A limit hand

See if you can work out before the end why I am a bit mad with myself about this hand:

POKERSTARS HOLD'EM LIMIT ($5/$10)

Seat 1: G35HOLDEM ($170 in chips)
Seat 2: Pocketnuts2 ($71 in chips)
Seat 3: octane1 ($85 in chips)
Seat 4: bodeanst ($153 in chips)
Seat 5: W.W.W ($217 in chips)
Seat 6: nyne_fingers ($516 in chips)
Seat 7: myteduck ($293 in chips)
Seat 8: rufryder18 ($160 in chips)
Seat 9: RalphWiggum1 ($139 in chips)
Seat 10: Birks ($443 in chips)

Pocketnuts2: posts small blind $2
octane1: posts big blind $5

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Birks [3d 3h]
All folded to Me (in Cut-off)

Birks: raises $5 to $10
G35HOLDEM (Button): calls $10
Pocketnuts2: folds
octane1 (Big Blind): calls $5

So far, so uncontentious. $32 in pot.

*** FLOP *** [Qc 3c 2s]

octane1: checks
Birks: bets $5
G35HOLDEM: raises $5 to $10
octane1: calls $10
Birks: raises $5 to $15
G35HOLDEM: calls $5
octane1: calls $5

$77 in pot.

There’s little argument for slow-playing here. The old saying that “you are never as far ahead as you think” comes into play with this kind of hand. Big blind might have 5-4, or two clubs. Button could have AQ, 22, or AK of clubs, or any big pair that he might spike on turn or river. I personally favour AQs as the button's holding, with the big blind on some kind of draw.

*** TURN *** [Qc 3c 2s] [Qs]

octane1: checks
Birks: bets $10
G35HOLDEM: raises $10 to $20
octane1: calls $20
Birks: raises $10 to $30
G35HOLDEM: raises $10 to $40
Betting is capped
octane1: folds
Birks: calls $10

The only hand I can envisage my opponent having is Ace-Queen, although one can’t rule out 22 or QQ.

*** RIVER *** [Qc 3c 2s Qs] [Jh]

Birks: checks
G35HOLDEM: bets $10
Birks: calls $10

*** SHOW DOWN ***

G35HOLDEM: shows [Qh Ah] (three of a kind, Queens)
Birks: shows [3d 3h] (a full house, Threes full of Queens)
Birks collected $194 from pot

Bloody wimp, Birks! Seeing demons here. How can he possibly have QJ? I should check-raise the river here and damn the consequences. I threw away at least one big bet and possibly two, despite reading the hand spot on.

I'm running well on Pokerstars, which is good, because I can't pick a winner on Empire. Indeed, my losing sessions there have depleted my bankroll on Empire to such a degree that I am now reduced to playing two tables of $2-$4. Fortuinately it takes less than half a good run at $5-$10 to compensate for a bad time at $2-$4!.

Meanwhile on Ultimate the old multi-tabling at $1-$2 (kill games if I can find them) remains by far the most efficient way of working off the bonus. You can knock out up to $8 an hour if you can get three lively $1-$2 tables going. Add the expected earn rate for $6 and the concomitant expected $14 earn per hour compares reasonably with a couple of tables of $5-$10, given my past track record.

Ultimate are offering another 25% bonus up to $200 at the moment, and this is really an easy $100 or so a month for not doing very much.