I don't like it, but would still raise flop.
Both to charge draws and also to get some folds and prevent weaker hands to improve.
If mr. Headphones 3bets it I'm done.

I just prefer this over calling flop 4way and not liking almost any turn and getting further bet into without having clear how strong they are.

You should be able to discount sets quite a bit, so other than some QJ combo's and straights from Mr. HP we should be ahead of a lot of TP, TP with gutter, midpair with gutter and FDs, which should make a raise be profitable.

Depends on how deep the game is, the players and where the straddle is (utg/Btn). If everyone is straddling then I will as well. If no one is straddling then its not "fair" for you to be straddling alone, but sometimes doing it alone can still be +EV (IMO).

If you're in a tough line up straddling only bloats pots vs good players who are after that extra $ so I do it less.

In some games where I'm overrolled and super deep I'm straddling my Btn 100% of the time regardless of anyone straddling or not. It makes it easier to get stacks in that way ESP when we have the button. It's probably not really relevant below 5/10 nlhe bc of the stack size caps though.

If I'm at like 5/5 PLO and 500+ bbs deep with fish I might just straddle 30%+ of the hands from later positions. Sometimes I'll even double straddle (where allowed) if the situation is good enough.

I'd like to thin the field a bit with a raise but our hand is pretty marginal.

I raise flop and barrel turns that aren't horrible and check back hearts, AKTJ8. If we get raised on the flop or the turn we muck (unimproved). If turn/river both brick out we should still check it back bc guys still show up with T8 and we can't get called by much worse.

It depends on the game and how comfortable you are playing with a smaller pot : stack ratio. If I can raise wider because I expect to take the pot down pre a lot, then I'm going to straddle more. I often start straddling when I get deeper, as I'm more comfortable with extra Antes and have a larger psr. Some gamballl players like it so I don't mind making them happy.

I agree with Deurdy on the Q9o hand.

I'm raising, essentially using my two pair as blockers. I'm protecting my equity. I'm raise/folding always.

That said, worse hands will definitely call. My only worry is QJ just calling and then value cutting myself later.

As for straddling, I just don't really see how it's ever going to be really +EV. Look back at your old online databases and see how well you did in the other positions where you have to put money in blind.

Maybe cake makes a point with how often they will limp and then fold, but risk/reward is still low cause you have to raise big and then play out of position if called. It's a marginal spot at best.

Until I find a live game were I can't raise after looking at my hand a get between 1-3 callers every time, then I will not feel much of a need to put any more money in with out looking at my hand than possible.

I too will straddle if everyone is straddling, but that basically never happens.

I make so much money against straddlers cause they they almost always feel the need to defend it. So, they are putting like 10 bbs in blind every time. If I limp, I never ever fold when the straddler raises, and then I'm going to play better than them in position.

My response was tailored to button straddling. Which I do pretty often. I never straddle utg.

opponent plays good for these stakes
24/18 with 36 steal , 7.1% 3bet

he is hidden from search but I think he plays at least 10 tables based on his actions ( I play 4-5 tables, and thats the amount that usually runs in these 8c/16c ante games, so I think he's mixing other games )
his 3bet is split kinda evenly from in position and out of position, he has curiously low squeeze % (1%)

I usually 3x pre this position with everything.

button is a bit of a loose cannon with 30/20/28 14% bet

should I raise the flop "sometimes" ? I find it hard to randomise my play
turn std
river is a pickle. If he starts doing it with AK and AA then it becomes a clear call but if he hasn't got either of these and wont bluff this card its a clear fold so it seems to swing huge depending on assumptions
call or fold?

If you're going to spend a lot of time playing vs this villain you should be raising this flop with your hand a non 0% of the time. If you're just raising value hands and some air but peeling weaker pairs and your draws it'll make you exploitable vs someone paying attention. That said there might not be a ton of guys "paying attention" at this level, you know the answer better than I would. Turn is good.

I'm likely to call river vs reg types who can be capable of doing this in theory with bluffs. Obv should be a clear fold vs everyone else.

I tend to hero call it up when reg villain's repping the nuts on every street on boards where hand strengths change on each street. I don't find them having it often.

thanks for the advice

I called. Villain showed 8d9d

this is against a loose aggressive villain
he has lost a few pots in a row to me on different tables
I raise the turn because I think he's betting it too often and it gives him cheap showdown for a bare Ace where I can rep 2pair quite credibly. If I get raised its an easy decision so i'm not bothered by having to fold my poor flush draw and poor straight draw
River though? I feel like after he calls the turn he has two pairs himself often , some straight draws but unlikely to have 56, he could have a rivered 79 or 89 but fewer nuts hands like 9TJ , ATJ compared to absolute heaps of 9Tx, many of which have A9 and 89 for two pairs sooo... bluff or check/fold?

heres a hand that happened just prior

Sounds like he value cut himself.

I think it's a fold since guys at that level with those stats are almost never turning AA or AK into a bluff.

C/F. Way too many straights on that board. Don't think he'll fold any of them.

Yeah giving up is probably best. As villain in this spot I probably call river pretty lightly. We're already repping value hands on the turn and this should be a card which hurts the hands we're repping. When we barrel again I think we can only show up with a very small range of winning hands that make sense.

What hands are we raising turn with that we wouldn't raise the flop with that got better on the river? IE if we flop wraps we're raising the flop pretty often, and those wrap combos go out the door when we raise the turn (repping AX2pr hands, sets), and those hands loose value on that river. He can rep the 9 easier than you can .

The previous hand you played with him looks like a fairly light call as well. Give this one up imo.

5/10 NLHE

Hero has 2k
Villain has ~1500

Villain is an unknown. Looks familiar, no history that I can recall. He's about 35-40, headphones, hat, looks like he knows how to play. Has been at the table for about 30 minutes and has raised a fair amount of hands. Has opened like 50% since he sat down. Hasn't shown anything down yet, however. Him opening as many hands as he has with the guys he has to his immediate left (a few competent regs, me included) makes me assume he's a little reckless.

Villain opens to $35 in MP. Folds to me OTB and I flat with KJo. Thought about 3betting but kind of want to play some post flop IP and figure out how he's playing.

Everyone else folds.

Flop ($85): T 9 6 rainbow.

Villain cbets $55. I flat.

Turn ($195): T 9 6s A s (puts a flush draw on the board).

Villain checks, I bet $125.

Villain raises to $285.

Hero is pretty confused as to what villain has here. It seems better for him to barrel sets/2 pair hands vs me because I'm not folding hands with equity (Ax, straight draws), but C/Ring me probably lets me make easy folds with worse. Precisely 87 makes sense but his sizing feels bad vs whatever I continue with (he's laying me good odds to call with my draws) and lets me fold my air.

Hero really wants to rep 87 myself and just flat + bomb the river.

I call.

River ($765): T 9 6s As Jo

Villain leads for $185.

Hero is still confused. Is this for value? A badly sized bluff? A blocking bet? Is he trying to induce a raise?

Fold/Call/Raise?

Had a funny 2/5 hand yesterday where I raise pre to 15 with Axcc, Super old guy 2/5 reg flats. Flop comes JJ7c he checks I bet 20 he tank/calls, turn is 8c he checks I bet 45 he tank/calls, river is 2x he leads $5 in $1 chips. I make it $105 and he snap ships for 175 total. I have to fold getting ~6.3 to 1 after triple barreling.

6 max $100 NL on Bovada

110 BB stacks and no real reads yet but villain has limped from MP once in about 15 hands.

I open JsTs in CO to $3 and get called by BB
Flop is JT3 rainbow
BB donks $2 I raise to $8 he makes it $36 and I do...?

How do you think you get stacks in the most often? This probably 99% for value so I don't think it matters to much with the dry flop if you shove now or flat and let him shove turn.

I'd probably just shove so he can't get scared by turn with an AJ/QQ type hand.

Ok thanks. Since there was no way I was getting away from the hand it felt like shoving the flop was best and he had 33.

I haven't played in a few years until recently, and it feels like I'm getting coolered quite a bit in large pots. But since I'm so rusty and people in general play much better now I was starting to wonder if I'm just playing big pots poorly.

It's possible. I don't play online anymore. But his line is pretty fishy.

My thinking was his value range would include AA, KK, QQ, AJ, JJ, TT, 33. But you discount AA-QQ because he 3 bet them some, discount JJ because he will not play it fast a lot imo.

I think you have enough equity. You have to give him some random spaze equity too.

Players are terrible at bovada. Games were harder on FTP and stars pre bf.

I think I stopped playing about a year before BF and at that time on PS to me it felt like NL100 was pretty easy and NL200 was really hard. The leap in aggression between them was distinct and I never figured out how to handle it.

On Bovada NL100 the level of aggression feels similar to when I was last playing NL100 regularly on PS, but the difference is it seems that there are fewer complete fish per table.

It's possible that I'm really bad right now and misreading the tables or forgetting what PS was like when I last played regularly. I'm going to try and jump quickly to NL200 so I guess I'll find out soon enough since my skills are still at pre bf levels.

Yeah pretty standard line with 100 bb stacks. Only would be poor if villain was super passive and given your description of just the games in general that doesn't seem to be the case.

Glad this thread got bumped, wasn't happy it died but didn't want to continue having conversations with my self.

6 max 400nl on Bovada

100 BB stacks and only played a few orbits. Villain seems to be the table boss but with so few observed hands it's hard to read much into it. Anyway he's full stacked and opened a few late positions hands and also 3-bet once.


Pre Flop
Folds to me on BTN and I open 87 to $8
BB 3-bets to $16 and I call

Flop
885
BB bets $21 into $34 and I call

Turn
885A
BB bets $80 into $76


Preflop is kind of meh but it can't be correct to fold too much of your BTN opening range getting such large odds with position. Would like to hear if people think different.

I think I'm fine with my flop call.

Not sure what to do on the turn. Was going to raise most turns but not sure about this one.

I'm pretty confused by his bet sizing. Seems pretty polarized. Is he betting AK, KK, QQ this way? Doubt it. I also doubt he has AA ever either.

I think I just call turn because I think he has so much air in his range and has plenty left for another barrel.