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adastfe's picture
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Hi,I'm playing 100s and 110s on PokerStars since the beginning of this year. I'm forextrading2 on Skype.

adastfe's picture
  In your latest video

 In your latest video (Mersenneary's Coaching Desk: Xereles (Part 1)) you advocate calling pot sized 3bets with hands like J8s, T7o. Isn't that too loose? I definitely feel that this is the part of my game that I need to work on. My range for calling is QJ+, KJs, AJs and if villain is 3betting a lot I would call T9+, J9+, QT+, KT+. When I'm playing against good aggressive regulars they often 3bet a lot and I think they just increase their frequency seeing that I play so tight against their 3bets. My main adjustments are: open 2x instead of 3x preflop, 4bet shove any pocket pair, Ax, 4bet small if they are folding. But I never really widen my calling range too much. Maybe that's because I'm playing mostly fit / fold in 3bet pots, never float because if i call cbet on the flop the pot becomes huge on turn and I'm not really comfortable in these situations. Can you give some advice on how to start fixing this leak? #1 I think is to call wider, but how wide? And how to procced on the flop? Start raising gutshot + 2 overs type hands or floating if I think this way I can represent more stronger hands and think that he will shutdown on turn if he has air? In one of your most recent videos you played croixdawg, called his 3bet with 67s and got it in with flush draw on the flop. But I hate getting it in in spots where I only have 36% equity. Let's say you win that hand having just 36% equity. In that case your EV line in Holdem Manager will drop down and your green profit line will go up. So I would feel that I played bad because i got it in bad and just got lucky to win. Am I looking into EV line too much? How important it really is? Should I just turn it off? Or maybe mistake is looking from perspective of just my hand vs his specific hand. I mean, maybe I should think more about my hand vs his entire range in that spot. In that case it wouldn't matter too much that in that particualar spot I got it in behind, because vs his entire range it's +EV because in the long term all these times that I got it in bad would be compensated when he folds?Another broader question is how to break out out of this nitty reg shell?  

mersenneary's picture
I definitely think you should

I definitely think you should be calling wider. I don't think I said to call with T7o - Can you give me the minute of the video for that? But yes, I think KT, QT, J9s, etc, are super standard calls of 3bets. You should widen your calling range for sure against people who are 3-betting wider, too. The reduced part of their range that is premiums means it's more valuable to play the hand. Just because you're not comfortable in situations doesn't mean that's a good reason not to get into them.It seems like you're afflicted with a common plague in HUSNGs - the "damn it, I have to get it in good" plague. It's crippling to think that way.In the case of 67s, when he doesn't have a pair, we win the pot with our flush draw. That sends our EV line soaring up."because vs his entire range it's +EV because in the long term all these times that I got it in bad would be compensated when he folds"Exactly.Try to start realizing one key axiom: "It's risky to not take risks". The reason why my graph goes straight up isn't because I'm desperate to get it in good all the time, it's because I'm willing to take the risks that maximise my expectation. If you try to wait for spots where you're too likely to be ahead, you risk not finding one of those spots and throwing away too much equity.

mersenneary's picture
Really try to hammer that

Really try to hammer that into yourself. It's a risk to try to wait for too good of situations. It's actually even riskier than calling 3bets with KT and jamming with flush draws in spots where you could have 36% equity. By being risk averse, you're actually employing strategies that lead to higher variance and a lower winrate.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit

Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BTN/SB): t1405 28.10 BBs BB: t1595 31.90 BBs Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 9 Hero raises to t100, BB calls t50 Flop: (t200) Q K 2 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB raises to t280, Hero calls t180 Turn: (t760) 9 (2 players) BB bets t280, Hero calls t280 River: (t1320) T (2 players) BB bets t935 all in, Hero folds Final Pot: t1320 BB wins t1320 Villain is good thinking reg. He's aggressive and capable of c/r air, barreling when I look weak. On the turn I need to have 21% equity to make a call. I have 14 outs - 28%+. Against air I think the best line is to call turn and call blank rivers becaue he should bluff on them. And if river isn't blank, like it was this time, I can safely fold because I don't expect him to bluff "wet" rivers. So I'm getting full value from him when he has air and bluffs blank rivers and he's not making me fold the best hand on wet rivers because I think he will shutdown on them. What do you think about this logic? Or should I just fold blank rivers? Is there any value in raising turn? If I shove turn he's certainly not folding Kx. His c/r range is Kx, FD, maybe JT and air. So I wouldn't be folding out any better hands. And I have showdown value vs his air. 

mersenneary's picture
No other way to play flop and

No other way to play flop and turn, I think (definitely not turn - flop can be a jam if he's c/r bluff a ton but almost always a flat). Whether or not to call blank rivers depends completely on what you've seen earlier, I'd fold without knowing any additional information. Your logic is fine it just depends how often he actually has air.

adastfe's picture
" I don't think I said to

" I don't think I said to call with T7o - Can you give me the minute of the video for that? "28:00 - 28:35. I'll try to find more tough (for me) spots in 3bet pots where I feel lost and take passive lines. 

mersenneary's picture
T7s, not offsuit.

T7s, not offsuit.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit

Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1440 72 BBs Hero (BB): t1560 78 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 7 4 BTN/SB raises to t50, Hero raises to t160, BTN/SB calls t110 Flop: (t320) 5 8 8 (2 players) Hero bets t160, BTN/SB calls t160 Turn: (t640) 9 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t240, Hero folds Final Pot: t640 BTN/SB wins t640 Villain is a good reg. Do you think I should have barreled turn?I doubt he's calling wide preflop since it's my first 3bet. His range in that case is mostly overcards, broadways that he could definitely float on this flop. I think he would raise my cbet with draws, 8x. Turn doesn't improve his range at all apart from A9. Given all this information I think I should've bet turn.  

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit

Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t50/t100 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1580 15.80 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1420 14.20 BBs Pre Flop: (t150) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 Q Hero raises to t200, BB calls t100 Flop: (t400) J 4 8 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t200, BB calls t200 Turn: (t800) 8 (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks River: (t800) K (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks Final Pot: t800 BB shows 9 Q (a pair of Eights) Hero shows 5 Q (a pair of Eights) BB wins t400 Hero wins t400 Villain is good, winning reg. What do you think about jamming on the river? I could represent flush, Kx. I think he would have c/r Jx on flop and maybe led the turn with 8x to prevent me from checking back. I doubt he's checking river with strong value hands. 

mersenneary's picture
Given your information, I

Given your information, I think it's a good double (and triple) barrel, but you have to be pretty sure about those kind of reads, because usually, the 9s is a bad card to continue on, improving a lot of his range.Most reg's ranges are indeed quite weak on this river. I think jamming is a little much, though, as it really makes it so you can only have flushes, unless you have a dynamic of checking turns to trap or overbet jamming for thin value. I'd just bet 500-650 and get the same effect.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit

Poker Stars $110+$5 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t50/t100 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1730 17.30 BBs Hero (BB): t1270 12.70 BBs Pre Flop: (t150) Hero is BB with 8 T BTN/SB raises to t200, Hero raises to t1270 all in, BTN/SB calls t1070 Flop: (t2540) 5 K T (2 players - 1 is all in) Turn: (t2540) J (2 players - 1 is all in) River: (t2540) 8 (2 players - 1 is all in) Final Pot: t2540 BTN/SB shows 2 A (a flush, Ace high) Hero shows 8 T (two pair, Tens and Eights) BTN/SB wins t2540 Villain is reg, opening 83% OTB. He didn't stop raising even at this blind level, never limped.Vs his opening frequency is 3bet shove the best line to take? I did some calculations with excel and if he's raise / calling with (22+,A2s+,K7s+,QJs,A2o+,K9o+,QJo) 27% of hands my shove nets me 151 chips. That's 1.5bb of profit. I doubt I can do better by calling. Let's say he was opening 55% OTB. In that case my shove would net me 75 chips - 0.75bb. Would I be correct in flatting then or would it still be better to jam? It's easy to see how profitable is 3bet shove with some calculations, but it's hard for me to know exactly how profitable is the call. 

adastfe's picture
How small should be the

How small should be the profit from jamming so that calling would be the better option? Am I correct in thinking that the only deciding factor is villain's opening frequency? The more he's opening the more +EV is jamming compared to flatting? If profit from 3bet jam is 151 chips does that mean that expactation from jamming in that particular situation is +1.5bb and expactation from folding is -1bb? 

adastfe's picture
I just rewatched your 17th

I just rewatched your 17th video about advanced BB play at low eff stacks and it answered a lot of my questions. So just to make sure if I understood everything:If villain is raising 83% and calling 27% I should definitely 3bet jam T8s and a lot of other hands: T9 QT QJ 67s 78s J6s..... My expectation from flatting will range from -1bb to 0bb. So anything above 0bb makes 3bet jam the most +EV play overall. That means if I see after doing calculations in excel that jamming nets me at least 1 chip I should jam at these stack sizes. I could consider flatting T8s and other 89TJQ (pick 2) hands if villain was opening lower % OTB and doing it with polarized range and limping all his mid connected hands.  

mersenneary's picture
3bet shove is easily best

3bet shove is easily best with T8s, if you believe your opponent is still minraising a healthy percentage at this stack depth."Am I correct in thinking that the only deciding factor is villain's opening frequency? The more he's opening the more +EV is jamming compared to flatting?"Yeah, basically. That's the biggest thing. Calling range matters too, but nothing's as important as opening frequency at these stack depths."If villain is raising 83% and calling 27% I should definitely 3bet jam T8s and a lot of other hands: T9 QT QJ 67s 78s J6s..... "At these frequencies I'd bet jamming 23o is +EV, but I really doubt you're playing against an opponent who is actually doing this at this stack depth. You're right, though, that we should be 3bet shoving quity wide. 

mersenneary's picture
"My expectation from flatting

"My expectation from flatting will range from -1bb to 0bb. So anything above 0bb makes 3bet jam the most +EV play overall. That means if I see after doing calculations in excel that jamming nets me at least 1 chip I should jam at these stack sizes. "I mean, 0bb is just a landmark. There's nothing magical about that number. We're trying to do at least better than the -1bb from folding our big blind, and then given that we're doing that, we're trying to get the best expectation we can get, either from calling or from jamming. With hands like Q8o, we're not going to come close to 0bb in expectation from the start of the hand from jamming (it'll be closer to -0.6bb), so that's where to compare to."I could consider flatting T8s and other 89TJQ (pick 2) hands if villain was opening lower % OTB and doing it with polarized range and limping all his mid connected hands."Yes, as long as he doesn't have very much junk in his range, either. Basically, if he's folding half the time after he raises, all of these hands will be best to jam.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1385 46.17 BBs Hero (BB): t1615 53.83 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with K J BTN/SB raises to t60, Hero raises to t180, BTN/SB calls t120 Flop: (t360) 3 2 6 (2 players) Hero bets t150, BTN/SB calls t150 Turn: (t660) J (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t180, Hero raises to t1285 all in, BTN/SB folds Villain isn't very good. He was limping and raising OTB. I 3bet for value because I thought his raising range is stronger therefore he should have more hands in his range that can call. KJ will dominate a lot of hands. Small flop doesn't hit villain's 3bet calling range. All his mid connected hands are unpaired - K high is the best hand most of the time. I want to fold out all his hands that have equity but can't call a bet (folding out villain's equity share as Skates used to say).Checked turn because I think villain's range is weak after just calling the flop. Most people would raise with spades. And since it's low card flop he definitely could have floated with high cards or maybe even wider - if I barrel these hands will fold, but if i check they might bluff. I think I should have c/c turn instead of c/s. After his bet pot was 840, he had 875 left and I had 1285. Had i called I would've had 1105 on the river - enough for him to think he has FE. By c/c I can represent AK, AQ - weak showdown value.  The problem with c/s is that I'm not really getting value from air and there aren't that many weaker made hands in his range, except Jx that decided to float the flop and clubs and I'm not sure clubs are betting the turn. But if i c/c turn are there river cards on which I should c/f if he jams? I think i can c/c comfortably on 3rd spade or club. But what about Q and A? I think I c/s because I didn't want to face this decision on the river and just wanted to protect my hand and getting value became secondary goal.Any comments? :)

mersenneary's picture
I pretty much always bet this

I pretty much always bet this turn. A lot of his calling range, the weak pairs, the Ax, etc, are checking behind on the turn. I'm only checking against people who have a big bluff or "protect their weak hand" instinct. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1710 57 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1290 43 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 6 K Hero raises to t60, BB calls t30 Flop: (t120) 5 5 6 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t60, BB raises to t180, Hero calls t120 Turn: (t480) 3 (2 players) BB bets t430, Hero folds Final Pot: t480 BB wins t480 Villain is a winning player, seems TAGish 2p2 style. Couple hands earlier he c/c cbet with MPGK. Given this information can I ever fold this turn? He bets so huge, it seems like he wants FE more than value. I think 5x would bet smaller. He could have 78, 6x, xhxh. But I doubt he c/r weak 6x especially when he c/c before with MP. I can see him having A6, K6 and maybe sometimes Q6. So the only hands that I beat from his value range is Q6 and 78. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1935 64.50 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1065 35.50 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 9 Hero raises to t60, BB calls t30 Flop: (t120) 3 Q 2 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t60, BB calls t60 Turn: (t240) J (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks River: (t240) 7 (2 players) BB bets t180, Hero folds Final Pot: t240 BB wins t240Villain is winning player, still early in the match, no reads, except that he seems TAG. It's a fold, right? But he's representing such a narrow value range - weak Qx. He really shouldn't have Jx because I think he folds J2, J3 preflop and all middle Jx on the flop. There are no busted draws. I'm beating only air that decided to float flop with intention of taking the pot away on later streets. But I don't know if this villain is floating wide or at all. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1540 77 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1460 73 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 5 Hero raises to t40, BB raises to t160, Hero raises to t1460 all in, BB calls t1300 Flop: (t2920) 4 7 4 (2 players - 1 is all in) Turn: (t2920) 4 (2 players - 1 is all in) River: (t2920) K (2 players - 1 is all in) Final Pot: t2920 BB shows 2 2 (a full house, Fours full of Deuces) Hero shows 5 5 (a full house, Fours full of Fives) Hero wins t2920 Villain has his stas blocked but I think he's winning player because he plays standart 2p2 style. 11th hand of the match, I opened 100% OTB. He 3bet once before 40->120. This is his 2nd 3bet.Had he 3bet me smaller I think I would've called. But his huge sizing made me think that he wants FE and is not likely to do this with strong value hands like 99-AA. Why would he bet so big for value when I'll fold so often to this sizing. So if he doesn't have strong pairs in range I think shoving is the only way. I'm ahead of 22-44, AQ, AK. I'm behind 55-88.  Board: Dead:    equity win tie      pots won pots tied Hand 0: 51.835%   50.49% 01.35%     357904632  9553788.00   { 55 }Hand 1: 48.165%   46.82% 01.35%     331881648  9553788.00   { 88-22, AQs+, AQo+ }

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t20/t40 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BTN/SB): t1240 31 BBs BB: t1760 44 BBs Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with K T Hero raises to t80, BB calls t40 Flop: (t160) K 5 Q (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t80, BB calls t80 Turn: (t320) K (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t200, BB calls t200 River: (t720) 6 (2 players) BB checks, This is clear check back, right?Villain's c/c flop/turn range is mainly Qx and FD and there are more possible combinations of FD than Qx. There's only Qx from weaker hands that might sometimes call but that's too small part of his range to vbet.

adastfe's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players • PokerStars$57.67+$2.33 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBbenvandlak1170  SBHero1830  Effective Stacks: 29bb Blinds 20/40 Pre-Flop (60, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 80, benvandlak raises to 120, Hero calls 40 Flop (240, 2 players) benvandlak bets 240, Hero calls 240 Turn (720, 2 players) benvandlak bets 40, Hero calls 40 River (800, 2 players) benvandlak checks, Hero checks Final Pot: 800 benvandlak shows two pair, Queens and Sixes Hero shows two pair, Queens and Jacks Hero wins 800 ( won +400 ) benvandlak lost -400 Villain is a highly winning reg. But he did make some questionable plays like c/mr flop, min bet /fold turn. I really think I misplayed some hand. This is the most important question for me today. 2nd 3bet from him, 1st was 80->400.What should I do on this flop? I get into this situation frequently in 3bet pots where I have some kind of draw (not very weak like gutshot, but also not very strong like OESD with overs or FD with overs), villain cbets 3/4 pot or more and I'm thinking should I call or jam. What are the main factors that I should look into before making decision?When he cbet there was 480 in the pot and he had 810 left behind. When I called flop there was 720 in the pot. 

mersenneary's picture
K6 hand - I also think most

K6 hand - I also think most players of that description will tend to bet less on the turn with 5x - if you have any decent history with the player by now, you should basically know whether he would ever do this sizing with trips. Most won't. A6 is a hand that makes a lot of sense, turned combo draws, etc. I would probably sigh and get it in. 

mersenneary's picture
Odd hand with the nines. Fold

Odd hand with the nines. Fold is standard because he reps little to no air - mostly just 56/54/64, as you allude to. But he doesn't rep much value either - just slowplayed stuff on the flop plus weak Qx. I still shrug and fold absent additional reads.

mersenneary's picture
I'd fold the 55. I think it's

I'd fold the 55. I think it's a mistake to think he's doing this with 22 as often as 66, 33 as often as 77, etc. Against a modified range taking that into account, we're in much worse shape.

mersenneary's picture
I'm definitely betting the KT

I'm definitely betting the KT on the river. I think you're mistaken that there are more flush draw combos than Qx combos. He can occasionally have weak kings, though not often. He will quite frequently lead the river with a made flush, which skews the distribution again. It's a bet.

mersenneary's picture
With the J8s, if you've ever

With the J8s, if you've ever seen him do anything weird with betsizing in the past, it's an auto jam on this flop (his sizing is terrible with 66 here). Calling is going to be correct if you're really convinced his range is quite strong. I'm definitely betting the river as played, again.

adastfe's picture
Wow, mistakes in 4 out of 5

Wow, mistakes in 4 out of 5 hands.J8s hand - so it all comes down to villain's range. If it's wide then I should have more than enough FE to make jam +EV play and even if he calls I have 9 outs to the flush. I should have additional reads to consider calling instead of jamming. KT hand - pot on the river was 720 and I had 880 left behind. How much should I bet in that spot? I'm guessing something small in order to get called by as much weaker hands as possible. 200? If I jam I think Qx will definitely fold. And if i bet small and villain shoves then I have to fold, right? In the hand I bet small, he shoved, I talked myself into calling although I new I'm beat almost always. 

mersenneary's picture
I would bet 280 and it's

I would bet 280 and it's really close if he jams. It's a puke spot when you get jammed on, but I don't think that should scare us into checking. There aren't that many bluffs in his range.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t30/t60 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1490 24.83 BBs Hero (BB): t1510 25.17 BBs Pre Flop: (t90) Hero is BB with 5 A BTN/SB raises to t120, Hero calls t60 Flop: (t240) K 2 3 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t120, Hero calls t120 Turn: (t480) J (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t300, Hero folds Final Pot: t480 BTN/SB wins t480 Villain wasn't opening enough for me to jam - 50%. What do you think is the best way to play this flop? c/c or c/r and why? In the hand I c/c because he opened 50% so in theory he should have more Kx in range than low cards. But on the other hand there are 2 low cards on the flop, maybe I should have c/r just because his opening range can hit only one card on this flop and if he doesn't have Kx he has unpaired high cards (except for pocket pairs). Therefore I should have a lot of FE and if he calls I can improve on a lot of turn cards, I can bluff on a lot of turn cards. Also, I'm not letting him to see turn with hands like J8, T9, 97, etc - I'm not letting him realize his equity. Also, this is good board to 2 barrel bluff because most turn cards will be overcards - so by c/r I'm avoiding the situation where I c/c flop and c/f to his 2nd barrel on a lot of cards while still maybe having the best hand. It always feels strange to me to c/r A high because I have showdown value and maybe the best hand, so by c/r I would be turning my hand into the bluff. But maybe the benefits that I wrote above outweigh this? 

hokiegreg's picture
Do you have any 2 barrel

Do you have any 2 barrel history with him? If you have seen him cbet and then shut down with any no-sd value hands, then I think c/c is best as you should have the best hand a decent amount of the time. If he's more on the aggro side with his barreling, he's giong to have tons of air in his range on this flop even with a tight opening range...that I like a small c/r to 310/320 and barrel most non-spade turns. Even though you can c/c with the best hand usually vs an aggro opponent, it's going to be pretty hard for us to get to showdown unimproved.The nice thing about shallow stacks for here is that most people will play the majority of their range very fast vs a c/r here (i think most people dont expect to be c/r bluffed much at these stacks)...so I expect KX/flush draws to be jamming over my c/r a good portion of the time...that makes the average flatting range weaker and more suitable for us to continue on turns.  

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BB): t1560 78 BBs BTN/SB: t1440 72 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with A J BTN/SB raises to t40, Hero calls t20 Flop: (t80) K 2 T (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t60, Hero calls t60 Turn: (t200) J (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t100, Hero calls t100 River: (t400) 5 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t300, Hero folds Final Pot: t400 BTN/SB wins t400 2nd hand of the match. Is this a standart c/c on the flop? I expect villain to cbet 100% on this flop and shutdown with air on almost all turn cards. A high is likely to be the best hand. I have backdoor FD, gutshot, 2 overs to floped MP and 1 over to floped TP. c/f on the river is good, right? I don't beat anything that villain would be betting this way for value. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t40/t80 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BTN/SB): t1740 21.75 BBs BB: t1260 15.75 BBs Pre Flop: (t120) Hero is BTN/SB with A K Hero raises to t160, BB calls t80 Flop: (t320) A K Q (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t160, BB raises to t400, Hero raises to t1520, BB folds Final Pot: t1120 Hero mucks A K Hero wins t1120 I think I should have called his flop c/r. We're 15bb deep, he doesn't have Ax in his range because he would've shoved pre. Not sure about KQ but let's say he calls 50% and shoves other 50%. Therefore his value range on this flop is very small - JT and FD. So since his most likely holding is air he will fold to my shove the vast majority of the time. If I call his flop c/r and turn is J, T or heart I'm still not folding, right? 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1280 42.67 BBs Hero (BB): t1720 57.33 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with K 9 BTN/SB raises to t60, Hero calls t30 Flop: (t120) 4 2 A (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t90, Hero calls t90 Turn: (t300) K (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t180, Hero folds Final Pot: t300 BTN/SB wins t30013th hand of the match. 1st time I c/c his cbet. If villain is cbetting 100% is this a standart c/c on the flop? His range is wide and K high is the best hand if he doesn't have a pair. I would've called 2nd barrel on 9 or K turn if it wasn't a 3rd spade. I expect him to shutdown on 3rd spade with all his air hands, Kx, weak showdown value. Is this the correct assumption to make in general? 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1430 47.67 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1570 52.33 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 6 Hero raises to t60, BB raises to t150, Hero calls t90 Flop: (t300) 5 J 7 (2 players) BB bets t162, Hero raises to t390, BB raises to t1280 all in, Hero folds Final Pot: t1080 BB wins t1080 Villain 3bet 3rd time in 24 hands. Seemed aggressive. Is this a good defend with 96s? I would've folded to a larger size, like 180. If I want to playback is raising the only option on the flop or can I float instead? If I call villain might not stop with his air on turn and barrel again forcing me to fold. And if I raise I think I can fold out his unpaired cards. How would you play on this flop with: A) 89, T9, T8, 69B) 86

mersenneary's picture
AJ hand looks good, except

AJ hand looks good, except that I'd 3bet pre against a minraise readless. Your postflop play is good. On the river, there's not very much air for him to be bluffing with.After his check/raise where you have AK, he has 700 back, with 1120 in the pot. It's pretty close. I think I'd just jam. If you did flat, yes, you'd be calling all-in on any turn.Your K9 hand certainly looks like a super odd line. If he actually is c-betting 100% over a good sample with this size always, then yes you can continue. I would often check/raise here and continue that way, depending on his double barrel frequency. If it's really low then I guess you can fold this turn...but it's really contrary to the reason you called the flop. You really have to feel super strongly that he very rarely double barrels.I'm not a big fan of raise/folding so much of your stack with a draw with the 96. My default line would be to flat, or make it more like 340-350 and fold, depending on his 3bet frequency, cbet sizing, how often I think he'll play back with air, etc. Usually I'd float this flop. I'd jam with 89, float with T9 with a backdoor flush draw and close without, same with T8, jam with 86.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BTN/SB): t1620 81 BBs BB: t1380 69 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with A K Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40 Flop: (t120) K J 5 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t90, BB raises to t280, Hero calls t190 Turn: (t680) 6 (2 players) BB bets t340, Hero raises to t1280 all in, BB folds Final Pot: t1360 Hero mucks A K Hero wins t1360Villain was bad, definitely more loose than aggressive. What should I do on this turn? Call or jam? After his turn bet: pot 1020, hero 1280, villain 700.If I call his turn bet: pot 1360, hero 940, villain 700.When deiciding whether to call or jam over the top we have to calculate how large the pot will be if we call and compare it to the amount of chips that villain will have? And then figure out if villain is likely to fire 3rd barrel with air? In this case the pot would have been almost twice the size of the effective stack. Let's say pot will be 2000 and he will have 500 left on the river. It would be kind of a suicidal bluff on his part and I shouldn't expect a thinking player to continue bluffing at that point and give up with his air instead? 

mersenneary's picture
Definitely jam turn if you

Definitely jam turn if you were to flat flop. With that little behind, it's important to jam against his flush and straight draws. If you just call, he may give up when he misses and jam when he hits, which does much much better against you if you flat than if you just jam the turn, and force those hands into a close call-it-off or fold decision, equity wise. That's more significant than the benefit from flatting, which is bluffcatching river against his air (which matters, too).I'd very often 3bet flop against this check/raise size, though.

adastfe's picture
One more question about that

One more question about that 69s hand (#35 post). You said you would jam with OESD (89, 86) and float with gutshots (T9, T8, 69). So in situation like this it's a standart play to jam over the top with 8+ outs? When I shove I'm risking 1280 to win 462 thefore I need him to fold 1280/(1280+462)=0.73% of the time. But this would be the case only If I didn't have any equity. When I take into consideration 8 outs situation changes drastically: everytime he folds I win 462 and everytime he calls I lose -364.8 (I'm risking 1280, pot 2860, 8 outs = 32% equity = 915.2 chips from the pot). If he folds 44% or more it is a +EV jam (364.8/(364.8+462)=0.44). So when you shove you assume that you have the necessary FE for jam to be the best expactation play? Is there some kind of quicker way to calculate how much FE I need, so that I could do it during the game (some kind of shortcut)?Why do you prefer floating with gutshots instead of making a small raise? Not so long ago I used to call in spots like this with OESD or FD w/o overs and folded on turns unimproved :) 

mersenneary's picture
We don't necessarily have 32%

We don't necessarily have 32% equity. Sometimes he calls it off with AK, sometimes with A7, etc. I think we have a bit more equity in general when called. You also have to compare your expectation to calling, though, as I think calling is better than folding (your calc compares it to folding). Basically this would not be a jam if our opponent is 3betting a tight, mostly value range, and is a jam if he 3bets wider. "Why do you prefer floating with gutshots instead of making a small raise? "I think it's pretty close, but many people will shut down on the turn with AK/AQ type hands, and you get to find out what they have a lot of the time and then play the turn very well, betting turn and betting river successfully very often.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1605 32.10 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1395 27.90 BBs Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 3 Hero raises to t100, BB calls t50 Flop: (t200) 6 5 7 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB calls t100 Turn: (t400) 3 (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks River: (t400) K (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks Final Pot: t400 BB shows 6 2 (a pair of Sixes) Hero mucks 8 3 BB wins t400 How bad is my check back on that river? I knew that villain c/calls weak hands and checks river with weak showdown value. Given this read is it a mandatory bet on that river? If i bet half pot I need this bluff to work only 33% of the time. When I checked back I knew that pair of 3s doesn't have any showdown value. I just wasn't sure if villain would fold 6x or 5x. What do you think about overbetting? Would this be a good spot to overbet? 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t40/t80 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1600 20 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1400 17.50 BBs Pre Flop: (t120) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 A Hero raises to t160, BB calls t80 Flop: (t320) 5 8 9 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t160, BB calls t160 Turn: (t640) 2 (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets t360, BB calls t360 River: (t1360) Q (2 players) BB bets t920 all in, Hero calls t720 all in Final Pot: t2800 BB shows Q 5 (two pair, Queens and Fives) Hero shows 9 A (a pair of Nines) BB wins t2800 Villain snap donk bet river - his 1st donk bet in the game. He c/c weak hands, folded to couple double barrels earlier. Also he was getting tilted.I was getting almost 3 to 1. So If I think I'm good 25% or more I should call, right? JT got there, but I expect him to c/r with it on the flop. FD, T7 missed. I think my mistake was small bet sizing on the turn. I should've bet 390.

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1520 50.67 BBs Hero (BB): t1480 49.33 BBs Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with J Q BTN/SB calls t15, Hero raises to t100, BTN/SB calls t70 Flop: (t200) 2 T K (2 players) Hero bets t100, BTN/SB calls t100 Turn: (t400) J (2 players) Hero bets t200, BTN/SB folds Final Pot: t400 Hero mucks J Q Hero wins t400 9th hand, villain's 2nd limp, he opened other times. I'm not sure what to do on the turn. I feel like barreling for value should be good. What do you think? 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BB: t1740 87 BBs Hero (BTN/SB): t1260 63 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with K A Hero raises to t40, BB raises to t60, Hero raises to t180, BB calls t120 Flop: (t360) 9 6 J (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks Turn: (t360) 6 (2 players) BB bets t100, Hero calls t100 River: (t560) T (2 players) BB bets t1460 all in, Hero folds Final Pot: t560 BB wins t560 6th hand, 2nd  time he min 3bet me. I checked back flop because I felt like I don't have enough FE. There are a lot of draws, J and 9 should hit his 4bet calling range. And A high not only has showdown value, but I also have overs. Called his small turn bet because of the good odds - 4.6 to 1. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1770 35.40 BBs Hero (BB): t1230 24.60 BBs Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with T 8 BTN/SB raises to t100, Hero calls t50 Flop: (t200) K 5 T (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t100, Hero calls t100 Turn: (t400) 4 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t150, Hero folds Final Pot: t400 BTN/SB wins t400Villain wasn't good. It's the same guy who min 3bet when I had AK. What do you think about min donk bet on turn? It is kind of a fancy play but if I think villain will react to it by turning his hand face up then maybe it is a right play? I think that he will raise only with flush and call with the rest and won't attack my donk bet with air. By checking I'm leaving myself open to his double barrels. Recently I started experimenting with different sizings vs weak players and it seems to work quite well. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t20/t40 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1350 33.75 BBs Hero (BB): t1650 41.25 BBs Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with J 9 BTN/SB raises to t80, Hero calls t40 Flop: (t160) 5 6 7 (2 players) Hero bets t80, BTN/SB calls t80 Turn: (t320) 8 (2 players) Hero bets t200, BTN/SB calls t200 River: (t720) J (2 players) Hero bets t360, BTN/SB folds Final Pot: t720 Hero mucks J 9 Hero wins t720 What do you think about my line? Villain was losing player. I can't c/c, don't want to c/r but I think I should have enough FE by donking out. It's my 1st donk bet. It's a scary connected mono flop. I think villain will turn his hand face up - raise strong value, call medium, fold weak value and air. So if he calls I don't think he can stand a lot of action on future streets unless he hits some miracle card. And I have some equity - gutshot, overs. Although I suspect that not all my outs are clean. Any thoughts? Also, if I think his calling range is weak maybe I should have bet river smaller? Like 200. 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t10/t20 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter BTN/SB: t1540 77 BBs Hero (BB): t1460 73 BBs Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with A 8 BTN/SB raises to t40, Hero calls t20 Flop: (t80) 6 8 2 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t60, Hero raises to t180, BTN/SB calls t120 Turn: (t440) T (2 players) Hero bets t260, BTN/SB folds Final Pot: t440 Hero mucks A 8 Hero wins t440 Bet / fold turn readless, right? 

mersenneary's picture
Your check is fine on the

Your check is fine on the river with the 83. Bet/check/bet is not a very credible line. You're right that his range is very capped here, though, the problem is that you don't rep that many credible hands. I'd need reads to start overbetting.I'm betting bigger on this flop with the A9 to exploit most player's tendencies (it doesn't matter than a bigger bet is exploitable here against most). I think 280 and jam turn is often optimal against most - they won't fold their pairs on the flop anyway. I'm also calling the jam (I think) getting such great odds, reluctantly, but remember from the timing tells article that a snapjam is going to be much stronger here.200's fine on the turn with QJ, maybe a little smaller.Your line with the AK is perfect - maybe a little more pre. Nothing you can or should do post, imo.I think a small turn bet with the T8 is reasonable against an opponent who won't attack it. It accomplishes some things. It depends a lot on his c-betting frequency and opening frequency, the higher those are, the more I like it.Not really a fan of the donk with J9 - Any spade, any pair, any open ended straight, any premium two overs are usually going to call, and that's too much of his range.I also like bet/folding turn with the A8.   

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t25/t50 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BB): t1625 32.50 BBs BTN/SB: t1375 27.50 BBs Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with J Q BTN/SB calls t25, Hero raises to t150, BTN/SB calls t100 Flop: (t300) 2 9 J (2 players) Hero bets t200, BTN/SB calls t200 Turn: (t700) 4 (2 players) Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t250, Hero calls t250 River: (t1200) A (2 players) Hero bets t50, BTN/SB calls t50 Final Pot: t1300 Hero shows J Q (a pair of Jacks) BTN/SB mucks 8 J Hero wins t1300 Villain is losing player. He limped 70% and opened 15%. He was checking back flops with air and BP in limped pots, folded to my leads on turn, folded to my stabs in limped pots OOP. Also, he was kind of passive, but he did raise my cbet once on Q54hh after limp/calling preflop. I'm not sure what to do on the turn. Most people would raise my flop bet if they had FD, but I don't know if he would. Also most people would raise my cbet with SD and TP. But he only raised me once before. If I bet on 3rd diamond my perceived range looks very strong, but on the other hand I don't know if that matters to him. I could get value from some pair + diamond type hand. Also if he calls flop with SD then maybe I can get value from it. What I'm trying to say is - if he c/c almost all his value hands and draws on flop then there should be enough hands for me to bet / call turn for value. And if he happens to have a flush then it's just a cooler? :/ In the game I decided to c/c because I didn't have enough time to think it through. And made a small block bet on the river because I thought he won't exploit me by turning his weaker made hands into the bluff. What do you think about my thought process regarding block betting the river? 

adastfe's picture
Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No

Poker Stars $57.67+$2.33 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t60/t120 Blinds - 2 players DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter Hero (BTN/SB): t1420 11.83 BBs BB: t1580 13.17 BBs Pre Flop: (t180) Hero is BTN/SB with K 3 Hero raises to t1420 all in, BB calls t1300 Flop: (t2840) 7 7 T (2 players - 1 is all in) Turn: (t2840) T (2 players - 1 is all in) River: (t2840) 9 (2 players - 1 is all in) Final Pot: t2840 Hero shows K 3 (two pair, Tens and Sevens) BB shows 9 9 (a full house, Nines full of Tens) BB wins t2840 Villain wasn't reshoving a lot (or maybe I should say enough). I was running him over with my min raises at low eff stacks. I thought if I min raise then I felt like I would be almost committed to call a jam and I didn't want that. Also I thought that if I limp he would perceive my range as weak and jam a lot of hands (QT987) that are are behind me, but he would fold them If I shove. So I given all this information I decided to jam. I'm guessing it's a fine line? Kind of basic question but still. 

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