First of all, live low stakes players rarely think about dead money so that isn't even a consideration. They think about bet sizes in absolute terms and whether or not they are ahead or behind.

The player that made it $8 was raising well over 50% of all hands. Given that, the button's 3bet is more like a normal raise and to me the small sizing told me that he had a pretty good hand (like an AJ type hand) but probably not great. I would have expected him to pump up hands like JJ+ much more than he did. Could he have Aces? Sure I suppose, but it's hard to get Aces on the button and I just felt his range was pretty wide there. It could have been even wider than I thought but his 3bet vs the loose player's open was definitely for value.

Honestly, I think the worst part is that $101 is "nearly a full double up", other than that, seems standard for this thread

It felt like more than a double up because I put in a 4 greens and 5 reds and came out with a big stack of reds and some whites.

1/2 NL

Hero(280): Solid image. A little agro, but Villain's have only seen the goods from him. Maybe .5h ago they saw him 3bet KK pre and gii otf. Saw him show up w/AK in another hand. Should be in Villains' psyches that he has a good hand when he's betting.

Villain 1(220): Friendly 30ish guy who plays tight and straightforward.

Villain 2(180): Mid-20's guy who's playing loose. Seems to be a little more competent than some live players in that he will raise instead of limp. Takes time to think thru some decision points. Saw hero limp-3bet his 2bet and 4 callers twice. 1st time Hero 3bet lite to take the pot down. Second time Villain 2 tanked, looked at Hero and said "Now that's the second time you've done that" before folding what he said was AK. Point is he's somewhat observant and thinking a bit. Appearance-wise tho looks like scared money: dingy coat, looks a little mal-nutritioned w/blue lips and cold-looking, purplish hands.

OTTH:

Folds to Villain 1 in HJ who raises to 7. Hero in CO calls w/KTo. Folds to Villain 2 in SB who calls. BB folds.

Flop(23): 855r

Checks thru.

Turn(23): 5

Villain 2 bets 10. Villain 1 calls. Hero raises to 30. Villain 2 instafolds. Villain 1 hesitates, looks at Hero and says "My pair is too small," shows 44 and folds.

Why this bluff is good: I think Villain 2 bets his entire range in this spot. After it checked thru otf he's taking a stab at it. Villain 1's call says he's got something, but he capped his range pre w/the raise to 7 instead of the 12 or so that he was raising otherwise.

Why this bluff is bad: I had been playing w/both Villain's ~1.5h. Villain 1 could have been getting crafty w/a strong hand instead of merely capping his range pre.

Proud of this one:

1/3 game OTB with TT, two limpers and I iso-raise to 17. Everyone folds except SB who just sat down at the table. SB is a white guy around 30.

Flop is 39Qr and I c-bet 20. He calls. Turn K. It goes check check. River is a 6, he leads out for 40 and I repop is to 100. At this point I'm really getting stared down but after a few minutes he folds it.

Why this bluff is good: It puts serious pressure on a Q which very well may have called the flop and I do have two blockers to the nuts which halves the combos of JT which have have also called.

Why this bluff is bad: I like the bluff, but obviously I didn't know villain and that's never ideal.

1/3

Just sat recently. No image established and no reads on unknowns.

Effective stacks 300. Straddle from an unknown. A good TAG makes it 20 in MP. I flat in the CO with 33. Straddle calls.

Flop: 872r.

Straddle checks. Raiser bets 45. He only has sets, overpairs, and missed broadways in his range. I make it 100. I think raising is good because he has more missed broadway combos than overpairs/sets and he knows this is a good cbet texture. I think this sizing is good because he'll have to commit if he continues, so it still serves it's purpose from my perspective, but I can throw my hand away if he comes over the top.

Staddler calls. I was taken by surprise. Raiser folds. So my bluff...sorta worked?

My real question is: How are you playing turn and river on this dry board? Do I bet if checked to no matter what OTT? Do you check any turns? Are we auto-folding to any betting?

I'm not a fan of this due to (a) a few hands that crush us here (KQ/JT) that would play the whole hand exactly this way are never folding, (b) a lot of people don't thinly bet river when we check behind turn, instead they just passively check and hope their ex. Qx holds up / bluffcatch (so when he bets this perhaps indicates a much stronger hand than ex. Qx), and (c) we played this hand very strangely (would a nuttish hand check back the turn risking some horrible cards such as J/T?) and it smells FOS / story doesn't really add up.

Gmeh,imoG

The initial raise is one that I've thought that I should be making more with my image against bet/folders who are aware of my image. Haven't quite talked myself into pulling the trigger here in spots, but maybe eventually I'll come around.

I think I'm done with the hand UI when Straddler takes a raise cold to the face. He has to be worried that (a) we have a monster and (b) the raiser has the action re-opened to him to reraise, and yet he doesn't seem too concerned about that.


GcluelessbluffingnoobG

Here are 2 of mine over a couple of sessions over the weekend. First is a standardish orphaned small pot (one where I learned a valuable lesson versus a particular opponent), the other a bigger 3way pot on the river where I'm trying to learn to steal pots when I've been given enough info to suggest it's profitable.


H1 (small orphaned pot):

1/3 NL, effective stacks don't matter too much by river in small pot

I overlimp a bunch of limpers with QJhh in the CO (table is very loose, one or two of the people who will be involved are shortish, I'm just not a fan of raising in this spot). Button is a big spot in the game; he raises lots of hands preflop for fun, then never bluffs / cbets air postflop, and is a massive calling station with any piece on all postflop streets. He's dwindled down to about $70 and makes it $12, 3 callers (including at least one and perhaps two bigger stacks whom I want to be involved with), I sigh call.

$60 pot is checked down to the river on A84dd6d5r runout, and as it's checked to me and I'm contemplating stealing on the river (obviously trying to rep a 7x), the Button checks out-of-turn. I $30 into $60, Button snap calls, rest fold.




H2 (bigger river pot looking for steal opportunities):

1/3 NL, $300 effective stacks

V1 is a middle aged white guy I've never played with before. Earlier on a 4-to-a-flush board he bet his K high flush and I lolz overshoved like 4x PSB with my nut flush and he paid me off. The only other significant hand he's seen me play where I've put in any money postflop is when I PSB a raised multiway pot with a set to setup a turn shove. Since these two hands I've been card dead and not getting involved, so I should have a nit nut peddling image. He's been a little stationish and paying off people when he shouldn't, but he's struggling to play his best even though he's losing, and pretty ABC face-up.

V2 is a decent player who is capable of playing very aggressive but also can calm down and just try to play more ABC (it's early in the session right now for him and he seems to be playing ABC right now). Shortstacked he is way too loose/gambooley/aggressive, but his goal is to play risky and quickly build up to a big stack where he has a decent advantage on the field. I've decent history with him, he sees me as a nit (once remarking on me folding to a river shove by him "you're the only person at the table who would fold here").

Preflop, I'm in BB with 53o, and see a 7way limped pot of K64cc. Checks all the way to V1 in CO who bets $10 into $20, Button calls, I call, V2 calls in LJ.

4ways to 9r turn, checks to CO who bets $20 into $60, Button folds, I call, V2 calls.

Kc river. I check, V2 checks, V1 bets $30 into $120, I check/raise to $130.

Open KJ 5bb MP1, CO and SB call, EP limper too. flop (20bb) K72r, checks to Hero leads 10bb, CO calls others fold. Turn (40bb) 5 spade draw, Hero leads 15bb, CO calls. River (70bb) 3o. Hero checks, CO bets 20bb, Hero c/r 100bb. V tank folds KQ faceup

This got me thinking about the hand a little.

One thing that I didn't mention was villain's physical appearance and demeanor - he was dressed pretty "pokered up" with an expensive watch, and I just felt that if someone could be making moves or betting out a little light it would be this guy. I definitely don't pull bluffs like this often, and I know my line was rare/suspicious but I think it's hard for him to have an easy decision here. In other words it's likely that he's got something, but he's rarely very strong here.

Yeah, it's difficult to range SB since we don't know much about him but generally calling a 6x bb raise from the SB w/ JT is pretty loose and imo bad. In any case there's only 8 combos of it.

I'm happy putting him on a theoretical range of 88-JJ, KQ, AQ, AJ, KJ. Under this range I think it makes some sense to apply pressure on these K and Q high flops because we can never give him credit for KK, QQ, and the only real powerhouse in his range is a set of 9s, KQ, and maybe JT.

Even if he leads river with like KJ and gets raised it's still really ugly for him because he only has a bluff catcher. In hindsight, the bluff only needs to work 1 in 3 times for it to be profitable. I wouldn't pull this move against a call station but against an experienced player at these stakes who can bet fold I think it's an interesting if speculative play.

Edit: I think a decent, experienced player could lead and b/f AQ, KJ here. These make up 24 combos. I expect to get looked up with KQ (9 combos) and obviously 9s (3 combos) and even if we include JT in a worst case scenario it's still around even with 24 combos b/f and 23 combos that we get looked up by. Our bluff only need to work 1 in 3 times to be +EV.

Edit - bluff needs to work 2/3 of the time.

I wonder if our hand is too strong to need to turn into a bluff? I had a very similar hand a session or so ago: a guy who had bet me off 2 hands I had resolved to look up this time, and after I checked back the turn with my TT he bet his 9x on a K93cc2rJr runout.

GcluelessbluffingnoobG

I figure once in a blue moon I'm good here but more of than not I'm beat. He bet 40 into 80 so I was getting 3:1. I could hope and pray that villain just flat called in the SB to a 6xbb raise with junk like T9 or J9 but I think the majority of the time I'm just throwing away $40.

I think him just flat calling narrows his range (at least the range of a typical amateur player) to a strong, but not super strong hand. If we go by this, then his range is mostly decent top pairs and second pair hands. In other words, hands that don't want to get raised.

Ugh, I did give up on the hand. He had 65. A 5 turned. The hand was checked down. I vomited in anger at showdown. I feel as though the river was a bet regardless of what came after he checked every street. Easy to say now.

GG, I think your first bluff is super standard. Just ran into molasses-level sticky villain rather than the typical scotch-tape-level sticky.

The second one is well done. You took advantage of their capped range and projected major strength with the c/r, which we know no one does as a river bluff. Nice.

1/3 9 handed on a table blessed by the poker gods where some real fishy players would re buy multiple times and $25 pre flop bets would often go 5 handed! Players left and big stacks joined from a broken table. EFF stacks are $900+

Hero sat on $1400 and v covers.

Hero has played maybe 10+ hours and is too tired to figure out ranges but v is way too loose pre and turns up with all sorts of random hands often calling second or third pair and often making two pair and running like god. Will fold to a lot of aggression which became more pronounced as he got deep.

Otth.

Hero raises KTdd to $20 from MP. V calls from SB and bb plus one limper calls.

Flop $80
Qd 8d 2c

Checks to hero who bets $25, v raises to 75 folds to h who calls.

Turn $230
Jc

V bets $150, h raises to $350 v calls.

River $930
5s

V checks and hero shoves for $900.

Thoughts?

I suck at deepstack, but...

If we're going to end up multiway and end up OOP to at least one player, I'm not sure what the point of raising is preflop (but that's me).

I'm cool with the flop cbet. We have decent equity, our small bet gives us good odds, we *might* take it down. Thanks to the lol raise sizing I'm also calling the flop.

Villain check/raised the flop after the preflop raiser continued on the flop 4ways, and still with 2 people behind him (that could have easily been sandbagging a monster). This is pretty scary, no? I'm never attempting to move him off a hand given this action. So I'm just calling the turn in position and attempting to bink, with a good chance we'll get paid off in position against a strong hand.

I think turn/river were spew. I also think there's a fairly decent chance Villain sigh folds 88/22 face up, so what do I know.

Gworthless2centsG

I think you have some serious cajones!

Kidding aside, I like the play, would prolly go a bit smaller on the river I think 500$ accomplishes the same. Hope it worked!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well if ended up oop I planned to pretty much flop really well or something.

Given v's action he most likely has 2 pair plus and unlikely to have many draws. His range is pretty capped to 88/22, q8, q2 and 82. Queens would 3 bet me pre and jacks are not raising my flop c bet.

The way I played basically reps 88/qq and 910 most likely of diamonds which is in front of v's vast 2P range. V also needs to put no bluffs in my range. Based on the tables exceptional circumstances and how most players here probably arnt that experienced playing this deep and how bluffs arnt all that common anyway I'm not sure v would be looking to bluff catch for this much. Could be wrong here though. Hero hasn't bluffed in this session as it really didn't warrant it and I ran pretty good already.

So if I bink that $150 turn is it really worth it to invest $245 and maybe bet up to $300 on the river when we hit? Or what river sizing would you go for? Pot on river would be $530 and any river that helps us will make v less likely to pay us off.

River is way way too big for no good reason. This bet sizing might be more optimal against a thinking player for numerous reasons that aren't germane to this hand. Pre and flop seem fine given the dynamics described. But I would REALLY need to trust my read to bluff for stacks in this on the turn and river. Villain has raised, bet, and called a raise already postflop. Screaming strength from the rooftops.

Here's one from last night's 1/3 NL game.

V1 (middle aged asian male) I haven't seen in a while, but if I recall he strikes me as a very solid winning player who knows what is going on. This is the second table hop he's made tonight, and has just recently moved to our table with $500; he's obviously table changing due to a couple of morons seated here. Cautious, aware of his tight image, and can correctly be bluffcatchy against spewy villains.

V2 I don't know. He knows and is friendly with the big fish at the table, but I get the feeling he's fairly tight / decent. His open is fairly small at this loose table, but it's still in EP, so I give it respect. $500.

Hero isn't known by V2, but has been pretty quiet in the hour he's been at the table. V1 has played with Hero in the past a few times, and probably views Hero as tight ABC winning player. Covers.

Preflop (10 players): Hero A K
Hero limps UTG. There are at least 3 aggro loose raisers / callers with < $300 stacks (including CO and BB who often go after dead money preflop *way* too wide), I'm simply looking to limp/reraise here and play for stacks against one of these guys (instead of raising and going 5+ ways to the flop). V2 opens to a smallish $12 in UTG+3. Somehow folds to V1 in BB who flats. Overly aggro BB folds. I change my limp/reraise plan vs these two guys and just flat.

Flop (3ways, $35): 9 8 5
Checks around

Turn (3ways, $35): 2
V1 checks, Hero $25, V2 folds, V1 calls

River (HU, $75): 8
V1 checks, Hero $50...

$2/5 $500 effective
v is a MABG reg, calls too much post but has a fold button to big bets but will also hero call sometimes, tries to pounce on weakness, limps too many habds oop and peels really light.

Hero has an aggro, winning image. Just won a decent pot by rivering a FH vs a turned flush. V generally views h as competent, respects when hero gets big $$$$ in. Hero has gotten the best of v over the last several months.

Utg limps, v limps next in, btn calls sb folds hero checks 4d3d

Flop ($20): 7d 4s 3s

Hero bets $20, utg calls, v calls, btn folds

Turn ($80) 7d 4s 3s Ac

Hero checks, utg checks, v bets bets 70, h check/raises to 210, utg folds, v tank calls. A lot of V's range is Ax of Spades, pair and flush draws that hero can get value from. Hero's range should look like 2 pair+ and maybe a huge draw but there's a good chance V is not thinking on that level.

River ($500) 7d 4s 3s Ac 6c

Hero shoves. Villain tank folds.

I decided on this river to turn my hand into a bluff. I have all 5x in my range so his turned/rivered two pair are gonna have a very hard time calling down. He has some 5x as well but he's got a lot of other draws. My bottom two pair is crap and is not winning a showdown except against Ax of Spades. The thing is, he can also try to hero me with Ax of Spades (albeit unlikely).

Id say there's a very good chance that villain had AsXs and you had the best hand.

I agree. I thought that was part of his range. This hand doesn't really come through well on a forum. He has a tendency to hero call and he TANK folded which tells me there's a decent chance either he was looking to snap me off with aces or there's a decent chance he used the ace as a scare card to fold out better with something like a pair + SD.