Notes: The Coaching Tree #7

Out of sequence because of MtR - I get #7-8. Will do the earlier ones in the series later.

Coaching Tree #7
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Exercise - how much information can you get without using stats?

Ex: At 200NL - player sitting to our right is on 123.85 and completed from the SB. He is likely passive.

Ex: - player on our left with 115.85. He is likely passive.

Be able to understand how your table is going to work without the stats on hand.

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** T9o in the BB - SB opens to 3xBB, Hero calls

This is a 3-bet or fold hand. We're not going to flop brilliantly here and our equity is never going to be exceptionally strong. We're going to get to showdown more often BvB because no one ever believes you. Since we don't have the value to play passively, this is a good spot to be aggressive.

Flop: AQ7tt - SB checks

TS thinks this is usually a hand with some showdown value that doesn't want to be pushed around or floated. On air, Villain would likely bet to represent the ace, and on a strong hand he'd be betting to build the pot. The check leans toward weak aces/QJ/QT type hands. He's hoping to induce bluffs from worse hands here.

If we had any kind of value here, we could simply check it through ourselves as we should be able to get to showdown fairly cheaply and identify if that is actually how this player is playing.

As we have no showdown value, betting out here will tell us whether this guy is actually holding a marginal made hand, a monster, or is genuinely afraid of this flop.

** Q4s on the button - Hero raises, passive SB calls

We have some high card value and we're never going to be worried about getting to showdown. We can be aggressive with some top pairs and some flush draws - so against a fish, this is a good hand and position to open up your range. A lot.

Flop: 822r - Villain leads minimum into us.

The normal reaction should be to raise. It's very difficult for him to balance his range, so we're raising to collect dead money.

** KQs in the CO - Hero raises, BB calls

Flop K52 - BB checks, Hero bets $11 into $15, BB raises to $48

What can Villain be holding here? Kx, 55, 22, and complete bluffs. Standard here would be to call and play a turn.

The size of his checkraise is big enough that he can't leverage his stack.

Turn 7 - Villain shoves

If Villain has a set here, this is fine given his preflop bet sizing. That said, this is a fairly thin situation. If he's making this play for value, then we're probably beat - but this is a situation where Villain's range is pretty polarized.

** At lower stakes, people tend to be less willing to put money in on the flop as a bluff. You see a lot of C/F and C/C at this level as a result. When you DO see a C/R, assume it to be a very strong hand unless there are other signs - i.e. the L/RR from a short stack preflop

** 99 in the BB - MP raises, Hero calls

Flop QQTtt - Hero checks, Villain bets $11 into $15, Hero raises to $35

Not a good play. If Villain has nothing, we're pushing him out - but we're unlikely to be outdrawn. If Villain is ahead of us, we're never getting him to fold. This is a lose/lose situation.

If we had no showdown value, then we should be more inclined to checkraise. The theme pops up again - raising with stronger hands and bluffs while exercising more restraing with marginal hands with showdown value.

** 76s in the BB

What type of hand do we want against the fish? Big cards and big hands so we can value bet them to death. With a hand like 76s we can call - and if we hit a big flop we can go nuts. Until we actually have a good hand, however, we should be keeping the pot to a reasonable level.

Drawing hands are good against aggressive players

** JJ in the BB - 963tt

With an overpair to the board, Hero leads and is called in two spots.

Turn: T - Hero checks and it goes all the way around.

Bad. This is a spot to continue trying to get value rather than worrying about the monster set hiding under the bed. The Villains are going to be calling with a lot of hands on that board - there are multiple straight draws available as well as the diamond draw. All of these need to be charged. Two pairs are vanishingly unlikely and medium pairs are common.

You can't get value from a draw after it has missed on the river. Also, making the bet on the turn makes getting money in on the river against weaker made hands trivial. A lot of value is left on the table here.

** 98s in the BB - UTG limps, MP raises, Hero folds

Bad player UTG. Calling here will allow us to get into a likely multiway pot with the fish involved. Our costs are well defined, our implied odds high on a premium drawing hand.

Different hands have different strengths against different kinds of players.

** QQ in the BB. CO raises, Hero 3-bets, CO calls

Flop: K76tt -

If we bet here, we're not getting a whole lot of value - there is some thin value available. Our main purpose in betting here is to take down the money in the middle - we're getting called by kings and not much else, so the bet here tells us if we're ever putting another penny in the pot as well as picking up dead money.

If Villain is never bluffing in this spot, then checking here is a huge theoretical disaster as he's being given infinite odds to chase an ace or trips and beat us. If we bet and he raises, he has the king and we can dump easily. Anything without a king is essentially dead if we bet at all.

** When people think you're always bluffing, they pay you off.

** 77 on the button. CO raises, Hero 3-bets, BB calls

Three-betting here gives up a lot of the advantages of the pocket pair. It cuts down on our implied odds, it cuts down on the number of players in the pot. Our equity isn't strong enough for this to be a value bet against any reasonable range.

The postflop value of our hand is gone here.

The play may be +EV, but its more +EV to call.

** 88 in the BB. SB limps, Hero raises, SB calls

Flop: A44tt - SB checks, Hero bets $11 into $15, Villain raises to $40, Hero calls.

Bad. We have significant equity problems here. Even if Villain doesn't have the ace (and there's a fair chance he doesn't) we have equity issues against most of his range. A lot of his pocket pairs are ahead of us. A flush draw with one over is racing, with two overs is ahead of us. A lot of turn cards force us to shut down (overcards, hearts).

Our equity is either racing or we're drawing to two outs. For this to balance, nearly all of his range has to be bad flush draws. Get out.

Our bet here was to collect dead money. We got raised. We can't legitimately continue.

** Short stackers make their money by stealing the blinds and getting you to call them lightly when they have a tight range. They shove tightly and raise lightly. To beat a pro short stacker, 3-bet lightly and call shoves tightly.