less than stellar
05 February 2008
Decided to fire up some 100nl at Absolute Poker last night and see how I managed playing 3-4 tables (my total bankroll was back up over $3300 so I figured it's time to start getting serious about the move). All I've got to say is that the fact that AP lets you buy in for 200BB is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it allows you to profit insanely off of fishies. On the other, if you mess up a big hand, you can mess it up hard. I'll point out instances of both at the bottom of this post, but for now I think I'm going to limit myself to 2 tables of 100nl when playing on AP. I think the games play so much different than what I was used to at PokerStars that I'm falling into some bad habits that need to be ironed out. I came across a post in the forums on PokerTrikz and feel like it has some great advice that I need to put into action at the tables (even though he is speaking of play at Cake / Red Star, I think it still applies to AP as well):
"You should just play your standard aggressive game [regardless of the site]. People will let you value bet them so hard and you should still be 2 barreling the standard stuff." -- TrikkurThe Good:
Villain is 60/30/1.8 with just over 100 hands played, so I am set mining all day with the stacks as deep as they are. On the flop I decided to flat call behind, but popping him up here would have been perfectly legit seeing as though the board is ridiculously draw-heavy. If the turn comes any K, 8, or diamond I am slowing down, but for now I'm content with playing a smallish pot. With his 1/2 pot bet on the blank turn I feel like his range is more along the line of a made hand that he is insecure about (such as KJ-KA, JJ, or QQ) than a draw. I wanted to size my raise here to an amount that left his remaining stack large enough to bluff-shove profitably (in his eyes) -- however, I don't think our remaining stacks were conducive to this, so I did the best I could. It worked, so I guess it's the correct play, right? (No seriously, what line would you all take?)
The Bad:
Villain is 35/15/1.7 regular whose attention to steal over 3k+ hands is 35%. Against a player like this I think the 3bet preflop is pretty standard since his opening range against one limper is extremely wide. The flop is great for me, but going for the c/raise is wrong on so many levels. First, all it does is telegraph to my opponent that I have AQ, KQ, or QQ+. This would cause him to fold out holdings such as AK, JJ, 88-TT, which is really what we're looking for value from. Second, it puts entirely too much money into the pot without me having a clear idea of what the villain is holding. By this point I have half of my stack invested with TPTK and can I really fold this to a guy with such a wide PFR range? The answer is yes... run away, run far far away, as the flop bet/3bet line for 200BB is bad news bears for me. Unfortunately, I am not yet adept at conceding my hands and hung my head as I shipped my stack across the virtual table. One day I will learn.
On a side note, as soon as I brought my session to a respectable -1/2 buyin (bleh) over 550 hands I sat down and railed malfaire for a good hour or so at 200nl. He was 6-tabling and running like the Sun. Seriously, the kid was getting pocket pairs and AJs+ all over the place. Unfortunately, he was put into a ton of tough situations postflop, but I think we played a lot of the hands profitably. There wasn't enough time to do a proper review at the end of the session as it was pretty late, so I'm looking forward to a post from him with a bunch of the hands... great stuff in there.
Posted byM0NIKER at 10:59 AM
I really like your line in hand 1. Normally I hate just calling on drawy boards, but in this situation, given his raise was UTG, I doubt he has the straight draw, it is too small a part of his range. The flush draw is possible, but hey we want value and sometimes you have to take chances in poker. This is a spot where I am not going away if the turn brings an 8 or a K, but a heart makes me slow down. I think it is a good chance to take to risk seeing a heart on the turn. Well played sir.
Hand 2, I am not a fan of the C/R for the very reasons you mentioned. Many people believe in going broke with TPTK or overpairs in 3-bet pots. I am coming around and agreeing with them. However, there is a subtle assumption most people do not point out that this refers to 100BB stacks, not 200. This is a truly tough spot. If you bet this flop and get raised, you are still sick, because if you advance, you are playing for stacks. If you call a flop raise, playing it that way, you know you will face more heat on the turn when you check, so the flop raise would be basically making you play for your stack. This is a spot where I think I make a good sized flop bet and fold to pressure. I just don't see what he will raise that you have beat personally.
good looks on the blog. i'll have shit up soon for us to discuss.
"The good"
I don't like the flat call in position 4 ways on a draw heavy flop. I don't want a K,8,diamond, pair card, or overcard to kill my action. I also don't want SB and BB to tag along with their possible str8 or flush draws.
I raise to 2.5-3x and try to get it in on the flop or by the river vs UTG.
If he is bluffing with a c bet, your never getting paid off on turn or river. If scare card hits, it kills your action. It's best to raise it 200deep and build a bigger pot. He could think your raising with a draw and come over the top of you on the flop.
"The Bad"
Preflop:
I agree 3 bet preflop is standard.
Flop:
I don't like the c/r on the flop for the reasons you mention. Your turning your hand face up and villain can get away with hands that you want to call or make a move.
I like a c bet of 3/4 pot and see what he does. Against this villain who is aggro preflop but passive post flop. You can find a fold if your instinct tells you your beat.
I guess it depends on timing tells, history and reads. If he thinks for a bit and raises you, he usually has it. If he insta raises, I might call and evaluate what he does on the turn and fold to a big bet. These sort of players are kind of tricky and nitty post flop.
How often does this villain fold to c bets on the flop? His went to showdown? Won $ at SD? That can give you a clue if he is nitty/solid post flop.