Poker Video: Limit Hold'Em by BigBadBabar (Micro/Small Stakes)

Time Link to 00:11:07

I think we have a very easy 3bet with QJ on the left table. The limper is almost all in.

I think we have a very easy 3bet with QJ on the left table. The limper is almost all in.

I like it. Nice find.

Time Link to 00:03:32

In the KK hand on the right table, villain raises your c-bet on the A74 (two tone) flop after you capped pf.

Bearing in mind that villain also 3-bet you pf, would you ever consider folding post flop, apart from if a possible flush was completed ?

It seems as though an Ace would form a large part of villain's likely range, and your having the K hearts would possibly reduce the number of flush draws that he may have (without an Ace).

Or would you consider that your hand was too strong not to showdown and get a better read on villain ?

Time Link to 00:07:07

On the left table, you fold A7s in the SB to a CO open. What are the weakest hands that you might 3-bet from the SB pf with against a reasonably wide CO opening range ? (Lets say you think that there is a reasonable chance of the BB folding to your pf 3-bet).

I am also assuming that you would need a stronger hand to 3-bet from the SB pf than from the BTN to compensate for being out of position post flop.

I like it. Nice find.

Are you and Sanvideos saying that the 3-bet pf with QJ from the SB against the BTN open is good because of the almost dead money from the nearly all in limper ? i.e. That without the almost all in limper that you would normally fold QJ in the SB to the BTN open ?

Time Link to 00:11:44

Right table. K9 hand. Why do you think it might have been a good idea to 3-bet the turn with your strong draw ? Is it because, you dont think your hand is strong enough to bluff catch with unimproved ?

The reason I ask, is because 3-betting the turn seems expensive to me if villain then caps and you have to call because you have a strong draw.

Time Link to 00:22:49

You are playing 3-handed on the left hand table and call the BTN open with A2o.

The 895 flop is connected so your opponent may have a draw when he c-bets. The pot is quite small on the flop, but would peeling be reasonable as you have an Ace, a backdoor flush draw and a backdoor straight draw ?

Time Link to 00:25:33

You 3-bet 78s on the BTN (on the new left table) against your opponent in CO, who has opened 2 hands in a row.

You then call your opponent's c/r on the K92 flop and decide in advance to raise the turn (whatever falls) with your flush draw ! Wow !

Is this because you thought that your opponent could be bluffing when he c/r the flop ? I would not have considered bluff raising the turn, because I would not have wanted to have to call a turn 3-bet (similar to an earlier post of mine above). Am I missing something in my reasoning here ?

Excellent series ! Your structure and content for the videos was very well thought out and planned !

I would recommend anyone interested in learning to play LHE to watch Micro Meadows. By the way, perhaps that was a small meadow that Babar was playing football on ? Anyway, I think "Das fusball spiel" may be German for "The football game".

Look forward to your next series and hope that you are running well in Vegas !

In the KK hand on the right table, villain raises your c-bet on the A74 (two tone) flop after you capped pf.

Bearing in mind that villain also 3-bet you pf, would you ever consider folding post flop, apart from if a possible flush was completed ?

It seems as though an Ace would form a large part of villain's likely range, and your having the K hearts would possibly reduce the number of flush draws that he may have (without an Ace).

Or would you consider that your hand was too strong not to showdown and get a better read on villain ?

Upon reviewing it I shouldn't have capped preflop, since the other guy was all in, and I don't usually cap in heads up situations like that. It's a tough spot postflop since usually people don't bluff as often in situations where there are side pots. At the time I was reasoning that he could have flush draws, but in retrospect I'm not sure that that's very likely. I still think since the pot is offering me a pretty good price that the calldown is okay.

On the left table, you fold A7s in the SB to a CO open. What are the weakest hands that you might 3-bet from the SB pf with against a reasonably wide CO opening range ? (Lets say you think that there is a reasonable chance of the BB folding to your pf 3-bet).

I am also assuming that you would need a stronger hand to 3-bet from the SB pf than from the BTN to compensate for being out of position post flop.

This could have been a 3bet for sure. Not sure if it's in my default 3bet-vs-a-CO-opener range but it must be close. I think for example I always 3bet A9s in this spot, as well as stuff like KJo, JTs, 55, etc.

Yes, vs a CO open I'd 3bet more widely OTB than in the SB. Being in position is nice. I think my SB 3bet range vs a BTN open would be pretty similar to my BTN 3bet range vs a CO open, though.

Are you and Sanvideos saying that the 3-bet pf with QJ from the SB against the BTN open is good because of the almost dead money from the nearly all in limper ? i.e. That without the almost all in limper that you would normally fold QJ in the SB to the BTN open ?

Yeah, fighting for the dead money with a hand with reasonable equity. Normally in the SB vs a BTN open I'd be 3betting QJo always, and with a non-shorty limper and BTN iso it's still close to playable, depending on the other players in the hand. For some reason I missed that pattern in this hand.

Right table. K9 hand. Why do you think it might have been a good idea to 3-bet the turn with your strong draw ? Is it because, you dont think your hand is strong enough to bluff catch with unimproved ?

The reason I ask, is because 3-betting the turn seems expensive to me if villain then caps and you have to call because you have a strong draw.

Yeah, of course if he caps then I have to call and I've put two extra big bets in on the turn at only 25 or 30 percent equity or whatever, which is a bit lame. My thinking at the time was he could fold some sort of FSDR, or I could win UI on the river if he just has the ace of trump, but I think that's just over-optimistic. He'd so far just been kind of bad, random, and had missed value a few times, so most likely his turn raising range is just pretty strong. I don't think I have showdown value, no, so I wasn't planning to bluffcatch or show down unimproved.

You are playing 3-handed on the left hand table and call the BTN open with A2o.

The 895 flop is connected so your opponent may have a draw when he c-bets. The pot is quite small on the flop, but would peeling be reasonable as you have an Ace, a backdoor flush draw and a backdoor straight draw ?

I think I should be definitely be check-calling here. Not sure why I folded, but I think it's a mistake. His range is fairly wide and I'm doing okay against it.

You 3-bet 78s on the BTN (on the new left table) against your opponent in CO, who has opened 2 hands in a row.

You then call your opponent's c/r on the K92 flop and decide in advance to raise the turn (whatever falls) with your flush draw ! Wow !

Is this because you thought that your opponent could be bluffing when he c/r the flop ? I would not have considered bluff raising the turn, because I would not have wanted to have to call a turn 3-bet (similar to an earlier post of mine above). Am I missing something in my reasoning here ?

Yeah, I think his range is reasonably wide and contains lots of draws (which mostly don't have showdown value). So for all the times he has those hands, I win the pot on the river when he misses. Also, given that I have a flush draw, my (semi)bluff is less costly, since I have more equity for the times when he has a made hand already. The pot is also large and those are worth fighting for more.

I think the main thing in your thinking is that it's not a pure bluff on the turn. Given that I have a draw, I have two ways of winning the pot: making him fold, or making my hand. Compare that to a pure bluff (I have no pair no draw) and it's a more +EV situation. There's a fair bit of info about semibluffs out there -- I believe it's covered a lot in 'Winning in Tough Holdem Games,' for example. I'm not sure what stakes you're playing but it's certainly not necessary to be doing it a lot at micro/lower stakes where there's not a need for balancing turn ranges or doing much other than ABC poker.

One other thing is that I'm at the very bottom of my range basically (eight high), so anything I get him to fold at any point will be a win for me (jack high, queen high, etc)

Excellent series ! Your structure and content for the videos was very well thought out and planned !

I would recommend anyone interested in learning to play LHE to watch Micro Meadows. By the way, perhaps that was a small meadow that Babar was playing football on ? Anyway, I think "Das fusball spiel" may be German for "The football game".

Look forward to your next series and hope that you are running well in Vegas !

thanks for the kind words and for all the feedback/questions during the series. So far Vegas has been a lot of fun!

Time Link to 00:25:30

Hi, BBB

You 3-bet 78s here vs. what could possibly be a wide range opening.

I'm just trying to learn some limit hold'em theory. In no limit we can call here with 78s because our hand serves somewhat as a bluff catcher vs. a wide range, and a semi-bluffing/bluffing Backdoors hand vs. a wide range with some mediocre implied odds.

In limit hold'em is flatting a hand like 78s against a single open raise feasible here? Or do we have to 3-bet or fold? Why can we not generate a profit by flat calling?

-Thanks.

Hi, BBB

You 3-bet 78s here vs. what could possibly be a wide range opening.

I'm just trying to learn some limit hold'em theory. In no limit we can call here with 78s because our hand serves somewhat as a bluff catcher vs. a wide range, and a semi-bluffing/bluffing Backdoors hand vs. a wide range with some mediocre implied odds.

In limit hold'em is flatting a hand like 78s against a single open raise feasible here? Or do we have to 3-bet or fold? Why can we not generate a profit by flat calling?

-Thanks.

a main issue with coldcalling first in in limit holdem is that it more or less defines your hand as medium, since you'd tend to 3bet a big hand and fold a bad hand. so you're giving your opponent unnecessary information. and it's not like being in position with a medium hand vs a wide range is a super bad thing.

but, since limit holdem doesn't have as much implied odds as no limit does (i'm not going to stack this dude's overpair when i flop big), it's better and more useful to 3bet a wide range here. that way i am getting value with the top and middle parts of my range and adding deception with the 87s/bottom parts. a lot of times i will take the pot down without showdown when neither of us make anything (a useful advantage of having the initiative), and he can't just put me on a big hand when i 3bet pf.

one other thing to think about is i have eight high so there isn't any bluffcatching potential, and a lot of times if i miss the flop i'll fold right away or definitely before showdown. that's after investing 2 sb pf for the coldcall. by investing only 1 more sb (by 3betting) i win a lot of pots when we both miss, i broaden and balance my 3betting range and make myself more difficult to play against, etc. i tend to think all those things are worth the extra 1 sb investment.

i've been travelling on planes all day and am tired so if any of this is a bit incoherent just let me know

What you said makes sense....so it seems we should be 3 betting or folding all our range vs. a single opener. Do we ever cold call a hand like KQ(s) or AQ(s) vs. UTG, 6 max or full ring open because the range is tighter, or do we just 3-bet or fold like we do vs. a wider range?

-ty

What you said makes sense....so it seems we should be 3 betting or folding all our range vs. a single opener. Do we ever cold call a hand like KQ(s) or AQ(s) vs. UTG, 6 max or full ring open because the range is tighter, or do we just 3-bet or fold like we do vs. a wider range?

-ty

I play and coach a 3bet or fold style in those examples like you mentioned (we're not in blinds, someone opens, we're next to act). In SB I almost always 3bet or fold vs an open from someone. Being in the BB vs an opener who has position on us is much different - no need to 3bet or fold there (which would be a big mistake actually). In heads up pots if someone opens in position and i'm in the BB i usually just call my whole playing range. If SB opens and I'm in BB then I 3bet a fair bit of the time.

Thanks for the info BBB :-)

"In heads up pots if someone opens in position and i'm in the BB i usually just call my whole playing range"

Are u referring to being in the BB vs. a SB open (button) here?

no, i'm in BB and someone other than SB (like BTN, CO, UTG, whatever) opens (they're in position vs me)

if i'm in BB and SB opens then i'm in position on him and will 3bet a lot and so on