Quote:
Originally Posted by Comus729
aggressive 3betting in the SB and BB when I'm the button or CO.
This is four different pretty distinct scenarios. As far as BUvBB, I'd plug your BU opening range into a program and see what percentage of hands you're continuing with. Standard BU opening range is 40%+, so if you're only continuing with the top 10% or so of hands, then BB is running a straight profit off their small 3! before even accounting for blockers and their equity. I'd shoot for continuing with
at least half your range against this size. This is the easiest place to start because you're getting 2:1 and have position.
COvBU is similar, except your original opening range should be more like 25%, so the natural cutoff point for calling might be closer to your comfort zone.
Against the SB, now you have to account for the BB. If they're either a good/aggressive player or a whale, then you don't have to worry as much about direct exploitation because they're protecting your action a bit. Also SB 3!ing ranges tend to be much more linear because people dislike flatting marginal hands in that spot, so 4!ing becomes a bigger part of your strategy, even at this small sizing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comus729
open from CO 3BB with A3s ... I usually fold even when given 1/3 odds, especially with the chance of being dominated.
I wouldn't think of it in terms of how easily you're dominated. You only need to win back 1/3 of the pot to break even on a call, and this hand has plenty enough hot-and-cold equity to do that, and it's good at realizing its equity IP. It is already A-high before a flop even hits, it always either hits top pair or has an overcard, it only needs one card of its suit to flop a BDNFD, and it always has at least BDSD on any flop with a wheel card (which, along with A-high flops, are among the flops villain will play most aggressively). So it very often has enough going for it OTF to at least float and see 4 cards, so villain has to be double barreling at a breakneck rate to not have us get all the way to the river.
The boards it misses are largely middle-card heavy coordinated boards, which largely hit our 86s type part of our range and is gonna garner a lot of x/fs from villain.
Being "dominated" is probably more relevant for situations where you're the aggressor and would like to be able to throw out a lot of value bets when you hit. When you're in a more defensive position, you're more content to hit medium-strength hands that can get you to showdown. The times that you hit top pair on a dry board and villain bombs away, it's a matter of determining whether he's the type of player who's bluffing enough air that you have to just bluff-catch your stack off with any top pair, or if you can exploit them by folding at some point.
