PETER Jörgne

Timestamps

0:30 hello
10:56 strat

Strategy Hand 1

On the bubble, CO (16K) opens to 5k. Hero calls T9dd in the BB.
Flop (13K) AQJd. Hero checks, Villain bets 5k, Hero calls.
Turn (23K) 6. Both check.
River (23) 3. Hero shoves for 6K, Villain folds.

Strategy Hand 2

Blinds 5K/10K/1K. SB (500K) open limps, Hero (1.2M) raises to 30K with AdQh, SB calls
Flop (68K) 542cc. SB checks, Hero bets 20K, Villain raises to 75K, Hero calls.
Turn Qs. SB bets 135K, Hero shoves 270K more, SB calls A3.

Timestamps
0:30 – hello & welcome
4:48 – strategy
30:28 – TJ

Reading List

The 2+2 Thread That Started It All

Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker

The One Thing by Gary Keller

The Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tendler

Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo

Thinking Tournament Poker by Nate Meyvis & Friends

This was from the $215 10-minute levels NLHE 6-max WCOOP event. Villain is Philipp “philbort” Gruissem. As many of you know I’m pretty stubborn about folding my BB to small pre-flop raises and also folding to smallish barrels once I get any piece of the board. When I see the flop with such a wide range, even a gutshot is in the top 2/3 of range, and then I turn a pair…. I still think it’s possible Villain has air, but I don’t know how likely it is that he’ll fire the river with that, so I chose instead to make what I’m sure was a very confusing shove for him. He tanked all the way down literally to the last second before calling with a hand that I doubt he was going to bet on the river. Although maybe he was, to be honest it is still very likely to be good, and a player as good as Philbort should be able to recognize and act on that.

PokerStars – $200+$15|500/1000 Ante 125 NL (6 max) – Holdem – 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

UTG: 59.04 BB
MP: 35.77 BB
CO: 27.02 BB
BTN: 29.05 BB
SB: 46.6 BB
Hero (BB): 83.28 BB

6 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.25 BB) Hero has Ts 9c
fold, MP raises to 2.25 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.25 BB

Flop : (5.75 BB, 2 players) Ks 5c Jc
Hero checks, MP bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Turn : (11.75 BB, 2 players) 9d
Hero checks, MP bets 6 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

River : (23.75 BB, 2 players) 9h
Hero bets 71.91 BB and is all-in, MP calls 24.4 BB and is all-in

Hero shows Ts 9c (Three of a Kind, Nines) (Pre 34%, Flop 18%, Turn 11%)
MP shows Kh Qh (Two Pair, Kings and Nines) (Pre 66%, Flop 82%, Turn 89%)
Hero wins 72.54 BB

A mistaken check can be expensive. Not only does it cost you the equity you would have accumulated from worse hands that would have called, but it sometimes costs you a much larger third value bet that you could have made on the river had you built the pot on the turn. Checking can also cost you a bet from hands that would have paid off on the turn but not on the river, and in worst case scenarios it can cost you the pot when a hand that would have folded gets to see the river for free.

The May issue of the magazine is just now being published, ten days into the month, because of the hacking and subsequent forum downtime at Two Plus Two. I know that a lot of people are frustrated by this, particularly those with SCOOP and/or WSOP packages to sell on the marketplace, but I actually think that Mason Malmuth et al deserve considerable praise for the decision to shut down the forums rather than put sensitive user information at further risk.

I don’t know enough about such things to estimate how much this downtime is costing them, so let’s just agree that it’s a lot. Two Plus Two gets boatloads of traffic that’s targeted and extremely desirable to a number of companies with big advertising budgets. They voluntarily shut down that money machine to protect our personal information. Yes, it’s the right thing to do and I’d expect nothing less, but it deserves a hat tip all the same.

No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Hold’em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2845.40)
BB ($1543.40)
UTG ($798.80)
Hero (MP) ($1573.80)
CO ($2739.30)
Button ($664.40)

Preflop: Hero is MP with Q, K
UTG bets $18, Hero calls $18, 2 folds, SB calls $15, BB calls $12

Flop: ($72) K, Q, 7 (4 players)
SB bets $39, 1 fold, UTG calls $39, Hero raises $159.90, SB calls $120.90, 1 fold

Turn: ($430.80) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($430.80) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero?

SB ($3829.50)
BB ($1000)
Hero (UTG) ($4795.55)
MP ($1490)
Button ($2152.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, Q
Hero bets $40, MP raises to $120, 3 folds, Hero calls $80

Flop: ($262.50) 5, J, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $140, Hero calls $140

Turn: ($542.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $330, Hero calls $330

River: ($1202.50) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks

Total pot: $1202.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
MP had K, A (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $1199.50

On the river, there’s about $1000 left in Villain’s stack, so less than a pot-sized bet. I see a lot of people shove here, but I actually like his check back. It’s not what I expected, and in fact part of the reason I was slowplaying was that I thought he’d probably value bet quite a few worse hands on the river. If he’s checking AK and presumably AA here, though, I’m not sure if that means I should play my hand faster. I guess I could see check-raising the flop, but with his turn bet sizing, I doubt he’s calling a check-shove there.

PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t5430)
BB (t4450)
UTG (t2960)
UTG+1 (t2520)
MP1 (t5635)
Hero (MP2) (t3005)
CO (t2945)
Button (t3055)

Hero’s M: 66.78

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 2, 4, K, 3
3 folds, Hero bets t90, 1 fold, Button calls t90, 2 folds

Flop: (t225) 3, K, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t155, Button calls t155

Turn: (t535) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: (t535) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t295, Hero raises to t1060, Button calls t765

Total pot: t2655

Results:
Button mucked A, Q, 10, A (Hi: two pair, Aces and Kings).
Hero had 2, 4, K, 3 (Hi: full house, Kings over threes).
Outcome: Hero won t2655

Yes, I’m aware that this a pretty crappy hand and a questionable pre-flop raise. Let’s just focus on the river sexiness.

This is a good board flop for me to bet at, since it misses most hands (ie low cards) and people play very straightforwardly in PLO8. There aren’t many K’s in his range, so when he calls, I think he’s most likely on a draw or a big pair. I check the turn to induce and because he probably folds a pair. His check back could be a draw choosing to take a free card or something he’s trying to showdown cheaply, which could incude the case K if he hasn’t filled up. I think most of that range either isn’t calling a river bet or is betting anyway if checked to. Sexyyyy.

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.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t4975)
Button (t5025)

Hero’s M: 66.33

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3, K
Button bets t100, Hero calls t50

Flop: (t200) 6, 2, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t125, Hero calls t125

Turn: (t450) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: (t450) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t250, Button calls t250

Total pot: t950

Results:
Button had J, 4 (two pair, Jacks and sixes).
Hero had 3, K (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Button won t950

This might not seem like “running hot”, but the outcome of run-of-the-mill spots like this often determine the winner of a heads up tournament between two good players. The variance is through the room. This is just a standard spot where his range ought to be ridiculously wide, I turn my hand into a bluff on the river to knock out Ax and better Kx, and he has top pair.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t3175)
SB (t6825)

Hero’s M: 42.33

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 9
Hero bets t150, SB calls t100

Flop: (t300) Q, 10, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t300) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t125, SB raises to t450, Hero calls t325

River: (t1200) 7 (2 players)
SB bets t950, Hero folds

Total pot: t1200

Results:
SB didn’t show
Outcome: SB won t1200

Obviously didn’t get to see his hand here, so I may just have been outplayed, but based on his timing and just generally how he plays, I’m pretty sure he had it.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t4525)
Button (t5475)

Hero’s M: 60.33

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, Q
Button bets t100, Hero calls t50

Flop: (t200) Q, A, 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t125, Hero calls t125

Turn: (t450) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t325, Hero calls t325

River: (t1100) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t750, Hero calls t750

Total pot: t2600

Results:
Button had 8, Q (flush, Ace high).
Hero mucked J, Q (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Button won t2600

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $2500+$100 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t2925)
SB (t7075)

Hero’s M: 39.00

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
Hero bets t100, SB calls t50

Flop: (t200) 2, Q, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t200) A (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t125, SB raises to t440, Hero raises to t1010, SB raises to t6975 (All-In), Hero calls t1815 (All-In)

River: (t5850) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t5850

Results:
Hero had A, K (one pair, Aces).
SB had 5, 5 (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: SB won t5850

Honestly, this last one might have been a little tilty, though it’s obviously a shit spot. I was trying to get him to 4-bet shove a draw on the turn, which I doubt he does.

In the $250, I draw a Round 1 Bye, which is pretty crazy considering that I’m pretty sure only one person out of the 1500+ field got one. In Round 2, I drew the curiously named Roothlus2. A quick google revealed that his last name is Levy, leading me to conclude that he is likely the brother of Adam “Roothlus” Levy. I say brother and not multi-account because he was way weaker than the real Roothlus, and I polished him off pretty handily.

My Round 3 opponent wasn’t super-tough either, but he was better at making small bluffs than randoms usually are and I didn’t adapt well. I never really caught the cards I wanted to play back at him, and eventually we got pretty shallow with him having a substantial chiplead. I open jammed KJs for about 12BB, he called with A5, and the flop came K52, giving me some hope of doubling back up to even, but the turn 5 drove the nail into the coffin.

The structure was great and the opposition terrible, so with a lot of patience I was able to grind my way through my first table with no real difficulty. I roll my eyes whenever Daniel Negreanu mentions “small ball”, but against a weak field it really is an awesome strategy. No one was playing back at me ever, so I just stole like a demon pre- and post-flop without ever putting much at risk until I had a huge hand. The few times I did, I lost one big flip with AQ vs. 66 against a guy who limp-shoved on me from the SB (that one I think was mandatory) and when I reshoved 99 into KK (and probably I should have just folded pre-flop, even four-handed to a CO raise, given stacks, reads, etc.).

A very similar strategy worked well for me at the second table

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t39651)
SB (t131070)
Hero (BB) (t196924)
UTG (t41296)
MP (t91059)

Hero’s M: 37.51

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, A
UTG bets t7500, MP raises to t90759 (All-In), 4 folds

Total pot: t20250

Towards the end of the second table, there were two hands where I got away from small ball and swung for the fences. They were the end of me:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (3 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t203211)
Hero (Button) (t193874)
SB (t102915)

Hero’s M: 41.69

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, J
Hero bets t5555, SB raises to t17500, 1 fold, Hero raises to t193574 (All-In), SB calls t85115 (All-In)

Flop: (t208630) K, 2, 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t208630) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t208630) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t208630

Results:
Hero had J, J (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
SB had Q, Q (two pair, Kings and Queens).
Outcome: SB won t208630

Although it sounds absurd since I was raising 60-70% of my hands on the button, I think I should have folded this pre-flop. This was the first time this player had re-raised me all tournament, and I was picking up chips so easily that there wasn’t a need to felt him here. Obviously not folding JJ pre-flop with 30BB effective stacks and an insane image isn’t going to be a huge leak, but I do think folding would have been correct here. And then a few hands later, there was the one that did me in:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $15.00+$1.50 Tournament, 1250/2500 Blinds 300 Ante (3 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t118106)
Hero (SB) (t94614)
BB (t287280)

Hero’s M: 20.35

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
1 fold, Hero bets t7500, BB calls t5000

Flop: (t15900) 10, 8, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets t8888, BB calls t8888

Turn: (t33676) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets t22222, BB raises to t270592 (All-In), Hero calls t55704 (All-In)

River: (t189528) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t189528

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
BB had 6, 8 (two pair, eights and sixes).
Outcome: BB won t189528

I’m definitely going to lose some money here, but I think it’s a too optimistic to go for his stack. I’d rather check turn and then either bet-fold river (if he checks back the turn) or check-call turn and bet-fold or check-fold river depending on the card and his turn bet size.

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.

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

Hero (SB) ($1168.50)
Button ($1144)

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

Flop: ($60) 9, J, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $30, Hero raises to $88, Button calls $58

Turn: ($236) J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

River: ($236) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $175, Hero calls $175

Total pot: $586 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button had 8, Q (one pair, Jacks).
Hero had A, 8 (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $585.50

This one isn’t anything special, but it’s a spot where I probably would have folded last week. When you’re running bad, you always think they have it. But really, I think his value betting range, at least for a bet of this size, is like K9+. And the best hands in that range probably bet the turn. Throw in the fact that some draws missed and that he’s probably floating pretty wide on the flop, and this is practically a standard river call.

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

BB ($1514)
UTG ($1449)
UTG+1 ($1273)
MP1 ($2032)
Hero (MP2) ($1317)
MP3 ($1000)
Button ($1607.50)
SB ($1092)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q, K
3 folds, Hero raises to $35, MP3 raises to $75, 3 folds, Hero calls $40

Flop: ($165) A, Q, 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

Turn: ($165) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

River: ($165) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $123, MP3 raises to $377, Hero raises to $1242 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $919 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero didn’t show Q, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $916

This one is tough to explain. Villain is a very unconventionally tricky LAG. The jury’s still out on how good he is, but he can definitely do some confusing things.

The river raise is bizarre and feels bluffy, since I doubt he’s ever checking a monster on the turn. But I also think he knows how it looks, and I do think he’s very capable of raising for value with a bad two pair and maybe even a strangely played AK or something. So while I contemplated calling, I eventually decided that unless he got there on the river with 77 or 65 (and even 65 probably bluffs the flop or turn), he’s not calling a shove.

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

MP ($2000)
CO ($1850)
Button ($1329)
SB ($8366)
Hero (BB) ($2197)
UTG ($2274)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, K
3 folds, Button raises to $40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $144, Button calls $104

Flop: ($298) J, A, 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($298) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $203, Button calls $203

River: ($704) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $550, Button calls $550

Total pot: $1804 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had A, 10 (one pair, Aces).
Hero had Q, K (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Button won $1801

Most of the time that I check this flop after 3-betting pre-flop, I’m going to have something with some showdown value. And if I then bet hard at the turn and river, it will be because I was slowplaying a monster or at least pot controlling something pretty good like AK.

So, I like a similar line with a big draw, as compared to just betting the flop and then making a pot-committing turn bet. Maybe I’ll get to check-raise the flop if Villain throws out a feeler bet/bluff, or make a concealed flush (since he probably wouldn’t expect me to check a flush draw on the flop)- with all my outs, I certainly don’t mind seeing a free turn card.

AT is exactly the kind of hand I’d expect a better player to drop on the river. But this was not a better player, and I should have known better.

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.

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

BB ($1945)
UTG ($1015)
UTG+1 ($4483)
MP1 ($991.45)
MP2 ($3100)
MP3 ($1609.25)
Hero (CO) ($3782.50)
Button ($1000)
SB ($2473)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 3, 3
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $35, 1 fold, MP2 calls $35, 1 fold, Hero calls $35, 3 folds

Flop: ($120) 3, 10, 10 (3 players)
UTG+1 bets $90, 1 fold, Hero raises to $277, UTG+1 calls $187

Turn: ($674) Q (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $470, UTG+1 calls $470

River: ($1614) A (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $1111, UTG+1 raises to $3701 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $3836 | Rake: $3

Results:
UTG+1 didn’t show
Outcome: UTG+1 won $3833

By the river, I’ve simply shown too much strength, on a scary board, to think that Eric is going to pay me off with a worse hand. Not to mention the fact that TT/QQ/AA are all very possible for him. Checking the turn and either calling or value betting the river might be a better line than this, given that the flush came in. On a non-club turn, I think betting is best, along with maybe bet-folding a non-club river. But with the flush getting there, it’s hard to put me on anything worse than what I have by the river.

The one upside to this is that, since I folded the river very quickly (he tanked for a while before shoving, so I had time to decide that I couldn’t call), he may have concluded that I had nothing and was just running a psychotic bluff. That in turn may have helped me stack him on this hand:

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

UTG+1 ($1810)
MP1 ($1439)
MP2 ($6505)
MP3 ($1090.20)
CO ($3129)
Button ($2052)
Hero (SB) ($2000)
BB ($1821)
UTG ($2062)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4, 4
3 folds, MP2 raises to $35, MP3 calls $35, 2 folds, Hero calls $30, 1 fold

Flop: ($115) 3, 4, J (3 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $90, 1 fold, Hero raises to $290, MP2 calls $200

Turn: ($695) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $475, MP2 calls $475

River: ($1645) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $1200 (All-In), MP2 calls $1200

Total pot: $4045 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 4, 4 (three of a kind, fours).
MP2 had A, J (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $4042

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

BB: $3,800
Hero (UTG): $4,340
MP: $4,151
CO: $2,000
BTN: $4,026
SB: $3,853

Pre-Flop: A 8 dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $70, 2 folds, BTN calls $70, SB folds, BB calls $50

Flop: ($220) A K 7 (3 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $100, BB folds, Hero calls $100

Turn: ($420) 8 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $275, Hero calls $275

River: ($970) 2 (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Results: $970 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed A 8 (a flush, Ace high) and WON $967 (+$522 NET)
BTN showed A 8 (two pair, Aces and Eights) and LOST (-$445 NET)