Subbed, good luck mate!

Solid player opens 30 in MP.

I flat Q Q in CO, mainly to balance since I call so often PF. Button calls.

Flop 7 2 6

Villain bets 65 I call (deceptively, button calls confusingly.

Turn 3

Villain bets 150. I shove the remainder of my stack 385 total.

Button tank folds, Villain instacalls. ****.

River T

He shows A K I hold.

Heh. Just went back and thread the history I posted. Missed a somewhat key action

I opened for $40. Now the rest should make sense.

Or not.

Bah.

Needless to say, May was absolutely ridiculous on every level. Incredibly juicy games coupled with some obvious rungood and what I think was overall some pretty damn good play, and voila...







Also picked up a couple of coaching students, so that helps to appease the wife's desire for "steady, dependable income."

(Not that anyone asked but no, I'm not actively looking to pick up students and do not do "long distance" phone/video coaching.)

Hopefully I can keep in this "zone" I feel like I'm in for the foreseeable future.

I'd really like to turn poker (back) into a full-time job at some point. It's the only job I've ever really loved.

I'm gonna miss May.

sick month

It's good to be a luckbox.

The One True Absolute in Poker (sort of)

IMO, there are very few absolute right and wrong decisions in NLHE, particularly when it comes to preflop play where creativity can be every bit as big (or bigger) a factor than pure math logic.

In fact, the only thing that is absolute about absolute decisions in poker is that they are absolutely 100% wrong, with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions. (Which I suppose makes my absolute statement about absolute statements absolutely wrong, but I digress...)

I touched on this a bit earlier ITT, but one thing I will do 100% of the time with no exceptions is raise a small pocket pair on the button when 3 or more people have limped ahead of me. And that raise will always be between a 3/4-to-full pot-sized bet (as will almost all my button raises when limped to me).

So, if I get 33 on the button and 5 players limp to me, I'm raising $30-45 $100% of the time.

I have many reasons for this, the most obvious is to build a nice pot while I have position and a very easy-to-play hand.

Another factor is that by letting everyone limp in, particularly the blinds, outside of quads there is no flop that I can hit where I can feel 100% comfortable with my hand. And even flopping quads is beatable (though to be fair your preflop raise is unlikely to drive out any hand that could out-quad you on later streets).

Flop is 234 u get 3 or 4 bet then what? So little money in the pot u willing to build it now to go broke later? Same with A37 or 344, etc.

What hand that you can beat is going to be playing you for stacks here?

I do try to follow the axiom "don't go broke in a limped pot." Tho I know I've violated that "rule" on more than one occasion.

The hand becomes much different and easier to navigate here with $200 already in the pot, or with just one or two callers to contend with.

Hell I'm not even necessarily raising to narrow the field. I'm cool with 8 callers. Sure they have the same cards as if they limped, but now the circumstance are entirely different. DUCY? (argh I hate people who say DUCY, especially when they write it out in annoying uppercase phonetic letters. Do you see what you made me do?!?)

I can and have talked for hours or even days on this subject. It's one of those rare times when even though someone disagreed vehemently with me, after discussion they have (almost 100%) come to agree with me. (Of course this agreement could also be just to get me to STFU about this already...)

I say raising >>>> folding > limping

This also assumes of course that this isn't the only time you will raise a limped button. That you are properly balancing and play other hands in a similar fashion.

What say you? Anyone agree or disagree?

I think overlimping small pp is still better than folding them. Interesting assertion, I can see ISOing small pp is favorable if nobody is 3b wide.

I think over limping with small pairs is fine. Depends on stack sizes, 3 betting tendencies at the table, etc. Prob raise on button more often than not but not 100 percent.

Ok my fold ranking was prob a bit of hyperbole. But why would you of all people ever limp here?

And r u slotted in for any upcoming events?

I can think of many common situations....for example, a couple of short stacks limp, likely to 3 bet shove, while there are other big stacks in play, and we have 55 on button.

Prob no tourney for me after my performance in the millionaire maker. Busted in level 2 lol. My last hand was prob typical cash game play: triple barrel with 22 on T92r6cc7x board, 3 way flop, 3 way turn, heads up river, snapped off by Q8cc. Oops!

Might take a shot in the main though, seems like the socially responsible thing to do.

People go broke with 2p/bad trips all the time for 100bb even when you're never ever putting the money in with worse. Its good to keep those hands in that would fold to a raise by limping behind.

This is a valid point.

You don't like 55 against random short stack limp/shove with dead money in pot?

Can always try to supersatty in or even play online with that fancy Vegas address. But best case scenario is a dozen days of playing nothing but Hold'em with no rebuy option where 1 Spazz can be the difference between 10 milly and -$10k. You have that much patience?


But aren't these the exact guys you want to play a juiced pot against IP? Generally these players will also be the ones calling your raise OOP with easily dominated holdings they don't know what to do with?

Whelp June starting off good so far. Flopped quads against AA. $1600 pot.

They held up. #rungood

Really enjoy reading this thread, fun feel to it and considering getting into live poker for the $$$ factor, so nice to hear the thoughts of a winning live reg, but please tell me post #182 was a troll post?

Still having a good day, but 0-2 against the worst player at the table when flopping the nuts (in both cases top set.)

I guess that makes him the second worst player at the table?

There is a bit of hyperbole and exaggeration to it, but there are very few situations where I overlimp small pps there. (This applies only to live and not online or tournament play.)

I honestly cannot see tho where raising in that situation can be the "wrong" play.

Good start to June. In for $500.

SB is a somewhat tight player I know well. Above average CTown 2/4 reg. While I know he respects my game, I also believe he thinks he can easily push me off marginal or semi strong openings. (Basically because I have told him so in the past.)

CO Is the same guy I made the KK call with in post 126. Can be aan ggro/station. Fears me. Currently down $3k but just doubled up.

$10 straddle 4 callers to my button

I have ATo raise to 55

SB makes it 155 after a pause.

CO calls. I call. (I am not a believer in his 4 bet.) I have 315 behind, both villains have me covered and have near equal stacks (~800 to start hand).

Flop k97r.

SB checks. CO bets 100. 1 shove 315 total. I figure I'm doing well against CO's range, but probably behind SB. However, I don't think SB is strong enough to call a 3 bet shove based on reads/past history.

SB folds. CO folds

Standard?

anything but standard to me, but I don't have anything like your results, so what would I know

I think you're much better off 4betting preflop if you think SB is 3bet bluffing you. SB should be firing cbets a lot when you flat his 3bet and your hand just can't really stand heat on too many flops.

On ace high flops, can you feel confident getting it in? Ten high?

You're basically looking for ATx or TTx or you think SB will just check to you every time he misses the flop which I think is too optimistic. Especially because he'll have value hands a lot.

Also the $155 that the co put in is just dead money because he absolutely cannot stand a 4bet. More incentive to 4bet bluff since you will have a hard time getting much value postflop vs him

Most people l/f with stuff like J8o or T7s so you don't really get to keep those hands in

I think by raising you do win huge pots when you flop a set, but you also will be losing a lot more when you miss.

However, you can still easily get stacks in in a limped pot when you hit a set anyway whether you raise or over limp because lol live poker

That's why I think over limping these hands is much better than raising. I guess i don't think raising is bad, but there's a lot of value in over limping because people suck, don't give them the opportunity to fold they're 74s

I do agree with this in a vaccuum as a more standard play. And against unknowns I am likely just folding here anyway.

My call/shove was more situational. If I shove pre I highly doubt CO folds. He was in "catch up" mode so I think he calls a preflop shove, which isn't necessarily bad but I wanted to take a different approach this hand.

I know SB was absolutely expecting me to fold. He is wary of the button raise, especially MY button raise. If I reshove pre he is also less likely to fold small pairs and hands that have equity against AK-type holdings. I know PF his calling range is wider than post. While I don't really believe his raise is THAT strong, I don't think he has air. I'm willing to let a flop happen and trust my gut on how to continue.

A flat here by me I think scares him a bit more than a shove. (And if we played this scenario out 100 times the way I play it will vary.

This is one of those spots where I'm looking to flop a favorable situation, and not necessarily a hand. My call screams AK/mid-high PP to the SB. (Partly do to the fact that we play often and I've had conversations in the past with him about how I never call large 3-bets PF AJ/AQ, small PP, etc. While this really isn't a lie, because of those convos I know he is expecting me to fold AJ and worse, and likely AQ. He doesn't need to be super strong here.) He knows (thinks) my 3B calling range is a bit more polarized than it is.

In fact, when I shoved he and half the table said "I knew you had AK there... " Which is when i decided to flip over my AT to set up future situations... (Also not standard, but I show only what I want the table to see.)

(Of course all that is hard to put in a post without boring the crap out of everyone.)

I play against a rather small playing pool, so have the luxury of really micro-tailoring my game and situations to each opponent. (And this is part of why my w/r is so high and I don't think it would convey to a larger room.)

So I'm really looking to flop a favorable situation. I'm hoping my flat gives the BB a case of the MUBS. When the flop came and he hesitated, I felt pretty confident he didn't like seeing that King. I know from experience that if the CO liked the board he would have either checked to me or bet more.

So, with all that extra info I had at my disposal, I decided to mix up my play from what is likely more "standard."

Cliffs: While hitting TTx or ATx would be nice, I'm not really looking for a particular flop when I call PF. Would I be willing to go broke on and A-high board? Depends what the action before me is.

(Hope this isn't too long or rambling.... Currently waiting for an appointment and just going stream of consciousness here, and it takes an awful lot of words to try to explain what's going on in my head, which is a pretty convoluted place.)

Villains:

SB: On tilt. In for 3500. Just got stacked again. Same player as earlier as the CO in post 195.~$500

BB: Solid player. I know he fears me. I had been on his direct left most of the day in the 5 seat, but when the 8 seat opened up I moved. He commented that he is ecstatic I'm no longer on his right, that I handcuff him etc. He has well over 2.5k

Me: Spewtard. ~1.3k effective. While the villains in question are familiar with my overall style, today I had been relatively quiet (playing <20% of hands) and at showdowns generally had "premium" holdings.


Straddled pot. I raise 40 UTG+1 with 6 4

---
This is the type of hand that I don't mind playing OOP. I'll rarely open limp with it, but will on occasion raise from ep. I won't too often go for a straddle steal this early, but the table is very deep (at least $12-15k on the table) and I'm comfortable playing big stack poker with it.

Obvious reasons include a more than reasonable claim should an Ace or King fall, and a bit of deception if the board comes low. To me, these are generally very easy hands to play and also very easy to abandon if a steal attempt goes awry.

It's certainly not a standard play I make but worth adding to the arsenal when used judicially. If I'm being particularly spewy in a given day or I know I had 0 bluffability, I'll stay away from these types of plays.

---
Everyone folds to the SB and BB who call.

Flop 5 6 7
Checked to me I bet 115.
--

Pair and open ended straight draw. I've hit this flop about as hard as I can hit it. Since I'm c betting just about every flop checked to me, no way I am checking behind here.

---
Call, call. This is a bit surprising.

Turn 3

SB shoves 300. BB tank flats.

---

Interesting. Based on villains I am not too concerned with the BB having the nuts here. He isn't looking to play pots with me, and I doubt he is going to cold call 8BB Preflop with 89, particularly with the straddler still left to act. I'm not completely discounting it from his range, but I don't think it shows up very often. 84/34 pretty much never show. And I'm pretty sure he is putting me on a large overpair at this point, so the most obvious and most likely holding is a set. Could be chopping if he has 44, and I doubt he is calling the SB shove (who very easily can have 2 pair, a straight, etc.) with 99-QQ. KK/AA (and prob QQ) would likely have been announced here preflop.

I'm hoping he has a set or 88, because I may very well be relying on the side pot to make money here.

I also know how he thinks, and with my ep raise in pretty sure he isn't putting me on a straight here. If I shove I don't see how he can get away...

---
I shove for 900 more. BB tanks.

---
The longer he tanks the more I want the call. Eventually he calls, and (music to my ears) asks "do you have a straight?). I nod. Now to avoid a paired board...

---
River 8

He shows 66. I scoop a ~$2900 pot. Dunno SB's holdings (I assume 2 pair).

---
After the hand he is a bit stunned. "I couldn't put you on that. Not with your EP raise. You raised it, right? You opened for $40?"

"Yup"

"I thought you had AA or KK. The way you played it. I just couldn't put you on that hand..."

"That was kind of the point...I was hoping you put me on a big PP," I try to say without sounding like a dick.

(Can't stand it when someone wins or loses a big pot and someone at the table, particularly when not in the hand, talk about how one player got lucky or another made a mistake or another outplayed someone else. This is a bit different because the guy who just lost is the one asking. Still, it's so hard to strike that tone between conciliatory and matter-of-fact without pouring salt in wounds or acting like an ass.)

He carried on for a bit. I encourage him that against me he has to call. That he wasn't exactly drawing dead and still had plenty of equity when the hand went in. I got lucky, hand was a cooler.

"No, man. It wasn't luck. We both know it..."

He gets up and cools down a bit. I do feel a wee but bad, but i look down at my new mountain of chips and instantly perk up again. Strange how that works.

Sometimes, it pays to be a Spewtard.