Hi guys,

I play online on PS and have gotten lately into mixed games.
Before, I played mostly NLH and PLO. Thus, there is a lot to learn in limit games.

One particular spot came up recently in the .50/1 LHE round that made me think about cr defending ranges, it went something like this:

folded to me on the button, raise w A9

SB fold, BB calls

Flop K57

check/bet/raise

I guess his value range here is pretty narrow (K without AK, KQ, KJs which would 3b pre, 55 (also 3b pre?), 57s), so we are probably ahead of his range if he bluffs and semibluffs sometimes, and thus should call and reevaluate turn?

Or from a game theory perspective: I should not fold more than 27% of the time to deny him checkraising any two cards profitably in this spot. I don't know the exact number, but I am pretty sure that A9o is in the top 73% of my range here, so I should at least call.

I am not only interested whether calling is indeed the right play here , but more whether this is a sound reasoning for LHE.

And a bonus question: if you have a TAG pf range, do you ever fold to a 3bet preflop as the original raiser in LHE?

Thank you very much!

Only answering bonus question: you should never raise preflop and then fold to a 3-bet. Even if first raise was a misclick with a hand you didn't want to raise, you probably shouldn't.

Check raise ranges are much wider in limit holdem than your post supposes.

The usual exception to this is when you're playing live low stakes.

I'd call the flop raise and hope to improve to a pair or a straight draw on the turn. Depending on how I felt about my opponent I may fold the turn or river unimproved or I may showdown for 2.5 big bets to win 3.5 big bets which is about a 42% pot investment. The less draw equity you have the more showdown equity you need to make a multi street investment. The more draw equity you have the more you can take a street by street approach.

Welcome to the forum.

A pure frequency based approach is not gonna be close to optimal in games like poker where hands improve and regress. Instead you should be looking at the board and the range vs range equities to guide your play. The stronger your range is the less you should fold. The weaker your range is the more you should fold.

Also also correct play here Postflop will be very dependent on your opponents preflop strategy. Never 3 betting from the big blind is common in heads up pots. I prefer to 3bet from the big blind vs any range > 25% but I play the never 3 bet strategy vs ranges < 25%.

If the bb never 3 bets preflop then he's much stronger when he check raises the flop because now he has all sets in his range. If he has a 3 betting range preflop then his flop check raise range is weaker.

Your assumption about the BB having a 3-bet range when HU in LHE is likely flawed.

very interesting. This would change the situation quite a bit.

Thank you all for the inputs, much appreciated!

Pre-Black Friday Pokerstars .5/1, it was the exception rather than the rule that people had no 3-bet range.

I think it's best to assume people have 3 bet ranges out of the BB, and that they are strong, until you're proven otherwise. So in OP's POV, I would give some discount to premiums, but I wouldn't say that they simply don't exist.

I'll go with others here.

• Welcome to the forum.
• More information on the villain would help you.
• I'd consider that some (many?) villains are flatting 100%. Haven't been able to play on Stars in years, so the % is unknown. It isn't everyone, so some people will three bet.
• You're never opening in limit and folding to a 3 bet, especially HU. As Rob said, even if you misclick raised, you're not folding now.
• The villain can value c/r wider than you think.
• This is a good board to attack a preflop raiser.
• MDF frequency is OK, but I'd start with ranges and equity.

Call. Decide on turn. I'd be sticky, but that's partly because we're limit players.