Polished Poker Vol. I Study Group

Figaroo2 said:

Yes those two hands and a couple of others not posted, just after you went and I posted the final session figures in the sweaties skype thread. it was something like +$42 Despite the beats there were so many fish I wanted to keep playing. It doesn't make sense to quit when there are fish like that around. It also helped that the full stacks I won were both on the 30nl tables and the beats were on the 20nl.

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Nice.... I saw your screenshot. Well done.

I got worked yesterday by just one of those sessions. set over set deep, and people at 200nl thinking they are all phil ivey making stupid plays w/ no reads and getting lucky. Had a guy in a blind battle (my first hand at table), open in sb, I 3-bet w/ 88 in bb, he calls. Flop is 247 two clubs, he bets, I raise, he shoves, I call. He has 45 and hits a 5 on turn. Just stuff like that. Silly nonsense. A guy call a 3-bet with 93o and hit a 33x flop. vs my KK. Just one of those.

Figaroo2 said:

Started well. bet bet bet against the fish. And look at the number of fish in this barrel!

Pacific, $0.15/$0.30 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 8 Players

Hero (SB): $30 (100 bb)
BB: $14.44 (48.1 bb)
UTG+2: $30 (100 bb)
MP1: $21.08 (70.3 bb)
MP2: $12 (40 bb) VPIP: 69, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 13
MP3: $39.72 (132.4 bb)
CO: $15.93 (53.1 bb)
BTN: $22.61 (75.4 bb) VPIP: 48, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 0.8, Hands: 23

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7

7

MP2 posts BB OOP, UTG+2 calls $0.30, MP1 raises to $0.60, MP2 calls $0.30, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.60, Hero calls $0.45, BB folds, UTG+2 calls $0.30

Flop: ($3.30) 7

Q

2

(5 players)
Hero bets $1.65, 2 folds, MP2 calls $1.65, BTN calls $1.65

Turn: ($8.25) 2

(3 players)
Hero bets $4.12, MP2 calls $4.12, BTN calls $4.12

River: ($20.61) 4

(3 players)
Hero bets $20.61, MP2 folds, BTN calls $16.24 and is all-in

Results: $53.09 pot ($2.65 rake)
Final Board: 7

Q

2

2

4

Hero showed 7

7

and won $50.44 ($27.83 net)
MP2 mucked and lost (-$6.37 net)
BTN showed 2

A

and lost (-$22.61 net)

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I would've paid you off here too lol.

Apart from the initial call with A2s ( 1 would've 3 Bet it) the rest I play the same.

Making hero calls... I'm going to write a blog about hands like this, but minus reads I wanted you guys to break down anything you see that seems suspicious.

SB is: 22.4/19.7 17% 3-bet and 62% agg after 84 hands.

NL Holdem $2(BB)
HERO ($393.4)
SB ($214.45)
BB ($264.05)
HJ ($209.45)
CO ($169.65)

Dealt to Hero 8:diamond: 7:club:

HJ Folds, CO Folds, HERO Raises To $(4), SB Raises To $(13), BB Folds, HERO Calls $(9)

Flop ($27) 7:diamond: J:heart: 2:spade:
SB Bets $19, HERO Calls $19

Turn ($65) 7:diamond: J:heart: 2:spade: 3:diamond:
SB Bets $52, HERO Calls $52

River ($169) 7:diamond: J:heart: 2:spade: 3:diamond: 5:club:
SB $134.45 (allin), HERO Calls $134.45

The high 3-bet % and the fact that this is BTN vs SB indicate he's 3-betting light here.

That's about the raggiest flop imaginable and it doesn't improve on the turn or river, so you wouldn't expect him to keep barreling unless he absolutely wants a fold. Even JJ would have induced on either the turn or river as there's normally no value to be had on a board like that.

So he's wide preflop, and he's overaggro on a board that doesn't merit it, meaning he's likely full of it and betting something like Q9 or so.

TimovieMan said:

The high 3-bet % and the fact that this is BTN vs SB indicate he's 3-betting light here.

That's about the raggiest flop imaginable and it doesn't improve on the turn or river, so you wouldn't expect him to keep barreling unless he absolutely wants a fold. Even JJ would have induced on either the turn or river as there's normally no value to be had on a board like that.

So he's wide preflop, and he's overaggro on a board that doesn't merit it, meaning he's likely full of it and betting something like Q9 or so.

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Good... all good and valid points.

What else? Get as specific as possible too.

John A said:

Good... all good and valid points.

What else? Get as specific as possible too.

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Hero is a big fat FISH!!

rhombus said:

Hero is a big fat FISH!!

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True.... true. Calling station n00b.

John A said:

True.... true. Calling station n00b.

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Is it maths based
% of Time Villain has AK/AQ/AT barrelling with 89 or other Air Vs the times he has JJ+ Flopped Set

rhombus said:

Is it maths based
% of Time Villain has AK/AQ/AT barrelling with 89 or other Air Vs the times he has JJ+ Flopped Set

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Math is almost always involved, but it's not even needed here really.

I know... hopefully not a dagger to your heart. You'll have to use other observational skills. I wish it was always as black and white as math, but poker is a little more complex than that.

I hate giving away the punch line, but here's my blog on that hand:

http://www.acepokersolutions.com/po...king-profitable-hero-calls-beyond-the-basics/

John A said:

Math is almost always involved, but it's not even needed here really.

I know... hopefully not a dagger to your heart. You'll have to use other observational skills. I wish it was always as black and white as math, but poker is a little more complex than that.

Click to expand...

Maybe he just has it and we should have released on the Turn

VPIP/PFR are Reg Stats

Sure 3Bet is high but only 84 hands, maybe he has had a run of good hands.

He is OOP against the Button who has the widest range and it's usually best to 3Bet or FOLD in SB as you never know what BB will do

Give him benefit of doubt and fold Turn

rhombus said:

Maybe he just has it and we should have released on the Turn

VPIP/PFR are Reg Stats

Sure 3Bet is high but only 84 hands, maybe he has had a run of good hands.

He is OOP against the Button who has the widest range and it's usually best to 3Bet or FOLD in SB as you never know what BB will do

Give him benefit of doubt and fold Turn

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Yeah, I think I pretty much snap called the turn honestly. Read the blog. If you're just auto folding always in these spots, you're leaving money on the table. But you have to know when and what you're doing well before you do it.

John A said:

Yeah, I think I pretty much snap called the turn honestly. Read the blog. If you're just auto folding always in these spots, you're leaving money on the table. But you have to know when and what you're doing well before you do it.

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Nice Blog
At least i got his hand in my first assessment of his bluffing range .

Would you have called an Ace or King on the River??

Also you mentioned ratio of 65% or higher it's usually a bluff, is there a low threshold for a cheap bluff i.e. less than 33%

Haven't looked at the blog yet but the biggest thing for me in this hand is the villain's turn sizing. It looks like a clear attempt to buy the pot. value hands don't bet this sizing here. So once we call that turn and the brick arrives on the end its a relatively simple call down.

FLOP ??? only 2 hands on villain

[converted_hand][hand_history]Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10.46 (104.6 bb)
BB: $9.70 (97 bb)
UTG: $8.93 (89.3 bb)
MP: $9 (90 bb)
CO: $20.47 (204.7 bb)
BTN: $22.72 (227.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A:heart: Q:spade:
2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, BB folds, CO calls $1, BTN folds

Flop: ($3) T:diamond: T:heart: T:club: (2 players)
Hero

[/spoil][/hand_history][/converted_hand]

FLOP ??? only 2 hands on villain

[converted_hand][hand_history]poker stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10.46 (104.6 bb)
BB: $9.70 (97 bb)
UTG: $8.93 (89.3 bb)
MP: $9 (90 bb)
CO: $20.47 (204.7 bb)
BTN: $22.72 (227.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A:heart: Q:spade:
2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, BB folds, CO calls $1, BTN folds

Flop: ($3) T:diamond: T:heart: T:club: (2 players)
Hero

rhombus said:

FLOP ??? only 2 hands on villain

[converted_hand][hand_history]Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players

Hero (SB): $10.46 (104.6 bb)
BB: $9.70 (97 bb)
UTG: $8.93 (89.3 bb)
MP: $9 (90 bb)
CO: $20.47 (204.7 bb)
BTN: $22.72 (227.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A♥ Q♠
2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, BB folds, CO calls $1, BTN folds

Flop: ($3) T♦ T♥ T♣ (2 players)
Hero

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Its a good flop to cbet, if he doesn't have a pair or two overcards its tough to call.
I'd bet 2/3 then give up if he calls and we don't improve

The trouble with Queens

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 9 Players

SB: $10 (100 bb)
BB: $10 (100 bb)
UTG+1: $4.04 (40.4 bb)
UTG+2: $10 (100 bb) VPIP: 12, PFR: 6, 3B: 0, AF: 1.3, Hands: 126
MP1: $18.32 (183.2 bb)
Hero (MP2): $13.84 (138.4 bb)
MP3: $5.61 (56.1 bb)
CO: $10.43 (104.3 bb)
BTN: $7.74 (77.4 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q Q
UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 raises to $0.28, MP1 folds, Hero raises to $0.99, 5 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.71

Flop: ($2.13) 4 4 8 (2 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero bets $1.52, UTG+2 calls $1.52

Turn: ($5.17) 7 (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $3.46
A suspiciously large donk lead
Hero?

Spoiler

raises to $11.33 and is all-in

A bit of recent history with this villain in this second hand, he has been trying to outplay me every hand he can get into with me and its starting to get personal

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 9 Players

SB: $10.05 (100.5 bb) VPIP: 17, PFR: 10, 3B: 2, AF: 2.3, Hands: 1346
BB: $9.35 (93.5 bb)
UTG+1: $4.37 (43.7 bb)
UTG+2: $2.24 (22.4 bb)
MP1: $10 (100 bb)
MP2: $10.54 (105.4 bb)
Hero (MP3): $10.55 (105.5 bb)
CO: $7.75 (77.5 bb)
BTN: $11.56 (115.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with Q Q
4 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, CO calls $0.30, BTN folds, SB calls $0.25, BB folds

Flop: ($1) J 5 7 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.72, CO folds, SB raises to $2.20, Hero calls $1.48

Turn: ($5.40) 8 (2 players)
SB bets $3.80,

Hero?
I think I'm probably behind here but I'm not sure with this guy he has floated or raised me off several hands on the river in the previous hour . This is pot committing for him so it doesn't look like there's any fold equity. Pot is now $9.20
Against a set we have around 22% and are not getting 3-1 so should we just fold again?

rhombus said:

Nice Blog
At least i got his hand in my first assessment of his bluffing range .

Would you have called an Ace or King on the River??

Also you mentioned ratio of 65% or higher it's usually a bluff, is there a low threshold for a cheap bluff i.e. less than 33%

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Thanks, glad you liked it (and yes, you get bonus points for getting one of the hands he had ). Sometimes I play a hand and instantly it demonstrates some principle or thought process I use really well. So I tag it and try and write about it. I could probably post that AK hand I played against that guy as well, but it wasn't as exciting, but still had some basic parts of picking off bluffs.

I was planning on calling all diamonds, A/K, but nothing towards the absolute middle. At the time I put him on a T9 type hand so if something in that range hit I might consider folding.

As far as cheap bluffs, in 3-bet pots I don't find the same kind of consistency for lower bet thresholds. Opponent, texture, SPR, and other factors play a big role.

Figaroo2 said:

Haven't looked at the blog yet but the biggest thing for me in this hand is the villain's turn sizing. It looks like a clear attempt to buy the pot. value hands don't bet this sizing here. So once we call that turn and the brick arrives on the end its a relatively simple call down.

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Correct... and good observation. But yeah, check out the blog when you have some time.

John A said:

Correct... and good observation. But yeah, check out the blog when you have some time.

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Yeah the tricky part for ME is knowing what cards to call on the end. I was like Rhom thinking he was barreling either two high overcards or a gutshot of some sort
Tim mentioned the Q9 gutshot but does that hand 3bet? I don't see that hand 3bet hardly ever. The 89s T9s makes a more likely light 3bet for me.
Or maybe he picked up a flush draw on the turn and decided to barrel the extra equity, as I'm sure we all do most of the time.
Either way I'm not sure I could find a call if an ace or a diamond fell on the river. The 5c was a very good brick.
Why were you so confident you could still call if the backdoor diamond draw came in and why this wasn't an AK?

Figaroo2 said:

Its a good flop to cbet, if he doesn't have a pair or two overcards its tough to call.
I'd bet 2/3 then give up if he calls and we don't improve

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I wasn't sure about the sizing on the flop. Bet just under half $1.40 into $3 but then Bet turn as well, should I have backed off???


[converted_hand][hand_history]Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10.46 (104.6 bb)
BB: $9.70 (97 bb)
UTG: $8.93 (89.3 bb)
MP: $9 (90 bb)
CO: $20.47 (204.7 bb)
BTN: $22.72 (227.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A:heart: Q:spade:
2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, BB folds, CO calls $1, BTN folds

Flop: ($3) T:diamond: T:heart: T:club: (2 players)
Hero bets $1.40, CO calls $1.40

Turn: ($5.80) 3:spade: (2 players)
Hero bets $2.60, CO folds

[spoil]Results: $5.80 pot ($0.26 rake)
Final Board: T:diamond: T:heart: T:club: 3:spade:
Hero mucked A:heart: Q:spade: and won $5.54 ($2.84 net)
CO mucked and lost (-$2.70 net)
[/spoil][/hand_history][/converted_hand]

Think I played this bad OOP. Is this one of those situations where you check the flop especially as you have the King Hearts or soes that not make any difference.

As played should I have Bet Turn, or Check Turn and Call River
[converted_hand][hand_history]Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $10.05 (100.5 bb)
BB: $15.34 (153.4 bb)
UTG: $10 (100 bb) 36/32 50% Agg 25 hands
MP: $2.74 (27.4 bb)
Hero (CO): $10 (100 bb)
BTN: $10 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K:heart: A:club:
UTG raises to $0.30, MP folds, Hero raises to $1.05, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.25) A:heart: 2:diamond: J:heart: (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.43, UTG calls $1.43

Turn: ($5.11) Q:diamond: (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: ($5.11) 3:diamond: (2 players)
UTG bets $3.10, Hero ???

Figaroo2 said:

Its a good flop to cbet, if he doesn't have a pair or two overcards its tough to call.
I'd bet 2/3 then give up if he calls and we don't improve

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Firing one for 2/3 sounds about right to me.

rhombus said:

Think I played this bad OOP. Is this one of those situations where you check the flop especially as you have the King Hearts or soes that not make any difference.

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This seems like a decent spot to check the flop behind, but I'd like it rainbow before doing that.

As played, I also prefer to bet the turn and check the river behind in this hand, but your way is fine too.

Obviously call the river. We're seriously underrepped and he seems wide enough to haven plenty of weaker Ax hands (possibly suited) that will bet here, thinking they're ahead of our KK.





Here's a 3-bet bluffing spot I had today. CO is raising extra wide here since he's merely isolating the table fish. So I 3-bet bluff with a hand that I can easily get away from when 4-bet and that still has decent equity when called...

PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 64 BB (VPIP: 11.90, PFR: 11.90, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 42)
UTG+1: 175.5 BB (VPIP: 8.43, PFR: 5.62, 3Bet Preflop: 1.69, Hands: 178)
MP: 195 BB (VPIP: 14.93, PFR: 11.94, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 67)
MP+1: 87 BB (VPIP: 75.86, PFR: 13.79, 3Bet Preflop: 11.76, Hands: 33)
CO: 101 BB (VPIP: 25.71, PFR: 15.71, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 70)
BTN: 121.5 BB (VPIP: 17.35, PFR: 10.20, 3Bet Preflop: 6.45, Hands: 99)
Hero (SB): 169 BB
BB: 101.5 BB (VPIP: 9.38, PFR: 6.25, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 33)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A:heart: 2:heart:

fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls 1 BB, CO raises to 4.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 15 BB, fold, fold, fold

Hero wins 11 BB

TimovieMan said:

Firing one for 2/3 sounds about right to me.


This seems like a decent spot to check the flop behind, but I'd like it rainbow before doing that.

As played, I also prefer to bet the turn and check the river behind in this hand, but your way is fine too.

Obviously call the river. We're seriously underrepped and he seems wide enough to haven plenty of weaker Ax hands (possibly suited) that will bet here, thinking they're ahead of our KK.





Here's a 3-bet bluffing spot I had today. CO is raising extra wide here since he's merely isolating the table fish. So I 3-bet bluff with a hand that I can easily get away from when 4-bet and that still has decent equity when called...

PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 64 BB (VPIP: 11.90, PFR: 11.90, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 42)
UTG+1: 175.5 BB (VPIP: 8.43, PFR: 5.62, 3Bet Preflop: 1.69, Hands: 178)
MP: 195 BB (VPIP: 14.93, PFR: 11.94, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 67)
MP+1: 87 BB (VPIP: 75.86, PFR: 13.79, 3Bet Preflop: 11.76, Hands: 33)
CO: 101 BB (VPIP: 25.71, PFR: 15.71, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 70)
BTN: 121.5 BB (VPIP: 17.35, PFR: 10.20, 3Bet Preflop: 6.45, Hands: 99)
Hero (SB): 169 BB
BB: 101.5 BB (VPIP: 9.38, PFR: 6.25, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 33)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♥ 2♥

fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls 1 BB, CO raises to 4.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 15 BB, fold, fold, fold

Hero wins 11 BB

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A2 - A5s are usually in my range for 3 betting light when in SB or BB against late position openers.

Apart from the usual - fold to 3Bet is high what else do you look for to 3Bet light with
Also is it optimal to 3Bet with Suited A2-A5 or better to call if a limper and raiser