$5.5 NL HE MTT: How to (not) play top pair 80BB deep

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fundiver199

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  • #1
Game
Hold'em
Game Format
No Limit
Table Format
MTT
Buy-in
5.5
Currency
$
One of the classic theorems in poker is the Baluga Theorem, which state:

"If you are heads-up and face a raise on the turn, you must re-evaluate the strength of your one-pair hand."

This theorem is from the early days on online poker and mostly refer to cash games, where stacks are often around 100BB deep. In this situation four bets are usually needed to get stacks inside in a single raised pot. And for that reason players, who called preflop and called on the flop, will normally just call again on the turn, unless they have a hand, they want to stack off with, which will typically be at least two pair.

So if you raised preflop, bet the flop, bet the turn, and now get raised, you should strongly consider to lay down your one pair hand. If not already on the turn then at least on the river, if the opponent follow up with a jam. This hand from a $5.5 "big" MTT on PokerStars is a classic example, and luckily for me my opponent either did not know or decided to not follow the Baluga Theorem :)

 
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nabmom

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  • #2
What bet size would that opponent have had to make in order for you to fold your hand to his flop c-bet?
 
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fundiver199

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nabmom said:
What bet size would that opponent have had to make in order for you to fold your hand to his flop c-bet?
Mostly I will call any "normal" C-bet with this hand, since it flopped a gutshot and also the nut nothing. People dont need to have top pair, just because they make a small C-bet. So sometimes I have the best hand already, and other times I have 3 or 6 outs to make the best pair in top of the 4 straight outs. If the opponent does something unusual like hit the "pot" button or even overbet, thats the time I let it go.
 
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  • #4
fundiver199 said:
Mostly I will call any "normal" C-bet with this hand, since it flopped a gutshot and also the nut nothing. People dont need to have top pair, just because they make a small C-bet. So sometimes I have the best hand already, and other times I have 3 or 6 outs to make the best pair in top of the 4 straight outs. If the opponent does something unusual like hit the "pot" button or even overbet, thats the time I let it go.
Thank you for the reply. Makes sense and tracks with my thinking. Always good to get a reality check.
 
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Matt_Burns88

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Villain living up to his screen name...

Got to love 'em!
 
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fundiver199

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Matt_Burns88 said:
Villain living up to his screen name...

Got to love 'em!
He had a premium starting hand so more like "I get married to my hand and cant fold top pair or better" :)
 
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