2697 Hands @ 11.66 BB/100

I'm coming close to my 3100 hand goal, and because I'm going to be busy this weekend, I've got to finish this up during the week. I am hoping to squeeze in most of it in tomorrow night.

Hand #1:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is CO with As, Jd.

UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 3 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (5.40 SB) 4h, 5s, Td (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls.

Turn: (4.70 BB) Js (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, UTG 3-bets, Hero calls.

River: (10.70 BB) 3s (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

These are spots where I call down even though I often expect to lose (I lost to J4s in this hand). The turn raise is completely standard as many players with Tx or even 5x/4x/medium pocket pairs will call down. Getting 3-bet is unfortunate, but unless the player is particularly passive (in which case it would call into question the turn raise), the pot is large enough that I don't mind going to showdown.

Hand #2:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (3 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ad, 6h.
Button calls, Hero raises, BB calls, Button

Flop: (6 SB) Ah, 2c, Kc (3 players)
Hero bets, BB folds, Button calls.

Turn: (4 BB) Jc (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

River: (6 BB) 5d (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.

Against a player who sees too many flops, this out of position isolation raise is quite standard for me. BB called, which is unfortunate, but it still isn't terrible. Flopping top pair in a 3-handed pot means that I'm going to showdown, and if I get raised anywhere I simply go into calldown mode. In this hand, Button called down with T2o. Players who open-limp that hand on the button are prime candidates for isolation both in and out of position.

Hand #3:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ah, 4h.
1 fold, MP calls, Button raises, 2 folds, MP calls.

Flop: (5.40 SB) 4c, Td, 3c (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets, MP calls.

Turn: (3.70 BB) 3s (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets, MP calls.

River: (5.70 BB) As (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.

Villain's river donk here puts me to an interesting decision between raising and calling. Folding is clearly not an option. Given that villain has gotten this far the way that he has, it's not clear what his hand range is. Potentially, he has been chasing Ax, in which case he will call if I raise. Alternatively, he is donk-bluffing some overcard type hand. Other possibilities include a strangely played 3x and 25 for the flopped straight draw (though this is discounted because of hand selection).

I tend to play this spot a little more passively than some and simply call. The reason is that much of his hand range simply cannot call a raise (however, if he's known to be calling the river with all sorts of weak hands, then raising again becomes an option). Most pocket pairs will bet/fold this, as would 4x and sometimes even Tx hands. In this case, villain had Q8s for a flopped no pair and no draw, and I have very little sense of why he would call the flop and turn with that hand. But again, I'm not responsible for knowing why they do things the way they do.

Hand #4:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Kh, Ks.
Hero raises, 3 folds, BB calls.

Flop: (4.40 SB) Qc, 4d, Jd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.20 BB) 2s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero calls.


River: (7.20 BB) 3h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

This is a spot where I play a weaker game than I should. In the more aggressive environment of 6-max games, an overpair is worth a 3-bet on the turn in a heads up pot. Once villain checked the river to me, it once again becomes an easy value bet.

Hand #5:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)



Preflop: Hero is Button with Kd, Jc.

2 folds, CO calls, Hero raises, 1 fold, BB calls, CO folds.

Flop: (5.40 SB) Tc, Ks, Th (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB calls.

Turn: (3.70 BB) Jd (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

River: (5.70 BB) 8c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.

This is another type of hand where passive play rules over aggressive play. The board is moderately scary, but not scary enough to fold. The connectedness of the board opens up semibluffing opportunities, which is why I need to keep calling, but my hand strength on this paired board is not enough to withstand a lot of action, so I need to make sure I limit the number of bets that go into the pot. I won this hand against A5o, which is a bit of a surprise because that's about the weakest type of hand I can imagine getting involved here.

Hand #6:

PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qs, Qh.
UTG calls, 1 fold, CO raises, Button 3-bets, Hero caps, 1 fold, UTG calls, CO calls, Button calls.

Flop: (17 SB) 6h, Ts, Qd (4 players)

Hero bets, UTG calls, CO raises, Button 3-bets, Hero caps, UTG calls $0.75 (All-In), CO calls, Button calls.

Turn: (15.50 BB) 3c (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

River: (18.50 BB) 2d (4 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets, CO calls, Button calls.

This hand was my first at the table, so I had no read on the aggression of the other players. However, capping preflop is completely standard in unknown situations, and flopping the nuts is clearly a bet/raise situation. I find this to be somewhat funny because UTG called all-in with 33 and turned a set. I don't know if I won more or less than I would have if he had a deep stack because he may not have called the flop if he had lots more money behind.

I'd post more, but I'm too tired.