JJ: It was the second time villain 3bet that small and I thought I had got a very good price to just call. So the question is: does villain's 3bet size influence the decision if I should call or 4bet?

It gives u a nice price to flat with a wider range. I would almost never fold to a mini 3bet (i might fold some weak Axo and Kxo, but flat any suited or connected hand I opened with) from anyone.
Also less dead money makes it less appealing to 4bet as a bluff, esp IP.
It really depends on which type of mistakes Villain will make more often vs. ur range (cbet postflop too much if u flat pre? Shove too often vs. a 4 bet? be too fit or fold the times he get called pre? Etc..). Then u can think of what type pf hands u want to flat or 4bet or fold. I.e., assuming he 3bets a polarized range: monsters and Ax hands work well if he loves to barrell, bc u will often have the best hand postflop and can slowplay. Ax give u SDV vs. his weak range and IO for the times he barrells on Axxx boards. PPs dont work that well bc they get tricky postflop and his range is too wide to be setmining (you have odds if u think he will 3 barrell very often though). They are still good to 4bet/calling in LP dynamics if u think he 5bets as a bluff enough times. Etc etc...

TBH I don't think people (at NL10 or NL16) 4bet and esp. 5bet too often as a bluff. Even the aggro/laggy regs who 3bet a lot must have a quite narrow 4bet or 5bet range. That's why I hesitated and just called. But - as I have mentioned it several times - the main problem is I don't have enough info on most of my opponents and I'm forced to play straightforwardly against them. I'm also still too timid at NL16...

IMHO

the thing is that vs. someone who 3 bets 8% of the times you have to defend having a 4bet range too. you cant always flat or fold because: 1. you lose value if you only ship KK+ (he has a supereasy fold) 2. if you play fit or fold postoflop you are going to lose tons of hands 3. if you fold too much, easy game for him.
I mean if he was 3betting 4% of the times you can literally fold any hand that is not KK+, but a LAG player with those stats will run over you.

you can adjust your 4bet range by either 4 betting lighter if you think he only 5bets for value (hence he will fold too often), or by 4betting a more polarized range if you think he ships too often (and calling his ships more).
but you have to discover how he reacts vs. 4bets, otherwise he is going to 3bet you very profitably. and this is a very good spot with a value hand. in this spot I think his 3bet range is wider than 8%, probably around 10-12% (BTNvsSB). JJ in this spot is the nuts, he is probably not going to fold AQ+, 99+. if you think he folds too often, then start 4betting way more with Ax, Kx hands, but that doesn't mean you have to flat JJ. other hands you can flat here imo.
postflop your hand will get worse too often.

OK, so his stats (38/23, 8% 3bet over 87 hands) are enough to 4bet/call him w/ JJ in this spot?

I was running like crap in the morning but a big pot in the evening made the day BE.




Hand #1:
Both blinds were fish that's why I opened UTG. BB was actually a LAG-fish (but not a maniac), postflop overly aggro.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($12.64)
BB ($9.35)
Hero ($16)
UTG+1 ($11.81)
CO ($26.30)
BTN ($43.30)

Dealt to Hero J K

Hero raises to $0.56, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.56, fold, BB calls $0.40

FLOP ($1.76) 9 3 5

BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

TURN ($1.76) 9 3 5 J

BB bets $1.28, Hero calls $1.28, BTN folds

RIVER ($4.32) 9 3 5 J K

BB bets $2.88, Hero calls $2.88

BB shows 5 5
(Pre 52%, Flop 98.4%, Turn 100.0%)

Hero shows J K
(Pre 48%, Flop 1.6%, Turn 0.0%)

BB wins $9.63


Hand #2:
Villain was unknown but seemed nitty. Looking back it seems an easy fold OTR.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($19.33)
BB ($13.30)
Hero ($16)
CO ($13.59)
BTN ($7.06)

Dealt to Hero T A

Hero raises to $0.56, fold, fold, SB calls $0.48, fold

FLOP ($1.28) 8 8 3

SB checks, Hero bets $0.73, SB calls $0.73

TURN ($2.74) 8 8 3 A

SB checks, Hero checks

RIVER ($2.74) 8 8 3 A 4

SB bets $1.44, Hero calls $1.44

Hero shows T A
(Pre 32%, Flop 19.2%, Turn 10.2%)

SB shows A K
(Pre 68%, Flop 80.8%, Turn 89.8%)

SB wins $5.37


Hand #3:
Finally a hand against a better laggy player (25/20 over 51 hands, 3/6 steal from the BTN, 3/3 c-bet, low turn/river AFq).

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
Hero ($16)
BB ($31.01)
UTG ($22.42)
CO ($9.93)
BTN ($21.41)

Dealt to Hero A J

fold, fold, BTN raises to $0.48, Hero calls $0.40, fold

FLOP ($1.12) 8 K 5

Hero checks, BTN bets $0.80, Hero calls $0.80

TURN ($2.72) 8 K 5 T

Hero checks, BTN checks

RIVER ($2.72) 8 K 5 T K

Hero bets $1.12, BTN folds

Hero shows A J

Hero wins $2.60

JJ: BTNvsSB i wouldnt think much about it. It is a good hand to find it out!

KJ: nh

AT: i would bet ott for value. As played ott river is close. I dont think it is a mistake either way tbh. Couple of busted fds, but his sizing screams value so looks closer to a fold.

AJs hand. What was your plan ott? i think i would have raised a 2nd barrell here and shoved river if his turn AF wa higher. I would bet river larger, I would hate a hero call from 99, Tx, JJ, QQ. checking wouldnt be that bad to develop reads on him, i think we are good a lot here.

AJs: OTF I floated as his c-bet% was very high and his turn AFq was low: I hoped he would check back OTT and I can win the pot OTR. OTR I intentionally bet that small: I wanted it to look like a thin value bet.

I couldn't play after my last post here as I managed to download a virus (actually a trojan) and I'm still trying to get rid of it. Quite annoying...

Short update: I couldn't play in the last few days b/c we are still moving into our new flat and there are a lot of things to do (esp. if your children are ill too). I played a few hands now and won a half BI. Two hands (against maniacs) to mention:


Hand #1:
Villain was playing 38/23 over 53 hands with 50+ flop and turn AFq. I bet small OTT to induce but I wasn't too happy when he insta shoved.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
Hero ($16.37)
BB ($16.52)
UTG ($12.82)
UTG+1 ($7.16)
CO ($18.09)
BTN ($8.42)

Dealt to Hero K A

UTG raises to $0.48, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.60, fold, UTG calls $1.12

FLOP ($3.36) A 8 6

Hero bets $1.92, UTG calls $1.92

TURN ($7.20) A 8 6 T

Hero bets $2.88, UTG raises to $9.30 (AI), Hero calls $6.42

RIVER ($25.80) A 8 6 T 9

Hero shows K A
(Pre 70%, Flop 82.7%, Turn 93.2%)

UTG shows A J
(Pre 30%, Flop 17.3%, Turn 6.8%)

Hero wins $24.64


Hand #2:
Villain was another unknown maniac (something like 70/40 over only 15 hands) with very high postflop AFq. I'm not sure about my river call... Looking back it now seems to be a fold...

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($14.21)
BB ($16)
Hero ($16)
UTG+1 ($31.09)
CO ($12.87)
BTN ($26.78)

Dealt to Hero K K

Hero raises to $0.56, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.56, SB calls $0.48, fold

FLOP ($1.84) A 3 Q

SB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

TURN ($1.84) A 3 Q 5

SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $0.96, SB folds, Hero calls $0.96

RIVER ($3.76) A 3 Q 5 6

Hero checks, BTN bets $2.56, Hero calls $2.56

Hero shows K K
(Pre 82%, Flop 78.5%, Turn 0.0%)

BTN shows 2 4
(Pre 18%, Flop 21.5%, Turn 100.0%)

BTN wins $8.48

Ak hand i think your good enough often against this type of villain to make the call.

KK i think you could probably bet the hand for value against the fishy guy. Hes defo a candidate to call with worse here. After that it becomes a bit of check guess.

OTF or OTT? I would agree w/ the latter.

I think on the flop. He defo could call with worse. I think by checking we do tend to flip our hand up a bit and say we are scared of the ace, obviously villain probably dosnt know this though.

i think you can go 2 streets with the KK
vbet vs his fds and Qx

AK: id raise more pre and never folding after your turn sizing
KK: id prob cbet and take it from there.. you don't wanna give an aggro guy initiative with a less than TP type of hand imo.

KK hand is close imo. in general like the cc line vs. this aggro guy, u take a lot of value from his stabs, but after only 15 hands i prolly go with a vbet.

in this hand once he checks back otf i don't think he barrells turn and river with total air. checks back otf + 2 barrells (with big river bet) often means he turned a sdv hand into a monster or he turned some equity and decides to barrell river (for value or bluff). i think his range ott is prolly Q5s,55, 46s, most of the times but most of all my first thought would be "he bets total air otf! and his river bet doesn't look like Qx")

Thanks for the feedback guys! In the KK hand do you think I can get enough value from worse against two players? In a HU pot it's an easy c-bet (esp. against the fish) but it was a three-way flop.

Had a nice long weekend w/ my friends (only boys): we visited a beer and food festival and enjoyed it a lot.

I hope I'll be able to play again the next week.

I've finally managed to play a few hands again. Up one BI.

Hand #1:
OR is an unknown loose fish, no postflop stats/reads. I don't really know if I like the call OTR?

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($11.04)
BB ($21.11)
UTG ($31.42)
UTG+1 ($8.11)
Hero ($17.22)
BTN ($16.78)

Dealt to Hero Q A

fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.32, Hero calls $0.32, fold, SB calls $0.24, fold

FLOP ($1.12) 2 8 Q

SB checks, UTG+1 bets $0.80, Hero calls $0.80, SB folds

TURN ($2.72) 2 8 Q K

UTG+1 bets $1.28, Hero calls $1.28

RIVER ($5.28) 2 8 Q K 6

UTG+1 bets $5.71 (AI), Hero calls $5.71

UTG+1 shows 9 4
(Pre 36%, Flop 6.7%, Turn 18.2%)

Hero shows Q A
(Pre 64%, Flop 93.3%, Turn 81.8%)

Hero wins $15.95


Hand #2:
Here, OR was a LAG the other players were loose/passive fish.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($17.10)
BB ($12.14)
UTG ($17.41)
UTG+1 ($32.37)
CO ($4.26)
Hero ($16.65)

Dealt to Hero 6 6

fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.40, CO calls $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, fold, BB calls $0.24

FLOP ($1.68) 2 4 7

BB checks, UTG+1 checks, CO checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB folds, UTG+1 folds, CO folds

Hero shows 6 6

Hero wins $1.60

AQ hand if he is aggro enough (pretty wide range and barrells enough) then, for 50bbs it is wp. especially when his bet sizing ott+ otr make no sense. That said, i would need read that he is capable of barrelling as a bluff, bc no worse made hand take this line.

66 pretty standard. We are betting to collect dead money/protection and for value vs the fishes who can call with overs and draws

AQ: Yeah, it's rather a fold OTR. I only had 7 hands on him... Thx.

I'm going to a business trip tomorrow in Hamburg. We'll be accommodated in a hotel in the red-light district... What do you think I should do in the evening ???

Lol...i hope ur wife is not reading this.
For me...read a good book and review hands on 2+2, what else! friends kid on me for being the only guy who went to thailand alone for cultural reasons only...
Reverse brag.

We finally went out for dinner. It was quite good and we also had a few beers so sleeping wasn't an issue. The girls should wait for the next time

I wish I can play a few hands today...

I had to wait a week to be able to play again (got a new project to deal with which is actually quite good). Lost a BI mainly b/c KK < QQ PFAI. A few hands:

Hand #1:
Villain was unknown but seemed to be a LAG-fish. Had he more money at the table I would have folded (OTF) but I'm still not sure I can call him down profitably.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($18.61)
BB ($18.85)
UTG ($7.65)
UTG+1 ($9.02)
Hero ($16.58)
BTN ($8.72)

Dealt to Hero K Q

UTG calls $0.16, fold, Hero raises to $0.56, BTN calls $0.56, fold, fold, fold

FLOP ($1.52) J Q T

Hero bets $1.08, BTN raises to $2.16, Hero calls $1.08

TURN ($5.84) J Q T 2

Hero checks, BTN checks

RIVER ($5.84) J Q T 2 Q

Hero bets $3.34, BTN raises to $6 (AI), Hero calls $2.66

BTN shows 9 A
(Pre 57%, Flop 97.6%, Turn 100.0%)

Hero shows K Q
(Pre 43%, Flop 2.4%, Turn 0.0%)

BTN wins $17.04


Hand #2:
This one was against a maniac (53/38 over 100 hands) who was able to make huge bluffs.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
SB ($12.63)
BB ($18.24)
UTG ($39.53)
Hero ($19.39)
BTN ($16.93)

Dealt to Hero A J

fold, Hero raises to $0.48, fold, SB calls $0.40, fold

FLOP ($1.12) 5 A Q

SB bets $0.96, Hero calls $0.96

TURN ($3.04) 5 A Q 3

SB bets $2, Hero calls $2

RIVER ($7.04) 5 A Q 3 8

SB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Hero shows A J
(Pre 61%, Flop 66.0%, Turn 68.2%)

SB shows 7 4
(Pre 39%, Flop 34.0%, Turn 31.8%)

Hero wins $16.27


Hand #3:
Against another aggrodonk. I was ready to stack off OTF...

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.16(BB) Replayer
Hero ($17.64)
BB ($23.03)
UTG ($18.47)
UTG+1 ($18.11)
CO ($17.76)
BTN ($39.89)

Dealt to Hero A K

fold, UTG+1 calls $0.16, CO raises to $0.64, fold, Hero raises to $1.60, fold, fold, CO calls $0.96

FLOP ($3.52) 6 8 8

Hero checks, CO bets $1.68, Hero raises to $5.71, CO folds

Hero shows A K

Hero wins $6.57