V is one of the best regs on ACR, up well over 6 figs and consistent winner.

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - 5500/11000 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 232,475 (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 18.37, 3Bet Preflop: 29.41, Hands: 51)
SB: 55,000 (VPIP: 4.17, PFR: 4.55, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 24)
Hero (BB): 551,887
UTG: 301,842 (VPIP: 19.35, PFR: 11.11, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 93)
UTG+1: 291,848 (VPIP: 24.19, PFR: 17.74, 3Bet Preflop: 13.64, Hands: 62)
MP: 186,000 (VPIP: 25.32, PFR: 26.87, 3Bet Preflop: 14.29, Hands: 79)
MP+1: 325,256 (VPIP: 15.63, PFR: 7.20, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 129)
MP+2: 1,104,575 (VPIP: 22.75, PFR: 16.98, 3Bet Preflop: 8.82, Hands: 168)
CO: 308,672 (VPIP: 9.52, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 21)

9 players post ante of 1,375, SB posts SB 5,500, Hero posts BB 11,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 28,875) Hero has Qs Kd
fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, CO raises to 22,000, fold, fold, Hero calls 11,000

Flop : (61,875, 2 players) Qd 5d 7s
Hero checks, CO bets 23,385, Hero calls 23,385

Turn : (108,645, 2 players) Tc
Hero checks, CO bets 62,480, Hero calls 62,480

River : (233,605, 2 players) 5c
Hero bets 47,401, CO raises to 199,432 and is all-in, Hero calls 152,031


I haven't run this in Pio yet, mainly because I wanted to have the discussion free of bias. I think my main question is the river action. I remember my thought process at the time was really torn between blocking, shoving, or check calling. In game I ended up blocking to get value from JJ, 99, 88, Tx that would have checked behind and figured I was getting stacked by everything that beat my KQ regardless. However, when reviewing, I think based on my logic, V probably has to call a donk shove from me with the same set of hands (minus maybe 88 since it blocks my open enders) making a shove better than blocking. The other question I'm torn on is whether or not V is bluffing enough over a block here on the river? I blocked assuming I was snap calling a shove, but not sure V is going to shove his bluffs over my block here very often unless he thinks he can credibly fold out my mid range blocks which given the pot odds seems unlikely. So I end up in the leveling game of he thinks this that I think that...

V has shown a lot of strength preflop, post flop and oot. I wouldn't love my hand at this point and would prefer x/c on the river and might even fold to an all in. Leading out is too thin as QJ, JJ, 99 and 10x would have checked the turn most of the time.

How could you plan on calling a shove when v would never have any bluffs? The odds are way too good for you to fold to a river jam and v knows this. What would be his bluff hands...86? All other hands like QJ, JJ, 99, 88 and maybe even AQ would have flatted your river bet.

I think preflop, I would 3bet fold/here. Villian should be opening fairly wide from co here. Meh as played I think we wanna x raise flop or turn. Villian has 30bbs. What are we hoping for here? As played, I’m not sure why you would donk lead river. I think river is a x-call spot. Villian is prolly pretty strong though if he’s raising a strong looking donk lead on the river.

I don’t play $500 online mtts though so take everything I just said with a grain of salt.

So you're asking humans instead of an algorithm for a bias-free discussion?

Also out the V. We don't keep secrets from each other here

Also known as "an equilibrium"


As for the hand:

Flop combos unblocking diamonds are a pure x/r, blocking diamonds brings the EVs of flat and x/r more into line, presumably due to blocker conderations.

Turn just a pure x/j. You should be continuing with enough 7x, 5x, 88-99, 22-66, et al for V to justify barreling for this sizing with diamonds as a bluff or worse Qx (or just worse pairs really because you need to continue with 7x, even some 5x lest you're exploitable) for value such that you should expect to get paid off pretty frequently (you prob have ~45% equity against his GII) and deny enough equity to make x/j a bit more profitable (~.2bb in EV).

So we really should be in this node of the game but AP river donk is fine and demonstrates some really great instincts on your part--I had thought you have no donking range but I guess that 5x is just one of the most nutted cards for your range (also 7x) such that it gives you a pretty decent range advantage OTR. (even though V's fired twice you've also been given the opportunity to shed yourself of total air which makes your range stronger than his I guess) as a ThinValue/BlockBet strategy w/ lots of Tx and even lets you work in some air for a potentially cheap bluff (you yourself have busted draws that'll need to be dealt with somehow). Due to how many potential bluffs you have, donking river all in is also valid bc V can't fold a Qx and even 88-99 are occasional calls.

AP, call now. This is like 85th percentile of your range your strat is getting absolutely owned if you fold here. Pretty EZ call even now blocking his bluffs, you also his Qx which are all jams at this point (because V still reps enough bluffs to justify you snapping some Tx, especially non-diamond Tx combos) so if you fold here your most likely scenario is V "bluffed" you with what he though was a jam for value

- i see @eggs is cheating and looking in the back of the PIO book for answers again

let's see

i had the flop correct - x/r without d, mixed strat with d - personally i like the x/c as half the deck will give V a reason to barrel large with hands like KJ, JTs, AJ, AK, Adx and most profitable regs are overusing that strat now and are exploitable in these spots

turn - yep, given effective stacks I'm c/j every time.

(i think it's likely a x/c if effective stacks were deeper though - V is barrelling away, and we're mostly WA/WB with V highly likely to barrel again on river with identical turn range. we also have the advantage of accessing the river and making reasonable decisions around T+ river cards. but we have a PSB left so x/ripit.

river - given turn x/c strat, we should continue to x/gii river on what appears to be a pretty decent card for Hero. leading to that size is no good imho because we stop V bluffing off all his busted draws - which is intuitively more valuable than him hero'ing your block bet with worse although I have no math to support this because I'm a live player that uses lucky crystals more than PIO.

True, but we also force him to call hands that are otherwise pure xb's such that the amount we are potentially valuecutting ourselves by via not jamming is offset by the amount by which we are potentially valueowning V when we take hero's chosen sizing.

Both sizings are equally fine and valid. Even a sicko like V in this hand will not see this spot against you enough to know you may or may not be taking one of the non-dominated river sizings with suboptimal frequency. You can not be correctly perceived to be exploitable at this point--even though OP technically is exploitably strong (too much top-of-range KQ in his river range)

So in theory, but also in practice too, you truly can just pick at random and go with it.

^ there's value in that river bet line for sure - both for value against worse and to save chips against AQ KK+ that may not jam given repeat 5 otr.

it really depends on % of V range that bluffs turn and jams river - I'd argue it's pretty high and provides better value than the above. but once again, I'm using crystals not PIO.

I'm using crystals.

Silicon crystals.

Since I'm outting V, I went back and checked sharkscope (since I have a buddy that does my sharkscope research in game for me on sundays) and it appears my note was wrong. He just had 1 150k score. CouncilofRicks.

As for the "bias free" comment. Pio is equilibrium. But nobody plays GTO and hearing what good players think through in given spots (without the pio solution in their head) is crucial when deciding how you're going to deviate from pio for a MES.

I ran this is Pio this morning and am slapping myself pretty hard. I have been playing way too passive lately out of nowhere, as I am known in my friend group as the most aggressive player. It could have been because I was multitabling quite a bit at this stage (I usually remove my cash tables when I'm really deep in at least 1 mtt with 5 figs up top). But either way, I dont mind the flop x/c since pio is mixing w Kd and in this spot, I think allowing online players to over barrel is the move. I should have found the turn x/j as this is pretty significantly better. This is definitely one of my more recent newly acquired leaks where I play spots like this passively. I will recognize it in game next time though.

For closure, V had AQhh.

Yeah never seen that guy but it's quasi-tilting that a ****** with a Rick and Morty moniker just shows up out of nowhere and wins 6-figs.

Also, you basically you have a poker caddy who feeds you info about you opponents in real time?

That's awesome but also kinda scary.

He joins me to learn and takes a small piece of the action.