Hi all,

1/2NL at Maryland Live. Hero $450, V1 $175, V2 $325. Hero opens MP $6 with 5d6d. V1 3-bets from SB to $17. V2 BB calls, Hero calls.

Flop: Ks-7s-8c. Hero checks, V1 bets $20, V2 raises to $60. Pot $129.

Hero? Need to call at least $60 assuming V1 doesn’t shove to win $250 (assuming V1 calls), or around 24%. We have eight outs twice or 32% assuming clean outs and no one on spade draw. Plus implied odds if we hit. So call?

that's a ton of assumptions.

Assume V1 shoves behind (make this assumption before you decide whether to fold,call,raise the $60 bet). Now how good is your hand?

Since the bet is not all in you cannot use the 4x rule. At best, your immediate equity is 8/47 = 17%. However implied odds might make up for the equity shortfall.

I developed an implied odds model that does not assume that if you hit your outs, you win. This will be certainly true here with a low straight facing a possible flush draw. If the win given hit probability is in the 70- 75% range and a call is about 1/4 pot, you need impled odds of about 10 to 1 assuming at least1 villlain will call. This will require future winnings in the 350 range for your case and you can get that only if both villains call.

Thus, a call is questionable IMO.

Why are you first to act on the flop when your opponents are in SB/BB?

You don't close the action and have exactly 3 clean outs. That's the exact opposite of a dream scenario..

Good catch. I was last to act as the post states. It went bet, raise, then it was on me. I ended up folding.

This is usually (hopefully) my first thought in a similar spot. I do offer a backdoor though ... but it's still a huge stretch in this spot here.

When there's hope for a side pot and I can 'absolutely positively' put the bigger stack on made hands, NOT draws, then I take a look at how much 'net' loss/gain I would have if I win the side pot to see if it's worth the implied odds to try and win the main pot as well.

In this case here you could lose $175 in the main but win $150 in the side for a net loss of $50 .. of which $17 is already in the pot for a net 'risk' of only $33 to win $500 (or lose $50 or lose $325). The problem is you have to have the super solid read on the bigger stack and I usually don't like doing this when I have to hit a draw to win the side pot.

The other issue is that it's usually best to shove here to make sure all the chips go in and maybe create some fold equity. If V1 calls and V2 folds then there is no side pot to 'make up' your loss in the main.

This is a horrible example to work with here, but my main point is to always know your opponent's stack sizes so that you can at least think about 'net' losses/gains if you can get that side pot going. If V1 was shorter and V2 slightly deeper (and you 'know' that your draw is more likely to be good against V2) then you may be able to justify speculating with expectations of a smaller 'net' risk. GL

Can we also talk about preflop bet sizing? I've played at MDL a ton of times, and $6 is way too small a bet here. I'm fine raising with suited connectors, but make it a real raise. Past that, you're making way too many assumptions on the implied odds and not taking into account the player behind you. Basically, it sounds like you're trying to justify a call when it's clearly the wrong play.

Great point ... I don't mind smaller opening bets if the table is deep enough to call a 3-bet with (under the right conditions). That way the pot isn't too bloated going to the Flop. But we should be in a mindset here that we are opening and folding to most 3 bets anyway. So that allows us to pitch in a couple more chips in an effort to avoid being 3bet in the first place. The issue being, of course, you don't want to give away your hand strength via the size of your bet.

I try to avoid opening bet comments since I don't know what's standard for the room. I'm know for my $7-11-16 opening bet sizes where I play, so the only time you see a $6 from me is when I straddle. It's good to hear from someone who's played in the room!! GL

I would raise more pre because this is a tiny raise for live poker and as such is just going to get called every time. Then we're 3 ways with 6 high. Not what we're looking for. We get our equity by being able to barrel draws HU and have villain fold, not by flopping top pair.

As played I fold. By the time we see a raise, we have little fold equity, we don't close the action and we're mostly not drawing to the nuts. There's not many hands I call with here. I fold draws unless they are monsters, which I shove to max our equity.

This is an easy fold IMO, now if we have top end of the straight draw and flush draw as well or NFD + GSD, something like that, we can just rip it in.