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

Time Link to 00:33:46

I've thought about this hand a bit over the last few days and under my recollection didn't think the flat was that bad. The reasons for flatting here is that this guy has folded to 3bets quite a bit and me 3betting an EP raiser from MP looks super strong. In other words, I thought I could get more value from flatting than 3betting vs. his range on the whole. I really felt like I wasn't 3betting much, but my impression was based on the session overall...

However, the biggest thing I overlooked (let's call it a mental mistake) is that at this table I've 3bet 9.1%. To many people, they may just view this overall stat and assume my 3bets are wide + his range is already tight given his position and stats. That means I can expect him to play back significantly more than if I had been running my normal low 3betting. I would expect him to 4b or ship a bit wider given my image.

Now that I've given an argument for both flatting and 3betting, the confounding variable is that this guy is on multiple tables and his HUD (assuming he has one) would merge my 3b stat so it wouldn't look so loose.

Time Link to 00:51:45

This hand has a lot of educational value for the viewer. I had just raised the last 2 hands as the session winds down and raise it a third time and flop top set. I did take a look at BB's post flop stats before cbetting here.

Here's what I know at the point of the cbet:
MP is only continuing with sets on this particular board. I'm not too concerned with bet size just because my plan is that if MP continues in any way, I will take his stack.
The problem comes up when BB also flats. You will notice that given his very tight continuation range coupled with his wide pre-flop calling range, he has strong draws to continue with (MP has no strong draws).

When the turn lands, I find myself in a bit of a quandary. I know that MP has a set and that he will raise my barrel. If he is happening to be watching, this is a lesson in just how much of an information disadvantage he's at vs. me. I know exactly what he has and so I can play perfectly against him. He has no clue what just turned and is doing a typical level 1 thought process "I has me a set, so I will get it in" - when actually he should be thinking exactly the same thing I'm thinking on the turn, which is "Oh, Sh*t"

I do not want to get raised on the turn solely because I know BB has many nutted hands here. The question is will I fold if MP bets his set and then BB goes for the check raise. It's a matter of deduction
Because we know MP has a set, it means there's only 3 other sets left. Depending on how wide I think BB's pre-flop call is (does he call non-suited broadways?) really will influence my continuation range here. Right now is somewhat close to 50.50 and maybe it is exactly 50/50 because Q J should raise this turn each and every time, especially vs. MP's continuation range that will not fold to aggression and is totally crushed.

OTR, this is really the bottom of my calling range. I was praying for a paired river knowing that the vast majority of the time that it pairs, I just won 2 buy-ins. Given that BB can also have a set, and I'm slightly discounting QJ of diamonds, I can justify a call, but this is actually the bottom of my calling range on this board in this exact situation. If I think BB is overcalling preflop with off-suit QJ, then I should probably pitch top set here.

One huge lesson you can get from this, and one that I learned from Grindcore, is that fishy players will often take a c/c c/c shove line with their monsters. My calling range absolutely needs to be strong here.

I wanted to write this all out before listening to the commentary... which I'm sure I'll agree with. I'll be interested to see if coach would find the fold button on the turn or the river.

EDIT: I do understand what you're saying about betting the turn, but perhaps you overlooked or underestimated that BB's continuation range is super tight. In this hand, the question really was BB, I knew I crushed MP... in fact, I'm check folding 77 on the turn vs. MP straight up. That's how confident I am in my read.... not to be results oriented or hindsight biased, but my senses were fairly spot on, it's just unfortunate that even with an information advantage that I had here, it wasn't enough to equate to profit on this hand

Thinking about this some more, there is a good argument to me barreling the turn here, and it goes like this: when I barrel, I completely expect MP to raise me. Should BB come over the top with a check re-raise, I think it's an easier pitch.... but then I know I'd be sitting there wondering if he's stupid enough to do that with TT or 77 on that turn. Some really spazzy losing players will do this and you have to make a hero call, but is he that bad??? Hmmm.
As you can see from my thought process here, playing against someone with a wide range can be difficult to figure out - even for someone that plays a wide range myself.

On hands like that, I like to put myself in other's shoes. BB didn't raise the turn, I'm quite sure, simply because he wanted me to put money in it. My hand is so under-repped that he should expect me to check fold in this spot a ton (with my entire range as played up until BB is faced with MP's bet). What would I do with TT here? Well, I would know that I'm crushing MP, LOL, and could put him squarely on 77, that would mean BB cannot have a set and can only have straights, IMO (I know that Gold disagreed with this assessment in the video, and perhaps he's right; my read at the time, and I see no reason to change it, is that BB's continuation is super duper tight facing a cbet from an EP raise on a KT7 rainbow board). Therefore, against MP, TT can barrel and continue, but vs. BB I have to fold middle set on the turn.... I know this sounds sickly and absurd. There are very rare instances in poker where player's hands are completely face up, and this was one of them. I do think it happens at full ring more often due to the narrower ranges in general, but all-in-all it's pretty rare that I'd be able to know exactly what's happening especially multi-way.

Time Link to 00:06:44

Just wanted to let you know Stuey, that this isn't a good spot to call PF. We don't have a strong enough hand (we are crushed by even regular suited connectors like 87s) to be calling a raise without absolute position. We do have position on the SB, but the UTG limper is almost always going to call when you call. That does give you a better incentive to play this hand, but I still don't think 74s is strong enough.

Time Link to 00:17:49

I really dislike this minraise on table 2 with AJo. You should just click the pot button.. You give them extremely good odds to flat in position and outplay you.

Also, it's easier to see flushes with the 4 colored deck.. plus it's COOL lol.. and I'd use mini-mode for 6+ tables because the chat is annoying/distracting at time.. and there is just too much going on in your peripherals (like all of the villains' icons and accolades.. too many colors that can actually distract you.)

appreciate your input wangtang. I played you a few months ago back during my horrid -16BI downswing but I had tightened up during that span and we never had any hands against each other.

Believe it or not, there is a method to the madness. In the 74s hand, for example, SB's range is really tight. The tighter the better - he never has 87s, and I wasn't worried about the limper, the more the merrier really. I'm pretty much just trying to cooler SB there... if the limper limp raises, which will happen a percentage of the time, I'll pretty much fold unless it's a min raise and I'll take a note and watch out. The AJo hand, you will see later in this video that I adjust my PFR size up against that guy (I think it's the same guy). There are certain adjustments I'm waiting for the player to make... it's somewhat meta strategy, but generally I'm tightening down and AJo is going to be a bigger raise OOP in bvb for value.

Not sure how to turn off the stupid icons and stuff. I don't use anything on the client side, ever. I knew I would get harped on for the two color deck, LOL... there's a reason for that, too. I do, on occasion but not much lately, play live and my mind is completely trained to see it the way it is. Sure, 4 color is what everyone does, but if I step into a casino, there would be an adjustment in my head (maybe slight). This way, it's a fairly flawless transition.

Time Link to 00:26:21

Some of my play in this video was solely because it was on video and I wanted to get into more spots to talk about. Whether video or not, my biggest strategy in full ring micro games at this point in my career is to play a lot post flop - that's where I have an edge, I know I have an edge (at least 50NL and down). Some of this stuff I never do, like raise offsuit weak kings in EP and such, or check raising an offsuit ace on a wet board and barrel the turn with near 0 equity, I'm pretty much never doing that unless I know that I can (which is rare even for me)... that stuff was sort of special. Gold was right about me testing people, I don't do this enough at all, but here I apply more pressure than I can at say 50NL where the aggression is a bit higher. The point about someone thinking I'm a fish - I actually know that people think that, and then I know they don't have any idea, it's one of those little things that amuses me. I'm quite confident that I'm not a fish in the micros

Hello again! great teaching video, Thanks to StueysKid for mixing it up a bit to allow you to comment.
Please tell me what time of the day or night that video was recorded. Thank you

Hello again! great teaching video, Thanks to StueysKid for mixing it up a bit to allow you to comment.
Please tell me what time of the day or night that video was recorded. Thank you

The final hand was at 3:30 pm eastern, 12:30 pm pacific on Wed March 28th.

Excellent series GS. Thanks StueysKid for putting yourself out there. Look forward to this series every week. I'm a full ring fish plugging leaks after every episode. Maybe I'll see u at 25nl or 50nl once you get to those episodes.

I've thought about this hand a bit over the last few days and under my recollection didn't think the flat was that bad. The reasons for flatting here is that this guy has folded to 3bets quite a bit and me 3betting an EP raiser from MP looks super strong. In other words, I thought I could get more value from flatting than 3betting vs. his range on the whole. I really felt like I wasn't 3betting much, but my impression was based on the session overall...

However, the biggest thing I overlooked (let's call it a mental mistake) is that at this table I've 3bet 9.1%. To many people, they may just view this overall stat and assume my 3bets are wide + his range is already tight given his position and stats. That means I can expect him to play back significantly more than if I had been running my normal low 3betting. I would expect him to 4b or ship a bit wider given my image.

I think that for the reasons I stated, the amt you had been 3betting, plus the fact that he opened to 2.5x from EP, that 3betting is more +ev than flatting. You will 3bet to like 8 blinds and he will call it pretty wide as a 19/13 who opens to 2.5x. You also may pick up cold callers of your 3bet.

Stuey I am not as confident as you are in the read on that top set hand, I feel that check folding 77 there would be overly paranoid. Why do you feel that player is only continuing with sets on that board? He can't have top pair, 2 pair, QJ for an open ender? 89 for an open ender? Why do you perceive his range as only being so strong? You also mention in your post it was the third straight pot you'd opened and you took down the last 2, and you had been playing laggy, so why assume people's ranges for continuing past the flop are so tight?

Just wanted to let you know Stuey, that this isn't a good spot to call PF. We don't have a strong enough hand (we are crushed by even regular suited connectors like 87s) to be calling a raise without absolute position. We do have position on the SB, but the UTG limper is almost always going to call when you call. That does give you a better incentive to play this hand, but I still don't think 74s is strong enough.

agreed, not enough multiway value, plus the raiser was short, and the limper could limp-reraise.

Excellent series GS. Thanks StueysKid for putting yourself out there. Look forward to this series every week. I'm a full ring fish plugging leaks after every episode. Maybe I'll see u at 25nl or 50nl once you get to those episodes.

Thanks for the kind words! This week's episode will be playing 25nl FR six-tabling. Make way for the QUARTER!