Waiting till the turn

In this hand, the results would have been the same whether I got it all in on the flop or on the turn. But by waiting until the turn, I get the money in as a 73 percent favorite rather than a 54 percent favorite.

Full Tilt Poker $5/$10 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - View hand 191939

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $1015.00
UTG+1: $1202.00

Pre Flop: ($15.00) Hero is BB with K A

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $35, 5 folds, Hero calls $25

I flatted here because the UTG+1 player was tight, I had a good idea of his range and a 3-bet would fold out all worse hands and induce a 4-bet from all better hands.

Flop: ($75.00) A 5 T (2 players)

Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $50, Hero raises to $150, UTG+1 raises to $370, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls $220

Waiting for the non-diamond turn before I shove...

Turn: ($815.00) 2 (2 players)

Hero bets $610 all in, UTG+1 calls $610

River: ($2035.00) 5 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $2035.00

Hero shows K A (two pair, Aces and Fives)

UTG+1 shows J A (two pair, Aces and Fives)

Hero wins $2032.00

(Rake: $3.00)

Bingo!

Easy Money

It's easy to forget the hands we fold that save us a lot of money simply because we never played them. Money saved spends just as well as money earned.

In this hand, folding QQ preflop shouldn't be difficult against two players raising and reraising from early position. If I were on autopilot, I can see myself getting involved in this hand and losing a chunk of change. Instead, all I lost was the money I paid for the blinds:


Full Tilt Poker $5/$10 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - View hand 176679

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $2290.00
BTN: $872.65
Hero (SB): $2000.00
BB: $2671.50
UTG: $907.00
UTG+1: $2001.50
MP1: $1000.00
MP2: $1009.00

Pre Flop: ($15.00) Hero is SB with Q Q

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $30, MP1 raises to $100, 5 folds, UTG+1 calls $70

Flop: ($215.00) 5 6 A (2 players)

UTG+1 checks, MP1 bets $100, UTG+1 raises to $315, MP1 calls $215

Turn: ($845.00) 4 (2 players)

UTG+1 bets $1586.50 all in, MP1 calls $585 all in

River: ($2015.00) T (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $2015.00

UTG+1 shows 7 9 (Ace Ten high)

MP1 shows A A (three of a kind, Aces)

MP1 wins $2012.00

(Rake: $3.00)

A time to show

I don't show bluffs often, but I'll do so when there's a good chance it could pay off later. In this game, the time was right.

First, the 4-bet bluff and the show (you can do it quickly by typing Control+M). This was a good spot for it because I could represent strength with another under-the-gun raise, and the player who attempted the squeeze can only call with premium hands:


Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 175603

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $402.00
BB: $771.20
Hero (UTG): $407.30
MP: $400.00
CO: $852.30
BTN: $1303.20


Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is UTG with 8 T

Hero raises to $12, 2 folds, BTN calls $12, SB raises to $64, 1 fold, Hero raises to $125, BTN requests TIME, 1 fold, SB requests TIME, 1 fold

Final Pot: $144.00

Hero shows 8 T (Ten Eight high)

Hero wins $144.00


Then a few minutes later, I make a similar move, get action in a coinflip situation and flop good. This opponent probably wouldn't have committed with TT unless I had shown my bluff a few minutes earlier. Even though we got it in on a flip, my range crushes his TT in this spot.


Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 175610

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $408.70
BB: $663.20
Hero (UTG): $607.90
MP: $406.00
CO: $852.30
BTN: $1273.20


Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is UTG with K A

Hero raises to $12, 2 folds, BTN raises to $42, 2 folds, Hero raises to $125, BTN requests TIME, BTN raises to $1273.20 all in, Hero calls $482.90 all in

Flop: ($1221.80) K 9 K

Turn: ($1221.80) 6

River: ($1221.80) A

Final Pot: $1221.80

Hero shows K A (a full house, Kings full of Aces)

BTN shows T T (two pair, Kings and Tens)

Hero wins $1218.80

(Rake: $3.00)

CardRunners video

My first CardRunners video is up! Check it out here.

The video focuses on hand ranges, barrelling and the importance of evaluating your play.

Please give it a look and let me know what you think. You need to be a CardRunners member to view the vid, or you can access it for free through Full Tilt and CR's Truly Free Poker Training program.

Thanks.

Fish in the Sea

"Poker is about making money, not about being a good poker player. So it's kind of a Catch-22 situation. ... The No. 1 thing you're supposed to do in poker is play with people that are worse than you."
--Gabe Thaler on "Cash Plays"

I was trolling around the 2/4 NL 6-max games on Full Tilt a few nights ago, looking for a good game. Instead, I found a bunch of tables with three seats filled by CardRunners pro Taylor Caby, Full Tilt pro Steve Yea and solid regular Joe Forte.

Clearly, those games wouldn't be very profitable.

It was a bit frustrating because I had moved down from 5/10, where has been my primary game for 2 1/2 years now, after hitting a rough stretch. And then when I go to the lower limits, I found that the games are no softer than they were at the higher limit. I had been telling myself to accept the fact that I may not have much of an edge anymore at 5/10, and then I dropped down and still couldn't find much of a profit.

"Well, I guess it's time to learn PLO better," I thought to myself. "Or maybe I'll play some 1/2. Or I guess I could play later and hope the games are better then."

All of those were fine ideas, but it took me a few more days to see a solution sitting right in front of me: full ring. Most fish, especially those accustomed to playing live, aren't going to sit at shorthanded tables. Many of them will play full ring.

Sure enough, the slower 2/4 full ring games have been far easier to beat than the 6-max games. I've made the vast majority of my money over the last few years playing shorthanded, but that doesn't necessarily mean full ring is less profitable. It just means that I gravitate to the type of games I feel most comfortable in -- the games I perceive to be best. Those perceptions need to change as the poker environment evolves.

There are juicy games of many limits and types. Being willing and able to find them takes some effort. From a broad perspective, the important thing is to recognize games that will be profitable, and not let pride or ambition get in the way of finding where I can maximize my advantage.

Deepstacked with an overpair

In trying to improve my deepstacked game, I picked up a tip from an instructional video:

There's nothing wrong with not continuation betting an overpair out of position and check-calling down against an aggressive opponent. Many players in position when deepstacked will both value bet with worse and bluff when checked to.

If I were to continuation bet with the overpair when stacks are deep, there are many flops on which I'd be unnecessarily inflating the pot or setting myself up to get bluffed off the best hand on a later street.

When 100BBs deep, I'll continuation bet my overpair just about every time. But deepstacked, one pair loses so much value when the pot gets big, and I can't afford to be guessing when out of position.

Here's an example:

Full Tilt Poker $5/$10 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 160019

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter


BTN: $1474.05

Hero (UTG): $2023.25


Pre Flop: ($15.00) Hero is UTG with Q Q

Hero raises to $30, 5 folds, BTN calls $30, 2 folds



Flop: ($75.00) 5 8 2 (2 players)

Hero checks, BTN bets $60, Hero calls $60



Turn: ($195.00) 8 (2 players)

Hero checks, BTN bets $155, Hero calls $155



River: ($505.00) 6 (2 players)

Hero checks, BTN requests TIME, BTN checks



Final Pot: $505.00

BTN shows 9 4 (a pair of Eights)

Hero shows Q Q (two pair, Queens and Eights)

Hero wins $502.00

(Rake: $3.00)

Free Stuff from Coaching Sites

Here's a belated congrats to LJ for finishing in 10th in the $1,500 HORSE event at the World Series of Poker! Very cool. Full results can be found here.
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DeucesCracked has posted a documentary (no subscription required) that tells the story of Greg Lavery, aka Captain Zeebo, a reclusive dude who found riches through online poker.

Check out "From Busto to Robusto."