Hello. Some time ago, Quimp posted on the HUSnG reg thread asking for help, and I offered to review some hands, and I did. He went back to play some more, and asked me to review this game, so I'm posting it on the forum for other perspective, advice, and potentially to help other low stakes players.

Hand #1

Hero (BB): t1500 75 BBs
BTN/SB: t1500 75 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 6 Q
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20

Villain folds the first button, and we should note this, and see whether this player is going to be tight, and possibly now understand the value of position, as a lot of "regs" or more experienced players will start by playing a lot or all buttons.

Hand #2

Hero (BTN/SB): t1510 75.50 BBs
BB: t1490 74.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 7
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40

Flop: (t120) 4 Q J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t80, BB calls t80

Turn: (t280) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t280) Q (2 players)
BB bets t60, Hero folds

Final Pot: t280
BB wins t280

Preflop is a standard raise going right into the match, and 3x is a standard sizing at 75bbs especially.

A board like this will not get a lot of folds, as villains at these stakes possibly values high cards like Qs and Js, and of course we have little equity when called. That said, without any reads, c-betting gives us some information early as to how he responds to cbets and it is still marginally +EV, as villain can potentially be very weak tight.

We turn a gutshot, a 3 flush also hits. We don't know enough at all to reliably barrel, so this is an easy check.

On the river, top pair pairs; villain's range here can often be a hand usually like a jack or a worse pair, potentially a queen/straight, but also a flush trying to induce a raise, but for the most part this is a jack or worse, but as we do not know if he can fold a jack and how often he has the other hands, raising here is spewey, so we should just fold


Hand #3

Hero (BB): t1370 68.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1630 81.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 6 A
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20

Villain folds his button again, definitely noteworthy. We should not look to reach showdown and see what sort of hands he plays, whether he is just tight overall, or that he undervalues connected mid cards and only plays for high card value. If he shows down a hand like Q6 J6 it would be quite indicative considering that he folded 2 buttons already. We want to see if his trend of ignoring position continues, also.

Hand #4

Hero (BTN/SB): t1380 69 BBs
BB: t1620 81 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 2 7
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40

Flop: (t120) 9 8 A (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t80, BB folds

Final Pot: t120
Hero wins t120

Considering he's folded 2/3 hands, raising with the bottom of our range is fine. The board is a decent one to cbet on, and is standard.

Hand #5

Hero (BB): t1440 72 BBs
BTN/SB: t1560 78 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with T A
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20

He folds his third button. Definitely a trend. Could be variance, but it is becoming less and less likely. It seems more and more likely that villain hand a hand like JT earlier.

Hand #6

Hero (BTN/SB): t1450 72.50 BBs
BB: t1550 77.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with Q 3
Hero raises to t60, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

As with before, very low VPIP so far. We should widen to ATC on the button.

Hand #7

Hero (BB): t1470 73.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1530 76.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with J 4
BTN/SB raises to t40, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
BTN/SB wins t40

Interesting that villain minraises at this point, when it should be us, the looser player who minraises. It'd be interesting to see how he plays and moreover to see his cbet/barrel tendencies, but J4 is a bit weak. With a bit more confidence, 3betting at this point is also acceptable, although the argument against it is that he is tight so often has a hand, and, having folded so many times, is more prone to being stubborn. Folding is fine.

Hand #8

Hero (BTN/SB): t1450 72.50 BBs
BB: t1550 77.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 2 4
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
BB wins t20

Raise. We raised 27 earlier, so we need to raise 24 too, especially as we are more and more sure that he is tight.

Hand #9

Hero (BB): t1440 72 BBs
BTN/SB: t1560 78 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 6 A
BTN/SB raises to t40, Hero calls t20

Flop: (t80) A 9 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t40, Hero raises to t120, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t160
Hero wins t160

Against a minraise, our hand is a standard call. we also want to find out his range. Partially because of this and the fact that we have close to no value, since firstly, there are no flush draws, villain has rare straight draws, considering that he is so tight pre, and worse hands rarely call and we can get value from them on the river too possibly, but we also face the possibility of getting called by better or raised. As such raising the flop bet, even though it seems so small, has little value when villain seems to play straightforwardly. His cbet is likely a protection/information type bet with high cards or a pocket pair and we have a lot of equity against that and the value of protection goes down. We want to see showdown here to pot control and also gain information.

So far we only think his range is tight, we do not know what it is comprised of just yet.

Hand #10

Hero (BTN/SB): t1520 76 BBs
BB: t1480 74 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with J 8
Hero raises to t60, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

Standard raise. Hero can consider minraising at some point to steal cheaper, but considering that villain seems to not give too much trouble postflop, building a pot for us to steal is fine too.

Hand #11

Hero (BB): t1540 77 BBs
BTN/SB: t1460 73 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 7 T
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20

Another fold noted.

Hand #12

Hero (BTN/SB): t1550 77.50 BBs
BB: t1450 72.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 2
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
BB wins t20

This is definitely a raise. 28 is clearly better than 27.

Hand #13

Hero (BB): t1540 77 BBs
BTN/SB: t1460 73 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with K 5
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20

Another fold.

Hand #14

Hero (BTN/SB): t1550 77.50 BBs
BB: t1450 72.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 3 9
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40

Flop: (t120) 4 T A (2 players)
BB bets t20, Hero folds

Final Pot: t120
BB wins t120

Preflop is standard. Flop would've been a standard cbet when checked to. On a board like this, I think floating with two back door draws with such good odds is in order. Raising would be okay too as we suspect a ten here a lot, but we will need to barrel, which makes it a bit more interesting. It is less likely for him to bet an ace here and check the turn, so peeling here and betting turn + river is probably a better idea, although some villains will put us on a weaker range thinking we would've raised an ace, which is not necessarily the case; with a weak ace I would suggest merely flatting also.

Hand #15

Hero (BB): t1490 74.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1510 75.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 8 8
BTN/SB calls t10, Hero raises to t80, BTN/SB calls t60

Flop: (t160) 2 A 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t100, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t160
Hero wins t160

Raise pre is good. Note that he limp/called. Against someone passive like this, it is unlikely he has an ace. He may have flush draws or a seven, which means we have some value in betting, and we do not have to worry much about being called as villain rarely has an ace and we can c/c or even keep betting on quite a few turns, but villain is also so passive that checking to pot control is also acceptable, if we're not sure. As the session has gone though, betting is good, as we have the best hand a large % of times and we know how to play the turn, and also because we can get called by worse or at least protect against them.

Hand #16

Hero (BTN/SB): t1570 78.50 BBs
BB: t1430 71.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 7 A
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40

Flop: (t120) 4 4 K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t120) J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t120) 8 (2 players)
BB bets t100, Hero calls t100

Final Pot: t320
Hero mucks 7 A
BB shows A A (two pair, Aces and Fours)
BB wins t320

This is usually a decent spot to check back with ace high, but a few reasons make it better for a bet, namely the fact that he is so tight he may fold better aces, and of course protection is always good when we expect him to have a small calling range here, so a bet is + vacuum EV and also makes life easier. We do not expect him to be bluff raising dry board. As played the river is a fold; sure our range looks weak (you can argue our hand looks like it is marginal showdown and villain would bluff at these good turn/river cards also to bluff off ace high, but villain does not seem to be on that level), but villain doesn't care. Villain has a hand here often.

We do not expect him to have AA though. Is it that he expects us to have air a lot because we've raised so many buttons and he doesn't want us to fold? Does he just flat to trap in general? This is unclear, but we will keep it on our minds.


Hand #17

Hero (BB): t1410 70.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1590 79.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 4 6
BTN/SB calls t10, Hero checks

Flop: (t40) 3 7 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t40, Hero folds

Final Pot: t40
BTN/SB wins t40

We have a nice hand to see a flop with. Check's fine. I would lead this board definitely. We have two overcards to hit two pair to beat a 3, although that's a small part of his range, we have a gutshot, and villain rarely has a hand. We'd expect a lot of low thinking players to not immediately limp a strong hand after just showing down that he flat called one, but we cannot be sure. check/raising can be okay, but we still haven't seen him show down air after cbetting, except that time he bet small and folded to our raise, so it's a bit more trouble some, but he's far more likely to have a pocket pair than 7x so even if he does continue, we can often see the turn and realize some of our equity so it's not all that bad. c/f is a poor choice though. c/c is a bit unnecessary as it makes the hand harder to play, and less profitable, being OOP and such, and since villain has good equity to pick up a pair if we just call instead of stabbing, though the line is not too awful in EV.

Hand #18

Hero (BTN/SB): t1390 69.50 BBs
BB: t1610 80.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 4 9
Hero raises to t60, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

Standard.

Hand #19

Hero (BB): t1410 70.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1590 79.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 5 9
BTN/SB raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
BTN/SB wins t40

Villain suddenly 4xed. We will note and see if he continues to do this. For now we assume it's a good hand.

Hand #20

Hero (BTN/SB): t1390 69.50 BBs
BB: t1610 80.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 5
Hero raises to t60, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

Standard.

Hand #21

Hero (BB): t1410 70.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1590 79.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 6 A
1 fold

Final Pot: t20
Hero wins t20


Hand #22

Hero (BTN/SB): t1420 71 BBs
BB: t1580 79 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 6 K
Hero raises to t60, BB raises to t120, 1 fold

Final Pot: t120
BB wins t120

Despite him having a tight range, we have a suited king, and the price laid to us is very tempting. I would call here and reevaluate. Villain will play fairly straight forwardly, and we can profitably peel/float some flops against him, though it is true we will give up on most.

Hand #23

Hero (BB): t1360 68 BBs
BTN/SB: t1640 82 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with J Q
BTN/SB calls t10, Hero raises to t80, BTN/SB calls t60

Flop: (t160) 3 A 4 (2 players)
Hero bets t100, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t160
Hero wins t160

Standard.

Hand #24

Hero (BTN/SB): t1440 72 BBs
BB: t1560 78 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 6 5
Hero raises to t60, BB raises to t120, Hero calls t60

Flop: (t240) J Q 2 (2 players)
BB bets t120, Hero folds

Final Pot: t240
BB wins t240

Same goes for this hand as before. This is fine. Note his cbet size being only 1/2 pot. He could have AK AT and so on here, and we want to see if he bets half pot in those spots, or just in general.

Hand #25

Hero (BB): t1320 66 BBs
BTN/SB: t1680 84 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with J Q
BTN/SB calls t10, Hero raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

Good. Note this is his first limp fold.

Hand #26

Hero (BTN/SB): t1340 67 BBs
BB: t1660 83 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with T 8
Hero raises to t60, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
Hero wins t40

Standard. As of yet there is no need to introduce a limp range, although if he continues 3betting it may be useful. Since he lays us a good price, a minraise may be better. We will likely want to minraise at the next blind level.

Hand #27

Hero (BB): t1360 68 BBs
BTN/SB: t1640 82 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BB with 9 8
BTN/SB raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t40
BTN/SB wins t40

villain 4xes again. 98o is a good hand that we want to play against this villain as we are still somewhat unsure if his tendencies, and it'd be good to flop a draw or marginal pair and see how he plays, but we have no choice but to fold in this spot.

Hand #28

Hero (BTN/SB): t1340 67 BBs
BB: t1660 83 BBs

Pre Flop: (t30) Hero is BTN/SB with 4 5
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40

Flop: (t120) 3 6 A (2 players)
BB bets t20, Hero calls t20

Turn: (t160) 9 (2 players)
BB bets t20, Hero calls t20

River: (t200) 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Final Pot: t200
Hero shows 4 5 (a pair of Fours)
BB shows 5 Q (Ace Queen high)
Hero wins t200

Flop can be a raise because we really don't put villain on an ace too much seeing as he IS capable of 3betting, but since it's only at about 10% a good chunk of it is not 3betting so it is a bit safer. Since we rarely expect a bet/3bet though, we can raise here to reevaluate. We both bloat the pot incase we hit, and we also get to check back turns very often. That said, simply peeling is fine too, and turn is standard. We can float and stab rivers a fair bit, but the problem is that he may stab small all three streets with either a bluff or a weak made hand, and it's far more profitable to raise on the earlier streets in that case since there is the threat of later bluffs. As played checking back river is fine, though we lose to weaker pairs sometimes.

The fact that he showed down Q5s is interesting, though it's important to note it's suited so he may not be completely relying on high card value as I had predicted before, though it does suggest it.

Hand #29

Hero (BB): t1440 48 BBs
BTN/SB: t1560 52 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with T 2
BTN/SB raises to t150, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
BTN/SB wins t60

Well that's a big raise.

Hand #30

Hero (BTN/SB): t1410 47 BBs
BB: t1590 53 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 9
Hero raises to t75, BB raises to t210, Hero calls t135

Flop: (t420) T 3 6 (2 players)
BB bets t90, Hero raises to t1200 all in, BB folds

Final Pot: t600
Hero wins t600

I would have liked to see a minraise, but otherwise standard. Flop is "okay", as is floating. Folding is poor. It is just that villain can be trapping overpairs this way here but we do not know his play well enough to tell, so I would lean towards a peel definitely.

Hand #31

Hero (BB): t1710 57 BBs
BTN/SB: t1290 43 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with J K
BTN/SB calls t15, Hero raises to t100, BTN/SB calls t70

Flop: (t200) 7 K 6 (2 players)
Hero bets t130, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t200
Hero wins t200

Preflop is fine. Flop bet sizing is okay too.

Hand #32

Hero (BTN/SB): t1810 60.33 BBs
BB: t1190 39.67 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with A 7
Hero raises to t75, BB calls t45

Flop: (t150) 3 Q 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t90, BB calls t90

Turn: (t330) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t330) 4 (2 players)
BB bets t120, Hero folds

Final Pot: t330
BB wins t330

Again, I prefer a minraise now. Postflop is fine. JT and some gutshots can be bluffing you, but there is too little info on villain's stab frequency so far, though his bet sizing does make it more tempting, it also means he could be value betting marginal hands. Turning A high into a bluff is not too necessary as we don't have too many reads on him on whether he can be bet/calling top pair, though in theory this is an okay spot for it as well. We expect to have a good edge vs this villain though, so we're limiting this long term edge by increasing variance.

Hand #33

Hero (BB): t1645 54.83 BBs
BTN/SB: t1355 45.17 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with 6 2
1 fold

Final Pot: t30
Hero wins t30


Hand #34
Full Tilt Poker $5 + $0.25 Heads Up No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t15/t30 Blinds - 2 players
2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked

Hero (BTN/SB): t1660 55.33 BBs
BB: t1340 44.67 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 9
Hero raises to t75, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
Hero wins t60

Standard.

Hand #35

Hero (BB): t1690 56.33 BBs
BTN/SB: t1310 43.67 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with 8 A
BTN/SB raises to t60, Hero calls t30

Flop: (t120) J 4 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Turn: (t120) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t120) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Final Pot: t120
Hero mucks 8 A
BTN/SB shows Q 2 (a pair of Twos)
BTN/SB wins t120

Fairly standard. Note that he did not cbet with Q high though on a pretty decent flop to cbet. He also showed down a broadway card again, suggesting that he does indeed overvalue high card and will have a lot more Ax Qx Jx hands than gutshots and so on.

Hand #36

Hero (BTN/SB): t1630 54.33 BBs
BB: t1370 45.67 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with T 6
Hero raises to t75, BB calls t45

Flop: (t150) K 3 9 (2 players)
BB bets t30, Hero calls t30

Turn: (t210) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t210) Q (2 players)
BB bets t120, Hero calls t120

Final Pot: t450
Hero mucks T 6
BB shows Q 7 (a flush, King high)
BB wins t450

Flop and river are "okay", although a turn stab would be very good here as you can fold out a lot of the middle flush draws and also weak pairs in his range, and that is a range that you have little equity against so you do want to fold them out.

Hand #37

Hero (BB): t1405 46.83 BBs
BTN/SB: t1595 53.17 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with 9 3
BTN/SB raises to t90, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
BTN/SB wins t60

Standard.

Hand #38

Hero (BTN/SB): t1375 45.83 BBs
BB: t1625 54.17 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 3 4
Hero raises to t75, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
Hero wins t60

Fine.

Hand #39

Hero (BB): t1405 46.83 BBs
BTN/SB: t1595 53.17 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with Q 6
BTN/SB raises to t90, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
BTN/SB wins t60

Standard.

Hand #40

Hero (BTN/SB): t1375 45.83 BBs
BB: t1625 54.17 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 6 8
Hero raises to t75, BB calls t45

Flop: (t150) 7 J 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t150) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB calls t100

River: (t350) J (2 players)
BB bets t1450 all in, Hero folds

Final Pot: t350
BB wins t350

I would say that a cbet is more standard. Delayed cbet is "okay" too but Q is a bit bad because he can have Qx Jx, and also Kx is a gutshot that while we don't know that he will peel this a lot, he may, especially if he has in in conjunction with a weak pair that may actually fold this board.

River is standard of course, though we do want to note this overbet. For now we would assume he has Jx a lot and that he checked the turn Q with Jx instead of leading, which means that he's more likely to be passive.

Hand #41

Hero (BB): t1200 40 BBs
BTN/SB: t1800 60 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with K 3
BTN/SB raises to t60, Hero calls t30

Flop: (t120) 8 A Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t120, Hero folds

Final Pot: t120
BTN/SB wins t120

This is an okay spot to 3bet especially as he's been mostly 3xing. It's possible he's doing it with a monster, but it's a risk to be taken.

Hand #42

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 38 BBs
BB: t1860 62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 K
Hero raises to t75, BB calls t45

Flop: (t150) 9 4 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t90, BB folds

Final Pot: t150
Hero wins t150

Standard.

Hand #43

Hero (BB): t1215 40.50 BBs
BTN/SB: t1785 59.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with 5 2
BTN/SB raises to t120, 1 fold

Final Pot: t60
BTN/SB wins t60

Standard.

Hand #44

Hero (BTN/SB): t1185 39.50 BBs
BB: t1815 60.50 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BTN/SB with 3 7
1 fold

Final Pot: t30
BB wins t30

Raisy daisy.

Hand #45

Hero (BB): t1170 39 BBs
BTN/SB: t1830 61 BBs

Pre Flop: (t45) Hero is BB with 4 9
BTN/SB calls t15, Hero checks

Flop: (t60) 4 6 A (2 players)
Hero bets t45, BTN/SB calls t45

Turn: (t150) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t150) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t150, Hero folds

Final Pot: t150
BTN/SB wins t150

Check's good, leading for protection is fine. Hand is hard to play, villain has overcards, and we also get folds a lot so it's +EV in a vacuum. Villain is passive also so we can't really bluffcatch profitably. As played we likely give up. Villain's river play is strange though, and it could be two pair, maybe 75, but at this point we can't really know. It is, however, not a profitable spot to bluff, so a fold is super standard.

Hand #46

Hero (BTN/SB): t1095 27.38 BBs
BB: t1905 47.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 4
Hero raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
Hero wins t80

Good.

Hand #47

Hero (BB): t1135 28.38 BBs
BTN/SB: t1865 46.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with 6 A
BTN/SB raises to t120, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
BTN/SB wins t80

This is an okay spot to 3bet/fold or 3bet shove if villain 3xes, but against a 4x folding's fine.

Hand #48

Hero (BTN/SB): t1095 27.38 BBs
BB: t1905 47.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 8
Hero raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
Hero wins t80

Good.

Hand #49

Hero (BB): t1135 28.38 BBs
BTN/SB: t1865 46.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with 5 Q
BTN/SB raises to t120, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
BTN/SB wins t80

Standard.

Hand #50

Hero (BTN/SB): t1095 27.38 BBs
BB: t1905 47.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with J Q
Hero raises to t80, BB calls t40

Flop: (t160) K 3 Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t160) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB calls t100

River: (t360) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t240, BB folds

Final Pot: t360
Hero wins t360

Check back is fine. Value bet on river is good, although the value of the river bet is dubious since villain seems relatively tight. Still a good bet as standard though, and fine against this player also, just not as profitable. We do lose the opportunity to see his hand though, and that information has more value to the hero than the villain, so a Darvin Moon check back is not too bad.

Hand #51

Hero (BB): t1275 31.88 BBs
BTN/SB: t1725 43.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with 5 2
BTN/SB calls t20, Hero checks

Flop: (t80) A Q K (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t80, Hero folds

Final Pot: t80
BTN/SB wins t80

Standard. Leading is okay too. Back door straight is... not too relevant, but it's still there.

Hand #52

Hero (BTN/SB): t1235 30.88 BBs
BB: t1765 44.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 3 6
Hero raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
Hero wins t80

Fine.

Hand #53

Hero (BB): t1275 31.88 BBs
BTN/SB: t1725 43.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with T Q
BTN/SB raises to t120, Hero calls t80

Flop: (t240) 2 J 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t160, Hero calls t160

Turn: (t560) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t120, Hero calls t120

River: (t800) 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Final Pot: t800
Hero mucks T Q
BTN/SB shows K 7 (two pair, Sevens and Twos)
BTN/SB wins t800

Strange. Preflop is standard. Flop a bit loose; if the board was J8x it'd be fine, but with only backdoors and an over, it's a bit too speculative. As played, the turn should be raised--small enough to leave an okay sized shove on the river, so 300~ is fine, though even then villain may not fold a weak top pair. That said villain doesn't have top pair too too often here (and didn't). I'd prefer a play like that with a somewhat deeper stack and more equity. As played, hero needs to lead the river at the very least. Villain's range has a lot of marginal showdown which he may fold as he hasn't shown himself to be super stationy post flop.

Hand #54

Hero (BTN/SB): t875 21.88 BBs
BB: t2125 53.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 5
Hero raises to t80, BB calls t40

Flop: (t160) A T Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t120, BB calls t120

Turn: (t400) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (t400) 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Final Pot: t400
Hero shows 9 5 (Ace Queen high)
BB shows 7 Q (a pair of Queens)
BB wins t400

Fine.

Hand #55

Hero (BB): t675 16.88 BBs
BTN/SB: t2325 58.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with 6 3
BTN/SB calls t20, Hero checks

Flop: (t80) 8 A Q (2 players)
Hero bets t60, BTN/SB calls t60

Turn: (t200) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t200) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Final Pot: t200
Hero shows 6 3 (a pair of Eights)
BTN/SB shows J 3 (a pair of Eights)
BTN/SB wins t200

Not to be results oriented, this is an okay spot for a bet-check-bet as firstly, IF he is hand reading, there is enough value in your hand range that is somewhat credible, but more to the point, he ha flush draws here a bunch that may fold, or even pocket pairs even if we expect him to raise those a bunch. He may also fold a Q though that is a bit less likely, and we're not aiming against that range.

Hand #56

Hero (BTN/SB): t575 14.38 BBs
BB: t2425 60.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 6 A
Hero raises to t80, BB calls t40

Flop: (t160) 4 8 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB folds

Final Pot: t160
Hero wins t160

This is fine. Against someone more aggressive it is time to consider limp shoving a hand like this but this is clearly not the situation for it.

Hand #57

Hero (BB): t655 16.38 BBs
BTN/SB: t2345 58.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with Q 2
BTN/SB calls t20, Hero checks

Flop: (t80) 5 5 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Turn: (t80) T (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t80) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Final Pot: t80
Hero shows Q 2 (a pair of Fives)
BTN/SB mucks 8 J
Hero wins t80

Good spot to lead for protection/bluff but it IS true that villain doesn't have that many A high K high. He could have a Q high though, and of course live cards everywhere.

Hand #58

Hero (BTN/SB): t695 17.38 BBs
BB: t2305 57.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with Q 2
Hero raises to t80, 1 fold

Final Pot: t80
Hero wins t80

Standard.

Hand #59

Hero (BB): t735 18.38 BBs
BTN/SB: t2265 56.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with T 8
BTN/SB raises to t80, Hero calls t40

Flop: (t160) 3 A J (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Turn: (t160) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets t120, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t160
Hero wins t160

Good. Villain checks to give up a good amount so far, though it's a bit late to use this knowledge.

Hand #60

Hero (BTN/SB): t815 20.38 BBs
BB: t2185 54.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 4
Hero raises to t80, BB raises to t200, 1 fold

Final Pot: t160
BB wins t160

Fine.

Hand #61

Hero (BB): t735 18.38 BBs
BTN/SB: t2265 56.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with J Q
BTN/SB calls t20, Hero raises to t120, BTN/SB raises to t280, Hero calls t160

Flop: (t560) 8 K 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t160, Hero folds

Final Pot: t560
BTN/SB wins t560

This is a bit ugly; you dominate a lot of his Qx Jx, so raising looks good. If you're ready to stack off any gutshot this is fine, but you can just stack off pre too and race with small pairs or AK AT etc.

Hand #62

Hero (BTN/SB): t455 11.38 BBs
BB: t2545 63.62 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 7 2
1 fold

Final Pot: t40
BB wins t40

Might as well raise.


Hand #63

Hero (BB): t435 10.88 BBs
BTN/SB: t2565 64.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BB with 5 3
BTN/SB calls t20, Hero checks

Flop: (t80) J J Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Turn: (t80) K (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t80) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t40, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: t80
Hero wins t80

Too thin. Villain does not call down high card as far as we know.

Hand #64

Hero (BTN/SB): t475 11.88 BBs
BB: t2525 63.12 BBs

Pre Flop: (t60) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 Q
Hero calls t20, BB checks

Flop: (t80) K 5 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t55, BB calls t55

Turn: (t190) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t100, BB folds

Final Pot: t190
Hero wins t190

Just shove pre. Otherwise it is "okay".

Hand #65

Hero (BB): t570 11.40 BBs
BTN/SB: t2430 48.60 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with J 8
1 fold

Final Pot: t50
Hero wins t50


Hand #66

Hero (BTN/SB): t595 11.90 BBs
BB: t2405 48.10 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with K 7
Hero calls t25, BB checks

Flop: (t100) 3 A Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t100) 9 (2 players)
BB bets t50, Hero folds

Final Pot: t100
BB wins t100

Just shove. Refer to nash and shove/fold in late game articles on 2+2 and so on.

Hand #67

Hero (BB): t545 10.90 BBs
BTN/SB: t2455 49.10 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with A 2
BTN/SB calls t25, Hero raises to t545 all in, BTN/SB calls t495

Flop: (t1090) T 2 8

Turn: (t1090) A

River: (t1090) 9

Final Pot: t1090
Hero shows A 2 (two pair, Aces and Twos)
BTN/SB shows 3 3 (a pair of Threes)
Hero wins t1090

Standard. Note he limped, which is strange for a hand like 33 at 12~bbs.

Hand #68

Hero (BTN/SB): t1090 21.80 BBs
BB: t1910 38.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 4 K
Hero raises to t100, BB calls t50

Flop: (t200) 7 3 8 (2 players)
BB bets t50, Hero folds

Final Pot: t200
BB wins t200

Fine.

Hand #69

Hero (BB): t990 19.80 BBs
BTN/SB: t2010 40.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with 5 Q
BTN/SB calls t25, Hero checks

Flop: (t100) T 5 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t100, Hero calls t100

Turn: (t300) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

River: (t300) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB checks

Final Pot: t300
Hero shows 5 Q (three of a kind, Fives)
BTN/SB shows 6 A (a pair of Fives)
Hero wins t300

Vilain does not bet thinly, so I would just lead 175~ on the river.

Hand #70

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 22.80 BBs
BB: t1860 37.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 2 J
1 fold

Final Pot: t50
BB wins t50

Raise.

Hand #71

Hero (BB): t1115 22.30 BBs
BTN/SB: t1885 37.70 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with 3 J
1 fold

Final Pot: t50
Hero wins t50


Hand #72

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 22.80 BBs
BB: t1860 37.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 7 8
Hero raises to t100, BB raises to t350, 1 fold

Final Pot: t200
BB wins t200

Limping is also okay, but raise is fine.

Hand #73

Hero (BB): t1040 20.80 BBs
BTN/SB: t1960 39.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with 7 T
BTN/SB raises to t250, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
BTN/SB wins t100


Hand #74

Hero (BTN/SB): t990 19.80 BBs
BB: t2010 40.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 8
Hero raises to t100, BB calls t50

Flop: (t200) A 4 5 (2 players)
BB bets t50, Hero raises to t100, BB calls t50

Turn: (t400) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t250, BB folds

Final Pot: t400
Hero wins t400

Just fold the flop. If you do raise, raise to 150 at least and bet slightly more than half pot, although minraising is okay too in that it defines the villain's range a bit better, but this is better for if you have a mid-high club that you're making this bluff with so that you can occasionally check down for showdown if a club comes. Regardless, this is really not good with no equity at all.

Hand #75

Hero (BB): t1190 23.80 BBs
BTN/SB: t1810 36.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with K 8
BTN/SB calls t25, Hero checks

Flop: (t100) 3 2 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets t100, Hero folds

Final Pot: t100
BTN/SB wins t100

This is okay to lead, checking down is fine too.

Hand #76

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 22.80 BBs
BB: t1860 37.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 5
Hero raises to t100, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
Hero wins t100

Fine.

Hand #77

Hero (BB): t1190 23.80 BBs
BTN/SB: t1810 36.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with T 2
BTN/SB raises to t200, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
BTN/SB wins t100

Hand #78

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 22.80 BBs
BB: t1860 37.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 8 9
Hero raises to t100, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
Hero wins t100

Fine.

Hand #79

Hero (BB): t1190 23.80 BBs
BTN/SB: t1810 36.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with 2 J
BTN/SB raises to t150, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
BTN/SB wins t100

Standard.

Hand #80

Hero (BTN/SB): t1140 22.80 BBs
BB: t1860 37.20 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 9 2
1 fold

Final Pot: t50
BB wins t50

Raise. Villain folds enough.

Hand #81

Hero (BB): t1115 22.30 BBs
BTN/SB: t1885 37.70 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with Q 8
BTN/SB raises to t150, Hero raises to t1115 all in, 1 fold

Final Pot: t300
Hero wins t300

This is fine. Suited, blocker, okay equity, good fold equity.

Hand #82

Hero (BTN/SB): t1265 25.30 BBs
BB: t1735 34.70 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BTN/SB with 4 6
Hero raises to t100, 1 fold

Final Pot: t100
Hero wins t100

Fine.

Hand #83

Hero (BB): t1315 26.30 BBs
BTN/SB: t1685 33.70 BBs

Pre Flop: (t75) Hero is BB with 4 A
BTN/SB raises to t250, Hero raises to t1315 all in, BTN/SB calls t1065

Flop: (t2630) J Q T

Turn: (t2630) 6

River: (t2630) 2

Final Pot: t2630
Hero shows 4 A (Ace Queen high)
BTN/SB shows K 9 (a straight, King high)
BTN/SB wins t2630

Why is this hand history so long? Standard shove last hand.

Hope this was helpful, go ahead and ask if there are any problems, and I welcome other forum posters to correct me and so on if necessary.

On my first HH with Artemis Apollo, he suggested playing much looser (90% +/- 10% as a general rule of thumb), cbet more and try some light 3betting. This 2nd HH is a result of opening much looser. There are obviously hands I played super bad (QT hand where I float to steal on another street but the cards didn't fall for it, raising top pair with Ax, hero calling vs AA... just to name a few).

Since the 1st review I've maintained a 21% ROI, and while the sample is very small, it is an indicator that he's plugged my biggest leaks. So thanks a lot for taking time to look into it.

There are a few things I thought were worth noting.

Villain is very tight early on but he adjusted rather quickly (after the match his Fold to Steal was 42% and he 3bet 15%). I thought this was an indication that I should fold more preflop but now that I look at his Fold to Cbet (66%), raising ATC will be more profitable.

You've also opened my eyes as to what kind of hands villain plays (over values high cards and suited cards); I always assumed an even distribution for each opening range. I never paid attention to this kind of detail before. Now I know and understand what it implies post-flop (less connection on low-mid boards, more likely to have a flush than if he plays any suited J/Q/K/A, etc.)

I'm also very impressed at how quickly you try to understand villain's tendencies and point things to look out for: "We want to see if his trend of ignoring position continues" and "Does he just flat to trap in general? This is unclear, but we will keep it on our minds."

You also suggest moving to min-raising quickly, which is working out well so far, especially against loose fit-or-folds or tight players.

I also understand the value in not betting the river to view villain's hand after not cbetting 2nd pair. I thought that was an interesting idea.


In a nutshell, I got a ton from the 2 reviews you did for me. I learn way more by reading than watching videos, so this was very useful. Thanks a lot!

No problem. It's a bit disappointing nobody else is reading, but whatever.

It's definitely important to understand that villains can have some strange ideas about poker and a lot of them overly favor high card value, as an example, but this is true for many other things too, and you must identify these things and not just assume they think like a reg. Most people see top pair paring as bad cards to bluff but fish may actually think it's a scary card because now a player can have trips and the other person may be drawing dead, etc etc etc.

In my review I try to list the things I would be noticing if I were playing that villain, and while I don't claim to use the one method or approach that all the best regs use, I highly suspect that most winning players will be thinking the same things when playing seriously, and that if you want to develop an edge over just playing "standard", these are things you must start to think about.

Feel free to ask me about any specific questions etc, maybe I can do another HH in the future if you play some more and get more practice, and maybe other posters will chime in and comment and so on.

Artemis,

I just wanted to let you know that I found the HH review really interesting/informative. Thanks for posting this. I play the $5 on Stars so I think a lot of low stakes players will find this useful.

Hand #30: I call the flop and fold the turn to a bet unimproved. I don't understand the value in in shipping here. Could we raise a smaller amount (250?) and still get a decent amount of folds? I thought that hand was one of the few I didn't understand.

Congrats on the recent success Quimp.

I think a lot of good and a bit bad advice in this thread. Too tired right now pointing out but last hand seems clear fold to me. I think ur c-bet size is too big and ur donking freq is wrong, u should let him win some pots and remeber, this vaillain never bluffs u.

I read most of the review and I think OP's advice is generally good altho I disagree in some points

14: this is a clear flop raise imo, he's just fos here a ton w that line, I don't really expect to see Tx any more than any other one pair hand
22: fold is std here, villain seems tight. 75bb deep vs a nit we just don't have the IO to play this hand when we can valuecut ourselves even if we flop TP
24: same as 22, fold pre
28: I agree w your gameplan altho I think hero should still raise turn if he flats flop
30: this is spew. There are several options here: raising to 350-500, floating or just folding, and I don't wanna go back to previous hands to see which is the best one, but raising 3x pot is def the worst line, as you're risking so much to win so little
35: lead turn

super tl;dr

from what i read the advice pays very good attention to detail, there's a lot of stuff in here i don't pay enough attention to in game but when you're 1 tabling or when you're reviewing it's extremely useful. if i'm feeling ambitious at some point ill try and nit pick at some of the hands but overall this is a good review imo. great stuff for a low stakes player and we all definitely appreciate you going through the time to review this stuff on the forum.

Pretty good from half I read, will continue, but on very first point... It's worth noting like everything is, but first hand I wouldn't put too much on action...

Actually if anything I've found people seem to come into matches more aggressive so while noting that he might be tight in future just thinking he's not a reg/good on something like that I dunno if I agree with.

Usually the "reads" I get early I will treat tentatively, but I do believe that one should have some idea of whether he's more likely to be one kind of player or another as soon as possible, and adjust that read as neccesary.

Fair points, and I think I was being a bit lenient on some of the plays he's made, but in hand 30 for instance it is a clear peel to me. I don't think it's SIGNIFICANTLY -EV to shove though.

In general, for preflop, I play a very loose game both IP and OOP, and some of my advice may reflect that, and I think part of my reasoning s that the villain is a weak player and the hero can play a wider range profitably, but the conundrum is the the hero is not experienced enough to do so. Then again, how would you learn if you do not try? I learn towards playing loose against weak players to gain that experience, but I wouldn't criticize playing tighter OOP too much.

IP vs a small raise, I am basically never folding, and it's super standard for me due to pot odds, position, and post flop edge.

Anyway thanks for the comments.

Basically this is a spot where a peel is obvious, but if we raise smaller we can get called by a range of stubborn weak pairs or or even ace high putting on us bluffing vs seeming weakness, while a shove will shut out a lot of those hands who can't do much about it... so I don't like a small raise that much more either, I think it's just a peel basically.

I don't think the shove is that bad because, in short, the folding equity he's getting is significant considering the small bet, imo. That is all there is to it.

is there a link to the first review?

ive read most of this and can say i agree with this point of jspazz i didnt went reback to overlook the others but that particular hand 30 just seemed SUPERBAD to me and i was really sitting here like wtf if this is a correct play then my game is missing something

Yes it's clearly bad, I just made a mistake; there were a lot of hands. I still think you're exaggerating how bad it is by underestimating just how often the villain is folding in this spot, including draws, but peeling is definitely the best play I think there is little question.

I have not posted the first HH review, but someone had sent me another HH, so I might be doing that, too, since some people seem to be learning at least.

I shall make sure not to make silly mistakes like this one next time. Worry not.

ah man really sorry, i think i came off the wrong way, i mean, my previous post was deffo not the intention to bash on you, major props for doing this and i dont think it is HORRIBAD because you can get villain to fold ALOT but at the same time i feel like u can raise much smaller and play more conservative and still make a good semibluff there shoving it all in just seems like overkill :P also me playing reg speeds mostly i really dont get into those spots where i ship 40bbs+ on a bluff so it was just peculiar to me, in no way did i mean to berate u or anything man, if anything major props for doing this foro the community

much love