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Poker Video: No Limit Hold'Em by DJ Sensei (Micro/Small Stakes)

'Late to the party. Sorry. About 16 minutes in you comment on this opponent who posts under the gun, a sign as you say, "here's almost a surefire sign that here's a guy itchin' for some action (and probably not a very good player)". And I see your point. As an extension, wouldn't that be a good cheap off kilter counter-tell that you were horny for some action and just can't seem keep your chips in front of you?

Table image is so difficult to buy or sell online, and if I can trip someone up, if only for like twenty minutes that I like to get and give, for the cost of a big blind - that sounds pretty good as investments go.

If I was playing under a new screen name against regulars who I knew were capable of making that read, I might do it sometime, but I think most of the time the potential gain to your image is not worth it, even though its just one BB. People are quick enough to catch on that I'm not a fish, especially if they have a HUD running. I like the way you think though! There are more situations in live play than online where things like this can be exploited as reverse tells.

great video DJ. Just watched the first two and you explain things very well. I actually like showing only one table because I watch it on my ipod and can't see the bets if it's any smaller.
Thanks!

Time Link to 01:01:00

So here is my question: Since his stats are light, how do you know whether he made a crying call with his 9s, or called because he had you 3-barrel bluffing?

So here is my question: Since his stats are light, how do you know whether he made a crying call with his 9s, or called because he had you 3-barrel bluffing?

I presume that he called because he had top pair and isn't ever going to fold top pair.

Time Link to 00:39:36

I'm interested in the AdQd in the SB on Td9d4d board.

We don't see the preflop action, but the pot is $8.80, hero has $72, villain has $17.70 behind as the hand appears.

You lead out, get raised and 3bet villain allin. I've got a few questions. How does the fact that is 50NL affect your play here?

How would you play if the villain had $25/$35/$50/$75 behind?

I'm interested in the AdQd in the SB on Td9d4d board.

We don't see the preflop action, but the pot is $8.80, hero has $72, villain has $17.70 behind as the hand appears.

You lead out, get raised and 3bet villain allin. I've got a few questions. How does the fact that is 50NL affect your play here?

How would you play if the villain had $25/$35/$50/$75 behind?

Well, the fact that its 50NL will personally make me way more likely to "gamble" because its much lower than my normal stakes, but in terms of what I think the correct strategy generally is, well, probably the same . AQdd is super strong on that board against any kind of reasonable range, so I'd 3bet shove up until he had maybe $30 behind. Above that, I'd call and play my hand somewhat straightforward.

at min 2:30
why do you raise the Turn bet? You checked the flop back with the intention to let him stab with his air. His check at the flop indicates weakness. JJ+ should cbet that board, because their are so many worse hands to call. ON the Turn I think your raise isolates you to better hands. What range do you expect him to call your raise with?

at min 2:30
why do you raise the Turn bet? You checked the flop back with the intention to let him stab with his air. His check at the flop indicates weakness. JJ+ should cbet that board, because their are so many worse hands to call. ON the Turn I think your raise isolates you to better hands. What range do you expect him to call your raise with?

I think raising the turn small is about the same as calling turn and calling river, except that:
1) we prevent him from seeing a river if he has overcards
2) he doesn't get a chance to bluff river

So if we think he's likely to bluff the river too, or he might ever 3bet the turn with a worse hand, then calling is better. If we don't think that he'll bluff river or 3bet turn light, then raising is better.

He may well call our raise with anything from AA to an underpair of some sort or even overs+flush draw, so we'd probably check back most rivers.

Time Link to 00:40:29

is it bad to raise here? if his limping range is 22-99 or somthing. we have position and maybe almost 50/50 against his range . I always raise here. is this a big leak?

is it bad to raise here? if his limping range is 22-99 or somthing. we have position and maybe almost 50/50 against his range . I always raise here. is this a big leak?

If we're confident that his limping range is weak, then raising is fine. Against a more balanced limping range including big hands as well as smaller ones, I'd probably not raise too often. The fact that he's UTG is a big factor I think, if he openlimped from MP or later I'd raise much more often.

Time Link to 01:01:10

My question is this:

When he calls with top pair there, it shows that he is only thinking about his cards and is not folding because he has top pair. lol. Is this the big difference between lower limits and higher limit games?

The lower limit games, it seems you can get in some trouble when you over think things. Where as the higher limit games, you must be thinking in depth to be profitable.

This is a big problem for me in the lower limit games. I know what the villain has, and even though I know it is not strong, ( top pair ) I cannot get him to lay it down.

Am I better just betting for value in these lower limit games and semi-bluffing when I think the villain has LESS than top pair?

When he calls with top pair there, it shows that he is only thinking about his cards and is not folding because he has top pair. lol. Is this the big difference between lower limits and higher limit games?

Yes, that is definitely one big difference between lower and higher games.

Am I better just betting for value in these lower limit games and semi-bluffing when I think the villain has LESS than top pair?

For the most part, yes, I think so. You shouldn't try to make a weak player fold a strong hand (at least not without a decent piece of equity yourself). But you should valuebet him nonstop, because he just won't stop calling!

Time Link to 00:33:03

DJ,

You mentioned that although "You may be seeing a lot of stealing from the button .... you should be thinking not in terms of stealing the blinds.... but in terms of building a pot in position..."

Would you still agree with this 4 years later? It seems that winning 1 1/2 big blinds versus blinds who do not defend enough would make this automatically profitable, and so is something to be looked for.

In a live game, with the higher rakes, and automatic jackpot drops before the flop, what adjustments would you make to coming in first from the CO or BTN?

which

DJ,

You mentioned that although "You may be seeing a lot of stealing from the button .... you should be thinking not in terms of stealing the blinds.... but in terms of building a pot in position..."

Would you still agree with this 4 years later? It seems that winning 1 1/2 big blinds versus blinds who do not defend enough would make this automatically profitable, and so is something to be looked for.

In a live game, with the higher rakes, and automatic jackpot drops before the flop, what adjustments would you make to coming in first from the CO or BTN?

which

An excellent question! I think you are correct, the value of stealing the blinds is enough to consider on its own. Of course you must be aware of such things as reverse implied odds when we don't successfully steal, etc, but generally if your blinds are tight enough you can snatch them up with a nice wide range.

This (mini)series was intended for a very beginner audience, and one that would be playing in low-stakes FR games full of bad loose players. These days, the closest to that would certainly be live games, and the rake/drop considerations are worth considering. If the game does not take a rake unless a flop is seen, then you should obviously be stealing a lot against tight opponents (especially those who are smart enough to realize that calling will trigger the rake and make their prospects even worse). If there's an automatic rake drop, you can simply calculate how much you stand to win if your steal succeeds, and adjust accordingly. In a worst-case scenario like 1/2 blinds, $1 to jackpot and $1 to rake in any hand, there's almost no incentive to make a pure steal because you're risking $5+ to win a single dollar. But of course you should still be opening in late position with many hands that you want to build a pot with because you could win a big one.