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

Time Link to 00:13:16

Table 2:

In the vid you said you bet the turn, but you didn't.

Could that change something of your thinking process for folding to the raise?

Table 2:

In the vid you said you bet the turn, but you didn't.

Could that change something of your thinking process for folding to the raise?

Yeah my bad. Shouldn't change anything though. Both our ranges are still the same. Well, I guess if I bet turn and he calls he can't have air anymore, which he now can, so the part where I say he could just call with a bluffcatcher and has no need to bluff would be incorrect. But I'm readless on him and he did cbet the flop 3way, which should strengthen his range so I can kinda assume he doesn't have much air to begin with. If he did, he might also have bet the turn as the EP raiser can rep the nuts much easier than the SB caller (I have less Ax in my range compared to him).

Spotted another action misread. At 27:45 I get it right the first time, I'm the preflop caller. It's blind vs blind but the 2 new players sitting down kinda messed up the way it looked. The thought process for betting the turn is still pretty much the same though. I can check down and win, but if I bet turn and river I can get him to fold most of his range, so the turn bet both protects my hand and sets up a +EV river bluff in case he c/c's.

Time Link to 00:51:33

It is really you last episode of this series?

Do you know when your next series will be released?

Ty for the very good work.

About that AhQ hand... What do you think about c/c the river? I think it's possible he will valuebet hands that he calls with, and you get away "cheap" against fullhouses, and he can be bluffing the river also?

About that AhQ hand... What do you think about c/c the river? I think it's possible he will valuebet hands that he calls with, and you get away "cheap" against fullhouses, and he can be bluffing the river also?

Problem with checking is that it's hard for him to have a worse hand he can valuebet (what hands exactly were you thinking off? also it doesn't really matter if I do the betting or c/c if he's gonna bet them when checked to anyway), while he can easily have bluffcatchers which he probably won't turn into bluffs. I'm completely readless on the guy. I guess an unknown on Stars is more likely to be a reg as I don't know who the regs are. On iPoker an unknown is more likely to be fishy as I know most regs. Betting smaller would have been an option too. Also the speed at which he raised made me think a monster is a bit less likely... I'm still happy with my play though.

It is really you last episode of this series?

Do you know when your next series will be released?

Ty for the very good work.

Yes this was it for now. A possible next series is being discussed. I'm not gonna make any promises

One of the best series on DC. I learnt a ton from listening to your thought process, and these videos finally convinced me to play less tables and build up more detailed reads. More please.

Time Link to 00:41:21

Table 4: How often will you cbet this size? Are you more likely to do this on ace high boards?

Time Link to 00:05:20

Are you sure its a good idea to iso a fish with as weak as J6o? I know you said you have a read on him but we rarely flop well and he is never folding post. What makes matter worse is hes the type to randomly bluff so barelling him becomes -ev when he MR MP for thin Value/Bluff or w/e he is thinking lol.

Time Link to 00:06:07

1 more comment the read was correct you say? But I guess we forgot fish dont fold hands,planning to barrel a fish this bad and spazzy is not a good idea imo. Maybe Im wrong, can you please explain further on your actions? Thanks.

Time Link to 00:16:25

First time ever watching one of your vids and I have to say that is deep stuff right there. I like it alot so far!

Time Link to 00:18:58

Can I ask why you say you can easily call him with any pair, does he never barrel? Surely when another over card comes to the board a aggro villian is likely to barrel and we are forced to hero call or just spew with these weak holdings. My ? is how are we profiting in these spots vs aggro villians? Or did we have a read that the villian gives up on turns and rivers? (I am also aware that he is the one who MR every BTN) And Im deff sure you dont defend this light vs a normal open.

Hi GC!

Is it still possible to get enrolled in the group coaching you mentioned?

Time Link to 00:16:23

do you usually have time to figure out all the possible thought processes that could have led to an opponent's decision for every showdown hand while playing 6 tables?

In the hand history at the start. We gain the read that the fish MinRaise is a weakbluff, and we have fold equity shoving over it. The last hand where you shove Jhi, I believe that calling his raise and donk-shoving 100% of rivers that you miss and Checkcall 100% of rivers if you hit a 6 or J. I believe that will give you the most long term fold equity-net profit.

Because we know that he cannot have any sort of TP or 2nd pair hand but can still have some sort of drawing hand, have already shoved over his minraise and we have no showdown value but are in bad shape against his entire calling range.

I guess it comes down to if you think he Hero calls river more often than he calls after minraising?

Table 4: How often will you cbet this size? Are you more likely to do this on ace high boards?

Depends. I'm not actually 100% sure I have a system for this. I might vary sizes in the same spot. I just do what feels right at the time. But the wider his preflop calling range is the better it becomes to bet smaller as that makes bluffing him off his air cheaper, and also widens his flop c/c range so a 2nd barrel gets more FE. I'd encourage you try out cbetting 1/3rd in every spot for a session and see for yourself how people respond. If you find that it works great on particular board textures, or specific positions, or vs specific player types or whatever, make it your default play for those spots from there on and keep playing normal in the rest of the spots. This experimental method is essentially what shaped my entire game. I just tried out everything I could think of and stuck with what I liked.

One of the best series on DC. I learnt a ton from listening to your thought process, and these videos finally convinced me to play less tables and build up more detailed reads. More please.

Thanks check out the thin red line if you haven't already. It's a bit more conceptual than this series and goes hand in hand with dropping tables.

Are you sure its a good idea to iso a fish with as weak as J6o? I know you said you have a read on him but we rarely flop well and he is never folding post. What makes matter worse is hes the type to randomly bluff so barelling him becomes -ev when he MR MP for thin Value/Bluff or w/e he is thinking lol.

Imagine you're a super user and you can see his exact holding. We know preflop that he has A8o. Lets say you weren't allowed to even look at your cards, would you still raise? Obviously, because you're gonna crush him postflop. Since you know he's not gonna fold that flop, it's obviously a good spot to barrel. And when he minraises turn and you know he has A8o, you'd shove as well right? My reads on him were kinda like being a super user, as I'd know when he has hit the flop and I should shut down, and when he misses and I can apply pressure all the way. That he actually calls it off with air after having bluffed himself is just very drunk or misclicky of him, no way I could know that. It'd be ridiculous to not shove there for the risk that he might call it off with air. And if he calls A8o there, maybe he calls worse too. You never know. If I got in the same spot with the same reads against another player I'd do the same thing again in a heart beat. Try not to be results oriented but just think about the logic behind the play.

1 more comment the read was correct you say? But I guess we forgot fish dont fold hands,planning to barrel a fish this bad and spazzy is not a good idea imo. Maybe Im wrong, can you please explain further on your actions? Thanks.

I kinda covered this in my previous posts. Also, I'm guessing you play microstakes? (no offense) You shouldn't be watching these videos. It's extremely important that you learn all the fundamentals first before you watch anything by me. If you try to mimic anything you see in my videos without having the basics down you're gonna end up spewing and creating nasty leaks in your game and slow down your growth as a player tremendously.

First time ever watching one of your vids and I have to say that is deep stuff right there. I like it alot so far!

If you want to watch more I'd highly recommend starting at the Thin Red Line, my other series, and watching it from the first episode on. Watch this series in order after you've finished it. But again, save my videos for later if you're not winning at NL50 yet.

Can I ask why you say you can easily call him with any pair, does he never barrel? Surely when another over card comes to the board a aggro villian is likely to barrel and we are forced to hero call or just spew with these weak holdings. My ? is how are we profiting in these spots vs aggro villians? Or did we have a read that the villian gives up on turns and rivers? (I am also aware that he is the one who MR every BTN) And Im deff sure you dont defend this light vs a normal open.

How often you have top pair is simply a math thing. The wider your range, the more "thinned down" Ax combos are in your entire raising range, so you have Ax less often on A high boards. If you're still cbetting 70% at them, you must have tons of air in your cbetting range. If he never barrels with air, a flop c/c is obviously super profitable as I can c/f turn or check down and win the majorty of the time. If he barrels a lot, I can just keep calling him down as he still has more air than Ax in his range on the turn. He simply has to give up at a certain frequency or he'll become extremely easy to play against. You simply can't fold pairs to people opening 100% and cbetting pretty much every time they miss on dry boards. If you do you should just fold preflop.

Hi GC!

Is it still possible to get enrolled in the group coaching you mentioned?

Yeah once I've worked out the specifics, I'll release a DC short where I'll give the link to the thread with all info. Just keep an eye out for it.

Depends. I'm not actually 100% sure I have a system for this. I might vary sizes in the same spot. I just do what feels right at the time. But the wider his preflop calling range is the better it becomes to bet smaller as that makes bluffing him off his air cheaper, and also widens his flop c/c range so a 2nd barrel gets more FE.

Thanks for responding, GC. I like the logic behind the bolded phrase...definitely going to experiment with this at my limit.

Wanted to add that I've been following your work since Red Line Rampage (purchased a PokerSavvy account back in '09 just for that series). You're far and away my favorite instructor and I hope you continue making videos for DC!

table 5 44mins
dont u think u missed val on river? wat were your main reasons for not betting there?

table 5 44mins
dont u think u missed val on river? wat were your main reasons for not betting there?

He called my UTG raise from the SB. He probably doesn't have Tx in his preflop callingrange. Maybe JTs but I have JJ. If he has AQ, why bet in his spot? What can he get called by? He probably just checks it. Same for sets. My callingrange probably valuebets anyway. And I fold out everything I beat when I bet. Maybe I could underbet, but I can't really call a c/r which I might induce with it. All in all I don't think it's worth it to go for thin value there without some sort of history.

Time Link to 00:44:13

Hi GC

Table 4 with AJss. When i am on this spot vs a player like him that 2nd barrels a lot i use to fold Ah on Q88 OOP just because he seems the type of player that will be firing 2nd barrels on bricks. Do you think i can float here even against a player that use the stretagy of double barreling a lot? (my hand can't stand a lot of action if i don't hit a J, A, T or K)

Time Link to 00:45:48

Having a thinking player on your left, how would you play him differently if he were playing 4 tables vs 10 tables?

I kinda covered this in my previous posts. Also, I'm guessing you play microstakes? (no offense) You shouldn't be watching these videos. It's extremely important that you learn all the fundamentals first before you watch anything by me. If you try to mimic anything you see in my videos without having the basics down you're gonna end up spewing and creating nasty leaks in your game and slow down your growth as a player tremendously.

This is funny, it's exactly what has happened to my game. Goodbye Grindcore, great series

Having a thinking player on your left, how would you play him differently if he were playing 4 tables vs 10 tables?

In general the 10 tablers are not thinking players, they're on autopilot. They might be capable of thinking, but they're simply not doing it.

Against thinking players, I assume they're gonna make adjustments to anything out of the ordinary that I show. So if I show down super light double c/c on Axxx, I assume they're gonna 2barrel 2nd pair for example. So each time I show down something out of the ordinary, I write a note on them saying that they saw me do that. From there on I adjust to their adjustment without having seen it. If they show down a hand proving they clearly didn't adjust (like check KQ on AQx BU v BB) I'll also take a note that he doesn't adjust well and go back to calling light in this example.

Hi GC

Table 4 with AJss. When i am on this spot vs a player like him that 2nd barrels a lot i use to fold Ah on Q88 OOP just because he seems the type of player that will be firing 2nd barrels on bricks. Do you think i can float here even against a player that use the stretagy of double barreling a lot? (my hand can't stand a lot of action if i don't hit a J, A, T or K)

If he double barrels a lot, you should call him twice and it wouldn't be close. Especially if your perceived flop calling range is Ax heavy like it was on this board. I'm actually a bit unsure of that turn c/f. I think at the time I thought he'd 3barrel a lot there actually, or maybe barrel underpairs to the board to get value/protect vs draws and A high, which is why I folded turn. If I don't think I can c/c flop I think c/r is better because it's one of the highest equity hands you're folding.

Helo Grindcore !

Final episode was cool, I like the spot, when you folded your nut flush - yeah you were right, he reps a full house.

Now I would like to say thank you for the whole series, I really enjoyed it. Not only enjoyed it, but also learned a lot. I had a huge problem with my Non SD Redline, I was constantly losing ~~ -10 bb/100 on it, I even thought about coaching people how to make your redline nosedive Although it doesn't make much more sense, I was really good at it ;p
Later it was slightly better, maybe -7 bb/100.

This month I am playing fully focused on what I am doing, the sample is super small, but I think that we can draw some conclusions from this graph:

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9835/march2011.png
(@NL100, got some badbeats and coolers, today I had a +5.5 BI session).

________________________________________________________________

I want to point out what I have learned from these series:

1. I increased my river calling frequency
"Weak tight", "Monster under the bed syndrome" - these were my attributes. I was folding way too much. You said something like this "you called him on the flop, called on the turn and now you are folding on the river and you learned NOTHING" - this is gold IMO. Of course I don't want to become a massive river calling station, but when I have to be right ~~ 30% of the time and I feel that it might be break even or slightly -EV, then I prefer calling, especially against unknowns during the first hands in our match, because showdowns give us tons of information about his bet sizing and general thought process.

2. I am taking down better notes on my opponents
Earlier I got used to write everything like this:
- 3bets OOP 2.5-9 with AQo, cbets with air, c/f UI
- bla bla
- bla bla

After 8+ lines I stopped even reading my notes - TL ; DR.

Now I have a new system. The note from above should look like this:

NL100 - 10.03.2011 - 6max
[PF] 3-bet OOP 2.5-9 /w AQo
[F] C-bets /w air in 3-bet pot
[T] c/f UI in 3-bet pot
________________________
+ a color label. Red for the best and super aggro regs, orange for good regs, yellow for regs with leaks.
Green is for passive fish, light blue for medium aggro fish and the purple is for aggro donks. Dark blue is reserved for the biggest fish on the planet


3. Thinking in ranges
I knew what is it or rather I thought I knew...Definitely I improved this skill.

4. I am no longer afraid of making moves on my opponents
Wonder how does it work? Try it. Think you can take this pot down? Stab it. Is overbet your last hope to win the pot by bluff and you feel it might work? Go for it. A Pair of Balls beats everything.

5. And probably many many more, but I can't remind anything right now


Thanks one more time man. Would like to see the 2nd season or to get into a study group with you as a leader

Best regards,
Mati

Grindcore you should write a bible! Your videoes are just the best on deucescracked without a doubt, hope to see another series from you

The videoes on nl50-nl100 (my stakes) were awesome!

Time Link to 00:16:23


do you usually have time to figure out all the possible thought processes that could have led to an opponent's decision for every showdown hand while playing 6 tables?

Time Link to 00:16:23


do you usually have time to figure out all the possible thought processes that could have led to an opponent's decision for every showdown hand while playing 6 tables?

It's easier on 4 than on 6. That's why I prefer 4tabling and will only play more if there are fish at lots of tables. But usually it's kinda easy to figure them out as most regulars are very straight forward. The hard spots require more thoughts, as at NL200 and under there are simply less opponents capable of putting you in hard spots so thats why you've not seen as much at the videos I did at lower stakes. I mean, I try do the same thing in every spot, but realize there's 1 correct answer a lot faster.

hey grindcore, keyser from twoplustwo here. I think your play with J6o against the whale is terrible. care to elaborate, thx

hey grindcore, keyser from twoplustwo here. I think your play with J6o against the whale is terrible. care to elaborate, thx

Ok, I'll go through it and my assumptions and concepts step by step. I'll number them so it's easier to discuss the point where we don't agree.

1) If you were a super user and could see his exact holding, you'd have played the hand the exact same way.

2) I had a confirmed timing tell on the fish. All his snap actions so far had been with air, and all his actions where he had something have taken a few seconds. It's only 20-30 hands or so, but the tell was 100% accurate so far, so it's a good assumption to base your play on.

3) Raising wide vs fish that play fit/fold is good, even when OOP (like a fish with 60% fcbet). If you hit the flop you're obviously gonna profit post flop (on average anyway), and when you miss you can make an extremely +EV cbet. A hand with ~42.5% equity vs his calling range is gonna be strong enough to raise OOP. JTo for example has 43.5% equity vs a ~40% range.

4) J6o has 42.5% equity vs a 75% range and is therefore playable vs a 75 VPIP fit/fold fish, like JTo is vs a more common 40 VPIP.

5) His fcbet was 0 so he's obviously calling the flop with air. The timing tell allows me to know whether he hit or not though. So let's compare the merits of barreling this player to cbetting against a 60% fold to cbet fit/fold fish (which is obviously +EV to do). Vs the 60% fold there are 2 possible outcomes: we cbet, he folds, and we win the size of the flop pot 60% of the time, or he calls and we lose the size our our cbet.

So vs the fit/fold, the results are 60% win flop pot, 40% lose cbet.

Vs this 0% fcbet player, we'll know whether he has hit the flop or not based on his timing. When he hits we give up, when he misses we barrel. So 2 possible outcomes: 60% of the time he misses the flop, and we win the the flop pot + his cbet call (+ his turn call if he snapcalls twice and we shove river). And 40% of the time he tank-calls and we give up.

So vs the 0% fold, the results re 60% win flop pot + more, and 40% lose cbet.

Therefore it's actually preferable to play vs a 0% fcbet than a 60% fcbet if you have the timing tell. Sure it's higher variance, but the EV of the situation is higher.

6) He had minraised once before, which was a snap minraise, and I shoved over it and he folded. Therefore given reads, it makes complete sense to shove over the turn minraise. Assuming he's gonna call it with air is ridiculous. And even if he does that, he might call it with some draws that we're actually beating.


I think if you agree with each individual step, you'll also agree that the play is good. So let me know which one(s) you disagree with. Or if you now agree the play is good (or at least defensible), let me know too

2) unfortunately we can't argue these timing tells, which is the entire crux of your play, since you showed us the hands in the replayer. it's not an honest video to justify everything with timing and not show us the timing, but assure us this is true

3) he's obv not playing fit or fold

4) pre equity obv doesnt matter

5) luckily for you this can all come back to some magical timing tell but none of us can see it since YOU SHOWED US THE HANDS IN A REPLAYER

2) unfortunately we can't argue these timing tells, which is the entire crux of your play, since you showed us the hands in the replayer. it's not an honest video to justify everything with timing and not show us the timing, but assure us this is true

3) he's obv not playing fit or fold

4) pre equity obv doesnt matter

5) luckily for you this can all come back to some magical timing tell but none of us can see it since YOU SHOWED US THE HANDS IN A REPLAYER

3) no, but if I know when he missed, I can just keep barreling and eventually win an even larger pot. Like if he's fit/fold on the turn, cbetting is good. And if his fcbet on the turn is also 0, then 3barreling him is gonna be fantastic. Unless he also calls river with air, in which case I need a hand, but him calling the river with air would be kinda silly, and he has already been shoven on and folded so he's probably not the type of fish to do it even if calling with air would be a common thing.

4) I think it does, because you obviously prefer valuebetting over bluffing. The more equity you have preflop, the more often you'll be in a spot where you can valuebet postflop. Postflop my preflop equity obviously doesn't matter anymore, but when I decided to raise preflop it was a major factor. You didn't agree with the J6o preflop raise. If equity truly doesn't matter, then why are you raising AA and not J6o?


2/5) So you do agree that if I'm not lying about the timing tells, the play is good? Because in that case it simply comes down to whether you believe me or not. If you don't believe me, let me ask you this: I beat 5/10, do you really think I'm shoving over turn minraises from fish with air for no reason?

look, I'm not saying you're lying about it. i'm saying it's impossible to have a worthwhile dialogue about a hand when everything about it rests on is timing, yet you don't show us the fucking timing.

like I can't argue anything with you. Because you can just say you it was timing. Great. So what's the point?

congrats on playing 5/10 though that's sik

look, I'm not saying you're lying about it. i'm saying it's impossible to have a worthwhile dialogue about a hand when everything about it rests on is timing, yet you don't show us the fucking timing.

like I can't argue anything with you. Because you can just say you it was timing. Great. So what's the point?

congrats on playing 5/10 though that's sik

By snap call I litteraly mean snap call. A second or less. When you see it, you get a distinct feeling of instantness. I understand you can't see it yourself in the video, but you probably know what I mean by this right?

His non-snap plays took 5 seconds or more, where he clearly took some time to think. The contrast between the snap actions and non snap actions was very strong.

And for the analysis of the hand it doesn't even really matter what his exact timings were. It's about the underlying thought process, so that the next time you get in a spot yourself where you feel you have a timing tell, you can use it.

Maybe I shouldn't have assumed everyone understood what I meant by the snap actions. It's something I pay a lot of attention to while playing but most players don't, so I can see how this might be a problem. If anyone else had the same problem with me using the term, please let me know so I can try to be more specific about it in future videos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

and i'm out. peace and GL to you grindcore. I sound abrasive but it's not personal.

look, I'm not saying you're lying about it. i'm saying it's impossible to have a worthwhile dialogue about a hand when everything about it rests on is timing, yet you don't show us the fucking timing.

like I can't argue anything with you. Because you can just say you it was timing. Great. So what's the point?

congrats on playing 5/10 though that's sik

Timing tells can be valuable, when you have a reliable read you can make money with 2 blank cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

and i'm out. peace and GL to you grindcore. I sound abrasive but it's not personal.

I completely understand. My style was shaped by thinking about stuff for myself and strongly disagreeing with a lot of things I saw respected instructors do in their videos. If a fish could explain to me why he's limping 40% of his hand and have really good arguments I can't falsify, I'll start limping 40% myself. If I feel I can falsify them, but not change the fishes mind in the process, I'll stop taking advice from him. That's why I think discussion is so important. If you don't agree with my views on poker and also can't seem to make me change my mind about them, I'm simply not a suitable instructor for you, and I won't take any offense at all about it.

A hand with ~42.5% equity vs his calling range is gonna be strong enough to raise OOP. JTo for example has 43.5% equity vs a ~40% range.

GC- what's the mathematical reasoning behind the ~42.5% equity number to raise OOP vs a fish that plays fit/fold?

thanks for the reply to my other question too btw and great end to the series

GC- what's the mathematical reasoning behind the ~42.5% equity number to raise OOP vs a fish that plays fit/fold?

thanks for the reply to my other question too btw and great end to the series

I picked that number because J6o has 42.5%. Imo you can get away with much less equity, and in practice I often raise ATC.

I picked that number because J6o has 42.5%. Imo you can get away with much less equity, and in practice I often raise ATC.

In the BB, vs. an opp you presumably expect to limp/call 100%, why raise at all? Isn't this just bloating the pot?

"Since you know he's not gonna fold that flop, it's obviously a good spot to barrel."

This is difficult to follow.

This is difficult to follow.

How? We KNOW he has A8o. We can see his cards. If he's gonna fold flop it's good to cbet bluff there. If he's not gonna fold flop it's good to 2barrel him. And if he's not gonna fold turn then it's a great spot to shove the river.

In the BB, vs. an opp you presumably expect to limp/call 100%, why raise at all? Isn't this just bloating the pot?

Yeah, you're bloating the pot to win it later on. Having the initiative is also nice.

How? We KNOW he has A8o. We can see his cards. If he's gonna fold flop it's good to cbet bluff there. If he's not gonna fold flop it's good to 2barrel him. And if he's not gonna fold turn then it's a great spot to shove the river.

Love this haha. No wonder your red line is positive gc.

If you're not barreling when you know he has air you have some serious fundamental leaks though imo. It should be pretty standard for everyone to barrel there if they were super users and saw he had air.

Hi Grindcore, I am a big fan of your style.

I play the micros but I have some mid stakes poker budies, that sugest to me you must be trying to level people with the call with T4o oop againt a competent player, I just have no knowledge to argue with them, so maybe you can explaind?

They just say that you can only be losing a ton of money with that kind of calls.

Ty very much.

Hi Grindcore, I am a big fan of your style.

I play the micros but I have some mid stakes poker budies, that sugest to me you must be trying to level people with the call with T4o oop againt a competent player, I just have no knowledge to argue with them, so maybe you can explaind?

They just say that you can only be losing a ton of money with that kind of calls.

Ty very much.

Timestamp? I'm guessing it was against a minraise? Calling a minraise in BvB with any 2 is kinda like calling a min3b with any 2. Most people also cbet too much with their wide stealing ranges so I have sort of implied cbet odds as well.

Time Link to 00:17:06

Table 5

Ty once more Grindcore.

Table 5

Ty once more Grindcore.

He was opening close to 100% of buttons and cbetting at a very high frequency. A pair will have excellent equity against his cbetting range. I'll flop a pair 1 in 3 times. After he cbets, the pot is $30, and it only cost me $4 to get to that spot. That's 7.5:1. Again, I'm hitting 1 in 3 times and when I do I have good equity vs his cbetting range (fav if you stove it). Sure I'm OOP to make up for some of that, but unless you end up spewing stacks, folding any hand to a ATC button minraiser is a leak imo. Not defending your blinds enough is the most common leak at MSNL probably.

He was opening close to 100% of buttons and cbetting at a very high frequency. A pair will have excellent equity against his cbetting range. I'll flop a pair 1 in 3 times. After he cbets, the pot is $30, and it only cost me $4 to get to that spot. That's 7.5:1. Again, I'm hitting 1 in 3 times and when I do I have good equity vs his cbetting range (fav if you stove it). Sure I'm OOP to make up for some of that, but unless you end up spewing stacks, folding any hand to a ATC button minraiser is a leak imo. Not defending your blinds enough is the most common leak at MSNL probably.

GC- would you still be defending so light if you didnt feel you had a significant skill edge post flop? True you are getting sick odds, but isn't post flop play/future streets a significant consideration? You are an equity dog to J2o and he has position in the hand.

are your screen names where you normally play outed?

GC- would you still be defending so light if you didnt feel you had a significant skill edge post flop? True you are getting sick odds, but isn't post flop play/future streets a significant consideration? You are an equity dog to J2o and he has position in the hand.

I'm not calling because of a skill that's making up for the weak hand. I'm calling because I think it's theoretically correct to do. I'd call T4o vs a 10/20 reg min raising 100% too. Sure if I thought the reg had an edge on me I'd play tighter. In HU you can defend 50-60% or so (I think) vs a 100% button minraiser. In this case theres an additional dead SB in the pot to give better odds. When both our ranges are 100%, the only thing going for him is position. Since you're getting insane odds, you can play more fit/fold and therefore have a stronger range than him on the turn to make up for his positional advantage.

are your screen names where you normally play outed?

Not my active ones. I might come out with one for a future series I'm planning, but it's gonna be a while before the series comes out, if the the whole thing goes down to begin with.

I'm not calling because of a skill that's making up for the weak hand. I'm calling because I think it's theoretically correct to do. I'd call T4o vs a 10/20 reg min raising 100% too. Sure if I thought the reg had an edge on me I'd play tighter. In HU you can defend 50-60% or so (I think) vs a 100% button minraiser. In this case theres an additional dead SB in the pot to give better odds. When both our ranges are 100%, the only thing going for him is position. Since you're getting insane odds, you can play more fit/fold and therefore have a stronger range than him on the turn to make up for his positional advantage.

Yeah defending wider vs a 100% btn min raiser certainly makes sense, but are you advocating defending 100%? Why don't HU specialists defend anywhere close to 100% vs a BTN minraiser? In 6max it's probably true that you can defend even a bit wider than in HU because 1) there's the extra sb in the pot which you mentioned, 2) the general play is a bit tighter/less bluffier than in HU, so you will probably get barreled less often and be able to bluff a bit more effectively than in HU, and 3) 6max regs in general probably aren't as good at using their position in BTN vs BB play as HU regs, but unless you plan on defending 100% don't you think you can choose some better hands with more post-flop potential/playability than T4o, at least something suited or semi-connected?

And if you are going to defend 100%, is the odds you are getting and being able to play more fit/fold and therefore having a stronger range on the turn your whole argument? It just seems like there's got to be more to it than that, given that I've never seen any top HU guys defending over 75% vs a BTN min-raiser.

thanks for the discussion GC

It's mostly the added SB. Maybe 100% is too lose. I think it isn't so I defend 100%, especially when villain cbets too much. I'm just giving my thoughts on things, I'm not saying they're right. Take away from my videos what you agree with. Never take anything anyone says for granted. Think critically about it yourself.

I'm just giving my thoughts on things, I'm not saying they're right. Take away from my videos what you agree with. Never take anything anyone says for granted. Think critically about it yourself.

Yeah I understand completely and appreciate the discussion

Great series.

You haven't forgotten about the donk betting video I hope.

Great series.

You haven't forgotten about the donk betting video I hope.

No, but I might use the content for a possible upcoming series. I'm waiting for the higher ups to discuss things

Hey,

I really like your approach and your great series, good work.

I'd like to ask for your advice about one specific area i struggle a lot at the micros. How to play against limper fishes? I just hate playing against them and now reached a level that i play more pleasantly against regulars as i can outplay them (thanks to your vids)
They play 50/5 or similar, limpcall a lot, slowplay a lot. There are passive ones who will call until showdown and slowplay their monsters when they hit. There are trickier ones, who will miniraise, minicheckraise, donkbet a lot.
When we have a good hand it's easy to play. BUT.

- But what about the situation we have AK in the blinds and flop doesnt hit us. Should we cbet here at all? How much? So we make a cb and fish calls. Turn is a brick and we check, fish bets and we fold. Or, should we make a 2nd barrell, even a tripple barrel. Or only VB them?

- Or we have 99, there are overpairs on the board and fish starts donking. Or we have TPWK, a draw. How should we react to donks? Raise it up, can we make them fold ever?

I'd be happy to hear your advices, that would be awesome.

Thx

No offense, but you're way overestimating your own skill level. If you feel you can beat the regulars by outplaying them thanks to my videos but struggle vs fishes you have some massive leaks and are definitely not capable of outplaying the regulars. It's way more likely that you just copied some tricks you saw in my videos without understanding them, and you've actually developed leaks by doing that (even though your results have been good so far). My videos focus on building reads and then exploiting them. The more leaks your opponent has, the easier it's gonna be to beat them. Fish should be the easiest by far to beat. I've also stated at several points throughout my videos that you shouldn't be watching them if you don't have down the fundamentals yet. I could write up an answer on how to beat fish by explaining the entire fundamentals of poker, but there are tons of videos on this site going over it already so I'm not gonna waste my time on it. Stop watching my videos right now if you haven't watched all of them yet, and instead watch videos more relevant to your own stakes. Again no offense, just the harsh truth.

Thanks for your frankly speaking and absolutely dont mind your harsh words.
Maybe I seemed to be cocky stating that i can outplay regulars, that was not my intention. I'm apparently still at the micros and i've got several leaks (like in my post) I'm working on. I just wanted to say that i play more confidently against regulars than against these type of fishes.

Anyway, i dont copy your play, i've just recently discovered your vids at DC and it opened my eyes in a lot of topics, I really appreciate your work. I've watched a fair amount of really good vids at DC which are fine to learn standard lines, strategies and obviously your vids are more advanced level.

Back to my post, I just wanted to get a different view on this issue i struggle with and was curious about your approach to this topic. How could your play and your image affect the play of fishes against you?

The answer to all your questions is it depends. Each fish is different. Each board is different. In general fish don't play much different because of my image. They just play their cards. Try to put them on a preflop range and go from there. In the first episode of the thin red line I talk about adjusting to your opponent's tendencies and give a general framework. Like with 99 and the fish donks when there are overcards. Does he usually c/f when he checks? In that case he's likely donking when he hits. Or does he mostly c/c when he checks? In that case his donkbets are likely air. There isn't a clear answer to any spot, it always depends on your reads on your opponent. You can post a specific hand you had trouble with if you want, that'd be easier to comment on.

Thanks for your reply, will rewatch the first episode. I know that you cannot give a standard reply which is suitable for every situations. So I'd have one hand:

Villain is 43/1 AFQ 49% 70 hands. He donks 33% vs PFR. I've got the following reads on him:
- he limpcalls w 24s, check back w trips, mini turn bet, mini river bet
- lc 32s, checkcalls 3x w 2 pairs
- sqz call w A2s IP, call w FD, call turn shove
In this hand should i just call and hope that i hit my outs? Or should i raise the flop? His turn bet is weak, just as his river bet, but i have only A high.

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1235074
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $26.37
SB: $27.55
BB: $27.35
UTG: $30.15
Hero (CO): $25.00

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with A 8
UTG calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.35) 2 7 5 (2 players)
UTG bets $0.75, Hero calls $0.75

Turn: ($3.85) K (2 players)
UTG bets $1, Hero calls $1

River: ($5.85) K (2 players)
UTG bets $2, Hero folds

Like I said in my previous post, whether he donks for value or as a bluff is related to his fold to cbet. If he folds a lot to them, then he likely donks when he hits, and vice versa. If you think his donk is a bluff, call flop/turn and either call or raise river (probably call as you beat most bluffs). If he donks when he hits then either raise flop and bomb away to get him of his low pair (any overcard on the turn will probably be scary enough for him to fold by the river), or call down and either fold or raise river depending on how the board runs out.

Thanks for your helpful advices, that's the type of information i wanted to know

Time Link to 00:21:15

hey,
if he is smart why wouldnt he overbet with ax random 2 pair sets and draws? im my point of view his range is extremely wide in this spot

hey,
if he is smart why wouldnt he overbet with ax random 2 pair sets and draws? im my point of view his range is extremely wide in this spot

Overbetting balanced (as in both draws and monsters) there is not good. If he'd only overbet monsters/draws then the rest of his super wide range, the weak part, would be face up every time he doesn't overbet. He'd have to start overbetting for thin value too, as well as with pure air, and that would make him way too easy to trap (I can see the flop for the cost of 1bb and win overbets out of him when I make a monster). When he overbets here he's doing it to exploit me. If he thinks I'm gonna fold too much, he's never doing it for value. Draws? Maybe... If he thinks I'm not gonna fold, he's always doing it for value with 9x as weakest hand, maybe even a lower pocket pair. Draws? Probably not.

Whether he's doing it as a bluff or for value depends on my perceived range, and what he'll think I do with it. I discussed that in the video already so I'm not gonna type it out here, unless you have a question about it of course.

Time Link to 00:10:53

Hey GC, I wanted to ask about that 109s spot in the bottom right. As you are explaining your play in the bottom-center table and mentioning thatt "FastEddie" plays very loose and aggressive, you flatted 109s in the SB with FastEddie in the BB. Knowing that FastEddie is capable of squeezing fairly light in his spot, do you think it would be a good spot to 3bet the button raiser so that you can block a light squeeze attempt from the lag player next to you? It's a tricky spot for me when I want to play a suited connector in a certain spot but I have a very aggressive player to my left.

Hey GC, I wanted to ask about that 109s spot in the bottom right. As you are explaining your play in the bottom-center table and mentioning thatt "FastEddie" plays very loose and aggressive, you flatted 109s in the SB with FastEddie in the BB. Knowing that FastEddie is capable of squeezing fairly light in his spot, do you think it would be a good spot to 3bet the button raiser so that you can block a light squeeze attempt from the lag player next to you? It's a tricky spot for me when I want to play a suited connector in a certain spot but I have a very aggressive player to my left.

No, that'd be over adjusting. Vs small button raises you want to be flatting more and 3betting less, and SCs are the perfect hand for that. For every time I fold to his squeeze I'll also have stronger hands in my range that won't, and I'll backraise some bluffs too. It's also fairly easy for him to cold 4b bluff me if I 3b, so it's not even a complete solution to just start 3betting everything.

6:43 table 5

What do you think about folding pre flop since FastEddie is likely to squeeze and u will have to fold? Don't like 3betting because of your playability when he calls, so normally only 3bet 22-88 when my plan is to 5bet when I suspect to get 4bet light.

11:40 table 3

Why do you 3bet?

6:43 table 5

What do you think about folding pre flop since FastEddie is likely to squeeze and u will have to fold? Don't like 3betting because of your playability when he calls, so normally only 3bet 22-88 when my plan is to 5bet when I suspect to get 4bet light.

11:40 table 3

Why do you 3bet?

Table 5: Think about what you just said, as it's conflicting with itself. If he's likely to squeeze, I don't have to fold. If I have to fold, he's not likely to squeeze. I have a really easy jam here if BB squeezes and he's aggro, which it looks like. Folding preflop with pairs is bad imo even though I know it's "popular" today to do so.

Table 3: This can go both ways. This video was made too long ago to remember my thought process or reads at the time. It kind of depends on how you construct your ranges. If you 3b 99 you can 3b bluff more often too from a theoretical point of view. I now think calling is better as it's important to have overpairs in your range for checkraising certain board textures.

''I have a really easy jam here if BB squeezes and he's aggro, which it looks like.''

Sorry Bart but I still don't get this. Lets say your flattingrange looks like 22-99 and some broadways that are strong enough to call like KQ and KJs. How do you ever want to balance with ur jams? I mean, I understand a 5betjam with a pp can be good because there is so much dead money, but I don't get how a 4betshove works in this case, since it is quite obv in this case what u have and there is not a lot of dead money. I mean, he can just call u with ATo right? Or is your plan after you see him squeeze/call with 99 for example to call 99+ and jam over a squeeze?

Same when u open co and active btn 3bets. Did see in an old vid from sugar nut that u can jam 88 and I understand in a vacuum it's +ev, but I just don't get how u want to balance it since it seems so easy to exploit by just 3bet/calling 88+ for example.

So many videos out there for the past year or so just seem to so mundane and not worth the time watching.

Grindcore's content is by far the best ones and re-watchable where as other ones you just say to yourself why did I spend the last hr on this? Hope Grindcore can do a series from NL400 and up.

A question that gets ask a million times but Grindcore, please list your top 5 videos of all time. The ones you really got a lot out of and learned something. Thanks in advance.

why no thin value bet on table 6 the last hand?