4 Handed at the FT. I am 3d in chips. SB, with 250K, at 2/8/16.

I limp 89o and somewhat aggressive player checks his option.

Flop is Q87 Rainbow. I bet 20K, Villain who covers, calls.

The short stack has about 120K.

Turn is an off suit 6.

Should I:

Bet/Call
Bet/Fold
Check/Call
Shove

payouts?
is this meaningful $?

close between check and bet on the flop, bet is ok, 20K is more than needed, make it 1BB 16k. i c/c line to trap for small value vv aggro here often (which would be nice on this turn) but 1BB is good too.

turn bringing sd+mp is interesting for sure

i think we should accept that Qx is never folding, that your mp+sd is never folding, and that there's still value against weaker multis in V range that will call down.

i'd really like betting 16k flop, 16k turn (b/c with express odds if available), 16k river (calling off improved) as a value+blockbet line that keeps you with chips against a lucky Qx flop.

check/call the flop is best. now check/call the turn

First was about 8600, down to 4th was 2500. So, meaningful, but not life changing.

I think 1/2 pot on flop is fine. He has such a wide range, that many hands will have a gut shot for example, that I'd rather charge a little more. Either way, hard to see where a 4K difference matters.

Such a tiny turn bet is almost equivalent to a check. But, I get betting small with the intention of calling normal sized raises is one way to play this hand.

I actually like the flop bet against and aggro player to block his positional advantage bet. Check with the intention of calling for pot control now. We want to see a river cheaply.

Yeah we need to be checking either flop or turn here. Obv calling any reasonable sized bet.

Betting same amount on flop, turn and river is never a big hand and for that reason is extremely exploitable on river, if not the turn, and we've already learned that our opponent is somewhat aggressive and presumably competent to be in the final 4.

As played on flop, the turn is a c/c, provided opponent gives us the correct odds.

Would help to know opponent's stack size.

Villain Covers and is in 2d in chips

There's 78k in the middle
You've got 214k behind
Turn is a c/c as long as opponent is betting <50k. you can c/r if you have a read but I'm never shoving or leading this turn.

Why? Shove looks bizarre and you're getting looked up by any straight, two pair and possibly KQ, AQ and JQ.

If you lead and he jams, you have to fold thus getting blown off your equity on what is a fantastic turn card for you.

It’s hard to gauge the dynamic in a seniors event without being there, and the limit bet line may seem tropical to online regs, but it’s very hard for a hand worse than Qx to take control and raise ott if he has some significant sdv or draw equity.

We can all be geniuses and know how to play against your specific holding, but imo the key to this hand is to never relinquish control.

So, does that mean you are betting the turn? Size? Calling raise or shove?

I think the turn should be a c/rai.


I think you should bet the flop in this spot. There are so few turn cards that you are going to be happy to see. This is one of them.

BvB I think I bet/fold the turn. The flop seemed like an optimal place for an aggressive V to float with ATC and put you in an uncomfortable spot on the turn. Unfortunately for him, one of the worst cards he could hope for ended up landing instead, and I think a bet here would shift his plans and he's folding most of his range unless he holds a 9 which you block.

You having already reached the Ft and you being in bvb battle, i dont think there s the need to complexify your decision.
Therefore, imho, you should go for the lowest variance approach with a hand that does have decent sdv.
As said before, min betting flop isnt an error but doesnt accomplish much and as you ve only invested 1bb, you could stick with the 1bb flop bet.
Because you got cold called, he must have connected decently (dont know abt his float tendencies but with such a small pot, shouldnt be floating that much EV Wise).
The turn brings some straights + pair + draws type of hand, you should then proceed carefully and go for the check call mode (without giving any timing tell) happy to go to showdown. Revaluate otr, depending on the final board texture + his action,

Thanks for the responses.

5 Check Calls
1 Each, Bet call, Bet fold, Check Raise Jam.

I mistakenly shoved the turn. Yes, I know, FT, ICM should have me playing 'small ball' here. Yes, I know, in theory this is a disaster,Villain is folding out 'all worse' and calling 'all better'

My bet was probably bad against much of Villains range, but:

I do think I will get some of his better 8's to fold: 89-8K (not 8Q)
I will fold out all of his other 8x and 7x, some of which have many outs against me.
I get that most people think I will never fold out a Q, but would you really call Q2 here as villain? If you would, I think over bet shoving the turn with all of our made hands and a few bluffs is very profitable. Whether this should be one of the bluffs is a good question.

How many bluffs vs made hands should I have if I am overbet shoving?

Obviously, I can have all 16 combos of 89. Q8 and Q7 could also be there.

For the result merchants, Villain snapped with Q7

Sorry to hear that. Dont forget that you only invested 1bb initially. Therefore, it should help you not to go for the spasm spew metagame ("think I can make him fold worst 8") when there s actually no need to do that.
Cheers and gg though. On to the next one.

yes, the shove ott may seem like a horrendous mistake once he snap calls, but don't beat yourself up. there's a lot to like about jamming here to fold out better and for equity denial (copyright gregz 2016) against whatever he may be drawing to. i think he folds all one pair hands below KQ and you got damned unlucky against a Q7 that flopped a 22/1 shot.

icm isn't a disaster. more of an inconvenience. if there were two shorties left and you were heads up against CL - then it would be a disaster.

my gut says this is a c/c spot with a decision on the river, and i guess that's how i'd play it irl, but if you're going to bet out then bet something on all streets and look confident - because bet-checking and bet-bet-checking into an aggro when you're not trapping is burning $.

Thanks oldsilver. If he is folding most of his Qx, I feel better about jamming.

I’ll be playing my first seniors in a couple of years too. I like the VDS series btw, good fields/structures. See you there!

Beautiful, pure, crystal logic....

facepalm.jpg

Look confident man look confident...

Check/call flop mostly, check/call most reasonable turn bets, decide river. We have an ok-ish hand to bluff catch with here and once we pick up equity on the turn there's a chance we can stack TP+ hands on the river if we hit. I've been experimenting with a number of different B v B strategies lately, but I can see checking all of my hands here on the flop being reasonable.

Wondered when your ugly trunk was going to show up.

I don’t expect someone with your intellect to construct a non-standard line on the fly brah, it’s ok. My genius will become apparent in your autumn years.

Yeah need in excessive improvisation appears bc of fear your main skill set isn't good enough. It explains why our footballers loses every important game despite of doing a lot of cool tricks during the game.

Then ego comes into play and they admit it's actually a flair and you call it genius. Wp wp.