Low Stakes Cash Report

did a report for a friend today, thought I would post it on here to keep a copy of it for my own history - the hand history's and HEM image not attached but it should make sense without them anyway

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For the report I have discussed 2 non-specific points on area's that I think you can improve on, and have taken 2 hand examples from your HEM to provide feedback in more detail in those two specific areas:

General:

In general I believe you are playing well, apart from the odd spew, however you are playing far too many hands pre-flop:

Your VPIP, PFR and 3 Bet stats are 41%, 23% and 4%...these should be more like 23%, 19%, and 7% !!! At the stakes you are playing it is not a big problem and is highly compensated for, by the fact that you play post-flop very well and have good aggression tendencies; however at higher stakes this would be very problematic (as the standard of play post-flop is significantly increased).

Specifically you should aim to play a lot less marginal hands from the small blind and big blind, as these are the least profitable spots on the table (they are the least profitably spots because you have to play the rest of the hand out of position).

I would also aim to play every hand with a full stack, as the stack size can impact hand strategies and change tables if they have 3 or below players (as 3 handed/heads up are completely different to 6 max)

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Anyway, there are many factors that can be discussed, I have chosen these two at random.

1) Bet Sizing:

When browsing through the hands I saw a few examples where you under-value bet the pot when playing a loose passive player (a genuine fish). The loose passive players are the best players to play against, it is from these people that you will make the most money.

If you can find a table where you have position on a loose passive player then you are sitting on a gold mine, I'm not going to discuss table selection too deep (at this stake it is not that important due to the general level of play, but will definately be a factor you need to consider if you move up the stakes) - however as a general tip, aim to sit on tables with the fish, ideally with position on them and when they have a big stack, and leave the tables where the standard of play is better.

Loose passive players have stats like 40% VPIP, 5% PFR - they only press the raise button when they have what they believe to be the nuts (and it is usually a minimum raise), these players do not interpret bet sizes well and play poker at a very basic level, i.e. they see their cards, they see the cards on the board and then decide whether they want to play or not, they hate folding if they have any hand that is 1 pair or above post-flop which makes them very hard to bluff (so just try to avoid bluffing the fish past a C-Bet, as it is just wasted on them - any bet after a C-bet should be considered a value bet and that is when you believe you have the best hand).

It is important to understand how players think and play to ensure you are taking the most profitable route against them.

However if you bet pot or more than the pot then I believe the fish have just about enough awareness to realise something is not right, so you can adjust your bet sizes accordingly within half pot - pot range given the situation. Correct bet sizing is very important as it is compounded on every street...this will make more sense in hand example

Generally bet on the lower end of the range when you want them to fold to a C-Bet (i.e. Half pot for C bet when you have AQ on a 569 board or a nice trick is to type in a number like 2.89 that looks bigger than it actually is), and the higher end when you are just trying to maximise value (i.e. AA on a 569 board; opposite to before, you can make a bet look smaller by typing a number that contains small digits...e.g. 5.01. The 2.89 bet makes a bigger stack animation than the 5.01 also lol)

Aim to value bet 3/4 or 4/5 the pot when there is a good chance you have the best hand, and apply this for any street (save the tricky bets, like 1/4 pot, for the tricky players to invite them to make mistakes, e.g. if you want an aggressive player to bluff you or if you have history with the player, etc.)

Hand example 1) below discusses one of these situations in more detail (one of your hand history's)

Hand Example 1:

Table: Thysetes VII

Date: 04/13/2011 16:37:38

(Use the date to find the hand in your own HEM and watch it using the hand history re-player)

You make a min raise to .50 with QTss from the cut off position. Generally I would say raise at least 3x the big blind in cash as you ideally only want to play against 1 player to increase your chance of winning the pot, however the min raise here isn't too bad because the big blind is a very tight player and short stacked. Winning the pot uncontested is a good result (winning pots uncontested is how you make money in cash poker...if you don't believe me check your graph in HEM; click "showdown winnings" and you will see that the red "non showdown winnings" line dominates)

The small blind calls your raise

Flop (1.25)

The flop brings Qd Tc 5d.

It is a good result for you that the small blind called because you have position on him post flop and he is obviously a poor player; you can tell this by his stats. Although you only have 32 hands on him, he has played 35% of them and only raised 6% of them, it is easy to categorise this player as loose-passive from this and predict his post flop tendencies.

Because he plays 35% of hands it is very hard at this stage to isolate his hand range, however your top 2 pair is going to the best hand a lot of the time and with the flush draw (any 2 diamonds) and straight draw (JK, J9, 98, 87) possibilities you need to value bet and protect your hand - you also need to value bet against hands that are weaker than yours but have hit a part of the flop, e.g. TJ QJ A5, etc. because he is a very passive player, C-betting here is a must. If he was a very aggressive player, then checking strong hands would not be too bad because you can expect an aggressive player to bluff into you a lot once you have feign weakness (although on this board I would still C-Bet).

OK now the important bit, you bet 0.50 into 1.25...you should bet 1.00 here. It seems insignificant, but it is important as it is starting to build a pot that you want to make big (because it is very likely you have the best hand) and also decreases his implied odds - because you have less money behind and more already in the pot. It also means that you are charging him more while there are still opportunities to charge (i.e. you will not be able to charge a fish to see another card on the river, as there are no cards left to come)

You bet 0.5 and he calls

Turn (2.25)

The turn brings 4c

Once any player calls a C-Bet the first thing you should do is consider the range of cards they could call you with to further isolate their range (and hence make your future plays more profitable), then consider how the turn card affects that range. As he is a fish, you do not have to worry about what hand you represent - he is only looking at his own hand and the board.

Based on the type of player he is, and the wide range of cards that he can potentially call with pre-flop, I would say his range after calling the flop bet is in the region of any single pair, any straight draw and any flush draw (i.e. AQ, AJ, AT, A5, KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, Q9, JT, J9, T9, T8, 56 - and any flush draw) and rarely a monster like TT, 55 (less likely he has TT as you have a T and there is a T on the board). I have discounted AA KK AK QQ JJ as I am assuming he 3 bets these hands pre-flop.

So what impact does the turn have on his range? The 4c does not have any impact on his range, which means it is safe to assume that you still have the best hand and that he will call another bet (if he has called a bet on the flop and the turn card has changed nothing, then he will surely call a bet on the turn as well?). Hence you should value bet the turn, and around 3/4 or 4/5 of the pot.

You bet 0.90 and he calls

River (4.05)

The river brings 3d

He checks and you check behind to win the pot of 4.05. Seeing as the player is very loose-passive I would value bet the river and fold if he raises (loose passive players rarely check-raise rivers on bluffs), I think you can value bet the QT against a player like this as he will call you down a lot of the time with a single pair holding like AT or Q9 - checking the player's "Went to Showdown" Stat will give you a good indication as to whether you can value bet here or not (the bigger the number, the bigger the range they call). In this case he has 42% which is extremely high but only over a small sample.

So you won the pot of 4.05, but also gave him two cheap cards that would have lost you the pot.

Now consider the hand again with 3/4 or 4/5 bet sizing post flop:

Flop 1.25, he checks, you raise 1.00 and he calls

Turn 3.25, he checks, you raise 3.00 and he calls

River 9.25, he checks and you check behind and win 9.25 which is over double what you won previous - but more importantly you have over charged him to see the turn and river (this will more than compensate for the times when he hits his hand on the turn or river and also decrease his implied odds)

If you consider the hand again with a raise to 0.75 pre-flop

Flop 1.75, he checks, you raise 1.5 he calls

Turn 4.75, he checks, you raise 4.25 he calls

River 13.25, he checks and you check behind and win 13.25 which is over three times what you won previous - because the bets made are compounded on each street played (and if you value bet the river for 11 and he calls with KQ then you have won a very tasty pot!), it also means his implied odds are significantly decreased because there is a lot more money in the pot than in the stack sizes behind.

It is also important to remember that if he folds to your raise it is a good result. The reason is because of pot equity, as explained below:

On the turn the pot was 2.25, you had top 2 pair and he had a straight draw. This means you win the pot 82% of the time when it goes to showdown and he wins 18% of the time (I.e. if you were both playing the cards face up). So you own 82% of the the pot. If you raise the turn, and he folds, then he has folded all his 18% of his equity in the pot which is a good result because you have stolen his 18%! (this is shown as non-showdown winnings on your HEM graph). However if you check or bet small, then you are allowing him to have his 18% equity for a good price.

OK so the obvious response is: "but maybe I don't want him to fold when I have the best hand, maybe he could bluff and I will make more money" - Sometimes it can be very profitably to slow play or induce a bluff with a smaller raise and increase your showdown winnings, this is definately true. The key to applying this correctly is understanding your opponent and what they are capable of.

In this hand the player is rarely capable of bluffing and rarely capable of even raising with a mediocre or strong hand, but he is very capable of calling light - so to maximise your profits in this specific hand against this specific player you have to value bet a good amount on the flop and turn and maybe consider value betting on the river.

Every situation is unique, do whatever you believe is the most profitable play in each hand, based on the information available.

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2) Went to Showdown:

I attached a screen shot from HEM, it is a basic filter showing what hands you made it to showdown with and how much profit/loss for each.

As expected the one pair/high card scenarios are at the bottom of the list, but the numbers are worse than they need to be and the "won hand %" for these hands are very low 0% and 25%.

The easiest way improve in this area is to apply the following:

• Small hand = Small pot
• Medium hand = Medium pot
• Big hand = Big pot

To put this into perspective, if you find yourself in a situation where you have a small hand (relative to the situation), but the pot is middle sized or getting big...then most of the time you will be beat (simple right?)

You should also consider that when you have a big hand (relative to the situation), you should be aiming towards creating a big pot (discussed in the bet sizing section!)

The "relative to the situation" factors include the board, pre-flop action, your opponent in the hand, etc. etc. Hand example 2) below discusses one of these situations in more detail (one of your hand history's).

Hand Example 2:

Table: Freda VII

Date: 04/15/2011 08:35:58

(Use the date to find the hand in your own HEM and watch it using the hand history re-player)

You raise to 0.80 with AJss from UTG+1 which is good and the button / big blind call.

What is immediately interesting about this hand is that the table you are on is not very good: the player you have position on is very tight (VPIP 13%/ PFR 11%) and does not have a very big stack (12.50), it is rare you will make a lot of money from him. None of the other players appear very weak either, they generally have tight stats and have similar numbers for VPIP and PFR (which is the sign of a stronger player).

Flop 2.50

The flop brings 6d Jc 3c

The big blind checks and you bet 1.80, this is a good amount as there is a good chance you have the best hand and need to charge a multitude of draws and other cards (such as K or Q).

The button calls and the big blind folds. Once the button calls, as before, as you should consider his range, this will aid in decision making later on later streets. Seeing as he has quite a high VPIP (24%), and he has called a C-Bet, I would assume his range to include a single pair (44, 55, 77, 88, 99, KJ, QJ, JT, 67), a flush draw (e.g. A5cc) and rarely a set (33, 66) - it is less likely that he has a J holding as you have a J and there is a J on the board and again I assume he 3 bets pre-flop AA KK AK QQ JJ (if he did not 3 bet these pre-flop, he would probably raise them now no such a dangerous board).

You bet 1.80 and the button calls

Turn 6.10

The turn brings 8c

In a few hands I watched I saw that you had a problem when a draw was completed on a turn and often reverted to a check-call check-call strategy....this is an expensive strategy and should only be used against players who you are know are capable of bluffing when checked to.

In this spot you should bet again and around 4.00, there is three good reasons for betting;

• The first reason is that against the range of hands we assigned the player to be on the flop, you are marginally ahead and hence have good odds to bet and for him to fold or call with a weaker hand (4.00 to win 6.10 and also showdown equity if he calls)
• The second reason is that betting actually slows down the action, it is rare that a player will bluff in this spot against a second barrel, but will usually call or fold...if he raises then most of the time (subject to the player) he will have a very strong hand such as a set or flush.
• The third reason is that if the player was floating the flop with a hand like 44, 55, 67, 77, or air, then it will be very hard for him to bluff you as you have represented a lot of strength and a willingness to proceed - where as if you check-call it is hard to know whether you have the best hand or not (you would need a very good read on your opponent)

Check-raising the turn is another option, however I would generally only do this against players I feel I have a good read on and usually with a hand that has little or no showdown equity.

If the player raises or calls your bet on the turn, then you should seriously consider slowing down/folding because most of the time he is raising believing that you have a big hand (and hence must have a big hand himself to raise you), the reason you should seriously consider folding is because...

• Small hand = Small pot
• Medium hand = Medium pot
• Big hand = Big pot

Relative to the board and the action, you have a small/medium hand (top pair and top kicker, when there is a very probably potential flush) and if raised on the turn the pot will be medium/big.

Another good reason to fold is that your hand will rarely improve on the river, however a lot of his potential hands can improve on the river, and also, you cannot improve to a hand that beats already made hands (such as a set or a flush).

Further to this the size of the pot can definately increase on the river to an undesirable amount - especially as you are playing out of position.

Folding in spots like this will save you a lot of money in the long run and avoid a lot of troublesome river decisions.

So much for running above EV...

I don't usually posts bad beats but this one was just a killer...I have this current plan where I aim to play every day until I have made 100$ at 100nl on stars, 4 table 6 maxing.

It's been going fine and worked 5 days in a row, then today i got to 90$, then just cooler's set up's, mug's off unreal.....went to 250 down, back to 50 up, back to 250 down, then after 9 hours playing (thats right 9 hours, I am determined to make the 100$ a day lol) I was finally beat down and have now decided to stop playing after this last beat for a 400$ pot:

***** Hand History for Game 1111111111 ***** (Poker Stars)

$100.00 USD NL Texas Hold'em - Thursday, April 14, 05:27:56 ET 2011

Table Benkoela V (Real Money)

Seat 6 is the button

Seat 1: Player1 ( $100.50 USD ) - VPIP: 18, PFR: 15, 3B: 8, AF: 5.0, Hands: 170

Seat 2: Player2 ( $215.10 USD ) - VPIP: 18, PFR: 16, 3B: 6, AF: 8.0, Hands: 324

Seat 3: Player3 ( $115.25 USD ) - VPIP: 21, PFR: 17, 3B: 6, AF: 3.6, Hands: 406

Seat 5: Player5 ( $54.25 USD ) - VPIP: 25, PFR: 24, 3B: 4, AF: 1.0, Hands: 59

Seat 6: Hero ( $150.50 USD ) - VPIP: 20, PFR: 17, 3B: 8, AF: 5.6, Hands: 7716

Player1 posts small blind [$0.50 USD].

Player2 posts big blind [$1.00 USD].

** Dealing down cards **

Dealt to Hero [ Ac Ah ]

Player3 raises [$2.75 USD]

Player5 folds

Hero raises [$9.00 USD]

Player1 folds

Player2 calls [$8.00 USD]

Player3 raises [$25.25 USD]

Hero calls [$19.00 USD]

Player2 raises [$206.10 USD]

Player3 calls [$87.25 USD]

Hero calls [$122.50 USD]

Player2 wins $64.60 USD

** Dealing Flop ** [ Jh, Kc, Qc ]

** Dealing Turn ** [ 5d ]

** Dealing River ** [ Qh ]

Player2 shows [Kd, Kh ]

Hero shows [Ac, Ah ]

Player2 wins $70.50 USD from main pot

Player3 shows [Ad, Ks ]

Player2 wins $344.25 USD from main pot

Sickening....poker is so depressing sometimes - I'm going to bed, 515 minutes; actual total -$330, EV says I should have been +$250

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next day update: came 3rd in 17.5k for $1.5k and also made $1k playing 2 hours at 200nl both on my sponsored account

so standard poker yoyoyoyoyoyoo

Cash Update

Actually running above EV..unheard of?!?

Preflop VPIP/PFR Guidelines (Beginner / Intermediate Level)

If you'd like inquire about poker coaching, including using any poker software tools then please email me at stephenfburt@Gmail.com - see http://24caliber.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/coaching-introduction.html for more details.

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I put these objectives together for one of my team who has been struggling lately and wanted to keep a copy for my records; so I posted it on here..it is aimed at players looking to solidify their starting hand selections based on position (beginner/intermediate level) in the deep stack stages of a tournament (early).  I'm in the process of re-writing it now to make it easier to read (I'm up to EP).

The numbers are just guidelines to aim towards, be sure to always improve and evolve your starting hand selection as your understanding of the game develops.

Key:
VPIP = Voluntary Put Money in Pot
PFR = Pre Flop Raise

Small Blind (SB) and Big Blind (BB) Objectives: Change VPIP to 15% and PFR to 9%

1) Call or complete multi-way pots from the small blind with "go big or big home" hands like: 

• Small pairs, 
• Suited connectors (e.g. 89xx) 
• Suited aces (e.g. A4xx).  

If the hands are not suited they lose a lot of value in multi-way pots, especially with a suited ace high as you looking to win big pots where you have the nut flush and someone else has a smaller flush.

Also consider your implied odds based on you and your opponents stack sizes. If you have a hand like 22 and are looking to hit another 2 on the flop for a set...this will happen around 1 in 8 times.
Seeing as it happens so rarely, when you do hit that 2 you want there to be a lot of chips available to win, you can achieve this either by having a lot of opponents in the hand or by them having a lot of chips.

If everyone else at the table folds, then I'd recommend raising with these hand ranges as against just the big blind's range of hands they have a lot more value

2) Bet or 3 Bet premium hands (like AQ, TT+) to protect your hand, value bet and to isolate opponents:

The purpose of isolating is to reduce the amount of opponents in a hand and effectively increase the strength of your hand.

For example if you play with TT against 3 other opponents, chances are you will not have the best hand on a flop like Q78 - there is a good chance at least one of the opponents will have a queen, a set or a 2 pair holding.

However if you are playing only against one opponent, then it is more likely your TT will still be the best hand on the flop and this will increase your chances of winning the pot.
 
The more opponents in the hand, the more I believe you should raise to protect your hand - a general rule of thumb is to bet 3x the big blind, with an addition big blind per player...so if there is a 4 players that are in the hand (lets say the BB is 100) and you have a hand like AK, then bet 8x the big blind (800), it seems like a lot at first - but it's required to achieve your objective and bet more if you have to! Winning pots is a lot more profitable than losing pots.


3) Fold (or check) the remaining 85% of hands:

The reason for playing only a strong range from the blinds is because although you have good pot odds preflop to call a player's raise; you are going to play the hand out of position on every street.

This is a very big disadvantage as you have to make decisions with limited information.

The deeper the stack sizes are relative to the blinds, the more this disadvantage is exaggerated (this theory can also be reversed, whereby the shorter the stack sizes are relative to the blinds, the less disadvantage there is for playing out of position has as there is less post-flop play)

You can use a poker Software tool like Flopzilla or Pokerstove to play around with what different %'s of hand ranges look like, here is a link to a tutorial I made on using Flopzilla if you are interested:
http://sticktotheplan2010.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/using-flopzilla-tutorial-hand-analysis.html


Early Position (EP) Objective: Change VPIP to 12% and PFR to 12%

1)
In EP you are usually first into the pot.
The purpose of the objective stat is so that you are more likely to bet when entering the pot rather than call and fold out the remaining hands.

Entering a pot by raising places you as the aggressor in the pot; this means can represent a stronger range of hands and are more likely to have control of the action in the rest of the hand.

For example, if you raise KQ from Early Position and one player calls


Consider folding small pairs (88 and below) and marginal hands like AJ a high % of the time and as you will often face 3 bets (as there are a lot of players behind to act) and have to fold. In very deepstack play, set mining with small pairs from EP is reasonable....but ensure you are playing just to set mine and avoid getting attached to hands where you miss (e.g. 55 on 328 flop, if you were aiming to set mine, and have now missed the flop, then fold against another bet, even if your opponent has AJ, they have still have good equity against you for spiking an A or J and you could already be crushed against a bigger pair)

Middle Positive to Button
Objective: Change VPIP to 17% and PFR to 14%

The later your position, the higher your expected profit, and the button is the most profitably position at the table. From the button you should be playing the largest sample size of hands.
It is the most profitable position because you will always have position post flop (note that this is the opposite to the small blind and big blind, where you will always play out of position post flop, hence the tighter VPIP/PFR).
As you get closer to the button your VPIP and PFR can increase, and you can open / play a wider range of hands.
Use Pokerstove again to identify what a 17% range looks like (55+, A5s +)


These numbers also mean that when facing an UTG raises with 88 in mid position you should seriously consider folding, because there is a big chance you have the worst hand here (so you are set mining) and it is not a good spot to set mine as there is a big chance someone will squeeze behind with so players left to act or you might find tricky spots with e.g. a pair of 88 on a 724 board and find yourself stacking off against TT.

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Playing Under 20 Big Blinds
Objective: Under 20 Big blinds, Raise or fold (only call AA or KK)
Under 20 big blinds you rarely want to be calling because your stack size is just not big enough to allow you to give up on pots post flop.
If you have a hand like 77 on the cut off and it is folded to you with 15 big blinds, then open shoving is very likely a profitably option.
Or if you have 77 on the big blind and it is folded to the button who raises, then 3-bet shoving is most likely a profitable option (subject to your opponent's opening range).
However if you have a hand like 77 in early position with 15 big blinds, then shoving is a lot less likely a profitable option.
The key is position and understanding when you are most likely to have the strongest hand.

When facing situations under 20 big blinds, I want you to consider the following 3 factors:
1: Your stack size relative to the blinds and average stack of the tournament
2: Your hole card strength
3: Your position and the actions before you (your opponents range based on his image and position)

There are more items that can be added to this list but we can consider these in future sessions.

Three-Bet Pots:
Objective: Only play AA AK KK QQ in 3 bet pots when deepstack

When a player bets or you bet, and another player raises (i.e. 3-Bets), avoid playing hands that are not in the top 5% of your range: AA AK KK QQ (Note: this is for Deepstack!)

The reason for this is because most players 3 bet ranges are very tight and without information on the player (i.e. you have seen them 3 bet before with a light hand, and actually seen the hand at showdown! or have a large sample size of stats on the player showing a high 3-bet percentage) then it is just guess work whether they are 3 betting you light or not.

So I want you to assume that without any other information their 3-bet range is top 5%...which again if you plug into Pokerstove is 99, AQ+. (Note that if you put TT or AQ as your hand against that top 5% range, it does not fair very well at all, no shame in folding TT or JJ preflop against a three bet, especially if you have raised from an early position and are less likely to get 3 bet light)

This is only for deepstack play, later in the tournaments when the stack sizes are smaller relative to the blinds, you obviously might have to call a lot of 3 bet all in's light, subject to pot odds and their shoving ranges (I think you are capable of making good analyse in these spots)


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So here is a summary of the objectives, the general idea is to play less hands out of position (i.e. from the blinds), raise hands that you want to play and avoid open limping.

Small blind
Objective: Change VPIP from SB to 15% and PFR to 9%Big blind
Objective: Change VPIP from BB to 13% and PFR to 9%
Early Position
Objective: Change VPIP from EP to 12% and PFR to 11%
Middle Positive to Button
Objective: Change VPIP from EP to 17% and PFR to 14%
Playing Under 20 Big Blinds
Objective: Under 20 Big blinds, Raise or fold (only call AA or KK)
Three-Bet Pots:
Objective: Only play AA AK KK QQ in 3 bet pots when deepstack

I've added one more objective:
Objective: Mark up 10 hand examples from this report (e.g. folding TT to a 3 bet in early position when deepstack, or 3 bet shoving 77 with 15 big blinds vs a button raise)

Try to avoid tricky poker and value bet when you feel there is a good chance you have the best hand (you will be amazed at how many people call your value bets, without the need for tricky play!)

MTT's: Playing from blinds, and reading preflop raises

Reading preflop raises at low level MTT's (100$ entry and below) is pretty straight forward, but lots of people make big mistakes preflop at these stakes because they miss the information given to them, you can also use your preflop reads (i.e. identifying opponent ranges) to aid postflop decision making. This is generally for the earlier stages of an MTT when deepstack.

.....However, firstly I want to quickly describe the logistical problems with playing hands out of the blinds and why it is a leak for a lot of players.

You can break down a "hand strength" into 3 sections all worth a third (33%):

33%: Your Position
33%: Your Pot Odds
33%: Your Card Strength

Ok, you can add more factors to this list (e.g. opponents in the pot, implied odds, playing as the aggresor, stack sizes, payout structure, bet sizing, etc.), but to keep it simple and easy to follow, lets just discuss these 3 factors, and lets say they are on average worth 33% for every scenario

An example of where the percentages might be different than 33% is e.g.; The pot odd's have dictated that you have to call a players all in preflop raise regardless of your cards due to the price given/ and if a player is all in Preflop, then position is not applicable as there is no more betting. (pot odds 100%, position 0%, cards 0%)

OK so,

33% Position:
When playing in the blinds you will always play the flop, turn and river out of position unless vs specifically the SB, which is a massive disadvantage as you have to act without any information on your opponent and have less control over the pot size and actions. This means that 33% of your allocated hand strength is already gone!

33%: Your Pot Odds
Against most standard raises you will have the pot odds to call in the big/small blind a high percentage of the time, especially with anti's, regardless of your card strength, unless you have completely polarised your opponents range and your holding is dominated, e.g. AA vs A7.

However, this is assuming that pot odd's are the only factor in poker and that you are playing the hand face up (i.e. you always get to showdown, the best hand always won and there were no more betting rounds on the flop/turn and river)

This means that the pot odds are no different vs a min raise preflop, than a standard raise preflop, because both times you have the pot odds to call. The only difference is against a min raise you have better implied odds (with hands where you are playing purely to hit e.g. set mining with a small pair), because you have put less chips in pot and a bigger stack behind.

So if your thought process is "I will call a min raise against my big blind with any two cards because is it so cheap and I have the pot odds", then you should call a standard raise with any two cards in the big blind aswell, because both times you have the pot odds.

However, it is the other factor's in the hand that are important (in fact a min raise preflop is a good way to induce players to make a mistake in their big blind, because they may call a bigger range than normally would - then find themself in very tricky spots out of position and not as the aggressor on later streets), the cost of this mistake is compounded with every street played because the pot gets bigger the later you are into the hand!
So you may find yourself making one small mistake preflop, then playing the rest of the hand well but on average losing a lot of chips, because of the preflop mistake!

33%: Your Card Strength
Seeing as the position and the pot odds are almost always the same (0% for position and 33% for pot odds respectively), the most important factor to consider when playing out of the blinds is your card strength and implied odds - and your card strength should be considered relative to your opponent's estimated range (see next section)

Here are a couple of guidelines I have put together:
1) Play hands that have good implied odds (suited connectors/pocket pairs) when you have deep stacks/good reads on your opponents. Multiway pots obviously provide additional implied odd potential.
Play these hands passively until you actually complete your draw (bluffing and semi bluffing is a very bad idea out of position in scenarios where your opponents are deep enough to play the hand on every street. If you run a semi-bluff by check shoving all in with say a flush draw on a flop, it is not as bad because you will not have to play the rest of the hand out of position, i.e. at a disadvantage)

2) Play your strong hands for value, e.g. if the button is raising a wide range (lets say PFR 20%) and you have 99 on the big blind - then 3 bet him, flatting is a disaster and leads to all sorts of tricky decisions later on in the hand. A good 3 bet size is 3-5x their bet, taking down the pot preflop is a good result. (if you have 99 and your opponent has KT - then you both own around 50% equity in the pot. If he has folded to your 3 bet raise, then he has given up his 50% equity to you) - The chips you have already put it into the pot is dead...gone! however it can make your 3 bet size look bigger than it actually is and hence give you better odds for success rates.

If you have 99 in the big blind, and a middle position raises and has a small range (lets say 8% PFR), then you should not play your hand for value - either fold or call to set mine (based on what I said above, your read on the opponent, stack sizes, implied odds, etc.) If you call with your 99 as a set mine, then remember you are Set Mining and try to avoid stacking off on a 882 flop vs KK - this is not a set up! It is a mistake, you already made a read that he was strong preflop (what has changed, nothing except now he has 4 bet shoved over your check-raise or barrelled every street...surely that just confirms your read?!?)


Remember: what makes you a better play than a fish is the spots you choose, the hands you choose to play and the way you choose to play them....if you are playing any 2 cards out of position, (i.e. from the blinds) against a raiser because you feel your opponent is raising a lot and a weak player, then is he the fish or you?!?

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OK so now we have some guidelines for playing from the blinds, but how can we decide whether our hand is stronger or weaker than our opponents range?
To determine this, we need to analyse and process the information that is available when an opponent raises preflop? Consider these 3 factors before deciding what to do with your hand:

1) Position
What position has your opponent raised from? Generally, the later the position, the bigger the range the raiser has, as there is less players for the raise to get through.

2) Bet Size and Stack Size
How much has the opponent bet? is it 4x the big blind, 2x big blind or somewhere imbetween? What range of hands does this bet signify....most of the time bet sizes represent the strength of the hand (e.g. 4x bb stronger hand, 2x bb weaker hand). What impact does this bet have on his stack size? Is he committed to the pot? What stage are you in the tournament, does this player have to make moves or is he sitting comfortably?

3) Opponent
How often does he raise? Is he tricky player or a novice, does he understand position? Is this the first hand he has played or raised, how many pots has he played?
Whatever information you have on your opponent is useful in narrowing your opponents range...the smaller the range you have your opponent on, the easier he is to play.
Hold Em Manager is obviously a great tool to keep a record and gain instant access to stats on the player, however stats are more useful in Cash games than in MTT's - as you will rarely have a large sample size of stats on any player in an MTT and your stack size may also dictate the optimal play.

So if a player raises from under the gun (position) to 4x the big blind (bet size) and has been playing very tight (opponent) and you have AQ suited in a later position...is it really a cooler when you three bet shove and he insta-calls with AK KK AA? What range have you put him on here?
If you feel that you have the worst hand, and you cannot make a better hand fold (i.e. bluff) - then why not just fold??? regardless of hand strength...either that or you can be another person in the cycle of "coolers" whereby you all swap chips around hoping that you are on the right end of more "coolers" than everyone else. Worth thinking about, and sometimes the pot odds/stack sizes might dictate the play anyway.


To make this simpler I assuming there has been no action prior to this raise (e.g. a limper) - however you can apply the same 3 points (as a thought pattern process) for any situation where there has been a preflop raise:

What position has he raised from?
How much has he raised?
What kind of player is he?

Ask yourself these 3 questions whenever you face a preflop raise, make it a habit.  Prior to making a decision with what to do with your own hand as you will be able to narrow your opponents range once you have answered these 3 questions. If any of the factors are unknown (e.g. no information on the player) you can weigh the other two factors heavier.

After having a good idea of his range, you can now to think about your own hand and how to play it "optimally" (subjective obviously)....i.e. your own position, table image, stack size, card strength, pot odds, implied pot odds, etc. and analyse the situation accordingly)


Further to this you can apply a similiar method for identifying a player(s) range when they call your raise preflop:

When someone calls your raise preflop, ask yourself these questions:

What position has he called my raise from?
What kind of player is he?
What impact does the call have on his stack?

Considering the stack sizes (relative to the blinds) is important to understand if your opponent is getting good implied odds (and hence potentially add's a range of fishy hand like small pairs or suited connectors to his range) or if the raise is a bigger proportion of his stack, he is less like to call with these "fishy" hands as there is not enough implied odds to justify a call...subject to the opponent

Identifying opponents ranges preflop makes postflop play a lot easier, remember what analyse you made preflop and apply it to aid your postflop decisions.


To keep this quite simple and coherent I have not discussed a lot of factors that can influence preflop decision making (for example you might want to consider your own image at the table, or selecting which opponents you want to play hands against, or how to properly decypher your implied odds against opponent ranges, what stage in the tournament you are in, how many players are paid - the more experienced player you are the more information you can analyse and process and apply), however this just provides some guidelines and fundamentally important factors that should be considered in MTT preflop play.

Smash smash smash cash cash cash

OKKKK I been very lazy and not updated the blog in while:

Cash:
















Tournaments:
Good month last month 10k - cleared debts
No luck this month - -1.5k down but swinhing 2k a night so hardly anything really


I like to keep a record of some of the hands I posted on the pokerisk forum, so here is another I recently replied to:

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Players post:

don't wanna blow up the pot so i checked.
is the flop a c/f, river c/f or flop c/c river c/c
Or should i bet the flop and fold when raised?
almost no stats

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $50(BB) On Game
SB ($2,174)
BB ($2,210)
UTG ($4,885)
UTG+1 ($2,416)
Hero ($2,645)
MP1 ($2,735)
MP2 ($2,835)
MP3 ($1,315)
CO ($2,590)
BTN ($3,045)

Dealt to Hero : :

fold, fold, Hero raises to $125, fold, MP2 calls $125, fold, fold, fold, SB calls $100, BB calls $75

FLOP ($500) : : :

SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $325, SB calls $325, BB folds, Hero calls $325

TURN ($1,475) : : : :

SB checks, Hero checks, MP2 checks

RIVER ($1,475) : : : : :

SB checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $425, SB folds, [color=red]Hero ?????


My Response:

This hand is played quite strange - why didn't you c bet the flop again? if you are scared of the pot blowing up when there is a good chance you have the best hand, then go play tiddlewinks or fold your marginal holding preflop and wait for premium until you are more comfortable with hands like TJ suited where you will flop marginal strength hands a large % of the time - or, if the pot does spiral out of control against your will then just fold before you put too much in....check-calling actually produces a bigger pot and harder decisions, than betting out.

The flop is very wet, I think you can get value from a lot of hands here like KJ KQ JQ 98 A9 K9, any stubborn mid pairs and any flush draw - and I think if you do C bet the flop and get called, you can barrel the turn for value, as the range of hands listed above you are still beating when the offsuit 9 hits (except the A9 and 98)

It is unlikely anyone has an overpair to the flop as there were no 3 bets preflop, so the hands you fear most are; a stronger Ten (9T, QT, KT, AT) or a set, but these are much less likely than the hands listed above (KJ etc.) as you have a T yourself and set's are pretty rare!

In the absence of any read on the players, and the action given, I feel you always have to call this river bet (because the river card changes nothing and you have played the hand in a way that disguises your hand strength...basically turning it into a bluff catcher - this a good thing to do when you are playing an aggresive player who you know is capable of 2 or 3 barrel bluffing), by not being the aggressor in this hand it has led you to a tricky spot on the river. If you are not going to call a river bet on such a brick river, then don't bother calling the turn imo!

The bet itself is 425 into 1425, which is relatively small and feels like a thin value bet for a hand like AT or 88, however it is hard to see what your opponent puts your range on as you have check-called the whole way - so I doubt he puts you on a Ten....more likely a flush draw (like A5 suited) or 2 overs like that had straight draws (like KQ), which means he could be trying to take the pot down with a cheap bet, hoping that you and the small blind also have missed draws (it was a very wet flop!) - or trying to invoke a bluff with a monster hand like 9999

In this spot I feel you should call (reluctantly) and pray he has a missed draw, but most likely AT, raising his raise is pointless as he will rarely call with a weaker hand and I do not think you can make any hands stronger than TJ fold (i.e. changing your hand into a bluff)

I would aim to play hands like this more aggresively in the future (not only because it makes your decisions easier, but also for plain old value!).