Anyone interested in Hand Analysis???

Hi All,

I post a lot of analysis of my own hands and teammates hands on our league thread and I have found them to be very useful to break things down and analyze them and compare how I would play them to the way they were played (I also do this in a few groups on FaceBook). So, even though I am a non-pro. I am inviting anyone to post their hands that they would like analyzed. It can be hands you won, lost, took a bad beat (but let's not go overboard on these, we all take bad beats) or anything else.

I would prefer you post them in some sort of replayer (CC has an awesome one that I use often) and give me any notes, observations, relevant history and HUD stats for the players and I will break it down the best I can. I will get to as many as I can as fast as I can BTW. I don't have a ton of free time but I believe in the Socratic method of learning by teaching what you have learned, so I will be making time for this.

I will start with one of my own to kick this thing off with a braggy hand of my own where I played a hand about as perfect as it can be played, but still lost.

The "Soul Read"

I posted this one in my team thread but I really like it and felt it would be a great hand to start off with. I call this one the "Soul Read" because I don't think a lot of players can get away from it as cheaply as I did: https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/8qNu3Hk
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Action starts at 30/60 and I am in MP with 44. UTG limps, LJ limps and I limp behind. I certainly could have raised this pot but from my 40 BB stack to eliminate limpers or a big raise behind me. I have stated on many occasions that I am not a fan of OPEN limping but there are times when limping behind is ok. I think IF you have a plan, this is a good spot as long as you are mixing up what hands you do it with AND you do not do it frequently. One of the reasons I don't mind limping behind with these small pairs is because if you raise and get called, then you are going to be in rough spots on high and medium card flops. If you raise and get 3 bet, then you may have to play hand out of position to someone with a much stronger range and really, unless you hit a set, you are going to be in bad shape on most flops. Another factor is that there are a lot of people who like to limp big hands from UTG and then blast a raise. So, in order to realize equity, I smooth called. It folds around to the BB, who checks and we take a flop.
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Flop: 4h 7d 7c
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Nice. I have flopped a full house. Even nicer, the highly bluffy player in the BB bets it for me. He bets full pot, which should indicate some strength. He does have a lot of 4's and 7's in his range, but since I am holding 2 and there is one on the board, that is highly unlikely. He could have a 7 and in this spot, we would LOVE for him to have a 7. He could also have some draws like 56, 58, 89, ect. or, he may be betting with air to try and pick up a small pot. When you make a pot-sized bet as a bluff, you only need it to work half of the time to be profitable (and that does not include the times that you improve your hand to win the pot). So UTG calls here, this is interesting because of the dynamics. UTG has a really wide range here because he could have a 7 with like A7s, K7s, 87s 76s and maybe some other suited combos (which there are only 2 combos of each). More likely though, is that he has some sort of a draw or some overcards or big pairs that he was looking to limp-raise preflop. Plus, he knows that the BB is going to make plays like this on boards that are this dry (a paired board with 774 rainbow is a pretty dry flop because not many players will even limp with hands with a 7 or a 4 unless it is A7s, A4s, 54s, 76s, 87s, ect. So the call here does little to define the range of UTG. IT folds around to me and I make the call. I could elect to raise here but in my mind, I want to get max value when I am at the top of my range. I think that a call on the flop will keep my range wide and maybe induce another bet on the turn. If I raise here, I am playing my hand pretty face up and forcing my opponents to have a really strong hand to continue. Not that I would mind because the only hand I am losing to at the moment is 77, there is only 1 combo of that and I believe that if UTG had 77, he would have raised preflop with it because it is not a good candidate to limp-call or limp-raise with when you are going to be OOP a lot. Further, the BB would have raised with that hand when everyone limped to try and pick up the pot preflop. He get's no extra value if he checks and bets the flop unless he flops a set (or better) and he is going to lose a lot of pots if he choose to play it that way. So, I've eliminated 77 as a possibility from my opponents hands and I am well out in front going to the turn.
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Turn: Qs
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The BB checks and seems to give up but UTG makes about a 3/4 size raise. This shows a lot of strength so I think about what his range could be that he would bet like this. The queen really should not improve his hand unless he had QQ. This seems really unlikely because in the scenario I laid out before, it is almost exclusively AA, KK and AK that people will limp-raise the button with. So, I do not think the queen helped him. That leaves either a draw or a 7. Both of which I want to keep in the pot because his most likely 7's are A7, K7 76 and 78, so by calling here, I can keep him in the pot. This is a tricky spot because of the STPR (stack to pot ratio). When he makes his bet into this pot there are now 31.5 BBs and I have a stack of 34.5 BBs. So, I could jam here and give him pretty good odds to call because he would be calling 21 more BB's into a pot that is 45 BBs. So 2:1 or a 33% chance of winning. In retrospect, the queen would have been a great card to do it when it comes off because he may put me on some kind of Qx hand and since I am pretty convinced that he has a 7 here, he would have to make the call. BUT, on the outside chance that he is on a draw or a complete bluff (VERY unlikely), my plan is to make the call and call off on the river OR if it checks to me and the river doesn't have one of the cards I mentioned, then I jam the river.
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River: 7s
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What the absolute ****??? UTG checks but from my previous analysis, I know that he has a 7 and I just got Nagy-ed.
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So, while I lost this hand, I think I played it pretty well. I actually do not think that UTG would have been able to put down his trips at any point in the hand. The ONLY way I could have won this hand was by raising preflop and then, he still may have called.

Really nice series Mark, I thought about the same in the beggining of the year, that maybe some youtube edition about our parties, but this is also looking great, so making a comment here.

I favour here limp as well, you are out of position to do reraise, and 3 are already in, so we have to count wild range, set still great at a point if it comes.

Flop is a dream flop, but 'the soul read is on the way. I cannot got over the fact that BB bet a pot here. What did he think? Even a half-pot considering his stack or sthg like this, but really late to defend here that hard his hand.
Turn a very off card, Nona put 3/4 pot here, maybe Queen favoured one of you, and tried to save her set. This raise was great as 2 of you were still in, and BB made a very late fold. You called so she had to see by now, that you are most likely a real danger in this party, and maybe holding a big pocket and not gave it up, or found a full.
The river is sick, but Nona did her first mistake here, when she didn't go all-in. Quads are in her range still, but full house is 100% in yours.

And yes, there are hands that we cannot run away, and I really believe that was a hand like that.

dallam said:

Really nice series Mark, I thought about the same in the beggining of the year, that maybe some youtube edition about our parties, but this is also looking great, so making a comment here.

I favour here limp as well, you are out of position to do reraise, and 3 are already in, so we have to count wild range, set still great at a point if it comes.

Flop is a dream flop, but 'the soul read is on the way. I cannot got over the fact that BB bet a pot here. What did he think? Even a half-pot considering his stack or sthg like this, but really late to defend here that hard his hand.
Turn a very off card, Nona put 3/4 pot here, maybe Queen favoured one of you, and tried to save her set. This raise was great as 2 of you were still in, and BB made a very late fold. You called so she had to see by now, that you are most likely a real danger in this party, and maybe holding a big pocket and not gave it up, or found a full.
The river is sick, but Nona did her first mistake here, when she didn't go all-in. Quads are in her range still, but full house is 100% in yours.

And yes, there are hands that we cannot run away, and I really believe that was a hand like that.

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Thanks. I actually don't think there is a lot I beat on the river if Noona goes all in. I felt the 7 and checking to me is normally a good play because Noona has seen me shove in these spots when I think I have the best hand. If Noona jams here, I think I find a fold because I now lose to any bigger PP and a Q as well as the 7 and it would be likely that an overpair plays this hand the same way. But, then again, I may not, I hate folding..LOL.

I would love to do some YouTube or Twitch. I haven't gotten started yet as my law firm keeps me pretty busy, but I want to evolve more.

Ship the turn!

Poker Orifice said:

Ship the turn!

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No way. There are 2 reasons for not shipping the turn. Reason 1 is that I know what he has and I am beating him and there are not many cards that can improve his hand. I want to get as much value from the hand as I can and in most scenarios, a turn jam will scare him off. Nut that leads to reason 2: Again, I was dead sure that he had a 7, I also know he is very sticky, especially with strong hands. There are not many people who are going to lay down trips, especially on this board and especially against a pretty aggressive player (which I may or may not be known to be). So, if I jam the turn, he is more likely to call than to fold. I mean who is going to flop trips and then fold to a Q on the river...my range there doesn't have many queens that would call a flop bet. I really can't have QQ, AQ or KQ because I would have raised preflop from that position (I also don't have AA, KK, JJ, TT, AK either). I could limp worse suited queens but what queens are going to call a raise and call on the flop? My range has a couple medium PPs in it that could call a bet and call on the flop like 88, 99 or maybe even 66. I also could have limped with a lot of draws 56s being the most obvious, and I may also have something like A4s that I stuck around with. 44 is a possibility but there are only 3 combos available and compared to all of the other combos, this isn't really likely. So, I still believe I played this hand perfectly and just got smashed by a 4 outter...this is poker, it happens

NEW HANDS COMING SOON

Since no one is giving me their hands to analyze, I will post some more of my own. I really prefer if YOU guys post some for ME to break down. I actually just finished Jonathon Little's Tournament Masterclass and some other Cash game stuff, so I would love to share some insights that I learned.

The V could also have 55+ so check back is 100% here.

So there is a hand that bothers me a bit, i saw it somwhere on youtube it was a final table of some tournament, i dont remember too much details. Its a pretty basic hand, however im not 100% sure.
So.
Hero dealt Ah Kh. stack is ~20bb. Raises 3bb, 1 player calls.
Flop go Ad 8d 2d.
Action is on the other guy. He checks. Hero checks back.
Turn comes blank, and the guy bets pot size, and hero folds.
I dont remember if we saw all cards or the guy show his hand, but he had flopped a flush.
And ev1 in the comment section go 'great fold, oh its so good, this is true pro for real'
And im not getting it. I mean sure its a final table so you must be carefull, but first of all, why not bet the flop? And shoving it in on a river? Should you realy be so scared of flush?
I mean a lot of hands would continue here, some pair with a diamond in a hand, a weaker ace with a diamond, i mean aren't you winning here much more by betting then you losing here to a flush?
And also being passive by just checking here you just beg your opponent to bluff.
Sorry its a bit too general, i was searching a thread where i can post this hand and for main hand analysis thread i ain't got enough of details.

Also great hand of yours you posted. At first im like oh come on all the chips should have been in the middle already, ut your analysis is top notch.

abgvedr said:

So there is a hand that bothers me a bit, i saw it somwhere on youtube it was a final table of some tournament, i dont remember too much details. Its a pretty basic hand, however im not 100% sure.
So.
Hero dealt Ah Kh. stack is ~20bb. Raises 3bb, 1 player calls.
Flop go Ad 8d 2d.
Action is on the other guy. He checks. Hero checks back.
Turn comes blank, and the guy bets pot size, and hero folds.
I dont remember if we saw all cards or the guy show his hand, but he had flopped a flush.
And ev1 in the comment section go 'great fold, oh its so good, this is true pro for real'
And im not getting it. I mean sure its a final table so you must be carefull, but first of all, why not bet the flop? And shoving it in on a river? Should you realy be so scared of flush?
I mean a lot of hands would continue here, some pair with a diamond in a hand, a weaker ace with a diamond, i mean aren't you winning here much more by betting then you losing here to a flush?
And also being passive by just checking here you just beg your opponent to bluff.
Sorry its a bit too general, i was searching a thread where i can post this hand and for main hand analysis thread i ain't got enough of details.

Also great hand of yours you posted. At first im like oh come on all the chips should have been in the middle already, ut your analysis is top notch.

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Thank you. And I agree with you, hero should cbet that flop with a medium size (2/3 - 3/4 pot) most of the time. You can protect your range by checking back say AhKd, but even then, you are looking to get money in the pot. But a lot of people will not continue on this kind of board without a diamond, especially with TPTK. They are looking to pot control and try to get to showdown as cheaply as possible. This is how Upswing Poker suggests approaching a monotone flop: https://upswingpoker.com/monotone-flops-poker-strategy/, Of course, they are the experts, but I find that with TPTK, you should at least bet flop and then if called, proceed cautiously because your opponent will either be drawing to a flush or could have a made one.

This is a great topic though because it seems to me that there has been a sharp increase in monotone flops (especially hearts)

abgvedr said:

So there is a hand that bothers me a bit, i saw it somwhere on youtube it was a final table of some tournament, i dont remember too much details. Its a pretty basic hand, however im not 100% sure.
So.
Hero dealt Ah Kh. stack is ~20bb. Raises 3bb, 1 player calls.
Flop go Ad 8d 2d.
Action is on the other guy. He checks. Hero checks back.
Turn comes blank, and the guy bets pot size, and hero folds.
I dont remember if we saw all cards or the guy show his hand, but he had flopped a flush.
And ev1 in the comment section go 'great fold, oh its so good, this is true pro for real'
And im not getting it. I mean sure its a final table so you must be carefull, but first of all, why not bet the flop? And shoving it in on a river? Should you realy be so scared of flush?
I mean a lot of hands would continue here, some pair with a diamond in a hand, a weaker ace with a diamond, i mean aren't you winning here much more by betting then you losing here to a flush?
And also being passive by just checking here you just beg your opponent to bluff.
Sorry its a bit too general, i was searching a thread where i can post this hand and for main hand analysis thread i ain't got enough of details.

Also great hand of yours you posted. At first im like oh come on all the chips should have been in the middle already, ut your analysis is top notch.

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Reckon this could be an ICM play by AK keeping the pot small and folding might even have a read or a tell if it is a live game,
It is not a bad play for example if a couple of shorter stacks are on the table and the ladder payouts are huge when they bust.
If AK is the shortest stack on the table or a huge chipleader not at risk of busting in this hand it is easier to play aggressively compared to a medium stack.
A lot of hands in villains range are ahead of AK here too on the flop, A2,A8,82 suited possibly even definitely 22,88 also AA and any diamond too if assume villain has at least 1 diamond or possibly two,
That blank on the turn can make two pair or a set too for villain when factor this in and pay jumps avoiding a continuation bet on the flop that is needed to cover a few orbits and folding is a reasonable play.

hugh blair said:

Reckon this could be an ICM play by AK keeping the pot small and folding might even have a read or a tell if it is a live game,
It is not a bad play for example if a couple of shorter stacks are on the table and the ladder payouts are huge when they bust.
If AK is the shortest stack on the table or a huge chipleader not at risk of busting in this hand it is easier to play aggressively compared to a medium stack.
A lot of hands in villains range are ahead of AK here too on the flop, A2,A8,82 suited possibly even definitely 22,88 also AA and any diamond too if assume villain has at least 1 diamond or possibly two,
That blank on the turn can make two pair or a set too for villain when factor this in and pay jumps avoiding a continuation bet on the flop that is needed to cover a few orbits and folding is a reasonable play.

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I agree with your assessment completely. That's the thing. People talk about particular spots and there is really no one correct play to make in any given spot because of the the subtle differences in table dynamics, particular villains, table images, hand history between the two, where you are in the tournament...and the list could go on and on. Personally, I prefer playing this spot semi-aggressively because when you check behind on this flop, you can expect a solid opponent to bet nearly 100% of turns. So, unless you are also checking your nut hands (like Kx diamonds), you set yourself up to be exploited. I think that is the key element: whether you check or bet here, you want to do it with your whole range. That way your opponent will be confused with what you might have. Not that this spot should come up extremely often, but enough similar spots should occur prior to this hand that the action you take here is consistent.

hi hi mark!! :ciao:
so sorrie i think the replayer show my hole cards?

https://www.replaypoker.com/replay/719622263

poker name there is kcorbee also

i have 7d7s… my worry is no get enough chips from villain… my re-raise too large or maybe should have just call his raise? i have trips which you identified by my bets, so villain see that also - is better try disguise somehow?

mark - your answer me - so brilliant - need read it all 3 times
going read it some more after

you analysis so in depth, make solid sense
i worry that i unable consider so many many important things in just few seconds to make a proper decide (small brain)

now i consider stack sizes, position, my ranges, what know of opponents play… now run out of time - yikes
when you play how you consider so many things?

also mark - i very puzzled with limping

books, courses, videos all firmly instruct - no limping, need always raise first in (krista you limp get spanking)

yet most games i play is limping all over the place, regular play seems be, all players limp or fold pre-flop…
limpers then all see flop, only then actual bet/check/raise happen
this seems situation even with top players?

is the raise first in/no limp rule just cash games?
i perplexed this please help me

thank you again mark, you one of very best poker players i ever been on table with...

you realize that such brilliant analysis on hand - cost huge $usd from coaches - hope you no send an invoice - poor student lol

thank you again for wonderful advice
hugs
krista

Cool hands Mark!

Cool new avatar too!!!

I believe that hand analysis is a waste of time, recording everything and keeping statistics of hands, since poker is an unpredictable game, where luck and patience play the main role.

Evan Jarvis said:

Cool hands Mark!

Cool new avatar too!!!

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Thanks buddy. I absolutely love the new content you have been putting out

Elfina777 said:

I believe that hand analysis is a waste of time, recording everything and keeping statistics of hands, since poker is an unpredictable game, where luck and patience play the main role.

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I disagree and I think a lot of other folks would as well. Analyzing hands helps you become a better player because you will often see the same spots come up over and over again in poker and if you carefully analyze them, then you will know how to react to a particular situation. Poker is NOT an unpredictable game, it is really intensely math-based with different occurrences happening at different frequencies. For example, you are dealt AA preflop. You expect to win about 80% of the time in a heads-up pot v any random hand. But, you will also lose about 20% of the time. So, by analyzing how you play, you can maximize the chips you will win 80% of the time and you can learn to minimize the chips that you lose the other 20% of the time. Learning both of these spots can help you become a much more profitable player.

For me, analyzing other people's hands and giving feedback, reinforces (in my mind) the things that I learn from others (like Mr. Evan Jarvis above...you want to learn, watch him on Twitch (twitch.tv/gripsed...and no, this is not a paid endorsement, I have followed him for a few years now and have learned a lot. ). So, it is like a different form of studying for me, plus, I have always loved to teach. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to pass along knowledge and see someone else improve. So again, NO, I do not think that analyzing hands is a waste of time at all.

KristaK said:

hi hi mark!! :ciao:
so sorrie i think the replayer show my hole cards?

https://www.replaypoker.com/replay/719622263

poker name there is kcorbee also

i have 7d7s… my worry is no get enough chips from villain… my re-raise too large or maybe should have just call his raise? i have trips which you identified by my bets, so villain see that also - is better try disguise somehow?

mark - your answer me - so brilliant - need read it all 3 times
going read it some more after

you analysis so in depth, make solid sense
i worry that i unable consider so many many important things in just few seconds to make a proper decide (small brain)

now i consider stack sizes, position, my ranges, what know of opponents play… now run out of time - yikes
when you play how you consider so many things?

also mark - i very puzzled with limping

books, courses, videos all firmly instruct - no limping, need always raise first in (krista you limp get spanking)

yet most games i play is limping all over the place, regular play seems be, all players limp or fold pre-flop…
limpers then all see flop, only then actual bet/check/raise happen
this seems situation even with top players?

is the raise first in/no limp rule just cash games?
i perplexed this please help me

thank you again mark, you one of very best poker players i ever been on table with...

you realize that such brilliant analysis on hand - cost huge $usd from coaches - hope you no send an invoice - poor student lol

thank you again for wonderful advice
hugs
krista

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Raise first in is for both cash and tournaments. Open-limping is nearly always a bad strategy except for the situations that I described earlier. In the spot you were in, if you opened with a raise, I believe that both the button and SB would still have at least called your raise. So, say you just min-raised (which is still very popular but it has been found to not be as effective as raising according to the effective stack size, so I would recommend 2.2 - 2.5 BB raise here..but..say you went with a min raise) then your 60 + 60 (button) + 60 (SB) + 30 (BB) = 210. So you start with the same amount in the pot..BUT...you have the betting lead. The flop is pretty dry here with J75 even though there are 2 hearts so there can definitely be some 2 draws in your opponents ranges, so you lead with a c-bet of about 120 (your opponent bet 126, which is a good bet). The poker population has been conditioned to call c-bets pretty widely, so both players call and you have a pot that is still roughly the same as when you 3 bet it (it could be a little larger or smaller depending on what c-bet size you actually choose here). One of them may actually chose to raise here (which you are loving), probably any Jack or overpair (although I don't think either have these holdings in this situation). A lot of good players are going to be raising their junky draws too, like any lower flush draw, especially if it has a pair. But, more often, because you are playing against tight passive players, they are going to just call and see a turn. Besides a heart, there aren't a lot of scare cards for you and I wouldn't be too scared of a hear because the majority of players will raise with a flush draw. So, really, you are rooting for an A or K to come off on the turn, and then you can keep plowing big bets into the pot.

The way it was played, if I chose to limp, I may be tempted to 3 bet preflop. You limp, he min raises, a call and then you pop it 3x the min raise back. But, if I flat call here and flop a set, then I am likely to check call the flop. IF I check-raise, then I look very strong, so I want to check-raise smaller to keep some top pairs, overpairs and weak draws in the pot. If I check-called, then I check-raise most turn cards.

As played, you played it pretty well, the trick is that you don't want your opponents to be able to figure out what you have. So, you have to have balance in this spot as well as all of the others. I had mostly eliminated top pair from your range and had you on a set in my first analysis. So, it was easy to figure out by your actions. But, look at how different it would be if you check-called the flop and an ace or king came on the turn and you check-raised the turn. That would make it much more difficult to guess what you are holding and one of those players with an ace or king would be forced to call off and you win a much bigger pot.

All in all. I like the check-raise. There are situations when I would play it exactly like you did (minus the limp...lol). If you know that the other players like to play a lot of suited hands but that they play them pretty passively, then that overbet is perfect. You are a terrific player Krista and have a bright future.

Elfina777 said:

I believe that hand analysis is a waste of time, recording everything and keeping statistics of hands, since poker is an unpredictable game, where luck and patience play the main role.

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That's not quite true. If you see an opportunity to move then you can turn luck your side.
Why do people raise preflop? To make it more expensive for others to join the party.
Hand analysis is what helps us to turn luck on our side.

New Hand!

Hi to all of my faithful followers. This is a hand from the Generations game: https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/224PXcfrH. This is a hand in which you will find yourself in fairly often. No matter which side you are on, you should learn to play this spot correctly.

Action begins with a LAG type player opening big to 4.7 BBs from UTG+1. This should indicate a pretty strong raise for most players, especially this one because he is a loose-passive player with a VPIP of 42 but PFR of 18. Which means he is in 40% of pots but raises less than half of them. That coupled with the size of the raise, are great indicators that he probably has a hand like TT+, AT+ or KQ. His range could be a little wider including KTs and QTs (these hands tend to be overplayed), but from that position with that bet size, I am always erring on the side of giving my opponent credit for a tight range.

I am on the button with T9s. You may be saying, with that type of range, why the heck are you calling with THAT hand. But, there are 7.3 BBs in the pot meaning I would need to call 4.7 to win almost 13. That is pretty close to 3:1 odds meaning I only need to win this pot about 1 out of 4 times. T9s will win against that range about 33.5% of the time. These kind of suited connectors play extremely well in pots against a lot of overpairs and broadway type hands. I like medium suited connectors in these spots because they are so easy to play postflop, especially in position. So, I make the call.

The flop comes 8s 5d Ts giving me top pair and some backdoor straights. Quite unexpectedly, villain checks when he had been c-betting 100% of the time. This was a horrible board for his range with some connectors and a flush draw and lots of tens, eights and fives in my calling range (TT, 88, 55, AT, KT, QT, JT, T9, maybe T8s, A5s, A8s, ect) but he did still have the nut advantage with his overpairs, so when he checks here, I am pretty sure he missed the flop. So I lead out with a third size pot bet to give his missed broadways a chance to call and draw. His whole range at this point has about 44% equity against my range, so he can make this call profitably with most of his range. His exact hand though only had 23% equity and should have folded. BUT.....

Villain decides to raise-jam his 17.6 BBs. This is quite a spot for me because I am getting 4:1 on my money and only have to win 20% of the time, which my hand will win 23% of the time against AA or KK and 21% against QQ and even a little less against JJ, AT, KT, QT and JT. I am drawing really thin against TT but I have 99 beat and a blocker to his set. Against the rest of his range, he is still looking at either runner runner or hitting an overcard. So, I felt this was a profitable call and made the call.

You can see that it turned out to be the right call as he was only winning 23% of the time. He was fortunate to catch an ace on the river but this hand illustrates a couple of things. First, villain overplayed this hand badly. People will overvalue AK and this hand is a clear example of it. AK is a drawing hand. It can be incredibly powerful, but it can also get you stacked. In this hand, villain managed to draw out but slightly more than 3 out of 4 times, he loses this hand. So, how would I have played it differently? He had more than 20 BBs to start, so this is not really an open jam spot unless everyone else at the table is deep stacked. I would open 100% of the time with this hand but to a more reasonable amount so that my opponents don't know what I have. Opening should be according to effective stack size and position and NOT based on hand strength. This makes you too easy for other people to read, and when your opponents can read you, then they will play against you very well. If you disguise your range by opening the same amount with your entire playable range. Then your opponents don't know if you have say AA, QT, T9 or any other hand in your range for the position that you are in. The flop, I would sometimes be making a cbet on this board depending on the exact villain I am against and their potential ranges. This flop fits really well with a button calling range, so MOST of the time, I am also checking, again, depending on my read of the villain in the hand, I am either folding or calling a flop bet. No way I am shoving this knowing that I may be against sets or flush and straight draws and I am giving them the right price to call. IN a lot of spots, I am folding to a bet because I know I can get it in in a better spot.

So, even though I lost this hand, I feel like I played it perfectly. It would be great if Stars would let me win a hand every now and then but that's a whole different rant. LOL

Please let me know if you like these posts.

xOneCoolHandx said:

... Please let me know if you like these posts.

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Well i certainly do. Cannot add much to this thread tho, your analysis goes way beyond my knowledge, so im in a bit of a Readonly mode here

abgvedr said:

Well i certainly do. Cannot add much to this thread tho, your analysis goes way beyond my knowledge, so im in a bit of a Readonly mode here

Click to expand...

Thank you. I actually put in a lot of study time. I really enjoy trying to piece together solutions to puzzles. Guess that's why I am a lawyer...LOL

xOneCoolHandx said:

Hi to all of my faithful followers. This is a hand from the Generations game: https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/224PXcfrH. This is a hand in which you will find yourself in fairly often. No matter which side you are on, you should learn to play this spot correctly.

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hi hi mark!!!
i look this - no see the point

flopzilla tell me after flop your T9c have 61% equity against say 25% range
ok... and AK have 44% equity on that flop if you have similar range

so? you advantageous flip, whether you wish stake your tournie on this flip (top pair weak kicker) up to you... villian sees the T... you betting... needs assume TT?

he got just 6 outs to win... + bluff catcher if you no pair
with quick math... 4x6= 24% chance hit his premium pair on turn... 2x6= 12% on river

so you ahead
you lose flip - that poker?

This is an awesome thread.

NL10 Zoom

only have 4 hands on villain vp75 pr25

I think I should have just folded pre when he 6bet, I just put myself in a bad spot

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 120.4 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 204.8 BB
Hero (UTG): 123 BB
MP: 109.8 BB
CO: 55.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♦ J♠

Hero raises to 2.4 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB raises to 3.8 BB, Hero raises to 15 BB, BB raises to 45.5 BB, Hero calls 30.5 BB

Flop: (91.5 BB, 2 players) 3♦ 5♣ 8♥
BB bets 159.3 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 77.5 BB and is all-in

Turn: (246.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥

River: (246.5 BB, 2 players) 2♣

BB shows A♣ A♠ (Straight, Five High)
(Pre 81%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows J♦ J♠ (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 19%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
BB wins 235.4 BB

marvinsytan said:

This is an awesome thread.

NL10 Zoom

only have 4 hands on villain vp75 pr25

I think I should have just folded pre when he 6bet, I just put myself in a bad spot

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 120.4 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 204.8 BB
Hero (UTG): 123 BB
MP: 109.8 BB
CO: 55.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♦ J♠

Hero raises to 2.4 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB raises to 3.8 BB, Hero raises to 15 BB, BB raises to 45.5 BB, Hero calls 30.5 BB

Flop: (91.5 BB, 2 players) 3♦ 5♣ 8♥
BB bets 159.3 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 77.5 BB and is all-in

Turn: (246.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥

River: (246.5 BB, 2 players) 2♣

BB shows A♣ A♠ (Straight, Five High)
(Pre 81%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows J♦ J♠ (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 19%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
BB wins 235.4 BB

Click to expand...

Thanks for the hand. I think you played it the way most people would at the microstakes (which I LOVE microstakes). The biggest thing to me here is the small re-raise. At almost every level, this means a very big hand (although I have noticed some trickier players starting to use the small 3-bet as a semi-bluff...I ran into it when I had QQ and faced a small 3-bet when the opponent had AKo...the big difference being that my hand was in a freeroll tournament where players are much more likely to overvalue hands). But, 99% of the time, when another player is making a very small 3 bet (in this case it was only 1.4 BBs) he is luring you into a trap especially considering that you raised from UTG (which in a 6 Max game is really the LJ but the range should still be much tighter than other positions because you are first to act). I would imagine that your range here was something like 66+, A3s+, ATo+, KJs+ and potentially some other suited broadway type hands and maybe a couple of suited connectors raising at a low frequency for balance (which you DO NOT need at Microstakes!)

So, I play very cautiously against these types of plays (although I did 4 bet the QQ and then called a 5 bet to another suspiciously small raise -- flop came KQJ and I check-raised him all in, he called and rivered a T ). In this spot, would vary between calling and occasionally 4-betting at a low frequency though because this spot is often AA or KK..so when I have AA, I am always going to small raise back to try and to balance this, I will need to do it on a rare occasion with something like QJ or T9 and be ready to fold everything but AA to a 5 bet.

You are getting a great price to call with the rest of your range as long as you understand that you are going to miss most flops and have to give up to aggression. Here, you are in position on your opponent, so you are in great shape to realize your equity with your entire range. If you think about it this way, you can't go wrong. There were 1.5 BBs in the pot and you raised to 2.4 making it 3.9. Villain puts in 3.8 and now you have to call 1.4 more to win a pot that is 5.7 which is about 4:1 so you only have to win a little more than 20% of the time. Your range has about 22% equity against AA and KK (if you think this is ONLY AA, then you have 16% with your range according to Equilab). So you have plenty of equity PLUS, calling with your whole range has HUGE implied odds when you 200 BBs deep because if you hit your hand against AA or KK at this level, you are almost always GOING to get paid and when you miss, it's easy to get away from even JJ on a low board like the one that came here.

So, in the future, be more cautious when a player is 3 betting you small. What he is saying is: "I don't care what you have in your hand, I have better and I am going to give you a great price so that I can take more of your chips later." But, could you imagine if you had opened with 88 or 76s? Flop comes and he bets and you call, turn comes and he continues and you either check-raise or call. Either way, he calls with AA or KK because he isn't putting you on a set or a straight. He may think you have a pair higher than the board or maybe top pair or some kind of Ax for a draw. The river is tricky in this scenario because he did make a straight and is most likely jamming either his AA that is now a straight or KK because he has KK and doesn't expect you to have a hand that beats him. So, with the 76, you win because you make a better straight, but your set of eights lose to an ugly and unfortunate river, however, your raise on the turn was giving him HORRIBLE -EV odds to make a call as he was about 13% to win. If you just called the turn, you still get shafted, but that's poker. :icon_sant

Thanks for the hand and best of luck in the future!