$2 NLHE 6-max: Thin value-bet with trips vs NIT

Hello there, so there's a hand from 2nl, btn is a fish which likes to steal blinds and sb is a supernit guy with vpip/pfr 9/4 with pretty small hand sample (only 54 hands).


pokerstars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
[Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3]

UTG: $2.02 (101 bb)
CO: $2.68 (134 bb)
BTN: $2.39 (119.5 bb)
SB: $3.01 (150.5 bb)
Hero (BB): $3.57 (178.5 bb)

SB posts $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has
2 folds, BTN raises to $0.05, SB calls $0.04, Hero raises to $0.24, fold, SB calls $0.19

Flop: ($0.53, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.53, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.28, SB calls $0.28

River: ($1.09, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.34, SB raises to $2.49 and is all-in

Hero: ?

I decided to squeeze preflop against really wide btn range and supernit which will probably 3-bet his premium hands and fold to my squeeze his capped range, and when nit called my squeeze, I wasn't really sure am I ahead of his range on the flop so often, even despite I flopped a top pair.

How often should I defend my range and c-bet flop, having top-pair, and is it ok to check this flop, control the pot and keep my range wide? What frequency should be to bet/check here?

Turn wasn't so good, although I caught open-ended. He checked again, I made a 54%-pot bet and he made a call.

River was pretty interesting, he checked again and I wasn't sure should I value-bet here, but anyway I made this 34%-pot bet and faced with huge 2.5-pot all-in.

So here, at 2-nl, those supernits really hate to call preflop with low suited connectors like 67s, so I excluded all the flushes from his value-bet range except royal-flush. J9s is really not-in-his-range hand, and he would probably check-raised me turn (or lead) with straight. Same with AQ. So, I limited his value-bet range with only TT, QQ, KQ and maybe some AK (also, his preflop actions were pretty passive with QQ and AK).
That's 13 value-bet combos and probably more bluffs.

What do you think about this hand and my streets actions (especially flop and river)?
Is that an easy-call river? Thanks!

Preflop
I think, this 3-bet is a little thin and unnessesary at 2NL. Just calling would be perfectly fine.

Flop
In a 3-bet pot against a nit your hand is only showdown value, so checking back for pot control and deception is perfect.

Turn
When he check again it looks like, he has a hand like AQ or JJ, and you can definitely get one street of value from those hands, so betting is fine.

River
You improved to trips but considering his range nothing really changed. Even a nit probably does not play AA this passively, and he is not calling preflop with QT either. So you only beat those same few hands, you beat on the turn: AQ and JJ. With your sizing I do think, those hands can call again, so I dont hate the river bet. However when he check-jam, you have a very clear fold. Nits rarely bluff and especially not with a huge overbet. The vast majority of the time he will show you a boat here with KQ, QQ or TT.

Denellus said:

Hello there, so there's a hand from 2nl, btn is a fish which likes to steal blinds and sb is a supernit guy with vpip/pfr 9/4 with pretty small hand sample (only 54 hands).


PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
[Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3]

UTG: $2.02 (101 bb)
CO: $2.68 (134 bb)
BTN: $2.39 (119.5 bb)
SB: $3.01 (150.5 bb)
Hero (BB): $3.57 (178.5 bb)

SB posts $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has
2 folds, BTN raises to $0.05, SB calls $0.04, Hero raises to $0.24, fold, SB calls $0.19

Flop: ($0.53, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.53, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.28, SB calls $0.28

River: ($1.09, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.34, SB raises to $2.49 and is all-in

Hero: ?

I decided to squeeze preflop against really wide btn range and supernit which will probably 3-bet his premium hands and fold to my squeeze his capped range, and when nit called my squeeze, I wasn't really sure am I ahead of his range on the flop so often, even despite I flopped a top pair.

How often should I defend my range and c-bet flop, having top-pair, and is it ok to check this flop, control the pot and keep my range wide? What frequency should be to bet/check here?

Turn wasn't so good, although I caught open-ended. He checked again, I made a 54%-pot bet and he made a call.

River was pretty interesting, he checked again and I wasn't sure should I value-bet here, but anyway I made this 34%-pot bet and faced with huge 2.5-pot all-in.

So here, at 2-nl, those supernits really hate to call preflop with low suited connectors like 67s, so I excluded all the flushes from his value-bet range except royal-flush. J9s is really not-in-his-range hand, and he would probably check-raised me turn (or lead) with straight. Same with AQ. So, I limited his value-bet range with only TT, QQ, KQ and maybe some AK (also, his preflop actions were pretty passive with QQ and AK).
That's 13 value-bet combos and probably more bluffs.

What do you think about this hand and my streets actions (especially flop and river)?
Is that an easy-call river? Thanks!

Click to expand...

Hello there Denellus, thank you very much for sharing your hand.

Preflop

It is okay to Squeeze our combos of KJo from BB vs BTN/SB, we can be ahead of a ton of hands, however I rather go for Squeezing here when the SB is a weak player so we do have position on him/her. Well, a NIT is a weak player too, however we know that NITs have very strong ranges.
In a situation like this where a NIT player calls raise OOP and calls Squeeze OOP we should always give some credit for the NIT one: it will always presents a very strong range and only, with all of the pocket pairs and some strong suited broadways.

The postflop

The flop

Do you believe the opponent had KQ or AK? Why did you check this flop? If we have to extract value this is the time, because many turns will not be so good, for example if comes another diamond and completes a flush NIT and Hero can get scared to bet/call, if it comes a Jx, Qx or Ax it will not be a good card for anyone to be betting TP's and Two Pair's types, or even Sets, so I believe we lose a little value here by checking.
Okay that NITs are Fit or Fold types but by checking this flop IP we are giving to much rope for our opponent to hang us on later streets.

The Turn

This is definitely one of the cards I would not be bluffing/betting my Top Pair hands, because now the Nitty can have KQ, KT and Villain still has AK, TT and 22 on its range.
I guess that when we bet a turn like this we are self-value betting our range.
Yes, given that SB is a NIT it could be calling from SB strong hands such as AK and KQ, and I don't see many flushes or straight draws on a NITs range on a turn like this.

The River

The King of Hearts seems a very sweet card for our range, but we must ask ourselves before betting this River which LOSING hands called turn and could possibly be calling a value bet river? Do you really believe a NIT called you turn with Tx? Qx? Hands such as AQ or AT? Because a NITs capped range will not have any Q2, K2, T2, that could be paying.
Summarizing, this River crushes completely Villain's range and now NIT has all the nuts and we don't have it: NIT will have AJ, and we don't, NIT will have the flushes of hearts and we don't even have a blocker, NIT will have KQ, KT with full houses smashing us, plus NIT will have 22 and TT that are also crushing our range. NIT could even present here some QQ.
When SB checks river I would simply go for check-behind. When we do bet and NIT shoves all-in, more than an easy fold, because this player will (almost) never show a bluff here.
We bet when we believe worst hands can call us. On this River we don't see any worst hand paying us, this is why I would check-behind. Furthermore, when we bet this river we have no bluffs, so one more reason to be checking-behind. We bet this river when we have straights, flushes or full-houses, we have none of them.

Once the nit calls preflop, I would go into damage control mode. Your flop check is OK, though that is a very dynamic board in a 3 bet pot, so a bet also wouldn't be bad.

Once that bet is called, you have position, so try to get to showdown with your (likely) 2nd best hand.

Pre-flop is fine. You should bet the flop vs. nits because by not betting you're just giving them free cards. They will tell you what hand they have, so just play yours aggressive.

As played, river is super close. If it was 100bb effective you should be calling. The only thing that makes it close is because you're 150bbs deep. I mean not much makes sense for his range unless he was dumb playing TT, which would be insane to do on a runout like this, but who knows, nits are usually pretty bad at poker.

Looks like a fold just based on the stack size and the player, but his range isn't a flush or straight as nits won't usually jam those on paired boards.. It's only TT and maybe QQ or bluff.