Question about reading hand ranges and equity

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rdmd

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I am currently reading Professional Hold'em by Ed miller and in the equity part of it, he explains the math and then gives a short cut: "when considering your opponents range of hands, think about the hands you are a big favourite over to and think about the ones you are a big underdog to. If his range primarily contains hands you are a big favourite to, your equity is probably good."
So, for example lets say I have a middle set and I think villain has either straight draw, bottom set or bigger set than mine. So in this case I lose to two of his possible holdings, does that mean I should fold if he raises me? I apologize if this is a silly question, it looks really straightforward but I'm concerned with the math. Because him having a straight draw and having a set aren't the same possibilities right? so when we give them the same possibility, wouldn't we be wrong? I'm fairly new to poker so all of this is very new to me and the math of it looks scary. In the same book he briefly talks about finding his possible ranges and calculating my equity from then on based on his possible holdings in percentage. Can people actually do this? I can use hold em simulators in computer but I'm asking about the live games. Thanks for any input guys.
Also whats the best way to learn more about equity? Any book recommendations?
 
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pain_pain_go_away

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Sorry I don't have the answers for you but, I just wanted to tell you that the only silly question, is the one you don't ask.
As for the example you give, you are ahead of bottom set, any straight draws & any pocket pairs (except the top set mentioned ). So the only holdings you are behind is that possible top set, giving you very good equity.
Now I don't know for sure the actual maths or percentages, so I'll leave that for the more knowledgable CCer's, Of which there are plenty on CC...

But just to remind you; There is NO such thing as a STUPID QUESTION....
The more you ask, the more you learn.. The best poker players are the one's who continually learn more about the game. Everyday is a school day! GL Mate.
 
TeUnit

TeUnit

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if only 2 of the hands in his range beat you, how many hands in his range do you beat? you are trying to figure out how likely it is, you are not trying to figure out if there is a monster under your bed
 
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Jeremy Schatz

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The correct way to think about his hands are "combos". I'll use your example. Let's pretend you have TT and the flop comes T6J rainbow. You cbet 60% pot and villian calls. You can narrow down his range to top set JJ (3 combos), bottom set 88 (3 combos) and an array of straight draws 98o, 98s (12 combos) 87o, 87s (12 combos) Q9o, Q9s (16 combos) KQo, KQs (16 combos). As you can see, he has bottom set or a straight draw 59/62 times!! That's 95% of the time. You can look at your equity against these hands using an equity calculator and you'll see you are winning 65% of the time on that flop. You are getting your money in good. That's why you bet high on sticky boards where you very likely have the best hand, especially if you think your opponent is getting involved preflop with trash like 87o and calling with a gutshot.

Edit: To learn about equity I'd download a program like equilab and start considering situations and how "good" your equity is. Use the Hand Range selector to look at combos and consider card removal -- if there is a jack on the board it is half as likely your opponent has pocket jacks. I don't know about any books, but videos on youtube by ThePokerBank are really good. Review your sessions over and over -- you get better at first by practicing poker, not theory-crafting.
 
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Arjonius

Arjonius

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The point about considering combos rather than just hand rankings is significant. Using your example, if you're beating bottom set as well as a straight draw but losing to top set, your odds of winning can be quite different from 2 out of 3. The action you've seen can also make quite a difference. For instance, if the opponent limped in pre-flop and the board comes down with a K, it's pretty unlikely he has top set.
 
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bojax

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You should download equilab, which is free, and play around with ranges. There's a flop equity trainer which makes learning faster, and a "turn and river scenario analyzer" which is a very cool feature.

I think Ed's advice is ok, but doing the work yourself with an equity calculator will both be faster and more effective.
 
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