Thinking Poker » 4-bet

Book Review: Easy Game by Andrew Seidman

foucault — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:07:18 +0000

I just published a review of one of the best and most advanced poker books I’ve encountered, the 3rd Edition of Andrew “BalugaWhale” Seidman’s Easy Game. It’s probably too advanced for your average recreational player, but if you want to be a serious competitor at no-limit hold ‘em it’s a marvelous read. Here’s a bit of what I had to say about it:

Seidman not only updates his advice for contemporary game conditions but also corrects a few of his own earlier mistakes and re-explains some material in light of his current thinking about the game. The result is substantial value added to what was already an exceptionally good no-limit hold ‘em cash game book, one of the few offering really high-level insights to experienced players.

You can read the full review at http://www.thinkingpoker.net/poker-book-reviews/book-review-easy-game-by-andrew-seidman/.

Mailbag: 3-Betting Medium Strength Hands

foucault — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:18:40 +0000

Today’s question comes from a comment on last week’s “What’s Your Play?” The relevant details are that Hero is in the SB with AQs facing a raise from a loose-passive player in early position and a call from a possible scared money player in late position. It’s early in the PCA main event, and everyone is deep-stacked.

Q: I was wondering if you had considered 3b pre? You’re going to have the worst position in the hand going forward. You’ll also have the worst relative position since villain 1 isn’t going to lead the betting to often being passive. I think you get the button to fold a bunch and you get heads up, granted in a bloated pot, but vs a passive player where I’d think you get to show down easier with 1p hands.

A: The short answer is yes, I did consider it. Really, though, if you 3-bet, what are you hoping will happen? You’ll have to fold to a 4-bet, so that’s a bad outcome. Even if you’re called, you won’t be eager to play a big pot if you flop top pair. A passive player’s early position raising range is pretty strong, and it gets stronger once he calls a 3-bet. I think it’s safe to assume neither of these players continues with AJ or KQ, which means that your AQ won’t dominate anything in their calling ranges. If called, you’ll be hoping either to bluff or to flop some value and check it down, maybe squeeze out a value bet. It’s not a disaster, but it’s not a great outcome either.

If I 3-bet, I’d really be hoping for folds. And at that point, it doesn’t much matter that I have AQs. If I thought a 3-bet would get a lot of folds (and I don’t , because again the raiser’s range is strong), then I would rather do it with a hand that has less calling value.

The results of this hand notwithstanding, being up against passive players is actually a reason to prefer calling. You can keep the pot small and wait until they reveal more information about their hands. Plus, calling keeps all those dominated Ax and Qx hands in their ranges, which is what you really want to be up against when you hold AQ. Being suited adds an extra bit of value in a multi-way pot.

This isn’t to say that AQs is never a 3-betting hand. It’s often a very good one. The important thing to see here is that the original raiser has a strong range, so 3-betting serves only to isolate the best part of his range, the part that dominates AQ, while folding out the part that AQ dominates.

Do you have a question for the Thinking Poker Mailbag? Please leave it as a comment below!

Book Review: Crushing the Micro-Stakes by Nathan Williams

foucault — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:13:08 +0000

I was inundated with requests for reviews over the holidays, so I asked a friend if he’d be interested in taking one of them. Thus, the review for Nathan Williams’ Crushing the Micro-Stakes can be found on Gareth Chantler’s blog. If you read the comments here on Thinking Poker, you know that Gareth’s got a great poker mind and expresses himself well, so I think you’ll enjoy his review, and I assure you that you can trust his opinion.

While you’re there, check out some of Gareth’s other posts as well. Like mine, his blog is a nice mix of strategy content and anecdotes from his travels. Gareth, originally from Canada, is currently backpacking through South America while playing a mix of live and online poker. He’s got some fascinating and funny stories that are well worth the read.

Leverage, Son

foucault — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:14:41 +0000

I tanked for a bit before calling this pre-flop, because it is a little light given our positions, but the dynamic was right. It wasn’t what I was going for, but when he checked the flop I realized that the tank-call may, in his eyes, increase the likelihood that I’m slowplaying a big pair and was considering 4-betting. With some chance of winning immediately plus backdoor draws and probably six outs against his check-calling range, some small bluffs are called for:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (5 handed) – PokerStars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($400)
Hero (UTG) ($622.50)
MP ($406)
Button ($408.80)
SB ($546.55)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K♥, Q♥
Hero bets $14, 3 folds, BB raises to $44, Hero calls $30

Flop: ($90) J♣, J♠, 2♥ (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $33, BB calls $33

Turn: ($156) 4♣ (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $55, 1 fold

Total pot: $156 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero didn’t show K♥, Q♥.
Outcome: Hero won $154

Tournament Seminar Announcement: Playing Out of Position

foucault — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:31:46 +0000

The next installment in the Thinking Poker Tournament Seminar series will be on Saturday, December 3rd, Noon-2 PM Eastern. The topic will be Playing Out of Position: Value Betting, Bluffing, and Getting to Showdown. Virtually all of the toughest spots in poker arise from playing out of position, and good players assume that they can get away with playing almost anything when they have position. Learn to punish them by giving them what they don’t expect: tough, creative opposition, even from out of position!

Thinking Poker Tournament Seminars are pre-scheduled, small-group discussions focused on the most common mistakes and skills gaps that I see in my NLHE tournament students. Each two-hour seminar costs $150 per person and is capped at five participants, to enable individualized attention and opportunities for everyone to ask questions and participate in discussions. The content is prepared and the discussion facilitated by me- it’s like an interactive poker video!

Participants will learn how to defend their blinds against late and early position raisers, how to deal with post-flop aggression, and how to pull-off the ever-vexing donk bet. In addition to the seminar itself, all participants receive a syllabus of recommended study materials to help prepare for the session and apply newly acquired skills in their future play.

To register, please e-mail andrew(at) thinkingpoker (dot) net with subject line “Playing Out of Position”. If you have questions, please post them here, as others may be wondering the same things. Also please leave a comment if there’s a topic you’re interested in or a time that would be better for you- there’s plenty of flexibility to accommodate everyone, I just need to know what you want to see!