I thought it might be interesting to discuss my lines from the recent DoubleAs challenge. Remember, I'm no pro, I'm just some dork who thinks about poker too much.
HAND NO. 1
You're dealt pocket tens in the cut-off of a 9-handed game. It is folded around to you. You have $1000, the button has you covered, the small blind has $700 and the big blind has $600. The button is tight/passive. The small blind is loose/passive and the big blind just got to the table and bought in for $600 instead of $1000. Decision: Do you limp, fold or raise? If you raise, how much?
Repeat after me: open-limping in this situation is a capital offense. I have a solid, but vulnerable, hand, that is up against two random hands in the blinds over whom I will have position on all streets. This hand was made for raising. Sure, sometimes, I might win just the blinds, but given that my own hand will be tricky to play after the flop, I'd prefer to narrow the range of the blinds a little bit with a raise. I make a pot-sized raise to $35.
The big blind was the only caller. The flop is KQ2 rainbow. The big blind checks. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Not a pretty flop for my tens, and the exact reason for raising preflop. Heads up, this situation is tailor-made for the continuation bet, especially since I know nothing about the big blind's playing style. If he pops me with a check-raise, I can release my hand and keep an eye on him. If he calls, I probably have to check through the turn and try to get a cheap river. Thus, my line is to bet $60 here (roughly 80% of the pot).
The big blind calls. The turn card is a ten completing the rainbow of suits. The big blind checks. Decision: Check or bet (how much?).
Well, this certainly is a great card for me, but the board is becoming a bit too coordinated. I bet $200 to discourage the big blind from coming any further.
The big blind goes all-in. Remember he has a shortish stack so you may be committed. You call?
Do the math here. He called $35 preflop, $60 on the flop, and my turn bet of $200. Thus, his all-in represents another $305 to me, with $895 in the pot, giving me approximately 3-to-1 odds. Since his probable range of hands does not include KK and QQ, I'm either way ahead or I have 10 outs to beat him (3.5-to-1 odds). Given the likelihood of being ahead, this is an easy call of $305. The big blind turned over AJ, and I missed the river. Moral of the story here: sometimes you get kicked in the junk.
This hand: -$600
Net: -$600 (poker sucks)
HAND NO. 2
The game is very aggressive. It is 6-handed and everybody except for the UTG player has a high aggression rating. You have pocket aces in the big blind. It is folded to the button who has $600 and raises to $35. The small blind folds. You have $1000. Decision: Do you call or raise? If you raise, how much?
For this hand, I think DoubleAs practically tells you what he feels the optimal line is, and I don't disagree with him. I call the raise to appear that I'm defending my blind. I'm trying to trap the over-aggressive button into a big pot.
The flop comes Jd 7h 3d. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Again, I'm pretty sure I can get the button to bet this flop, and while I could potentially try to build a pot by betting first, I don't want to scare him off just yet. This board is pretty raggedy. I check.
The button bets $75. Decision: Do you call or raise (how much?)
After electing not to raise pre-flop, I don't like giving a second "free" street right in this spot. He put in a bet like I expected him to, so here's where I pop him for the first time. I'll take my $100 if he folds. My line: check-raise to $200.
The button pushes all-in. You call?
In a heartbeat. DoubleAs played it the same way, saying, "I smooth-called preflop and check-raised the flop with an overbet in order for it to look like a bluff. The button in this hand had J9 and flopped top pair. My overbet looked like a bluff/draw so I got action and he didn't outdraw me on the turn/river."
This hand: +$600
Net: +$5 (Super Big Gulp is on me.)
HAND NO. 3
You're dealt 89s in the big blind. An EP player (no read) raises to $35 and there are three callers in MP/LP. The small blind folds. Everybody involved in the hand has between $800 and $1500. You have $1000. Decision: Do you call, fold or raise? If you raise, how much?
No need to get fancy with this one. Suited connectors in the blinds in a raised pot with 4 people in before me and no chance to be re-raised. While it seem reasonable to infer that all the subsequent callers are weak, and you could probably push them out with a raise, you can't stand a reraise, and I'd rather play suited connectors in a family pot. Calling is, in my mind, the best play.
The flop comes 7d 6h 2c. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Garbage flop, generally a good blind flop, but in this situation (raised 5-way pot) someone can easily be holding a set or an overpair. I check in order to see how things develop.
The preflop raiser bets $150. Everyone folds to you. Decision: Do you fold, call or raise (how much?)
Well, that's interesting. I don't think you can just flat call here. It's too obvious that you're drawing if you do. The options really are either to raise or fold. I elected to raise to $400. Bad move on my part as the pre-flop raiser responded by going all-in for the rest of my stack. At that point, pot odds probably dictated I should call, but because I'm a chicken-shit pussy, I folded.
This hand: -$425 (not including the forced Big Blind)
Net: -$420 (smoke if you got em)
HAND NO. 4
You are dealt red pocket aces in MP. It is folded to you and you raise to $35. You are called by a LP player and the big blind. You have $1000 and the other two players have you covered. The flop is KcTh2c. The big blind checks. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
This board is too coordinated to check and hope that the LP player puts in a bet. I elected for a bet of $100.
The LP player calls and the big blind folds. The turn is the 5c. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Obviously, that's an ugly card as it completes the flush. If this were a live game, I'd fire out a bet, and if I got raised, I'd go with my gut as to whether or not he had it. Since this hand is occurring online, I don't have that luxury and I decide to check.
The LP player goes all-in. Decision: Do you call?
Ugh. Of -course- he goes all-in. Why? Because this move eats tight-weak players for lunch. But thinking it through, I just can't see him going all-in with the nuts here, or even with a strong flush, because it leaves no room for extracting value from the hand. He could hold a set and be scared of a fourth heart hitting, trying to take the hand down on the turn. Or he could hold nothing at all. Without much information about his hand, I think I have to call him down here and take my lumps if I'm drawing at an ace. The LP player had KsQs and did not get any help on the river.
This hand: +$1,040
Net: +$620 (reversal of fortune)
HAND NO. 5
You are dealt AsKs in the big blind. A LAG raises in MP to $35 and the button calls. You all have about $1000. Decision: Do you fold, call or raise? If you raise, how much?
I know a couple of things here. 1) I know I hate playing AK from the blinds; 2) I know I hate playing AK in a 3-way pot; and 3) I know I hate playing against LAGs who have position on me. All of these things spell out R-E-R-A-I-S-E. I bumped it up to $150.
The LAG calls your raise and the button folds. The flop come Ts 8s 2s. You have the nuts. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Well damn, if I had known I was going to flop the nuts, I wouldn't have raised so much! Now I feel almost contractually obligated to follow through with a bet, and hope that I can get the LAG to raise me on either a bluff or a bad flush draw. I bet $200, but the LAG folded his red suited connectors. Boooooooo.
This Hand: +$190
Net: +$810 (starting to get somewhere)
HAND NO. 6
You are dealt pocket queens in EP and raise to $35. A new player (who doubled up in his first five hands by calling all-in preflop with aces..must be nice) in LP reraises to $80. Everyone folds to you. You have about $1500 and your opponent has you covered. Decision: Do you call, fold or raise? If you raise, how much?
Well, there are two ways to go here. Personally, QQ out of position is tricky to play. It's certainly not a monster, even heads up, that would allow a smooth call. For this one, I think you reraise. Now, most of the time, if you're up against KK or AA, they will just smooth call and let you hang yourself later, but at least with a reraise you give yourself a fighting chance to get away from the hand if you're beat. I reraised to $200. My opponent did me a huge favor and went all-in. Easy fold. He had aces.
This Hand: -$200
Net: +$610 (win some, lose some)
HAND NO. 7
You are dealt Ts9s on the button. There are two limpers before you, both of whom have over $1000. You have $1000. The blinds have $700 and $800 respectively. Decision: Do you limp, fold or raise? If you raise, how much?
When I have the button and a medium-strength hand, and nobody has shown much aggression, I often like to get frisky. Suited connectors are a perfect hand for that, because you have quite a bit of optionality regarding how you want to play the hand post-flop. Thus, I raised to $50. Too bad for me, everyone folded.
This Hand: +$35
Net: +$645
HAND NO. 8
You are dealt 55 on the button. A player in EP raises to $35. It is folded to you. The EP player has $900 and you have $1100. Both blinds have around $1000. Decision: Do you fold, call or raise? If you raise, how much?
If you only learn one thing about playing NL cash games from me, learn this: unless the stacks are short, you almost always have the odds to justify calling a raise with a pocket pair. Your implied odds of hitting your set are just about through the roof, especially if you have position on the raiser. I would advise against getting overly aggressive and re-raising here, because if you are called or raised, you're going to be miserable most of the time. Thus, I would call here.
Both blinds fold. The flop comes 9h 5h 4d. The EP player checks. Decision: Do you check or bet? If you bet, how much?
Huzzah. Set! Now, how to play it? I always find it interesting when an EP player, who has raised pre-flop, checks the flop. Especially here, where the action is heads up. It makes me suspect that he might have woken up with kings or aces, in which case, betting here will almost ensure that I get check-raised (at which point, I call, and then try to get it all-in on the turn). This is kind of a junky board, so I don't need to bet much here. I elected for $50 into the $85 pot. Unfortunately, the EP player folded. Turns out he had AK and wasn't even willing to try to buy the pot without hitting the flop.
This Hand: +$50
Net: +$695
Comments? Questions? Disagreement?
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