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Poker Video: No Limit Hold'Em by goldseraph (Mid Stakes)

Time Link to 00:27:19

To answer your question about the turn check back, I understand your thought process especially if this guy is prone to check shoving in a spot like that. BUT, I'd say 80-90% of the time against a typical 50nl player, this is a check to give up. When you check back, there is going to be a large percentage of the time where he will have 6 outs that you give freely. Having said that, checking back has that added advantage of getting value from missed air since your range is face up. In either case, villain's aggressiveness is the key: he will bluff the river more frequently because he's aggressive, he will check raise the turn more because he's aggressive (though this one is really rare IMO) - if he were less aggressive, then checking back is a mistake IMO.

Time Link to 00:29:31

The bet size on the river does not worry you?A player who is 33/9 and bets almost the size of the pot i think is rarely bluffing there as i consider him level one thinker, meaning that his hand is corresponding with his bet, value betting and bluff-betting is the same for him for him. Do you agree?

Time Link to 00:36:06

Looks a lot like QQ to me. I like your range construction on the turn call, but seeing him fold the river like that, hmmm. At first I thought perhaps he picked up diamonds, but not too many of those 3bet pre unless he just decided to go for a big bluff that time (since there was so much dead money)

Time Link to 00:51:49

Yeah, I don't see how he gets there with TT (no heart); his range is either QQ, 55, 66, or KJhh, and maybe 65s. That's it really. I think baby flushes, if they're in his range (possible since it was an overcall situation), just won't stick it in like that. The interesting part is my view of his range, all of them flopped monsters and not only called the flop, but called the turn too! A bit surprising.

Great series. Thanks for the vids and teaching. Learned a lot and fixed some leaks i was having.
I agree with your folding of the flush to shove. I don't see many hand that we actually are beating. I've snap called these in a few spots and 90% of time i was paying off their full house. Now i take more time to think through that spot on paired boards.

Time Link to 00:54:20

Thank you for the series. I got more out of it than I anticipated, and as for bet folding the river... yeah, some of us not only still bet call too much, but spew on the river where we shouldn't (cough cough, ME, cough cough) LOL... the *only way that river is a call is if this guy has some sort of note on you that says river half pots are weak or something... I'd give that less than half a percent chance (for example, you half pot rivered top set looking to bet call earlier in the video) that someone would be capable of a note like that AND double float AND turn their hand into a bluff; excellent hero fold there and one I ought to emulate in a similar spot. Will watch if you do another series down the road. Thanks again!

I know someone who plays for his income and also plays at Merge 50NL. He echoed what you stated in the last video about the BBJ 100NL/200NL games basically destroying his BB/100 and thus he plays at 50. Have you found that the competition is harder with more experienced players dropping down?

That's a troubling thought. BBJ, on another site I used to play, was terrible rake wise, but so many fish wanting to hit the big pot somewhat made up for it. Moving up saw a lot worse play! - and BBJs have now gotten so popular in live casinos that they can literally eat the table dry. Maybe in a sense, the fish are killing the game? Please say it isn't so Goldseraph....

Time Link to 00:13:31

Are you ever betting super small OTR with hopes of a shove?

Time Link to 00:10:55

How would you play a set with or without a club on the turn as AC0? Also, would you call the flop with a set most of the time?

To answer your question about the turn check back, I understand your thought process especially if this guy is prone to check shoving in a spot like that. BUT, I'd say 80-90% of the time against a typical 50nl player, this is a check to give up. When you check back, there is going to be a large percentage of the time where he will have 6 outs that you give freely. Having said that, checking back has that added advantage of getting value from missed air since your range is face up. In either case, villain's aggressiveness is the key: he will bluff the river more frequently because he's aggressive, he will check raise the turn more because he's aggressive (though this one is really rare IMO) - if he were less aggressive, then checking back is a mistake IMO.

I think that the factors in favor of checking back outweigh the value of betting the turn, and this is greatly influenced by the opponent's aggression overall. He is much more likely than normal to c/r the turn, which puts me in a tough spot. Also checking back may turn his give ups into bluffs on the river which I can call on any card T or lower. Were he passive this advantage would not be significant, and he would not likely c/r turn without the nuts, so betting turn would have more merit.

The bet size on the river does not worry you?A player who is 33/9 and bets almost the size of the pot i think is rarely bluffing there as i consider him level one thinker, meaning that his hand is corresponding with his bet, value betting and bluff-betting is the same for him for him. Do you agree?

He just hit the 3/4 pot button, pretty standard for a polarized river bet.

Looks a lot like QQ to me. I like your range construction on the turn call, but seeing him fold the river like that, hmmm. At first I thought perhaps he picked up diamonds, but not too many of those 3bet pre unless he just decided to go for a big bluff that time (since there was so much dead money)

yeah just seems rather wierd/bad for him to not cbet something with QQ on that flop. he opens himself to having to bluff catch turn +river and gives up equity to a ton of hands I can have.

Great series. Thanks for the vids and teaching. Learned a lot and fixed some leaks i was having.
I agree with your folding of the flush to shove. I don't see many hand that we actually are beating. I've snap called these in a few spots and 90% of time i was paying off their full house. Now i take more time to think through that spot on paired boards.

Thanks for the feedback, glad I could help!

Thank you for the series. I got more out of it than I anticipated, and as for bet folding the river... yeah, some of us not only still bet call too much, but spew on the river where we shouldn't (cough cough, ME, cough cough) LOL... the *only way that river is a call is if this guy has some sort of note on you that says river half pots are weak or something... I'd give that less than half a percent chance (for example, you half pot rivered top set looking to bet call earlier in the video) that someone would be capable of a note like that AND double float AND turn their hand into a bluff; excellent hero fold there and one I ought to emulate in a similar spot. Will watch if you do another series down the road. Thanks again!

Thank you very much for your kind words, I'm glad I was of help. Thanks for your participation in the discussion threads as well I think most of us could improve at bet/folding turns and rivers when we thought we had the best hand until that point, and usually are getting pretty good pot odds. It is so easy to click call, because if they are bluffing you feel like a god, even if it may be -ev in the long run to call there. Even if we are beat, we get to see their hand which is satisfying to our curiousity, almost better than the gross feeling of bet folding in a big pot, and having no idea what they had.

I know someone who plays for his income and also plays at Merge 50NL. He echoed what you stated in the last video about the BBJ 100NL/200NL games basically destroying his BB/100 and thus he plays at 50. Have you found that the competition is harder with more experienced players dropping down?

There are definitely players 'slumming' at merge who used to regularly play higher. Many players aren't comfortable keeping nearly as much money online as they used to, so they have to play lower. That said, good tables can be found if you work on table selecting and flagging as many players as possible.

And particularly at 100nl, the bad beat rake + normal rake is severely crippling. I think many players grind that level just for rakeback + the small chance they have of binking some BBJ money. Tables with lots of short stackers are and no big fish are worst imo, the less money on the table, the worse the raking is for the game.

That's a troubling thought. BBJ, on another site I used to play, was terrible rake wise, but so many fish wanting to hit the big pot somewhat made up for it. Moving up saw a lot worse play! - and BBJs have now gotten so popular in live casinos that they can literally eat the table dry. Maybe in a sense, the fish are killing the game? Please say it isn't so Goldseraph....

Well in live play the rake is completely brutal if there is a BBJ rake taken, so I think you have to play some combination of deep+higher stakes to make it not crippling. If you are playing 2/5 with like a bunch of 200-500bb stacks on the table, I'm not that worried about the BBJ rake. Same for if I was in a 10/20 live game, the pots are so huge, the rake becomes less important to your hourly. The place where it really stings is the 1/2 game live that has short stackers and few deep players, or the 100nl and 200nl games online where it severely cripples your winrate.

Are you ever betting super small OTR with hopes of a shove?

I think that checking is more optimal as he will sometimes bet a worse flush for value and I will win more than I would if I bet super small and he calls. Also I don't think a super small bet looks like what I'd do with a non-flush hand that is trying to showdown, as it is kind of face up as either a blocking bet, super thin value bet, or an inducer and a non-flush hand doesn't want to get raised.

How would you play a set with or without a club on the turn as AC0? Also, would you call the flop with a set most of the time?

id just call down with any set if I were Ac0. call flop and turn. get the money in on non 4-flush rivers. I want to underrep so the opponent keeps bluffing at me or confidently value betting an overpair til he's committed. i think the value of that line far outweighs the value of protecting your hand with a flop or turn raise.

Time Link to 00:45:20

You say you call b/c you beat all the 2 pairs but does he really bet his 2 pairs on this board v. a SB? I would have to have a rare 'thin value bettor' note on a guy at 50 NL to factor 2 pairs into his range when there is any 1 liner on the board

Time Link to 00:53:31

I thought this series was EXCELLENT, always nice to hear the 'why' set out so clearly. I look forward to the possible sequel

id just call down with any set if I were Ac0. call flop and turn. get the money in on non 4-flush rivers. I want to underrep so the opponent keeps bluffing at me or confidently value betting an overpair til he's committed. i think the value of that line far outweighs the value of protecting your hand with a flop or turn raise.

I kind of feel that people don't bluff blank rivers that much w/ eg AcKx so it's kind of like giving them a free card. But he probably doesn't have to bluff that often to make calling better?

Time Link to 00:21:59

I dont quit get your results in pokerstove. I think there should be way more suited aces and random spade hands like 97s, 46s, jts, KTs, KQs.... in his range. I dont see how QQ and JJ come to the river, they should be excluded. Will he turn made hands like KQo and KTo into Bluffs? I thinks its an easy check call.

Only halfway through but this video has been a big eye opener for me on that 2nd hand the AQo, all 3 streets. Thanks.