Quote:
Originally Posted by docvail
When you put it that way it almost sounds like you don't like the way this one was played.
When you replied I wondered if I should have worded it better, and maybe even apologized, but I've pretty much just said the same thing to you in another thread... So as a kind of apology here are some life experiences that might help:
I've obviously done this kind of thing! Mostly at PLO, but a bit at holdem too.
You see someone playing 60%+ hands and are like lol, math says I'll just play 40% or 30% and I have to win. I also have board coverage so it'll be great ... but it won't be.
First off they are very likely more experienced than you at playing stupid ranges, you aren't calling enough or betting enough post flop when you have the best hand ... you will also start losing your mind with AQ/KJ because it looks like the nuts vs. a 60% range but you are playing 30% ranges so it isn't a bluff or a value bet on a lot of flops anymore ... and you aren't playing it correctly as a bluff catcher.
There are also 4-7 other players at the table, and most (if not all) of them will notice that V is going insane when they are this out of line. So you have to make sure you don't run into _their_ traps ... and playing even 20% of hands will get you into bad multiway spots where you have V crushed almost all the time and are guessing about the other player.
Yes, T9s will be in an under 20% open range ... but it isn't doing that great vs. a 60-80% range. It's raised when tight for board coverage and because it has fold equity ... you don't really need the former in the same way and don't have the later.
You can limp small pairs (or A2s-A8s hands) to hit a big hand if the any2 player isn't raising.
You can limp/3bet a lot if the any2 player is raising.
Again though, note where the raise comes from because it's now super important if it's V or someone trying to get V's spewy chips.
You are also allowed to just open fold AJo from EP. Yes, it's a big A and it's way better than V's range but it's going to suck playing it multiway. It just doesn't cost that much to fold it.
In general you want to be folding a lot more pre+flop, some on the turn and rarely on the river.
Bet sizes are kind of the opposite because you will want to put money in relative to how much information you have, Eg. AA is the nuts preflop, pretty good on 99x7x, not so great on 9x97xTx that you want to be pushing the action.
You can check a lot for information/value!
Imagine if you could press a button and everyone was forced to check from that point on ... you print money by just raising big with med+big pairs and then maybe betting the flop (big) and then hitting the button like a mf on the turn.
On their side you have limited information, but they have a super wide range so they have to be making huge deviations at some point. Are they overplaying bottom pair? Are they bluffing 2-5 out draws a lot? Are they just checking a lot until they hit 2 pair+ and then putting piles in? When they hit a T high flush do they treat it as the super nuts?
Yes, the game won't be as fun because you'll be folding a lot ... but it's better than losing!
And for desert here's a story:
After learning most of the above myself, I got to know a bad 2-5 player pretty well (is a great person) but I was shocked they played 2-5 because they had a lot of bad reg. 1-2 plays, but seemed very confident while they were mostly losing.
After I got to know them I found out they'd been a professional poker player for 9-18 months, and not like 15 years ago but pretty recently.
<insert me trying to not show my shocked pikachu face as I ask>
So... how did you do that?
Answer was simple: They had the middle of all weekdays free at the time, so they put themself on the list for a crazy 5-10 when the casino opened, when called they'd buy in for way less than everyone else who had 200bb minimum and mostly hated money ... then almost entirely fold until they got a great hand and then put huge money in (for them, and their stack, but not for the 5k deep degens), when they doubled up they'd snap leave. Maybe go get lunch and come back, but always leaving the casino before 4pm.
