Monday, October 13, 2008
Another 50/100 Shot
I've only played this high once before, but it went very well that time. The game tonight wasn't nearly as soft, but for a 50/100 game it wasn't too tough. As usual, it was built around an FTP pro, in this case winner of the WSOP PLHE championship Nenad Medic. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I played with Nenad on Day 1 of the WSOP main event this year. He wasn't bad by any stretch, but as far as I know he's not a regular in big online cash games, so I was expecting him to be kind of a tourney donk.
There were also a few other names I didn't recognize at the table, which was tentatively a good sign, and one who I knew to be decent but probably not much better than I. The biggest pot I played was against him:
Full Tilt Poker, $50/$100 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: $20,541
BTN: $28,145
SB: $10,328
Hero (BB): $13,844
UTG: $23,340.15
MP: $29,093.30
Pre-Flop: 7
7
dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, CO raises to $350, BTN folds, SB calls $300, Hero raises to $1,400, CO calls $1,050, SB folds
Flop: ($3,150) 6
Q
Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $1,444, CO raises to $3,400, Hero calls $1,956
Turn: ($9,950) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks
River: ($9,950) 3 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $9,950, Hero folds
Results: $9,950 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO mucked and WON $9,947 (+$5,147 NET)
This was the second time I'd squeezed against this guy's CO open. The first time he 4-bet me pre-flop and I folded. I tanked on the river while playing, but looking at it now I'm pretty comfortable with the fold. The thing is that I think he thinks I have a medium pair, which means he could very well be bluffing. But in truth, I would probably play both AA and QJ in a similar fasion, because usually on the river he's going to have either a bluff or a hand worth value betting. So whether he realizes it or not, 77 is at the bottom of my range and protected against bluffs by those stronger hands.
And yes, I would call here with AA, because he can be value betting worse. In fact, I think this is a great line with something like KK.
This was the biggest pot I lost, but the session didn't go too well in general. I was out less than a buy-in, but at these stakes, that's still enough to swamp my winnings on many other tables. Oh well.
Stumble It!
There were also a few other names I didn't recognize at the table, which was tentatively a good sign, and one who I knew to be decent but probably not much better than I. The biggest pot I played was against him:
Full Tilt Poker, $50/$100 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: $20,541
BTN: $28,145
SB: $10,328
Hero (BB): $13,844
UTG: $23,340.15
MP: $29,093.30
Pre-Flop: 7
7 dealt to Hero (BB)2 folds, CO raises to $350, BTN folds, SB calls $300, Hero raises to $1,400, CO calls $1,050, SB folds
Flop: ($3,150) 6
Q Q (2 Players)Hero bets $1,444, CO raises to $3,400, Hero calls $1,956
Turn: ($9,950) J
(2 Players)Hero checks, CO checks
River: ($9,950) 3
(2 Players)Hero checks, CO bets $9,950, Hero folds
Results: $9,950 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO mucked and WON $9,947 (+$5,147 NET)
This was the second time I'd squeezed against this guy's CO open. The first time he 4-bet me pre-flop and I folded. I tanked on the river while playing, but looking at it now I'm pretty comfortable with the fold. The thing is that I think he thinks I have a medium pair, which means he could very well be bluffing. But in truth, I would probably play both AA and QJ in a similar fasion, because usually on the river he's going to have either a bluff or a hand worth value betting. So whether he realizes it or not, 77 is at the bottom of my range and protected against bluffs by those stronger hands.
And yes, I would call here with AA, because he can be value betting worse. In fact, I think this is a great line with something like KK.
This was the biggest pot I lost, but the session didn't go too well in general. I was out less than a buy-in, but at these stakes, that's still enough to swamp my winnings on many other tables. Oh well.
Labels: 3-bet, bluff, Nenad Medic, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, squeeze play
Stumble It!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Building a Pot to Bluff
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.
Stumble It!
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!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Three Things to Try
When you're trying to add new elements to your game and new tricks to your arsenal, you may end up making some plays that are, in a vaccuum, negative EV. However, the overall process of experimentation and trying to open up your game going to be very profitable for you in the long run. Here are three things that you probably don't do often enough and should make an effort to incorporate into your game, even if they cost you a little money in the short run as you learn how to execute them effectively:
1. Turn a hand with showdown value into a bluff.
2. Plan a triple barrel bluff from the flop and then execute it.
3. Check-raise bluff the river.
The most educational and least expensive way to start trying this stuff is to think it through ahead of time. Don't just sit down and start triple barreling at every opportunity to see when it works (hint: it will stop working very quickly). Instead, think it through ahead of time. Think about what boards and what type of opponents will be best for these plays, and then try to execute them at the right times.
Stumble It!
1. Turn a hand with showdown value into a bluff.
2. Plan a triple barrel bluff from the flop and then execute it.
3. Check-raise bluff the river.
The most educational and least expensive way to start trying this stuff is to think it through ahead of time. Don't just sit down and start triple barreling at every opportunity to see when it works (hint: it will stop working very quickly). Instead, think it through ahead of time. Think about what boards and what type of opponents will be best for these plays, and then try to execute them at the right times.
Labels: bluff, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, triple barrel
Stumble It!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Strange Play in a Four-Bet Pot
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.
Stumble It!
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!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Cardplayer Interview
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.
Stumble It!
Labels: 6-max, bluff, Card Player, full ring, NLHE, poker, poker strategy
Stumble It!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Literally Killed the Foxwoods 10/25 Game
Yesterday was a long day. It was the first tournament of the BDL's fifth season, and though I'm no longer the director, I still very much wanted and needed to be there. So I woke up around 6AM, spent the next twelve hours on my feet helping to run a debate tournament, then drove straight to Foxwoods to meet some friends from my old home game there.
I played 10/25 NL at the Rio over the summer but had never played in the Foxwoods game. There was only one person ahead of me on the list, but it still took nearly an hour to get seated because there was only one game going.
When I took my seat, it looked like a tough lineup. On my right were two young guys with huge stacks (one had like 25K) talking about 2+2. A few seats to my left was a strong player named John who I imagine was the infamous John the Lawyer whom I've heard about in various Foxwoods threads on 2+2.
However, the game had apparently been going for over 24 hours, and not long after I sat some of the tougher players, including everyone mentioned above, quit. Which was fine with me.
I only had about 6K on me, so I couldn't buy in too deep. I bought 3K and played pretty tight, making the occasional move and getting a ton of credit when I did.
Happy Birthday to Me
I was on the button in a straddled pot. One of the aggressive guys on my right opened to $150, and I made it $500 with KQo. A young Asian guy who seemed to be a regular called cold from the SB, and everyone else, including the raiser, folded. Since I only had a little over 2K behind, I feared that cold call was extremely strong.
My fear turned into hope when the flop came QQ7. Thinking that this kid wasn't going to fold any pair that he flatted for 25% of the effective stacks, I bet $700. Sure enough, he shoved all in, and I of course called. The board ran out J J to give me a boat, and he showed Ts9s nothing but some backdoor draws. Someone should have told him my birthday was last week.
Maximum Overdrive
Soon the game got down to 6-handed, which was fine by me. Not only was I getting in more hands against opponents who didn't know how to play short-handed, but Foxwoods was only charging half time. I abandoned my previously tight image and poured on the aggression. No one was even trying to stand up to me. Their only defense was to call more loosely out of position, which is of course the worst possible response to a good LAG.
Still, I kept thinking that the playback was coming. I tried check-raising the flop against a guy who 3-bet me, but he called and I gave up. Then I got min-checkraised when holding air on an A-high flop. I came back over the top for a small 3-bet, and the guy quickly folded.
Then I raised J4s on the button and got called by a youngish guy with a long pointy beard. The flop came 7s 6x 4s. He checked, I bet $150, and he made it $400. I felt like he might be bluffing, and that regardless, he was definitely weak. I decided to call and decide later in the hand whether bottom pair was good or whether I should turn it into a bluff.
The turn brought a K, and we both checked. The river was the Js, giving me two pair and putting a possible flush on the board. My opponent bet $400. I contemplated a bluff-raise but figured two pair was probably good anyway. I called. He showed T7o and proceeded to berate me for "calling $400 with a pair of 4's." I love live donks.
Flip
Same pointy-bearded donk is getting ground down and now has only like $1300. For some reason I call anyway with K8s when he makes it $100 from the SB. Flop is T-high and gives me a flush draw. He bets $400 (yes twice the pot) but I shoved anyway and he called and his QT held up. Bummer. I'm not sure this was actually a good shove, because he may well play AA, KK, and the nut flush draw like this also. But whatever, it's not like this was the internet where doubling the donkey risks causing him to quit. This guy was in it for the long haul. In fact, he eventually retrieved more cash from the cage, though I was disappointed to see it was only another thousand.
Heads Up
As players dropped out, the game continued to dwindle until only me and Beardy were left. He seemed to eager to play heads up with the guy who calls $400 with fours, and I was glad to oblige.
Hand 1- He open folds his button.
Hand 2- I raise AQo on the button, he calls. Flop QT5, all clubs. I don't have a club. He bets $300, I raise to $900, he jams for $3000 or so, and I snap call. The board runs out Q T to give me Queens full, but from the way he mucks I'm sure I was good all along. I definitely would have heard about it if I had bad beat him.
He quit, and just like that, I was the last man standing in the biggest game at Foxwoods!
Stumble It!
I played 10/25 NL at the Rio over the summer but had never played in the Foxwoods game. There was only one person ahead of me on the list, but it still took nearly an hour to get seated because there was only one game going.
When I took my seat, it looked like a tough lineup. On my right were two young guys with huge stacks (one had like 25K) talking about 2+2. A few seats to my left was a strong player named John who I imagine was the infamous John the Lawyer whom I've heard about in various Foxwoods threads on 2+2.
However, the game had apparently been going for over 24 hours, and not long after I sat some of the tougher players, including everyone mentioned above, quit. Which was fine with me.
I only had about 6K on me, so I couldn't buy in too deep. I bought 3K and played pretty tight, making the occasional move and getting a ton of credit when I did.
Happy Birthday to Me
I was on the button in a straddled pot. One of the aggressive guys on my right opened to $150, and I made it $500 with KQo. A young Asian guy who seemed to be a regular called cold from the SB, and everyone else, including the raiser, folded. Since I only had a little over 2K behind, I feared that cold call was extremely strong.
My fear turned into hope when the flop came QQ7. Thinking that this kid wasn't going to fold any pair that he flatted for 25% of the effective stacks, I bet $700. Sure enough, he shoved all in, and I of course called. The board ran out J J to give me a boat, and he showed Ts9s nothing but some backdoor draws. Someone should have told him my birthday was last week.
Maximum Overdrive
Soon the game got down to 6-handed, which was fine by me. Not only was I getting in more hands against opponents who didn't know how to play short-handed, but Foxwoods was only charging half time. I abandoned my previously tight image and poured on the aggression. No one was even trying to stand up to me. Their only defense was to call more loosely out of position, which is of course the worst possible response to a good LAG.
Still, I kept thinking that the playback was coming. I tried check-raising the flop against a guy who 3-bet me, but he called and I gave up. Then I got min-checkraised when holding air on an A-high flop. I came back over the top for a small 3-bet, and the guy quickly folded.
Then I raised J4s on the button and got called by a youngish guy with a long pointy beard. The flop came 7s 6x 4s. He checked, I bet $150, and he made it $400. I felt like he might be bluffing, and that regardless, he was definitely weak. I decided to call and decide later in the hand whether bottom pair was good or whether I should turn it into a bluff.
The turn brought a K, and we both checked. The river was the Js, giving me two pair and putting a possible flush on the board. My opponent bet $400. I contemplated a bluff-raise but figured two pair was probably good anyway. I called. He showed T7o and proceeded to berate me for "calling $400 with a pair of 4's." I love live donks.
Flip
Same pointy-bearded donk is getting ground down and now has only like $1300. For some reason I call anyway with K8s when he makes it $100 from the SB. Flop is T-high and gives me a flush draw. He bets $400 (yes twice the pot) but I shoved anyway and he called and his QT held up. Bummer. I'm not sure this was actually a good shove, because he may well play AA, KK, and the nut flush draw like this also. But whatever, it's not like this was the internet where doubling the donkey risks causing him to quit. This guy was in it for the long haul. In fact, he eventually retrieved more cash from the cage, though I was disappointed to see it was only another thousand.
Heads Up
As players dropped out, the game continued to dwindle until only me and Beardy were left. He seemed to eager to play heads up with the guy who calls $400 with fours, and I was glad to oblige.
Hand 1- He open folds his button.
Hand 2- I raise AQo on the button, he calls. Flop QT5, all clubs. I don't have a club. He bets $300, I raise to $900, he jams for $3000 or so, and I snap call. The board runs out Q T to give me Queens full, but from the way he mucks I'm sure I was good all along. I definitely would have heard about it if I had bad beat him.
He quit, and just like that, I was the last man standing in the biggest game at Foxwoods!
Labels: 3-bet, bluff, continuation bet, deep stacks, Foxwoods, heads up, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, short-handed, Two Plus Two
Stumble It!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Those who do not learn from history...
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.
Stumble It!
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!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
WCOOP Event 29: $500 NLHE Rebuy 6-Max
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.
Stumble It!
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!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
WCOOP Event 20: $1050 NLHE
Terrible starting tables have been the theme of my WCOOP thus far. Today was no exception, with no fewer than three successful 5/10+ NL players, soon to be joined by a fourth (in addition to yours truly, so I guess it sucked that much more for the other guys at the table). However, I was lucky to make some big hands and cold deck a few people, including with AA vs KK, so I left the table in great shape.
My second table was much softer. I raised a few pots in a row from late position and people just started playing back at me maniacally. It's kind of funny to watch tournament players try to deal with aggressive raising by doing stuff like 3-betting light. The thing is, this dynamic has been a part of mid- and high-stakes NL games for nearly a year now, and those of us who play them regularly are quite familiar with not only how to 3-bet light but how to combat those who do.
For a lot of tournament players, though, especially casual ones, it's more of a revelation. They get that I'm raising a ton of pots and that they should be 3-betting in position, but they're choosing bad raise sizes and bad hands to do it with and bad spots, etc.
Anyway, I picked up chips at this table from people awkwardly trying to play back at me. My third table quickly pegged me as aggressive again, and one guy in particular on my left made clear that he was going to play back at me. Again, people weren't doing a great job of it, but now they were getting lucky.
Things started off well. I raised QQ in early position, and someone in middle position made a really tiny re-raise. Even with a hand as strong as QQ, I had a terrible feeling about this. But I also knew I'd been a little aggressive, so I didnt' want to fold. I elected to call, putting like 8.5K in the pot and leaving around 14K in the effective stacks. I didn't quite have set odds, but I wanted to see what my opponent did on certain flops.
The flop came 994, which was perfect for my purposes. I checked, and he overbet shoved all in. I didn't think he'd do that with AA or KK, so I called, he showed me AK, and I dodged the bullets. That hand rocketed me up among the tournament chipleaders. Nearly four hours into the event, I had over 100 BB's. That was owing in no small part to the amazing structure.
Then I raised A8s in late position and a pretty weak player called in the SB. That would be a strong play from a better player, but against this guy, I was ready to stack off on a 854 flop. He checked and very quickly called my bet. That quick call is rarely a monster, so I was feeling pretty good about my hand. The turn was a deuce. He checked, and with less than twice the pot left in the effective stacks, my only option was to bet-call. So I bet, he shoved, I called, and he showed me A3s that drilled the gutshot on the turn. That took out about 1/3 of my stack.
I rebuilt a bit but mostly was quiet for a while after that. Then I raised 22 from MP and the aforementioned player who was trying to play back at me called. He was actually pretty good, so when the flop came KJ6, I didn't think it would hit his calling range too well. I bet, and he called. Oh well. I checked, and he checked it back. Then an A came on the river, and I just had to bet at it. He called me with AQ.
I was frustrated to see another guy calling with a gutshot and getting there, but truthfully the flop call wasn't that bad. I do think he should be betting the turn though if he is going to float the flop.
Anyway, that took about half of my remaining chips. Finally I picked up AK UTG. The SB re-raised, I shoved, and he called me with exactly what I was hoping he had: AQ. I was hoping, that is, until I saw the Q on the flop. That was the end of Ol' Foucault.
I can't really complain though, because I made a really sweet run at the cash games while I was playing the tournament. I finished with over 700 BB's on both a 5/10 and 3/6 table and up on a few other tables as well. So it was a good day, though the tournament was a bit frustrating.
Stumble It!
My second table was much softer. I raised a few pots in a row from late position and people just started playing back at me maniacally. It's kind of funny to watch tournament players try to deal with aggressive raising by doing stuff like 3-betting light. The thing is, this dynamic has been a part of mid- and high-stakes NL games for nearly a year now, and those of us who play them regularly are quite familiar with not only how to 3-bet light but how to combat those who do.
For a lot of tournament players, though, especially casual ones, it's more of a revelation. They get that I'm raising a ton of pots and that they should be 3-betting in position, but they're choosing bad raise sizes and bad hands to do it with and bad spots, etc.
Anyway, I picked up chips at this table from people awkwardly trying to play back at me. My third table quickly pegged me as aggressive again, and one guy in particular on my left made clear that he was going to play back at me. Again, people weren't doing a great job of it, but now they were getting lucky.
Things started off well. I raised QQ in early position, and someone in middle position made a really tiny re-raise. Even with a hand as strong as QQ, I had a terrible feeling about this. But I also knew I'd been a little aggressive, so I didnt' want to fold. I elected to call, putting like 8.5K in the pot and leaving around 14K in the effective stacks. I didn't quite have set odds, but I wanted to see what my opponent did on certain flops.
The flop came 994, which was perfect for my purposes. I checked, and he overbet shoved all in. I didn't think he'd do that with AA or KK, so I called, he showed me AK, and I dodged the bullets. That hand rocketed me up among the tournament chipleaders. Nearly four hours into the event, I had over 100 BB's. That was owing in no small part to the amazing structure.
Then I raised A8s in late position and a pretty weak player called in the SB. That would be a strong play from a better player, but against this guy, I was ready to stack off on a 854 flop. He checked and very quickly called my bet. That quick call is rarely a monster, so I was feeling pretty good about my hand. The turn was a deuce. He checked, and with less than twice the pot left in the effective stacks, my only option was to bet-call. So I bet, he shoved, I called, and he showed me A3s that drilled the gutshot on the turn. That took out about 1/3 of my stack.
I rebuilt a bit but mostly was quiet for a while after that. Then I raised 22 from MP and the aforementioned player who was trying to play back at me called. He was actually pretty good, so when the flop came KJ6, I didn't think it would hit his calling range too well. I bet, and he called. Oh well. I checked, and he checked it back. Then an A came on the river, and I just had to bet at it. He called me with AQ.
I was frustrated to see another guy calling with a gutshot and getting there, but truthfully the flop call wasn't that bad. I do think he should be betting the turn though if he is going to float the flop.
Anyway, that took about half of my remaining chips. Finally I picked up AK UTG. The SB re-raised, I shoved, and he called me with exactly what I was hoping he had: AQ. I was hoping, that is, until I saw the Q on the flop. That was the end of Ol' Foucault.
I can't really complain though, because I made a really sweet run at the cash games while I was playing the tournament. I finished with over 700 BB's on both a 5/10 and 3/6 table and up on a few other tables as well. So it was a good day, though the tournament was a bit frustrating.
Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, bad beat, bluff, continuation bet, NLHE, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, session review, tournament, WCOOP
Stumble It!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
WCOOP Event 16: $215 PLO 1 Rebuy/1 Add-On
I was actually only in for $400 because I didn't rebuy immediately. Only one person at my table did this, and I decided that Omaha being a high variance game, my one rebuy would be more useful to me as an insurance policy than as an immediate add-on. However, I doubled up almost immediately and never ended up using it. I ended up running pretty deep anyway. Throughout the rebuy period and the first hour or so afterwards, I played very tight. I won a few nice pots early in the rebuy period, so after adding on, I could afford to fold for quite some time, which is what I did.
Eventually I picked up Aces in a great spot and won a huge pot with a coin flip:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t50/t100
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t4940
UTG+1: t10930
MP1: t11523
Hero: t7430
CO: t840
Button: t8674
SB: t29202
BB: t32230
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP2 with :ks :6s :ah :ac
2 folds, MP1 raises to t350, Hero calls t350 (pot was t500), 2 folds, SB calls t300 (pot was t850), BB raises to t1750, MP1 calls t1400 (pot was t2800), Hero raises to t7350, SB folds, BB raises to t12950, MP1 folds, Hero calls all-in t80.
Uncalled bets: t5520 returned to BB.
Flop: :5s :js :tc (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
Turn: :2c (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
River: :as (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
Results:
Final pot: t16960
Aces in PLO aren't nearly the monster they are in NLHE, so with not much else to the hand, I elected just to call with them initially. I ended up getting it in with QJT9 and holding.
I'm no PLO expert, but from what I could tell, a lot of people were playing really badly. I may even have made some questionable folds because I gave people too much credit when they potted it:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t32987
Hero: t22900
MP1: t33260
MP2: t4865
MP3: t23062
CO: t31400
Button: t43209
SB: t31598
BB: t1730
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with :as :ad :9s :8d
UTG calls t300 (pot was t450), Hero raises to t1350, 2 folds, MP3 calls t1350 (pot was t2100), CO calls t1350 (pot was t3450), 3 folds, UTG calls t1050 (pot was t4800).
Flop: :5h :9d :5d (t5850, 4 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks, MP3 bets t5850, 2 folds, Hero folds.
Uncalled bets: t5850 returned to MP3.
Results:
Final pot: t5850
Here I check-folded Aces and the nut flush draw because I just couldn't see this guy having less than trips, and I didn't want to invest 4x the pot in such a spot.
Eventually I caught one of these guys overvaluing his hand:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t30862
UTG+1: t30050
MP1: t43209
MP2: t30998
MP3: t1280
CO: t31037
Hero: t20050
SB: t32660
BB: t4865
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is Button with :kd :js :6s :th
UTG calls t300 (pot was t450), UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t300 (pot was t750), 2 folds, CO calls t300 (pot was t1050), Hero calls t300 (pot was t1350), SB folds, BB checks.
Flop: :jh :4c :ks (t1650, 5 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, CO bets t1250, Hero calls t1250 (pot was t2900), 3 folds.
Turn: :5s (t4150, 2 players)
CO bets t3600, Hero calls t3600 (pot was t7750).
River: :kc (t11350, 2 players)
CO bets t4200, Hero raises all-in t14900, CO calls t10700 (pot was t30450).
Results:
Final pot: t41150
He had AKT4, for K's full of 4's. The turn should probably a check-fold for him. Potting it again is really bad with top and bottom pair, and if I hadn't seen so many people making mistakes like this, I might have been tempted to fold top two. But I decided to call again and river the nuts instead.
This was a fun one where I turned an overpair into a bluff since I held two blockers to the nuts:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t4415
UTG+1: t30962
MP1: t32240
MP2: t38329
MP3: t27768
CO: t10130
Button: t18737
Hero: t37200
BB: t35360
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is SB with :kh :jc :jh :ac
3 folds, MP2 raises to t900, MP3 folds, CO calls t900 (pot was t1350), Button folds, Hero calls t750 (pot was t2250), BB folds.
Flop: :9h :4h :5c (t3000, 3 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t1500, CO folds, Hero calls t1500 (pot was t4500).
Turn: :8h (t6000, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
River: :qs (t6000, 2 players)
Hero bets t4300, MP2 folds.
Uncalled bets: t4300 returned to Hero.
Results:
Final pot: t6000
For the majority of the tournament, Andy McLeod, the eventual winner, was on my immediate left. From what I could tell, he wasn't a great PLO player, but he is a great tournament player in general and very loose and aggressive, which was rough to have on my left. I actually ran really well against him and probably didn't win as much as a better player could have nor as much as I could have from a less good player. I ended up doubling through Andy at a really crucial moment when we both held KKxx and flopped an overpair. I had a flush draw with mine, he had an open-ended straight draw with his, and my draw hit.
The last laugh was his, though, as he recovered by twice doubling through the Aces of LoneHixx (who was on his immediate left) with random garbage and ended up winning nearly $100,000 for first place.
With 117 left out of more than 1200 who started, I was in 25th place and feeling fine. Then it happened:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t600/t1200
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t58291
UTG+1: t68740
MP1: t58836
MP2: t141471
CO: t49815
Hero: t84555
SB: t71922
BB: t100490
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is Button with :8c :9d :jc :js
3 folds, MP2 raises to t4200, CO calls t4200 (pot was t6000), Hero calls t4200 (pot was t10200), 2 folds.
Flop: :ks :jd :5h (t14400, 3 players)
MP2 bets t14400, CO folds, Hero raises to t57600, MP2 raises to t100800, Hero calls all-in t22755.
Uncalled bets: t20445 returned to MP2.
Turn: :5s (t175110, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t175110)
River: :6h (t175110, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t175110)
Results:
Final pot: t175110
I was up against KKxx, so I busted with middle set versus top set. In NLHE, that's an absolute cooler. But I wonder whether a better PLO player would have lost his ass here. Truthfully, when the guy bet out into two people, I was already pretty worried about top set. But I just couldn't see anything but getting it in and then getting it pissed.
Stumble It!
Eventually I picked up Aces in a great spot and won a huge pot with a coin flip:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t50/t100
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t4940
UTG+1: t10930
MP1: t11523
Hero: t7430
CO: t840
Button: t8674
SB: t29202
BB: t32230
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP2 with :ks :6s :ah :ac
2 folds, MP1 raises to t350, Hero calls t350 (pot was t500), 2 folds, SB calls t300 (pot was t850), BB raises to t1750, MP1 calls t1400 (pot was t2800), Hero raises to t7350, SB folds, BB raises to t12950, MP1 folds, Hero calls all-in t80.
Uncalled bets: t5520 returned to BB.
Flop: :5s :js :tc (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
Turn: :2c (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
River: :as (t16960, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t16960)
Results:
Final pot: t16960
Aces in PLO aren't nearly the monster they are in NLHE, so with not much else to the hand, I elected just to call with them initially. I ended up getting it in with QJT9 and holding.
I'm no PLO expert, but from what I could tell, a lot of people were playing really badly. I may even have made some questionable folds because I gave people too much credit when they potted it:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t32987
Hero: t22900
MP1: t33260
MP2: t4865
MP3: t23062
CO: t31400
Button: t43209
SB: t31598
BB: t1730
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with :as :ad :9s :8d
UTG calls t300 (pot was t450), Hero raises to t1350, 2 folds, MP3 calls t1350 (pot was t2100), CO calls t1350 (pot was t3450), 3 folds, UTG calls t1050 (pot was t4800).
Flop: :5h :9d :5d (t5850, 4 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks, MP3 bets t5850, 2 folds, Hero folds.
Uncalled bets: t5850 returned to MP3.
Results:
Final pot: t5850
Here I check-folded Aces and the nut flush draw because I just couldn't see this guy having less than trips, and I didn't want to invest 4x the pot in such a spot.
Eventually I caught one of these guys overvaluing his hand:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t30862
UTG+1: t30050
MP1: t43209
MP2: t30998
MP3: t1280
CO: t31037
Hero: t20050
SB: t32660
BB: t4865
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is Button with :kd :js :6s :th
UTG calls t300 (pot was t450), UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t300 (pot was t750), 2 folds, CO calls t300 (pot was t1050), Hero calls t300 (pot was t1350), SB folds, BB checks.
Flop: :jh :4c :ks (t1650, 5 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, CO bets t1250, Hero calls t1250 (pot was t2900), 3 folds.
Turn: :5s (t4150, 2 players)
CO bets t3600, Hero calls t3600 (pot was t7750).
River: :kc (t11350, 2 players)
CO bets t4200, Hero raises all-in t14900, CO calls t10700 (pot was t30450).
Results:
Final pot: t41150
He had AKT4, for K's full of 4's. The turn should probably a check-fold for him. Potting it again is really bad with top and bottom pair, and if I hadn't seen so many people making mistakes like this, I might have been tempted to fold top two. But I decided to call again and river the nuts instead.
This was a fun one where I turned an overpair into a bluff since I held two blockers to the nuts:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t150/t300
9 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t4415
UTG+1: t30962
MP1: t32240
MP2: t38329
MP3: t27768
CO: t10130
Button: t18737
Hero: t37200
BB: t35360
Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is SB with :kh :jc :jh :ac
3 folds, MP2 raises to t900, MP3 folds, CO calls t900 (pot was t1350), Button folds, Hero calls t750 (pot was t2250), BB folds.
Flop: :9h :4h :5c (t3000, 3 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t1500, CO folds, Hero calls t1500 (pot was t4500).
Turn: :8h (t6000, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
River: :qs (t6000, 2 players)
Hero bets t4300, MP2 folds.
Uncalled bets: t4300 returned to Hero.
Results:
Final pot: t6000
For the majority of the tournament, Andy McLeod, the eventual winner, was on my immediate left. From what I could tell, he wasn't a great PLO player, but he is a great tournament player in general and very loose and aggressive, which was rough to have on my left. I actually ran really well against him and probably didn't win as much as a better player could have nor as much as I could have from a less good player. I ended up doubling through Andy at a really crucial moment when we both held KKxx and flopped an overpair. I had a flush draw with mine, he had an open-ended straight draw with his, and my draw hit.
The last laugh was his, though, as he recovered by twice doubling through the Aces of LoneHixx (who was on his immediate left) with random garbage and ended up winning nearly $100,000 for first place.
With 117 left out of more than 1200 who started, I was in 25th place and feeling fine. Then it happened:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t600/t1200
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t58291
UTG+1: t68740
MP1: t58836
MP2: t141471
CO: t49815
Hero: t84555
SB: t71922
BB: t100490
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is Button with :8c :9d :jc :js
3 folds, MP2 raises to t4200, CO calls t4200 (pot was t6000), Hero calls t4200 (pot was t10200), 2 folds.
Flop: :ks :jd :5h (t14400, 3 players)
MP2 bets t14400, CO folds, Hero raises to t57600, MP2 raises to t100800, Hero calls all-in t22755.
Uncalled bets: t20445 returned to MP2.
Turn: :5s (t175110, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t175110)
River: :6h (t175110, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: t175110)
Results:
Final pot: t175110
I was up against KKxx, so I busted with middle set versus top set. In NLHE, that's an absolute cooler. But I wonder whether a better PLO player would have lost his ass here. Truthfully, when the guy bet out into two people, I was already pretty worried about top set. But I just couldn't see anything but getting it in and then getting it pissed.
Labels: bluff, PLO, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, rebuy, tournament, WCOOP
Stumble It!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
River 3-Bet Bluff
This was a fun hand. It was against this guy who kinda irks me. He's a full ring grinder, meaning that he plays 9-handed NLHE games exclusively for his income. Needless to say, he's a pretty uncreative nit with a bit of an inflated ego because he can make the occasional move. Like, he'll bluff in a pretty standard spot and then show it or talk trash or whatever. So here's a play I ran on him today:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: $1,976
SB: $289.95
Hero (BB): $1,074.75
UTG: $208.75
MP: $1,000
CO: $1,000
Pre-Flop: A 6 dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, CO raises to $20, SB calls $15, Hero calls $10
Flop: ($60) K 4 7 (3 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets $30, SB folds, Hero calls $30
Turn: ($120) 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks
River: ($120) 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets $74, CO raises to $148, Hero raises to $450, CO folds
Results: $416 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A 6 and WON $413 (+$215 NET)
I'm not sure what to make of the min-raise pre-flop or the half-pot flop bet. I was planning to check-raise the flop, but I decided that with such appealing odds, I would just call. Then I was going to check-raise the turn, figuring I'd get him off something like KQ-AA. When he checked back the turn, I was thinking his range would consist mostly of air, pairs less than a K, and sometimes a pot-controlled top pair or boat. By leading the river, I can rep top pair+ and get him off all but his top pair+ hands.
His river min-raise is never a bluff, but I did think it was a kind of thin value play with like AK or AA planning on folding to a 3-bet. So that's what I did. I would have done it for value with any 7. I don't really believe him, but here's what he told me he had:
Nit: 44
Foucaut: what? no way you had 44
Nit: u had quads?
Foucault: sure did
Nit: nh
Foucault: good fold
Nit: ez fold
Obviously an awful fold if he really had 44, which I must admit is not inconsistent with his line up to the river. But since, as I said, I was 3-betting trips for value, folding a boat there is terrible. Granted it is pretty rare for me to bluff here. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've 3-bet bluffed the river. But it would have been really sweet if I didn't have auto-muck turned on and I could have showed him my cards. Oh well. And look what happened the very next hand:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP: $2,083
CO: $174.95
Hero (BTN): $1,284.75
SB: $198.75
BB: $1,000
UTG: $1,000
Pre-Flop: 7 7 dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $20, Hero raises to $75, 2 folds, CO calls $55
Flop: ($165) A 7 7 (2 Players)
CO bets $99.95 and is All-In, Hero calls $99.95
Turn: ($364.90) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($364.90) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $364.90 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed 3 3 (two pair, Sevens and Threes) and LOST (-$174.95 NET)
Hero showed 7 7 (four of a kind, Sevens) and WON $361.90 (+$186.95 NET)
Legit quads!
Stumble It!
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
BTN: $1,976
SB: $289.95
Hero (BB): $1,074.75
UTG: $208.75
MP: $1,000
CO: $1,000
Pre-Flop: A
6 dealt to Hero (BB)2 folds, CO raises to $20, SB calls $15, Hero calls $10
Flop: ($60) K
4 7 (3 Players)SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets $30, SB folds, Hero calls $30
Turn: ($120) 8
(2 Players)Hero checks, CO checks
River: ($120) 7
(2 Players)Hero bets $74, CO raises to $148, Hero raises to $450, CO folds
Results: $416 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A
6 and WON $413 (+$215 NET)I'm not sure what to make of the min-raise pre-flop or the half-pot flop bet. I was planning to check-raise the flop, but I decided that with such appealing odds, I would just call. Then I was going to check-raise the turn, figuring I'd get him off something like KQ-AA. When he checked back the turn, I was thinking his range would consist mostly of air, pairs less than a K, and sometimes a pot-controlled top pair or boat. By leading the river, I can rep top pair+ and get him off all but his top pair+ hands.
His river min-raise is never a bluff, but I did think it was a kind of thin value play with like AK or AA planning on folding to a 3-bet. So that's what I did. I would have done it for value with any 7. I don't really believe him, but here's what he told me he had:
Nit: 44
Foucaut: what? no way you had 44
Nit: u had quads?
Foucault: sure did
Nit: nh
Foucault: good fold
Nit: ez fold
Obviously an awful fold if he really had 44, which I must admit is not inconsistent with his line up to the river. But since, as I said, I was 3-betting trips for value, folding a boat there is terrible. Granted it is pretty rare for me to bluff here. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've 3-bet bluffed the river. But it would have been really sweet if I didn't have auto-muck turned on and I could have showed him my cards. Oh well. And look what happened the very next hand:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP: $2,083
CO: $174.95
Hero (BTN): $1,284.75
SB: $198.75
BB: $1,000
UTG: $1,000
Pre-Flop: 7
7 dealt to Hero (BTN)2 folds, CO raises to $20, Hero raises to $75, 2 folds, CO calls $55
Flop: ($165) A
7 7 (2 Players)CO bets $99.95 and is All-In, Hero calls $99.95
Turn: ($364.90) 5
(2 Players - 1 is All-In)River: ($364.90) K
(2 Players - 1 is All-In)Results: $364.90 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed 3
3 (two pair, Sevens and Threes) and LOST (-$174.95 NET)Hero showed 7
7 (four of a kind, Sevens) and WON $361.90 (+$186.95 NET)Legit quads!
Labels: 3-bet, bluff, full ring, Full Tilt Poker, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review
Stumble It!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Aces in PLO
Two kind of interesting spots from a recent PLO session. They don't have much in common other than the fact that both involve AAxx hands.
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $616.70
UTG+1: $236
CO: $345
Button: $806.40
Hero: $1024.30
BB: $929.40
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :9h :kc :as :ad
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, 2 folds, Hero calls, BB checks.
Flop: :4s :th :ah ($16, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks.
Turn: :7s ($16, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $18, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $72, Hero raises to $252, BB folds, UTG+1 calls all-in $160.
Uncalled bets: $20 returned to Hero.
River: :9c ($498, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $498)
Results:
Final pot: $498
Hero showed 9h Kc As Ad
UTG+1 showed 7c 4d 7d Kd
I just complete because I'm in the worst position and I have dry Aces, which is to say no suited cards or connectivity or anything to go along with them. These limpers are never folding, and I can pretty much only win the pot by flopping a set, so I might as well keep it small.
So when I do flop the set, I'm looking to check-raise the flop. If I led out for pot, I'd be showing a fair bit of strength and not really setting myself up to win a big pot. Probably either everyone would fold or someone would call with a draw and then either draw out on the turn or fold to a pot bet on the turn (or maybe pick up enough equity on the turn that calling pot wouldn't be a big mistake). The only hand I can really make some money from is a worse set, and I expected those to bet the flop if I checked anyway.
Then the turn brought a ton of draws, though I still had the nuts. This time I was pretty sure it wouldn't check around again, and if it did, no big deal, because the pot is so small. If I led out here, most draws were just going to call which means I wouldn't be able to get all that much money in. And since I wouldn't know which draw my opponent was on, pretty much a bazillion river cards would be bad for my hand. So I checked again, this time looking to check-raise and get a bunch of money in while I was still ahead. Plus no one would ever put me on top set. And bada bing, bada boom, it worked.
Next hand:
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $450.50
Hero: $843.80
Button: $594
SB: $420
BB: $351.80
Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is CO with :7d :9h :ad :ac
UTG folds, Hero raises to $14, Button folds, SB calls, BB folds.
Flop: :qd :9c :4c ($32, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $24, SB raises to $72, Hero calls.
Turn: :8c ($176, 2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $476, SB calls all-in $234.
Uncalled bets: $142 returned to Hero.
River: :jh ($844, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $844)
Results:
Final pot: $844
Hero showed 7d 9h Ad Ac
SB showed Qc 6c 8s 7s
This is a pretty classic PLO bluff where, knowing that my opponent can't have the nuts, I represent it. The controversial part is the flop. Folding to the check-raise may be the correct play. The fact that I have the Ac actually makes it more likely that my opponent has AA beat than that he has a draw. But I was thinking I could take it away if a club turned even if my hand wasn't good. Oh well.
Stumble It!
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
6 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $616.70
UTG+1: $236
CO: $345
Button: $806.40
Hero: $1024.30
BB: $929.40
Pre-flop: (6 players) Hero is SB with :9h :kc :as :ad
UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, 2 folds, Hero calls, BB checks.
Flop: :4s :th :ah ($16, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks.
Turn: :7s ($16, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $18, UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $72, Hero raises to $252, BB folds, UTG+1 calls all-in $160.
Uncalled bets: $20 returned to Hero.
River: :9c ($498, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $498)
Results:
Final pot: $498
Hero showed 9h Kc As Ad
UTG+1 showed 7c 4d 7d Kd
I just complete because I'm in the worst position and I have dry Aces, which is to say no suited cards or connectivity or anything to go along with them. These limpers are never folding, and I can pretty much only win the pot by flopping a set, so I might as well keep it small.
So when I do flop the set, I'm looking to check-raise the flop. If I led out for pot, I'd be showing a fair bit of strength and not really setting myself up to win a big pot. Probably either everyone would fold or someone would call with a draw and then either draw out on the turn or fold to a pot bet on the turn (or maybe pick up enough equity on the turn that calling pot wouldn't be a big mistake). The only hand I can really make some money from is a worse set, and I expected those to bet the flop if I checked anyway.
Then the turn brought a ton of draws, though I still had the nuts. This time I was pretty sure it wouldn't check around again, and if it did, no big deal, because the pot is so small. If I led out here, most draws were just going to call which means I wouldn't be able to get all that much money in. And since I wouldn't know which draw my opponent was on, pretty much a bazillion river cards would be bad for my hand. So I checked again, this time looking to check-raise and get a bunch of money in while I was still ahead. Plus no one would ever put me on top set. And bada bing, bada boom, it worked.
Next hand:
Full Tilt Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $2/$4
5 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: $450.50
Hero: $843.80
Button: $594
SB: $420
BB: $351.80
Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is CO with :7d :9h :ad :ac
UTG folds, Hero raises to $14, Button folds, SB calls, BB folds.
Flop: :qd :9c :4c ($32, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $24, SB raises to $72, Hero calls.
Turn: :8c ($176, 2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $476, SB calls all-in $234.
Uncalled bets: $142 returned to Hero.
River: :jh ($844, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $844)
Results:
Final pot: $844
Hero showed 7d 9h Ad Ac
SB showed Qc 6c 8s 7s
This is a pretty classic PLO bluff where, knowing that my opponent can't have the nuts, I represent it. The controversial part is the flop. Folding to the check-raise may be the correct play. The fact that I have the Ac actually makes it more likely that my opponent has AA beat than that he has a draw. But I was thinking I could take it away if a club turned even if my hand wasn't good. Oh well.
Labels: bluff, Full Tilt Poker, PLO, poker, poker strategy, session review
Stumble It!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
FTOPS Event 22: $2500 NLHE Two-Day Event
It's so rare to find a tournament with a structure as good as this one. Level increases were gradual and staggered every thirty minutes, and stacks started deep. There were a couple of good tournament players at my table, most notably SCTrojans and mattyv (AKA Plattsburgh). They both probably play better 25 BB poker than I do. But in a deep-stacked, high buy-in tournament, they are welcome at my table. There was no one particularly good at the start and a few downright awful players.
Trojans is famous for being a nit, so I made a kind of big fold to him early in the tournament. Turns out I was good, but I still think it was a good fold, because I imagine he plays KK and AA the same way:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 4,990
BTN: 4,960
SB: 4,980
BB: 5,060
UTG: 5,000
UTG+1: 4,980
Hero (MP): 5,030
Pre-Flop: (30) Q Q dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 60, Hero calls 60, CO folds, BTN raises to 260, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls 200, Hero calls 200
Flop: (810) 8 7 6 (3 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 500, UTG+1 calls 500, Hero folds
Turn: (1,810) A (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, BTN checks
River: (1,810) 2 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 320, BTN calls 320
Results: 2,450 Pot
BTN mucked J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-1,080 NET)
UTG+1 showed Q Q (a pair of Queens) and WON 2,450 (+1,370 NET)
There was another interesting spot early on where I turned middle pair, check-called for value, and then decided to turn my hand into a bluff on the river:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP2: 6,051
CO: 7,820
BTN: 4,970
SB: 4,890
BB: 1,641
UTG: 4,555
UTG+1: 5,444
Hero (MP1): 4,629
Pre-Flop: (30) T A dealt to Hero (MP1)
2 folds, Hero raises to 70, MP2 calls 70, 4 folds
Flop: (170) K 2 4 (2 Players)
Hero bets 134, MP2 calls 134
Turn: (438) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets 300, Hero calls 300
River: (1,038) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets 625, MP2 folds
Results: 1,038 Pot
Hero mucked T A and WON 1,038 (+534 NET)
My thinking here was that I could fold out better pairs and random low flushes, since it looks quite a bit like I have Ac and a pair. Then I enticed this guy to shove on me drawing to a gutshot and a running flush:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP1: 4,864
MP2: 7,515
CO: 6,621
BTN: 5,746
SB: 2,519
BB: 6,099
UTG: 6,412
Hero (UTG+1): 4,719
Pre-Flop: (75) A A dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 134, 4 folds, SB calls 109, BB folds
Flop: (318) J J T (2 Players)
SB bets 212, Hero raises to 555, SB raises to 2,385 and is All-In, Hero calls 1,830
Turn: (5,088) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: (5,088) 5 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: 5,088 Pot
SB showed Q A (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,519 NET)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and WON 5,088 (+2,569 NET)
I actually put on a smaller pair and was trying to induce the same play, but this works, too. Probably my favorite hand of the tournament was this triple barrel:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG+2: 4,104
MP1: 12,670
MP2: 7,820
CO: 7,226
BTN: 6,465
SB: 20,698
BB: 10,625
UTG: 10,166
Hero (UTG+1): 7,758
Pre-Flop: (120) 5 5 dealt to Hero (UTG+1)
UTG folds, Hero raises to 218, 2 folds, MP2 calls 218, CO calls 218, 3 folds
Flop: (774) T A 8 (3 Players)
Hero bets 540, MP2 calls 540, CO folds
Turn: (1,854) 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets 1,250, MP2 calls 1,250
River: (4,354) K (2 Players)
Hero bets 3,250, MP2 folds
Results: 4,354 Pot
Hero mucked 5 5 and WON 4,354 (+2,346 NET)
There's actually not a lot to say about this one. It was some combination of the board texture and his timing that convinced me to pull the trigger on the river- he called the turn super-quickly, which I don't think he'd ever do with a monster given how many draws were out there. So I'm putting him on either a bare A or a pair and a flush draw. When the draws missed on the river, I figured he was folding nearly 100% of his range.
Plattsburgh was really the perfect guy for this next play. He's pretty aggressive pre-flop, and since I had position on him and stacks were deep, I'd already 3-bet him several times. I know that he's capable of 4-betting light, and I doubt he knows anything about me to think that I could 5-bet light. Plus, since he plays tournaments exclusively, he's rarely going to be playing with stack depths and opponents where light 5-betting is a consideration. So I think his 4-betting range here is going to be way too wide, since he probably doesn't expect me to move on him without Ace-King.
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 2,088
BB: 6,720
UTG: 21,908
UTG+1: 16,737
UTG+2: 16,462
MP1: 13,120
MP2: 7,129
CO: 15,744
Hero (BTN): 11,316
Pre-Flop: (240) Q A dealt to Hero (BTN)
5 folds, CO raises to 420, Hero raises to 1,111, 2 folds, CO raises to 3,124, Hero raises to 11,316 and is All-In, CO folds
Results: 6,488 Pot
Hero mucked Q A and WON 6,488 (+3,364 NET)
For what it's worth, it doesn't matter that I have AQs here, because I think his calling range is QQ+ and AK. The Ace is important, though, because it gives me equity against KK and more importantly because of card removal effects; with an A in my hand, he is that much less likely to hold AA or AK in the first place.
I didn't have much time to enjoy the nice stack, though, because two orbits later I had to make an excruciating fold:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 2,488
BTN: 5,840
SB: 22,248
BB: 15,317
UTG: 16,222
UTG+1: 16,680
UTG+2: 5,609
MP1: 12,460
Hero (MP2): 14,360
Pre-Flop: (240) J A dealt to Hero (MP2)
2 folds, UTG+2 calls 160, MP1 folds, Hero raises to 666, 2 folds, SB calls 586, BB folds, UTG+2 calls 506
Flop: (2,158) 8 4 J (3 Players)
SB checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets 1,194, SB raises to 2,500, UTG+2 folds, Hero calls 1,306
Turn: (7,158) 6 (2 Players)
SB bets 3,000, Hero calls 3,000
River: (13,158) T (2 Players)
SB bets 5,000, Hero folds
Results: 13,158 Pot
SB mucked and WON 13,158 (+6,992 NET)
I very nearly folded the turn. For as little as 500 chips more, I would have. It took discipline, but between the T falling on the river to put me behind JT and the fact that the guy kept betting, I just couldn't justify a river call. With every bet, it becomes that much less likely that he's overvaluing QJ or KJ, which is all I can beat at this point. Without a read, it's a fold, though an annoying one.
I won a few more medium-sized pots, mostly by open shoving, but the blinds and later the antes were eating into me. Eventually I shoved over an early positio raise with AKs and lost a flip to 99 to bust out. That's the bad thing about well-structure tournaments: I played for seven hours and didn't even come close to winning anything.
Stumble It!
Trojans is famous for being a nit, so I made a kind of big fold to him early in the tournament. Turns out I was good, but I still think it was a good fold, because I imagine he plays KK and AA the same way:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 4,990
BTN: 4,960
SB: 4,980
BB: 5,060
UTG: 5,000
UTG+1: 4,980
Hero (MP): 5,030
Pre-Flop: (30) Q
Q dealt to Hero (MP)UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 60, Hero calls 60, CO folds, BTN raises to 260, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls 200, Hero calls 200
Flop: (810) 8
7 6 (3 Players)UTG+1 checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 500, UTG+1 calls 500, Hero folds
Turn: (1,810) A
(2 Players)UTG+1 checks, BTN checks
River: (1,810) 2
(2 Players)UTG+1 bets 320, BTN calls 320
Results: 2,450 Pot
BTN mucked J
J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-1,080 NET)UTG+1 showed Q
Q (a pair of Queens) and WON 2,450 (+1,370 NET)There was another interesting spot early on where I turned middle pair, check-called for value, and then decided to turn my hand into a bluff on the river:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 10/20 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP2: 6,051
CO: 7,820
BTN: 4,970
SB: 4,890
BB: 1,641
UTG: 4,555
UTG+1: 5,444
Hero (MP1): 4,629
Pre-Flop: (30) T
A dealt to Hero (MP1)2 folds, Hero raises to 70, MP2 calls 70, 4 folds
Flop: (170) K
2 4 (2 Players)Hero bets 134, MP2 calls 134
Turn: (438) T
(2 Players)Hero checks, MP2 bets 300, Hero calls 300
River: (1,038) Q
(2 Players)Hero bets 625, MP2 folds
Results: 1,038 Pot
Hero mucked T
A and WON 1,038 (+534 NET)My thinking here was that I could fold out better pairs and random low flushes, since it looks quite a bit like I have Ac and a pair. Then I enticed this guy to shove on me drawing to a gutshot and a running flush:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
MP1: 4,864
MP2: 7,515
CO: 6,621
BTN: 5,746
SB: 2,519
BB: 6,099
UTG: 6,412
Hero (UTG+1): 4,719
Pre-Flop: (75) A
A dealt to Hero (UTG+1)UTG folds, Hero raises to 134, 4 folds, SB calls 109, BB folds
Flop: (318) J
J T (2 Players)SB bets 212, Hero raises to 555, SB raises to 2,385 and is All-In, Hero calls 1,830
Turn: (5,088) 9
(2 Players - 1 is All-In)River: (5,088) 5
(2 Players - 1 is All-In)Results: 5,088 Pot
SB showed Q
A (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-2,519 NET)Hero showed A
A (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and WON 5,088 (+2,569 NET)I actually put on a smaller pair and was trying to induce the same play, but this works, too. Probably my favorite hand of the tournament was this triple barrel:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG+2: 4,104
MP1: 12,670
MP2: 7,820
CO: 7,226
BTN: 6,465
SB: 20,698
BB: 10,625
UTG: 10,166
Hero (UTG+1): 7,758
Pre-Flop: (120) 5
5 dealt to Hero (UTG+1)UTG folds, Hero raises to 218, 2 folds, MP2 calls 218, CO calls 218, 3 folds
Flop: (774) T
A 8 (3 Players)Hero bets 540, MP2 calls 540, CO folds
Turn: (1,854) 3
(2 Players)Hero bets 1,250, MP2 calls 1,250
River: (4,354) K
(2 Players)Hero bets 3,250, MP2 folds
Results: 4,354 Pot
Hero mucked 5
5 and WON 4,354 (+2,346 NET)There's actually not a lot to say about this one. It was some combination of the board texture and his timing that convinced me to pull the trigger on the river- he called the turn super-quickly, which I don't think he'd ever do with a monster given how many draws were out there. So I'm putting him on either a bare A or a pair and a flush draw. When the draws missed on the river, I figured he was folding nearly 100% of his range.
Plattsburgh was really the perfect guy for this next play. He's pretty aggressive pre-flop, and since I had position on him and stacks were deep, I'd already 3-bet him several times. I know that he's capable of 4-betting light, and I doubt he knows anything about me to think that I could 5-bet light. Plus, since he plays tournaments exclusively, he's rarely going to be playing with stack depths and opponents where light 5-betting is a consideration. So I think his 4-betting range here is going to be way too wide, since he probably doesn't expect me to move on him without Ace-King.
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
SB: 2,088
BB: 6,720
UTG: 21,908
UTG+1: 16,737
UTG+2: 16,462
MP1: 13,120
MP2: 7,129
CO: 15,744
Hero (BTN): 11,316
Pre-Flop: (240) Q
A dealt to Hero (BTN)5 folds, CO raises to 420, Hero raises to 1,111, 2 folds, CO raises to 3,124, Hero raises to 11,316 and is All-In, CO folds
Results: 6,488 Pot
Hero mucked Q
A and WON 6,488 (+3,364 NET)For what it's worth, it doesn't matter that I have AQs here, because I think his calling range is QQ+ and AK. The Ace is important, though, because it gives me equity against KK and more importantly because of card removal effects; with an A in my hand, he is that much less likely to hold AA or AK in the first place.
I didn't have much time to enjoy the nice stack, though, because two orbits later I had to make an excruciating fold:
Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 80/160 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
CO: 2,488
BTN: 5,840
SB: 22,248
BB: 15,317
UTG: 16,222
UTG+1: 16,680
UTG+2: 5,609
MP1: 12,460
Hero (MP2): 14,360
Pre-Flop: (240) J
A dealt to Hero (MP2)2 folds, UTG+2 calls 160, MP1 folds, Hero raises to 666, 2 folds, SB calls 586, BB folds, UTG+2 calls 506
Flop: (2,158) 8
4 J (3 Players)SB checks, UTG+2 checks, Hero bets 1,194, SB raises to 2,500, UTG+2 folds, Hero calls 1,306
Turn: (7,158) 6
(2 Players)SB bets 3,000, Hero calls 3,000
River: (13,158) T
(2 Players)SB bets 5,000, Hero folds
Results: 13,158 Pot
SB mucked and WON 13,158 (+6,992 NET)
I very nearly folded the turn. For as little as 500 chips more, I would have. It took discipline, but between the T falling on the river to put me behind JT and the fact that the guy kept betting, I just couldn't justify a river call. With every bet, it becomes that much less likely that he's overvaluing QJ or KJ, which is all I can beat at this point. Without a read, it's a fold, though an annoying one.
I won a few more medium-sized pots, mostly by open shoving, but the blinds and later the antes were eating into me. Eventually I shoved over an early positio raise with AKs and lost a flip to 99 to bust out. That's the bad thing about well-structure tournaments: I played for seven hours and didn't even come close to winning anything.
Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, 5-bet, bluff, FTOPS, NLHE, poker, poker strategy, session review, tournament, triple barrel
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Friday, August 15, 2008
FTOPS Event 17: $300 Rebuy NLHE 6-Max
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.
Stumble It!
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
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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Slowplaying in PLO8
Here are two pretty interesting hands from a small PLO8 tournament that I final tabled on Saturday ($100 buy-in, like 135 players, I finished 8th, not a big deal). It's pretty rare that you would slowplay in PLO8 because a single card can easily make even huge hands an underdog. Moreover, when one induces bluffs, it's usually from hands with a lot of equity, such that you don't pick up value from snapping them off. Just in general even with big hands you gain a lot from folding people out and picking them up right away. But these I played differently:
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t200/t400
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t18739
UTG+1: t19416
Hero: t7646
MP2: t31489
CO: t9845
Button: t5398
SB: t11072
BB: t1246
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP1 with :kc :7d :9c :ad
2 folds, Hero raises to t1111, MP2 calls t1111 (pot was t1711), 4 folds.
Flop: :kd :td :ah (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
Turn: :jc (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t1600, Hero calls t1600 (pot was t4422).
River: :8d (t6022, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
Results:
Final pot: t6022
Villain shows [As 2c 3s 5h]
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t400/t800
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t15439
Hero: t27260
MP1: t21723
MP2: t7032
CO: t7895
Button: t7827
SB: t7222
BB: t9610
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is UTG+1 with :ah :2h :tc :kc
UTG folds, Hero raises to t2222, 5 folds, BB calls t1422 (pot was t3422).
Flop: :jc :td :ks (t4844, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.
Turn: :9s (t4844, 2 players)
BB bets t2400, Hero calls t2400 (pot was t7244).
River: :4d (t9644, 2 players)
BB is all-in t4988, Hero calls t4988 (pot was t14632).
Results:
Final pot: t19620
Villain shows [8d 5s Kh Ad]
Sorry I know it sucks to look at these without suit pictures, but this is the only converter than can handle PLO8. In the first one I made top two and the nut flush draw on a broadway flop. In PLO high, it's very dangerous to give a free card here since a T, J, or Q are all disastrous cards. It's actually a bit less of a concern in PLO8 because hand ranges are weighted towards lower cards. In other words, four broadway cards on the board is a bit less worrisome because straights will be a smaller part of your opponents' ranges; they'll often be playing smaller cards looking to flop low. There are thus also fewer ways for them to pay you off.
In the first hand, the nut flush draw also makes it safer to induce bluffs. When I river the nuts, I stick with the plan of inducing a bluff, especially since my opponent will probably bet most of his flushes for value anyway. Even though I didn't get the bluff, you can see that the guy didn't have a hand that was calling a bet.
In the second hand, it's scarier since I don't have redraws, but my hand was less strong and I couldn't stand a check-raise. Having played it as I did, I feel compelled to call down. I though his range would be polarized to straights or bluffs. Mostly it was a bad pre-flop call on his part, even for a discount.
Stumble It!
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t200/t400
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t18739
UTG+1: t19416
Hero: t7646
MP2: t31489
CO: t9845
Button: t5398
SB: t11072
BB: t1246
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is MP1 with :kc :7d :9c :ad
2 folds, Hero raises to t1111, MP2 calls t1111 (pot was t1711), 4 folds.
Flop: :kd :td :ah (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
Turn: :jc (t2822, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets t1600, Hero calls t1600 (pot was t4422).
River: :8d (t6022, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.
Results:
Final pot: t6022
Villain shows [As 2c 3s 5h]
Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t400/t800
8 players
Converter
Stack sizes:
UTG: t15439
Hero: t27260
MP1: t21723
MP2: t7032
CO: t7895
Button: t7827
SB: t7222
BB: t9610
Pre-flop: (8 players) Hero is UTG+1 with :ah :2h :tc :kc
UTG folds, Hero raises to t2222, 5 folds, BB calls t1422 (pot was t3422).
Flop: :jc :td :ks (t4844, 2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.
Turn: :9s (t4844, 2 players)
BB bets t2400, Hero calls t2400 (pot was t7244).
River: :4d (t9644, 2 players)
BB is all-in t4988, Hero calls t4988 (pot was t14632).
Results:
Final pot: t19620
Villain shows [8d 5s Kh Ad]
Sorry I know it sucks to look at these without suit pictures, but this is the only converter than can handle PLO8. In the first one I made top two and the nut flush draw on a broadway flop. In PLO high, it's very dangerous to give a free card here since a T, J, or Q are all disastrous cards. It's actually a bit less of a concern in PLO8 because hand ranges are weighted towards lower cards. In other words, four broadway cards on the board is a bit less worrisome because straights will be a smaller part of your opponents' ranges; they'll often be playing smaller cards looking to flop low. There are thus also fewer ways for them to pay you off.
In the first hand, the nut flush draw also makes it safer to induce bluffs. When I river the nuts, I stick with the plan of inducing a bluff, especially since my opponent will probably bet most of his flushes for value anyway. Even though I didn't get the bluff, you can see that the guy didn't have a hand that was calling a bet.
In the second hand, it's scarier since I don't have redraws, but my hand was less strong and I couldn't stand a check-raise. Having played it as I did, I feel compelled to call down. I though his range would be polarized to straights or bluffs. Mostly it was a bad pre-flop call on his part, even for a discount.
Labels: bluff, PLO8, poker, Poker Stars, poker strategy, session review, slowplay, tournament
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Sunday, August 3, 2008
Ansky Plays Good
I just happened to notice this post on fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro Dani "Ansky" Stern's blog. He posted the details on PokerHand, but I find it annoying to click a link just to see the action, so here's my summary:
Dani's playing 10/20 heads up no limit almost 250 BB deep. He 3-bets KJo from the BB and calls a small 4-bet. The flop comes 632r, and they check it through. Turn is an Ace, Dani checks, his opponent bets $400, Dani raises to $1000, the guy moves all in $4000, and Dani calls with King-high no draw. His opponent has J7, and Dani wins the pot.
What was he thinking? Visit his blog to find out.
Stumble It!
Dani's playing 10/20 heads up no limit almost 250 BB deep. He 3-bets KJo from the BB and calls a small 4-bet. The flop comes 632r, and they check it through. Turn is an Ace, Dani checks, his opponent bets $400, Dani raises to $1000, the guy moves all in $4000, and Dani calls with King-high no draw. His opponent has J7, and Dani wins the pot.
What was he thinking? Visit his blog to find out.
Labels: 3-bet, 4-bet, bluff, heads up, NLHE, Poker Savvy
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Defending Against Bluffs
My latest poker strategy article, Defending Against Bluffs, has just been published in the July 2008 issue of 2+2 Internet Magazine. Here's a teaser:
To discover the true cost of a fold, you have to consider your opponent’s entire range. The next step in building up a defense against is to think about your entire range. Your opponent doesn’t know that you have a weak top pair. He has to make his decisions in light of a range of hands you could hold, just as you must do against him. Ask yourself where your current holding fits into your range. Is it one of the strongest hands that you would play this way, or one of the weakest? It’s OK to get bluffed off of the weakest hands in your range. Your consolation comes when you play a stronger hand the same way, your opponent makes the same bluff, and you snap him off.
If you enjoy this, please check out my archive of my older 2+2 articles and other poker strategy writing.
Sorry for the recent silence, I haven't been doing much of anything poker-related for the last week. I leave for Las Vegas tonight, though, so hopefully I'll have some good stories soon.
Stumble It!
To discover the true cost of a fold, you have to consider your opponent’s entire range. The next step in building up a defense against is to think about your entire range. Your opponent doesn’t know that you have a weak top pair. He has to make his decisions in light of a range of hands you could hold, just as you must do against him. Ask yourself where your current holding fits into your range. Is it one of the strongest hands that you would play this way, or one of the weakest? It’s OK to get bluffed off of the weakest hands in your range. Your consolation comes when you play a stronger hand the same way, your opponent makes the same bluff, and you snap him off.
If you enjoy this, please check out my archive of my older 2+2 articles and other poker strategy writing.
Sorry for the recent silence, I haven't been doing much of anything poker-related for the last week. I leave for Las Vegas tonight, though, so hopefully I'll have some good stories soon.
Labels: bluff, NLHE, poker, poker strategy
Stumble It!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
ewiofhlshfdsfakjf You Knew What I Had!!!
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.
Stumble It!
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!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Top Pair No Good?
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,
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,