Thanks to all the commenters who have contributed to some very good discussion this week. Let’s keep it going! Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button ($518.20) SB ($490.30) BB ($276.80) Hero … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($1703) BB ($743.05) UTG ($600) MP ($201.05) Hero (Button) ($609) Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 7 UTG bets $18, 1 fold, Hero calls $18, 1 fold, … Read more…
An overbet seemed like a good idea at the time… PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($471.10) MP ($497.25) CO ($380.70) Hero (Button) ($445.15) SB ($1167.20) BB ($400) Preflop: Hero is Button … Read more…
I tried to play some small stakes games while taking Amtrak from Boston to New York yesterday. There were too many tunnels for the aircard to be reliable, but I played this hand before giving up on it. I was … Read more…
I’ve bragged about some creative bluffs recently, so here’s one where I got owned: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($434) BB ($160) UTG ($400) UTG+1 ($641.60) Hero (MP1) ($1081.40) MP2 … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com MP2 ($872.90) MP3 ($1010.20) CO ($389.50) Button ($628.80) SB ($444.90) Hero (BB) ($1552.50) UTG ($442.60) UTG+1 ($401.20) MP1 ($1206.60) Preflop: Hero is BB with 2, 2 2 … Read more…
Different opponent from yesterday’s hand, but similar situation where a guy is simultaneously pissing me off and making it very obvious that he doesn’t have the nuts. I contemplated floating, but this is a really good hand to just ship … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($424.85) UTG+1 ($167) MP1 ($435) Hero (MP2) ($1165.50) MP3 ($638.40) CO ($753) Button ($744.75) SB ($606.60) BB ($433) Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 5, 5 3 … Read more…
I thought it was me. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (MP2) ($1886.10) MP3 ($505.70) CO ($1569.40) Button ($400) SB ($145.90) BB ($188) UTG ($1787.10) UTG+1 ($400) MP1 ($562.60) Preflop: Hero … Read more…
I’ve posted a few hands recently where I floated AK and ended up bluffing the river to get an opponent off of a pocket pair. Here’s another: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from … Read more…
I expect Villain’s flop raise to be his only barrel if he is bluffing. That is, he’s usually going to check down his air and bet only if the river improves his hand to one that beats mine. PokerStars No-Limit … Read more…
I really had no idea what to put UTG+1 on here, but I didn’t think he’d play anything better than 99 this way on the flop. Obviously the K is rather unlikely to hit him, and while his turn bet … Read more…
Honestly I can probably even fold the flop. Granted I have one of the best bluff-catching hands, but it’s just so unlikely Villain is bluffing here. Calling the flop to see what he does on the turn reduces the chance … Read more…
This first hand is an interesting juxtaposition to the failed bluff that I posted yesterday. On the one hand, this player was more of a known quantity than was yesterday’s Villain. On the other hand, my range is way wider … Read more…
The problem: I’ve usually got the best hand, but I don’t think a bet is getting called by worse. The solution: Bet small and call the check-raise. The catch: They always have it. 🙁 PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (5 … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button ($3902.35) SB ($1434) BB ($911.25) Hero (UTG) ($2747) MP ($1000) CO ($1242.25) Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls … Read more…
I’ve been taking a beating in heads up games recently. There were one or two cases of bad game selection, but for the most part I don’t think I’ve playing or running all that badly. I’m losing to people against … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (6 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com MP ($2234.75) CO ($350) Button ($1000) SB ($2029) BB ($3622.05) Hero (UTG) ($1183) Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, J Hero bets $40, 2 folds, Button calls … Read more…
…and not necessarily a good one. Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (BB) ($5664) SB ($8603) Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, K SB calls $25, Hero checks Flop: ($100) K, 2, Q (2 players) … Read more…
This time I’m on the receiving end. Villain is ordinarily a pretty big nit, but he doesn’t like me much and seems to enjoy putting moves on me. I was calling any river, though obviously this one makes it a … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (2 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($1000) Hero (SB) ($1807.80) Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 6 Hero bets $12, BB calls $8 Flop: ($25.60) 3, 5, 6 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets $19, BB … Read more…
This is one of the most complex (some might say FPS-y) plays I’ve ever made. Just to give you the situation, the Button, with whom I’m 200 BB’s deep, is an extremely good player. In my opinion he’s one of … Read more…
I know, I know, it’s not really that exciting. I believe this is the first time I’ve correctly called with J-high on the river, though! Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB … Read more…
Villain and I had been heads up for a while, and based on how he’d been playing, I was pretty confident he had either a flush or a bluff on the turn but not a full house. My intention was … Read more…
Villain is a high-stakes MTT and SNG player who’s recently been sitting in the shallow high-stakes cash games as well. Despite his success, my opinion of him is that he makes a lot of borderline-bad calls and shoves. Probably I … Read more…
Different opponents, but similar mistakes: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($2300.05) UTG ($1358.40) MP ($1222.80) CO ($616) Hero (Button) ($2405.20) SB ($3304.20) Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 9 1 fold, MP … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com UTG ($1541.35) Hero (MP) ($3040) CO ($1616.80) Button ($615.60) SB ($1609.55) BB ($996.10) Preflop: Hero is MP with ?? 1 fold, Hero bets $24, CO calls $24, … Read more…
Villain is a pretty good regular. He also plays higher and is well above average for the stakes. We’ve tangled a fair bit in the recent past and have some aggressive history. I believe his turn raising range to be … Read more…
I usually overbet in situations where my opponent’s range consists primarily of hands that are strong but not too strong. Particularly if this is obvious to both of you, the overbet turns even the stronger part of his range into … Read more…
In short, you should do it more often and with weaker hands. The two biggest drawbacks to slowplaying are missing out on the opportunity to build a big pot against second-best hands and the reverse implied odds of letting longshots … Read more…
This is one of my favorite spots for an overbet, either with a very strong hand like this or with a draw, because Villain’s hand is so clearly defined as marginal showdown value. To be honest, given what he shows … Read more…
I wasn’t counting on being able to do this when I called the turn, but it’s a nice bonus: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (5 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (Button) ($400) SB ($191.70) BB ($1242.75) UTG … Read more…
I get a lot of questions/comments about my underbetting, which is understandable since it’s one of the more non-standard plays in my arsenal. I think this hand illustrates one of the many advantages of such a play, which is inducing … Read more…
It freaking sucks to river the second nuts and have to make a crying call with it. I’m pretty surprised the guy wasn’t more aggressive with it when I showed so much weakness on the turn, but I can’t see … Read more…
CO in this hand was unknown to me. He’d only been at the table for a few hands, but he seemed to be involved in every pot, and indeed had played 40% of his hands. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB … Read more…
I should probably just fold pre-flop. I ran my time bank down all the way before finally deciding I’d pretty much never have a hand stronger than this and so needed to call here. When I saw his hand, I … Read more…
This guy sat down across from me at one of my HU tables with an 80BB stack and lost it on the second hand of the match. In retrospect my shove might not be great. I thought he would have … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (SB) ($2014.50) BB ($1000) Preflop: Hero is SB with 7, 4 Hero bets $20, BB calls $10 Flop: ($40) 6, 5, 10 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets $28, … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $20.00 BB (5 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($2000) Hero (BB) ($2108) UTG ($2060) MP ($3164) Button ($2916) Preflop: Hero is BB with A, 5 2 folds, Button bets $60, 1 fold, Hero raises … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (8 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (Button) ($3084) SB ($1000) BB ($1759) UTG ($2449) UTG+1 ($3007) MP1 ($2512.20) MP2 ($2498) CO ($2469) Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 5 UTG bets $20, 3 … Read more…
For 250BB’s, no less. My flop call isn’t great, but only because people’s ranges are nowhere near what they should be in these spots. PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($1023) UTG … Read more…
This isn’t something I do often, just because you’re basically announcing strength without charging your opponents anything, plus by spotting them position you put them in control of the betting as well. Against good players I almost always 4-bet or … Read more…
From the same HU match: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Hand Converter from HandHistoryConverter.com Hero (BB) ($1875) SB ($2356.50) Preflop: Hero is BB with 3, 6 SB bets $20, Hero calls $10 Flop: ($40) 2, 5, 9 (2 players) … Read more…
Not that it affected the outcome of this hand, but I think Villain’s river check is pretty interesting, given that he’s got a monster hand and only a pot-sized bet left in his stack: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (9 … Read more…
Yesterday, I posted a hand where I paid a price for not blatantly jamming a big draw and discussed some of the pros and cons of playing big draws this way. Another reason not to go for the last bet … Read more…
A lot of players make too much of the idea that when you have a draw that you’re willing to get all in with, you’d prefer to make the final bet yourself. This is true when better hands will fold, … Read more…
Hopefully these new suit characters will solve the problem of people not being able to see suits at work (pun): Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (2 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($1799.75) Hero (SB) ($2339) Preflop: … Read more…
I was betting any river, because he’s an excellent hand reader and I think it’s very hard for him to put me on anything but a big pair, but this was a particularly good card: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 … Read more…
After betting big on the turn, my range is polarized (ie I’m not doing it with KQ, 77, or 54) and weighted towards the strong side (43, KJ, 33, 44). I think Villain’s range is exactly hands that beat my … Read more…
A good player is never check-calling this river. Weaker players will, though, and they rarely check better. This guy was new to me but seemed decent and had an aggression factor of 7 over a small sample. Good reason, in … Read more…
It’s not really fair to call the Villain in this hand a nit, but he’s one of the tightest winning 5/10 regulars anyway. That’s part of the reason I bet the turn against him, rather than just check-calling the turn … Read more…
I should be shoving the turn (for value), but this was still fun: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (4 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com BB ($1296.75) UTG ($1000) Hero (Button) ($2015) SB ($4327) Preflop: Hero is Button … Read more…
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $6.00 BB (6 handed) – Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Hero (Button) ($609) SB ($1129.65) BB ($190) UTG ($636) MP ($387) CO ($782) Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 4 2 folds, CO bets $13.80, Hero raises to … Read more…
Villain on my right is kind of a fish, his turn lead is definitely strong. The guy on my left is a pretty decent reg, a bit on the TAGgish side in general but has a propensity to play back … Read more…
A commenter on yesterday’s re-squeeze hand remarked that even at high stakes he felt like Villain would pretty much always have AK when he overcalled the first pre-flop raise and then shoved over a re-raise and a call. Having just … Read more…
Villain, a decent reg, ridiculed my call here, but I think he was just tilted. I need less than 40% equity, and while he can maybe have QQ here, I’d say he has KK+ and AK pretty much never (note … Read more…
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 … Read more…
My range for 3-betting an UTG raiser from UTG+1 isn’t going to be all that wide, and by the river, AK is probably closer to the bottom of it than the top: PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $50.00 BB (6 handed) – … Read more…
Versus a Scandi, no less! Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (7 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com SB ($1507.85) Hero (BB) ($1405.25) UTG ($1047) MP1 ($1395) MP2 ($1000) CO ($808) Button ($1741.25) Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 5 … Read more…
I’m probably good here sometimes, and it’s close whether a call is better than a fold, but I think raising wins me the pot almost 100% of the time: Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $10.00 BB (9 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter … Read more…
This one of his first 4-bets, but this guy was very aggressive with his 3-bets pre-flop, and I had an inkling he was light. My hand isn’t a bad one to jam pre-flop, but I decided just to call and … Read more…
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 … Read more…
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 … Read more…
Many of will have heard of this guy Leatherass, who plays just an absurd number of tables for an absurd number of hours every day. He plays pretty big stakes, mostly 5/10 and 10/20, and while he’s not one of … Read more…
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 … Read more…
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold’em, $8.00 BB (3 handed) – Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com Button ($816.20) Hero (SB) ($2062.85) BB ($2710) Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 6 1 fold, Hero bets $32, BB calls $24 Flop: ($64) 5, 6, 5 (2 players) Hero … Read more…