When do we start believing our opponent?

[BogdanStark]

Thank you, Bogdan. My biggest losses are AA or KK vs sets. I just can't fold these cards. Can you?

With such monsters I'd like play next way: only nice, big raises and re-raise, but not all-in. However, if someone make re-raise all-in my bet, I will obviously call with pocket AA and KK, not QQ. For pocket Queens I have another rules. So, you understand? You do not pushed pre-flop all in every time with AA, KK, only calls if anybody all-in before you.

 

[yjt93]

It really depends what stake you play in. I often play micro cash games and when i go through my hand history I realize that I call a reraise with Top pair and 10+ kicker often and lose because people rarely have worse than that when they reraise me, especially at micros.

 

[fred_antunes]

pot control helps these decisions.

 

[BogdanStark]

pot control helps these decisions.

Very interesting . . . so tell me, what is pot control and how it helps me in situation when someone pushed at my table? hm))))

 

[trityi]

yes

Thank you, guys. Poker is a bloody hard game.

Poker is so, but it should be seen as a game and not play tight, a lot easier and more fun

 

[Fish2014]

friend all depends on the reading you have of your opponents often falls into the trap of thinking that the opponent has the best hand and this takes you to play the hand making mistakes such as for example leaving bet for fear of losing the hand

 

[johnny tigre]

This.

although there are sometimes ways to spot a bluff even if you dont know the player and they are betting from early position.

today i called a bluff when i had pocket 10s in position against villain. I open raise preflop and the flop came with 8c8s6d. villain makes pot size bet, i raise 2x, villain calls. turn is 6d. villain bets half pot, i call. river is 5d. there are now 3 diamonds on the board and two pairs on the board, making any two diamonds, or any 8 or 6 into a boat. villain bets 1/3 pot. i raise to half pot size, villain shoves and i call and took down a 300bb pot. I called because although I played very few hands with him, i noticed that he entered the pot only twice since i sat down and was likely to be playing face cards. I had a loose table image, so he thought i would call him down with any two cards. he would have bet-raised on the flop if he made a strong hand and he barreled all three streets which he wouldn't have done on a flushdraw. he tried to bluff out of position on the flop and when i played back at him, he didnt want to appear weak so he tried to continue aggression when he didnt have control of the pot.



if a player is a nit, it is very easy to put them on a range. when the board doesnt coordinate with their range or show a flush draw early on, then any bet they make is probably either going to be pocket pair or a bluff. if the opponent is loose agressive, you have to have a good hand to beat them because their range is so wide that almost any board could possibly be good for them.

This doesn't mean go wild and call anything.

If i'm your opponent, ill call the floor and have the cards on the table checked. There was two 6d there.... hehehe. peace!

 

[mbrenneman0]

If i'm your opponent, ill call the floor and have the cards on the table checked. There was two 6d there.... hehehe. peace!

Oh woops, my mechanics grip must have messed up

 

[Syltan]

I'm starting to believe When he raises preflop 4Bet)))

 

[MakeUcryalot]

It's all about identifying the villain, literally its easy. Watch every showdown, that's where you'll get 75% of your read, but you actually have to watch them to see if their story makes sense. Pocket pairs hit 1/8 times, 9 handed makes at least one pair per hand that hits 1/8 times, so statistically trips hit once out of every 8 times. The thing is degens dont think they're degens and actually really don't want to lose their money, but we get it because we're better than them. Nobody's shoving a middle pair, ever, unless it makes sense. Some fish might but we don't base our playing on them assuming we will profitin the long run. If you see someone shoving with 10Jo, sure call those hands. But when somebody is systematically value betting you even with TPTK, you fold. Because more often then not they have you crushed.

 

[Sum420gt]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. I too often tend to think that the person raising me is doing so in attempt to bullshit me and have me fold my presumably better hand.... And all too often i find out the hard way that they actually are actually raising me because they have a stellar hand

 

[Cherubael]

I also do this, I mostly play micros and don't like to be pushed around so if people slowplay and then raise I tend to initially think bluff.

Even when warning bells start going I call far too often to prove to myself they're on what I think they're on. Daft I know as I'm often right but I've not started trusting myself enough to fold more regularly, and the stakes aren't high enough that I'm that fussed about the money.

 

[mbrenneman0]

very important to remember that people bluff less often than you think they are bluffing. sometimes if they are slowplaying or you feel like youre being pushed around, it can be because they are on a heater. just wait for a strong hand

 

[BogdanStark]

It's all about identifying the villain, literally its easy. Watch every showdown, that's where you'll get 75% of your read, but you actually have to watch them to see if their story makes sense. Pocket pairs hit 1/8 times, 9 handed makes at least one pair per hand that hits 1/8 times, so statistically trips hit once out of every 8 times. The thing is degens dont think they're degens and actually really don't want to lose their money, but we get it because we're better than them. Nobody's shoving a middle pair, ever, unless it makes sense. Some fish might but we don't base our playing on them assuming we will profitin the long run. If you see someone shoving with 10Jo, sure call those hands. But when somebody is systematically value betting you even with TPTK, you fold. Because more often then not they have you crushed.

Nice post, but in real poker all is easier, then on paper.

 

[partz]

I've been bleeding a lot of money just because I never believe my opponent when he raises big and I have a decent hand( top pair, top kicker). It turns out most times they have trips or better.
Should I just fold my top pair and wait for a better hand when my opponent goes all in on a board where he could only represent trips or 2 pairs?( no flush or straight draw), even though he might be bluffing?

There is an excellent free tool called Hud poker with lots of nice features (stats, hand replay, graphs and stuff)
I am plying with it for a couple of days now and make the difference, esspecialy if you play cash games with regular players

 

[oconnor8]

This is a broad sentiment indeed...post some hh or spots you're confused about so people have a better understanding of where you're coming from. People would better be able to assist you with your issues. If it's just a generalized, I feel like I'm always behind...then maybe you are. Fold and move on.

 

[MattRyder]

NO offense, but your essentially asking how to play poker. Instead of a very broad generalization post specific hands. Tptk should be good quite a bit of the time, every time? Of course not, never? Of course not.

Obviously there are no general rules that can be followed every time, but in my experience at the lower stakes TPTK rarely is good enough if the betting is progressive and strong (i.e., all-in is an exception), ESPECIALLY if there is more than one villain throwing money at the pot. In fact, it's usually the other guy (not the one leading the betting) who has you beat. Progressively bigger bets usually (not always) mean bigger (than TPTK) hands.

It depends a lot on the buy-in too, though. freerolls/low-end micro buy-ins tend to attract the crazies. Higher buy-ins - not so much.

 

[Ty4thachips]

Believe Them or Not

This is the problem we all have. How much do I raise/call or just fold. I try to pick up a feeling based on the previous hands I have seen. Of course everything is speculation until you see the hand play out. The best you can do is to play premium hands and not over play your hand. If its not a strong one after the flop/turn, FOLD.

 

[tetragorod]

How often for tips heart we accept the whispers of your ass!Patience and time give more than strength or passion

 

[evgenii1788]

It is necessary to carefully follow the game and the players. And it will be more clear which hand . bonalno but surely .

 

[Radi]

It depends on that how he played the past hands.

 

[Dorugremon]

I've been bleeding a lot of money just because I never believe my opponent when he raises big and I have a decent hand( top pair, top kicker). It turns out most times they have trips or better.

You don't have to marry the damn things, especially in no-limit. In no-limit TPTK tends to win small pots and lose big ones. Is your opponent going to commit a big percentage to the pot with a hand that can't beat TPTK? Unless he's an absolute fish, he's not calling a (K,rag,rag-rainbow) board with (K,Q-o) if he meets any resistance. It's not like fixed limit where he loses a few bets if he runs into Big Slick here. You bet; he folds. If he has two pair or better, he raises, or he sets a trap he'll spring on the turn or river.

Should I just fold my top pair and wait for a better hand when my opponent goes all in on a board where he could only represent trips or 2 pairs?( no flush or straight draw), even though he might be bluffing?

It depends, it depends, it depends. If the nittiest player at the table, you know that guy who hasn't played a single hand in eight orbits wakes up like that, then GTFO and never look back. If it's a rec-fish, someone who's neither terrible not really very good, then you'd also consider getting out of his way. When a rec-fish goes out of his way to bet big, he's usually there. It's rare to find one who can slam a stack in on a pure bluff. It just never occurs to them because they never think ahead, they never consider the story they're telling. Also, at the micros, there are a lot of self-appointed honesty inspectors who'll look you up to "keep you honest" if they have any piece of the board, so why risk it?

It's also a question of SPR. If your SPR is 3 : 1 or less, TPTK is a stack-off, and you play like it's fixed limit. SPRs of 4-6 : 1 are iffy, and anything deeper means you play the TPTK carefully and slowly, and take it to showdown as cheaply as possible. If your vill won't co-operate, GTFO! If he bluffs you, Yeay! for him. Show me a player who can't be bluffed and I'll show you a 'station. How well do they do? That's what makes them the fish they are.

Last night at 10nl, I popped a short handed table with (A,9-o) out of the #1 hole. Fish calls behind. I lead out on a (J,9,2) board with two spades for 1/2 pot, fish calls. Turn isn't a spade, and doesn't complete any reasonable straights either. Lead out another 1/2 potter, fish calls. The riv is another brick. Check it to the fish in case he has a weak jack he just can't turn loose. He bangs it all-in. I call off half the remaining stack, and he shows a (T,9) off with a gutter ball draw that missed. Stackless, he leaves.

He's repping a good jack, but I knew he was FoS. Sometimes, you just get a feel for these things. That comes with experience. Of course, it's more than just a gut reaction. He'd been there awhile, I'd seen how he played, I had him pegged for a total fish so gut reactions are the result of preparation and observation, nothing the least bit mystical about it, though your more superstitious opponents will think otherwise.

 

[Runeloko]

I think sometimes you just realize when your opponent is not bluffing you & he has a solid hand to play with.