No history or information on any of the players.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players

UTG: $2.24 (112 bb)
MP: $9.22 (461 bb)
CO (Hero): $2.77 (139 bb)
BU: $2.12 (106 bb)
SB: $2.68 (134 bb)
BB: $1.41 (71 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero is CO with A♦ 9♥
2 players fold, Hero raises to $0.06, 1 fold, SB 3-bets to $0.18, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.12

Flop: ($0.38) 3♣ 2♠ 5♦ (2 players)
SB bets $0.18, Hero calls $0.18

Turn: ($0.74) 9♠ (2 players)
SB bets $0.62, CO (Hero)...?

Fold preflop to the 3bet

A9s call pre A9o fold pre

You might want to post your whole defend range vs a 3bet in this spot as you might have some quite big leaks if you're calling A9o here.

I don't even open A9o in the CO. Definitely folding to the 3b.

AP, flop float is meh. Turn I guess I'm calling and hoping river goes x x unless you improve.

In general I'm opening about 30% in the cutoff and calling the top half (i.e. 15%) of that to a typical 3 bet where I have position and I'm getting 2:1 odds preflop

If it's a min 3 bet (i.e. 1c-2c, I open to 6c and get 3 bet to 10c), I'm hard pressed to see if I could fold any part of my range when getting 5:1 preflop, but maybe that's just my lack of understanding how much losing the initiative hurts my chances.

Since most of the discussion seems to be about my weak preflop raise, I'll just mention now that I did indeed fold on the flop. My thinking on the flop was position (to float) + gutshot made it worth it to peel one off.

Some questions:

1. In a typical $2 NL zoom game, what range would you recommend I be raising in the cutoff, and what to 4-bet / call / fold to a 3 bet?

2. As played, if villain had checked when the 9 hit, would you recommend check & call most rivers, or bet/fold if check-raised?

Thanks for the insight, I'm still kind of new to this modern style of aggressive 6-max play so any help is useful

1. I would usually raise a range of: 22+, A2s+, K6s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 97s+, 87s, 76s, 65s, 54s, A9o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo form the cutoff, which is around 26% of hands. How I react to a 3-bet varies greatly on the position of the 3-bettor. I would handle a 3-bet from the BTN very differently than a 3-bet from the blinds.

2. If V had checked on the 9 then I can see the merits for betting small in this spot. You're very unlikely to get raised on this board and V won't be checking better hands too often. If you bet small you get protection/value from overcards like AK, and maybe even get value from a hand like 88. Betting small on the turn also makes it a lot easier to check back the river, since V will be unlikely to lead most rivers after checking the turn.

See, I'd definitely handle them differently but I bet you I'm doing this wrong; in general I've played tighter against a button 3-bet (because I'll be out of position) than against a blind 3-bet (which would indicate a tighter range, but I have position).

I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that I'm doing this backwards.

You are absolutely correct. You should definitely defend tighter versus a BTN 3-bet then vs a 3-bet from the blinds.

However, A9o shouldn't be defended vs a 3-bet from any position.

I found this on Poker Stars Schools (https://www.pokerstarsschool.com/art...Against-3-Bets) about defending against a 3 bet while in position.



Black indicates "open and muck to a 3 bet", so it seems the general consensus about A9o is correct (marginal open at best, easy muck to 3 bet). Green is 4 bet for value, blue is call the 3-bet, and red are the balancing 4-bet bluffs.

So overall, it would seem my takeaway should be that while my folding percent is about right (about half of my raises should be played on), instead of calling my most marginal openers like A9o, I should be mucking them and 4-bet-bluffing some slightly better parts of my range.

Is that about right?

That looks about right to me. You can probably mix up some of the calls in there too. I dont think its terrible to call some of the lower PPs, for example, providing you know how to play them postflop.

The problem with offsuit combos like A9 is that they use up so much of your 'quota' because there's so many of them. There's also the problem that theyre not very versatile for bluffing opportunities, i.e. you hit a pair and call some streets. This in itself causes its own problems because A9 is very easily dominated. You hit a 9 TP and youre often calling streets vs and overpair, or you hit an A and get owned by a better Ax.

I would use that chart you posted as a guide and find out what you think works for you as a defend range, and then adapt it for an opponents tendencies (i.e. nitty 3bettor, call less)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Position matters, but position matters for both players.

When you get raised by the button, they have position on you for the rest of the hand. They can use this against you, and therefore they can three-bet you wider than someone who will be OOP for the rest of the hand ... but their range is still going to be significantly tighter than your opening range in the cutoff. And A9o is going to suffer badly against either range, badly enough that position won't make up for it versus the SB 3-bet.

I would recommend going back to basics. Think about your overall opening range in the cutoff. Think about the likely 3-betting ranges of the button, the small blind and the big blind. Consider how well a given hand in your range fares against those ranges, and decide which hands are four-bet hands, which are calls, and which are folds.

In terms of strength and playability, A9o is close to the very bottom of my own CO opening range - it is certainly the worst ace I would be playing - so naturally it is one of the hands I am folding to a three-bet. Of the hands we aren't four-betting for value, we want to call three-bets with the best part of our range, not the worst.

ETA: The thread grew while my back was turned. While the chart you posted reflects the right sort of thinking and leads to the correct conclusion, I would strongly recommend relying less on positional charts provided by others and thinking more about what goes into the making of those charts. At the very least, if you are at all serious about improving your game, you should download Equilab and start playing around with it.