Normally i would have taken the bet/bet line but because of the last couple of hands decided to play it like this which of course is going against my keep it simple theme. It goes back to letting the villain play pretty well as i guess he dosnt have a draw that often and the only King we ever get called by is KQ given the villain isnt really a fish. Pretty thin getting it in here.

On another note i wish some of the hands posted in the forums were a bit more challenging. I mean most of them are obvious coolers and its a struggle to try and learn much from them.

true wish people would post more troublesome spots than coolers

gl ! also who is on ure avatar

Thanks. Its Tulisa from NDubz.

Right first up with the guide i was doing myself i think i might actually scrap doing it because its like im trying to re-invent the wheel and anyone reading this by any chance who hasnt already read it should read this:- http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...77&postcount=2

Im just starting to work my way through it again from the beginning onwards.

I hope verneer dosnt mind but im going to steal the following paragraphs that he used as i wish i could take this mentality to my poker game instead of letting my ego get in the way all the time.

Do i need to accept that people just hit a lot of sets against me?

Am i making some pretty basic errors here? Pretty good session ruined by about 5 hands. I seem to win lots of small pots but anytime any money goes in im always behind, this must be the reason for my flat redline.

Villain is 24/21 after 30 hands. Do i seriously fold on this board when i get raised?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
Hero ($11.75)
BB ($5.83)
UTG ($4)
UTG+1 ($10.46)
UTG+2 ($10.56)
MP1 ($22.36)
CO ($11.18)
BTN ($11.53)

Dealt to Hero K K

fold, fold, fold, fold, CO raises to $0.30, fold, Hero raises to $1.15, fold, CO calls $0.85

FLOP ($2.40) 6 3 2

Hero bets $1.65, CO raises to $3.80, Hero raises to $10.60 (AI), CO calls $6.23 (AI)

TURN ($22.46) 6 3 2 Q

RIVER ($22.46) 6 3 2 Q J

CO shows 2 2
(Pre 19%, Flop 86.4%, Turn 95.5%)

Hero shows K K
(Pre 81%, Flop 13.6%, Turn 4.5%)

CO wins $21.35

Villain is 16/12 after 50 hands. Loose open due to fish in the SB. Decide to take a check/call line as i really dont want to face a raise(in hindsight is anyone bluff raising at this level?). River a fold?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($7.54)
BB ($4)
UTG ($8)
Hero ($10)
UTG+2 ($12.01)
MP1 ($10)
CO ($15.47)
BTN ($11.47)

Dealt to Hero K Q

fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.30, fold, fold

FLOP ($0.75) Q 9 J

Hero checks, BTN bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

TURN ($1.75) Q 9 J 3

Hero checks, BTN bets $1.10, Hero calls $1.10

RIVER ($3.95) Q 9 J 3 9

Hero checks, BTN bets $2.40, Hero calls $2.40

BTN shows J J
(Pre 57%, Flop 81.9%, Turn 90.9%)

Hero shows K Q
(Pre 43%, Flop 18.1%, Turn 9.1%)

BTN wins $8.33


Villain is 24/14 over 59 but was a lot tighter than that for this hand. I decide that the turn is a good card to barell to get him to fold any PP`s that he missed with but he probably has a set and raises. Check behind the turn? Call the raise to try and hit?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($10.05)
BB ($5)
UTG ($10.81)
UTG+1 ($11.63)
UTG+2 ($11.09)
MP1 ($10)
CO ($5.15)
Hero ($11.99)

Dealt to Hero T K

UTG calls $0.10, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.50, fold, fold, UTG calls $0.40

FLOP ($1.15) 9 2 7

UTG checks, Hero bets $0.75, UTG calls $0.75

TURN ($2.65) 9 2 7 J

UTG checks, Hero bets $1.85, UTG raises to $4.50, Hero folds

UTG wins $6.04


Villain is 19/10 after 238 hands. Bet the turn? Im only getting called by 99/TT and then over cards with a good flush draw. At the time i thought it was quite thin and a check gives him the chance to bluff the river.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($10.05)
BB ($24.21)
UTG ($10.25)
Hero ($15.10)
UTG+2 ($3.91)
MP1 ($5.37)
CO ($10.63)
BTN ($14.53)

Dealt to Hero J J

UTG raises to $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold

FLOP ($0.95) 8 3 2

UTG bets $0.60, Hero calls $0.60

TURN ($2.15) 8 3 2 5

UTG checks, Hero checks

RIVER ($2.15) 8 3 2 5 2

UTG bets $1.25, Hero calls $1.25

UTG shows 5 5
(Pre 20%, Flop 10.6%, Turn 77.3%)

Hero shows J J
(Pre 80%, Flop 89.4%, Turn 22.7%)

UTG wins $4.43



Im seeing monsters everywhere i look at the moment. Frustrating that i dont seem to get paid off on the rare occasions i do flop sets and always seem to be paying off when my opponents hit.

In the first hand, I think that's fine
Second hand, you should be folding river.
Third hand, you absolutely have to call the turn, you have better than direct odds on the call if we assume they have a set every time. So including your implied odds and all that jazz it's one of the bigger mistakes I've seen on here in a while
Fourth hand, turn is a bet no matter what, it's a spot where you should be conditioned to bet it every time. I don't know if tilt talked you out of it or not, but you absolutely have to charge draws and get value from his pairs. After that you bet the river, and fold if you get raised.

You're better than those hands, you might need to get your mental game in order or something, because I think you know better.

Thanks. So first hand we are saying its just a standard cooler and he can spaz here with some over pairs to the board. I seem to hit the situation a lot and seem to remember someone saying its almost wrong to fold big pairs in 3 bet pots barring a super bad board.

2nd hand we are just saying the only thing i beat on the river is a bluff? I make this hand so much easier by bet/folding the flop and turn dont i.

3rd hand i just about snap folded in game and thn when i reveiwed it afterwards im thinking i can pretty much call that knowing he is never bluffing and stacks off on the river.

4th hand i just got myself in a total muddle.

Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah mental game has never been good for me and i can say in those hands i did get rage tilt or anything more just a sense of thinking am i making major mistakes like in the first hand. I have tilt breaker kicking in after dropping a couple of buyins which is normally the point of tilt for me. Trying to put a lot of work in at the moment and it is going to mean trying to re-learn somethings as i want to get back to NL25 at the very least and be a consistant winner.

Confidence is just mullered at the moment. People just dont seem to miss against me.

Villain is 15/9 over 81 hands. Think i just screwed this whole hand up. As soon as he calls the flop i should have an easy check/fold but say to myself he dosnt have many Aces in his range and stack off like an idiot. Im playing something like 30/22 at this table.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($3.24)
BB ($7.81)
UTG ($11.85)
UTG+1 ($10)
UTG+2 ($5.35)
Hero ($12.67)
BTN ($10)

Dealt to Hero K K

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.30, BTN raises to $0.90, fold, fold, Hero raises to $2.45, BTN calls $1.55

FLOP ($5.05) 5 A T

Hero bets $2.50, BTN calls $2.50

TURN ($10.05) 5 A T A

Hero bets $5.10, BTN calls $5.05 (AI)

RIVER ($20.15) 5 A T A 2

Hero shows K K
(Pre 70%, Flop 9.5%, Turn 0.0%)

BTN shows K A
(Pre 30%, Flop 90.5%, Turn 100.0%)

BTN wins $19.17


Villain here is 22/18. Whats my play just check/fold? I dont see any folds here at all.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($4.35)
BB ($11.47)
UTG ($4)
UTG+1 ($10.42)
UTG+2 ($4.15)
Hero ($10)
MP2 ($10)
CO ($5.05)
BTN ($10.57)

Dealt to Hero K A

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, BTN raises to $1, fold, fold, Hero raises to $2.45, BTN calls $1.45

FLOP ($5.05) 8 8 3

Hero checks, BTN checks

TURN ($5.05) 8 8 3 6

Hero checks, BTN bets $2.40, Hero folds

BTN wins $4.80


Villain is 11/4 after 28 hands. Of course i **** myself when i hit the Ace as this normally means im about to lose a lot of money. Decide to check/call the river as theres no way im beat lol

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($10.21)
BB ($19.23)
Hero ($10.45)
UTG+1 ($9.03)
UTG+2 ($10.10)
CO ($10.77)
BTN ($9.35)

Dealt to Hero A Q

Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.30, fold, fold

FLOP ($0.75) 7 2 2

Hero bets $0.45, BTN calls $0.45

TURN ($1.65) 7 2 2 A

Hero bets $1, BTN calls $1

RIVER ($3.65) 7 2 2 A 5

Hero checks, BTN bets $2.10, Hero calls $2.10

Hero shows A Q
(Pre 48%, Flop 0.7%, Turn 4.5%)

BTN shows 7 7
(Pre 52%, Flop 99.3%, Turn 95.5%)

BTN wins $7.47


This last hand is just a FU tilt hand. Villain is 14/12 and has raised over half of the cbets he has seen. Ive already decided before the flop that when he raises im probably going to flat and make a move on the turn as long as the board isnt too bad.........


Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($8.81)
BB ($3.55)
UTG ($3.12)
UTG+1 ($4.92)
UTG+2 ($10.60)
MP1 ($3.67)
MP2 ($4.51)
Hero ($14.53)
BTN ($5.56)

Dealt to Hero 4 A

fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, SB calls $0.25, fold

FLOP ($0.70) 9 7 3

SB checks, Hero bets $0.40, SB raises to $1.13, Hero calls $0.73

TURN ($2.96) 9 7 3 7

SB bets $2.11, Hero raises to $13.10 (AI), SB calls $5.27 (AI)

RIVER ($17.72) 9 7 3 7 T

Hero shows 4 A
(Pre 46%, Flop 6.7%, Turn 0.0%)

SB shows 3 3
(Pre 54%, Flop 93.3%, Turn 100.0%)

SB wins $16.85


Ended the session a buyin down and its the same again winning a ton of small pots, not winning a single pot over 50bbs, and losing any big pot i get involved in. I just dont get this game and never will i feel. I wish i could erase what i know and just try and re-learn again as ive just got too many bad habits i just cant get rid of.

Hey Mart, sorry to hear you are getting the worst of it. I don't like to comment on your hands as I only play 5nl. If it's any consolation, I look out for your strat posts, as they always make sense and contain excellent advice.

Have you considered dropping down temporarily, if only as a confidence builder?

You know the last hand is just a tilt mistake.

The first hand and second hand should be switched. I'd c/f the first hand because if he has QQ or JJ he'll check it down, and most of his range should be JJ+/AK. The second hand you should be betting the flop, and probably c/fing the turn. Sizing should be around half pot.


I think the first hand is somewhat close, but we can't write off him spazzing with an overpair so it's fine. But depending on the villain I'm folding there at times. Definitely a villain dependent spot. The second hand is exactly that, you beat only a bluff, most cards he has should be pairs (which will check river) and people don't barrel on boards that connected. So you're beat basically 90%+ of the time imo. The 3rd hand we have direct odds, it doesn't matter what happens on the river, he can c/f the river every time you hit and it's still a profitable call.

Probably x/f ... most people don't TB bluff in that spot (or value bet worse) and our hand looks like it's headed for showdown.

Thanks. Seriously though join in, i dont care if you play 2nl or 1Knl or whatever its always great to get different opinions and theres not much flaming goes on in this forum so its probably a good place to learn and improve.

I just cant get used to this check/fold malarchy which is defnatley a mentality thing. In the first hand im thinking i have to bet to stop me giving the chance to bluff me off the best hand, then when he calls im obviously beat because he isnt calling QQ/JJ there so the Ace on the turn changes nothing. I just cant work out whether betting or checking is better here. I think IP i like the check but like i say im worried about getting bluffed OOP.

In the second hand i just didnt expect to get any folds on that flop and if i bet half pot then ive got half my stack in and check/folding the turn is going to seem weak even though i know im beat. I guess theres times i bet there and actually hit the turn.

The KQ hand makes sense to fold the river for the reasons stated and had another look at the flush draw hand and it looks a pretty big mistake there which is quite worrying because i probably have about 12 outs(obviously some pair the board) so not liking that hand at all.

Just out of interest whats your take on the AQ hand? Cooler or can i find a fold on the river? given his range should be pretty strong given positions and how we got there.

All that been said ive been reading some of the threads i mentioned and im trying to make adjustments to my value betting and simply betting more than i normally do and that seems to be working well for me and i did pick some strat hands to post but didnt post them instead posting the ones i did. Will post them tonight because they are some pretty basic spots that might be a bit more interesting than the ones i posted.

Thats a massive leak in my game because i get to the river and the river bricks i the villain bets i normally talk myself in to a call. Experience tells me though that against anything other than a fish that my TP isnt going to be good very often.

With the AQ hand, I like c/fing the river vs such a nit. He has like 10 combos of flush draws in his range, max, and he probably doesn't call them twice. It's not like he's betting 88-KK there, so his range is quads, fh, AQ+.

In the first hand he's a nit. A nit doesn't have hands that need to or would bluff there. Nits barely even bluff anyway. His entire range in that spot should be generally checking when it's behind, and betting when it's ahead.

This is actually a spot where your opponent is loose for FR, so you can expect to see an odd thing here every now and then. If you bet he's not going to call AQ, and his range should be something like TT/AA/AQ, maybe JJ, and maybe some random thing every now and then. So we get folds from 12 combos, and he has 27 combos total which means he's folding something like 46% of the time, and since we bet half pot we only need folds 33% of the time. With our 6 outs, that's 12% equity, which lowers the amount of times we need folds for it to be profitable. Which is why we should bet here. If he were any tighter I'd probably c/f, unless he had a low fold to 3b. The range I gave was basically what I think people call with, AA they call because it's da nuts. TT/JJ/AQ because they don't want to jam and lose. QQ/KK have to get it in because they don't want to see an A or a K. Generally my range should be pretty similar to an actual range in that spot, without much deviation from the numbers.

Cheers for the last bit, reading that it looks a pretty clear cut bet given how loose the villain is. Really need to work on my thinking in the heat of the moment at the tables, maybe drop a couple of tables or something although i have to find a happy medium because i drop tables and suddenly start going wild which i guess is ok if im picking profitable spots.

I really need to work on folding. In my head i know and from experience i know people arnt bluffing that often at these stakes but putting it in to practice is something im having a real arm wrestle with.

Quick line check with these hands please..........

Villain is 31/29 after 35 hands. Decided not to raise the flop because im folding out just about every hand i beat. On the turn when he bets again i feel he actually has an ace a lot of the time but feel like ive also got the best hand most of the time and decide to raise. Bad play or ok? When he calls and the river is a brick im certain i have the best hand how big do i go?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($5.81)
Hero ($10.27)
UTG ($3.85)
UTG+1 ($1.83)
UTG+2 ($3.72)
CO ($11.92)
BTN ($10)

Dealt to Hero J A

fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.10

FLOP ($0.40) A 3 4

SB bets $0.28, Hero calls $0.28

TURN ($0.96) A 3 4 7

SB bets $0.60, Hero raises to $1.85, SB calls $1.25

RIVER ($4.66) A 3 4 7 4

SB checks, Hero bets ???


Villain is 14/13 over 116. Prefer a 3bet pre or is that pretty thin? Would it be a 3bet bluff if he shoved? I think i prefer a fold on the turn rather than the river given his sizing looks valuey.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
Hero ($10)
BB ($10.68)
UTG ($5.86)
UTG+1 ($10.40)
UTG+2 ($10)
MP1 ($10.75)
CO ($12.08)
BTN ($5)

Dealt to Hero A K

fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.40, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.35, fold

FLOP ($0.90) K Q T

Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $0.64, Hero calls $0.64

TURN ($2.18) K Q T 6

Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $2.10, Hero calls $2.10

RIVER ($6.38) K Q T 6 2

Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $7.26 (AI), Hero folds

UTG+1 wins $6.07


Blinds were both nits and i was opening ATC and this was the first time they hadnt folded. I gave up on the flop really. Should i raise the turn? I think that looks really strong. On the river im targeting his jx hands with the overbet, i think i get called by Tx some of the time if i make a normal sized bet but think Jx calls a bigger bet making it more +EV what do we reckon?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer
SB ($10)
BB ($9.40)
UTG ($4)
UTG+1 ($4.79)
UTG+2 ($9)
MP1 ($10.30)
CO ($13.44)
Hero ($10.15)

Dealt to Hero 8 2

fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.25, SB calls $0.20, fold

FLOP ($0.60) 2 T J

SB checks, Hero checks

TURN ($0.60) 2 T J 2

SB bets $0.42, Hero calls $0.42

RIVER ($1.44) 2 T J 2 2

SB checks, Hero bets $2.95,

Hand 1. That's a min raise steal right? A tactic I use alot against 100% steal fold types. If his steal is high, I play back here at least 3x his raise, especially with a good hu hand like AJ against 31/29.

I def raise flop, 31/29 is exactly the sort I want to value town, There's a good chance he aint folding worse hands.

Like the turn play, I bet pot on river fold a baluga. Call a small raise?

Hand 2 I think I try and win the pot on the flop or give up. I think 14/13 deservse some respect. I Don't 3bet pre oop against this villain.

Hand 3 did you have a fold to cbet stat, If anywhere 80% or more, I cbet here if they are tight passive. Then I give up to any resistance.

As I said before Mart, just taking a stab, I wouldn't back my analysis with any money! Keen to learn tho.

Hand 1) You should know on the turn if you want to get it all in vs his range. If you think he's loose enough, raise turn and jam river is best since he's got a short stack. Personally I'd refrain from raising AJ here, but I'd probably raise AQ. I think AJ is a bit ambitious, the only reason I don't think it's bad is because he's got 60bb.

Hand 2) I'd fold turn, he full potted meaning he most likely has a hand that A, won't fold, B, isn't a draw. I'd prefer to call any 1 heart hand here on the turn rather than the AK, but I'd fold them too because he's not the type to payoff light.

Hand 3) I think you have to raise the turn only because it's FR and they're nits. Nits think in terms of their ranges "He can't have a 2 here, cause I don't have a 2 here", so they can probably call. But as a standard I think I'm betting flop, betting turn, and betting river given a similar runout. Given a different runout I probably bet the turn again too. As played I'm fine with the overbet.

Cheers guys.

Hand 1 lofcuk i prefer to flat here to keep his range wide. I feel if we 3bet then all it does is get him to fold all his junk, call with hands that have us dominated, and 4bet hands that beat us/bluffs and i have to fold. If i had a junk hand with a blocker say Q5o something like that then i would 3bet if i knew the villain had a fold button.

I was actually tempted to raise the flop but again thought its just letting him play pretty well because theres not much chance of him having an Ace. When he bets the turn i think it increases the likelyhood he has an Ace so then i was undecided on the raise because theres a lot of bad cards that could hit the river and i still think im ahead of his range but like Malefiicus says its pretty thin. Like i say when he calls im certain i have the best hand so its whether i stick him in but i thought he might find a fold so think i bet about $2.60 if i remember which he snapped so that usually means i could have got more.

Hand 2 i think i realised my mistake on the turn but at least made the fold on the river which is a start. just out of interest lofcuk when you say try and win the pot on the flop are you saying donking the flop or check/raising the flop?

Hand 3 was a small sample size and the blinds were just auto folding every hand. I decided not to cbet the flop simply because i expected his range to be pretty strong and him not to give me any respect. looking at it i think a raise on the turn is good because my line looks so bluffy once i have checked the flop. The river he tanked and called with JTo i think it was so probably priced about right.

Ive got a missed value bet spot as well that i didnt post that i will put on if i remember tonight. Played a really good session as well which was my first winning one in 3 and i feel i didnt make too many major mistakes like i have been doing. Reading a lot of threads and trying to take the advice im been offered on board and i think its a bit of a re-learning progress thats going on because my game is/was massively out of sorts.

I think the check raise is stronger against a 14/12, but would donk a looser player in this kind of spot.

I think a check/raise looks super strong on this board and the villain only continues with hands that do very well against us. Thinking more about it i dont actually mind donking this flop with it been so wet as we can probably just fold if villain raises as most people are going to play pretty straightforward here, we take the pot down some of the time and occasionally get called by worse.

Grunch

AJo: As played rivers a definite bet and I'm Ok with how you played it. I'd go big, as you I think cillain can put you on some missed draws and 10nl players don't fold TP as often as they should. I can see 3b'ing pre sometimes and c,c,c (or bet when checked to) being good as well.

AKs: You're SB right? I do think I prefer 3b'ing oop and depending on his call/fold/4b frequencies I think it's OK to fold if he 4bs. Thinking that you can't 3b for value and also fold to a raise is a pretty big misconception around these parts. If he will call worse/setmine and give up on flops, and only 4b with AA/KK, then you can 3b even wider than AK in this spot. Hes opening UTG1 so his 'raise first in' range is going to be something like 10% and he'll rarely (if ever) 4b bluff in these spots. If you give him as wide as QQ+, AK+ thats 2.6% (and you block a lot of these combos) so 75%+ of his range is going to have to call/fold. Another good point is that he will also rarely if ever flat AA/KK in these positions so when he does call his range is going to be fairley well defined as something like 88-QQ and you can play well against this. Flatting can be OK, but it's going to be really hard to win a big pot and if he's aggro he'll put you in a lot of awkward spots (like this one).

82o: Fine with ATC steal agaist described villains. I'm torn about cbetting flop, TJ does hit parts of his flatting range but I think enough will fold flop or turn that I think I prefer betting. I'd consider this a semi-bluff too as we do have 6 outs to improve which makes cbetting considerably more +ev. As played I like you line and the overbet, he's either got Jx which will always call or somethink like AQ/KQ that will never call so overbet gets best value for sure.

(now to read the other replies )