I've been really studying the game for a few weeks now after Sklansky's Small Stakes Hold 'Em won me a few hundred dollars playing $2-$4 in a B&M. I'm trying to get the online thing going and have found that even on $2-$4 online people generally play a lot tighter, so I've had to adjust my strategy. My first PT analysis was that I'm LPA, but I've since dropped down to about 20% VP$IP and I'm still working on becoming more aggressive pre-flop. Anyway, I want to know what you all think of this hand I recently played.

8-handed, $2-$4.

My read on the SB is that he's semi-loose and semi-aggressive. The button is a calling station.

Everyone folds to the button who calls, the SB raises, I reraise in the BB with [Qs], button and SB call. $18 in the pot.

Flop comes [Ad][6s]. SB bets, I call, dealer calls. $24 in the pot.

Turn comes . SB bets, I call, dealer calls. $36 in the pot.

River comes . SB checks, I bet, dealer folds, SB calls.

I win $44 (minus rake). Dealer had [Jc].

I realize that I played this atrociously, and in my defense I was halfway distracted. I think my worst mistake is that I should have folded on the flop, but of course I had a backdoor flush draw and I didn't put either of the other players on an A. I wasn't sure about a raise on the turn with the flush draws out there, cause anyone on a draw certainly would have stayed. If the SB had bet on the river, I would have raised, of course.

After the hand the SB started bitching at me about continuing with my pocket queens with an ace on the board, but I think perhaps the worst play in the entire hand was his preflop raise in the SB with AJo. Was he right to play it like this?

BTW, this is the only session I've played with the guy and I'd played maybe 15% of my hands while he was there, so there's no way he could have read me as loose.

I don't mind your flop call that much because of the implied odds. If you didn't hit the Q on the turn you would have to give up though. The only really bad move was not raising the Turn. If Button was on the draw he is still probalby getting good enough odds at 36/8 to call for 2 bets so you lose money there, but even if he doesn't call you knock out a flush draw and still make the same amount when the SB calls the raise. SB is not giving up top pair on river either.

Implied odds are not even close to making up for the million times you miss that two outter. That said I'm not sure I'd fold, but it would be more along the lines of me thinking "I have the best hand" than it would be me thinking "I have great implied odds". I would raise AJo from the SB if everyone folded to the button and they limped every day of the week. Knocking out the BB's random hand there and taking the lead in the hand is VERY +EV.

Fold the flop, but if you call and hit your miracle, pop the turn.

Thanks for the discussion. After glancing over Sklansky's Hold Em for Advanced Players, I found a hand quiz in the back that seems to suggest that my call on the flop, considering the read I had on the guy, was partially correct. The specific quiz is for having QQ and the flop comes AT5 or AT4 with the backdoor flush draw, and the guy bets into you. It says that if you feel the flop bettor is just as likely to have a T as an A, it's worth calling. That said, it doesn't mention the presence of another player involved in the hand (a minus in my situation), or the fact that the pot was already 9 SB on the flop (a plus in my situation). I do think, though, that in a similar situation in the future I would fold on the flop. And, of course, I acknowledge that raising the turn is the best and safest decision here. Calling is a bit more risky and in the best case you can only extract one more BB (three if the calling station is really stupid) if you're bet into on the river.

About raising AJo in the SB, I now see the merits of it.

Thanks again!