Dice14 600NL FTP

This week I played three tables of 600NL on FTP. Not too many crazy spots, but a couple of small interesting ones.

1) Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players

UTG: $905
CO: $753
Hero (BTN): $670
SB: $603
BB: $232.25

Pre-Flop: 6 5 dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG folds, CO raises to $21, Hero calls $21, SB folds, BB calls $15

Based on game flow, this can either be three bet or cold called. I opted to call because I had been actively three betting villain during the session.

Flop: ($66) 7 3 A (3 Players)
BB checks, CO bets $48, Hero raises to $150, 2 folds

Very dry flop. When villain cbets into a multiway pot, his cbetting range becomes narrower than if it were a heads up pot. Villain knows that I understand this. When I raise in this spot, I am suggesting significant strength because he is cbetting into a multiway pot (where his perceived range is narrow) and I raise with someone yet to act. I wasnt too concerned with the BB bc he was a LAP donk. Villain is a very aggro player so Id expect him to cbet this dry board with his entire preflop range a good portion of the time. Even if he has AJ+ (the top of his range), he'll most likely call and check the turn, effectively buying me a free river. One could make an argument for floating here, but against an aggro opponent I would expect him to double barrel a good portion of the time because he will often put me on a weak to marginal ace that cant stand much heat.

Results: $162 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked 6 5 and WON $159 (+$90 NET)

2. These two hands illustrate an important concept for a thinking player.

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

UTG: $303.35
MP: $854.80
CO: $158.25
Hero (BTN): $803.40
SB: $468.20
BB: $600

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (BTN)
3 folds, Hero raises to $21, SB calls $18, BB folds

Flop: ($48) 4 5 A (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($48) 5 (2 Players)
SB bets $24, Hero calls $24

River: ($96) 3 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: $96 Pot ($3 Rake)

Hero showed Q Q (two pair, Queens and Fives) and WON $93 (+$48 NET)
SB showed 7 9 (a pair of Fives) and LOST (-$45 NET)

Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

BTN: $167.50
SB: $846.70
BB: $171
Hero (UTG): $905.65
MP: $510.20
CO: $446

Pre-Flop: Q Q dealt to Hero (UTG)
Hero raises to $21, 3 folds, SB calls $18, BB folds

Flop: ($48) K A A (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($48) 5 (2 Players)
SB bets $30, Hero calls $30

River: ($108) 6 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Results: $108 Pot ($3 Rake)
SB showed J Q (a pair of Aces) and LOST (-$51 NET)
Hero showed Q Q (two pair, Aces and Queens) and WON $105 (+$54 NET)

Whenever I make a bet, I first like to identify its purpose. Value or bluff? In other words do I want him to call or fold? When I have a hand like mid pair on the flop, I typically expect to get called by TP the majority of the time. Im effectively folding out everything Im ahead of and paying off anything that Im behind. With a hand like mid pair, it is good idea to check it back if you dont think you can get value from worse hands. Each situation is independent though, bc I will sometimes bet mid pr for value on a draw heavy board.

Most of the value I get from it will be from bluffs. It is fairly standard in today's games to stab the turn after a flop check from the preflop aggressor. However, good players at 600nl and higher are often aware that your hand cannot stand much heat and will barrel the turn and river. If it happens once, let it be and fold the river. If the same opponent tries to double barrel me again after I check the flop, Ill look him up on the river the second time around. To play it safe, you could even check back TP against this particular opponent to see if he has the goods or not. If you show him that you are willing to balance your checking range on occasion, he should be reluctant to double barrel bluff you in the future. Even if you only do it once to him, it will stick out in his memory.

3. Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players

BB: $1,245
UTG: $1,370
Hero (MP): $741
CO: $642
BTN: $220.25
SB: $612

Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $21, 3 folds, BB calls $15

Standard. Villain in BB is a donk who has been taking weird lines against me. I have shown down a bluff against him as well.

Flop: ($45) A K T (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $36, BB raises to $72, Hero raises to $192, BB calls $120

The check min raise is strong. If I were min raised from a donk in position, I would be inclined to give it less credit. If he were in position, Id say a good portion of his range is comprised of draws. As played, the check min raise is usually indicative of a strong made hand.

Turn: ($429) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $528 and is All-In, BB calls $528

If he has QJ, so be it. Regardless of what I bet, I dont think he is going away. I opt to just shove it in there. However, I made a mistake in this hand. My raise on the flop was too small. I need to be thinking ahead in the hand. I want to set myself up for an easy turn shove. I should have made my flop raise about $225 so I could shove the turn for roughly a pot sized bet.

River: ($1,485) Q (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $1,485 Pot ($3 Rake)
BB showed K T (two pair, Kings and Tens) and LOST (-$741 NET)
Hero showed K A (two pair, Aces and Kings) and WON $1,482 (+$741 NET)

Since he gave us fits earlier with his weird lines, Martin suggested that we chat own him. (Children under the age of 18 are advised to receive parental consent before reading any further.) His recommendation was along the lines of, "S*ck it, b*tch." Chat ownage is an integral part of a poker player's arsenal. However, Im not one to chat own a donkey bc they he is the one who is most apt to put money in our accounts. A simple "Thank you, sir" will usually suffice for donkey chat ownage. In any event, we all got a good laugh out of Martin's comment so thats the main reason I included it. Ill be responding to any comments or questions.