I'm keeping on the 100 hands/day pace, which is nice. Tonight's session featured a lot more donking and random aggression from my opponents than in my previous few sessions. It was also the first session for which I had my HUD running the way I wanted to, so that I could spend more mental energy paying attention to the action.
Hand #1
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is Button with As, Kd.
UTG calls, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, UTG calls, MP calls.
Flop: (10.40 SB) Ah, Jd, 7d (3 players)
UTG checks, MP bets, Hero calls, UTG folds.
Turn: (6.20 BB) 9s (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.
River: (8.20 BB) 3c (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.
Part of me thinks I played this hand right and part of me thinks I played it wrong. The reason I think I played this right is because from villain's flop donk onward, I think a raise lets him get away from his worse hands and that a call allows him to keep firing with whatever he has. In this case, he had TT and a raise at any point would probably have made him fold. But looking at the board texture, it's possible that there are enough worse hands that would get stuck calling at least the flop and turn raise, as KQ/KJ/AQ and whatever suited diamond hands he might raise preflop would be stuck. Also, a raise is a more effective way to shut out UTG from the pot in case he's chasing a 5-outer. Sometimes I think there is too much weight put on knocking out other hands in short-handed pots.
Hand #2:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Ad, Qc.
UTG raises, MP calls, 1 fold, Button 3-bets, 2 folds, UTG caps, MP calls, Hero calls.
Flop: (13.40 SB) 3s, Ac, 9c (3 players)
UTG bets, MP folds, Hero calls.
Turn: (7.70 BB) Jc (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.
River: (9.70 BB) Ks (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.
At the time this hand went down, I didn't have any relevant stats on villain. But this is a standard WA/WB line that I take very often when I'm against aggressive players (or players who might tip towards being aggressive) that I don't have a decent read on. Just as in the previous hand, raises may allow villain to get away from his hand if its worse. In this case, villain had QTs of the wrong suit and caught the runner-runner straight.
Hand #3:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is BB with As, Jc.
1 fold, MP calls, 2 folds, BB raises, MP calls.
Flop: (4.40 SB) 4d, 6c, 7s (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.
Turn: (3.20 BB) 3d (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.
River: (5.20 BB) Jh (2 players)
Hero bets, MP calls.
To me, the turn bet here with ace-high is pretty standard. Even though the board is very connected, it's also very low and unlikely to have hit MP's hand range very well. The low flop is also a good opportunity for worse hands like Q9 to peel one off. This makes my bet a value bet against a lot of hands. Rivering top pair turns this into a value bet on the end. I would often just check-fold UI here, but in some spots a check-call is better if I think villain is the type to bluff K/Q-high. This hand, villain limped in with the mighty 84s and I was actually chasing all the way to the end.
Hand #4
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Ac, Td.
2 folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, BB calls, CO calls.
Flop: (9.40 SB) Th, 9c, 2s (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB calls.
Turn: (6.20 BB) 7c (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB calls.
River: (9.20 BB) Qs (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets, Hero calls, BB folds.
Some players are a little hesitant to 3-bet with ATo. I think ATo is a very close 3-bet, as A9o is not a 3-betting hand. I messed up on the flop in this hand. Unlike the other top pair hands that came before this one, I have a vulnerable top pair hand. I would really like to see a hand like KQ go away. A flop donk here is much less likely to represent an overpair due to the lack of a preflop cap. Sometiems QQ/JJ might play timidly like this, but that's probably the exception. I took this hand down against KTo.
Hand #5
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is MP with Th, Ad.
UTG calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, SB calls, BB calls, UTG calls.
Flop: (8 SB) Jh, 6d, 3c (4 players)
SB bets, BB folds, UTG calls, Hero calls.
Turn: (5.50 BB) Td (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls.
River: (8.50 BB) Js (3 players)
SB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls.
This hand was played at one of the more aggressive tables I was at. Aggressive tables are harder because you will often be stuck making lots of marginal decisions.
The flop peel getting 10:1 is a tiny bit on the loose side, but based on the table read at the time, SB's donk didn't necessarily mean a J, nor did UTG's call. Having position on everyone is a helpful part of this hand as I wouldn't be able to check-call this if I were somehow in SB's position postflop.
The turn check by SB made me think he was on some sort of medium pocket pair, but then UTG's lead had me thinking for a while. There simply aren't a lot of Tx hands that UTG is likely to hold here. Running the hand through my head, it was conceivable that UTG was playing against SB's weakness. I was running low on time and decided that if I could get to showdown for two bets, I would do so.
The lead by SB didn't bother me at all. And when UTG flat called instead of raising, I knew I likely had the best hand, but probably not enough of a hand to raise for value. The reason is that a value raise here doesn't always get called, especially if villains are holding pocket pairs or hands of similar strength.
The results are really wacky as it was 64s and 54o against my ATo at showdown. Those hands would be in the bottom 99% of hands I was anticipating here.
Hand #6:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (4 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with Ac, 7d.
Hero raises, 2 folds, BB 3-bets, Hero calls.
Flop: (6.40 SB) Jh, As, 6s (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.
Turn: (4.20 BB) 9c (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.
River: (6.20 BB) 6h (2 players)
BB bets, Hero calls.
This was early in the session, and I had a tentative read that BB was a bit of a random-LAG. He seemed to put in bets in odd spots and his lines often didn't seem to add up to anything rational. Even at the point of the preflop call, I was considering whether I should just call down. I decided that my read wasn't strong enough that blindly calling down would be appropriate, but I did decide that any pair was getting to showdown, including if the board were paired. BB showed a mighty 82o and my random-LAG read was confirmed.
Hand #7:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Ks, Kh.
UTG calls, 1 fold, CO calls, 1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, UTG calls, CO calls.
Flop: (7 SB) 3h, 5d, Ah (3 players)
Hero bets, UTG calls, CO folds.
Turn: (4.50 BB) 9s (2 players)
Hero bets, UTG raises, Hero calls.
River: (8.50 BB) 8d (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets, Hero calls.
This was a bad calldown. In general, the flop call/turn raise line is scary and implies strong hands unless there is a read that would suggest otherwise. No such read existed, so I should have folded my not-top-pair hand to the turn raise. But instead, I called down and lost to a set of 5s.
Hand #8:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Kc, Qd.
1 fold, MP raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, MP calls.
Flop: (7.40 SB) Jh, Th, 3h (2 players)
MP bets, Hero calls.
Turn: (4.70 BB) 9s (2 players)
MP bets, Button raises, MP calls.
River: (8.70 BB) 7h (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks.
The river check is very standard here. MP's flop lead and turn bet-call is usually an indication of some sort of high heart. The ace of hearts is often found playing this way, though sometimes it's the K or Q of hearts. I would have value bet any non-heart. Villain surprised me this time around with QTo, which was the first loose raise I saw from him at this point in the session. I am inclined to believe that he would have called a river bet.
Hand #9:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with Qh, Kc.
Hero raises, 1 fold, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls, BB calls.
Flop: (10 SB) 4d, Ks, As (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets, CO folds, Button raises, SB folds, BB folds, Hero calls.
Turn: (7 BB) Qc (2 players)
Hero bets, Button raises, Hero 3-bets, Button calls.
River: (13 BB) 5h (2 players)
Hero bets, Button calls.
I don't often donk the turn like this, but it is a good spot for a bet/3-bet as there are many Ax hands who will think their hand is still good and raise, then be unable to fold. The turn check-raise line is also acceptable, but if you think you can squeeze a bet/3-bet you should go for it.
Hand #10:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Jh, Kd.
1 fold, MP calls, CO calls, Hero raises, 2 folds, MP calls, CO calls.
Flop: (7.40 SB) 6d, 9h, 9c (3 players)
MP checks, CO checks, Hero bets, MP folds, CO calls.
Turn: (4.70 BB) Qs (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.
River: (6.70 BB) Th (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO calls.
The more I think about this hand, the more I think that this should have been a turn check, but it's close. It is often the case that A-high hands and medium pairs that call the flop are looking to show down. Also, the 99x flop does hit a moderate amount of the limping ranges, so I think a check-raise happens here somewhat often. I was ahead of KTo the whole time in this hand, and that was probably the best case scenario for me.
Hand #11:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Qs, Jh.
2 folds, Hero raises, 1 fold, SB calls, BB calls.
Flop: (6 SB) 2d, 7s, 3d (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.
Turn: (3 BB) 4c (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.
River: (3 BB) 2h (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks.
I have to admit that I probably c-bet too often. But I found a good spot for a check behind because in order for me to win this, I would likely have to bet twice, and sometimes I would have to bet three times to fold out the wide range of A-high and K-high hands that would call to chase. So I decided to just check behind and give up UI. Strangely enough, I won against two Q6o hands here.
Hand #12:
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (6 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 9h, Jh.
UTG calls, 1 fold, Hero calls, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.
Flop: (4 SB) 4c, Th, 2h (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets, Hero calls, SB calls, BB folds.
Turn: (3.50 BB) 4d (3 players)
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks.
River: (3.50 BB) Qh (3 players)
SB bets, UTG folds, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero caps, SB calls.
Sometimes I raise this preflop when the blinds are tight, but in this case they were too loose for me to isolate against a player with lots of dead money in the pot. At higher level games, I probably don't cap the river, but at this level players very often overvalue their hands and put in too many bets with strong hands despite scary boards. He lost with K4o in this hand.
PokerStars 0.25/0.50 Hold'em (5 handed) Poker Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: HTML)
Preflop: Hero is UTG with 6h, 6c.
Hero raises, 1 fold, Button 3-bets, SB calls, 1 fold, Hero calls.
Flop: (10 SB) 5s, 3c, Th (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button bets, SB calls, Hero calls.
Turn: (6.50 BB) 6s (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB calls.
River: (9.50 BB) Qd (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, Button calls, SB folds.
If SB had not called the flop, I would have check-raised. I'm ahead of overcards most of the time here, but when the third player comes along I need to treat carefully. When the good turn card fell, I went for a bet/3-bet because a hand like AK is often going to check through and I lose too much value. Even if I just get called, it's better than not getting any bets at all. This hand is a pretty easy win, but I was surprised by what I beat. Button 3-bet me with A5s.
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