Thursday, May 24, 2007

Squeeze play river bluff

One of the things I've quickly noticed at 5/10 NL and above is that the squeeze play becomes a common and important move. It isn't just for tournaments anymore.

I've always sucked at running the squeeze play, mostly because I prefer to bluff postflop. But I've learned that I can't ignore it anymore, and it can be very profitable.

I like to run the squeeze play from the big blind against a button steal raise and a cold call by the small blinds. There are many other situations when you can put in that third raise as a bluff when trying to trap dead money in the middle, but this one is pretty efficient. The button's hand range is pretty wide, and the small blind is likely to fold against a big re-raise. They both usually conclude that you have a monster.

The squeeze worked well against the small blind in the following hand. He was a loose-passive calling station, and I wasn't sure that I would be able to move him off any hand that had at least one pair. But a "value bet" river bluff won the pot for me when the small blind timed out before folding.

Fish posts small blind $5
Hero posts big blind $10
*** Dealing down cards ***
Dealt to Hero [ Ts Js ] (JTs is a decent enough hand. I would also attempt this move with many weaker hands as well)
Button raises $35
Fish calls $30
Hero raises $140 (I raise, you should fold!)
Button folds. (Thanks for folding)
Fish calls $115 (You were supposed to fold too)
*** Dealing Flop *** [ 4d, 7c, 9c ]
Fish checks.
Hero bets $250 (A continuation bet is essential after showing such strength preflop)
Fish calls $250 (Dammit. I don't know if I can get this guy off his hand. He could have anything, from overcards to a pocket pair to a flush draw)
*** Dealing Turn *** [ 3h ]
Fish checks.
Hero checks. (I think about pushing all in with my last $600, but I worry he would call with almost any draw and any pair)
*** Dealing River *** [ 6d ]
Fish checks.
Hero bets $300 (I decided to bet half my stack in a last desperate bluff attempt. I know my opponent will call with a wide range of made hands, but he'll finally fold any busted draw)
Fish folds. (It must be my lucky day)
Hero wins $1,133

1 comment:

Fuel55 said...

Nice hand - you HAD to bet the river.

I prefer to squeeze postflop too.