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kcald4's picture
kcald4's HH discussion thread

Just one hand for now. I look forward to posting more hands and contributing to the forum over the next month. HH converter is being weird so I'll just explain the hand. $110 turbo. Villain is a very good reg who is known to beat higher stakes. This is early in the game, but we have played before, so I am somewhat familiar with his game as I assume he is with mine. He 3x's ~95% of his buttons at this blind level, so I have been 3betting him quite a bit, and I believe I have cbet 100% vs him. Given my image, is his jam on the flop std? $110 turboEffective stacks 1320Hero is BB with AAPreflop: villain raises to 60, hero 3bets to 160, villain callsFlop: 863r one diamond ; Hero cbets 140, villain jams, hero calls, villain shows Q9dd  If this hand were vs some random fish then I'd just assume he's being an idiot, but the fact that it's vs the described solid reg got me thinking about it. Given that I've been 3betting a lot and cbetting 100%, along with the fact that he has two overs plus backdoor FD and SD, makes me think that this is actually a good play by him, and I need to be doing this vs certain opponents. Because I basically never do this. Do we think that bluff-jamming here is better than just making a raise to 360 or something? When I size my bluffs I try to think about how much I would bet if I were betting for value, and if I have a strong 8 or a slowplayed overpair, I don't think I'm jamming for value, I'm probably just making a smaller raise, unless I feel that my opponent is capable of hero calling with AK or something.

mersenneary's picture
I'm not a fan of the jam. I

I'm not a fan of the jam. I think there are better ways to contest the hand if you're 3betting that much (float, raise/fold smaller), and jamming represents zippo except for like A8 and stuff.

kcald4's picture
A few questions:   1. In

A few questions: 1. In reading spamz's HH reviews I see that he likes to limp some medium-strength hands early to get some reads on how villain plays in limped pots. Is this something you (Mers) recommend doing as well? Really the only times I limp early are if I have played villain before and I know that he likes to 3bet. Otherwise I figure I'm better off getting folds from my opponent as well as gaining more reads on how my opponent plays in raised pots. Whatever general thoughts you have on this would be nice. Talking about Stars turbo structure here. 2. 35bbs deep vs an opponent who only raises 1/3 of buttons, when he does raise it is 3x, and he is reasonably aggressive IP in raised pots. Are we just folding to his raises with hands like J9o, T8o, A2o? I feel like it's kinda weak but flopping middle pair or TPNK is going to be a tough way to play OOP vs the described villain, and I really don't like the idea of 3betting these hands either. I'm just unsure because often times when I play opponents who raise very few buttons I find myself folding to like 80% of them, which might be OK or might be too tight, I don't know. 3. What are some typical adjustments you make to persistent flop donkbettors? I usually mix in more limps and raise pretty wide on the flop, which I assume are standard adjustments. Another thing I usually do I look at villain's fold to cbet%, and if it is high, I will assume his donk bets are usually a stronger range, whereas if the % is low, I will assume he mostly donks when he misses. Sound good?

mersenneary's picture
1. Yes, I agree with spamz.

1. Yes, I agree with spamz. T8, T9, 98, J8, J9 especially - hands that flop really well, can withstand a 3x raise from the BB (but aren't usually calling a full pot 3-bet) often work really really well to test out his reactions to limps. They play really well in limped pots and getting the reads early really helps. I definitely recommend it. You don't wnat to limp too strong (hands you'd be happy calling a 3bet with) or too weak (hands that you'll have much better equity raising with rather than letting all of his trash in the pot that actually has great equity against your even trashier hand).2. vs what you describe, I call J9o but fold T8o and A2o. You definitely don't want to 3bet light vs an opponent who is raising that tight of a range. Don't worry if you're folding to a lot of them - you're getting a big advantage the 70% of the time he doesn't raise.3. Yeah, the biggest thing is to try to identify what your opponent is donking with, and you should be able to get some reads on that pretty easily if they're persistent. If it's a generally strong range, one of the biggest adjustments is just to hammer them with cbets whenever they check. 

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBVillain1560  SBHero1440  Effective Stacks: 72bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 40, Villain calls 20 Flop (80, 2 players)   Villain checks, Hero bets 40, Villain raises to 100, Hero calls 60 Turn (280, 2 players)   Villain bets 140, Hero calls 140 River (560, 2 players) Villain checks, Hero bets 745 This is the second hand of a game vs a random. Never played him before. I read your post on overbetting rivers when our opponent's range is weighted towards bluffcatchers, and I've been trying to work that into my game some. I thought this would be a good spot to overbet bluff since I believed his range was weighted more towards Jx, and it would be really tough to call a big bet on this river with just a jack. His 1/2 pot turn bet doesn't look particularly strong; I figure if he had 2 pair he would probably bet bigger to charge the straight and flush draws. The backdoor heart draw hit on the river, which is unlikely for him to have but I could represent it, and I feel like if our opponent were stronger than just Jx there is a good chance he would be betting the river rather than checking it. So I bet huge.  No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBHero1480  BBVillain1520  Effective Stacks: 74bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 40, Villain raises to 100, Hero calls 60 Flop (200, 2 players)   Villain bets 160, Hero calls 160 Turn (520, 2 players)   Villain bets 380, Hero calls 380 River (1280, 2 players)   Villain goes all-in 880, Hero folds Final Pot: 2160 Villain wins 2160 ( won +640 ) Hero lost -640 I have played this villain before. I have in my notes that he is not particularly bluffy or spewy. Normally when I flop the nut flush draw in a 3bet pot I can't want to jam, but when this villain bets 160 into 200 that just screams overpair or AQ/KQ. I felt like if I jammed there I was getting called basically 100% of the time by a hand that I am a slight dog against. I also figured that even if a club hit on the turn, villain probably wasn't going to be able to get away from his hand. So I just called two streets and folded when I missed. I just want to make sure that this kind of play is alright vs the described villain. I know that there's nothing "wrong" with jamming this flop but given my reads I felt that just calling was the highest EV play. If villain had cbet 100 or 120 I'm jamming since I believe I'm getting many more folds than vs a cbet of 160.   No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBVillain1780  BBHero1220  Effective Stacks: 61bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is BB   Villain raises to 60, Hero calls 40 Flop (120, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 80, Hero raises to 240, Villain calls 160 Turn (600, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain checks River (600, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 440, Hero folds Final Pot: 1040 Villain wins 1040 ( won +300 ) Hero lost -300 Villain in this hand is kinda laggy, but he's not a complete idiot I don't think. I feel like I check turns too often OOP after villains flat my c/rs (not just vs this villain, I mean in general) and I'm not sure why I do it. Here I believe I was thinking that there's a good chance villain would jam over my c/r with a 9 a decent percentage of the time, so the fact that he didn't weights his range more heavily towards straight draws (which either completed or let him hit his ten.) Then when the 7 hits the river I just don't think there's any way I can call a big bet. I guess when villains flat my c/rs in marginal spots like these I'm never quite sure what to do so I just check. Any pointers would be a big help.

mersenneary's picture
I actually don't have a lot

I actually don't have a lot of experience overbet bluffing vs randoms, but my intuition suggests it's not generally the best idea, especially readless and early on and when some draws missed and it's likely they have top pair/second pair. I do like the thought though and will be honest enough to say I just don't know what to expect here in terms of how often we'll fold out those hands.

mersenneary's picture
With the A8cc, I think it's

With the A8cc, I think it's just too big of a leap to think that worse flush draws, hands like TT, etc, aren't part of his range. I'd still raise the flop. As played, the turn call is fine given your implied odds.

mersenneary's picture
I think the K9 hand is played

I think the K9 hand is played just fine - you're right that the ten is an awful card for you, and that the river is a really bad one too. What are you worried about that could bluff you out, except for like 56? Check/folding river, especially to that size, looks good to me.You're right that there are good overcard turns to continue on, but the ten is not one of them imo.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBHero1380  BBVillain1620  Effective Stacks: 69bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 40, Villain raises to 100, Hero calls 60 Flop (200, 2 players)   Villain bets 100, Hero calls 100 Turn (400, 2 players)   Villain bets 160, Hero calls 160 River (720, 2 players)   Villain bets 280, Hero calls 280 Final Pot: 1280 Hero shows Villain shows a pair of Aces Villain wins 1280 ( won +640 ) Hero lost -640 This hand is vs a random, never played before. I'm pretty sure it's standard, I just want to make sure. The river is a tempting card to shove on but I think a lot of randoms wouldn't be able to get away from big aces. If he had bet like 60% of pot on either the turn or river I think I could have folded but he bet small enough that I was willing to look it up.   No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBHero900  BBVillain2100  Effective Stacks: 45bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 40, Villain calls 20 Flop (80, 2 players)   Villain bets 40, Hero raises to 120, Villain calls 80 Turn (320, 2 players)    Villain checks, Hero bets 200, Villain raises to 400 Same villain. This is his first donk bet. Earlier in the game he check/called me two streets with Jx on a J hi flop, and I have cbet 100% so far, so I perceive his donk bet to be weak since I think if he wanted to get max value out of a strong hand he would c/r. So I raise expecting to get a lot of folds, but not minding even if I do get called since I probably have decent equity no matter what his hand is. I might be being results oriented here but in hindsight I feel like the turn bet might be a mistake because I could see him donking the flop with wheel draws, and I think there's a good chance that a bet of 200 folds out his 56 and 57, so i'm probably not going to get any value from those. After he c/r the turn I am just hating life. I'm mostly wondering about the turn bet but obv any comments will be appreciated.

mersenneary's picture
I don't think there's any

I don't think there's any other way to play the A8 hand, I'm not folding against a sizable river bet, either. The bigger he bets the weirder that he's doing it with a big ace because of the flush and the four-straight on board.I think the turn bet with the J9dd is just fine. We'll fold out a lot of 4x/3x and I don't think wheel draws are that big % of his range. Now call the check/raise and hit your flush :)

jackoneill's picture
Is it standard to defend A8o

Is it standard to defend A8o to a 3bet ?  Sure it's just a very tiny size, but we know nothing about this opponent and his 3betting tendencies. But maybe I'm just way too nitty in these spots.


kcald4's picture
At those stack sizes I'm not

At those stack sizes I'm not folding A8 to a +3bb 3bet. Randoms will have a pretty wide range with those 3bets.

reallymonkeyish's picture
In the A8 hand you will def

In the A8 hand you will def see some Ax, but given the board you will also see a lot of 88-KK given his sizing. Like his sizing is for value a ton, but there are almost as many 88-KK combos as A9-AK, and people also tend to 3bet AK/AQ a bit bigger pre ime.

mersenneary's picture
Yes, I really don't think you

Yes, I really don't think you should fold pre, especially to that sizing. I'd actually call 120 as well.

kcald4's picture
1. Say we're playing a poor,

1. Say we're playing a poor, loose passive player who limps a lot. Early in the game, 50+bbs deep. He limps and I 3.5x QJs, he flats. Flop 753r. Just c/f in these types of spots? I like to cbet a ton but I've been thinking a lot more lately about spots where villain's range is super wide and the flop doesn't really hit my perceived range, so even though it feels pretty weak I think I should be basically just giving up on the flop. 2.No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBVillain1450  BBHero1550  Effective Stacks: 73bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is BB Villain raises to 60, Hero calls 40 Flop (120, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 60, Hero raises to 180, Villain calls 120 Turn (480, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 180, Hero calls 180 River (840, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 720, Hero folds Final Pot: 1560 Villain wins 1560 ( won +420 ) Hero lost -420 Very early in the game vs a random, no reads. Do you prefer a flop c/r here over a flat or a lead? (FWIW I basically never donk bet in these spots.) It's pretty tough for me to do anything wrong here but I'm not at all sure what the best move is. I decided to c/r the flop because I figured I'd just get folds a decent portion of the time, and even if I didn't I'd still have solid equity. Also, if he calls my c/r and I complete on the turn, a lot of times villain won't be able to get away from it because he will still often have top pair. But then the 3 came on the turn, and obv that card sucks because it changes nothing, so I can't see villain folding to a turn barrel, so I just check. River obv nothing I can do.

kcald4's picture
Also, what are you doing when

Also, what are you doing when still 40+bbs deep and your opponent min donk bets a wet flop that we miss, but we have one over? Like say I minraise A4o, villain flats, flop comes 689 two tone, villain minbets. If I have 2 overs then I feel like it's an easy flat but with just one over this spot really sucks and it's easy to bleed a couple bbs here if I'm not careful. Just fold to the minbet? Feels so dumb and I hate it but I think it might be best.

mersenneary's picture
"1. Say we're playing a poor,

"1. Say we're playing a poor, loose passive player who limps a lot. Early in the game, 50+bbs deep. He limps and I 3.5x QJs, he flats. Flop 753r. Just c/f in these types of spots? I like to cbet a ton but I've been thinking a lot more lately about spots where villain's range is super wide and the flop doesn't really hit my perceived range, so even though it feels pretty weak I think I should be basically just giving up on the flop." I still prefer a half pot c-bet on 753r. Yes, his range is wide, but it's wide enough to include a ton of stuff where c-betting plays a lot better against it: All of this T8o kind of stuff that doesn't hit that flop. Especially if it's a passive player and we don't expect to get raised a lot, even better. If it's more like a 865hh board, check/fold can be better.

mersenneary's picture
I also check/raise the T8dd

I also check/raise the T8dd and think you played the hand just fine.

mersenneary's picture
"Also, what are you doing

"Also, what are you doing when still 40+bbs deep and your opponent min donk bets a wet flop that we miss, but we have one over? Like say I minraise A4o, villain flats, flop comes 689 two tone, villain minbets. If I have 2 overs then I feel like it's an easy flat but with just one over this spot really sucks and it's easy to bleed a couple bbs here if I'm not careful. Just fold to the minbet? Feels so dumb and I hate it but I think it might be best."It's an annoying spot, because most of the time it does feel like we're bleeding chips, but remember the occasional times he checks later with K5 or we hit our ace doesn't need to be that often before it's correct. I call here as standard and really try to figure out exactly what he's doing this and not doing this with so I can start raising when appropriate.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBHero2045  BBVillain955  Effective Stacks: 19bb Blinds 25/50 Pre-Flop (75, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero calls 25, Villain checks Flop (100, 2 players) Villain checks, Hero bets 50, Villain calls 50 Turn (200, 2 players) Villain checks, Hero bets 120, Villain raises to 250, Hero calls 130 River (700, 2 players) Villain goes all-in 605, Hero folds Final Pot: 1305 Villain wins 1305 ( won +350 ) Hero lost -350 Villain is tight postflop but not super nitty. I limped because he had been 3bet jamming in this blind level a fair amount and I didn't want to stack off with K9. I'm mostly wondering about the turn play, do you think there are enough low 2pair/worse K/bluffs in his range that the turn call is OK? When he did it I basically clicked call hoping that he would check the river to me, because I felt like I was almost always beat given that his betsizing has "please don't fold" written all over it. In hindsight I feel like there's a decent chance I was drawing dead because any non-flush or low flush hand is going to be scared of a river spade and will probably c/r much bigger. This would have to be some really weird bluff on his part.  No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBVillain705  BBHero2295  Effective Stacks: 7bb Blinds 50/100 Pre-Flop (150, 2 players) Hero is BB Villain calls 50, Hero checks Flop (200, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain checks Turn (200, 2 players) Hero checks, Villain bets 200, Hero raises to 700, Villain goes all-in 405 River (1505, 2 players, 1 all-in) Final Pot: 1505 Villain shows a full house, Sevens full of Eights Hero shows two pair, Eights and Sevens Villain wins 1410 ( won +705 ) Hero lost -705 I feel like I have a lot of trouble in these types of spots in the endgame. This opponent is one of those guys who raises about 30% of buttons and limps all the rest, and he has continued limping at <9bbs deep. He also loved to bet turns (prior to this hand he had stabbed at 8 out of 13 turns, mostly after the flop had gone check/check.) So I'm wondering if the turn c/r is standard? I frequently get into spots like this in the endgame where my opponents just limp/stab me to death and I have no idea how I should be playing back at them, because bluffing is going to commit such a large portion of my stack. So I normally just play super passively and fit or fold, which I know can't be the best way to play against a lot of opponents, but I really don't know what else to do. I'm going to try to find more hands like this one to post.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBVillain1590  SBHero1410  Effective Stacks: 71bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 40, Villain raises to 120, Hero calls 80 Flop (240, 2 players) Villain bets 260, Hero folds Final Pot: 500 Villain wins 500 ( won +120 ) Hero lost -120 Early in the game, not many reads other than villain has been kinda passive. He has limped hands like 93o and checked down all 3 streets with zero SD value. In-game I just felt like he was doing this with overpairs more often than with AK type hands, so I folded, but looking back on it it seems kinda nitty and I have definitely seen opponents show up here with an Ax that missed. If you think I should be jamming here, does your opinion change if the flop was 556cc instead of 336cc?

mersenneary's picture
With the K9: Limp pre is a

With the K9: Limp pre is a very good adjustment, I approve.I'm fine with shrugging and calling the turn. nh.

mersenneary's picture
With the 83: if you check the

With the 83: if you check the turn here it should be because you think he's checking back flop and betting turn with a lot of air, you should lead otherwise. Against this turn sizing, I'm flatting unless you have some reads that stabbing with a pot sizing is something he'll do with air.

mersenneary's picture
The 44 is definitely

The 44 is definitely definitely definitely a fold on the flop. Even if he were doing this with not just his overpairs, but always playing AK, AQ, AJ, and KQ like this every single time, we still only have 38% equity. That sound be telling.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter SBquijote731500  BBHero1500  Effective Stacks: 75bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is BB quijote73 raises to 40, Hero raises to 110, quijote73 calls 70 Flop (220, 2 players) Hero bets 100, quijote73 calls 100 Turn (420, 2 players) Hero bets 250, quijote73 raises to 500, Hero calls 250 River (1420, 2 players) Hero checks, quijote73 goes all-in 790, Hero goes all-in 790 Final Pot: 3000 quijote73 shows a pair of Sevens Hero shows two pair, Eights and Sevens Hero wins 3000 ( won +1500 ) quijote73 lost -1500 So this is the first hand of a game vs a random. I feel like I played it correctly, though I would kick myself if villain checked back the river with A3. But I started thinking about it; if this hand is correctly played with 88, should we be playing our strong aces the same way? If I have AK here, I feel like I'm pretty much always check/calling the turn rather than betting for value even though AK and 88 seem to be very similar hands in this spot. Since we should expect very little 2x and 3x in our opponent's range here, if I'm betting the turn with 88 should I also be betting it with AK?

mersenneary's picture
88 and AK are a little

88 and AK are a little different here for a few reasons. Firstly, he can have 44-66/2x/3x here, although that's a pretty small portion of his range. Secondly, AK risks a little less by giving away a free river card, because a lot of villain's flop calling range is presumably going to be Ax/Kx. You're right that they are pretty similar hands, though, and I think I would bet the turn with AK, especially given your flop sizing, which is going to induce a decent amount of floats (but c/c works well against those too).

kcald4's picture
I feel like I often have

I feel like I often have trouble playing marginal hands in small3bet pots, especially vs aggressive opponents. Random opponent, say we are 50bbs deep and I minraise T7hh on the button, villain 3bets another +2bbs. Flop comes J75r one heart, villain leads for 2bb into 8bb pot. What are we thinking at this point in the hand? I'm basically always just flatting, it sucks though when the turn brings a 9 and then villain bets half pot. These are just such crappy spots to be in with 2nd or 3rd pair because the typical opponent's range when 3betting so small is going to be super wide and estimating my equity in the hand can be pretty tough, especially on drawy boards. I'm wondering less about this specific hand and more about your thoughts on these spots in general, what kinds of things I should be looking for to help me decide what to do, etc.

mersenneary's picture
It's very texture and hand

It's very texture and hand dependent, but in your example, I'm very happy calling the c-bet, and probably also would call the turn bet in position.Try to post some more specific hands.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBHero1845  SBAcePoker91155  Effective Stacks: 58bb Blinds 10/20 Pre-Flop (30, 2 players) Hero is BB AcePoker9 raises to 60, Hero raises to 160, AcePoker9 calls 100 Flop (320, 2 players) Hero bets 140, AcePoker9 raises to 340,  This is only the second hand of the game vs a random. I feel like a lot of people just flat cbets with a King here simply because their hand doesn't feel too vulnerable, but I have no idea if this opponent thinks that way. I'm not sure whether I should be folding or floating, and if I float, what my plan should be for the turn.

kcald4's picture
14bbs deep we pick up K5s, vs

14bbs deep we pick up K5s, vs an opponent who will still flat plenty of minraises at these stack sizes. Just open jam? Chubukov says open jamming is fine, I'm wondering if you prefer a limp though.

kcald4's picture
No Limit Holdem Tournament •

No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBHero1090  SBFaderen1910  Effective Stacks: 36bb Blinds 15/30 Pre-Flop (45, 2 players) Hero is BB Faderen raises to 60, Hero calls 30 Flop (120, 2 players) Hero checks, Faderen bets 150, Second game vs this opponent. I noted this hand because he had been very passive, and this is the first time he has overbet cbet the flop like this. Can I do anything other than jam here? I have been valuetowned by overpairs like this before, but that usually happens in 3bet pots a lot more often than in 2bet pots.

mersenneary's picture
I'd definitely fold readless

I'd definitely fold readless with the AJ.With K5s, it depends on how he plays in limped pots. Openjamming is OK, but I usually limp.I'd just jam the JT, yeah. Yes, you're beat sometimes, and you feel kind of dumb when you are, but I can confirm a ton of the time he folds or calls with something ridiculous (as well as the stuff you're flipping/ahead of).

kcald4's picture
I'm a bit clueless about how

I'm a bit clueless about how often and with what hands I should be jamming over my opponent's limps when we are less than 15bbs deep. I often find myself in spots where I'm around 11bbs deep with K8o and my opponent limps, like he has been doing 75% of the time. Should I be jamming? I hate giving my opponent so many free opportunities to limp/stab but if I jam I'm only getting called by better hands so I'm not sure it's worth it.

mersenneary's picture
Definitely jam with K8o in

Definitely jam with K8o in that situation. I'm jamming any king vs someone who is limping 75% of the time 11bb deep.

mersenneary's picture
If we have 40% equity when

If we have 40% equity when called, we lose about 2bb from the start of the hand when we get called. We win 1bb from the start of the hand whenever he folds. So it doesn't matter than much that we aren't often getting called by worse if he's mostly limp/folding.

kcald4's picture
I posted a few days ago about

I posted a few days ago about how I have trouble playing vs opponents who 3bet small frequently. I just went through my PT3 database and filtered for all hands in which I minraise my button, opponent 3bets +2bbs, and I flat. I have ~1k hands that qualify, and my expectation in those hands is -17k chips, which is over 11 buyins. -11 buyins in only 1k hands is pretty bad, so it seems this is a big leak of mine. Some questions:1. If we are 30+bbs deep, are we ever folding to a +2bb 3bet? At 75bbs I'm not even thinking about it but I'm wondering at what point should I consider folding that 56o.2. If our opponent is 3betting +2bbs 25% of the time, should we start limping our J5 type hands? It's a hand I definitely don't want to juice up the pot with, but it also plays terribly postflop so limping doesn't feel good either.3. I've always been reluctant to 4bet bluff these opponents just because if they are 3betting +2bbs they probably suck, and I can see them flatting my 4bets with their Q8o crap. Many opponents will also 3bet the top of their range the same size. Are you ever 4bet bluffing bad players in these types of spots?I've looked through the HHs and the hands seem pretty unremarkable. Just a lot of me folding to their cbets when my 68o misses, or calling two streets with an OESD and folding to a river barrel, or flatting a flop cbet with bottom/second pair and having to fold to a big turn bet. I've probably run poorly so far but I still feel like I need to improve this part of my game. I'm just not sure how apart from getting better flops.

mersenneary's picture
Good questions. About the

Good questions.About the inital problem: -11BI is definitely pretty bad. The two things I can think of is that you might be playing too wide of a hand range, and that you might be doing too much raising flop when you really shouldn't. It could also just be variance.1. Yes, you should fold to +2bb 3bets. J5o is a fold if you raise to 60 and your opponent makes it 120. 65o is right on the borderline deeper but a fold shorter.2. It depends on his flatting range OOP and how he plays in limped pots. In general, though, it's either going to be an openfold or a raise/fold with J5.3. Not usually, but you should expand your 4betting range for value when you're still deep. KQ, KJ, KTs, etc, should be 4bet. 

kcald4's picture
I'm unsure of how I should be

I'm unsure of how I should be reacting when opponents min-donkbet flops and I hold complete air. Just played a game where villain min-donked on an AT6 flop and I held 59, we were still 50+bbs deep. If we are 25bbs deep then I feel like I have to fold in these spots unless I have a strong read that villain does this light. 50bbs deep though I feel like there's some value in floating or raising if for no other reason than to get more info on what type of range he's doing this with. I'm not sure though. I find myself in these spots reasonably frequently because many players who donk bet a decent portion of the time are going to be folding to the majority of cbets, and if my opponent is folding to cbets then I feel like I might as well raise atc preflop and cbet any board. So it's not unusual to find myself gettign donkbet holding 83o. Also, a hand: No Limit Holdem Tournament • 2 Players$110+$5 Hand converted by the official HUSNG.com hand converter BBanthonytwo1660  SBHero1340  Effective Stacks: 45bb Blinds 15/30 Pre-Flop (45, 2 players) Hero is SB Hero raises to 60, anthonytwo calls 30 Flop (120, 2 players) anthonytwo bets 90, Hero calls 90 Turn (300, 2 players) anthonytwo checks, Hero checks River (300, 2 players) anthonytwo bets 60, Hero? Vs opponents who donk bet frequently I'm pretty much always raising on this flop, this guy was pretty tight passive though so I decided to just flat because I figured his range contained a lot of 7s. I'm wondering if I should barrel the turn when he checks? I could easily represent a wheel draw. I'm not sure he would fold a 7 though. One thing I'm pretty sure of is if I barrel the turn and he calls I've got to barrel a ton of river cards (I'm thinking any non-ace above 7 is a must barrel in order to move him off his 7.) The river sucks because I believe I'm almost always beat here, and it looks like he's just leading a small blocker to prevent me from raising him off his 7. Like I said he's pretty tight passive so I could bluff him off a 7 here if I raised pretty big but I'm really not sure if it'll work or not, fish do weird things.

mersenneary's picture
I'd still raise flop, as

I'd still raise flop, as played I'd bet the turn, on the river I sigh and just call.

mersenneary's picture
"I'm unsure of how I should

"I'm unsure of how I should be reacting when opponents min-donkbet flops and I hold complete air. Just played a game where villain min-donked on an AT6 flop and I held 59, we were still 50+bbs deep. If we are 25bbs deep then I feel like I have to fold in these spots unless I have a strong read that villain does this light. 50bbs deep though I feel like there's some value in floating or raising if for no other reason than to get more info on what type of range he's doing this with. I'm not sure though. I find myself in these spots reasonably frequently because many players who donk bet a decent portion of the time are going to be folding to the majority of cbets, and if my opponent is folding to cbets then I feel like I might as well raise atc preflop and cbet any board. So it's not unusual to find myself gettign donkbet holding 83o." I'm calling min donk bets with close to ATC here pricesely from the value of pushing out on future streets, we can also rais,e but I think folding is too weak given the weakness of our opponents range unless we have reads that he's a huge station and doing this with pairs the vast majority of the time.