$2 NL HE 6-max: What was the right decision pre-flop ?

I was the player named Sniffo.


My chart says to raise 7.50 bb (not sure if it means adding 7.50 or raising to 7.50 but i always assumed it meant raising to 7.50 bb) but he already raised that exact amount so I called instead. I identified one of the vilains as a bully type (Womer) and saw him try to bluff me once with absolute air. (high vpip, hi pfr and high ATS)






Poker Hand #HD2931738630: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2026/06/29 14:06:00
Table 'NLHWhite23' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: 99ec4df8 ($2 in chips)
Seat 2: e9056d9f ($1.19 in chips)
Seat 3: 96767b15 ($3.15 in chips)
Seat 5: 7ecb49e ($1.1 in chips)
Seat 6: Hero ($3.87 in chips)
Hero: posts small blind $0.01
99ec4df8: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to 99ec4df8
Dealt to e9056d9f
Dealt to 96767b15
Dealt to 7ecb49e
Dealt to Hero [Ah Qh]
e9056d9f: raises $0.02 to $0.04
96767b15: folds
7ecb49e: raises $0.11 to $0.15
Hero: calls $0.14
99ec4df8: folds
e9056d9f: folds
*** FLOP *** [5s 8d Qs]
Hero: bets $0.32
7ecb49e: raises $0.63 to $0.95 and is all-in
Hero: calls $0.63
7ecb49e: shows [As Js] (Ace high)
Hero: shows [Ah Qh] (a pair of Queens)
*** TURN *** [5s 8d Qs] [5h]
*** RIVER *** [5s 8d Qs 5h] [Kc]
*** SHOWDOWN ***
Hero collected $2.13 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $2.26 | Rake $0.11 | Jackpot $0.02 | Bingo $0 | Fortune $0 | Tax $0
Board [5s 8d Qs 5h Kc]
Seat 1: 99ec4df8 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: e9056d9f folded before Flop
Seat 3: 96767b15 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 7ecb49e (button) showed [As Js] and lost with a pair of Fives
Seat 6: Hero (small blind) showed [Ah Qh] and won ($2.13) with two pair, Queens and Fives

Preflop
Your chart is for facing an open raise, and here you are facing a 3-bet. I would pretty much never cold call a 3-bet out of position. If BTN was a tight player, I would just fold. But he is quite loose with a 40% VPIP and according to you a "bully type". He is also not starting with a full stack, and for that reason I would 4-bet to around $0,45. My plan would then be to fold to a 5-bet from the tight and deep stacked UTG player but get it in against BTN, if he continue in the hand. If BTN just call the 4-bet, there will be a stack to pot ratio of less than 1, and then I just open jam pretty much any flop.

Flop
As played I dont see any reason to lead into him. This just takes away his ability to bluff, and you even identified him as a "bully type". So just check and let him do his thing, which is the standard play anyway. As played obviously call his jam and hope to run good.

Normally you could raise due to your OOP play vs. the Button to 5x his raise amount but that would be too pot commiting with AQ.
A 2,5x of his raise would be reasonable but also pot commiting, so a 2,2 x of his raise size would be great. and give you the right SPR for
Top pair top kicker to go AI on the flop.
Call may be fine but you got lucky the initial opener did not call too.

fundiver199 said:

Preflop
Your chart is for facing an open raise, and here you are facing a 3-bet. I would pretty much never cold call a 3-bet out of position. If BTN was a tight player, I would just fold. But he is quite loose with a 40% VPIP and according to you a "bully type". He is also not starting with a full stack, and for that reason I would 4-bet to around $0,45. My plan would then be to fold to a 5-bet from the tight and deep stacked UTG player but get it in against BTN, if he continue in the hand. If BTN just call the 4-bet, there will be a stack to pot ratio of less than 1, and then I just open jam pretty much any flop.

Flop
As played I dont see any reason to lead into him. This just takes away his ability to bluff, and you even identified him as a "bully type". So just check and let him do his thing, which is the standard play anyway. As played obviously call his jam and hope to run good.

Click to expand...

Mmmh not sure if the chart is designed for that. It mostly tells you what to fold with and what to squeeze with as SB, here it is :




but yes what you're saying seems to make a lot of sense, I should've checked and let him hang himself.

Goggelheimer said:

Normally you could raise due to your OOP play vs. the Button to 5x his raise amount but that would be too pot commiting with AQ.
A 2,5x of his raise would be reasonable but also pot commiting, so a 2,2 x of his raise size would be great. and give you the right SPR for
Top pair top kicker to go AI on the flop.
Call may be fine but you got lucky the initial opener did not call too.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback

Bluelime said:

Mmmh not sure if the chart is designed for that.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure that chart is for facing a standard open like 2.5 BB. If you face an open and a 3-bet, you need to play way more tight for a number of reasons.