Bigger preflop obviously. Looks good after that.

The Sinquefield Cup starts on Saturday with a ridiculously strong field. If you fancy a bit of a fun punt on chess then there is a pool for the tournament at www.i-pools.co.uk. Make your predictions for what will happen in the tournament, and win the prize money if your answers are more accurate than everyone elses.

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@Stu I don't think the immeadiate EV of a 4bet preflop (which is undeniable and quite a lot given no-one folds) can ever be matched in any other play, as much as I agree with the idea that a "sexy" pre-flop spot can occur from flatting the 3b PF.

Yeah I agree now tbh. I am so used to playing 6 card Omaha now that I sort of 'forgot' how much of an equity edge AAxx has preflop in 4 card Omaha. I just ran a few sims to remind me of this. In 6c you can often get (even double-suited) Aces all-in 3way and find that you have the worst equity of the three hands (obviously I'm not talking about a hand like AAKQJTss which will always be pushing equity; I'm meaning stuff like AA9542ss which often is pushing an equity disadvantage MW even with two suited Aces). That's why flatting the 3bet is the play at 6c, but not at 4c. So yeah, clear 4bet.

Idea behind flatting rather than 4betting was not based on being scared to push equity etc. I'm sure it is +EV to 4bet here. Reason I suggested that flatting could be considered is because of the cold caller in the BB. This means we can have a really sexy postflop spot if we just flat since as well as having absolute position (the BTN) we also have perfect relative position (i.e. If the SB cbets he will be betting through the BB into us). Feels to me like the hugely +EV spots we can often get into postflop when we flat (due to relative position and deception) might more than compensate for not pushing a preflop equity edge.

If the SB had flatted and then the BB had 3bet I would not even consider flatting.

Maybe I am just thinking this way due to all the 6c Omaha I've been playing over the last year. Flatting in this spot with non-premium AAxxxx is pretty standard in 6c - and this spot (i.e. someone cold-calling a 3bet) happens way more often at 6c.

Also, any love for flatting the 3bet preflop?

Check back flop, and fold to a turn bet from either player.

Due to the Friday kick-off, many of our PL pools are closing tonight rather than Saturday. This means the overlays on the guaranteed pools are going to be bigger than usual I suspect. So if you fancy a punt on a few of our PL pools remember to get your entries in before tonight's game kicks off.

In particular, the two 'Lucky 7' pools still have HUGE overlays. So get in there and snap up the free value.

Hey TL900 and and Dungbeetle! Thanks for the complimentary posts

@ Dungbeetle. Yeah, we've made substantial improvements in the interface over the last 6 months or so. And we will be continuing to make tweaks and improvements going forward.

Ignore the above... did not realise you only get one free transfer per week. My bad.

Hi guys, some advice needed. I am in process of making two transfers for this week. However, when I click confirm transfer I get this warning message popping up:



It seems to be saying that if I make these transfers then I will be deducted 4 points. Yet I thought you got two free transfers per week? Have I misunderstood something?

[Lucky 7 To Follow]

Introducing our Lucky 7 To Follow pools.

These are one of the few pool types on our site that run for a long period of time (usually the duration of a season). They are simplified fantasy games in which you pick your 'team' of 7 then score points throughout the season.

Lucky 7 pools run on many sports: golf, horse racing, poker, tennis, football etc. We put big guarantees on these pools (for example we tend to guarantee the £2 pools at £500) and there is pretty much always an overlay to snap up. We are happy for these pools to overlay and give 'free money' to our users, since this gives users a reason to come to our site - and return there to check on how their entries are doing.

For example, in the two Lucky 7 football pools (which close on Friday) there are currently overlays of 150% and 250%. Screenshots below.

Lucky 7 Players To Follow:

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Lucky 7 Teams to Follow:

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[Golf Pools]

Introducing our Golf Pools.

We run pools for most golf tournaments. Usually we offer both 'classic pools' and fantasy pools. The classic pools are a series of questions, in which users make predictions about what will happen in the tournament. See screenshots below of the classic pool for the upcoming USPGA Championship (which closes for entry on Thursday morning):

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The fantasy pools are - in keeping with our overall philosophy - extremely simple: No transfer budgets and a restricted amount of selection options. See screenshot:

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The pools betting format seems to work extremely well for golf and these pools have proved very popular, especially for the majors.

[Goalscorer Challenge Last Longest]

A big surprise has been the amazing popularity of a new type of Last Longest pool that we are running for the first time this week. It is the £2 to enter Goalscorer Challenge Last Longest. Pick a player to score each week. If your player scores you progress to the next week, otherwise you are eliminated.

We already have 117 entrants(!) with 90 mins to go until it closes, and have smashed the guarantee. This was not expected, but is very pleasing.

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However, the £1 traditional Last Longest (pick a team to win) still has a massive 150% overlay. It is guaranteed at £250 and there are 98 entrants so far. Of course we fully expected this pool to overlay. Obviously we will get more entrants over the next 90 minutes, but there is still almost certain to be a lot of overlay value for everyone who enters. So please give it a go as part of your pre PL kick-off punting.

Have been a member of the site for a year or so - very nicely designed and lots of fun ideas for pools. Also appreciate the fact that you emailed to remind me I had money in my account Never played the fantasy stuff before but will be sure to check them out.

Hey! Really glad you like the site Good luck in this weekend's pools!

[Quickie Pools]

Introducing our Quickie Pools.

These are one of my favourite pools on the site, mainly because they are so simple and don't require much (any?) thought to enter. On the skill and luck continuum they are the closest to being heavily luck-based - which, as a mug who likes a punt, is what I am personally looking for first and foremost (I realise this will not apply to many of those reading this ofc).

All you have to do is answer 10 Yes/No questions. Most of the questions are designed to be roughly 50/50s. I feel I can just have a pure punt with these pools, pretty much choosing my answers at random, since I am not giving up too much. Of course, I am sure some users put lots of thought into their answers and gain an edge over a random button clicker like me. But I don't really care. I love the fact I can enter one of these pools in just a few seconds, but still get to have a sweat throughout the weekend.

Here is a screenshot of tonight's Championship Quickie:

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We also have games that are not strictly 'Quickie Pools', but follow the same format. One of the most popular is the Both Teams to Score pool. I admit I do put a little thought into this one, mostly trying to decide on which questions I should go against the crowd and pick an answer that I think few people will choose. Of course, being an ice-cream I'm always biased towards saying that both teams will score, since this is the 'high morale bet' (you're still in it until the final whistle blows, and you are rooting for something to happen, not against it).

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