Problem 4: Negreanu VS Farha
I'm back on track after a dissapointing weekend. It's amazing how reading and learning about the game can put the spark back into your enthusiasm.
Problem 4 for me was really a great insight into how aggressive players think and I enjoyed working through it.
A bit long I know, but, I store most of these comments in a slip file so I dont want to be cutting corners. Some things aren't here because they come straight out of the book (bad, bad, I know).
I’m in third position as Daniel Negreanu with suited connectors. I would raise 2.5BB and not the 3BB that Harrington recommends.
When I get reraised and good
pot odds because of Farha tagging along on the button as well, I would make the call. With most people raising in
online poker you can sometimes sense that it’s AK if you’ve been watching and then noticing how the hand develops, so it’s still fair game. And if he did have aces or kings I’m getting great implied odds with this hand (he might not be able to let go of a big pair even when it’s obvious he’s beaten).
I flop the nut straight so I’m happy. I would check here and see what the other players do on a low board with 2 spades. If the preflop raiser plays aggressively I can now put him on his big pair. He doesn’t, so I put him on AK as he checks behind me. It gets to Farha and he bets almost the entire pot. What hands can he possibly have to bet almost the entire pot is the question?
If I think the player is good, I generally put them on a semi-
bluff when they bet a board like this. If this is the case and I think it is a semi-bluff then I switch my play to defending my made hand. I don’t slow play like Negreanu chooses to do. If I only win 2000 here because I raise — so be it. That is much better than going out, IMO. My typical move in online play is to reraise enough so that if the turn card is not a spade I can get my stack in before the river card comes down (most people will not call an allin with one card to come on a flush draw). That’s what I would do. But let’s continue with the hand that Harrington is talking about.
These two guys are amazing. When the king comes down Negreanu bets half the pot. I think he was trying to get the preflop raiser to tag along with an AK and really build a big pot. When Farha just makes the call, do you put him on the spade draw?
In most games online I always give people credit for the flush draw because I used to be the same (two suited cards, cool, I wanna see a flop)—until I learnt that it only helps you about an extra 3% to be suited.
As the hand goes to the river and Negreanu checks when the flush card hits, what would I do if Farha put me allin? I would call against an aggressive player. I tend to bluff a flushed board if it gets checked to me.
I also tend to check to an aggressive player who I think will bluff at a flushed board when I’m holding the nut flush. If he bluffs with enough of his chips he might commit himself to the pot. When I come over the top they generally just make the call and I double up (missed value if they check behind—so I had better be certain about my opponent being capable of
bluffing).
Harrington says that it is theoretically correct to fold this 89 suited in 3rd position and I believe him. How many times will you be throwing this hand away before it becomes profitable? I don’t know, but I believe Harrington when he says it’s a solid fold which makes your decisions easier.
However, I am playing within my
bankroll and I’m learning to be an aggressive player. If the blinds are worth the effort, I want the experience of playing these kinds of hands. So I would play it just for the learning experience. Getting this experience will also help my post flop play: I will have to get better at putting people on hands and thinking through the actions. When I move up in stakes I want my post-flop decisions to be instinctive.
The discussion on the hand by Harrington is very cool. I read it a couple times just for the gold nuggets of wisdom he gives. The explanations he gives about the reasons behind Negreanu’s and Farah’s actions are super. This is how aggressive players think, and I want to be a tough aggressive opponent, so I have to learn how to think in this way.
Hope to see some comments here!
Lata, Michael
