Betting draws and non top pair oop

So I have talked about in the past my ability to be on the losing side of coolers and cold decks. Just in the last two sessions I have lost the following pots:

set to bigger set

second nut flush to nut flush (both of us flopped it)

nut straight to rivered full house

KK vs AA

KK vs set of 7s when I didnt give 7s proper odds to set mine

etc..

So is this just me? Or is my play at fault. In the sense that others that I play with often (and I was playing at my local casino and many players know me well as I them) generally tag me as a tight ABC player. So when I 3 bet pre they can narrow the hands down.. or in general they know that If I am betting I must have something.

So this begs the question.. "Should I bet with draws and any pairs on the board?"

If I bet my draws more and include say middle pair on a limped pot, I am hoping to change my image enough so that my opponents hand values go down.. I dont want the ONLY person calling me after I bet who has a draw or a set and is trapping me. But recently I dont think I am getting these folks to call me. they generally fold because of my image.

Then when the colddecks happen I havent been able to build my stack up to prevent a losing session. I dont think I need to bet alot.. more like a series of block bets.. but betting on multiple streets should allow me to basically bluff off better hands many times and also get others with worse hands than me to call. I think there is a lot of power when you have the lead and it helps define the other guys hands..

what do you guys think?

h

You definitely need to be betting lots of draws. What are you doing with AQs when you flop a flush draw? You also need to be betting lots of weak holdings that can turn equity. A good example is Ah Kh on a board of Jh 8s 2c, your hand will turn equity on any heart, ten or queen, also an ace or king will often give you the best hand. When your bet is called, sometimes you'll spike the best hand, which will be disguised, and sometimes you'll check and give up, only to find that your opponent checks behind with T9s.

Here is a good video on building your ranges, that I recommend to everyone: http://www.cardrunners.com/poker-videos/video-challenge-finalist-5-matthew-janda/

Here are some other good free videos: http://www.cardrunners.com/poker-videos/

We play different games, but those hands you listed at the start of your post -- all very strong holdings. I've lost with similar holdings. You're not playing junk, you've got strong, made hands. You can't fold a nut straight because someone might river a full house on you. No effing way. These kinds of losses just come with the territory, in my view.

I do bet my draws -- true draws, not gutshots, not backdoor draws. I generally fold those, unless the pot is large. Chasing gutshots and backdoor draws can deplete your stack unncessarily. Yes, they come in now and then, but the odds of hitting them suck. But I will almost always stay in or lead out with my open-ended straight draws and flush draws.