$Freeroll NLHE MTT: Hand #1 CC League: KJs opens from the button

[nabmom]

I'll be posting several hands from Monday night's CC league game. I honestly believe I'm playing a decent game, but my results haven't really proved that. So it's time to turn to CC and see what you all think.

In my mind during CC league games, I am always thinking about the concept of "team folds" and that moving up in points is critical. So while my style is generally TAG, it is probably even more cautious and less aggressive than I'd be in non-league games. Also, while I will generally go into shove or fold mode around 15 BBs, in league I will often let myself get blinded down to much lower, simply because it is so likely that others will go out and I will move up in points. If anyone is aware of an existing thread that discusses this approach in general, please point me to it.

Moving on to the actual hand. This is one that I feel I played correctly. Do you agree?

I have about 1,000 hands with this opponent. Overall a TAG player, and I've seen some limps and calls with marginal hands like K5s, K2o, 87o.

I hated that A on the flop (monsters under the bed!) and loved the K on the turn. QT and AJ were possible, but the former less likely and I had a blocker to the AJ.


PokerStars - 35/70 Ante 9 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: 2,844
MP+1: 2,761
CO: 2,795
Hero (BTN): 3,054
SB: 5,740
BB: 4,621
UTG: 2,567
UTG+1: 2,618

8 players post ante of 9, SB posts SB 35, BB posts BB 70

Pre Flop: (pot: 177) Hero has K♠ J♠

fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 170, SB calls 135, BB calls 100

Flop: (582, 3 players) J♥ A♣ 5♠
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets 291, SB calls 291, BB calls 291

Turn: (1,455, 3 players) K♣
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets 728, SB calls 728, fold

River: (2,911, 2 players) 4♣
SB checks, Hero checks

 

[okeedokalee]

Checked your stats and the signify to me you are a competent TAGFirst hand KJ suited or unsuited is a terrible hand. I tend to fold it as it always seems to make second best hands.
When the OOP players both called that should of been that for you.
Also remember Villains love to play Ax.
I guess the SB checked the river because the clubs made a flush.
Villain may have made the flush and was wanting you to bet, or his Ax was too weak to make a river bet.

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop
Certainly a standard open and sizing is fine as well. In fact KJs is generally an open from any seat of the table, while KJo is a fold from early position.

Flop
I would check back this flop. Your hand is certainly not good enough to get multible streets of value against two opponents, and it does not need much protection either. There is no flushdraw or OESD on the board, only some gutshots, and the only overcard, that can peal, is a Q. So for me this is a perfect spot to check back for pot control and also see, what develops on the turn.

If the turn is a blank, and SB leads out with a large bet, and now BB either call or raise, then you can just fold and not lose another chip in the hand. Instead you make a C-bet and get called by both players. And right off the bat my thought is, at least one of them have you beat, and I am basically going to give up now, unless I improve.

Turn
You got bailed out by improving to two pair, and now your hand is certainly good enough to bet for value. Yes the QT gutshot got there, but thats only one hand, and if they flopped a set or two pair, they would most likely have raised it on the flop. Sure they can have some slowplayed stuff from time to time, but I think, you are looking at a lot of one pair hands from both players, so I like your bet and the sizing as well. Only small blind called, and I am feeling very good about the situation going to the river. Once again if he had you beat, chances are, he would probably have raised you now if not on the flop.

River
Backdoor flush came in, but I dont think, this matter a whole lot. For him to get to the river with clubs, it would have to be JX or 5X of clubs exactly, and even some of those combos are probably folded on the flop. It is SB, who is still in the hand, and did he really call you on the flop with 65 of clubs with another guy left to act behind him? If he is a decent player, probably not.

So there is like QJ, JT and J9 of clubs, and thats probably just about it. A whopping 3 combos, so certainly not something, I am going to panic about. There is also a decent chance, that a flush would be played as a donk jam on the river to avoid you doing, exactly what you did, which was to check back.

When he check to you again, I think, his range is a lot of AX, and unless its A4 specifically, you still beat those hands. So I would go for it and jam the rest of my stack in the middle. Give him a tough decision and a chance to make that big hero call with his A9 or whatever, he is hanging on with.

 

[300HPGOD]

Pre flop is what should be done imo. On the flop against two callers who have most likely an Ax heavy range I think checking is better. I see some merit in betting to rep an ace depending on how loose the blinds players are but I think it is much better to check back the flop. The turn is a nice card of course and as played with the bet on the flop I think you need to bet larger here than what you did. I am not that worried about Q10 although it can be possible. What I am looking to do here though is get as much value as I can from Ax hands (which I think at least one of them have) and also any possible flush draws that would get to this point. I would bet more in the neighborhood of 950-1000 with the plan of jamming most river cards (especially if I am only going against one opponent and not two on the river). The bet sizing you chose is fine since it leaves under pot left for river but I think there are a bunch of hands villain could have that would call 2 streets but will not call a triple barrel so I would want to get a few more chips now. Plus better a little bigger on the turn would just make the river a little easier call for villain based on price. If they are calling half pot here then I think they are also calling 950 ish here as well.

On the river as played this one is close to me but I think I would be going with it. I dont mind checking behind and I would bet in game I would check behind here at least some of the time. If you really look at it though with the board having the A and K of clubs already out there, the villain should not have a lot of 2 club hands that they would defend with out of the SB. It would basically be down to QJ, Q10, J10 and maybe Q9, J9 as the only possible flushes they could have that would have a chance at getting this far and I dont even know how many of those get this far. This should be a bet for value here just the problem I see is a random Ax hand going to call 3 streets with the river being a jam? I think we give them the chance to but this could be a bet where we are only getting called by those hands that beat us and the rest fold. For that reason alone I dont hate checking behind.

 

[Badday94]

Could have gone for another bet on the river because most likely he had top pair with some lower kicker, since he just checked all streets. But you never know, he might have had Q 10 and after you bet the flop, even if he turned the straight he decided to go the check call route. It's a possibility that's why I completely understand your check on the river. Hope you won

 

[vittopio]

Previously, I also thought that private tournaments from card chat are not exactly freerolls, but recently I increasingly see a completely inadequate game on any cards, so do not draw conclusions about your game on these freerolls!

 

[nabmom]

Previously, I also thought that private tournaments from card chat are not exactly freerolls, but recently I increasingly see a completely inadequate game on any cards, so do not draw conclusions about your game on these freerolls!

Cardchat league is very different than a freeroll. The caliber of play in league is generally pretty high, and many of us have played several seasons together, so we have stats on each other.

I didn't give you the result of this hand since I didn't want to bias the commentary.

Spoiler

The opponent had A5. A bigger two-pair and he won.