***April Cash Game Thread***

F Paulsson

F Paulsson

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An April 1st tip from yours truly:

Observation: Most regs (at 200NL+, at any rate) open well over 30% from the SB.

Question: What's your VPIP and PFR in BB vs an SB open?

Answer: Too low.

Conclusion: Fix that.
 
BelgoSuisse

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Observation: Most regs (at 200NL+, at any rate) open well over 30% from the SB.

Question: What's your VPIP and PFR in BB vs an SB open?

Answer: Too low.

Conclusion: Fix that.

QFT.

Also, this is a case where your VPIP/PFR spread can be quite high. Obviously 3betting is going to be profitable, but with many hands flatting can be even more +EV. Because you'll play deeper by flatting and the deeper you play the stronger your positional advantage.

Villains offers you to play in position versus a wide range. That's really an offer you should have a hard time refusing.
 
blankoblanco

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An April 1st tip from yours truly:

Observation: Most regs (at 200NL+, at any rate) open well over 30% from the SB.

Question: What's your VPIP and PFR in BB vs an SB open?

Answer: Too low.

Conclusion: Fix that.

don't listen to him, it's an april fools joke!! fold your BB 100%!!!
 
F Paulsson

F Paulsson

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FWIW, my 3-bet% in BB vs an SB open is 35%. And that's against all opponents, some of which are shorties or fish or just don't open wide in SB. Versus a wide-opening reg, I just don't fold. I flat if I think my hand is strong enough, and I 3-bet if it isn't. The beauty of it is that your stats in BB are "masked" by which I mean that there's no trivial stat available in a HEM popup that shows what you do in BB vs specifically an SB open (at least not that I use, and I don't think most people do) so they're going to suspect your range is wide, but not THAT wide. Similar argument goes for when you 3bet from the BB versus some other position: They're going to see that your BB 3-betting percentage is high, and be wrong about your range. When they're wrong, you gain.

Nifty, yes?
 
BelgoSuisse

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I flat if I think my hand is strong enough, and I 3-bet if it isn't.

Your 3bet range is 100% weak? Not polarized with monsters in it too?

In other words, do you really flat with AA?
 
thepokerkid123

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The beauty of it is that your stats in BB are "masked" by which I mean that there's no trivial stat available in a HEM popup that shows what you do in BB vs specifically an SB open (at least not that I use, and I don't think most people do) so they're going to suspect your range is wide, but not THAT wide. Similar argument goes for when you 3bet from the BB versus some other position: They're going to see that your BB 3-betting percentage is high, and be wrong about your range. When they're wrong, you gain.

Nifty, yes?

Yes, as long as they're mindless HUDbots.
 
SPCotter

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Hope to be more active in the April thread compared to March, what with my easter holidays starting tomorrow, hope to pick up where I left off in NL10, and hopefully dabble in some ultra low stakes PLO this month get a few thousand hands in to aid my live game.

GLA! :D
 
F Paulsson

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Your 3bet range is 100% weak? Not polarized with monsters in it too?

In other words, do you really flat with AA?
Ah, no. I 3-bet for value too, obviously. Typically just TT+,AK at first, and ATs/AJo/99+/KQs once it's clear that he's started calling me light.
Yes, as long as they're mindless HUDbots.
I've yet to come across any reg, mindless or not, who's adjusting well to this. How would YOU adjust to it, even now that you have perfect information about my ranges?
 
BelgoSuisse

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I've yet to come across any reg, mindless or not, who's adjusting well to this. How would YOU adjust to it, even now that you have perfect information about my ranges?

This. It's really hard for SB to adjust properly beyond stealing less, which is a good result for us too. Then we can readjust our ranges too, and so on and so on.

What FP meant is that most people fold their BB too much vs. a SB steal, and therefore most 200nl+ regs (FP included) have a default opening range in SB that exploits that by stealing more than their share. If you realize that and fight back, you can exploit them back (any exploitative strategy is by definition exploitable if you adjust to it) and profit.
 
F Paulsson

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Right. People are dealt two cards in the big blind, they look down and see 86s, they automatically think "not good enough from the blinds" because that's what they've always thought, and they don't often enough adjust to what happens when it's actually the SB that opens and he has a super-wide range. This gets exploited by most regs who steal relentlessly in the SB. Look at the short-stackers (who, like them or not, at least know how to steal blinds) - they typically open 50%+ in the SB. What's funny is that even the regs who open this wide in the SB don't actually know how to defend against it in the BB. They just muck. Exploit that by opening really wide.

But also counter the wide openers yourself. If you 3-bet a polarized (but really wide) range, their best bet for adjusting to that is 4-betting/folding very (very very) often, and so few players, even good regs, do that. If they want to keep opening 40% of hands, they're going to have to 4-bet about half the time that I 3-bet in order to turn it back into a win. How many people do you think do that? Even mindful nonbots?

And, of couse, K9s is a highly playable hand in the BB when the SB opens. Call and see a flop. Float often. Raise often. Just don't fold very often. Their range is really weak and you have position; blind steals are "supposed" to work from the button because they have absolute position. It should NOT work from the SB, but it does because people don't adjust well enough and fold by default. Don't be that guy.
 
BelgoSuisse

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The only downside of this is that it leads to a variance war. And you may not have the heart for it. :eek:
 
BelgoSuisse

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The upside is that typically the SB reg realizes he needs to stand up, and that leaves an empty seat for a fish... :D
 
BelgoSuisse

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And, of couse, K9s is a highly playable hand in the BB when the SB opens. Call and see a flop. Float often. Raise often. Just don't fold very often. Their range is really weak and you have position

While FP speaks about BB vs. SB open, his words apply almost identically to the BTN vs. a CO open.
 
Last edited:
Jurn8

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1st april, 12 hours in and 2 pretty nice tips from Belgo/Stubzy with the tool and FP with his BB shizzle!, nice work man!

Please help us out more lol!
 
WVHillbilly

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Anyone know how to use PT3 to filter for when the SB opens and we're in the BB?
 
NineLions

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Not intentionally wanting to interrupt any replies forthcoming for WV, but,

Anyone know what they base the player evaluation at PTR on? Like, if it says "you play 6% more hand than optimal", do they actually evaluate what is optimal for that level, and recently? Or is optimal a preset value, or is it just an average or something, or is there actually a query that looks at current winners for that level?
 
eNTy

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assume that the PTR grader is trash :)
i think it just takes the average of the player pool
 
M

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Not intentionally wanting to interrupt any replies forthcoming for WV, but,

Anyone know what they base the player evaluation at PTR on? Like, if it says "you play 6% more hand than optimal", do they actually evaluate what is optimal for that level, and recently? Or is optimal a preset value, or is it just an average or something, or is there actually a query that looks at current winners for that level?
Do not even look at that, it is rubbish.
 
WVHillbilly

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Not intentionally wanting to interrupt any replies forthcoming for WV, but,

Anyone know what they base the player evaluation at PTR on? Like, if it says "you play 6% more hand than optimal", do they actually evaluate what is optimal for that level, and recently? Or is optimal a preset value, or is it just an average or something, or is there actually a query that looks at current winners for that level?

Agree with eNTy and marginal specifically because they won't tell anyone how they come up with the numbers. They simply say that it's a proprietary formula, blah, blah, blah. So it might as well just be random number imo.
 
GeoffLacey

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Agree with eNTy and marginal specifically because they won't tell anyone how they come up with the numbers. They simply say that it's a proprietary formula, blah, blah, blah. So it might as well just be random number imo.

But I have an A+ on turn on river aggression, that's the only redeeming feature of my entire poker career :(
 
M

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But I have an A+ on turn on river aggression, that's the only redeeming feature of my entire poker career :(

I think I am rated C in those categories, I am just too aggressive.
 
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