Archive for August, 2009

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($3829.50)
BB ($1000)
Hero (UTG) ($4795.55)
MP ($1490)
Button ($2152.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, Q
Hero bets $40, MP raises to $120, 3 folds, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($262.50) 5, J, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $140, Hero calls $140

Turn: ($542.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $330, Hero calls $330

River: ($1202.50) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks

Total pot: $1202.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
MP had K, A (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $1199.50

On the river, there’s about $1000 left in Villain’s stack, so less than a pot-sized bet. I see a lot of people shove here, but I actually like his check back. It’s not what I expected, and in fact part of the reason I was slowplaying was that I thought he’d probably value bet quite a few worse hands on the river. If he’s checking AK and presumably AA here, though, I’m not sure if that means I should play my hand faster. I guess I could see check-raising the flop, but with his turn bet sizing, I doubt he’s calling a check-shove there.

The last two weeks have been pretty hectic (more on that soon), and I’ve barely played at all. Here’s the most interesting hand I could find without much effort from my “archives”:

No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (5 handed) – Hold’em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($3183.65)
SB ($1679.40)
BB ($2204)
Hero (UTG) ($3188.50)
MP ($1998.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, 10
Hero bets $42.50, 2 folds, SB calls $37.50, BB calls $32.50

Flop: ($127.50) 9, Q, 4 (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $99, 1 fold, BB calls $99

Turn: ($325.50) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $255, BB calls $255

River: ($835.50) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $690, 1 fold

Total pot: $835.50

Results:
Hero had K, 10 (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $1530

Ordinarily I would say this isn’t a good board to bluff into two players, but it’s a little different against two guys calling out of the blinds. To put it simply, I just think my range is so much stronger than theirs on this board that I can expect to take it down on enough turns/rivers if not immediately on the flop. I’m not betting my full range on the flop, but an overcard and a gutshot is good enough.  Read the complete post...

I recently made another appearance on Cardplayer’s “Run It Twice” feature, discussing a hand that regular blog readers will recognize:

“I just don’t think he’s telling a consistent story on the turn and the river. On the river, now, all of a sudden he wants me to believe that he does have a monster hand and he wants to put all of the money in, so much so that he’s willing to bet more than the pot. So, on the river, all of a sudden he’s saying, “I want to play a huge pot,” and that’s not at all what he was saying on the turn.”

It’s just a transcript of a phone conversation, so it reads kinda rambly, but other than that I think I came out pretty well.

This hand from the 2+2 high-stakes multi-table tournament forum got me thinking about what it means to be “at the top” of a polarized range. Here’s a quick summary, for those who can’t/won’t follow the link:

It’s a tournament, and blinds are 100/200. Hero raises to 475 UTG with KK, and good loose aggressive regular calls out of the SB. The flop comes Qd 4s 9d. SB checks, Hero bets 625, Villain calls.

The turn is the 4d, pairing the board and putting three diamonds out.  Both players check. (I don’t think it matters much, because the turn decision isn’t the important thing here, but Hero has the Kd.)

The river is the 4h, giving Hero Kings full of Fours. Villain checks, Hero bets 1400 into a 2300 pot, and Villain shoves for 11080. Hero has him covered.

Most of the forum seemed to think this was a call, and in many cases not a particularly close one. To me, it’s a clear fold.

Not everyone articulated it this way, but the general sense seemed to be that a pair of K’s is at the top of Hero’s range, and that folding hands at the top of your range isn’t what you do against a LAG.  Read the complete post...

…and it’s not even that close:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $80.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($19098.50)
Hero (UTG) ($16000)
MP ($16538.30)
Button ($16485)
SB ($15277)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $280, 2 folds, SB raises to $1120, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2720, SB raises to $15277 (All-In), Hero calls $12557

Flop: ($30634) 3, A, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($30634) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($30634) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $30634 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $30631

Believe it or not, I still managed to finish the day stuck, substantially.

Particularly earlier in the year, running too many big bluffs in tournaments was a substantial leak of mine. I’ve made a concerted effort to confine the monster bluffs to the cash tables, and my tourney results have improved a bit. In the $300 rebuy 6-max FTOPS, though, I did pull off what I think was a big, good tourney bluff:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t6916)
MP (t3171)
CO (t7325)
Button (t12320)
SB (t12015)
Hero (BB) (t6713)

Hero’s M: 27.97

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, K
2 folds, CO bets t320, 1 fold, SB calls t240, Hero raises to t900, 1 fold, SB calls t580

Flop: (t2120) J, Q, 5 (2 players)
SB bets t900, Hero calls t900

Turn: (t3920) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t999, SB calls t999

River: (t5918) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t3914 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: t5918

Results:
Hero didn’t show J, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won t5918

Preflop is definitely good. The CO’s range was like 75%, and I doubt he’s capable of 4-betting light. I don’t know much about SB but it almost doesn’t matter.  Read the complete post...

Sounds crazy, right? What better hand would fold? Ah, but what about the same hand?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($3360.50)
Button ($1316)
SB ($1012.50)
BB ($2066.50)
Hero (UTG) ($2759.50)
MP ($608.40)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7, 7
Hero bets $44, MP calls $44, 1 fold, Button calls $44, 1 fold, BB calls $34

Flop: ($190) 6, 5, 8 (4 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, MP checks, Button checks

Turn: ($190) 4 (4 players)
BB bets $140, Hero calls $140, MP calls $140, 1 fold

River: ($610) 10 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2574 (All-In), 2 folds

Total pot: $610 | Rake: $3

First off, note the stack sizes here. If MP has the nuts, he probably shoves the turn, but in any event, my downside vs him is only about $400. Given that he folded river, I’m guessing he was actually on a diamond draw or something.

BB, on the other hand, is very likely to have a 7 when he bets into three people on the turn. I was thinking how gross it would be if he bet huge on the river, but when he checked, I was pretty sure he didn’t have the nuts. It’s actually a very good time to check the nuts, since MP and/or I almost certainly has a 7 and will bet it when checked to. I just didn’t think BB was good enough to do that.  Read the complete post...

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