Hi all,

Just wondering about your thoughts here.

V1 isn’t that good. He has been playing virtually every hand and getting lucky. Very loose. Strongly dislikes V2. I think he respects me.

V2 very solid. Easily and by far most aggressive at the table. He has been relentlessly 3 betting V1 and trying to play pots in position on him.

H: extremely card dead I think they both respect me though and my image is solid overall. Haven’t been caught bluffing yet.

I’m the effect stack with 350 to start. V1 and V2 have about 1,000 dollars each.

OTTH: V1 opens in the HJ to 12 V2 3 bets to 45 we think about it... we are on the button with KQ off and seriously contemplate 4 betting here to about 145. Thoughts? I know V1 is opening super light and V2 has been 3 betting him relentlessly so I want to exploit this.

Should we wait for a better spot and choose a hand like As4s instead?


Thoughts?

Good enough to 4! bluff. There is zero chance you get 5! bluffed here.

If he somehow luck boxed his way into AA here then it’s just not your night.

It’s rare you get a chance to 4! light at 1/2 but this is certainly it. Would be nice to know what V2 was showing down when he 3! Obviously he’s not just on an insane heater but knowing how wide he can be is helpful.

I don’t hate it. Warning-don’t pull this off then start trying it every session. Time and place matter here.

I agree this is a situation I want to exploit but im not sure if KQo is what i want to make a lite 4! with. I feel like id want something like 56s, 78s, 86s rather than something that could be completely dominated in case we're called. Are we happy with either a K or Q otf?

These are mostly questions as im not really sure what the right thing to do is heh

V is never calling. He’s going to 5! or fold which is why having KQ blockers is better then something like 87s given how shallow stacks are.

Yep, totally didn't consider blockers. Good point.

But now that I do, I wonder if we need them or if the 5! range is exclusively AA. I mean, that's pretty much what we're rep'ing here right?

He would probably still 5! KK. He’s not going to fold it and calling leaves an SPR less than 1 so he probably rips it and hopes you call with AK/QQ.

Whatever cuts down on his value combos is good for us. KQ lessens his KK, QQ, AK and AQ which makes it all the more likely he is light here or 3! a linear range like JJ-88.

Definitely like the 4! in this specific spot, probably also one of the rare times I think flatting this hand is ok. If it keeps v1 in with the bulk of his range then I don’t mind it.

Might be an even better 4 bet than a suited wheel ace since with so little behind playability matters less than removal. I think you are getting better removal with the KQ but someone feel free to correct me.

I think reacting to v2 should be simple but what do you think V1’s GII and flat range is here?

Rather than just discuss the hand, why not discuss the overall strategy?

What hands are we going to value raise here by default? What hands are we going to bluff raise by default?

Let's say we don't have a bifurcated strategy here and that we are pure 4 bet or fold. So our hand is ether good enough to 4 bet or not. So then we'd want to take our best hands that aren't good enough to 4 bet and find bluffs from there.

With this dynamic between these two, I think we should be 4 bet valuing a fairly high amount. Like TT+/AK at least. AJs+/AQo perhaps as well, maybe even 99.

As far as bluffs go, KQ is for sure a good option with that strategy. It fits the criteria we want: good removal, decent hand but not good enough for value. I'd obviously be careful of overdoing it, but one thing live players for sure do is ascribing too much weight to your last 5 or so hours of play. It's wicked easy to look like a monster nit in 150 hands of action, but once people think that, it opens up options to overbluff like in spots like this.

So yeah, KQo, A4s, both fine candidates to make a play with here.

Good stuff and in principle I will agree. That being said, I would be very careful doing this at stakes 2/5 and below as 3! ranges for pretty much all V's are usually very strong. Again, in this specific spot it may be fine, but I would hesitate to add this to your arsenal on any kind of normal frequency.

Yup for sure. Though I'm fairly certain OP could tell not to overdo this play.

Ya absolutely. I’ve been letting this happen so much and with direct position on V2 I want to punish him for this. It looked like such a good spot but I didn’t do it.

v2 was 3 betting with like 2c4c and I saw him show QJ off once