Ten-Twenty-Five Live

I played about two hours of 10-25 NL at the Rio yesterday. The table wasn't full of spewmonkeys but I wasn't anticipating a lot of tough decisions. Mostly it was just a boring game. I say that, but I did actually bluff my entire $5K stack on my first hand.

Let me tell you another story first though. There was this wealthy Texan at the table who, when I first sat down, was on the phone placing sports bets. That's always a good sign. I later changed seats and ended up with him on my immediate left, meaning I was privy to the next two phone calls he made.

The first was to a woman named "Becky" whom he seemed to select somewhat arbitrarily from his address book. He hadn't seen her in a few months but turns out she was available for dinner on a few hours' notice.

His next call was a voicemail that I'll attempt to transcribe to the best of my memory: "Hey Jimmy, this is Dicky. Happy 20th birthday. That's a bit one. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it for your party tonight, I'm going to be tied up. I've got a little present for you, though- it's $50- you're mother will have that for you. You're growing into a fine young man. Hope you have fun."

Anyway, that big bluff I was talking about: I opened to $75 with AKs in late middle position and got 3-bet to $300 by a familiar-looking player on the button. I couldn't place where I'd seen him before, but he was young and serious-looking, which isn't a good sign. I assumed he was an internet pro whose face I'd randomly seen in a picture or something, but now that I think about it, I may actually have played with him at Foxwoods. It makes a huge difference which he is, but at the time, I was thinking internet, so anyway...

He 3-bets to $300, and I decided to make it $800 and fold to a 4-bet (he had me covered). He thinks for a while and calls. The flop comes down rags with two of my suit. I bet $1200, planning to unhappily call a shove. My hope was that he would just call and then I could shove the turn. That's exactly what happened. He tanked for a while but folded what was probably TT-QQ. I doubt anyone else at the table would make that fold, but then I wouldn't have 4-bet anyone else either.

So I made $2000 on my first hand, but I later misplayed a hand pretty badly and cost myself most of that profit. A new player had just joined the table, an older black man who seemed to be a regular in the Tunica games. He bought in deep enough to cover my nearly $7K stack.

I got AKs UTG+1 and raised to $75. Only the new guy called out of his BB. The flop came 862 and gave me my flush draw. He checked, I bet $125, and he raised to $400. I called. The turn was an off-suit 3, he checked, I bet $525, and he raised to $2000. I folded.

My turn bet is just atrocious. With less showdown value, it might be OK, like if I had a ten-high flush draw or something. But even then, I'm primarily relying on bluffing him off of bluffs, which assumes he's capable of check-raise bluffing the flop against an unknown early position raiser. With AK, I beat his bluffs anyway, so there's little value in betting and risking getting blown off a strong draw.

I ended up nearly dead even on the session and didn't play any other interesting pots.

WSOP $5K 6-Max

It was down to the wire whether I was going to play this, but I managed to cash my check about 10 minutes before the start of the tournament. I ran down to the registration and found a line out the door. It was moving quickly, though, and I managed to register and get to the table at 12:04. The tournament was actually late getting started, so I hadn't missed anything. In fact, I was the first one there. Apparently we were in an overflow room they'd just opened up.

The next player to arrive was a guy I instantly recognized as Shaun Deeb. Two European guys, at least one of whom seemed to be an aggro Scandi, gave us the four we needed to start.

While we were still 4-handed, blinds 50/100, Scandi opens for 250 UTG and Shaun makes it 700 on the button. I find AK in the SB and 4-bet to 2400 planning to puke if Shaun shoves. They both folded quickly, but still, you know it's a tough table when you're cold 4-betting in your second orbit.

Things got a bit better when an older guy joined and started limping into pots. Early on, he open limped his button vs my BB, Shaun folded, and I checked with A4o. The flop came A34, I checked, he bet 150, and I raised 550. He called. The turn brought a 2, not ideal, but it's not real likely he has a 5. I bet 800, and he folded.

Next orbit, limpy old guy limps in for 100, Shaun calls 100, I make it 550 with T9o on the CO. Old guy calls, Shaun folds. The flop comes KQJ. Guy checks, I bet 1000, he raises to 3000. Against a better player, I'd probably just shove now, but live fish don't work like that. They don't think as much as they should about their stack size relative to the pot, but they do get scared by all in bets. So I raise to 7400, he shoves, I call, he has AT. I don't draw out to the chop, so I'm busted within half an hour. Fun.

I Hate Good Players

Full Tilt Poker, $40/$80 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $34,593
Hero (BB): $22,437
UTG: $19,010
CO: $22,366
BTN: $8,180

Pre-Flop: 8 6 dealt to Hero (BB)
3 folds, SB raises to $320, Hero calls $240

Flop: ($640) 5 4 5 (2 Players)
SB bets $420, Hero calls $420

Turn: ($1,480) A (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $666, SB calls $666

River: ($2,812) K (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: $2,812 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed 9 Q (a pair of Fives) and WON $2,809 (+$1,403 NET)
Hero showed 8 6 (a pair of Fives) and LOST (-$1,406 NET)

This isn't really all that fancy or anything, and obviously my range on the turn is quite wide, but a lot of people just aren't capable of check-calling down with Q-high. I'm glad I didn't bluff the river, because I'm pretty sure he would have called.

Nice River

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($9000.50)
UTG ($16025)
MP ($5309)
Hero (CO) ($10269)
Button ($10000)
SB ($10391)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, J
2 folds, Hero bets $175, 1 fold, SB calls $150, 1 fold

Flop: ($400) J, 8, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($400) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $269, SB raises to $1025, Hero calls $756

River: ($2450) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1669, 1 fold

Total pot: $2450 | Rake: $3


A big part of my reason for checking the flop is that I so rarely check back a flush draw, and this is one of the best flush draws to check (ie also having top pair to go along with it, so that the fold equity of a semi-bluff isn't worth much to you). This means that when the flush comes in on the turn, my opponent is going to think I can't have it.

So, OK, I get the raise I wanted, which is probably a bluff but could be two pair or a set that's comfortable bloating the pot since I'll rarely have the flush. When I call, I don't know how often he'll continue bluffing. Rivers that pair the board are definitely going to be scary for him, though, as are diamonds, since my likely holding for calling is either set/two pair or a pair with a diamond.

Given that there are so many rivers that discourage bluffing, plus the fact that he may not continue bluffing anyway, plus the fact that his river bluff wouldn't be that big, I might be better off 3-betting the turn. I imagine he'll bluff less often, but when he does, it will have to be a far bigger amount than a river bluff would be. Plus, if he's check-raising for value, I can win a much bigger pot from him.

Debunking Myths About Implied Odds

My latest poker strategy articles, Debunking Myths About Implied Odds, has just been published in the June 2009 issue of 2+2 Magazine. The article explores one of the most important and misunderstood concepts in big bet poker:

"Calling a late position raise with a suited connector when you have the button is a good example [of implied odds that don't depend on making a strong hand]. Since the pre-flop raiser probably has a wide and not particularly strong range, you can’t count on winning a big pot on the rare occasions that you make two pair or better. Because his range is so wide, though, you will often be able to steal the pot when you flop a weak draw or even a scary board texture. Whether you want to call it implied odds, bluff equity, or something else, this is as much a justification for taking slightly the worst of it on an early street as is drawing at a monster hand."

Read more about this and other misunderstood aspects of implied odds in the 2+2 Magazine!

Even Good Players Suck at Satellites

There were 61 players remaining in a Poker Stars $650 satellite, and 51 seats to be won. We were already at the point where we'd be getting our buyins back. I was in like 49th or so place with 25K chips at 1250/2500 and had a nice spot for stealing. On my right were a far too tight short stack and a guy with a huge stack who was just folding virtually everything. On my left were two stacks about equal to my own, and the guy two to my left was someone I knew to be a successful tournament player. Action folds to me on the button, I shove J9s, "decent" tourney player calls me with AT and wins the flip.

He had me covered, but barely, so it was very near to being a flip for his life. Even if he puts me on any two, which isn't correct but not an unreasonable assumption, he's only a 68-32 favorite. As a good player at this stage of the tournament, he's probably got at least a 70% chance of winning a seat if he folds this hand, and of course busting me doesn't guarantee him a seat anyway.

Thinking about this river play cheers me up a little though:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($4931.50)
Button ($8070)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, Q
Button bets $60, Hero raises to $222, Button calls $162

Flop: ($444) Q, J, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $240, Hero calls $240

Turn: ($924) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($924) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $420, Hero raises to $1444, Button calls $1024

Total pot: $3812 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 10, J (two pair, Jacks and fours).
Hero had A, Q (two pair, Queens and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $3811.50

This is a pretty optimistic value bet on his part on the river, though I actually don't mind calling the check-raise. There's actually an outside chance he was betting to induce a check-raise, which I would like far better than value betting (funny how the same play can be good or bad depending on the reasoning), but I doubt that's a play in his arsenal.

Anyway, for me, leading out on the river looks really strong. Not like "set or better" strong, but definitely like a value bet. I think checking is the only option for me, and between his turn check and his small bet sizing, I'm comfortable saying my hand is good 90% of the time here.

I Do Win the Big Ones Sometimes

I know I've whined about some big pots I've lost of late, so I figured I should reassure you all that I win some big ones too. It's actually been a pretty good month. Here's the biggest one of late:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($10916)
SB ($11889)
Hero (BB) ($11684)
UTG ($20794)
MP ($14585)
CO ($10344)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, 10
3 folds, Button bets $150, 1 fold, Hero raises to $550, Button calls $400

Flop: ($1185) A, Q, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $799, Button calls $799

Turn: ($2783) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $1800, Hero calls $1800

River: ($6383) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $7757 (All-In), Hero calls $7757

Total pot: $21897 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 8, J (one pair, Queens).
Hero had 10, 10 (full house, tens over Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $21894

To be honest, I actually took my time before calling, so much so that a few railbirds accused me of slowrolling. Most of the big pots I've lost this month have been cold decks where I have the smaller set/flush/quads, so I guess I'm just a little gunshy. Not only is a bluff possible, but this Villain is very capable of big, thin value bets. I wouldn't be shocked to see him show up with as little as AK, and he probably does this for value with any Q. The fact that he can do that makes a bluff like this one more effective.

I believe this is the second largest pot I've won, trailing behind this one which was actually from a 10/20 game.

FTOPS NLHE Two-Day

I was not playing very well on Saturday, and it showed through in my results. I think I'm pretty good at letting bad beats and unlucky cards roll off my back, but I have a lot more trouble getting over a session where I played badly. Obviously a few mistakes can cost me quite a good deal of money, and it can be tilting to think how much could have been saved if I'd only...

Anyway, there were three key losses in these tournaments (I played the mini-FTOPS $250 as well). Here's how I busted from the $2500. I don't know for sure, and it's not particularly relevant, but I've heard that MP2 was Dmitri Nobles. I don't think this is awful, but it's not good either:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 25/50 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP2: 4,918
CO: 6,392
BTN: 2,862
SB: 6,260
Hero (BB): 4,310
UTG: 11,155
UTG+1: 2,120
UTG+2: 10,217
MP1: 11,918

Pre-Flop: (75) K A dealt to Hero (BB)
4 folds, MP2 raises to 150, CO calls 150, 2 folds, Hero raises to 750, MP2 folds, CO calls 600

Flop: (1,675) Q 2 T (2 Players)
Hero bets 660, CO calls 660

Turn: (2,995) 9 (2 Players)
Hero bets 2,900 and is All-In, CO calls 2,900

River: (8,795) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 8,795 Pot
CO showed Q Q (three of a kind, Queens) and WON 8,795 (+4,485 NET)
Hero showed K A (Ace King high) and LOST (-4,310 NET)


This one, which cost me a big stack in the $250, may look the worst, but actually I think I would play it the same again:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 40/80 Blinds, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+2: 8,807
MP1: 6,110
MP2: 3,765
CO: 3,755
Hero (BTN): 10,244
SB: 3,640
BB: 6,201
UTG: 5,675
UTG+1: 13,823

Pre-Flop: (120) A Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, MP1 raises to 240, 2 folds, Hero calls 240, SB folds, BB calls 160

Flop: (760) 7 A K (3 Players)
BB checks, MP1 bets 400, Hero calls 400, BB folds

Turn: (1,560) 7 (2 Players)
MP1 checks, Hero checks

River: (1,560) J (2 Players)
MP1 bets 640, Hero raises to 9,604 and is All-In, MP1 calls 4,830 and is All-In

Results: 12,500 Pot
MP1 showed 8 9 (a flush, King high) and WON 12,500 (+6,390 NET)
Hero showed A Q (two pair, Aces and Sevens) and LOST (-6,110 NET)


It's very unlikely my hand is good on the river, but there's good reason to think Villain is on something like AJ/KJ. The river shove is a bit of an overbet, but that may be what it takes to get a bad player off of two pair. They perceive a huge difference, perhaps not wrongly, between a lot of their chips and all of their chips. It sucks that he had a flush, but there's really very little reason to think he can call a shove here.

This one, on the other hand, is shamefully bad:

Full Tilt Poker, NL Hold'em Tournament, 50/100 Blinds, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+1: 8,687
MP1: 12,300
MP2: 3,795
CO: 2,115
Hero (BTN): 3,705
SB: 11,181
BB: 11,110
UTG: 9,127

Pre-Flop: (150) T T dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to 300, 3 folds, Hero calls 300, 2 folds

Flop: (750) 8 3 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 400, Hero calls 400

Turn: (1,550) 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 bets 1,000, Hero raises to 3,005 and is All-In, UTG+1 calls 2,005

River: (7,560) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: 7,560 Pot
UTG+1 showed Q Q (two pair, Queens and Sevens) and WON 7,560 (+3,855 NET)
Hero showed T T (two pair, Tens and Sevens) and LOST (-3,705 NET)


I've seen Villain overvalue hands before, but that's no justification for this.

Exhausting Heads Up Match

I was about halfway through last night's session, and a lot of the 6-max games I was in were kinda bad. I was at the end of a few long waiting lists, but mostly there just weren't many good games going at the time.

I'd been sitting alone, waiting for action as usual, at a few heads up tables. Really wanting to play some heads up, I got aggressive and tried to sit with a few people who were definitely going to sit out against me. They sat out. I sat with a few randoms. They mostly sat out, a few played long enough to look me up on OPR or whatever before sitting out, one played just his button and sat out (total douche move), and one played for a few minutes until I tried to sit at a second of his tables. Then he sat out on both.

I even tried sitting with a few regs who are probably better than I am, figuring I might as well challenge myself, but to my surprise even they sat out. Finally, a guy I recognized from higher stakes sat across from me at 10/20 deep. It had been over a year since we played heads up, but I've seen him as high as 50/100, and I am pretty confident he's solidly better than I am. After warning him that I not play for long, I sat in and we played one table of 10/20 and one of 5/10.

Again, I'm pretty sure he would have the edge long term. However, off the bat I think I knew more about how he was going to play than he did about me. He was extraordinarily aggressive, and I did some things to induce action that I don't think he was expecting. It takes a lot of concentration to deal with extreme aggression from a smart player, and after about 45 minutes, I was exhausted. I quit him and my other games, but I was up three buy-ins and felt I'd definitely gotten the better of him over that short match.

The thing about uber-aggressive opponents is that, at least when they're smart, you have to play very differently than you ordinarily would. You aren't going to induce bluffs just by checking and calling- you have to widen the range that you are going to check-raise, 3-bet, etc. for value and then be prepared to call down. A few examples:


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6980)
Button ($4060)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, J
Button bets $60, Hero raises to $222, Button calls $162

Flop: ($444) 10, 3, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $333, Button raises to $827, Hero raises to $1321, Button calls $494

Turn: ($3086) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $5437 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $3086 | Rake: $0.50


In this one, the "standard" play would probably be to make a big, pot committing 4-bet. Against this guy, though, my overs and nut flush draw is a big enough monster that I'm actually trying to induce a shove from him. I actually think it was a mistake for me to shove the turn (for like $2400 in reality- I had him well covered) rather than check-call. There's a chance he's trying to showdown something like 77, though he's probably calling turn with that anyway, but most likely is that he's either floating or has a monster. Obviously the money goes in no matter what if he has a monster, so I ought to have induced another bluff from his floats, especially when I turn the gutshot.

In this next one, I check-call flop with an underpair to the board, then lead into him on the turn to induce a bluff raise. Otherwise, I don't think he barrels this card; my hand looks too much like a bluff-catcher:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($8795.50)
Button ($4057.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6, 6
Button bets $60, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($120) 9, 8, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $100, Hero calls $100

Turn: ($320) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $188, Button raises to $650, Hero calls $462

River: ($1620) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $1620 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had Q, J (two pair, eights and twos).
Hero had 6, 6 (two pair, eights and sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $1619.50


Here I check-raise the flop for value with Ace-high, then check-call to induce from his floats. Guys like this do not give up easily on dry boards:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($3620.50)
Button ($2378)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, A
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 6, 6, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, Button calls $80

Turn: ($300) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $150, Hero calls $150

River: ($600) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $600 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had Q, 8 (three of a kind, sixes).
Hero had 10, A (three of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $599.50


I was actually planning on checking this down on the river or turning it into a bluff and shoving if he bet again, but he didn't give me the chance:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($9195.50)
SB ($4428.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, J
Hero bets $60, SB raises to $220, Hero calls $160

Flop: ($440) 8, 5, 3 (2 players)
SB bets $288, Hero calls $288

Turn: ($1016) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $711, Hero calls $711

River: ($2438) K (2 players)
SB bets $3209.50 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $2438 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2437.50


I think it's very likely he's overbetting for value, because the way he's been playing he expects to get looked up light but probably not for me to raise much on the river if he makes a normal-sized bet. If this is how he's playing his monsters, then it makes my plan to shove over a smaller bet even better.

This was the closest decision I had over the course of the match:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($4747)
SB ($4020)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 9
Hero bets $60, SB raises to $220, Hero raises to $522, SB calls $302

Flop: ($1044) 6, A, 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1044) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $744, Hero calls $744

River: ($2532) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $2754 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $2532 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2531.50


A lot could be going on here. The thing is that when I check back the flop, it really looks like I'm planning on calling down. I could also have KK or QQ, though, so there's a chance he's trying to bluff me off those or maybe even value bet against with a worse Ace. I think as long as I also check back and then call down stuff like AK and AA, and of course if he bluffs club rivers, then this is an OK fold.

Time to Go Shopping for Skirts

...because I am a little girl:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($7241)
CO ($5985)
Button ($925)
Hero (SB) ($15829)
BB ($12367)
UTG ($6770)
UTG+1 ($5322)
MP1 ($8295.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
3 folds, MP2 bets $100, 2 folds, Hero raises to $400, BB calls $350, MP2 calls $300

Flop: ($1200) 6, 5, 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $789, BB raises to $2000, 1 fold, Hero folds

Total pot: $2778 | Rake: $3

Results:
BB didn't show
Outcome: BB won $2775


I'm not sure what's best here (obviously), but I can't believe I'm supposed to fold this. MP2 is pretty aggro, so it's not impossible that the BB blatted a big pair hoping to induce a squeeze, but i kinda doubt he's showing up here with anything that really kills me, which I guess would just be a made straight. My equity against a set is nearly the same as it is against an overpair, something like 20-25%. I wonder if he's ever raise-folding a slightly better pair, like 99 or TT?

There are a ton of "worse" hands I'd rather shove than 88, but still, I think this is ridiculously weak. I'm pretty sure my fold was not unrelated to a fear of losing $12K, and thankfully I did leave the table not too long after. The game was good, but it wasn't that good.

Go Back to 25/50, Ansky

Dani Stern, my fellow Poker Savvy Plus pro perhaps better known as Ansky, is one of the players whose game I respect the most. I love watching his videos, and I hate playing at his tables. Thus, I am more than a little upset that he's been "slumming it" in the 5/10 and 10/20 games of late.

Then again, playing against a great player can be a fun challenge that forces you to step up your own game. At least that's how it started out:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2305.50)
Button ($5576)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) J, 9, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($60) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($60) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, 1 fold

Total pot: $140 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show 8, 8 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $139.50


In general, I've found that people don't bluff nearly as often as they should when there is four or five to a straight on the board. The thing is that even when you are called, you usually chop the pot, so it's a very low-risk bluff. Still, I get shown a (better) straight way too often when I do look people up.

Ansky, of course, is an exception. I think that he will, appropriately, bet 100% of his range when I check it to him here. Further, I think he probably will not give me credit for being able to check-raise bluff in this kind of random spot.

This next hand is the one I'm most proud of. Ansky is the SB. The key to this hand is that I've seen Ansky cold call three-bets from out of the blinds with medium pocket pairs, so his range here is wider than you might think:


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

CO ($2000)
Button ($637)
SB ($2005)
BB ($2391)
Hero (UTG) ($2590)
MP ($2000)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, A
Hero bets $20, MP raises to $70, 2 folds, SB calls $65, 1 fold, Hero raises to $290, MP calls $220, SB calls $220

Flop: ($880) K, 10, 8 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $444, 1 fold, SB calls $444

Turn: ($1768) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($1768) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1856 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1768 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn't show J, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1765


To the extent that there's a golden opportunity for a 4-bet squeeze play, this is pretty close to it. Both Villains have wide-ish ranges, and the cold call will probably scare the original 3-better. Plus, with stacks as deep as they are, I still have room to get creative post-flop.

The other neat thing about this hand is the turn check. I was planning on shoving a lot of turns, but this was a pretty awful one. Obviously it's much harder to represent the K when another one comes.

It's very unlikely, though, that Ansky checks the top of his range to me on the river. It looks like I'm either giving up on a bluff or trying to check down a modest hand, so if he's got a big hand, I expect him to shove the river.

Having excluded the top of his range, I have to wonder how many of his "cheap showdown" hands call a river shove. Given my above assumptions, my shove is going to look pretty strong. He may think that if I needed to bluff, I would have done it on the turn, and that if I have showdown value, I would often opt just to check it down. Thus, I'm counting on my hand looking like a monster to him.

Of course, just as I am feeling pretty proud of myself, he goes and does this:

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

SB ($1776)
BB ($2766)
UTG ($1253)
MP ($2262.25)
Hero (CO) ($2463)
Button ($6596)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, 9
2 folds, Hero bets $35, Button calls $35, 2 folds

Flop: ($85) J, 2, 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $66, Button calls $66

Turn: ($217) K (2 players)
Hero bets $144, Button calls $144

River: ($505) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $388, Button raises to $6351 (All-In), Hero calls $1830 (All-In)

Total pot: $4941 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 9, A (flush, Ace high).
Hero had K, 9 (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Button won $4938


Obviously he backed into an unlikely monster here, making it a great spot for an overbet shove on the river. I generally don't beat myself up over paying off the very top of a guy's range, but here it's hard for me to imagine him showing up without the goods. If he wants to bluff, there's really no reason for him to overbet the pot. A pot-sized or smaller raise would entail less risk and potentially represent a wider range, since it could more plausibly represent thin value from something like a set. But gah, who knows. This is why it sucks having good players on your left...

SCOOP Event 17: NLHE 1R1A

This was a pretty cool event, with one of the deepest structures in the SCOOP. The buy-in sizes were a little awkward for me, though, and I ended up playing only the $200, figuring that the $20 was too small and the $2000 (effectively $6000 with the rebuy and addon) was more than I wanted to put up on a random tournament with a pretty tough field.

My opponents in the $200 were no slouches, certainly better than what I'm looking for in a $200 donkament. I was up against people like teacuppoker, ADZ, utreg, and Mattsuspect. Even though I lasted about five hours in the tournament, there really wasn't much in the way of interesting hands. It was a full ring tournament with some solid competition, so I was mostly just playing good hands and making cheap bluffs when I could. Showing pretty good discipline, considering how I usually play in these things, I guess.

I ended up limp-shoving 98s in the SB for 30BBs against MattSuspect, who (correctly) snap-called with 55. Even though I flopped a gutshot and flush draw to go with my two overs, and turned a double gutter, I couldn't get there on the river. Tournaments suck.

SCOOP Events 1 and 2: 6-Max NLHE with Rebuys and PLO8

Thankfully the cash games I was playing on the side went well, because the tournaments did not. I played the $50 and $500 rebuys, but decided to skip the $5. I was thinking it might be fun to play despite the small stakes, but then I saw that there were more than 25,000 people registered for it! I have to think this is the largest non-freeroll tournament ever held.

On top of the fact that the two I did play had good structures, they were rebuys, meaning getting eliminated in the first hour wasn't in action. I was in for the "minimum" and even managed to double up in the $50 thanks to making trips two hands in a row against a loose player. Nevertheless, I dusted off my stack in both within two and half hours.

Worse, I feel like I was probably at least somewhat wrong to lose my stack in both cases. Here's my bustout hand from the $50:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50+$5 Tournament, 40/80 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t3213)
Button (t18316)
Hero (SB) (t11211)
BB (t5965)
UTG (t13562)
MP (t11473)

Hero's M: 93.42

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
3 folds, Button bets t240, Hero raises to t777, 1 fold, Button calls t537

Flop: (t1634) 6, 8, 3 (2 players)
Hero bets t1111, Button calls t1111

Turn: (t3856) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1895, Hero raises to t9323 (All-In), Button calls t7428

River: (t22502) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t22502

Results:
Button had 7, 8 (full house, sevens over eights).
Hero had Q, A (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: Button won t22502

I doubt he's betting less than two pair when I check to him on the turn, especially for this amount. As much as it sucks, check-folding might be correct here.

And in the $500:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $500+$30 Tournament, 30/60 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t7271)
UTG (t8125)
MP (t19938)
CO (t10487)
Button (t11836)
SB (t8343)

Hero's M: 80.79

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
1 fold, MP bets t180, 2 folds, SB raises to t600, Hero raises to t1555, 1 fold, SB raises to t8343 (All-In), Hero calls t5716 (All-In)

Flop: (t14722) J, J, 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t14722) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t14722) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t14722

Results:
SB had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and Jacks).
Outcome: SB won t14722


Note to self: six-max tournaments are not six-mas cash games. In my defense, this guy did seem a little loose pre-flop. He called one of my 3-bets out of position with A5s. That might justify calling his 5-bet shove, but I think flatting the 3-bet is probably best. I hate doing that against very good players because it defines your hand for them for free, but I doubt this guy was good enough to take advantage of that.

In general, though, there did seem to be a strong field in this tournament. My table at least was solid, with one player I've seen before at $25/$50.

To make matters worse, I misread the SCOOP schedule and ended up missing the PLO8 events, which my longtime readers will know I really enjoy. I thought they were tomorrow, but they were actually an event starting later in the afternoon today. Oh well, at least the cash games I was playing on the side well, netting me a handsome profit for the session despite the hefty tournament buyins.

Don't Be a Hero (Except Now)

Most players just don't know how to execute a good bluff raise on the river and won't even try, and I probably play the Hero a little more than I should in "good spots" that my opponents probably don't even recognize. This was against a smarter opponent, though, and while he doesn't make a lot of moves, I caught him here:

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

MP ($840)
CO ($1099.85)
Button ($1910.10)
SB ($2159)
BB ($796)
Hero (UTG) ($2323)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $35, 3 folds, SB calls $30, 1 fold

Flop: ($80) 4, 3, 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB calls $55

Turn: ($190) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($190) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $155, SB raises to $555, Hero calls $400

Total pot: $1300 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had 7, 7 (two pair, sevens and fours).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $1297


First off, this is a decent spot for him to bluff. My hand is pretty clearly defined as an overpair or worse. Since he's representing a flush or full house, my hand is just a bluff catcher, and as I said, most people just don't check-raise bluff the river as much as they should.

The thing that helped me to call is that I'm not sure he plays a flush draw like this, and even some of his full house combos are unlikely. He's calling my UTG raise from the SB, so I'm not expecting to see a lot of suited connectors. I guess something like As Qs makes sense- it helps that I have the Ks and can rule out AKs and KQs.

I also think he may not (or at least probably should not) be playing small pairs pre-flop, which makes 33, 44, and 55 less likely.

Really, I'm not sure calling 77 pre-flop is very good either. He's probably a bit of a dog to my UTG range, so he's losing something in immediate equity pre-flop. It's easy to be like "LOLSETODDS" but it's not going to be that easy to win a big pot from out of position just because he flops a set. Compared to all the times he gets forced off the best hand, plus the potential reverse implied odds spots (see above), I think he ought to just fold pre-flop. Playing out of position sucks.

Most Psychotic Bluff I've Ever Seen

Hmmm, 80:1 odds? I think I'll call:

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

Hero (Button) ($1802)
SB ($490)
BB ($1424)
UTG ($985)
MP ($1884)
CO ($1442.45)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6, 8
1 fold, MP bets $35, 1 fold, Hero calls $35, 2 folds

Flop: ($85) 5, 7, 8 (2 players)
MP bets $45, Hero raises to $122, MP raises to $320, Hero raises to $678, MP raises to $1200, Hero raises to $1722, MP raises to $1849 (All-In), Hero calls $45 (All-In)

Turn: ($3619) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($3619) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $3619 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 6, 8 (one pair, eights).
MP had J, 2 (one pair, twos).
Outcome: Hero won $3616


I tried to make the flop 3-bet kinda sketchy to maximize fold equity versus overpairs. Guess I was a little off there....

Not only is this an awful board to expect me to show up with air, but when he 7-bet bluffs (wow, what an awesome thing to be able to say), I have to call $45 into a $3600 pot. The best part is that I thought my 6-bet was all in. I just hit the raise button, but apparently that left me with just enough room to give him the illusion of fold equity.

You don't know you how nervous I was when that deuce rolled off on the turn.

Back in Black

For the second time this year, I've dug myself out of a big old hole. Let's hope it's the last (that I need to). Here's the hand that did it:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($9411)
SB ($5550)
BB ($20776)
UTG ($5000)
Hero (MP) ($5444)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, K
1 fold, Hero bets $150, 2 folds, BB calls $100

Flop: ($325) 5, 6, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $222, BB raises to $950, Hero raises to $5294 (All-In), BB calls $4344

Turn: ($10913) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10913) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10913 | Rake: $2

Results:
BB had K, 5 (two pair, tens and fives).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $10911


I actually thought for a bit on the flop about whether I wanted to ship it in or just call and look for a non-club turn. I think based on his bet-sizing he has clubs pretty much always, and most of the time he'll have other outs that will make him basically a coin flip with me (either a 5, an A, or a straight draw). That would seem to argue for a call, since I have position and this information about his hand.

Truthfully, though, I think a call gives him the advantage even though he's out of position. He knows his hand looks like a flush draw, and if I just call, he'll know that I'm looking for a non-club turn. So he has pretty much the same information that I do, but he also knows which other cards help his hand, which I do not.

Take this case, for instance. Say I just call. What if an Ace turns and he shoves? I could end up getting bluffed off the best hand. Better to suck it up, get it in, and hope I've got his kicker covered!

It was one of those nights where things were just going well. I was getting a lot of decisions right, even those I usually get wrong:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (4 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($1880)
Hero (SB) ($2047)
BB ($1005)
UTG ($5521)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
UTG bets $35, 1 fold, Hero raises to $123, 1 fold, UTG calls $88

Flop: ($256) J, J, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $188, UTG calls $188

Turn: ($632) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $410, Hero calls $410

River: ($1452) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $4800 (All-In), Hero calls $1326 (All-In)

Total pot: $4104 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
UTG had A, K (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $4102


Actually, I wasn't getting everything right. I made some big, questionable river bluffs in a heads up match. But, even that crazy image paid off eventually:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2983.75)
Button ($2026.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
Button bets $15, Hero raises to $55, Button raises to $149, Hero raises to $444, Button raises to $852, Hero raises to $2983.75 (All-In), Button calls $1174.25 (All-In)

Flop: ($4052.50) 2, Q, 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($4052.50) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($4052.50) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $4052.50 | Rake: $0.50

Results:

Button had K, A (one pair, twos).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $4052


This was really the first time we'd gone to war pre-flop, too. I mean, there are times when it might be reasonable to stack off 340 BBs to me with AK pre-flop, but this wasn't one of them.

More on the durrrr/Greenstein Hand

OK, this has sparked a lot of interest among commenters, so I think I will offer a few of my own thoughts on the hand after all. In terms of what durrrr may have been thinking and why he was successful, I don't have a lot to add to the very good analysis I already linked. Instead, I'll focus on what I think Greenstein and Eastgate could have done differently.

(If you don't know the details of the hand, Geoff recently shared a link to a YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SKwhb_nJVQ)

I'll start with Eastgate, because my advice for him is easiest: fold pre-flop. By my count, the pot is $16,200 when it gets to Eastgate, who must call $2100 more with his 42o in the Small Blind. The 8:1 pot odds are nice, but he will be very deep out of position against 6-7 good to world-class players with a hand that virtually never makes the nuts or anything close to it. Even suited, this should probably be a fold, since with so many in the pot he's looking at reverse implied odds even when he makes a flush. Post-flop, his play is fine, and this is just a spot where he's going to lose money against a very good player. Hence why he should not be playing 24o.

For Greenstein to combat a bluff like this, he needs a strategy that will not turn his hand face-up. The deeper you get, the more you need to mix up your UTG range so that savvy opponents like Dwan can't take you off pots on "bad" flops. Barry needs to be capable of showing up with hands like A2s here. He might also benefit from limping in with AA UTG occasionally, along with a variety of other hands. This will enable him to limp-re-raise in a spot like this (again, sometimes with other hands as well as a bluff) to narrow the field and make stacks more shallow post-flop so that his Aces will be more resilient unimproved.

Post-flop, he needs to either check the Aces or be leading such a wide range here that AA will be at the top of it and he can more comfortably stack off to Dwan with it. The latter, bluffing frequently into seven players, is very hard to do, so I like checking better.

I also think he's got an easy fold when Eastgate cold calls out of the Small Blind. But the central thing is that, especially when very deep, he needs to play all of his hands in a way that Dwan can't put him on exactly an overpair or the VERY occasional (given the T in Dwan's own hand) quads/full house.

Great High Stakes Poker Bluff by Tom "Durrrr" Dwan

I'm not much for watching televised poker, but from what I've seen, if you're going to watch anything, High Stakes Poker is the show to watch. Although I didn't see this hand go down, I heard it discussed quite a bit by Aaron "aejones" Jones and Rob "Bobbfitos" Eckstut on the latest 2+2 Pokercast. PokerNews commentator picks up on just about every complex detail that Aaron and Rob covered on the show, so I don't have much to add to his commentary. It's just a fascinating hand that shows how a total sicko like Dwan can run circles around event world-class players like Barry Greenstein and Gabe Kaplan (who, from what I've heard of his commentary on the hand, didn't seem to get that Dwan was turning his pair into a bluff). So I definitely recommend that you have a look at Daniel Skolovy's recap and commentary:

"Now although even an amateur could read Barry's hand, it takes a real pro to have the stones to bluff into seven people and continue on the turn.

durrrr is that pro and Barry should know that, and thus should know that when his hand is as faceup as it is, durrrr has the potential to recognize this and bluff him off of it.

Which means you get into a leveling war of he knows that I know that he knows and he should be thinking just high enough to know that durrrr knows his hand and can thus bluff him off it, which could turn this from a fold to a call/shove."

Turn Check-Raise Overbet Bluff

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2955.50)
Button ($4698)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 6, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button calls $44

Turn: ($148) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $111, Hero raises to $666, 1 fold

Total pot: $370 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show Q, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $369.50


People don't like it when you try to take the betting impetus away from them. I like leading here with KQ because it's ahead of a lot of air but can't do anything but fold if you check and your opponent bets at this flop. Plus, he may fold some random A-high hands, so it's not like you're only folding out worse.

Still, I think his calling range is quite wide on the flop: any pair, any draw (including sometimes a bare T, but probably not a bare 4), and some random floats. Because of the nature of the board, though, he's probably not flat calling here with strong hands like two pair or better. That means he almost never has a full house on the turn.

The overbet serves to polarize my range to monsters (probably A6 or better) and bluffs. And although I happened to lead with air here, I'll often have some piece of the board when I lead into him. Thus, from his perspective, it doesn't look like I'll often get to the turn with a hand that needs to bluff like this.

If he's really stubborn, he could still call a standard check-raise on the turn with a lot of his range, but the overbet makes it very difficult. He definitely can't float with his draws because he'll often be drawing dirty or dead.

Even with one pair, he has a lot to worry about it. Ordinarily, we think of leverage as meaning a small bet (relative to the pot) that nevertheless forces a big decision on an opponent. But there's no reason the bet has to be small. Because of our stack sizes, an overbet actually achieves some decent leverage here. Even when he has a one pair hand, he has to fear a huge river bluff.

In the end, my expectation was that he would not call with less than trips. In light of the flop range I gave him, that translates into a huge percentage of folds. It's an expensive bluff, but relative to a pot-sized check-raise, I think the overbet provides vastly disproportionate fold equity.

You Could Have Been Value Betting Worse I Think?

I was playing a decent but not great player heads up, and the match had been close, with first him then me having the upper hand, until I tried to bluff him off of trips:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2045.50)
Hero (Button) ($2488.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, Q
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) J, 10, 10 (2 players)
SB bets $40, Hero calls $40

Turn: ($140) 3 (2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $333, SB calls $233

River: ($806) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2085.75 (All-In),

SB: sick... you hit the flush?

SB calls $1642.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $4091 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 8, Q (one pair, tens).
SB had K, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: SB won $4090.50

SB: i am not good enough to fold trips

Foucault: evidently not


Of course it's not generally a good idea to try to bluff someone off of trips, and if the river hadn't flushed I wouldn't have attempted it. It's not that I was trying to represent a flush but rather that the flush coming in makes it a very good time for me to make a huge shove if I have a full house, most likely JT or JJ. The huge shove is designed to polarize my range, so that it won't matter that he has trips (except for decreasing the combinations of boats I could have). Basically, I am either bluffing or have him beat.

Here's the very next hand, where he once again can't lay down trips:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($4090.50)
Hero (SB) ($1000)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, K
Button bets $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 10, Q, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $120, Button calls $80

SB: also you could have been value betting worse I think?

Turn: ($300) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $200, Button calls $200

River: ($700) 4 (2 players)

SB: like any T?

Hero bets $650 (All-In), Button calls $650

Total pot: $2000 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button mucked 9, J (three of a kind, nines).
Hero had J, K (straight, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $1999.50


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($3353.25)
Hero (Button) ($1717.25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
Hero bets $30, SB raises to $120, Hero calls $90

Flop: ($240) 4, 2, 7 (2 players)
SB bets $140, Hero calls $140

Turn: ($520) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $222, SB calls $222

River: ($964) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1235.25 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $964 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show A, A.
Outcome: Hero won $963.50


This wasn't a good value shove by me, but it did show me that the table dynamic had shifted as a result of his snapping off that big bluff. Now, he was going to give me credit on my shoves.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2656.75)
Hero (Button) ($2410.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) K, 4, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB calls $40

Turn: ($140) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $90, SB calls $90

River: ($320) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $250, SB calls $250

Total pot: $820 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, J (three of a kind, Kings).
SB mucked 8, 8 (two pair, Kings and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $819.50


In this hand, I show him that I can value bet thinly (on the turn, here, nothing thin about the river) in a spot where he thinks I'm going to have a polarized range (hence his calldown with 88- he assumes I either hit the A or am bluffing in a common spot).

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2261.75)
Hero (SB) ($2805.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Button bets $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) 7, 10, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $169, Button calls $169

Turn: ($560) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $425, Button calls $425

River: ($1410) A (2 players)
Hero bets $2100.25 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1410 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show Q, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1409.50


This time, the big bluff works. Given the texture of the board, I think it's very likely that he raises flop or turn if he has two pair or better. Something like a pair and busted draw is more likely for him. And even if he does have two pair, I think it's now plausible for him to think I can shove Aces up, so his weaker two pair may not be good. Pretty much the only thing I'm worried about here is that he himself rivered Aces up. Otherwise, I expect this to work.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1889.50)
Hero (Button) ($3175.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 3, 3
Hero bets $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 2, 6, 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40, SB raises to $120, Hero raises to $269, SB calls $149

Turn: ($598) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $376, SB raises to $1590.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1214.50

River: ($3779) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3779 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 3, 3 (three of a kind, threes).
SB had K, 5 (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $3778.50


And that cleaned him out.

February felt like (and was) a pretty awful month, but I did actually win some money. Just not nearly enough to make up for January. After the first week, I was in black and then some, pretty much right where I wanted to be for the month. Then it was back to bad beats and cold decks. I'll refrain from posting any whine hands here, though, and get on to evaluating progress towards my yearly goals.

Resolution One: Keep Grinding NLHE Cash Games

Goal 1: Earn $X in NLHE Cash Games

Still on track to be busto by the end of the year....

Goal 2: Earn Supernova status on PokerStars

I earned 8866 VPPs in February, which keeps me on track to make Supernova in November. Truthfully, I'm just not digging the games on Stars. Maybe I'm just more accustomed to the FTP interface, but I also like the deep stack games, the Bet Pot button, and the way the tables tile to fit whichever screen I have them on.

Resolution Two: Diversify My Income Streams

Goal 3: Monetize This Blog

I need to get on this...

Goal 4: Get Back Into Coaching

Progress is slow but steady. I've had some conversations with former students about how to structure group sessions, and I may get a trial session off the ground soon.

Goal 5: Market My Writing

Same old, same old.

Resolution Three: Improve My NLHE Skills

Goal 6: Use Poker Tracker More Effectively

Still haven't done much. The Poker Savvy Plus community has been helpful in finding some stats I wanted that weren't available in the commercial product, so I guess I've got the tools I need now. This probably ought to be a priority- analyzing one's game is a good thing to do during a downswing.

Goal 7: Finish the Year with a 4BB/100 Win-Rate at 5/10 NL.

Got it up to -.19 BB/100, which is a big improvement from January's -5.

Goal 8: Play 50,000 Hands of Heads Up NLHE

This is the one place where I did make substantial progress, for all the good it did me. In fact, I kind of underestimated how simple this goal was: I've already played 78,474 hands. They go quick when theres' only two of you. I hereby revise this goal:
Play 300,000 Hands of Heads Up NLHE

Aaaaaand my swingy graph:

Elaboration

On my recent post, "Defining His Range Into Oblivion", tce left a comment that I felt warranted a new post:

This is a tantalizing post with some really interesting ideas that need more meat. Can you say more? In my experience, trying to blow someone off an Ax hand is just too disruptive to my bankroll. Many players are just too stubborn and will chk-call all three streets. I finally learned that my best counter-strategy is to simply bet the hell out of my hand when I can beat Ax. Turning 2nd pair into a bluff in the hopes of blowing someone off Ax? I dunno, I need to hear more.

It's a good question. This concept isn't just a neat way to bluff. The point is that when you have position and a good sense of your opponent's range, you have a generous edge because of your ability to make better decisions on the river. You want to have a big pot and also enough money behind for a big river bet, ideally with nothing left over in the effective stacks, to maximize that edge. Then, it's just a matter of actually making that river decision.

Against this opponent, I'm confident that in a 4-bet pot, a bluff in that spot would be very profitable. Against a looser opponent who will not fold Ax, then you will value shove more hands and bluff less.

Before I could even get around to posting that, I found myself in another heads up match against the same opponent where several exemplary hands arose. Here's one where I employ the same line for value with AA:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $2,937.50
BB: $2,044.50

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $120, Hero raises to $270, BB calls $150

Flop: ($540) 3 T 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $222, BB calls $222

Turn: ($984) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $444, BB folds

Results: $984 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked A A and WON $983.50 (+$491.50 NET)


And an example of how one might defend against such a line:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $3,578
Hero (BB): $3,958.50

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, SB raises to $265, Hero calls $154

Flop: ($530) 5 5 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $285, Hero calls $285

Turn: ($1,100) J (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $865, Hero calls $865

River: ($2,830) T (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $2,163 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,163

Results: $7,156 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
SB showed 3 5 (three of a kind, Fives) and LOST (-$3,578 NET)
Hero showed J J (a full house, Jacks full of Fives) and WON $7,155.50 (+$3,577.50 NET)


The point here isn't just that I coolered him. I put him on either a big hand (which would probably include KK and AA) or a bluff. No matter which he has, I can just check-call my boat and let him stick the money in by the river, since that's what he'll do with either type of hand. Not only do I induce bluffs, but I also make it tougher for him to bluff and value bet me with a line like this in the future.

Before you start feeling too bad for this guy, realize that this was payback for the last time he re-raised me with garbage:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $3,829
BB: $2,000

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB raises to $120, Hero calls $90

Flop: ($240) 3 2 T (2 Players)
BB bets $125, Hero calls $125

Turn: ($490) 5 (2 Players)
BB bets $365, Hero raises to $3,584 and is All-In, BB calls $1,390 and is All-In

River: ($4,000) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $4,000 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed J J (a pair of Jacks) and LOST (-$2,000 NET)
BB showed 6 4 (a straight, Six high) and WON $3,999.50 (+$1,999.50 NET)


Honestly, this is a bad turn shove by me. Against a lot of people, it would be fine, but this guy really wasn't aggressive enough to warrant it. JJ is good often enough, but my equity is so bad that I can't profitably shove. Mayyyyybe I could get away with calling and then folding the river unimproved, but folding is probably the best option.

FTOPS #20: $200 NLHE 6-Max

Not surprisingly, the quality of play in this was something like atrocious. Judging from the chat and general play, I was at a table full of clowns, which was cool. My favorite hand saw a guy raise pre-flop, and get two callers, and then bet 2x pot on A44 flop. The SB tanked forever and announced that he was folding AT. The better agreed that it was a tough but good fold.

Anyhow, with that in mind, I think I am fist-pump stacking off here even for like 170BBs. I mean, do we really see this guy playing TT any differently?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t5050)
SB (t5585)
Hero (BB) (t5115)
UTG (t5430)
MP (t4775)
CO (t4045)

Hero's M: 113.67

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K
1 fold, MP raises to t90, 3 folds, Hero raises to t300, MP calls t210

Flop: (t615) 4, 7, 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t615, MP calls t615

Turn: (t1845) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t1200, MP raises to t3860 (All-In), Hero calls t2660

River: (t9565) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9565

Results:
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and sevens).
MP had A, A (two pair, Aces and sevens).
Outcome: MP won t9565

FTOPS Event 2: $240 PLO8 Knockout

I took an early exit from this tournament on a coin flip:

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 20/40 Blinds (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP1) (t4925)
MP2 (t5142)
CO (t5938)
Button (t4775)
SB (t8994)
BB (t5025)
UTG (t5146)
UTG+1 (t5070)

Hero's M: 82.08

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 10, A, 9, 2
2 folds, Hero raises to t120, 3 folds, SB raises to t400, 1 fold, Hero calls t280

Flop: (t840) 9, 10, 7 (2 players)
SB bets t840, Hero raises to t3360, SB raises to t5880, Hero calls t1165 (All-In)

Turn: (t9890) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t9890) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9890

Results:
SB had J, A, A, 7 (Hi: flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, A, 9, 2 (Hi: two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: SB won t9890


I was pretty sure the guy had AA, just because that's about all you'll see most people re-raise with in a spot like this. Truthfully, he ought to have AA2, preferably with a suit, to be re-raising. AA with a poor low draw isn't that strong a hand in PLO8, especially with stacks as deep as these. That doesn't mean I put him on AA2, because I'm not about to give a random that kind of credit, but that's what he ought to have.

Again, when he pots the flop, he ought to have something other than AA, but that's not a guarantee. With my top two pair and back door low draw, I was pretty sure it'd be thin but OK to get it in. I wasn't happy to see that he had the nut flush draw, but when I ran the equity, I was actually still a coin flip:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010637
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 7h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    349    349    463      8    160      0      0  0.493
Ac Jc  Ad  7h    361    463    349      8      0      0      0  0.507

Even if we let him keep the nut flush draw and give him the A2 that he ought to have to go along with it, my equity is still pretty good:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010643
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jc ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    348    438    382      0      0      0    160  0.528
Ac Jc  Ad  2h    312    382    438      0      0      0    160  0.472


And even if he keeps the low draw, I'm a big favorite if he doesn't have the flush:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=6010647
pokenum  -o8 td as 9s 2c  - jd ad ac 2h  -- 9c tc 7s
Omaha Hi/Low 8-or-better: 820 enumerated boards containing 7s Tc 9c
cards          scoop  HIwin  HIlos  HItie  LOwin  LOlos  LOtie     EV
As 9s  2c  Td    453    613    207      0      0      0    160  0.699
Ac Ad  Jd  2h    207    207    613      0      0      0    160  0.301

Heads Up With a Maniac

This guy was decent in some ways but pretty insanely loose and aggressive. I don't think he ever folded to a 3-bet pre-flop (I probably should have made my raise size bigger), and there was a lot of 4-betting going on. For the most part, I just hung back, made some thin call downs, and pushed my big hands hard. He was tough to bluff because he wouldn't fold anything and would re-bluff with ridiculous frequency. I was trying to bluff just enough to ensure that he knew I hadn't given up completely.

Faster!

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1092.25)
Hero (Button) ($2109.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) K, K, J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($220) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $85, Hero calls $85

River: ($390) 5 (2 players)
SB bets $285, Hero raises to $1914.50 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $960 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show K, J
Outcome: Hero won $959.50

This was early in the match- I probably would have bet the flop based on the dynamic we later established. I guarantee he wasn't folding, whatever he had.



A Little Too Thin

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($3549.50)
SB ($3023.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 8
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($220) 2, Q, 8 (2 players)
SB bets $145, Hero calls $145

Turn: ($510) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $345, Hero calls $345

River: ($1200) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $455, Hero calls $455

Total pot: $2110 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 9, 8 (two pair, nines and eights).
SB had 10, A (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Hero won $2109.50



One of His Better Value Bets

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2320.50)
Hero (SB) ($4791)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) Q, 2, 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $40, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $71

Turn: ($282) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($282) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $245, Hero calls $245

Total pot: $772 | Rake: $0.50
Results:
Button had 8, 8 (two pair, Queens and eights).
Hero had A, 10 (two pair, Queens and twos).
Outcome: Button won $771.50


A lot of busted draws here, though maybe he bets those on the turn? Whatever, folding too often to this guy was not a good idea.



Lucky Turn

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1794)
Hero (Button) ($3150.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 8
Hero raises to $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 2, 8, 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44, SB raises to $118, Hero calls $74

Turn: ($296) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $235, Hero raises to $1002, SB raises to $1646 (All-In), Hero calls $644

River: ($3588) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3588 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had 10, 8 (full house, tens over eights).
SB had 7, 8 (two pair, tens and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $3587.50



Psycho Call

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2736)
Hero (SB) ($4375)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $20, Hero raises to $80, Button calls $60

Flop: ($160) 9, K, A (2 players)
Hero bets $120, Button raises to $260, Hero raises to $795, Button calls $535

Turn: ($1750) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $3500 (All-In), Button calls $1861 (All-In)

River: ($5472) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $5472 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 7, Q (high card, Ace).
Hero had A, 10 (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $5471.50


I was expecting calls from worse Aces and maybe Kings. I don't know how he talked himself into this one. Maybe he decided I could be on a worse flush draw?



Tough Fold

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2000)
Hero (Button) ($7110.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $112

Flop: ($444) Q, J, A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($444) J (2 players)
SB bets $225, Hero calls $225

River: ($894) 10 (2 players)
SB bets $665, Hero folds

Total pot: $894 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $893.50


I'm far from certain this was correct. It's obviously a scary card, but that also makes it a good bluff card. I don't think he has a K too often on the turn, but trips and clubs are both very possible. Ultimately the turn bet sizing is what swayed me.



Bluff It Off

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($4110)
Button ($2462)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) 8, 10, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $145, Hero calls $145

Turn: ($512) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero calls $345

River: ($1202) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $875, Hero calls $875

Total pot: $2952 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had K, 4 (one pair, Queens).
Hero had A, 10 (two pair, Queens and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $2951.50



Turning Second Pair Into a River Check-Raise Bluff

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($6043)
SB ($3207)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
Hero raises to $30, SB calls $20

Flop: ($60) A, 8, K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($60) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44, SB calls $44

River: ($148) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $111, SB raises to $345, Hero calls $234

Total pot: $838 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, J (one pair, Kings).
SB had 5, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $837.50

I'm pretty sure he expects me to call the river almost always but not to bet very often. So it doesn't really make sense for him to check a big hand to me.



Lucky Turn

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($5693)
Button ($2275)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) J, 8, K (2 players)
Hero bets $166, Button calls $166

Turn: ($554) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero raises to $5416 (All-In), Button calls $1653 (All-In)

River: ($4550) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $4550 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had J, 9 (two pair, Jacks and nines).
Hero had Q, A (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Button won $4549.50



Not This Time

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($2478)
Hero (SB) ($2468)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 9
Button raises to $30, Hero raises to $111, Button calls $81

Flop: ($222) J, 7, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $166, Button calls $166

Turn: ($554) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $345, Hero raises to $2191 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1244 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero didn't show A, 9 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $1243.50


This one actually happened simultaneously with the above (we were playing on two tables).



Insane

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($3943)
SB ($4021)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $112

Flop: ($444) 6, K, 7 (2 players)
SB bets $325, Hero raises to $966, SB raises to $2445, Hero raises to $3721 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $5334 | Rake: $0.50


There are so many good semi-bluff hands on this board that there's no reason to ever be 3-betting the flop with air, but that seems to be what he was doing here. Best example of his over-aggressiveness.



Bluffing With the Best

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6885)
Button ($2370)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 7
Button raises to $30, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($60) 7, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($60) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button calls $44

River: ($148) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $111, Button raises to $445, Hero calls $334

Total pot: $1038 | Rake: $0.50

He had Ace-high on this one, which makes it that much crazier of a bluff, since he had some showdown value.



Lucky River

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($6066.50)
SB ($3180.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 10
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $110, Hero raises to $266, SB calls $156

Flop: ($532) 7, 5, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $222, SB raises to $655, Hero calls $433

Turn: ($1842) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $666, SB calls $666

River: ($3174) A (2 players)
SB bets $1593.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1593.50

Total pot: $6361 | Rake: $0.50

Never mind bluffs, he's value shoving worse on this river. He called me a lucky retard and quit immediately after this hand. Later he was nice though- he sat at another of my tables as I was getting ready to quit but didn't give me a hard time about it and even returned a blind that I didn't mean to post.

Just so I don't look like a total luckbox, remember that the above were hands selected to show how aggressive he was, and hence generally hands that I won. He did win a few big pots that I didn't post here. Also, there was this, against a different opponent:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($2323.50)
SB ($1692.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, A
Hero raises to $30, SB raises to $90, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $132

Flop: ($444) 3, 10, Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $166, SB raises to $1470.50 (All-In), Hero calls $1304.50

Turn: ($3385) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3385) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3385 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had K, A (one pair, Kings).
SB had J, 9 (straight, King high).
Outcome: SB won $3384.50

How Not to Overplay Bottom Set

A few days ago I posted a hand where we were very deep and I feared I may have overplayed a small set/full house. Once again I was deep here against a pretty good player. Were I to fire a third barrel, I'd be showing a ton of strength, so much so that he could probably to fold all worse hands. More importantly, I felt that he wouldn't expect me to check any strong hand since I already had the betting impetus. Thus, not only can I induce bluffs, but I can also probably get him to value bet most hands that would have called the river anyway:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($864.80)
Button ($2075.80)
SB ($603)
Hero (BB) ($2065.20)
UTG ($428.70)
MP ($2007.80)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
1 fold, MP raises to $21, 1 fold, Button calls $21, 1 fold, Hero calls $15

Flop: ($66) 10, A, 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $44, Button calls $44, Hero raises to $199, 1 fold, Button calls $155

Turn: ($508) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $345, Button calls $345

River: ($1198) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $800, Hero calls $800

Total pot: $2798 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had K, J (high card, Ace).
Hero had 7, 7 (three of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $2795


Also important is the fact that I think my river checks are in general far too exploitable. For the most part, if I've bet the flop and turn but then check the river, it means I'm giving up. Thus, I've been on the look-out for opportunities to bet (or raise) the flop and turn then check the river when out of position with a big hand.

I Got One Right

Since I just posted a bunch of whines, here's a brag. The SB was the table fish, the BB is a very tough and aggressive opponent. I could just 4-bet pre-flop but I think he'd find a way to own me. I decided I was just going to play my position and go with the assumption that he didn't have much:

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

UTG ($2753)
MP ($1837)
CO ($4028.25)
Hero (Button) ($2697)
SB ($2045.70)
BB ($2032)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, J
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, SB calls $30, BB raises to $170, Hero calls $135, 1 fold

Flop: ($375) 4, 2, Q (2 players)
BB bets $210, Hero calls $210

Turn: ($795) 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $333, BB calls $333

River: ($1461) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1984 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1461 | Rake: $3


I like floating the flop because even if he fires a second barrel there's a lot of ways I can continue. If I turn a pair, I'll call him down, and if I turn a draw, I'll shove. The turn bet was calculated to set up a roughly pot-sized river shove (Villain had like $1300 left) and/or win the pot immediately. It doesn't give him a great price to check-raise, so I think he's mostly going to raise only when he has a legit hand. The small bet also works as a feeler to show me that he probably doesn't have a legit hand, which means it'll be tough for him to call a river shove. He tanked forever, which was pretty nerve-racking, but eventually went away.

Some Shit Spots

These are all from tonight. Fair warning: this is pretty much a whine post, but I'm trying to include at least some insight into how precisely running bad can lead to playing bad (aside from the obvious straight-up frustration/tilt). This is the worst one of the night, one of two gin cards falls on the river:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($1000)
Hero (UTG) ($4229)
MP ($2197)
CO ($4117.25)
Button ($3109)
SB ($5835)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, 10
Hero raises to $70, 2 folds, Button calls $70, 2 folds

Flop: ($170) A, 2, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($170) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $111, Button calls $111

River: ($392) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $288, Button raises to $1000, Hero calls $712

Total pot: $2392 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 8, 9 (straight, ten high).
Hero had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: Button won $2389


Honestly I was pretty unhappy about the river raise but in this case my hand is so under-repped and this opponent is generally an aggro monkey, though I didn't think it was too likely he was bluffing here. Pretty much just shit luck and a spot where he's going to get paid. Rightly or wrongly, it probably did contribute to my folding here (different opponent, I just mean that it may have made me a little gunshy):


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($1723.05)
MP2 ($175)
CO ($154.25)
SB ($1060.50)
Hero (BB) ($2340.50)
UTG ($1010)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 3, 3
1 fold, MP1 raises to $22, 3 folds, Hero calls $12

Flop: ($49) 3, 7, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $18, Hero raises to $88, MP1 calls $70

Turn: ($225) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $188, MP1 calls $188

River: ($601) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $477, MP1 raises to $1425.05 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $1555 | Rake: $3

Results:
MP1 didn't show
Outcome: MP1 won $1552


To be honest, though, I think this is actually a very good and disciplined fold, not a bad play. I can't imagine he's shoving anything worse for value, and I just don't think a bluff like this is in his repertoire. My range is pretty polarized to either a busted draw or a boat, and I don't he'd try to bluff me off of either.

Trying to bluff your opponent off of quads is generally not a good idea:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($1114.75)
Hero (Button) ($1000)
BB ($1092)
UTG ($1394)
UTG+1 ($516)
MP1 ($2003)
MP2 ($176.35)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 6
4 folds, CO raises to $30, Hero raises to $100, 1 fold, CO calls $70

Flop: ($210) A, J, 3 (2 players
CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($210) 8 (2 players)
CO bets $120, Hero calls $120

River: ($450) J (2 players)
CO bets $250, Hero raises to $780 (All-In), CO calls $530

Total pot: $2010 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, 6 (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
CO had J, J (four of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: CO won $2007


I thought this would be a good spot for me to bluff my opponent off of a better Ace. There are far more Jacks in my range than in his, because I don't think he's betting a bare pair of Jacks on the turn. That means he has to have AJ or JJ to call the river.

This is the kind of thing I have in mind when I say that run bad leads to play bad. This probably is a good spot to bluff, but when you're just constantly running into the nuts, it's hard to keep pulling the trigger on thin plays. Of course, that can save you money, when your opponents really do always have fucking quads:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (3 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($5702)
Hero (Button) ($5197)
SB ($4411)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, 4
BB raises to $60, Hero calls $60, 1 fold

Flop: ($140) 5, 3, 2 (2 players)
BB bets $120, Hero raises to $322, BB calls $202

Turn: ($784) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $615, BB calls $615

River: ($2014) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $2014 | Rake: $1

Results:
Hero had 5, 4 (two pair, Kings and fives).
BB had K, K (four of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: BB won $2013


I really think I should have bluffed this river, since my opponent will often have something like a big pocket pair with one diamond that isn't going to call. Obviously in this case I'm glad I chickened out though.

Last but not least, here's another thin play, this time a value bet, where I got burned:

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

Button ($985)
SB ($3062.75)
Hero (BB) ($2029)
UTG ($1516)
MP ($1089.50)
CO ($1136.25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, Q
1 fold, MP calls $10, 2 folds, SB calls $5, Hero raises to $50, MP calls $40, SB calls $40

Flop: ($150) K, 9, 6 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $99, MP calls $99, 1 fold

Turn: ($348) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $100, Hero calls $100

River: ($548) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $330, MP calls $330

Total pot: $1208 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had K, Q (one pair, Kings).
MP had K, 2 (two pair, Kings and twos).
Outcome: MP won $1205

The guy, obviously, was a total fish. I wouldn't take such a transparent line against a good player, but I'm sure that he pays off with way worse on the river. It's really tough to keep plugging away and to maintain confidence in your decisions when you're just constantly getting raised, re-raised, called down, and shown monster hands. I think maybe I'm going to go play some PLO.

Dealing With an Aggressive 3-Better

Both of these hands are against a real 3-betting fiend. He's ridiculously loose and aggressive pre-flop, especially when he has position. Even though I think he's taken it to the point of exploitability, it's still a tough and high-variance playstyle to combat. There are a lot of adjustments you need to make against a player like this, but one is just to call down with more medium-strength hands than you ordinarily would. Basically you are going to make money off of his bluffs, so you need to set him up to bluff and then be prepared to catch bluffs with weaker hands than your ordinarily would. Two examples:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($1000)
Hero (MP2) ($1000)
MP3 ($1316)
CO ($1035)
Button ($1000)
SB ($1069)
BB ($440)
UTG+1 ($160)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9, 9
2 folds, Hero raises to $35, 1 fold, CO raises to $95, 3 folds, Hero calls $60

Flop: ($205) K, 10, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $135, Hero calls $135

Turn: ($475) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $365, Hero raises to $770 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $1205 | Rake: $3


I didn't necessarily expect a fold here, but I did think my 9's would have enough equity against his range, which probably includes a TON of semi-bluffs, to get it in.


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1018.50)
BB ($1088.50)
UTG ($440)
UTG+1 ($104.50)
MP1 ($953.75)
Hero (MP2) ($1177)
CO ($1417)
Button ($760)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, J
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, 2 folds, SB raises to $115, 1 fold, Hero raises to $250, SB raises to $1018.50 (All-In), Hero calls $768.50

Flop: ($2047) 7, 3, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($2047) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2047) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2047 | Rake: $3

He had Jacks here, so I lost. I'm less confident about this one, as it was my first 4-bet of the night, but I think that could also increase his bluff frequency because he knows I know he's been running me over. With a suited AJ, I'd definitely just call pre-flop. Even here, it might have been better to flat and then jam a lot of flops or something just to induce an additional bluff. But this is the kind of thing you need to do against overly aggressive opponents.

Aces Suck

As of today, I am in the red for the year. Obviously not a big deal just two weeks in, but it's annoying. It has a lot to do with my pocket Aces never winning the damn pot. In fact, I am in the red for the year with specifically that hand as well:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($16395.35)
MP ($5000)
CO ($11776)
Button ($5609)
Hero (SB) ($6300)
BB ($3437)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
3 folds, Button raises to $150, Hero raises to $555, 1 fold, Button raises to $1400, Hero raises to $6300 (All-In), Button calls $4209 (All-In)

Flop: ($11268) Q, 4, 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($11268) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($11268) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $11268 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Button won $11265


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($12792)
SB ($5000)
BB ($5000)
Hero (UTG) ($6736)
MP ($12400)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to $175, MP calls $175, 1 fold, SB raises to $700, 1 fold, Hero calls $525, MP calls $525

Flop: ($2150) 2, 8, J (3 players)
SB bets $1350, Hero calls $1350, 1 fold

Turn: ($4850) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $2950 (All-In), Hero calls $2950

River: ($10750) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10750 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).

Outcome: SB won $10747


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($2292)
CO ($2000)
Button ($2000)
SB ($828.85)
BB ($2773)
Hero (UTG) ($1904)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero raises to $60, MP raises to $200, 4 folds, Hero raises to $555, MP calls $355

Flop: ($1140) J, Q, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $500, Hero raises to $1349 (All-In), MP calls $849

Turn: ($3838) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3838) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3838 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
MP had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: MP won $3835


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($925)
SB ($13384)
BB ($15243)
UTG ($5000)
Hero (MP) ($5797)
CO ($9200)

Preflop: Hero is MP with A, A
1 fold, Hero raises to $175, 2 folds, SB calls $150, 1 fold

Flop: ($400) 8, 10, J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $288, SB calls $288

Turn: ($976) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $678, SB calls $678

River: ($2332) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $1488, Hero folds

Total pot: $2332 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB didn't show
Outcome: SB won $2329


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($4000)
UTG ($2101)
MP ($2000)
Button ($2612)
SB ($6337)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
3 folds, SB raises to $60, Hero raises to $180, SB calls $120

Flop: ($360) 3, Q, 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $270, SB raises to $700, Hero raises to $3820 (All-In), SB calls $3120

Turn: ($8000) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($8000) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $8000 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had Q, Q (four of a kind, Queens).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Queens).

This is Why I Love and Hate the Sunday Million

Sorry I haven't had the opportunity to put together my 2009 Resolutions yet- they'll be coming soon...

The Poker Stars Sunday Million (which now guarantees a $1.5 million prizepool and routinely clears that by a healthy margin) is comparable to the WSOP main event for its ability to entice atrocious poker players to play for far more money than their skill warrants. Even though I'd surely have a higher expected value playing cash tables, I still play it most Sundays for some combination of nostalgia, prestige, sadism, and lottery-esque gamble.

This hand from today's tournament exemplifies a problem that I often have in the early stages. I just don't know how to read the hands of truly awful players, and while they make enough fundamental mistakes to compensate, they can for that reason be irksome. It can be tough to tell whether they are overplaying a garbage hand or holding a monster. Then to make matters worse, they always get there:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $200+$15 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t9750)
UTG (t9975)
MP1 (t8135)
Hero (MP2) (t9490)
CO (t9925)
Button (t9925)
SB (t12800)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10, 10
UTG raises to t100, MP1 calls t100, Hero calls t100, 3 folds, BB calls t50

Flop: (t425) 4, 4, 6 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 bets t100, Hero calls t100, BB raises to t300, 2 folds, Hero calls t200

Turn: (t1125) 8 (2 players)
BB bets t550, Hero calls t550

River: (t2225) 7 (2 players)
BB bets t600, Hero calls t600

Total pot: t3425

Results:
BB had 6, 5 (straight, eight high).
Hero mucked 10, 10 (two pair, tens and fours).
Outcome: BB won t3425

2008 Year in Review

Having already posted an analysis of last year's resolutions (One, Two, and Three), I'll turn now to some year-end miscellany:

Largest Pot Won

Though I played as high as 50/100 last year, my biggest win was in a recent 10/20 heads up game. It's both the largest pot I've won in absolute dollars and also (I think) the largest in BB's, nearly 1200 of them.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,884.50
BB: $11,606

Pre-Flop: 6 T dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB raises to $1,225, Hero calls $637

Flop: ($2,450) 6 J 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,425, Hero raises to $3,659, BB raises to $10,381 and is All-In, Hero calls $6,722

Turn: ($23,212) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($23,212) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $23,212 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 6 T (a full house, Sixes full of Tens) and WON $23,211.50 (+$11,605.50 NET)
BB showed A A (two pair, Aces and Sixes) and LOST (-$11,606 NET)


A little epilogue here: I saw this guy sitting alone at a 50/100 table recently and took a seat. He played one hand and quit.

Largest Pot Lost

I wish I could say it was a bad beat or cold deck, but mostly it was just bad play:

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $10,050
SB: $24,967.75

Pre-Flop: 4 A dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $124, Hero raises to $411, SB calls $287

Flop: ($822) Q 8 Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $589, SB raises to $1,670, Hero calls $1,081

Turn: ($4,162) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $2,575, Hero raises to $7,969 and is All-In, SB calls $5,394

River: ($20,100) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $20,100 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 4 A (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$10,050 NET)
SB showed K Q (three of a kind, Queens) and WON $20,099.50 (+$10,049.50 NET)


Worst Bad Beat

As it happens, those are both from December. But I had to go all the way back to March and my days in the UB 25/50 heads up game to find the most annoying bad beat, defined as some combination of long odds and big pot:

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 0: GASSITT ($4297.50) -
Seat 1: Foucault ($4500) - -

PRE-FLOP:

Foucault posts small blind $25
GASSITT posts BIG blind $50
Dealt To: Foucault


RAISE Foucault ($150)
CALL GASSITT ($150)


FLOP:

Pot: $350


CHECK GASSITT
BET Foucault ($200)
CALL Foucault ($200)


TURN:

Pot: $750


BET GASSITT ($525)
RAISE Foucault ($1650)
RAISE GASSITT ($3947.50)
CALL Foucault ($3947.50)


RIVER:

Pot: $10295




SHOWDOWN:
GASSITT:

MUCK Foucault

GASSITT collected $8594.5 from main pot with full house, fives full of jacks

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $8595 Rake: $.50

Final Board:


Seat 0: 5s Js 5h 5d Jd: full house, fives full of jacks. - Net Gain/Loss: ($3772)



Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Largest Tournament Score



Yearly Profits Graph

Thanks to you all for following along this year, and best of luck at the tables (or wherever you ply your trade) in 2009.

Happy New Year!

Misclicking for Fun and Profit

It never ceases to amuse me when my mistakes make me money. Here I meant to bet $99 on the river and accidentally bet $9. The result was inducing a huge check-raise bluff from a hand that almost certainly would have folded to my intended bet:

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

BTN: $705
SB: $1,359.35
Hero (BB): $1,230
UTG: $1,336.25
MP: $600
CO: $1,828

Pre-Flop: A 7 dealt to Hero (BB)
4 folds, SB calls $3, Hero raises to $18, SB calls $12

Flop: ($36) 3 9 4 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($36) 8 (2 Players)
SB bets $13, Hero raises to $42, SB calls $29

River: ($120) 3 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, SB raises to $234, Hero calls $225

Results: $588 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed T Q (a pair of Threes) and LOST (-$294 NET)
Hero showed A 7 (a flush, Ace high) and WON $585 (+$291 NET)


Unfortunately, I decided to flush the profits and then some on an ill-conceived river check-raise bluff of my own:

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $998
BTN: $597
Hero (SB): $1,713.20
BB: $352.10
UTG: $1,896.60

Pre-Flop: 8 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, CO raises to $21, BTN folds, Hero calls $18, BB folds

Flop: ($48) 2 J 5 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $35, Hero calls $35

Turn: ($118) 5 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $111, Hero calls $111

River: ($340) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO bets $200, Hero raises to $1,546.20 and is All-In, CO calls $631 and is All-In

Results: $2,002 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed J J (a full house, Jacks full of Fives) and WON $1,999 (+$1,001 NET)
Hero showed 8 8 (two pair, Eights and Fives) and LOST (-$998 NET)


First off, I hate the turn call. My thinking was that his range when he near-pots it is polarized to bluffs and boats, but it's probably so waited towards boats that I don't belong in the hand anyway. Then I disregard that read on the river and decide based on his bet-sizing that he has an overpair after all and maybe I can take him off of it. Pure sloppiness on my part.

Folding Kings

This is from my laptop, so sorry for the lack of converted HH. It was from a 5/10 deep game, people's stack sizes are in parentheses after their names:

UTG ($2000) raises to $40, UTG+1 ($2000) re-raises to $120, CO folds, I ($2000) call the $120 cold, SB folds, BB ($1200) 4-bets cold to $300, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, action is back to me. I have to call $180 into a $700 pot with $900 or so left in the effective stacks. I contemplated folding right here cuz it's hard to put BB on anything but AA. But I hate making tight folds like this and set odds were close anyway so I called. Flop came Q75 he shoved and I folded. Doubt he shoves AK and QQ just got there.

Npnpnpnpnpasd

Absolutely murdered this guy at 10/20 heads up this afternoon. He was decent but overly loose and aggressive and did not adapt well to playing super-deep. As you'll see, we had a very aggressive pre-flop dynamic going on, but it occurred almost exclusively on my button. The deeper we got, the more I kept pots small when I was out of position, since he was so willing to play big ones when I had the button. I won't give a lot of commentary on each hand but you can get a general sense of how the game went.

He started off with a 150BB lead but it didnt' last:

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $4,000
SB: $7,053.50

Pre-Flop: T 7 dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $60, Hero raises to $222, SB calls $162

Flop: ($444) 2 K 3 (2 Players)
Hero bets $333, SB calls $333

Turn: ($1,110) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB checks

River: ($1,110) 4 (2 Players)
Hero bets $895, SB raises to $1,790, Hero raises to $3,445 and is All-In, SB calls $1,655

Results: $8,000 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed T 7 (a flush, King high) and WON $7,999.50 (+$3,999.50 NET)
SB mucked 5 6 (a straight, Six high) and LOST (-$4,000 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $9,832.50
BB: $4,030

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $555, BB raises to $4,030 and is All-In, Hero calls $3,475

Flop: ($8,060) 9 T T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($8,060) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($8,060) 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $8,060 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Tens) and WON $8,059.50 (+$4,029.50 NET)
BB showed A K (two pair, Tens and Nines) and LOST (-$4,030 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,180
BB: $4,337.50

Pre-Flop: Q A dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $555, BB raises to $1,125, Hero calls $570

Flop: ($2,250) A 9 A (2 Players)
BB bets $1,750, Hero raises to $3,500, BB calls $1,462.50 and is All-In

Turn: ($8,675) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($8,675) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $8,675 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed Q A (a full house, Aces full of Nines) and WON $8,674.50 (+$4,337 NET)
BB showed K 4 (two pair, Aces and Nines) and LOST (-$4,337.50 NET)


Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $18,454.50
BB: $6,05

Pre-Flop: K Q dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB calls $368

Flop: ($1,176) Q 9 8 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1,176) 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $900, Hero calls $900

River: ($2,976) 7 (2 Players)
BB bets $2,750, Hero calls $2,750

Results: $8,476 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked K Q (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$4,238 NET)
BB showed 5 4 (a straight, Nine high) and WON $8,475.50 (+$4,237.50 NET)


On the one hand that's a scary river but for precisely that reason I felt obliged to call. I was playing my hand to induce a bluff so I can't very well fold to a very aggressive opponent when the perfect bluff card hits.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,308
BB: $8,195.50

Pre-Flop: A J dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB calls $368

Flop: ($1,176) Q 7 A (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $777, BB calls $777

Turn: ($2,730) J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1,643, BB raises to $6,830.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $5,187.50

River: ($16,391) 2 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $16,391 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed A J (two pair, Aces and Jacks) and WON $16,390.50 (+$8,195 NET)
BB showed 9 8 (Ace Queen high) and LOST (-$8,195.50 NET)


This one is just fucked up:

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $16,884.50
BB: $11,606

Pre-Flop: 6 T dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero raises to $588, BB raises to $1,225, Hero calls $637

Flop: ($2,450) 6 J 6 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,425, Hero raises to $3,659, BB raises to $10,381 and is All-In, Hero calls $6,722

Turn: ($23,212) T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($23,212) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $23,212 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 6 T (a full house, Sixes full of Tens) and WON $23,211.50 (+$11,605.50 NET)
BB showed A A (two pair, Aces and Sixes) and LOST (-$11,606 NET)


Felt kinda bad for him but come on we are 600BB deep don't min-5-bet your Aces.

Full Tilt Poker, $10/$20 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $28,557
BB: $3,931.50

Pre-Flop: 7 7 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $220, Hero calls $160

Flop: ($440) 2 6 T (2 Players)
BB bets $310, Hero calls $310

Turn: ($1,060) 9 (2 Players)
BB bets $780, Hero calls $780

River: ($2,620) 8 (2 Players)
BB bets $2,621.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,621.50

Results: $7,863 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero showed 7 7 (a straight, Ten high) and WON $7,862.50 (+$3,931 NET)
BB showed 9 T (two pair, Tens and Nines) and LOST (-$3,931.50 NET)


Villain: np i win 23k in 5 bet pots np with 6T npnpnpnpnpnppasd
Villain: f'
Villain: asgkjaf'lsdf
Villain is sitting out
Villain: sd
Villain: h


The Boston Debate League had an even bigger day than I did, though, receiving a $35,000 check from the Boston Foundation. They are hands down the most prominent philanthropic foundation in the Boston area, so a grant from them is huge not only for the amount of money involved but because of the visibility and credibility that it will lend us with other members of the philanthropic community.

Now... to celebrate!

Effing Nits

I play FTP's 200 BB deep stack games almost exclusively. That's in part because I prefer deeper stacked play but also because the higher stakes regular games are infested with people who buy in for the minimum of 20 BB (the minimum on the deep tables is 50BB). There are some who do it professionally and somehow still manage not to come all that close to a good short stacking strategy but then there are these absolutely atrocious guys who buy in short and play like the loose passive idiots that they are. I constantly make mistakes them against them because I assume that they can't possibly be as nitty as they are when it comes to showing any aggression.

This isn't really an example of me making a mistake but it does go to what I'm talking about.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $138
MP1: $1,447.75
Hero (MP2): $1,000
CO: $1,523
BTN: $612.30
SB: $1,000
BB: $276
UTG: $1,067

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (MP2)
3 folds, Hero raises to $30, CO calls $30, BTN calls $30, SB calls $25, BB raises to $276 and is All-In, Hero raises to $1,000 and is All-In, 3 folds

Flop: ($642) 6 A J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($642) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($642) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $642 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed Q Q (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$276 NET)
BB showed A A (three of a kind, Aces) and WON $639 (+$363 NET)


Obviously when I'm holding Q's and get three calls, I'm not thrilled. I was sitting there thinking how perfect it would be for the BB to shove so I could shove over the top and have a huge edge against his hand. From his perspective, he should be shoving really wide because the pot is already like half his stack and he'll probably get heads up with just one other player.

But then I thought about how much these short stacks suck and they never in shove in spots where they should and how this guy probably isn't going to do what he should to create a profitable spot for both of us. Then he does shove and I'm briefly excited to see that maybe he doesn't suck as bad as I thought but then he turns out to have the nuts anyway. @#$%ing nits!

Big Triple Barrel

I guess this is fairly standard and notable mostly for the sum of money involved:

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $12,483
BTN: $16,645
Hero (SB): $10,000
BB: $17,688
UTG: $5,000
MP: $9,875

Pre-Flop: 9 8 dealt to Hero (SB)
3 folds, BTN raises to $150, Hero raises to $555, BB folds, BTN calls $405

Flop: ($1,160) 7 4 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $777, BTN calls $777

Turn: ($2,714) J (2 Players)
Hero bets $1,888, BTN calls $1,888

River: ($6,490) 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $6,780 and is All-In, BTN folds

Results: $6,490 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked 9 8 and WON $6,487 (+$3,267 NET)


Naturally I double barrel when I turn the gut shot and a potential overcard to whatever pair my opponent may have. I do wish I had bet a hair more so that river would be a slightly less than pot shove rather than slightly more. Basically I think without history and at stakes that are higher than either of us usually play, I am getting called only by AQ or better (and even AQ is close). Given that the deuce on the river makes sets less likely and Villain is probably 4-betting QQ-AA a decent amount of the time pre-flop, I think this is a highly profitable shove in a vaccuum. Of course, a reputation for stuff like this will get you called down by 66- which then again is not bad at all as long as you can adjust.

The Spaz Factor

Villain was some random I'd never seen before and knew nothing about:

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

UTG: $534.20
MP: $2,144.40
CO: $2,000
Hero (BTN): $2,000
SB: $2,215
BB: $1,015

Pre-Flop: J J dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, MP raises to $30, CO folds, Hero raises to $105, 2 folds, MP calls $75

Flop: ($225) 2 J T (2 Players)
MP checks, Hero bets $177, MP calls $177

Turn: ($579) 4 (2 Players)
MP checks, Hero checks

River: ($579) 9 (2 Players)
MP bets $214, Hero raises to $888, MP raises to $1,862.40 and is All-In

Results: $2,355 Pot ($2,355 Rake)
MP showed AQo and LOST (-$1,170 NET)
Hero showed J J and LOST (-$1,170 NET)


I generally don't give even fairly good players, let alone a random, credit for being able to 3-bet bluff the river for such a small amount, even though this is a decent spot for it. However, when playing against randoms, you do need to allow for the spaz factor. Because they generally are not thinking through a hand in a disciplined and systematic way, there is always the chance that they will go and do something crazy for reasons that they couldn't explain if they tried. In this case, I think the guy just decided I had nothing and then refused to change that read even when I raised him on the river. Whereas a better player would revise the range of hands he assigns me and contemplate whether he should call, fold, or raise (whether for value or as a bluff), the spaz factor causes a player to say, "pfft, he's got nothing, I'm all in".

Incidentally, checking the turn was an accident. I had big pots on a few other tables and timed out. It's nice when such an error, which usually causes substantial frustration, actually plays to my favor to the tune of nearly $2000.

Quick Thoughts on 3-Betting Pre-Flop

There are some hands that I almost always 3-bet (AA, KK) and some that I almost never 3-bet (72, 95), but in the middle are a whole bunch of hands and spots that are at least kind of close. What if you are 100BB deep, a tight-aggressive player opens UTG, and you hold AKo UTG+1? What if the effective stacks are 200BB, UTG+1 opens, CO calls, and you hold KJs on the button? What if you are in the SB with KQo and a tight-aggressive player opens on the CO?

What's really important in these closer spots is how good your opponents are. Remember that most players are going to make bigger post-flop mistakes when stacks are deep relative to the pot size than when they are shallow. This is especially true when you have position, though you may also find that against better players you 3-bet hands like KQo from out of position in order to make the stacks shallower for your own benefit whereas you are more comfortable making post-flop decisions out of position against less-talented opposition.

Two Overbets

In light of my recent article on Creative Bet Sizing, here are two river check-raise overbets I made against the same player. The situations are similar: I have an unlikely monster hand and my opponent has a well-defined strong-but-not-too-strong hand. By "well-defined", I mean that he probably realizes that I know roughly what he has and specifically that he is very unlikely to have a huge hand. That puts him in a rough spot when I overbet, because he doesn't know what I will do with the information I have, ie whether I am trying to get value or force him out.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6099)
Button ($4299)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, 5
Button raises to $54, Hero calls $34

Flop: ($108) 5, 10, A (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($108) J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($108) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $55, Hero raises to $345, 1 fold

Total pot: $218 | Rake: $0.50

Hero: LOL


You may wonder why I say I think he has some kind of hand here. It's because he's passed on two good bluffing opportunities on the flop and turn. That tells me has something, and based on how he'd been playing, I expected him to try for thin value with a lot of his range on the river.

Note that I laugh at him when he folds. He may or may not interpret it this way, but my intent was to mock him for trying to get thin value and allowing me to check-raise him huge. This is important to set up his subsequent call:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $20.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($6158)
Button ($4238.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, 2
Button raises to $54, Hero calls $34

Flop: ($108) 2, 9, A (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $65, Hero raises to $199, Button calls $134

Turn: ($506) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $325, Hero calls $325

River: ($1156) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $640, Hero raises to $5580 (All-In), Button calls $3020.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $8477 | Rake: $0.50


This one isn't that much of an overbet I guess, but I would have played it the same if the stacks were twice as deep. He called with AQ but unfortunately quit immediately after getting stacked.

Creative Bet Sizing

My latest poker strategy article, Creative Bet Sizing, is now appearing in the December edition of 2+2 Internet Magazine. The article examines underbetting and overbetting as examples of how to add unconventional plays into your arsenal. Here's an excerpt from the section on overbetting the pot:

Big bets are simply harder to play against than smaller bets. Any edge that you have over an opponent, whether it is position, better cards, or superior skill, is magnified by pot and bet size. This doesn't mean that every bet you make should be all in. But if you believe that an opponent will make comparable mistakes whether you bet 70% of pot or 125% of pot, the latter option will be far more profitable.

A good rule of thumb about overbetting is that the larger your bet, the more likely it is to induce a raise-or-fold response from your opponent and the less likely it is to be simply called. How exactly you use that information will depend on factors like your hand, your opponent, and the size of the effective stacks.

Pull the Trigger!

There was a great 25/50 deep game going last night, with two really big fish sitting on $10,000+ each. I had to compete with three very good players for them, but it was still a great spot. Unfortunately, I missed a pretty important bluff against one of the sharks.

The less good of the two fish doubled up the other one and quit not long after. For some reason, one of the good players left as well- apparently one soft spot wasn't enough for him. The button in this hand is the fish, the SB a good player:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $50.00 BB (4 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($16848)
SB ($16386)
Foucault (BB) ($10799.80)
UTG ($11847)

Preflop: Foucault is BB with J, 10
1 fold, Button raises to $175, SB calls $150, Foucault calls $125

Flop: ($525) K, 2, Q (3 players)
SB bets $405, Foucault calls $405, 1 fold

Turn: ($1335) 8 (2 players)
SB bets $905, Foucault calls $905

River: ($3145) J (2 players)
SB checks, Foucault checks

Total pot: $3145 | Rake: $2

Results in white below:

SB had K, A (one pair, Kings).

Foucault had J, 10 (one pair, Jacks).

Outcome: SB won $3143
This isn't a standard call pre-flop but with a fish in the hand I'm trying to get into pots. While I suspect SB has something, there are very few strong hands I would expect him to play like this. Especially on the turn, I'm calling not just for my draw but because I think I can sometimes steal on the river. Basically I was thinking SB would sometimes have something like a flush draw.

When the flush came in on the river but he checked, it confused me. I didn't think he'd check a flush, and he probably would have bluffed if he had nothing, so I can concluded that my pair doesn't have much show down value. More importantly, the bet bet check line means he probably isn't calling. It was a great spot to turn my hand into a bluff but I just didn't pull the trigger. Granted AK was a little stronger than I expected from him but I still think there's a good chance he folds it.

Why no off-suit A on the river?!?!

A Random Call, Part Two

Eugene asked a great question about my recent post, A Random Call, which reminded me that I'd meant to post this hand as well. It happened not long after I snapped off a 2x pot river bluff with top pair, weak kicker. This was against the same opponent but on a different table:

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

Hero (CO): $4,732.50
BTN: $4,231
SB: $4,144.50
BB: $5,019.50
UTG: $2,000
MP: $7,734.50

Pre-Flop: 9 9 dealt to Hero (CO)
2 folds, Hero raises to $70, BTN raises to $240, 2 folds, Hero calls $170

Flop: ($510) 4 2 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $222, BTN raises to $700, Hero raises to $1,178, BTN calls $478

Turn: ($2,866) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $2,813 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,813

River: ($8,492) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $8,492 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 9 9 (two pair, Nines and Twos) and LOST (-$4,231 NET)
BTN showed K K (two pair, Kings and Twos) and WON $8,489 (+$4,258 NET)


I chose this line to induce as many bluffs as possible, but in light of my recent call I think trying to play my hand as a bluff-catcher is a bad idea. Villain is probably not expecting me to make a big fold after he'd just shown down a big bluff, which means he's not going to try to bluff me off an overpair. Of course I could get into the whole, "but does he know that I don't expect him to bluff?" thing, but in this case I don't think he knows enough about me to expect that. He's probably just not going to bluff much in this spot, which means I ought to be playing the 99 with the intention of folding to heavy pressure.

In general, catching an opponent in a big bluff will induce one or both of the following dynamics for at least the near future:

1. Villain will stop bluffing in spots where he can only represent a narrow range or where you clearly have a relatively strong hand (ie better than top pair).

2. Villain will try to restore his ego and/or take advantage of the new table dynamic by running another big bluff.

These are not necessarily mutually exclusive, because the former only assumes he will stop bluffing in certain situations. When you appear to have a relatively weak hand, he may actually bluff with renewed vigor in order to reassert his castrated manhood.

River 3-Bet Bluff

I think the river 3-bet bluff is one of the sexiest plays in poker. Precisely because it's so hard to pull off, it's something I rarely attempt. But today I managed a good one:

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

SB: $2,829.95
BB: $2,542.50
UTG: $1,143.95
Hero (MP): $2,087
CO: $2,000
BTN: $1,032

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $35, CO calls $35, 3 folds

Flop: ($85) 3 8 2 (2 Players)
Hero bets $66, CO raises to $150, Hero calls $84

Turn: ($385) 7 (2 Players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($385) 5 (2 Players)
Hero bets $277, CO raises to $710, Hero raises to $1,902 and is All-In, CO folds

Results: $1,805 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A K and WON $1,802 (+$907 NET)


Let's start with the flop. In a 100BB game, I'm happily 3-betting the flop and getting the money. But with these stacks, his flop raising range is different and when the money goes in I'm usually going to be facing a set, not one pair. AK-high beats most of his bluffs anyway, so I just called.

The turn puts a ton of draws on the board, so when my opponent doesn't bet it, I ruled strong hands out of his range. I'd expect him to check two pair or better almost never on the turn. When I bet the river, it's to represent an overpair and try to bluff him off of one pair.

Because I'd previously ruled out two pair or better on the turn, the river raise is more than a little suspicious. Could the 5 have improved his hand? I doubt he's playing 64 like this pre-flop or on the flop, and if he is, I'd expect him to bluff the turn. 96 seems pretty unlikely for the flop raise. So I conclude that he's almost certainly bluffing.

Frankly, calling with AK would not be bad here, even though initially I was bluffing. But I also think it's very likely that he may be turning a pair into a bluff to get me off of the overpair I'm representing. So I decided that I'd be better off shoving to knock him off better bluffs and maybe even a 53 or something that he was raising for thin value.

ur running so hot dude

I was feeling so on top of my game the other day. I was just really alert and creative, picking up on a ton of spots where I could steal pots if I applied enough pressure in the right way. This was the best one. Unless they have exactly Khxh, most people aren't going to check call a flush draw on the flop. I bet the flop just to set up an opportunity to steal the pot later. When the flush came in, it was just a matter of pouring on the pressure:

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (UTG): $2,697.85
CO: $937
BTN: $2,296.05
SB: $2,240.30
BB: $344.80

Pre-Flop: 7 9 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $21, 2 folds, SB raises to $72, BB folds, Hero calls $51

Flop: ($150) T K 6 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $88, SB calls $88

Turn: ($326) 2 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $377, SB calls $377

River: ($1,080) J (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2,160.85 and is All-In, SB folds

Results: $1,080 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked 7 9 and WON $1,077 (+$540 NET)


The best part of the hand was what my opponent said after he folded:

Villain: aa ur running so hot dude

Poker Vortices

I spent the better part of last week in Sedona, Arizona, which is a beautiful part of the American Southwest featuring tremendous red rock structures. Unfortunately, someone decided that these red rock formations have somehow created spiritual vortexes (and yes that is the correct pluralization, not vortices, I checked):

"In Sedona vortexes are created, not by wind or water, but from spiraling spiritual energy. The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate prayer, mediation and healing. Vortex sites are believed to be locations having energy flow that exists on multiple dimensions. The energy of the vortexes interacts with a person’s inner self."

Consequently, Sedona is a hotbed of new age spiritualism, home to dozens of fortune tellers, spirit healers, mystical book stores, and all-around crazy people. I'm mad that I lost the exact language, but the visitor's guide provided by the National Parks Service specifically prohibits the rearranging of sticks and stones to create "medicine wheels" in the park and asks guests to "pray, chant, sign, drum, or meditate quietly" so as not to disturb others.

I spent about an hour playing poker and watching the sun rise from the porch of our hotel room while waiting for my girlfriend to wake up one day, though, and I must admit that maybe there is something to those vortexes after all (ugh apparently I don't FTP set to save hand histories on my laptop- sorry for botching the hell out of this post).

I was playing 10/20 heads up with a relatively weak regular. She was ridiculously over-aggressive, and I didn't respond to it quite as well as I should have. Still, I four-bet bluffed her twice pre-flop and flopped huge both times.

The first time, I had 54o, put $440 in pre-flop, and flopped the nuts on a 236 board. Since I knew my opponent could have a wide range pre-flop and it was my first time four-betting, I checked it back. The turn brought a J, she potted, and I shoved. She tanked and called with 95o for a gutshot which did not get there.

The second time, I 4-bet with Q7 and flopped Q77 for the second nuts. This time we were 4K deep, so I bet like 1/3 pot on the flop. In retrospect I probably should have just checked but I feared it would look too strong given how I played last time and the fact that my opponent knew I knew she could have almost anything.

The best one was when I called one of her 3-bets with T9o (again, 4K stacks) and flopped Q83. She bet, and I called. The turn brought another Q, and she bet smallish. I was pretty sure she didn't have a Queen, so decided to execute one of my new favorite moves where I make a raise I know my opponent will call and set myself up to bluff shove a future street when I am almost sure she will fold. I raised like 2.5x, enough to leave slightly less than a pot-sized bet in the effective stacks. Sure enough, she called and check-folded to a shove on a river 8. Sadly, she also quit after that.

Triple Barrel Bet Sizing

A triple barrel bluff will by definition involve at least three bets. Especially when dealing with a player who can read hands well, sizing these bets will often be the difference between success and failure.

As I discussed in a previous post, your objective on early streets may actually be to get called. Since you are going to be bluffing later anyway, it behooves you to build a bigger pot to steal. Your other objective on early streets is to lay the groundwork that will enable you to represent a monster by the river. That means your betsizing must be consistent with the hand(s) you want to represent.

On the river, your objective is to make the most +EV bluff that you can. Remember that this is not always the bluff that succeeds most often. Tripling your bet size to double your fold equity is not a winning proposition.

Let's start by looking at how not to do that. I played this hand against a very good player, one of the best at these stakes:

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

CO: $1,022
Hero (BTN): $2,349.75
SB: $2,169
BB: $3,128
UTG: $779.75
MP: $1,309

Pre-Flop: 8 T dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, SB folds, BB raises to $130, Hero calls $95

Flop: ($265) 4 K 6 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $111, BB calls $111

Turn: ($487) 4 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $333, BB calls $333

River: ($1,153) 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1,275, BB calls $1,275

Results: $3,703 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed 8 T (a pair of Fours) and LOST (-$1,849 NET)
BB showed K Q (two pair, Kings and Fours) and WON $3,700 (+$1,851 NET)


First off, this isn't the greatest spot for a triple barrel bluff. My opponent is announcing that he has a medium-strength hand, but he's also playing it in a way that will invite bluffs. And this particular opponent definitely has the hand-reading skills and the stomach to call down.

Since there aren't any plausible two pair combinations, the river overbet represents either a full house or air (or 53 for a straight, I suppose). And Villain probably expects me to 4-bet KK pre-flop often, so really I can only have three combinations of 66, one combination of 44, or the rare 22 that was bluffing and then backed into a boat. Since he's played his hand to entice a bluff, he's got an easy call with KQ.

I like this one better, even though it didn't work:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BB: $2,203.50
Hero (SB): $6,798

Pre-Flop: 7 9 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 4 2 8 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB raises to $144, Hero raises to $366, BB calls $222

Turn: ($792) Q (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $444, BB calls $444

River: ($1,680) J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $888, BB calls $888

Results: $3,456 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
BB showed 7 7 (a pair of Sevens) and WON $3,455.50 (+$1,727.50 NET)
Hero showed 7 9 (Queen Jack high) and LOST (-$1,728 NET)


First off, my range is intrinsically much wider because we are heads up. It's not inconceivable that I have 84, 82, or 42 for two pair. My smallish bet sizing on future streets is consistent with this; by the river, 82 can expect to be best but can't expect worse hands to call a big bet. I also felt this bet sizing would be consistent with air that turned or rivered a pair and is now making a thinnish value bet.

Unfortunately, this was another poorly chosen opponent. He wasn't so much a good hand-reader as he was just plain old-fashioned stubborn. Oh well.

The Ol' Triple Barrel Turn Float

Villain was decent but way too aggressive. His strategy would have been decent for a 100BB game but we were playing 200+BB stacks and he was stacking off too light and risking too much on his bluffs.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $6,988.50
BB: $2,443.50

Pre-Flop: 6 4 dealt to Hero (SB)
Hero raises to $30, BB calls $20

Flop: ($60) 5 2 2 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB calls $44

Turn: ($148) J (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $111, BB raises to $360, Hero calls $249

River: ($868) T (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $555, BB folds

Results: $868 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked 6 4 and WON $867.50 (+$433.50 NET)


This is a pretty standard double barrel semi-bluff on the turn. His flop calling range is quite wide and includes many hands better than 6-high (duh) that can't stand a lot of heat. I didn't have a plan for a check-raise because it seemed so unlikely. He probably needs trips or better to do it for value, and there aren't many deuces in his pre-flop calling range. Then again, he might be check-raising something like Ace-high or a small pair thinking he is best but wanting to fold out live cards and avoid a tough river decision.

Not everyone is capable of check-raise bluffing, but this guy definitely is. On the other hand, 6-high can't beat many bluffs. So all in all it seemed like a good spot to float him, since a call here looks so strong. My value range on the river is probably KJ+, and I don't think he's expecting me to bluff-call, so he's going to have to check-fold a huge portion of his range even if a bluffing hand makes a pair on the river.

I wish I could tell you that he shoved the river and I called to beat his 43, because that would have been the greatest moment of my poker career and quite possibly my life. But this was still pretty cool.

Mike Matusow Gets the Best of Me Again

It's been a while since we've played together, but Matusow was at two tables of 25/50 full ring today, so I took a seat as well. The game was pretty good, but once again Matusow "got the best of me" (scare quotes cuz really it was just a coin flip and not much either of us could/should have done differently):

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 8 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP1: $6,863
MP2: $11,052
CO: $4,925
BTN: $3,604
SB: $1,550
BB: $1,330
Hero (UTG): $9,105
UTG+1: $930

Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $150, 4 folds, BTN calls $150, SB folds, BB calls $100

Flop: ($475) K 3 5 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $350, BB folds, Hero raises to $955, BTN calls $605

Turn: ($2,385) 7 (2 Players)
Hero bets $8,000 and is All-In, BTN calls $2,499 and is All-In
River: ($7,383) 9 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $7,383 Pot ($3 Rake)
BTN showed 7 6 (a flush, Nine high) and WON $7,380 (+$3,776 NET)
Hero showed K A (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$3,604 NET)


If you're wondering about the flop check-raise, it's because I initially timed out and auto-checked. I was distracted by this river decision:

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $1,000
SB: $1,670
Hero (BB): $3,614
UTG: $535.80

Pre-Flop: 8 A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG folds, BTN raises to $30, SB folds, Hero calls $20

Flop: ($65) 2 2 4 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $50, Hero calls $50

Turn: ($165) 9 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $130, Hero calls $130

River: ($425) A (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $790 and is All-In, Hero calls $790

Results: $2,005 Pot ($2 Rake)
BTN showed J 9 (two pair, Nines and Twos) and LOST (-$1,000 NET)
Hero showed 8 A (two pair, Aces and Twos) and LOST (-$1,000 NET)


I'm really surprised he showed up with a 9 here. I don't get why he wouldn't just check that back, and I'm not sure if he was trying to value bet or bluff here (actually it was almost certainly a bluff but it's not inconceivable I could call with worse if I were in the right mood).

Here are two more not very interesting 25/50 hands:

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 7 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $4,175
MP: $5,000
CO: $6,394
BTN: $6,474
SB: $5,532.10
BB: $5,000
Hero (UTG): $7,851.50

Pre-Flop: T T dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $175, UTG+1 calls $175, 4 folds, BB calls $125

Flop: ($550) T T 9 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $376, UTG+1 folds, BB raises to $1,125, Hero calls $749

Turn: ($2,800) 3 (2 Players)
BB bets $1,700, Hero calls $1,700

River: ($6,200) Q (2 Players)
BB bets $2,000 and is All-In, Hero calls $2,000

Results: $10,200 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB showed Q K (two pair, Queens and Tens) and LOST (-$5,000 NET)
Hero showed T T (four of a kind, Tens) and WON $10,197 (+$5,197 NET)


Even when he "gets there" on the river, I still think check-folding is BB's best option here. It's so likely that KQ is no good and so unlikely that I will call with worse even if he is best.

And the last one:

Full Tilt Poker, $25/$50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

MP1: $5,322
MP2: $9,947
CO: $5,444
BTN: $8,147
SB: $5,622
BB: $6,851.10
UTG: $5,000
UTG+1: $5,694
Hero (UTG+2): $15,381.50

Pre-Flop: 7 7 dealt to Hero (UTG+2)
UTG folds, UTG+1 raises to $150, Hero calls $150, 6 folds

Flop: ($375) K 4 7 (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $234, UTG+1 calls $234

Turn: ($843) K (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $666, UTG+1 calls $666

River: ($2,175) K (2 Players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero checks

Results: $2,175 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG+1 showed A A (a full house, Kings full of Aces) and WON $2,172 (+$1,122 NET)
Hero showed 7 7 (a full house, Kings full of Sevens) and LOST (-$1,050 NET)


I'm pretty sure a puppy died when the river came a third K.

Fun With Underbetting

This guy was min-raising every time he opened the pot, so I started min-check-raising him on the flop. Naturally that frustrated him, so more min-raising ensued.

Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $1,107
Hero (BB): $7,603

Pre-Flop: 8 K dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $20, Hero calls $10

Flop: ($40) 6 9 6 (2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $27, Hero raises to $54, SB raises to $175, Hero raises to $296, SB folds

Results: $390 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked 8 K and WON $389.50 (+$194.50 NET)


These aren't quite min bets, but the objective was similar. In this case, I thought these small bets would frustrate the guy and get him to call down with a smaller pair. Even though it's pretty obvious what I have, he would just feel like a tool folding 99 to these little bets, and it would be exploitable.

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

SB: $2,102
Hero (BB): $2,000
UTG: $2,285.50
CO: $2,283
BTN: $3,721.50

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $10, CO raises to $45, 2 folds, Hero raises to $150, UTG folds, CO calls $105

Flop: ($315) 3 5 K (2 Players)
Hero bets $175, CO calls $175

Turn: ($665) K (2 Players)
Hero bets $375, CO calls $375

River: ($1,415) 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $800, CO calls $800

Results: $3,015 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed Q Q (two pair, Kings and Queens) and WON $3,012 (+$1,512 NET)
CO mucked 9 9 (two pair, Kings and Nines) and LOST (-$1,500 NET)


This guy had been 3-betting me a ton. I like bluff-raising the flop with these stacks because it's very hard for him to play back. If he calls, there are a ton of scare cards on the turn, and if he 3-bet bluffs, he has to fear that I'm going to shove on him with a lot of draws. There just isn't much he can do.

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

CO: $744.30
BTN: $1,223.20
SB: $1,405.60
BB: $741.20
UTG: $1,153.10
Hero (MP): $1,611.40

Pre-Flop: A Q dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $21, 2 folds, SB raises to $72, BB folds, Hero calls $51

Flop: ($150) 7 T 4 (2 Players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $244, SB calls $144

Turn: ($638) 9 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $245, SB folds

Results: $638 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked A Q and WON $635 (+$319 NET)


There was about $1000 left in the effective stacks on the turn. Here, the underbet was designed to look like I was trying to induce a check-raise.

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.

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.

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!

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.

When in Doubt, Pull the Trigger

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WCOOP Event 15: $320 Heads Up NLHE

I've been working on my heads up game lately and was looking forward to this event. My first round opponent was just terrible. We started 200 BBs deep and I was thinking that with this structure it would be pretty much impossible for me to lose. But I was playing three games of 5/10 HU on the side and not paying a lot of attention to the tournament, and suddenly blinds were huge and I still hadn't won. In fact, I was barely in the lead. My opponent had been really overvaluing any pair, so I got it in with middle pair good kicker for like 20 BB and lost to his top pair top kicker. God I suck. Thankfully I was way up on my side action, so well in the black for the session. The PLO 1R/1A starts in an hour, so I'm going to take a little break then play some PLO.

FTOPS Event 13: $200 Rebuy NLHE

I was in for the minimum, but that's about all that went right with this tournament. For the next hour and a half, I was catching absolutely nothing. AK, JJ, and TT were the best hands I saw. I won the AK with a re-raise, my JJ ran into QQ, and my TT ran into AA when I had 20 BBs. I also had a tough starting table with a couple of good tourney regulars and Spirit Rock/Mohatma, who as many of you know used to crush the biggest NL games a few years ago. It's a shame, because this was a deep tournament (the minimum after the rebuy period was good for 150 BBs) with a great structure.

I skipped Event 14, which was Stud, because that's one of my worst games, I don't particularly like it, and limit tournaments last freaking forever.

Boring stories, so I'll give you a good one from my cash play on the side. I de-polarize my range and totally valuetown this guy:

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

CO: $8,688.50
BTN: $3,530
SB: $4,580
Hero (BB): $6,062
UTG: $10,311

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG raises to $70, 3 folds, Hero raises to $262, UTG calls $192

Flop: ($534) 8 8 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $350, UTG calls $350

Turn: ($1,234) Q (2 Players)
Hero bets $950, UTG calls $950

River: ($3,134) T (2 Players)
Hero bets $2,000, UTG calls $2,000

Results: $7,134 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed A A (two pair, Aces and Eights) and WON $7,131 (+$3,569 NET)
UTG mucked 3 3 (two pair, Eights and Threes) and LOST (-$3,562 NET)


Basically I think he expects my triple barrel to be either a bluff or a huge hand. So I just keep firing, planning to fold if he raises turn or river but expecting to be ahead of his call-down range. After the hand he types, "Wow"which I take as a compliment. Then he goes on,

"Guess that's why I play deep." I ask if he's serious.

"You can't wait to go broke with AA this deep." Bitch you can't wait to go broke with 33! Totally confirmed my read of what level he was on. The best thing is that he's saying he plays deep because of the implied odds when he hits a set, but he's got bad reverse implied odds if I can get him to call me down like this, so really it's not nearly the spot he thinks it is.

He went on for a while like this.

The Third Barrel

I played a one hour heads up session at 5/10 NL today and had occasion to execute two triple barrel bluffs (against different opponents). I'm not on my main computer, so I don't have the hand histories, but I'll recreate them as best I can. The first one was against a pretty loose and aggressive Swede:

He raised to $30 on the button, and I called with 22 on my BB. The flop came K85r, he bet $60 (he pretty much always potted the flop as the pre-flop raiser), I raised to $166, and he called. I was going to be done with the hand, but when an A came on the turn, I decided to fire again. I bet $285, and he called. There was now a little under $1000 in the pot and a little over $1000 left in our effective stacks. The river was something innocuous, and I shoved.

I didn't think he would call the river with less than Aces up, and he was loose enough to call any pair on the flop and maybe even on the turn. Based on that description, it should be clear that bluffing the turn and giving up on the river is not going to be good. He very rarely folds the turn after calling the flop. But if I am planning to shove most rivers, then the second barrel becomes part of a profitable strategy. My read was that there would be a big gap between his turn and river and calling ranges which a triple barrel would exploit profitably.

The second hand was against a better opponent. He opened the button to $30, and I made it $111 with A5s in the BB. He called. The flop came QJTr. I bet$175, and he called. The turn was a four and put a second diamond on the board. I bet $400, and he called. The river was an offsuit 3, and I shoved for about $850 into a $1300 pot. He folded.

Again, this player can have a fairly wide turn calling range. He may be calling with a pair thinking that I will give up on the river, or he may have a pair and a draw hoping I will either give up or that he will get there. But I think he is almost always shoving if he has two pair or better. That means that unless he slowplayed something (and only AK could really be comfortable slowplaying on the turn), he can pretty much never have a strong hand on the river.

Note how difficult it is for him to combat this. If he wants to prevent me from triple barreling, he must either slowplay some sets in a pretty yucky spot or occasionally call the river with stuff like J8. Shoving his pair and draw combos on the turn is a partial solution. It doesn't actually make his range much stronger when he gets to the river, but it does cause him to find himself in this bad river spot less often.

Big Laydown

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

All I Said Was Wow

After working most of the morning, I got to the Rio about 4:30 and wandered through the Gaming Life Expo. It was pretty disappointing, way fewer scantily clad women than in past years. There were long lines to meet Chris Moneymaker and Doyle Brunson, but there was no wait for Dario Minieri or David Sklansky. I elected to meet no one.

I planned to get dinner in about an hour, and rather than spend half that time waiting for a cash table, I decided to play a $1K one table satellite, figuring that would take about an hour. Two and a half hours later, I busted in 4th. The blind levels seemed longer than last year, which ordinarily I'd be fine with, but this time I played specifically because I wanted it to be short.

Before we got started, a loud fat guy with a deep voice and unkempt facial and chest hair collected $300 from six of us for a last longer. Two of the six were the first two to bust, which was nice, and they both busted to non-participants.

A few seats to my left was a dude from Indianapolis who owned a business selling sports jerseys. He was talking about how bad the first guys to bust had played and how the pros back in Indiana had warned him there would be terrible play in Las Vegas. In these spots, I am always torn between commiserating because he's right or recognizing that in all likelihood he is also pretty bad.

A couple of hands later, a guy limps in with K2s, overcalls a raise, and ends up stacking KQ when he turns two pair. Indianapolis starts snickering and talking none too subtly about how bad it was to limp-call K2s.

"Oh man [chortle]. Wow. Wow, that is ridiculous. I mean [chuckle] gawd damn, K2s. That's crazy. Whoo. Well, buddy, at least you can get one of those shirts from the gift shop that says, 'But they were suited.' [pause] Wow."

I am glowering at him, and when I catch his eye, I shake my head disapprovingly.

"What?" he asks.

"Don't talk about people who are still at the table."

He laughs at me. "All I said was, 'Wow.'" I sighed and turned up my Ipod. Thankfully I got to bust him when he shoved KQ for 12x UTG and I woke up with AK in the BB. I also won a big flip with JJ > AK to come into a commanding chip lead with five players remaining.

The hairy fat guy was the only other one left in the last longer, and he started talking deal. "You want to each take back our $300?"

I shake my head no. I have more than twice as many chips as he does.

"OK, OK, you take 300, I take 200."

"Whatever. Fine." I shrug and let him have it. He's been going on and on about how he's a professional parimutuel gambler and he makes so much money playing dogs and blah blah blah but he is begging for $200. Whatever.

Then we get down to four-handed, I still have a nice lead, and he wants to talk deal in the tournament. I'm not even engaging him in conversation, just shaking my head no. There's an old Brit at the table who doesn't want it either, so Hairy Fat Fat and the K2 Fish bond over how ridiculous and cheap the Brit Nit and I are.

Blinds go up, some chips change hands, and now Brit Nit is short but the three of us have roughly the same. "Can we take back 1K each now?"

I shake my head.

"Come on, jesus. We have the same number of chips. Just, like, I mean, psychologically, I don't know, I don't like to leave with my tail between my legs. Come on, man. Just take your $1K back then you're playing for profit."

"He's too short," I say, pointing at the Brit.

"Come on, that's like $300 we're giving him. You're being stubborn over $300? OK, can we at least chop up the last longer?"

Jesus, will you shut up with your deals? This guy wasn't awful, but I was clearly better than he was, and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to play well when blinds were big either. I kept shaking my head, and the guy was getting angrier and angrier. "I'm going to enjoy busting you," he tells me. "I'm going to enjoy coming from behind to bust you."

Honestly, I think the retarded deals that people will make increase the EV of these satellites. But that only helps when you are on the good end of them. If you can get someone to let you take your buyin back when you are the short stack, or to chop it 50/50 heads up no matter how big a deficit you're in, that's awesome. But it's annoying as hell when these guys won't shut up about deals that hurt my equity.

Blinds jump from 400/800 to 600/1200, Brit Nit folds, and the other three of us all have 13-16K. K2 Fish open limps the button, which isn't garbage but is far from exclusively primo holdings. I look at Q2 in the SB and decide to shove for 13K. It was the first big move I'd made, having played extremely tight thus far. Unfortunately, Hairy woke up with AJ in the BB, agonized for a while, and called.

I was hoping he would brag or express shock that I had Q2 or something, but instead, the three of them instantly started talking deal. I think my shove is perfectly fine/good, just sucks that he woke up with AJ. I imagine he calls AT and probably folds A9. As for the fishy, I don't know what his calling standards were be, but I'm sure he folds often enough to make the shove profitable.

After dinner I played some 5/10 cash, since there wasn't a 10/25 going. It was a more aggressive table than my 10/25 had been, but I enjoyed that. The first big pot I won, there were two limps and some Asian kid who was constantly on his cell phone or eating or getting a massage or talking to his mom and never paying attention to the game casually tossed in $50. Some old dude called, and I made it $250 with Th9c in the CO. UTG smirked at me, said "Let's get this heads up," and made it $500. I was 99% sure he had AA. The others folded, and I obviously called, as I was getting better than 3:1 and there was nearly $2500 behind.

The flop was Kh 9h 5h, which I was happy to see. Even better, the dude asked how much I was playing then checked. I was happy to check it back. The turn brought another heart, and he bet $300. I called with the fourth nuts. The river was a blank, he checked, and I showed my Th to win the pot. He flipped his black Aces and sighed. I feel like I may actually have missed a small value bet here, since I was so sure he had AA and didn't think he would check the nuts on the river. People just hate to fold AA, especially live.

Anyway, the other big pot I won, there was a Mississippi straddle, and I made it $60 UTG with 43s. I think we were 8-handed at the time. The straddle and the SB calls. The flop comes Ts 4c 3s. SB checks, I bet $150, Button folds, SB calls. Turn pairs the 3, SB checks, and I think. I want to build the pot, but I'm not sure what he'll call with. I don't thin he's folding top pair to me on the turn for anything, but I'm not sure how often he has that, and I definitely don't want to blow him off of a flush draw. I opted for $250, which he called after some though.

The river brought a beautiful spade, and he led $400. Oh beautiful day. I thought for a minute and then shoved another $1400 or so. He tanked and leaned over to get a better look at me. I did my best to drop the occasional twitch or adjustment in my seat, but it probably wasn't even necessary. Live players don't fold flushes. He called, I flipped my boat, and he walked away from the table.

I finished up about $2000 in the cash game, $1000 on the night. The only disappointment was that I spent 20 minutes in line to register for the main event only to learn that they weren't letting people register for Day 1C or Day 1D. Apparently they are concerned about attendance tomorrow and are trying to force people to register for 1B. Well Christ did they not anticipate that this might be a problem with having the tournament during the 4th of July? I am calling their bluff and returning to register tomorrow after Day 1B has started. There's no way in hell they are closing registration for good, especially since they are reported to be below their target numbers already.

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.

The Bad Thing About FTP's Deep Tables

is that the bad beats are more expensive than ever! Here are some monsters I lost today:

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

UTG: $1,006.70
MP: $448.30
CO: $870.20
Hero (BTN): $1,021.50
SB: $416
BB: $525

Pre-Flop: A A dealt to Hero (BTN)

UTG calls $4, MP raises to $18, CO folds, Hero raises to $64, 2 folds, UTG calls $60, MP calls $46

Flop: ($198) 6 T A (3 Players)
UTG bets $50, MP folds, Hero calls $50

Turn: ($298) 9 (2 Players)
UTG bets $85, Hero calls $85

River: ($468) 5 (2 Players)
UTG bets $807.70 and is All-In, Hero calls $807.70

Results: $2,083.40 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG showed 7 8 (a straight, Ten high) and WON $2,080.40 (+$1,073.70 NET)
Hero mucked A A (three of a kind, Aces) and LOST (-$1,006.70 NET)


I can't claim I played this one great. In my defense, I at least tanked before calling the river. I was hoping he had a smaller set that he thought was the nuts, since the only way I was beat was if he had led into me with a gut shot on the flop.

I was obviously really excited to pick up a set against this same guy towards the end of my session:

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

UTG: $915.30
MP: $1,102.10
CO: $1,632
Hero (BTN): $1,104.50
SB: $414
BB: $400

Pre-Flop: 6 6 dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG raises to $12, 2 folds, Hero calls $12, SB raises to $36, BB folds, UTG calls $24, Hero calls $24

Flop: ($112) A 2 6 (3 Players)
SB bets $76, UTG calls $76, Hero raises to $268, SB folds, UTG calls $192

Turn: ($724) K (2 Players)
UTG bets $300, Hero raises to $800.50 and is All-In, UTG calls $311.30 and is All-In

River: ($1,946.60) A (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $1,946.60 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG showed K A (a full house, Aces full of Kings) and WON $1,943.60 (+$1,028.30 NET)
Hero showed 6 6 (a full house, Sixes full of Aces) and LOST (-$915.30 NET)


This one wasn't as bad, since it was a chop, but it was also by far the worst play on the part of my opponent. His only defense was that I had been 3betting him a ton:

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

BB: $671.75
UTG: $1,220
MP: $794.20
CO: $1,171.80
Hero (BTN): $2,798.90
SB: $1,203

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $21, Hero raises to $72, 2 folds, CO raises to $225, Hero raises to $2,798.90 and is All-In, CO calls $946.80 and is All-In

Flop: ($2,352.60) J 3 T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($2,352.60) Q (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($2,352.60) K (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $2,352.60 Pot ($3 Rake)
CO showed 6 A (a straight, Ace high) and WON $1,174.80 (+$3 NET)
Hero showed A K (a straight, Ace high) and WON $1,174.80 (+$3 NET)


And if you made it this far through my whining, here's a pretty sweet steal I made:

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

BTN: $2,418.45
SB: $928.25
Hero (BB): $2,250.35
UTG: $1,093.45
CO: $2,123.65

Pre-Flop: J Q dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $6, CO raises to $27, BTN calls $27, SB folds, Hero raises to $125, UTG folds, CO raises to $280, BTN folds, Hero calls $155

Flop: ($596) 7 T 6 (2 Players)
Hero bets $420

Results: $596 Pot ($596 Rake)


Obviously I had pretty good reason to think my opponent's range was something wider than monsters pre-flop. My guess is that he's going to shove made hands JJ and better (though JJ no spade is maybe close), any Asx, maybe Ksx, and probably will at least call with any pair and a spade. Still, that means I'm getting him off of a ton of stuff that beats my Q high no draw. With these stacks, he really ought to have made a larger pre-flop four-bet.

The chat was kinda funny, too:

solidturismo: well
solidturismo: i dont have a spade
Foucault: me neither
solidturismo: do u?
solidturismo: are u in vegas
CauchysShorts54: he already answered
solidturismo: i hate u
solidturismo folds
solidturismo: plz what did u have?
Foucault: set of Jacks

It's pretty rare for me to type in chat during a hand, but for that reason, I think it actually looks kind of strong when I do. So occasionally I will make a comment if I think that might edge an opponent towars a fold.

I Finally Ran a Brunson on Someone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

What's in a Name?

I was playing a bit lower than usual tonight, as I'm wont to do when on a downswing, and that means that I was up against a lot of players I'd never seen before. When trying to get a read on unknowns at a 6-max table, there are some really basic questions I am looking to answer about their level of knowledge and the plays in their arsenal. I'm thinking of stuff like the following:

1. Does he 3-bet light out of the blinds?

2. Does he 3-bet his button aggressively (especially important to know at Deep tables)

3. Is he capable of making a light 4-bet?

4. Does he know what a squeeze play is? Does he make squeeze plays? Does he play back at squeeze plays?

5. Can he fire multiple barrels?

6. Does he check-raise bluff dry flops?

7. Does he isolate limers

Usually, it takes some substantial observation to figure this stuff out. But sometimes players are nice enough to choose screennames that make their level of knowledge very clear. This is just giving away free information and helping me play better against them. For instance, here's a hand I played against "MyNameisBusto".

For those who don't know, "busto" is slang for a poker player who has lost his bankroll. It's very likely that a player who chooses a name like this is a serious player, quite possibly a professional. Moreover, the fact that he chose to take his screenname from popular poker culture suggests that he's somewhat immersed in this culture, probably as an active participant on 2+2 or another big poker forum. Thus, I'm going to expect him to be up on popular plays like the squeeze play, the continuation bet, and the CiB:


Full Tilt Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

UTG ($1721.30)
Hero ($951.30)
Button ($798)
SB ($847)
BB ($269.60)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Ac, 7c.
UTG raises to $14, Hero calls $14, 1 fold, SB raises to $72, 1 fold, UTG folds, Hero calls $58.

Flop: ($162) 6c, 6s, 4c (2 players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $279, SB raises to $458, Hero raises to $879.3 (All-In), SB folds.

Final Pot: $1499.30


I would usually throw this away pre-flop against an unknown, but since I figured this guy's range could be quite wide, and we were deep, I planned to take it away post-flop. Then I get a sweet flop, and I nearly made a pot-committing raise on the flop, but then I thought, "Let's see if I can get this guy to make another crazy play." Sure enough, he clicked it back, then folded getting a gazillion to one, allowing me to win a huge pot with no showdown.