Amount Won: $385.15
BB/100: 17.4
Tonight I broke out of a 4.5 BI downswing. The downswing was a result of a bad run of cards but some of the damage could have been minimized if I was thinking with a clear head. I never quite recovered from the madness that occurred on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, lol. I was playing tired and on auto pilot. Playing on auto pilot can be very dangerous, especially when you find yourself in marginal situations. I decided to take last night off and rest up. Im glad I did because tonights session went well even though I got stacked 3 times. Top 2 vs bottom set(QJ on a QJ27 board) , top and bottom pair vs the nuts (AT on AKT board), and my KK vs A3 for a full buy in preflop (rivered an A- glad they saved it for the river). This all took place within 30 minutes of the beginning of the session. The next few hours went well and I just tried to stay focused on maximizing my long term expectation. Ill post a couple of interesting hands from the past week.
1. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $146.75
BB: $150.25
UTG: $65.90
MP: $112.85
CO: $92.95
Hero (BTN): $103.00
Preflop: Hero is dealt T
9
(6 Players)UTG folds, MP calls $1.00, CO folds, Hero raises to $4.50, 2 folds, MP calls $3.50
Villain was 34/17/1 over 326 hands. My image was aggressive but I had not been out of line- not yet at least.
Flop: ($10.50) 7
5 8 (2 Players)MP checks, Hero bets $8.00, MP raises to $16.00, Hero calls $8.00
The min raise has always baffled me. I could determine whether to assess it as significant strength or if it is a feeler raise with some kind of draw. After a visit to the time bank, my read on the flop was two pair. His PFR was quite high and I felt a limped SC was well within his range here. One could also argue that small pairs (22-55) are well within his range here but I believe his PFR suggests he would have open raised any pair from any position.
Turn: ($42.50) 7
5 8 A (2 Players)MP checks, Hero checks
A nice turn card to take a shot at? I tanked it and ultimately chose to check b/c I sensed that he was looking to c/r here knowing that an A is well within my range. With many draws out, it would be logical for him to assume I would protect my hand here. With this in mind, I opted to check and take a free-bie.
River: ($42.50) 7
5 8 A 5 (2 Players)MP bets $33.00, Hero folds
Uncalled bet of $33.00 returned to MP
Nothing debatable about the river but I'm interested in what you guys suggest for the flop and turn.
Pot Size: $42.50 ($2.10 Rake)
2. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $116.05
BB: $27.00
Hero (UTG): $99.05
CO: $198.30
BTN: $47.25
Preflop: Hero is dealt Q
Q (5 Players)Hero raises to $3.50, CO raises to $9.00, 3 folds, Hero calls $5.50
Villain was 16/10/1.7 over 70 hands . Preflop I put her on JJ+, AK- possibly TT?. I had been selectively aggressive for the 45 minutes we had been together at the table. This was the first time she had confronted me all session.
Flop: ($19.50) 6
5 J (2 Players)Hero checks, CO bets $10.00, Hero calls $10.00
Don't you love these situations? I have an over pair and her flop bet was weak. I opted to call to control the pot size. I felt there was no sense in a c/r because she only calls with hands that have me beat.
Turn: ($39.50) 6
5 J 9 (2 Players)Hero checks, CO checks
Money. I now assume for the time being that I have the best hand. Too many draws to slow play any made hand in her range.
River: ($39.50) 6
5 J 9 9
(2 Players)Hero bets $22.00, CO folds
Uncalled bet of $22.00 returned to Hero
I opted to value bet here b/c her AF was 1, thus I could not rely on her to bet. In retrospect, maybe a check/call would have been better here because I could possible get some value from a whiffed AK? Suggestions are welcomed on all streets.
Pot Size: $39.50 ($1.95 Rake)
3. Full Tilt Poker - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $94.90
BB: $164.75
UTG: $59.75
MP: $105.05
Hero (CO): $100.00
BTN: $97.00
Preflop: Hero is dealt 9
9 (6 Players)UTG calls $1.00, MP folds, Hero raises to $5.00, BTN calls $5.00, 2 folds, UTG calls $4.00
Villain was 22/11/1 over 20 hands. I had just sat down at the table so I had no reads nor did my opponents have reads on me.
Flop: ($16.50) 6
7 7 (3 Players)UTG checks, Hero bets $11.00, BTN calls $11.00, UTG folds
Over pair, sweet. Pretty terrible flop texture though, especially in relation to the button's range.
Turn: ($38.50) 6
7 7 2 (2 Players)Hero checks, BTN checks
This was the breaking point in the hand. Do I lead here to protect against draws? I opted to check the turn. I checked for two reasons: 1. pot control and 2. to induce a call from a marginal hand (such as a small pair) on the river.
River: ($38.50) 6
7 7 2 3 (2 Players)Hero bets $19.00, BTN raises to $45.00, Hero folds
Uncalled bet of $26.00 returned to BTN
Ouch. Possibly the worst card in the deck. When he raises its an easy fold. I opted to lead here w/o making an obvious blocking bet. I didnt like a c/c bc I felt that I could not justify calling a large river bet. I feel like I need work on my river play. What is the most efficient line to take on this river?
Pot Size: $76.50 ($3 Rake)
Thanks in advance for your input and I'm looking forward to some good discussion.
On a side note, I recently picked up a headset for sweat sessions. Ideal times for me vary by day but typically 9-12 ET Monday through Thursday is convenient.
3 comments:
Hand 1: I'd play the same way, If I had a read on the guy that he makes play against pre-flop raisers then I might stab at this turn but more often I'll just give it up.
Hand 2: At these stakes I honestly fold pre-flop to this guy. It's weak but it keeps you out of tough spots out of position. His range has to be JJ-AA and AK, and you're in pretty bad shape against it. I guess he had AK this time. As played, I check-call the river. You only beat AK or maybe TT and they probably won't call.
Hand 3: I would lead this turn again against most players. He could have a smaller pair than 9s here, or he could have a draw. Either way I'm betting and I can give up if he raises. I don't like your turn lead at all. I think check-call is much better, although I may check-fold against some players too.
One of my goals this month was to only play my A-game and I allowed myself to play below that earlier in the week and it is so hard when you play tired or upset. Good choice on taking a night off. I do this every now and then and just try to maybe watch a vid instead. To the hands.
Hand 1: Basicaly played to the T. Here is a problem I incur though. Say you complete your draw and he fires the river, now what? Those are the spots that I have been spewing.
Hand 2: I like a 4bet preflop. I hate to play this hand out of position without being the aggressor. If he shoves I think you can safely pitch it. Your assesment of the flop is incorrect as AQ or AK of spades are in her range and essentially by calling and checking the turn you let her peel it off for free. Also you could be calling with a 2outer and your getting milked. I say sense you havent defined your hand and where it stands preflop do so now while it will be cheap. I check raise this flop to 36. After typing this I started to think and maybe you actually played postflop correctly. If villian calls the CR then what? Can you lead a blank turn and assume he peeled it off with AK? Maybe this is why my week has been so bad I keep over playing my hands. I still prefer a 4bet preflop. As played postflop everything looks good. Pot control is nice sense you really arent sure of your hand. I doubt you get a bet out of villian on the river but I might check hoping to induce a bluff knowing he has air. This also brings up a concept I have been thinking of. Is there any value in raising these donks on the river when they weak lead or have been leading the whole way and you have been calling knowing you are best. Lately I have been inducing a ton of river bluffs but I only call. Should I be raising?
Hand 3:I dont mind the play on this hand all around but honestly I bet half pot on the river. If you get bluffed atleats you got off cheap right. Nothing wrong with folding the best hand. It just shows you are capable of getting away from a hand and that is needed. Looks like the whole crew is getting some nasty flops. I love it last night I flop a set on a monotone board and villian flopped straight. So sick! Oh then I have QQ and villian calls 3 bets with 69 suited and flops two pair,LOL. Luckily he was a shorty.
Noel, the concept behind checking the river is that you believe he will bet in that spot with more hands than he would call your value bet with. Against a loose passive, call station opponent you could justify a small (2.5x)value raise but more often than not the only hands that a good opponent will call your raise with are ones which you are behind. When debating this, analyze his range of hands preflop, then judging by the texture of the board in addition to his betting patterns you can more accurately narrow his range down. In hand 2 I put villain on a range of hands preflop (TT+, AK) then deducted which hands were most likely betting the flop (all of them). The turn check was a dead giveaway because with all of the draws out in conjunction with the strength I displayed by calling here 3 bet of my UTG raise, villain would have most definitely fired another barrel with AA-JJ. So after the turn I had villain on AK, TT. I didnt like a 4bet because in the case that villain calls Im playing a huge pot OOP against a pretty big hand. If I were to plan on folding on this flop then I would have never called preflop. Looking back, a river c/c line is more profitable. This opponent was passive so I could not rely on their bet to get paid. Its really tough to check down an over pair here so I bet out, probably against my better judgment, though. Im sure you are aware of these concepts but Ive really been working hard at assigning hard ranges every single hand Im in or hand that I observe with other players. The more you do it the better you will get.
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