Running hot this month, i’ll show you how!
Hey all,
Sorry for the lack of an update in the last 2 weeks, ive been playing alot online (well, more than usual), and have been seeing some good results. So, in between work, going out, and throwing in a quick session online, ive not found time to post.
So far this month (first 2 weeks), im up $3400, plus about $600 in bonuses. All in all, for you brits, thats about £2500 in profit. Im off to Cyprus in a week, so its unlikely i’ll be able to grind a £5k month, although, i think the week off will do me good, as it will give me a chance to think about the poker coaching program im developing, and read some background material in preparation.
One amusing hand from earlier this evening just proves how easy poker can be sometimes. It never fails to amaze me, that even at modest limits online, people just play so bad. Its really like having an ATM in your living room.
Heres the hand:
***** Hand History for Game 14697423898 ***** (Full Tilt)
$200.00 USD NL Texas Hold’em – Monday, September 14, 04:48:18 ET 2009
Table Sunrise (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Seat 1: x shd ( $200.00 USD )
Seat 2: erske74 ( $136.45 USD )
Seat 3: mleist10 ( $111.20 USD )
Seat 4: johnnyaces ( $200.00 USD )
Seat 5: TakeUrCheese ( $300.00 USD )
Seat 6: Hotshot INK ( $83.15 USD )
johnnyaces posts small blind [$1.00 USD].
TakeUrCheese posts big blind [$2.00 USD].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to johnnyaces [ Qh Qd ]
Hotshot INK folds
erske74 folds
mleist10 raises [$6.00 USD]
johnnyaces raises [$23.00 USD]
TakeUrCheese folds
mleist10 calls [$18.00 USD]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Tc, 9c, 4h ]
johnnyaces bets [$29.00 USD]
mleist10 raises [$87.20 USD]
johnnyaces calls [$58.20 USD]
mleist10 shows [6h, 6c ]
johnnyaces shows [Qh, Qd ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8c ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
johnnyaces wins $221.40 USD from main pot
this hand is a perfect example of an opponent who isnt thinking. His pre flop raise with 66 is fine. When i reraise however, im showing strength. If he is thinking, he should think i have AK AQ AA KK QQ JJ TT or similar, plus maybe some bluffs, although, vs someone with a half stack (a sign someone is a weaker player), id rarely reraise as a bluff there. So on a very basic level, im showing i have a big hand.
On the flop, he has an underpair to the board, and i bet out. He shoves. lol. Why oh why is he shoving there?! just think about it, I have a big hand, we know that from above, and im never ever folding a big pair to his shove. All he beats is AK AQ type hands, and well, would i bet those on the flop? Unlikely.
Also, with a flush draw and straight draw out there, i may even call with AQss or JQ. Versus 66, these hands are actually a favourite on that flop. So basically, my ENTIRE range has him beat.
This is the key to poker, 1) play your hand. 2) think what your opponent might have.
And lets be honest, it was hardly rocket science, I have QQ, i reraise pre flop, i bet a low flop, and call a shove. ANYBODY can do this. Seriously.
I will elaborate on all the concepts above in my ‘zero to hero’ apprenticeship poker coaching program, its still in development, but hopefully i’ll have something for you guys soon!
Heres my graph for the month, good luck at the tables, Johnny.
He is simply gambling you missed the flop and are continuation betting your whole range? The part where he plays the hand poorly is his preflop call as he doesn’t have the odds to set mine. Once he has done this though, the flop seems to be one which will miss you a fair bit so his line is ok for me (if high variance).
Hi Jimbo,
Thanks for your comments, sorry for the slow response, ive been on vacation and have only just got back to the UK.
You make some valid points, here are my thoughts.
I think my continuation betting range here is somewhat tighter than the range you perceive I have in this spot. Given he is a short stack (having only 50 big blinds at the start of the hand), im less likely to be betting with say my AK AQ type hands. Because 1) I have less fold equity (villain may shove with any pair/draw because he feels pot committed), 2) There is no value in the cbet, i.e. what worse hands are calling, even if he calls with a draw he has great equity, and 3) Bet folding AK is pretty gross here, and I don’t really like bet calling either. The main problem here, is that this flop hits his range pretty hard. So on that basis, my cbetting range must be skewed towards value, and not bluffs.
Luckily in this hand, my hand was one I could get value from, hence the pretty standard bet call.
One other point as to why his shove is bad – his equity with 66 on that board totally sucks. If I was villain in that hand, I’d MUCH rather be shoving hands like AQ, QJ, KJ etc. At least with these hands, villain has some equity if called. Shoving 66 just folds out a small part of my range, and is crushed by the rest.
One other point, if the board was something like T47, I don’t mind his shove so much. Although, as you rightly say, his first mistake was preflop, so it was downhill from there
I think the key point here is to recognise, that in a 3bet pot versus a shortstack, you’re cbetting range needs to be adjusted accordingly – why? Because of the reduced fold equity.
Good luck at the tables, Johnny.