SneakyFeet333

RaoulFlush Thanks for the reply that helps. I wasn't sure if there were sites specific to Europe or not.

I have an account on PS as well but I find GG much "prettier". The games are about the same, maybe a little softer than PS but overall the micros are the micros I think where ever you go.

The fun part with GG is that when you win a big hand an animated Daniel Negraneu comes out and dances on the screen. Or when someone loses a big chunk of their stack they have the option to either blow smoke at you or throw an egg or i think punch you? I haven't seen that one yet but I've had an egg thrown at me a few times. It's hilarious!

Good day, I'm curious what site you play over in Europe? I will be moving to Portugal next year so I'm starting to do my research. I currently play GG in Canada. Thanks.

Good afternoon, I posted the original on a different site as well and got some really good responses. Most very similar to what you guys have mentioned; best to smile and kind, be chatty and "take the edge off" the situation. One of the more interesting responses was regarding making sure the other players that we're against have fun since they may be playing for different reasons than we are. And when they lose they don't have fun and leave.

I'm lucky because I have the opportunity to play online on many different sites, others have no choice but to play live since they live in countries where online play isn't allowed. It was interesting to think of this in reverse. We, as better players, should want the weaker players to continue to come back because they potentially are our bread and butter. What comes to mind is the parable of how to cook a live frog. If you throw a live frog into boiling water it will jump out, but if you put the frog in cool water then heat the water the frog will stay.

Daniel Negreanu does an amazing job of making sure his opponents have fun, regardless of how much they lose. I realize now that this is another poker "skill" that I have certainly over looked. Now, I will think more about improving upon this skill since I see the value of adding it to my tool kit. Last night I went to the local card room for the very first time (1/3) and to be completely honest, the game was insanely soft. Over the course of 3-1/2 hours the guy directly to my left (I really wish I had position on this guy) dropped over 2g. We want those guys to stick around ya!? These are the guys that pay for our training, our bank roll, our flight to the big tourney's etc. Ultimately this guy ended up leaving because he wasn't having fun, others were chiding him for being such a fish and I missed an opportunity.

I want to say thanks to you guys that responded to this thread. I really appreciate you taking the time. Please keep coming back and sharing your stories and your thoughts. It feels good to realize that I'm not the only on that feels this way.

I think this might be the exact board to explain why this would be a low frequency 4bet and a high frequency check, holding a K here sucks! : )

I'd have to agree, it's very hard to find enough bluffs in villain's range to do anything but check.

Good morning, I don't play 50nl so please take this as more of a question so I may learn something versus giving you any suggestions on how you played your hand.

My first question is why did you choose your opening size? Doesn't raising a little smaller incentivize villain to call a little wider? Is that because you wanted bb to call? What hands do you think he would have called with if you raised to 10bb instead?

On this flop, being that it has a lot of hand in villains calling range, what about betting flop larger? Like somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4psb? I know that doesn't put a lot behind on the turn (3bet to 10, bet 2/3psb flop) since villain is short but you get villian all in on the turn turn pretty easily (I think?). Is that too spewy? I have that tendency : )

Thanks.

Thanks for the reply guys I appreciate the input. To clear up what I was asking, I was looking for the pros and cons of both a linear raising range vs. a polarized raising range from sb.

After watching some of the course From the Ground up I realized that I was asking, not necessarily the wrong question, but I hadn't fully thought out the reasons for why we're using a polarized vs. linear range and what we're trying to achieve with both options.

To answer your question about what site I was playing where I was getting 4 bet often, it was on Run It Once! Bth it's a small sample size and I was experimenting in game so I opened myself up to being 4bet often. I like the site though, its pretty awesome actually. Nice work RIO team!

I would tend to agree with cdubdiddly and say this would be a cbet range spot. I haven't done as much study as a lot of you so it's quite possible I'm wrong but imo when we check after 3betting we cap our range. If this was your intention then button's cbet can be expected and we should be calling.

As played, villain's 1/2 pot bet shows (to me) they may not know a lot about bet sizing or "why" we're betting. They may be arbitrarily betting range here because "They checked so I should bet right?", thinking that they can take the pot away from someone who has been an active raiser preflop, but shuts down early when they don't improve on the flop. In this situation I would call and keep their range weak and wide. There are a few cards that may come on the turn that might make this hand a little ugly, which may also be compounded by the fact that you chose to check flop. Regardless, I'm still calling vs. raising.

Considering we're only behind 88 (maybe), although 8's probably bet larger, and AA, KK if they decide to call premiums, villain has very few value hands on this board texture and a whack of bluffs that you want to keep in the hand.

Ultimately, all I've written and a buck fifty will get you a cheap cup of coffee : )

What about our 3betting ranges? Should we be using a linear range vs. this player type or a polarized? I would assume that linear would be best since bluffing this player type seems like an opportunity to increase ones losses exponentially.

Thanks guys I appreciate your replies.

TigheD should we be opening wider with a larger raise or a smaller? Typically I'm opening to 3bb if I'm the initial raiser.

What about developing a calling range in this spot? Yes we do leave ourselves open to being squeezed but in this position we should naturally have a very wide calling range against the blinds anyway. Even if you tighten up your calling range your still going to be way ahead of CO limping range as well as say SB's squeezing range if they tend to aggression and squeeze too wide.

Thoughts?

Hey Jeff I think you made a good fold here but what was your reason for raising to 3bb preflop? Do you have a specific plan for your post flop play against 30-40bb short stacks? Do you have history with this player type at your site?

Hello, I think you can comfortably check this one back unless you have a specific read on villain. I don't see them getting to the river on this board with many combos that are going to call and that you beat. Maybe some Axc but there aren't going to be many combos that are going to be calling your turn bet that can call 3 betting streets from you. A9c makes the most sense to call but that's about it.

Just my opinion. Happy New Year.

ChaoRen123 where does "grey zone" investment come from? Is there a video that i can watch that explains this? I feel like I've been hitting this spot a lot lately.

Thanks.

Wow this villain is sticky eh? Better make a note about that.

A couple things to mention would be if villain bets into you after you raise on the flop like this, Gii on the turn. You have a lot of equity here and are going to be ahead far more often than not. This guy looks like he’s willing to play for stacks with top pair so let him have his way when you have the best of it.

Another option here would be to call the flop instead of raising since the board isn’t too scary. The river sucks but I don’t see villain w/spade spade too often here. I would say this should be a call but I haven’t done the math. I’d say villian played this hand more like a sticky AJ.

I’m not a huge fan of your check raise on the flop when you’re drawing to the A high flush. Imo it’s going to be pretty easy to get stacks in by the river in a 3bet pot anyway unless you’re playing deep? I don’t see your starting stack size so maybe that’s the case?

Villains raise size looks suspect as well. Since it’s so small I’m reading a draw that can include the nuts which puts you in an ugly spot when any mid diamond drops or you miss the turn and get jammed on. Both scenarios force you to make a tough decision w/A high draw. IMO against an active aggressive player a check call on the flop would put you in a better position on the turn. Interesting hand, tough board.

Oops! My bad. I read Kd instead of Kh in your hand. Psb on the turn would be more effective imo than my original suggestion of 1/3 on the turn. Flop sizing looks good.

I think you played this well. Make a note on villain based on the hand and what they’re willing to call with.

Remember that you’re at a level where people are just learning how to play so they’re going to be calling with hands that aren’t profitable long term post flop.

Chalk it up to bingo and keep practicing. If I were to change anything I might suggest a smaller turn bet to keep more drawing hands and Ax hands in to see the river but the sizing you used is fine too.

Wow this sure feels like 8’s to me but they could also be shoving a lot of draws here too. 76 is the only other hand that makes a bit of sense but are they calling your 3bet pre with 76? Or 45?

How long had you been at the table? How many hands had you 3bet prior and how wide was your range? I think asking yourself those questions may help you to make a decision about how value heavy villain will be in this spot.

When betting the river we have to think about what we are repping with this bet size. On this board texture what value hands bet this size and hope to get calls? Since we’re always trying to make villain indifferent to calling you may want to review the sizing you have used here.

Imo a better line would be to x/c, x/r, and then chose your bet sizing on the river. That way we can implement our blockers a bit more effectively.

One of the great things about GTO is that we have a really clear decision point when villain is polarized and really tough decisions to make when we have no incentive to either call or fold. When someone is not playing close to theoretically correct they tend to polarize far too early, which is the case in the hand.

Imo this is a snap fold with villains stats. Even with so few hands.

Fold flop. No reason to call psb so wide.

Imo you’re going to be mixing 1/4 and a check on the flop so turn play is going to be different depending on your flop action.

Let’s say you bet 1/4psb on Jd9d5s, villain calls and 3c come on the turn. Janda would recommend a psb on this turn card with part of your range to deny equity on villian’s straight draws and flush draws but depending on what you’re holding this would also be 1/2 psb since we want villain to call with their strong but non-nutted drawing hands. That way they will be put in a difficult situation on many river cards when we bet again since they will have no incentive either way to call or fold to our river bet.

A really good book to start with is Poker for Dummies. It’s a terrible name and I’m not trying to be insulting but it’s actually a really good book for a complete beginner to start to understand basic concepts of the game. I’m not sure if I’m supposed share on here or not but I have a PDF of this book. PM me if you want it.

FWIW Imo this isn’t a great hand to bluff with in the first place but to answer your original question there are two reasons why we should be betting. I’m paraphrasing Janda but the reason why we bet is to build the pot when we have the nuts or to deny equity when we don’t. What has been said above I agree with and to add to their comments we’re also trying to get it in by the river each and every hand with no insentive for villain to either call or fold. Hopefully that helps.