couple of hands from todays session. i'll include reads where i have them, but if i don't say anything, just assume it's an average opponent

hand 1:PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (9 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

saw flop|saw showdown

CO ($73.60)
Button ($704.05)
SB ($266.60)
BB ($215)
UTG ($253.30)
Hero ($506)
MP1 ($153.50)
MP2 ($275.50)
MP3 ($238)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with , .
1 fold, Hero raises to $16, 1 fold, MP2 calls $16, 4 folds, BB calls $12.

Flop: ($50) , , (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $32, MP2 calls $32, BB calls $32.

Turn: ($146) (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $124, MP2 raises to $227.5, BB calls $167 (All-In), Hero calls $103.50.

River: ($768) (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $768

hand 2: opponent here is very very trickey. he's a slight losing player over a few thousand hands, but i sincerely believe this is variance. he's roughly 22/7 with a PFA of 3 or so. he and i have been involved in a lot of pots together, including a number in which i've succesfully (and a few in which i was wrong) called out his bluff. i'm fairly certain he respects my game, but also positive he knows i'm capable of throwing chips around on a bluff.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (8 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($680.95)
SB ($340.70)
BB ($785)
UTG ($394)
UTG+1 ($439.55)
MP1 ($103.45)
MP2 ($522.25)
Hero ($594.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with , .
UTG raises to $16, 3 folds, Hero calls $16, Button calls $16, 2 folds.

Flop: ($54) , , (3 players)
UTG bets $20, Hero raises to $75, Button folds, UTG calls $55.

Turn: ($204) (2 players)
UTG bets $64, Hero calls $64.

River: ($332) (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $200, UTG calls $200.

Final Pot: $732

hand 3: tMP2 is 23/6 with a PFA of 3.2 over 120 hands. while i ahven't seen him in many pots, i have seen him make a number of questionable plays, and i'm fairly certain he's a donk who won't be playing 2/4nl for more than a few days.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (8 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP1 ($104.55)
MP2 ($391.95)
CO ($209.90)
Button ($183)
SB ($396)
Hero ($918)
UTG ($141)
UTG+1 ($376.70)

Preflop: Hero is BB with , .
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $8, MP1 calls $8, MP2 calls $8, CO calls $8, 2 folds, Hero raises to $44, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 calls $36, CO folds.

Flop: ($114) , , (2 players)
Hero bets $75, MP2 calls $75.

Turn: ($264) (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks.

River: ($264) (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $112, Hero calls $112.

Final Pot: $488

hand 4:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (9 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

saw flop|saw showdown


HAND 5:

SB ($598.95)
BB ($335.40)
UTG ($140)
Hero ($445.40)
MP1 ($275)
MP2 ($294)
MP3 ($464.45)
CO ($696.80)
Button ($723)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with , .
UTG calls $4, Hero raises to $20, 3 folds, CO calls $20, 2 folds, BB calls $16, UTG calls $16.

Flop: ($82) , , (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $60, CO folds, BB folds, UTG raises to $120, Hero calls $60.

Turn: ($322) (2 players)

River: ($322) (2 players)

Final Pot: $322

hand 6:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (9 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

saw flop|saw showdown

BB ($412.40)
UTG ($486.65)
Hero ($708.45)
MP1 ($183)
MP2 ($271.30)
MP3 ($394)
CO ($411.90)
Button ($770.05)
SB ($431.05)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with , .
1 fold, Hero raises to $16, MP1 calls $16, 4 folds, SB calls $14, 1 fold.

Flop: ($52) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $32, MP1 calls $32, SB calls $32.

Turn: ($148) (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP1 bets $48, SB folds, Hero raises to $248, MP1 calls $87 (All-In).

River: ($531) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $531



most of this is pretty basic, just wondering what you do different and where. a few parts might be kinda sketch, *shrugs* i could be wrong.

ice, the 2nd KK hand, i agree, it looks like he's trying to get a showdown cheaply, but i should have included some more information on the villain here.

he and i get into a number of hands in which one of us bets the flop and the other one raises. in particular, any time i call a raise of his with a small pair and see a raggidy looking flop, i'll raise in an effort to drive out his AK. more often than not, he'll give me respect on these types of boards - the only times he doesn't are the times in which he has an overpair (so far as i know from hands which have gone to showdowns).

if i raise the turn, my thinking is that he'll likely fold a mediocore overpair, though he may not be willing to muck AA/KK to me - a moot point in this hand anyways. regardless, once he's called my flop raise i'm fairly certain he's got something between 77-QQ, all in his opening range, and all of which i believe he would play the same way.

with a raise, i'm essentially telling him "i know you have a hand, because i know you're not calling that raise on that flop with A high. I also know that you know i have a pair, and if i raise, i might as well flip up my cards and let you know that you're beat". by smooth calling, i give myself a chance to represent a hand like small pair that's afraid of any heat from him.

i'm 90% certain that i have him drawing to two outs on the turn - i figure given the action 5% chance he has AA or the other KK (no these aren't mathematical odds, just my gut feeling at the time), and a 5% chance he's making a play at me with an AK type hand.

i'm also fairly certain that if i put in a raise here, he folds a hand like TT.

since i'm position, i call, preparing to play for my stack on any river. Heading into the river, i believe he had $238 behind.

in this particular case, while i bet the majority of his remaining stack, i left off the last $38, hoping to make it look as though i was trying to save myself $40 in case i was wrong (obviously i'm calling if he pushes/check raises here).


In other words, put yourself in his shoes - given that you and i have a long history of playing back at each other, but given that we both respect each others game, do you call a turn raise with TT? doubtful.


sorry for the long drawn out response, just figured i needed to explain my reasoning behind this. having played so many hands with him, i've had plenty of time to think about these types of situations, and wound up making the turn call with these thoughts after maybe two or three seconds of thought, and then another two or three for my river bet when he checked.

getting some comments about hand one, and in response to those, my answer is just that i'm up against two people who buy in short. the guy with the $275 stack had bought in for $200 and worked it up to that. as a rule of thumb, i generally assume that any non-full stacker is a donkey, until proven otherwise. since these two had not shown that so far, i had no reason to believe they were any good. As a result, i was more than willing to play here.

Plus, if i check, i'm essentially givine up the hand. in my mind, if i check, and one of them bets $124 (like i did), i can either push or fold. I fold if i think i'm behind, and i push if i think i'm ahead.

since i'm not convinced that either of these guys is ahead of me here, i'm willing to gamble it up and deal with the variance.

i'll post the results of all of these tomorrow, since for some reason i actually can't remember them all right now, and i'm too tired to look them up on PT.