if you're raising I think you have to cram. picking up 46bb if they all fold is a brilliant result and we don't really mind ever being called

yup

We're a favourite if his range is 44/TT/ATo/A4s. Rip it and try to boat up OTR in case he is ahead.

EDIT

Kind of low level thinking but top two is pretty much the same as bottom set and we're in a comparatively bloated single raised pot ~150bb deep which seems like an easy spot to stack off with bottom set.

The straddles make this theoretically 20bb deep though IME large straddles don't change the psychological impact of getting stacks in as much as they should.

This is a tricky spot for me because I personally want to play this like I have AA assuming I'm mixing it up with a couple of regs. If I had AA I would raise to $150 rather than jam but while I'm comfy doing that with the nuts I don't desperately want a call here. But if I make it a bit more, like $180, then I'm committing myself anyway and may as well shove. Conversely shoving removes the possibility of making any egregious errors. I guess if I have regs at the table that I respect, I make it $150 and if they're all strangers and/or fish, I ship it.

If we're $600 deep, I make it $180 regardless and if we're $350 deep, I ship it regardless.

Exactly. Now we beat all two pairs with our top two,and just have to stackoff.

But i am folding flop here if a nitty passive villain raises me on A104 rainbow. As i think his range is 2 pair+ an awful lot.

Thanks for input. I did almost fold flop and I x/r turn knowing I was possibly behind. He cursed angrily as he called, I assume thinking I had hit a gutter straight. The river didn't help me and he had 44. He was more relieved than happy he had won. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stick around and take advantage of his MUBSy nature.

Can we always assume that when a middle aged to elderly male limps and 3bets/jams over a raise preflop that it's always going to be AA KK QQ AK AQ?

Yes for sure. And most of the time its KK/AA/AK.

AA. Maybe AKs and KK if he is Asian.

There's an exception to this if it is massively multi-way, but that is its own thread.

It's fairly reliable, but make your reads over time. I'm in that age bracket and I'm constantly amazed at people seeing me 3B at least every other orbit saying they're shocked when they see me show down J9su. You just can't get AK+ that often.



I had one guy angrily say, "You're full of (fecal matter)! I thought you were just getting lucky cards!" I showed something like 64su on a 3B. When the table is super tight and won't bet back at me with anything less than QQ, I'm going to keep dropping my opening range.

Always makes me laugh when people get angry about other players not playing poker the same way they do.

Is there a range where this play is profitable and/or polarizing?

Pre-flop spot - kind of standard on paper but I have good reads on both players so it gave me pause.

$1/$2 at Mohegan Sun in CT early Saturday afternoon.

UTG raises $11. UTG is a middle-aged white woman. She has been extremely passive. She limps a good amount of hands but is very nitty post-flop and in raised pots. I am not totally sure but this is either the first or second time she has raised in 2 hours. We played a hand earlier in the day where she limped UTG and I ISO-raised 99 in UTG+2. She called. The flop was A-high and we checked through to the river where she bet very small and I sigh-called. She had AQo. Her stack is $150.

UTG+1 3bets $35. UTG+1 is a younger white guy. He is far more aggressive than most of the table. We've played together several times and I know that he 3bets a wide range including hands like 99 and AQo. Earlier in this session he 3bet a spewy fish's open with KQs and got stacked vs QJo on KT9xx in a low SPR cooler type scenario. Not sure if he is picking up on how tight UTG is raising here, or if he is just playing his typical aggressive pre-flop strategy. His stack is $300.

I am UTG+2 and have QQ. I am also a younger white guy. Should have a good image. I am winning on the day mostly because I 4bet jammed on a shortstack with KK and ended up flopping a set vs his AA. The only other time I 3bet pre-flop prior to this hand I also had KK vs a shortstack but he folded flop. My stack is $300.

What's the play here? Cold 4bet? Cold-call UTG+1's 3bet? Surely not fold. What's the plan if UTG jams facing either action?

Against UTG+1 I'm 4! to $75 and calling off a UTG jam, we're still doing OK against as tight of an open range as JJ+ and AK. I'm just never cold calling a 3!, especially not with so many people left to act. The goal is to play a big pot IP against UTG 1 who will likely be too wide here. If we run into KK or AA so be it, we're not deep enough to get away.
.

Cool, this is more or less what I did. I 4bet to $80. UTG jammed for ~$150 total. UTG+1 sigh folded what he later said was TT. I called off for the last $70 knowing I am basically always drawing to 2 outs but that I'm priced in to do so. Hit a Queen on the turn to crack AA.

Obviously QQ into AA 75bb deep is just a cooler, but I felt super strongly that this woman was only raising from UTG with a monster hand, and then UTG+1 often has a better hand 3betting this tight open. Just wondering if anyone plays this spot any differently if they have a solid read on both opponents.

I think we don't have enough read on V1 yet to do anything but what you did, but if we played with her another 20-30 hours and know she only raises KK/AA I think fold on your first opportunity is fine. If she showed down AK or JJ in the HH you gave instead of AQ I might make the fold.

I’ve folded QQ to an UTG+1 3 bet before and I think it’s acceptable to do so.

I thought that playing PLO was supposed to loosen you up .. but I find myself just 'not caring' as much about these spots in NL. Being next to act really stinks here as indicated and I really hate offering up chips to a Player that doesn't keep them in play.

My issue is how do we get into the side pot .. if we can get there at all? While UTG1 may 3b light, he's 'got to be' smart enough to fold out just about everything to a 4b and certainly if it goes 4b/5b.

1) Flat and hope others get in, creating better pot odds. Right now we have to put in 35 while only benefitting $300 if we somehow get to showdown with both Players calling off for UTG's stack somehow. Only you at the table will know how likely a 35 will get cold called down the line .. it's probably low frequency?

2) Flat and see how the action goes. While we don't like to GII against UTG we do want an opportunity to break even if we can win it back in a side pot. If UTG1 flats an all-in then we can 'gladly' force him to call-off or fold to a shove, thus giving us dead money against UTG and/or the break even pot on the side.

3) 3b to an amount where action wont reopen to us if UTG shoves. This may entice UTG1 to put in the extra chips even though he knows it's against a 4b. While this doesn't get any chips on the side yet, it does give us a full 2 to 1 in the main pot.

4) 3b to an amount that reopens action to us if UTG shoves. While this probably gets us HU there's only 10% dead money in the pot.

5) We go through an 'act' and shove now, which I think makes us look weaker depending on our image. It also lets UTG1 know that the side pot is open/available so that he can try to break even.
... A) "How much do you have UTG?" Count it out and set to side
... B) "We are about the same UTG1?" Making sure each pot's chips are separate
... C) "Ok, let's gamble" slide in all the chips

6) Fold? Yes, maybe. Like I said, while QQ has much more weight in NL than QQxx in PLO, I've just seen enough (more) spots where I just pass because I don't want to give chips to a rock and the benefits just don't come around often enough. 'Premium' holdings come around much more often in PLO than NL.

If UTG is shove/fold here .. AND .. we are calling off no matter what UTG1 does, then I just want to put it in now. I know that allows both opponents to play perfectly, but why give the discount of a cold 4b and open up the possibility that either Player can flat with AK with peanuts left behind? Almost every Flop is WAWB and I don't want to be tempted to fold to a UTG1 shove and not see the last two cards (which provided the win here in this pot)!

I know I'm all over the map, but if I'm quick enough to recognize the UTG raise as unusual then I'm also willing to consider all options.

1) 3b large enough so that action is closed to me if UTG shoves, allowing flat by UTG1 .. with no intentions of folding Flop
2) Shove
3) Fold
4) Min click-ish, looking to call off to either Player and/or shoving into UTG1
5) Flat and see what happens, hoping to trap UTG1 into an all-in if UTG shoves

If you don't have a wide image then this is an almost impossible spot when acting cold and I could almost rank #5 as #1 at some tables. It really sucks to use QQ as a set mine and not for value when you're really not getting the proper implied pot odds. But at a lot of 1/2 tables I'd rather limit my loss to 35 or fold than risk generating folds and be crushed when called. GL

2/3 8 handed, 500 max


Hero in BB with 5h4c

LJ, HJ, CO, button, SB limp, hero checks

Flop (18)
5s3d2s

Sb check, hero 16, LJ folds, HJ all in for 31, CO calls, folds to hero, hero makes it 120, then CO shoves for 305 total, hero??

With players left to act after CO, villain’s call didn’t make sense for being nutted but the backraise confused me. Do I have enough equity? Did I play any part of this hand wrong? Too bad I just can’t fold pre with this hand. Thanks

I think we're committed now but we're not doing great against a nutted range which CO should have because you can't be bluffing in this spot.

FWIW I would flat HJ. Also where I play this doesn't open the action, HJ would have to make it $32 i.e. original $16 plus $16.

I would flat the 31 and not raise.

as played fold. he has 64

Playing 1/2.

H has ~380, V has 650-700, leans TAG and can 3bet with Ax type hands from SB/BB preflop.

H is in HJ, has 89cc and raises to 10 with no limpers in front. V in SB 3 bets to 30, H calls.

Pot 61. Flop 672 rainbow. V bets 30 H calls.

Pot 121. Turn comes a 10 giving us the straight and adding a heart flush draw. V checks H checks back.

Pot 121. River is a K with the flush draw bricking.

Here's where it gets weird: V bets 40, H min clicks to 86, V tanks for a long time and raises to 250. H jams after a few seconds for basically 70 more than the 250 raise and V tanks for another eternity before eventually folding.

Question here is could I have gotten more by hollywooding instead of snap jamming or was V simply running a pure bluff?

Bet turn ffs

54o .. "Don't go broke in a limped pot" .. While I do like leading out for 12+ I'm also going to be very wary of any action and want to pot control from OOP.

1) Betting to OP wouldn't be open in 99% of rooms in the US (if any) .. I actually use this to bloat pots by 'forcing' Players to put in the extra chips when action is not reopened by a short stack shove. You can also go the other way by making sure you bet less than 50% of the short stack, thus giving you all options once again.

2) Once the CO calls you really just need to flat here. You don't really have a made hand and you want to leave the door open for better hands and flush draws to fold on Turn or River depending on the Turn card and Player profiles.

3) At low stakes it makes perfect sense for some Players to flat the nuts in fear of the flush coming in, but once you bloat the pot they aren't going to be shy about putting chips in the pot.

4) There are some cases where you are facing A4/set here, or even TT/JJ or something silly. But the likelihood of a naked flush draw is pretty low IMO and all the made hands have you in a tough spot. I'm not sure I call this off in even the most splashy games without some very good Player profiles to back up a wide shoving range and/or my image is bad. GL

89cc .. You may have gotten the most 'by accident' here .. OP's always leave out their possible image to the Vs which plays a role in how certain V types might play against them.

On the Turn I think you need to do the 'ole heart check and then bet something .. for value .. for protection against Broadway flush draws .. to perhaps set up for stacks on River. There's 120 in the pot and you have 320 behind, so it's hard to imagine a lot of spots where you get the double on this Board without first putting something in on the Turn.

While TAGs like to control the betting, it's very possible that they have combinations of cards that they will get stubborn with on the Turn. I don't really think TAGs bluff from OOP enough to hope for value that way.

I find it very peculiar that a TAG would lead for 1/3 pot unless they thought you really had nothing and/or wanted to induce a c/r. A TAG is never c/r here without 2 pair plus, perhaps AA .. so what did he have? And what is he putting you on to not call off for peanuts? This is where your image comes into play. It's pretty 'easy' for you to open and flat with TT/77 and even perhaps KK in some rooms with some images.

Snap jams on the River or when facing a c/r are basically always the nuts in low stakes games. So unless the other Player is all-in already, you want to always just take your time, perhaps look back at your cards, before putting in the rest of your stack. You might even want to do a verbal or physical 'oh well, let's play for it all' routine .. but even that is usually the nuts in these spots.

TAGs don't like to have their betting 'challenged' so your min-raise might have set him off somehow. It's just a matter of whether or not you should have done that on the Turn or not. If you raise the Turn to $110+ you may not get shoved into and you're certainly not getting paid off on the River unless they improved somehow with the K. But what hands call the Turn and hit a King? Not many .. just Kx flush draws.

You got a fold for peanuts! Obv it depends on the holdings, but you can use that image in a future hand as well. GL