How do we play this? Flop especially
Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BTN: 142.6 BB (VPIP: 22.32, PFR: 19.49, 3Bet Preflop: 15.54, Hands: 367)
Hero (SB): 112.8 BB
BB: 79.8 BB (VPIP: 44.44, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)
UTG: 103.2 BB (VPIP: 21.99, PFR: 18.61, 3Bet Preflop: 9.09, Hands: 1,269)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 23.83, PFR: 18.41, 3Bet Preflop: 5.69, Hands: 284)
CO: 58.4 BB (VPIP: 28.32, PFR: 20.81, 3Bet Preflop: 7.02, Hands: 351)
Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB, CO posts penalty blind 1.4 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 2.8 BB) Hero has A
♥ K
♥
fold,
MP raises to 3.8 BB,
fold,
fold,
Hero raises to 15.4 BB,
fold,
MP calls 11.6 BB
Flop: (33.2 BB, 2 players) 7
♣ T
♣ T
♦
Hero bets 9 BB,
MP calls 9 BB
Turn: (51.2 BB, 2 players) 2
♦
Hero bets 20.4 BB,
MP calls 20.4 BB
River: (92 BB, 2 players) K
♠
Hero bets 68 BB and is all-in,
MP calls 55.2 BB and is all-in
Good morning teh_colonel_saigon. Very good hand you posted. Thanks a lot for it! Now, we are all awaiting the Santa Claus, right? Well, without further due, let's jump into the action. Nice holidays for you and everybody in your country!
As you saw from my older posts I like to observe a lot of things before giving opinions, because I desire you to do your best game possible. I am very candid and direct. I am not always right. I am opened to criticism.
Preflop issues
fold,
MP raises to 3.8 BB,
fold,
fold,
Hero raises to 15.4 BB,
fold,
MP calls 11.6 BB
First thing to observe here is that MP has 100 BB ES, and Raises First to 3.8 blinds. Is it because CO had a penalty blind to pay? It is not a default raise, and when players, specially recreational ones elect to raise like that, most of times they have a strong hand. (when we have no good information about the Villain, we elect to treat it as a Regular).
IF the player in the MP is a Regular, maybe he opened more because he saw some recreational player ahead, or more than one, or recreational player in the Big Blind.
You gotta be aware that when you 3bet a player from MP with a 4x size 3bet (versus a 4x PFR MP), MP it is more likely to fold all of its bluffs, trashes, weaker hands and continue only with the stronger part of its range.
Thus, MP opens a strong range most of times, and when MP calls a 3bet of 4x OOP its range seems even stronger. I like to 3bet from the SB versus MP when the player is opening too much hands and does not like to fold to 3bet. MP will call more a 3bet coming from the BTN and from the CO because those will have larger 3bet Preflop ranges. SB is polarized when it does so.
If the player opens a short range and folds a lot to 3bet I see no reason for so doing, because when MP calls you it will have a monster always everytime.
The Preflop will dictate your postflop game: Now the pot is way to big and hard to play for both MP and SB. Let's see it:
Flop
Flop: (33.2 BB, 2 players) 7♣ T♣ T
♦
Hero bets 9 BB,
MP calls 9 BB
Let us suppose an opening range from MP (default):
22+, A2s+, K8s+, Q8s+, J8s+, T8s+, 97s+, 86s+, 76s, 65s, ATo+, KQo (20%)
However, when the SB makes a 3bet, does the player in the MP continue with all of its 20% opening range? Which range would you believe it would be calling you? Second, this 1/3 C-Bet OOP is going to make MP fold what? Nothing!
Perhaps if the players called your 3bet in position with Pocket 7's and under, but I found it hard to be. Even, so, when we in the SB C-bet a dry board, IMO, it doesn't connect to much to anybody's range, and MP pays you with Pocket Pairs 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22, MP is still ahead of us in this call, so we are just giving ridiculous implied
odds to MP continue in a dry board with all of its Low Pocket Pairs. If MP raises us right now, would we continue with AKs? If we in the SB had and Ace or a King with a club, okay, because we would make a better
bluff, with
equity, and many Turns and Rivers we could continue firing, hitting or not.
But, we find more likely to MP to have only one 7x, which is 87s. This hand, maybe could fold, maybe not because it connects a little with the Flop and we in the SB gave a good price.
MP will not have a lot of TT right now, maybe JTs with one or two clubs, QTs with one or two clubs, and even a fewer combos of KTs and ATs with at least one club, but we block those combos a lot because of the flop, and because we have AKs.
Another hands that would never Fold to our 1/3 Pot here are 88, 99, JJ, QQ, once in a lifetime Villain in the MP has KK and AA in a situation like that, although is pretty rare. (possible).
AQs, AJs, KQs, KJs, QJs, with a club or two clubs in its combos will pay this 1/3 C-bet pot happily.
When SB 3bets MP we will never have 77 and TT in a spot like it. Maybe some ATs that decided to do so, but it is a very weak hand for 3betting the MP because it is dominated Preflop a lot by MP opening range (AJ, AQ, AK).
SO, if it is so obvious that right now we in the SB, have no 7x, no 77, no Tx, and no TT, what are we betting with? With a Flush Draw, that SB also will not have a lot, and the straight draw, which in this case doesn't exist al all in SB's range. (89s 3betting MP light?, maybe...).
Why do we bet? Did we have information that Villain in the MP pays many Flops to Fold many Turns or Rivers? If so, it is perfect my friend. AK will have a lot of Turns that are going to end our action. Any club for example. A 9x. a Jx, that open a gutshot for it is no good if Villain in the MP never folds its range, or worse, only continues with better hands than ours. It is more likely that in the Turn we will have not equity at all for
bluffing.
We gotta assume we are bluffing here when we C-Bet this Flop. Unless we have good information we can make Villain fold in future streets, I would be Checking this flop something like 100% of times. MP calls SB with this range, and I don't see many folds here in the Flop:
88+, ATs+, A5s-A2s, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AQo+ (10%)
Some players might argue that MP will not have a lot of Aces in its range right now because SB is blocking a couple of combos. Some players might argue that MP will never have AA, KK or QQ in a spot like that, because "these hands would be 4betting".
The problem is that a more experienced player does not like to transform a pretty good value hand into a BLUFF, specially preflop.
MP has a very strong opening range. When it calls a 3bet from the SB (polarized) it is even stronger. Then, if MP 4bets a lot AKs, AA e KK without having information if us, Hero in the SB could fold, MP is burning money.
A 4bet from the MP also will induce a lot of 5bet/All-in from the SB with a lot of aces. In the case MP has no Ace at the moment it will be forced to fold his KK, QQ, JJ, TT Preflop. So, in both ways calling from the MP in position is good.
By calling strong pocket pairs in position MP does not transform his value hands into bluffs and also protect the stronger part of its range as AQs, AJs, A5s, etc.
Sorry, I am still speaking about Preflop matters, but it essential to understand our actions postflop. Are we putting chips in the middle because we saw a video on YouTube that told us to do so? OR, are we putting chips in the middle because it is more likely that Villain is going to pay us with a weaker range?
It hurts a lot to put chips in the middle in a Flop like it!
How this Flop hits MP 3bet Call Range and how does this Flop hits SB's 3betting range?
Because if we bet this Flop because we have "AKs" we are not playing so different of recreational ones. It seems that we are betting just because we have "two overcards with a runner-runner straight".
Turning values in to bluffs, bluffs into values?
Turn: (51.2 BB, 2 players) 2
♦
Hero bets 20.4 BB,
MP calls 20.4 BB
A harmless Deuce of Diamonds for everybody's range. First of all, what in the heavens MP called you in the Flop? Now, we start to feel that cold in the stomach, what are we representing when we bet so small in a Brick in the Turn? We expect MP to have a lot of AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ, that could possibily be behind our range right now and call right on the spot, having two clubs for a flush draw in a double paires scenario, versus a polarized 3betting range from the SB?
When we Bet the Turn again, I believe MP now is certain that we have a semi-bluff and we are trying to take her/him out of the Pot. It doesn't make any sense to me.
Let us suppose for a while:
If we in the SB had, for a miracle, 77 with a Full-House, would be making a second barrel here? If we had a AT, would we be making a second barrel here in the Turn? TT? Flush Draw with a Club woud we be betting? 22 with a Full-House? If we in the SB had AA, KK, QQ, etc would we be making this second barrel?
Now SB has a ton of missing draws when it bets and MP knows it. All the value hands could be either checking the Flop or the Turn to induce some bluffs of AA, KK, QQ, JJ that Villain in the MP have plenty in its range. However SB also coulb have some of these combos.
What MP called the second barrel with?
The River Bluff (Catcher)
River: (92 BB, 2 players) K♠
Hero bets 68 BB and is all-in,
MP calls 55.2 BB and is all-in
So, we bluff in the Flop and get paid. We bluff in the Turn and get paid. In the River we got a very strong value hand and we bluff again? Yes, when we bet this King in the River we are still bluffing, because now MP can only call us with hands that are crushing us, and fold all the weaker hands and bluffs. So, if we know that MP will fold weaker hands and bluffs why do we bet here? Because we gotta a bluff catcher in the River?
I am trying to understand your action here. When you go all-in do you expect your Top Pair Top Kicker to be ahead of Villain's Range? OR do you expect Villain in the MP to pay you with worse hands?
Because, if I were the player in the MP and called you down two streets of bets it is because I will have something. MP does not have many floats right now. It has a lot value hands.
I also could be easily Checking this River. Some might say that "
because of the SPR" we are automatically committed to the pot, so we are forced to burn money and chips away in spots like that". Sorry, I don't like sarcasm but for the pedagogical perspective, it is damn good for learning. Is SPR an excuse to play wrong?
Maybe I am old player. Maybe I don't like to make the pot grow so much in spots where I have nothing but two overcards. I also don't like to make huge 100 big blinds pots with only Top Pair Top Kicker.
I don't know if I don't like the way you played, maybe you have good information about the player and I am saying all of this for nothing. But even so, your line is very strange.
Regards;
Carlos 'Aballinamion' Barbosa
