Honeybadger
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« Reply #15 on: May 22, 2013, 03:14:25 AM » |
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Hand 1:
3bet bigger. Cbet bigger. Get all-in now.
Due to the SPR it is a slightly awkward stack off though (I still would stack off), and it would be much more comfortable if you had 3bet bigger preflop.
FWIW he has made the 'ghey flush draw raise' (i.e. raising to a silly amount that clearly commits him to the pot, rather than going all-in... he hopes this will look strong etc) which in my experience weights his range even more towards a draw than if he had simply jammed.
Hand 2:
Open bigger provided you are playing in a good game where players are calling big raises with bad hands. If your game is 'tough' then raise size is ok, but still probably just open bigger anyway. People love to call. Your range should be tight and strong UTG in a tough game so you can open big with your entire range. The fact that you got 5(!) callers definitely suggests that a) you are not in a tough game, and b) you can open bigger and still get action.
Flop raise sizing is not 100% terrible IMO, but should be a little bigger. Pleno seems to have got his numbers mixed up somewhere.
Bet bigger on the turn. If you bet at all.
Probably check-fold the river. AQ is a big part of his range to get to the river, as are sets and a few two pair hands.
Hand 3:
Fold to the 3bet preflop.
Check-fold the flop. You have opened your legs by flatting OOP vs a good player with the wrong sort of hand. Don't open them any further. You made a mistake preflop, correct it now before it compounds itself.
Hand 4:
Raise bigger pre. It depends on exactly how the table is playing and your feel for this, but you will usually be able to raise substantially bigger and get at least one person to call you. If this is not the case in a 1/1 game then you should not be playing in it. Don't be constrained by dogmatic thinking like "What? You want me to raise to 10x! Seriously?" If they will call 10x then why the fuck not?
I would not 3bet this flop vs a competent opponent. But if I did choose to 3bet then I would have a clear reason for doing so and my sizing would be bigger (see below). When villain raises this flop it usually means one of the following:
a) He is a competent player and his range will be heavily polarised, rather than 'overplaying' KQ type hands, or
b) He is not competent and/or doesn't understand polarised ranges. He is simply raising KQ/QJ etc because he 'thinks he has the best hand'.
If a) is the case then you have a top of the range bluff catcher, so do some bluff catching. If b) is the case then he will likely value bet at least the turn if you flat.
If villain is competent and sees you as competent then he should not ever be raising KQ/QJ type stuff and should be properly polarised. However, your opponent may not 'respect you' and thinks he can depolarise his range and try to get thin value from you without getting punished for it. If you believe that is the case then you have two responses. Either:
a) Flat and let him continue to value-own himself by betting his mid strength hands on the turn/river.
OR
b) Seek to punish him immediately for depolarising his range by 3betting BIGGER than you did. If he is going to raise you with KQ on this flop - because he thinks 'he can' - then make sure your 3bet size makes him squirm! Ideally you pick a sizing that he might sometimes fold to, but will usually feel forced to call whilst hating it. If he always makes an easy call with KQ/QJ here then you have not 3bet big enough.
If you were very sure that villain was depolarised in this spot then obviously 3betting is the most profitable exploitative play, provided you are able to size it well to make him grudgingly call down with Qx. However, you do not know this for certain and thus by far the best line is to play your hand as a bluff catcher. You'd be hoping two things. First, that when villain is polarised he has enough bluffs in his range - in other words that he is not polarised to the nuts and second nuts like some guys will be. And second, you'd be hoping that if villain is depolarised then he will continue to 'value bet' vs your AA on the turn and river with his Qx hands.
As played you should check the turn. You have narrowed his range further by 3betting (he folds or 4bets his zero equity bluffs), and even the depolarised part of it (KQ) has now improved to beat you.
Once you bet the turn, fuck knows what to do when he min raises you. Good luck with that one. You shouldn't be in this spot in the first place because you should not have 3bet the flop.
Probably make a tight fold. Or call now and then check-fold the river if he jams - it will go check/check some of the time and you win, so calling planning to fold river is not necessarily bad.
A common theme seems to run through these hands. The mistakes you make on early streets compound themselves and create problems for you on the later streets. You can play this way (exploitatively) against weak players, but against competent players you are just setting up bad spots for yourself.
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