Hand of the Week: 6th August

[totalise]

Hi all,

as per this thread, http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=26299.0 , I'll be helping out with the hand of the week for cash games. Here is the first installment, hope it generates good discussion, and ALL comments are more then welcome, no matter your personal skill level. Onto the hand........


The game is a deep 4-8NL game online, and the table is 4 handed.

You are on the button with 79clubs

You have been at the table for about 35 minutes, so that factors into how strong your reads will be.

Reads:

UTG has all the trademarks of a solid cash game player, but you note with interest that a few hands ago he bet, got raised, and then pushed all-in on the river with a bluff, so you know he is also not afraid to put money in the pot if he thinks he can get a fold. He raises preflop with impunity in position, and makes continuation bets almost all the time.  Most certainly a winning player at these levels.

His stack is $2,900

Button is hero. Hero’s image to the table is likely to be loose, re-raising preflop often. You made one bad call about 10 minutes ago, calling $400 River bet into a $700 pot with 55 on a Q7793 board and the villain had AQ, so it’s possible your opponent might still have that hand on his mind.

Your stack is $1,935

SB Is a very solid player, tight, but doesn’t factor into this hand.

BB is a very passive weak player preflo[ that is almost certainly the reason the game is going. He calls a lot and bets into pots a lot, but very rarely re-raises either pre or post flop. His hand requirements preflop are very very loose, and he chases far too much. Just an all round weak opponent.

His stack is $1,320



The hand:

UTG makes it $32 to play, and you pick up .

1) What do you do here, the options are fold/call or re-raise. What are the reasons for your action and why in your opinion is your action better then any of the other options?

Action:

You re-raise to $91, SB folds, BB calls, and UTG thinks a little before calling;

2) What are you thinking after this preflop action? What do you suspect their calls signify based on the information/reads you have at the moment?


The Flop comes down:



(pot $277) BB leads out for $50, UTG calls.

3) What opinions are you formulating about the different ranges each player might hold at the moment? What are the pros and cons of each action, given reads, stack size and action on the flop? And ultimately, what would you do? and why?


Part 2 to come on Wednesday

[byronkincaid]

1) What do you do here, the options are fold/call or re-raise. What are the reasons for your action and why in your opinion is your action better then any of the other options?

I think OTB with 4 players this hand is playable. The books say that SC are good if you can get in cheap against multiple opponents with high implied odds. I call or raise here depending on my image, reads on opponents and also just randomly as well. If we call we may get SB to play as well as the fishy BB. If we raise a) we can take the pot down now with 9 high. b) we have the initiative ie it will most probably be checked to us on the flop and we can take it down with a C-bet. As UTG is a solid player he will be wary of getting involved with a big pot out of positon without a good hand. Not many people float OOP and unless he has a high pocket pair (in which case he will 4-bet a high percent) he will miss the flop around two thirds of the time. If BB calls we are in positon against the weak player so it's happy days. Also being this deep inclines me towards the 3-bet with a fold if we get 4-bet big.

2) What are you thinking after this preflop action? What do you suspect their calls signify based on the information/reads you have at the moment?


The Flop comes down:

 

(pot $277) BB leads out for $50, UTG calls.

OK now it's time to think about our opponents ranges and our equity against them. BB we know calls a lot and bets into the pot a lot. We might estimate his range at any pair although AA-QQ seem less likely seeing as he didn't 4-bet preflop. He could be on a straight draw, two pair or a set. He could also just have an Ace or maybe two overcards. It is certainly a wide range atm.
What could UTG be calling with? He knows BB's fishy tendencies as well. He could be calling with a strong hand here knowing there's a good chance we will raise this weak bet. OTOH he could have a weak draw and be priced in with the weak bet and the implied oods from both the BB and us if we have a big pocket pair. His range may be something like overpair, pair like A9s, set, straight draw, AK or AQ may hang around here as well as an under pair like 77.

What is our equity? Well against an overpair, a set or 2 pair we are obv pretty screwed. Any overcard will be a scare card for us an Ace or a 6 may make someone a straight, unless we turn a 7 or 9 we have a weak TPWK hand. We may well have the best hand here but I don't think our equity against two players is that great. I certainly would not want to commit to this hand at this point which means that maybe we could call the $50 and keep the pot small.

However we could also raise here. If both players fold we have won a smallish but nice enough pot. If BB calls and UTG folds that is also good for us to get the strong player out and play in position agaist the weak one.
If both players call then they will prob check round to us on the turn card and we can then exercise pot control if we don't get a favourable card (or possibly a good bluff card like a Ace) I would like to take this pot down now. I raise to $300 and fold to a reraise.

[TightEnd]

1. Happy to take a flop here, so would have called. With a SC like this I am hoping to flop a big draw/flush or straight draw rarther than just top pair average kicker.

2. Post flop we know the bb's range is v v wide..its unlikely to be an overpair to the board, and could be just overcards or something as little as bottom pair. The UTG knows this, and may be planning to take it away later. Again I'm not thinking a big pair, the way he has played it, feels like two overcards to me

I think your decision to raise or call depends on foe's opinions of you, on the one hand you are likely to be best at this point but your hand is vulnerable to a lot of scare cards. I would think a raise to say $350 is in order to take it down. If they then push you'd normally feel you are beat but they know you can be raising here in postiion with a marginal hand..UTG in particular could exploit this

Flat calling controls the pot but leaves you vulnerable down the streets unless you hit a "banker" turn such as a trip 9

[madasahatstand]

I would think a raise to say $350 is in order to take it down. If they then push you'd normally feel you are beat but they know you can be raising here in postiion with a marginal hand..UTG in particular could exploit this

Flat calling controls the pot but leaves you vulnerable down the streets unless you hit a "banker" turn such as a trip 9

Im not a cash player unless I have a win and want to throw my money away...lol  But I cant see how flat calling makes you any more vunerable than a $350 raise? Particularly when UTG hasnt made a move yet which is a little bit fishy based on what we know?
Im a flat call and hope no big cards come down on the turn. Im not risking $350 knowing that UTG might come in over the top of me?

[TightEnd]

BB Has led out for 50, utg has called. you are in positiion...

[Bongo]

If you call the flop then what do you do on the turn?

You are likely to face the same decision then, but for a greater amount of money and without the extra information a raise gives you.

[TightEnd]

If you call the flop then what do you do on the turn?

You are likely to face the same decision then, but for a greater amount of money and without the extra information a raise gives you.

yup, getting on for half the deck is a scare card for you on the turn

raise now, find out...

[madasahatstand]

BB Has led out for 50, utg has called. you are in positiion...

Okay, im worried about UTG. He likes to take down pots and he's flat called this one. So I'm thinking hes waiting to go over the top of me and take my $350. He knows im aggressive/loose so he could be waiting to pounce. So in essence I'm using my position to see what the turn brings in cards and action and only risking my call chips.

[AdamG]

1/ pre flop i reraise to get rid of maybe SB and 1 other.... i get 2 calls and hit top pair...

2/ flop comes down i got top pair mediocure kicker (pile of poo) - BB bets 50 into such big pot and UTG only calls...maybe with his 2 overs hes getting value to call with any 2 over cards, i reraise to 300 and fold to any OTT rereraise.

[byronkincaid]

if we raise here are we raising for value or as a bluff?

[TightEnd]

if we raise here are we raising for value or as a bluff?

finding out if it is for value or as a bluff!

[madasahatstand]

1/ pre flop i reraise to get rid of maybe SB and 1 other.... i get 2 calls and hit top pair...

2/ flop comes down i got top pair mediocure kicker (pile of poo) - BB bets 50 into such big pot and UTG only calls...maybe with his 2 overs hes getting value to call with any 2 over cards, i reraise to 300 and fold to any OTT rereraise.

Maybe he got 2 overs and maybe hes already got a made hand? His calling dont make sense unless he has something.He a raiser and the bb's likely has nothing. So you could say hes got the 'first to act' head on here. If hes got overs, i'll bet he would take a pop?  Hes called a nothing raise so its screaming 'i got a hand' to me

If you play these hands all night long, more times than not UTG's play is going to mean hes beating you.  You'll end up skint:)

[byronkincaid]

we don't raise for information tho do we.

I think essentially we are treating the silly little $50 bet as a check so our raise is essentially a C-bet.

Sometimes we raise for value sometimes we raise as a bluff. If villains are on some kind of draw (which is pretty unlikely with the board) we are raising for value? If they have AK,AQ type hands we are raising for value? If they have TT-QQ we are representing KK-AA as a bluff?

I thought I had this concept but now I is confuzzed

[byronkincaid]

If you play these hands all night long, more times than not UTG's play is going to mean hes beating you.  You'll end up skint:)

this is really player dependent. often this is a draw or a 55,66 kinda hand at the level I play. sometimes obv it could be a set and he wants you to raise. this is why you should watch your opponents and make notes. One day I will follow that advice:)

[madasahatstand]

If you play these hands all night long, more times than not UTG's play is going to mean hes beating you.  You'll end up skint:)

this is really player dependent. often this is a draw or a 55,66 kinda hand at the level I play. sometimes obv it could be a set and he wants you to raise. this is why you should watch your opponents and make notes. One day I will follow that advice:)

me too:)   lol