.

You played it well, I might would have milked him for a few more chips on the flop, but that is my style.
I'll take three queens anytime

Train wreck hand. Ain’t nothing you can do but grin and bear it. Next time you’ll be on the flip side.

This is why I only play poker with friends. Small money and i always lose

You can play your hand perfectly and still get beat. Happens all the time.

You played it exactly right. Top set I would never bet on the flop after a check, unless a flush or straight draw on the board, or potentially a big pre-flop raise that you called. I'd have done it the same way....unfortunately that's the way it goes sometimes.

I love playing Hold 'em.....before kids I spent almost every Saturday at the casino when I lived in OKC.

Wait until you're holding 4 aces and get beat. Talk about painful!

Its hard to put your opponent on rag pockets especially out of the big blind. Its also hard not to get pot chasers in a 1/2 no limit game, most of the time the better player gets paid but the cards fall as they may. I remember when Winstar was just a tent and on Tuesdays if pocket aces got cracked they gave you a $100 stack. So guys would just go all in with AA and usually got a caller, we saw a lot of pocket aces get cracked.

Yep, our last neighborhood game, I had Q's over 10's, laid the trap, dude had a straight flush. I got to go home early that night.

With real money I limit myself to black jack.

Man i miss poker.... always had a lot of fun growth nag up playing poker at deer camp, uncles houses, back of the school Bus, etc etc.... wish I could find a good local game where losing your britches means spending 30-40 dollars and a few hrs of good whisky and friends.

+1 Me too. I play only in a small weekly neighborhood poker game. We all look forward to it each week. The deal rotates & it's dealer's choice ,but the selection of poker games is restricted. We do play a hand or two of Hold'em but mostly we play Hi/Lo split pot games.

Sales meeting poker was easy.

Me too. On my previous lease we played every night. Not high stakes, but fun, competitive, rules we all knew. A lot fun for about 20 years. Lease broke up, new partners aren't card players.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

No matter how you would have bet you would not have chased him out after the flop.
Even if you had bet the flop he would have called or raised and you would call still thinking you had the best hand.
Set over set and he got lucky on the turn but you both were committed.

The only chance you might have had was your table image and aggressiveness before the flop. Or his image and how you read his tells before the flop.

This is why I love the Holdem. I enjoy playing the player more than playing the cards. The players are more predictable than the cards.