Daily Debacle – Fold QQ vs. pre-flop shove?

To appreciate this post, please be sure to read my immediately prior post, about folding KK pre-flop in a live cash game.  I also posted that hand on a Two+Two forum to get some feedback (good, bad and insulting) from the broader poker community.

Two days later, I’m playing $1 / 2 NL online and dealt QQ in the cutoff seat.  We are 8-handed, and the UTG player opens with a raise to $7.

Everybody folds to me.  I’ve been playing extra tight lately, part of which includes not 3-betting open raises from UTG with less than KK.  I’ve run into UTG AA’s several times lately.  So I flat call $7, leaving $155 behind.

The small blind also calls, and then the big blind re-raises to $32.  So much for getting to see the flop cheaply!  BB stats are VPIP=11 and PFR=2 over 183 hands.  Super tight, so his raise suggests he has premium cards.  He has $204 more behind.

UTG now quickly ships all his chips in, a total of $120 including his original bet.

If there is ever a clear-cut fold of QQ before the flop, this is it.  I cheerfully fold, anticipating which player has AA and which one has KK, and pat myself on the shoulder for being a good thinking player.

The big blind calls and turns over KK.  UTG shows AA.

The board runs out like this:  6s Qc 9s 3h 7h.

Had I called, my gain on this hand would have been $280-ish.

Later in the session, I lose a huge pot ($500+) when one villain hits a one-outer on the turn and another huge pot ($290) when a different villain and I both flop flushes, mine Q-high and his K-high.

Why do I have to cry myself to sleep every night?

Year-to-date online results:  (- $1,107)

Month-to-date online results:  (- $598)