Posts Tagged ‘double barrel’

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

Hero (BB) ($400)
UTG ($400)
MP ($300)
Button ($414)
SB ($425)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, A
2 folds, Button bets $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $8

Flop: ($26) 6, J, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $20, Hero calls $20

Turn: ($66) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($66) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $44, Button raises to $116, Hero raises to $368 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $298 | Rake: $2

Results:
Hero didn’t show 10, A (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $296

I called the flop thinking A-high would be good often enough, but by the river I felt like there was more value in turning my hand into a bluff by leading out.  Read the complete post...

My latest poker strategy article, now appearing in the March 2010 issue of Two Plus Two Magazine, explores the many nuances of continuation betting against tough opponents. Here’s an excerpt from Continuation Betting for Advanced Players:

Poker is also a math game and the best way to resolve those “But what if he knows that I know that he knows that I know…” paradoxes is to look for some mathematical grounding for your strategy. In this case, if you can make an educated guess about your opponent’s pre-flop calling range, and if you can honestly identify your own pre-flop range, then you can determine which of you a particular flop is more likely to help.

Please let me know what you think of it!

My starting table had not a lot of chips but a couple of notable players, including Owen “ocrowe” Crowe, Andrew Chen, Jonathan “driverseati” Tamayo, and Lauren Kling. We broke after less than an hour, but I still managed to play a few interesting pots. Also, a very friendly reader named Mark (hi, Mark) recognized me from the Blog and introduced himself, which was cool. A kid at the PCA recognized my voice from Poker Savvy, but I think this is the first time a blog reader I didn’t already know has recognized me.

500/1000/100, I open complete 73o in the SB, Lauren checks.

Flop Ks Js Jc, I check planning to call a bet and bluff river. She checks behind.

Turn 7c, I check, she bets 3000, I call.

River 9d, we check, I show my hand, and it’s good. Owen comments on my playing 73o and predicts that I won’t be giving a lot of walks.  Read the complete post...

75/150 I limp UTG with Ac Qc. Folds to the SB, who completes, and BB checks.

Flop Js Td 9s. Checks to me, I bet 300, SB calls. I think he can have any pair and even a few draws that I’m beating.

Turn 2d. He checks, I bet 900 expecting him to fold anything worse than a pair of Jacks that doesn’t also have a draw.

River 6h. He checks, I bet 1400 expecting him to fold most of his one pair hands. He calls with J9, which is fine.

75/150, I have been very tight but choose to raise to 450 with Jc9c in MP. Jon calls on my left, bad player calls on the CO, spazzy guy calls on the Button, blinds fold.

Flop Js Td 8s. Checks around to button, who bets 600. I call, the others fold.

Turn 6c, we both check.  Read the complete post...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($1961)
Hero (UTG) ($2651.50)
UTG+1 ($2040)
MP1 ($2474)
MP2 ($3105)
MP3 ($1027.50)
CO ($2000)
Button ($1857)
SB ($2904)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, A
Hero bets $80, 3 folds, MP3 calls $80, 3 folds, BB calls $60

Flop: ($250) 6, 6, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $166, MP3 calls $166, BB calls $166

Turn: ($748) 8 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $444, 1 fold, BB calls $444

River: ($1636) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $1636 | Rake: $3

Results:
BB had 10, 10 (full house, sixes over tens).
Hero mucked J, A (three of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: BB won $1633

I tend to assume that, particularly when out of position with a hand that isn’t likely to improve, people make their river decisions on the turn. That is, if they check-call the turn, they’re usually going to check-call the river as well. Thus, I bluff a lot more turns than I do rivers.  Read the complete post...

Villain’s flop bet, representing 75% of the pot and about 15% of the effective stacks, puts me in an awkward spot with my whole range (and is therefore a good one). Actually, I can play good draws pretty easily by making a pot-committing raise, but with say one marginal pair it’s a scary board to flat call but raising requires committing a lot of stack relative to the pot against a non-favorable range. Bluff-raising is similarly awkward, but it’s a big bet to float, particularly in a spot where Villain could turn a lot of draws and fire a pot-committing semi-bluff. Even here, with a monster, I’d kind of like to raise but am afraid that shows too much strength, as I can’t really raise and leave Villain room to 3-bet with any perception of fold equity.  Read the complete post...

I played this guy bawaa heads up on a couple of tables the other day. He played well and it was a wild match, with me taking an early lead, then getting stuck 6-7 buy-ins, then clawing my way back to even. After more than 1000 hands, I was up just $350 even though I ran several thousands dollars above EV. Remember though that that only counts all-in EV, and as you’ll see here, he had a couple of lucky catches himself.

When we were done playing we talked for a minute or two and he was really gracious. Even when his luck turned and he lost back all his winnings to, among other things, a few bad beats, he never complained or said anything but “nh”, and he was perfectly friendly when all was said and done. I invited him to come check out the blog, so bawaa, if you see this, leave me a comment!  Read the complete post...

I’m a little late in mentioning this, but my latest poker strategy article, “Thinking Ahead”, is now appearing in the February issue of 2+2 Magazine. I’m a little frustrated that I couldn’t find a way to express myself quite as clearly as I would have liked, but I believe there’s some pretty valuable information in there if you take the time to digest it:

What many players do not fully appreciate, though, is the extent to which planning ahead can inform your ranges for the current decision point. In other words, players will ask, “What is the best plan for this hand?” when they ought to ask, “Given that I will sometimes check-fold, sometimes bluff the flop and then check-fold turn, and sometimes bluff by betting flop and shoving turn, with which hands should I execute each plan?”  Read the complete post...