From the Desk of the Poker Philosopher

Generally when we think of manipulating pot size, we think of playing pot control when we have a hand that we want to showdown cheaply or trying to inflate the pot when we have a monster. But there are times when you might want to build the pot in anticipation of a bluff on a later street.

For example, let's say you raise 76 on the button and the BB calls. The flop comes AKx, and you decide that unless he check-raises the flop, it would be a good time to double barrel him. He'll fold a lot of better hands on the flop and even more on the turn. What's the correct bet size for the flop?

Strange as it may seem, even though you are bluffing, you want to minimize your fold equity on the flop. This is because you know you are going to fire a second barrel on the turn. Thus, any time your opponent calls the flop with a hand that will check-fold the turn, even if that hand is better than yours (which it pretty much always will be), then you gain. You should choose the bet size that will get the most money out of your opponent's range for check-calling the flop and check-folding the turn.

Here's another example from a hand I played at a 3/6 deep table today:

I opened to $21 with 5s 4s on the button, and the SB raised to $66. We were $1200 deep, and he'd been 3-betting me a lot, so I called with intention of messing with him on a lot of flops.

The flop was Js 9s 9c, which was pretty good for my purposes. It was tough for my opponent to hit, and even if he did call me, I had outs. With $138 in the pot, stacks were a little awkward for me to shove over a flop bet, but that was my play. Then my opponent made a small bet of just $78. It was now out of the question for me to shove, the risk/reward just wasn't right, but I wanted to get the money in on the flop, with me making the last bet, of course.

So I decided to min-raise to $156. If my opponent did choose to call with a pair, there was a decent chance that I could take the pot away later or hit my flush. But if he had nothing, which I figured he would most of the time, then I thought he would either fold or 3-bet bluff me. Sure enough, he clicked it back to $234. Now, the pot was plenty juicy, and I moved all in with my flush draw. He folded, and I took down a nicer pot than I would have gotten if I'd just tried to maximize my fold equity on my first bluff raise.

Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 6-max, bet sizing, bluff, deep stacks, double barrel, NLHE, semi-bluff, session review

Stumble It!

Here's a pretty interesting spot where I made what might be called a pre-emptive blocking bet:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $2,184
BB: $2,000
UTG: $1,000
MP: $1,000
CO: $2,413
Hero (BTN): $4,150

Pre-Flop: K K dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $35, Hero raises to $120, 2 folds, CO raises to $320, Hero calls $200

Flop: ($655) A T 6 (2 Players)
CO checks, Hero bets $333, CO folds

Results: $655 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked K K and WON $652 (+$332 NET)


First off, let me cover the pre-flop. CO was a decent regular, definitely capable of 4-betting light. However, we didn't have a sufficiently aggressive history that I could expect to get action if I 5-bet him. Calling is very clearly best, then, to maintain some deception about my range.

When he checks the flop as the pre-flop aggressor, I'm putting him on one of three things, from least to most likely:

1) A slowplayed monster- With AA, this is definitely a good time to check; however, that's a small part of his range, checking with TT is a lot less good (because I could well have top pair), and it's not a guarantee he would do it;

2) Air that is giving up- I'd expect him to fire once when an Ace flops if he has nothing, but then again people do tend to play pretty straight-forwardly in 4-bet pots;

3) An underpair playing for pot control- With QQ or JJ, he's definitely checking this flop to show down cheaply and induce bluffs.

4) Top pair playing for pot control/value- With something like AJ, he has a very strong hand that still probably does not want to play for stacks. By checking the flop, he can try to keep the pot smaller, induce bluffs, and get value on a later street from hands that might fold to a flop bet.


This may seem like a bad bet, then. After all, I'm only expecting a narrow category of worse hands to call, and overall I'm expecting to be behind his calling range. I do think I should have bet a little less, but in all likelihood, I'm going to have to pay off at least one bet to hands that are beating me anyway. Unless he does something crazy like overbet shove, I'm going to call at least one street. I think that betting now is the best way to get value from the occasional underpair, as a bet on a later street is going to look stronger than a flop stab.

Plus, this lets me control the size of the bet that I pay off to his Ax and deter the occasional double barrel bluff that I can't pay off. If he check-calls the flop, I'll be very comfortable folding if he leads out on the turn, or if he leads out on the river after the turn checks through. However, if I check now, I'd probably call the turn and fold the river. That means I'd pay off a turn bet of like $450-$500, often to Ax, and then fold to a river bet, which might occasionally be a bluff.

In looking over this now, I think I could accomplish all of this with a slightly smaller bet, probably in the $250-$300 range. But nevertheless, I think it's an interesting spot where position and narrowly defined ranges in a 4-bet pot greatly influence my play.

Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 6-max, blocking bet, bluff, deep stacks, double barrel, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, short-handed

Stumble It!

I did a little interview with Cardplayer Online's Shawn Green Friday night. Shawn actually contacted me initially to see if I had Tony "Bond18" Dunst's phone number, because they were trying to do an interview with him. But I didn't have it, and they didn't have any other way of reaching him, so they talked to me about some cash game hands instead. I didn't have much time to find good hands to discuss, so I ended up choosing two that I've written about before. If you're a long-time reader, you'll probably recognize them. Regardless, it was a fun time. Shawn asked good questions and is generally a fun guy to talk to, and I think the final product came out pretty well.

Labels: 6-max, bluff, Card Player, full ring, NLHE, poker, poker strategy

Stumble It!

Here are two fun hands played in pretty close succession. Although I finished down over all, I feel like I owned Villain pretty hard in both:

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP: $2,391
CO: $7,159.50
BTN: $3,358
SB: $2,000
Hero (BB): $4,850
UTG: $5,768

Pre-Flop: K 6 dealt to Hero (BB)
4 folds, SB raises to $60, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($120) 4 3 Q (2 Players)
SB bets $85, Hero raises to $240, SB raises to $455, Hero calls $215

Turn: ($1,030) T (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $555, SB calls $555

River: ($2,140) 9 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: $2,140 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed J 9 (a pair of Nines) and WON $2,137 (+$1,067 NET)
Hero showed K 6 (King Queen high) and LOST (-$1,070 NET)


Sooooo frustrating to bluff-call with the best hand and end up losing the pot on a "bad beat". It would have been so sick if the river had gone check-check and I'd won the pot with K-high. But I got the guy back the next orbit:


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $8,688.50
BTN: $3,389
SB: $5,115
Hero (BB): $5,580
UTG: $10,411

Pre-Flop: 8 T dealt to Hero (BB)
3 folds, SB raises to $60, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($120) 4 Q 5 (2 Players)
SB bets $88, Hero raises to $222, SB raises to $455, Hero raises to $999, SB folds

Results: $1,030 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked 8 T and WON $1,027 (+$512 NET)


Stack sizes were just perfect for this. There was like 4K left in the effective stacks. Villain's options if he has air here are pretty much to shove 200BB or fold. He can easily shove continue with sets and open-ended straight draws, but I think everything else is even kind of tough for him. Like, even if he thinks I'm full of it, shoving on me with JJ kind of sucks cuz I am never calling with worse.

Plus there's the whole leveling thing going on where each of us knows the other knows he's very capable of having air here. I kind of win that battle by making the best use of leverage. I have position and my bet-sizing risks only about 1K to put 5K of Villain's money at risk.

Labels: 6-max, bluff, deep stacks, poker, poker strategy, session review, short-handed

Stumble It!

Here's a fun hand against a smart and very aggressive player who was playing pretty strangely tonight:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $1,643
BB: $1,399
UTG: $2,084.75
Hero (MP): $2,363
CO: $2,040
BTN: $1,000

Pre-Flop: 7 A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG raises to $20, Hero raises to $75, CO folds, BTN calls $75, SB folds, BB calls $65, UTG raises to $255, Hero raises to $2,363 and is All-In, 3 folds

Results: $665 Pot
Hero mucked 7 A and WON $665 (+$410 NET)


He was minraising a ton pre-flop and making a lot of small flop bets. I'd been playing back at him quite a bit, and he'd been playing back at my play backs, etc. So there's a lot of interesting stuff going on here:

1. His UTG range is way wider than your average UTG raising range.

2. This means I can profitably 3-bet a wider range for value and make more bluff 3-bets.

3. But, I've been 3-betting him a lot and I know he knows that and he knows I know he knows so there is the whole leveling thing going on.

4. BTN is kind of a LAGtard and is probaby calling more hands than he should here but also is probably not cold calling with KK or AA.

5. BB is getting a decent price and also probably not playing KK or AA like this.

6. There's a lot of money in the pot now, and UTG can be pretty sure that two of his three opponents are going to fold to a 4-bet. I'm the only x-factor, but given the price he's getting and the fact that there is at least some reason to think I am going to go away, it's a great spot for him to squeeze.

7. Naturally he is playing JJ+ and AK like this for value. Nothing I can do about that. But recognizing (7), and that there's a lot of money in the pot and that I have 30% equity against his calling range, I'm sticking it in.

I also tend towards a maxim of "when in doubt, pull the trigger". Not only does this encourage you to experiment and grow as a player, but it also gives you a good image. When my opponents are contemplating a 4-bet, they have to fear not only that I will actually have a hand but also that I will re-bluff them. Even if a play turns out to be -EV in a vaccuum, it can make future hands easier to play by forcing opponents to play more straight-forwardly against you. And that's worth a lot.

Labels: 4-bet, 5-bet, 6-max, deep stacks, Full Tilt Poker, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, semi-bluff, session review, short-handed

Stumble It!

I'm skipping past some of the other WCOOP events I played because I've fallen behind on them and don't remember much of what happened, which is because there really wasn't much of interest anyway. The $500 rebuy 6-max did produce some neat hands, though. My table wasn't soft, but that's to be expected in a big event like this. There were a few good tournament players, most notably Timex, who weren't making huge mistakes but weren't necessarily going to play great deep stack 6-max poker either.

The X-factor was Poker Stars pro William Thorson, who's been a long-time cash player on that site. I've never seen him sitting in the bigger NLHE games, so I wasn't sure what to make of or expect from him. He was definitely too loose and aggressive at times, but overall he was pretty decent, especially when we were deep. In particular, he was doing a good job of betting big, as is often called for in deep stack poker. He won a huge pot againt the table fish because he overbet the pot all the way with a flopped set.

But he was only and always betting big when he had big hands, which made him a little too easy to read sometimes. For example, he once made a small 3-bet out of the SB against my CO raise. Even though we weren't all that deep, he had priced me in to call with 98o, since I was pretty sure he didn't have a big pair. Then he bet out small on a QJx flop, and I decided to float him. Sure enough, he check-folded to a small turn bet.

My next float didn't work out so well. We were down to the last 25% or so of the field, and I was rolling along in pretty good shape. There was another of those tournament specialists on my right, and he was opening a lot of pots. Effective stacks were good for me to 3-bet him occasionally, which I'd been doing. So at 200/400, he opened to 1100, and I made it 3000 with A9s on the button. He called for something like 8% of the effective stacks. Giving him too much credit, I assumed he would pretty much only do this with a decent pair: maybe a slow-played AA/KK, or maybe something lik 88, but I didn't think he'd call out of positon with a suited connector or Ax.

The flop came QQ5, and we both checked. Remember, I was putting him on a pair, which I didn't think he would fold. The turn was a King and put a diamond draw on the board. He bet out something weird like a third of the pot. I called, putting him squarely on a pair lower than Kings that he would have to check-fold on the river. The river was a third diamond, and he requested time before finally betting one-half the pot, or about 25% of the remaining stacks. Still stuck in this mindset of moving him off a pair, I shoved all in, and he called pretty quickly with Ad 4d for the nut flush.

I'm not a fan of his pre-flop call, but I really hate myself for shoving that river. I didn't do enough to re-evaluate his range when he bet out there. I seriously doubt he's doing that with something like 88, and he's probably calling pretty much always. Thankfully I was having a pretty huge cash session, so I was still well up on the day, despite another failed bluff shove that occurred almost simultaneously at a Stars 5/10 full-ring table:

UTG+1 raised to $40, and I called in early middle position with Ac Kc. The flop came 844 with two clubs, and I called his bet. He bet again on a 5 turn, and I shoved in my stack drawing dead to his 88. I actually like this shove though, because usually he has a pair when he bets again here and even with AA he can't be thrilled when I shove into him, and of course if he does decide to call with a smaller pair I'll have 15 outs. So I don't hate this shove, even though it didn't work out here.

Labels: 3-bet, 6-max, bluff, float, full ring, NLHE, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, rebuy, semi-bluff, short-handed, tournament, WCOOP

Stumble It!

This was a great idea for a tournament format, with half the hands playing as O/8 and half as PLO8. Many people are going to be good at one game but not the other. Personally, I'm pretty strong in PLO8 but not so good at O/8. Naturally, plenty of people suck at both as well.

I got off to a nice start, playing well in PLO8 and running well at O/8. There was an awful player on my left who was giving me a lot of chips, but eventually he monkeyed his way into winning a huge pot:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament
Blinds: t25/t50
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t6903
UTG+1: t2857
CO: t2540
Button: t3590
Hero: t12500
BB: t6035

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :ah :ks :6h :3h
4 folds, Hero raises to t150, BB calls t100 (pot was t200).

Flop: :2d :qh :7h (t300, 2 players)
Hero bets t250, BB raises to t1050, Hero raises to t3450, BB raises to t5850, Hero raises to t8250, BB calls all-in t35.
Uncalled bets: t2365 returned to Hero.

Turn: :tc (t12070, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t12070)

River: :3d (t12070, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t12070)

Results:
Final pot: t12070


I flopped the nut flush draw and the nut low draw with counterfeit protection, and this guy got it all in with me for 120 BB's with the second nut low draw and an underpair to the board: Td As 4s 4c. The board bricks out, and I lose a pot that would have put me in top 1%.

I did get him back eventually though:

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament
Blinds: t40/t80
6 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: t7156
UTG+1: t2234
CO: t8584
Button: t8394
Hero: t5035
BB: t11526

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :6h :ah :3c :7c
3 folds, Button raises to t240, Hero calls t200 (pot was t360), BB calls t160 (pot was t560).

Flop: :js :3h :as (t720, 3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets t80, Button raises to t160, Hero raises to t1280, BB calls t1200 (pot was t2240), Button folds.

Turn: :4s (t3440, 2 players)
Hero bets t2515, BB calls t2515 (pot was t5955).

River: :qc (t8470, 2 players)
Hero checks, BB checks.

Results:
Final pot: t8470


I couldn't believe it when I scooped this pot. There was only about 1000 left in the effective stacks, but I was so sure I was smoked that I didn't even think I had good equity against his checking range. I was just hoping he would check it back and I could escape with half. Turns out he had 4d Qh 3d 5s, having called the turn with nothing but a bad low draw and two pair.

I lasted for about 6 hours, which only got me through 75% of the field or so, before getting pretty short and busting in some nondescript way.

Labels: 6-max, O8, PLO8, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, short-handed, tournament, WCOOP

Stumble It!

I continued my poor luck with table draws and got Steve Paul-Ambrose on my left in a tournament where the field in general was a giant donkfest. Steve didn't get too out of line, but his presence alone deterred me from a few hands I otherwise would have played. You just can't play as many hands from any position with a good player still to act behind you.

Anyway, I don't think anything too interesting happened. Eventually I ran AK into AA for the last of my chips.

I was also playing the weekly FTP $300 6-max, where I fired a second barrel in a spot where I would ordinarily never attempt such a thing.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 100/200 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 17,658
MP: 6,912
CO: 5,030
Hero (BTN): 8,630
SB: 14,724
BB: 1,078

Pre-Flop: (300) 2 A dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, Hero raises to 530, SB calls 430, BB folds

Flop: (1,260) T 9 7 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets 750, SB calls 750

Turn: (2,760) K (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets 1,850, SB calls 1,850

River: (6,460) 3 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: 6,460 Pot
Hero showed 2 A (Ace King high) and LOST (-3,130 NET)
SB showed K J (a pair of Kings) and WON 6,460 (+3,330 NET)


Ordinarily, I would put SB on like a small-mid pair or a suited connector. However, because the BB was short and fairly likely to shove, re-opening the betting, I didn't think SB would call here with such an "implied odds" hand. Instead, I put him on big cards that could take a little more heat. There was some chance he was trapping with a big pair- it was a good spot for it- but I thought his range would be much wider than that.

When he didn't check-raise the flop, I eliminated the big pairs from his range as well as two pair, sets, and big draws. That didn't leave much except for one pair hands and weak draws. In addition, the K is a good scare card for me to bet again.

Although the bluff didn't work, the results really don't contradict my read at all. He did have a broadway hand as I suspected. It just happened to be one that could call the flop. And I was right that he had only a weak draw on the flop- it just happened to be the only one that could be improved by a K on the turn. So in conclusion, I am never wrong. I am not always right, I admit it, but I am never wrong.

Labels: 6-max, double barrel, PLHE, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, short-handed, tournament, WCOOP

Stumble It!

I am just not very good at FLHE. The generic advice I've gotten about this game is to make tons of thin value bets and calls, which I try to do, but I think I'm choosing bad spots. My opponents yesterday did not even seem particularly good, but they were owning me left and right. A few examples:

I raise AK on the button, BB calls. Flop 776 with two hearts, I bet, he check-raises, I call. Turn 9 he bets I call. River 2 he bets I think his range is busted heart draw or trips+ so I call and he takes me on a tour of Valuetown with his 55.

Another one, guy raises UTG, I 3-bet JJ, and he calls. Flop 664, he checks, I bet, he calls. Turn blank, he checks, I bet, he raises, I call. River blank, he checks, I bet, he raises, I puke and call, he shows me 65o. Pretty questionable UTG raise even in 6max, but I must admit that he owned me pretty hard with the double check-raise. It's humiliating to get served like this by fish.

I wasn't catching much in the NLHE portion, certainly not enough to compensate for my fishiness in FLHE, so I was out pretty quickly. I did like the structure of this event. Instead of alternating between games at the level change, as happens in most mixed game tournaments, they alternated every fifteen minutes. Since there were half hour levels, that meant playing both game at every level instead of going back and forth between them. It was a good idea, though it probably wouldn't work as well in tournaments with shorter blind levels.

Labels: 3-bet, 6-max, FLHE, NLHE, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, river check-raise, short-handed, WCOOP

Stumble It!

Once again I had some rough table draws, ending up with a lot of high-stakes cash players. As I previously explained, this is bad in an FTOPS tournament for a number of reasons. One of them took me to valuetown on the first hand of the tournament:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 1,500
BB: 3,000
Hero (UTG): 3,000
CO: 3,000
BTN: 3,000

Pre-Flop: (45) 9 9 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to 90, CO folds, BTN raises to 315, 2 folds, Hero calls 225

Flop: (675) 8 T Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (675) 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 450, Hero calls 450

River: (1,575) Q (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets 1,250, Hero calls 1,250

Results: 4,075 Pot
Hero mucked 9 9 (two pair, Queens and Nines) and LOST (-2,015 NET)
BTN showed A T (two pair, Queens and Tens) and WON 4,075 (+2,060 NET)


I got him back a bit by stealing this pot from him:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: 2,835
SB: 3,150
Hero (BB): 3,065
UTG: 2,845
CO: 4,605

Pre-Flop: (45) 7 5 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls 30, CO raises to 135, BTN folds, SB calls 120, Hero calls 105, UTG calls 105

Flop: (540) 9 T 8 (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, CO checks

Turn: (540) K (4 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, CO bets 360, SB folds, Hero raises to 980, 2 folds

Results: 1,260 Pot
Hero mucked 7 5 and WON 1,260 (+765 NET)


He virtually never has more than one pair here, and I think he has nothing at all a fair amount of the time. Most importantly, I don't think he ever expects me to be bluffing here. Plus I do have some outs if called.

I briefly got up a decent stack, but then another 25/50 NL player got seated on my immediate right. He raised from the SB, I re-raised 88 from the BB, and called his shove. He had AK and got there.

Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 6-max, bluff, FTOPS, Full Tilt Poker, poker, poker strategy, semi-bluff, session review, tournament

Stumble It!

I knew Monday night's FTOPS was a 1K NLHE, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was "seated" to find only five other players at my table. I had no idea it was a 6-max! I was less pleasantly surprised to find two other regulars in the FTP 10/20 games at my table. Dammit, I play tournaments because I want to play with fish! Not only were these guys ten times better than the average player in the tournament, but I knew they were also going to be much more aggressive when stacks were deep. That meant I would have to play high variance poker, which I'd much prefer to avoid in such a well-structured event.

Thankfully, my table broke pretty quickly and I was moved to a softer one. This time, I got to be the undisputed aggressor. For a while, I was getting no respect:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 20/40 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 8,010
Hero (MP): 6,890
CO: 7,410
BTN: 7,380
SB: 4,930
BB: 4,130

Pre-Flop: (60) J A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 120, CO calls 120, BTN calls 120, SB folds, BB raises to 520, Hero raises to 1,240, 2 folds, BB raises to 4,130 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: 2,740 Pot
BB mucked and WON 2,740 (+1,500 NET)


Eventually, that reputation got me a big payday, though:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 60/120 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: 4,820
Hero (BB): 5,841
UTG: 7,055
MP: 9,651
CO: 6,488
BTN: 4,895

Pre-Flop: (180) A 4 dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to 240, MP calls 240, 3 folds, Hero calls 120

Flop: (780) 8 9 T (3 Players)
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks

Turn: (780) K (3 Players)
Hero bets 601, UTG raises to 1,920, MP folds, Hero raises to 5,601 and is All-In, UTG calls 3,681

River: (11,982) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 11,982 Pot
Hero showed A 4 (a flush, Ace high) and WON 11,982 (+6,141 NET)
UTG showed J K (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-5,841 NET)


But it wasn't to last. I lost two medium-sized pots on bad beats to short stacks, then Valuetowned myself against a guy who I still think may have been loose enough to show up with worse Aces here:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 140/280 Blinds, 25 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: 54,174
Hero (MP): 11,705
CO: 11,010
BTN: 10,714
SB: 19,723
BB: 5,384

Pre-Flop: (570) A J dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 780, CO calls 780, 3 folds

Flop: (2,130) T 5 A (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets 1,320, Hero calls 1,320

Turn: (4,770) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (4,770) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets 2,580, CO calls 2,580

Results: 9,930 Pot
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Tens) and LOST (-4,705 NET)
CO showed A Q (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON 9,930 (+5,225 NET)


Finally, I shoved A9 on the button over a raise from the chipleader in the CO, but he had AQ and it was lights out for me.

Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 5-bet, 6-max, Full Tilt Poker, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, squeeze play, tournament

Stumble It!

This was a $200 6-max tournament with a $40 bounty on each player. I lasted a few hours but only won one bounty. Because it was 6-max, I was able to accumulate chips without a lot of big hands. Eventually JCarver got moved to my left, which cramped my style. I started getting blinded down, then flatted his UTG raise with AA on my BB. I check-raised all in on an 855 flop, but he had 88 for a full house. Bah.

Labels: 6-max, FTOPS, Full Tilt Poker, poker, session review, short-handed, tournament

Stumble It!

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is SB with :9d :9s :8c :8h
UTG calls, CO raises to $11, Button calls, Hero calls, BB calls, UTG calls.

Flop: :6d :ks :9c ($55, 5 players)
Hero bets $39, BB folds, UTG raises to $172, 2 folds, Hero raises all-in $389, UTG calls all-in $190.8.

Uncalled bets: $26.2 returned to Hero.

Turn: :2h ($780.6, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $780.6)

River: :5d ($780.6, 0 player + 2 all-in - Main pot: $780.6)

Results:
Final pot: $780.6
Hero showed 9d 9s 8c 8h
UTG showed Tc Qc Kh Kc


This might actually be a fold on the flop. The fact that I'm holding two 8's makes it less likely he's on a draw here. Bottom set is an easy fold. I was thinking he could have bottom set, but in retrospect KK is much more likely for him. I'm also not sure this is good pre-flop. I definitely wouldn't play a random two pair like JJ66, and I definitely would play 9988 if it were double suited. With nothing suited, I'm thinking it's close, but I don't really know. I posted it on 2+2.

Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
6 players
Converter

Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is Button with :4s :7d :qc :as
3 folds, Hero raises to $14, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: :7h :7c :ad ($32, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $32, SB calls.

Turn: :3d ($96, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $80, SB calls.

River: :6s ($256, 2 players)
SB bets $128, Hero raises all-in $275.6, SB calls.

Results:
Final pot: $807.2
Hero showed 4s 7d Qc As
SB showed 2h Ah Ac 9h

I think this one is OK, there are plenty of worse boats that seem plausible for him, and it's tough to put him on AA with no 3-bet pre-flop.

Labels: 6-max, PLO, poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

This was against some random in the weekly FTP 100 rebuy. I felt like although he probably was dumb enough to shove pocket pairs here, he'd raise most of them pre-flop. I felt like random diamonds, often with a dominated Ace, or just Ace-high would be his most likely holding. Didn't even consider this, but I guess it suggests he could at least show up with like AJ here:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 50/100 Blinds, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): 5,000
UTG: 7,430
MP: 5,026
CO: 8,530
BTN: 1,773
SB: 4,741

Pre-Flop: (150) Q A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, MP calls 100, 3 folds, Hero raises to 500, MP calls 400

Flop: (1,050) T T 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets 666, MP raises to 4,526 and is All-In, Hero calls 3,834 and is All-In

Turn: (10,050) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: (10,050) J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 10,050 Pot
Hero showed Q A (a pair of Tens) and LOST (-5,000 NET)
MP showed K A (a pair of Tens) and WON 10,050 (+5,050 NET)


Also, if he does have a small pair, note that I have some backdoor outs, including a flush and a running pair that would counterfeit him. Those probably add up to almost 5% extra equity and were definitely a consideration.

Labels: 6-max, Full Tilt Poker, poker, poker strategy, session review, tournament

Stumble It!

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $2,517
SB: $1,000
BB: $1,888.75
UTG: $5,702.90
CO: $1,017

Pre-Flop: A T dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $90, Hero calls $60

Flop: ($180) K A K (2 Players)
SB bets $180, Hero calls $180

Turn: ($540) K (2 Players)
SB bets $540, Hero folds

Results: $540 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB mucked and WON $537 (+$267 NET)


I knew nothing about this player, but I don't really ever expect a random to be bluffing here. So basically I'm either chopping or losing to quads/Aces full, and a chop isn't that much more likely.

Labels: 6-max, deep stacks, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

I played my first online session in weeks tonight, and it went great. Mostly just running well, though I do think I chose my spots well. I also may not have gotten paid off on the river here if I hadn't gotten tricksy:

Poker Stars, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP: $2,187.50
Hero (CO): $2,327
BTN: $2,909
SB: $2,22
BB: $2,000
UTG: $380

Pre-Flop: 7 5 dealt to Hero (CO)
UTG folds, MP calls $20, Hero calls $20, BTN raises to $120, 2 folds, MP calls $100, Hero calls $100

Flop: ($390) 5 2 8 (3 Players)
MP checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $260, MP folds, Hero calls $260

Turn: ($910) 5 (2 Players)
Hero bets $444, BTN calls $444

River: ($1,798) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $400, Hero raises to $1,503 and is All-In, BTN calls $1,103

Results: $4,804 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 7 5 (three of a kind, Fives) and WON $4,801 (+$2,474 NET)
BTN mucked T T and LOST (-$2,327 NET)


MP was a fish and I wanted to get into the pot with him. If this were heads up with the button, I'd have folded to the pre-flop raise. I led the turn because I expected BTN to check back damn near 100% of his range. I also thought it might look weak if I bet kind of small.

On the river, then, I expect him either to have a float or a pair. If he's got a float, he's obviously not calling a river shove, but he'll bluff at it if I check. If he's got a pair, he may or may not call a shove, but he'll almost certainly bet it for value if I check. This is why it's important to notice players who will make thin value bets. When playing live, I think you have to bet this on the river because plenty of people won't even value bet Kings here. So I felt like I'd get one bet in for sure on the river, and then he could either call me or not when I shoved.

Labels: 6-max, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, river check-raise

Stumble It!

There's a free sample from one of my Poker Savvy videos up on Cardplayer this week:

Some of the scenarios that Brokos goes over include how to play a strong hand like A-Q after missing the flop or hitting a flop that leaves your A-Q weak. He discusses what kinds of flops are perfect for continuation-bets (C-bets) and when it is better to check and see what develops.

Labels: 6-max, Card Player, continuation bet, NLHE, poker, Poker Savvy, poker strategy

Stumble It!

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $1,249.10
SB: $600
BB: $1,385.25
Hero (UTG): $1,542.65

Pre-Flop: Q J dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $21, BTN calls $21, SB folds, BB calls $15

Flop: ($66) 9 3 K (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $66, BTN raises to $180, BB folds, Hero calls $114

Turn: ($426) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: ($426) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $300, Hero raises to $1,341.65 and is All-In,

BTN: kings full
BTN: %$&$
BTN has requested TIME
BTN calls $748.10, and is all in

Results: $2,522.20 Pot ($2 Rake)
BTN showed 9 A (a flush, Ace high) and WON $2,520.20 (+$1,271.10 NET)
Hero showed Q J (a pair of Sevens) and LOST (-$1,249.10 NET)


I can't really fault him for this call, because the nut flush is the best hand he could possibly have after this line and folding the top of his range is obviously super-exploitable. But at the same time, he had no reason to think I was capable of floating the flop with a gut shot and then check-raise bluffing the river when he had obviously made a flush. I really don't think he put me on a bluff, especially based on the chat, he just didn't want to let go of the flush. Of course trying to bluff people off of flushes at 3/6 (or in general really) is not good poker, but I really thought this guy would be "good" enough to let it go.

Then again I don't need to be floating the flop out of position with a gutshot, either, but I was pretty sure he had a flush draw and I could take it away on a non-spade river. I think that was correct, but when the board paired, I decided to go with this.

Labels: 6-max, bluff, deep stacks, float, NLHE, poker strategy, river check-raise, session review

Stumble It!

More often than not I end up regretting big moves like this in tournaments, but I think this one is alright. It worked, anyway.

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 120/240 Blinds, 25 Ante, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP: 25,020
CO: 25,268
BTN: 3,120
SB: 6,095
Hero (BB): 6,510
UTG: 7,269

Pre-Flop: (510) 2 A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, MP raises to 720, CO calls 720, 2 folds, Hero calls 480

Flop: (2,430) K J 5 (3 Players)
Hero checks, MP checks, CO checks

Turn: (2,430) A (3 Players)
Hero checks, MP checks, CO bets 960, Hero calls 960, MP calls 960

River: (5,310) 9 (3 Players)
Hero bets 4,805 and is All-In, 2 folds

Results: 5,310 Pot
Hero mucked 2 A and WON 5,310 (+3,605 NET)


MP was new to the table, but so far he'd been pretty tight/straightforward. CO was a giant calling station, especially pre-flop. He was in like 70% of pots, rarely as the aggressor. He pretty much always potted it when he liked his hand, but would call with as little as a gutshot.

Preflop and flop are pretty standard. Leading the turn is an option, but really I'm still not happy with my hand, and I want to see what happens behind me. If MP bets or if CO pots it, I'm folding. I wasn't sure what to make of CO's bet, but getting nearly 4:1, I think it's a call. When MP overcalls, I decide my hand is probably not good. If I'm lucky, I'll get a chop.

But when the river falls, I think a flush is a very reasonable holding for me, and more importantly, I wasn't too concerned about anyone else having it. MP passed up two opportunities to bet, which makes me think he probably didn't have a flush draw. And CO's range is so wide that flushes can only be a small piece of it. I also don't think he has something really strong like top two or a set that would be tempted to spite call, because we would have heard from him sooner.

Labels: 6-max, bluff, Full Tilt Poker, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, tournament

Stumble It!

With deeper stacks (these hands are all from deep tables), you need to be, not necessarily more aggressive, but aggressive in more situations. With 100 BBs's, a 4-bet squeeze will almost always commit your stack, which means there's only a narrow range of hands with which you can make this play. Showdown equity is always important.

But as stacks get deeper, there is more room to maneuver. You can put in more bets in more spots and still have room to fold. That doesn't mean you can go crazy against just anyone. Reads are important, as you need to know that your opponents are capable of letting go of a hand and/or having a less-than-stellar hand in the first place.

In this first one, MP and CO were both very aggressive pre-flop. I was certain they'd fold often enough to make this profitable. The only x-factor was the Button. I wasn't sure what would be his standards for cold calling a 3-bet. But he was also deep, and I figured that coming in cold for the fourth bet would get him off of even some pretty strong holdings:

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $458
UTG: $400
MP: $1,303.30
CO: $1,099
BTN: $827.40
Hero (SB): $915

Pre-Flop: T 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, MP raises to $14, CO raises to $48, BTN calls $48, Hero raises to $210, 4 folds

Results: $162 Pot
Hero mucked T 8 and WON $162 (+$114 NET)


In this second one, the SB and I had both been aggressive, and this was the second time I'd seen the BB put in a cold 4-bet. This is definitely a riskier play to make, but for that reason I think it will also have better fold equity. BB and I have some history together, but I still think this is a tough spot for him if he holds QQ.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $1,033.75
Hero (MP): $3,620
CO: $2,026
BTN: $1,010
SB: $2,005
BB: $4,111

Pre-Flop: J 9 dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $35, 2 folds, SB raises to $125, BB raises to $350, Hero raises to $1,000, SB folds, BB calls $650

Flop: ($2,125) 3 A K (2 Players)
BB bets $700, Hero folds

Results: $2,125 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB mucked and WON $2,122 (+$1,122 NET)


While waiting for BB to act, I regretted raising quite so much. I wished I had made it 900 instead of 1000. I felt it would have put him to essentially the same decision, as I really didn't think he would ever flat call this raise. When he did, that confused me. I think he definitely would have shoved or folded AK pre-flop, and probably would have shoved in with AA and KK as well.

At the same time, this is a really bad board for him to lead out on as a bluff, and it's hard to put him on a hand that would need to bluff pre-flop. Maybe he was doing this as a probe with QQ? I don't know, it was tempting to shove in, and maybe with second pair or a gut shot or something with even a little equity against his calling range, I would have. In retrospect, floating seems like a good option, looking to bet the turn if he checks. I really don't think he could fire a second bluff if I called the flop. Meh, folding can't be that bad.

Reads didn't play as big of a role in this one, I think my hand pretty much plays itself here:

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP: $692.70
CO: $1,659
BTN: $1,142.25
Hero (SB): $1,725.25
BB: $691.60
UTG: $813

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG raises to $21, MP calls $21, CO folds, BTN raises to $72, Hero raises to $225, 4 folds

Results: $192 Pot
Hero mucked A K and WON $192 (+$120 NET)


If the Button shoves in, it's a crappy spot, but with AK and 20% of the effective stacks in pre-flop against an aggressive opponent (I've seen him shove in some dumb spots before), I think I've got to call it off. The more important thing is that that won't happen that often, and there really isn't a better option than re-raising with AK. Flat calling and playing out of position isn't appealing, nor is folding.


That doesn't mean I'm incapable of 4-bet/folding AK pre-flop- it just depends on the opponent:

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $800
BB: $523.30
UTG: $974.30
MP: $936.40
CO: $150.50
BTN: $1,771.40

Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (SB)
2 folds, CO raises to $12, BTN raises to $44, Hero raises to $155, 2 folds, BTN raises to $1,771.40 and is All-In, Hero folds

Results: $326 Pot
BTN mucked and WON $326 (+$171 NET)


My only regret here is that if I'm going to fold, I ought to raise a little less. $125 would probably do the trick.

Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 5-bet, 6-max, Full Tilt Poker, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, short-handed, squeeze play

Stumble It!

Doyle Brunson's Super/System was the first poker book I ever read, and one part that has always stuck out in my mind is a play that he suggests to bluff an opponent off of a chop when you both a one-card straight. Essentially, he suggests that if your opponent makes a bet or raise and you are sure he has the straight, and you also have it, you can just call (Brunson suggests some drama but it's hard to do that online) and then try to represent a full house if the board pairs on the river. You've got nothing to lose, since even if he calls you still chop the pot.

Full Tilt Poker, $2/$4 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $784.80
Hero (BB): $800
UTG: $1,563.55
BTN: $824

Pre-Flop: 5 A dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, SB raises to $14, Hero calls $10

Flop: ($28) K Q T (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($28) J (2 Players)
SB bets $24, Hero calls $24

River: ($76) K (2 Players)
SB bets $50, Hero raises to $262, SB folds

Results: $176 Pot ($2 Rake)
Hero mucked 5 A and WON $174 (+$86 NET)


Obviously this isn't exactly the same situation. With my redraw, I would have a lot to gain by getting it in against a straight on the turn, but at that time I wasn't sure he had a straight. Even on the river, I can't be sure, but I am glad I got the chance to make this play. He tanked for a while before folding, so I really do think I got him off the straight.

One important thing to point out here is that I was nearly certain he didn't have a boat. I didn't think he would check two pair or a set on the flop, and if the J gave him two pair or a set, I don't think he would bet that when there was a four-straight on the board. So I wasn't worried about having him shove over this raise.

Labels: 6-max, deep stacks, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review

Stumble It!

15K hands at -2.5 BB/100 is the short version of the story. And despite a final table appearance in an FTP $100 rebuy, I lost money on tournaments as well, thought I didn't play that many. I very nearly rallied on the last day of the month, only to get myself into some flush trouble. This first one may just be bad luck. It was against Jason Strasser. Though we'd never sat together before, I have some idea of how he plays, and I'm pretty sure this is a reasonable line to take against him. Guess I'm just going to lose some money when I hold the third nuts to his nuts:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

SB ($3338.50)
BB ($2272)
Hero ($5000)
MP ($4314)
Button ($11909)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ks, Kd.
Hero raises to $70, 1 fold, Button calls $70, 2 folds.

Flop: ($170) 8s, Qs, Js (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $120, Hero calls $120.

Turn: ($410) 3s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $320, Hero calls $320.

River: ($1050) 7s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $800, Hero calls $800.

Final Pot: $2650

Results in white below:

Button has 9s Ts (straight flush, queen high).

Hero has Ks Kd (flush, king high).

Outcome: Button wins $2650.


This one I believe I played badly, though not for the reasons you might think:

Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $20 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

UTG ($5459.50)
MP ($6787)
Hero ($9459.75)
Button ($1582)
SB ($4198)
BB ($3796)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 2s, 4s.
1 fold, MP calls $20, Hero raises to $90, 3 folds, MP calls $70.

Flop: ($210) Qs, As, Jc (2 players)
MP bets $200, Hero raises to $819, MP calls $619.

Turn: ($1848) Kh (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $1550, MP calls $1550.

River: ($4948) Ts (2 players)
MP bets $2020, Hero raises to $7000.75 (All-In), MP calls $2308 (All-In).

Final Pot: $16276.75

Results in white below:

MP has 9s 6s (flush, ace high).

Hero has 2s 4s (flush, ace high).

Outcome: MP wins $13604. Hero wins $2672.75.

Note that we are nearly 350 BB deep here. You'll also need to know that my opponent was absolutely terrible and loved to play loose and passive from out of position. I was happy to oblige by raising roughly 90% of his limps, potting most flops, and then proceeding from there. So I think raising him with 42s is actually fine/good.

He didn't lead into me that often, though, and I'm not a fan of my flop raise. He isn't very likely to fold, and he'll probably pay off if I hit my flush, so I'm almost surely better off calling and keeping stacks deeper for later streets. Having raised flop, I guess the turn bet is OK. There's probably a good-sized gap between his range for calling the flop and his range for continuing on this turn, and I'm 99% sure he's not raising with anything less than a pretty unlikely straight.

Alarm bells went off when he led the river, though. I really hadn't been thinking enough about his range, but this is very consistent with his having a flush draw. Yes, I'd seen him check call pot on the turn with a bare flush draw and no plans for bluffing the river. If there weren't a straight on the board, I wouldn't even thinking about jamming on him. But here there is both a plausible reason for him to bet this river without a flush (even if I do call he's probably chopping, since my hand doesn't look very much like a flush) and a good reason for him to call a shove with less than a flush, since a chop is so likely.

That's what should be the case. But this guy was bad and predictable and I was just pretty damn sure he had a better flush. But I convinced myself I was being a wuss and shoved the last 100 BB into the pot.