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Specia l thanks to one of the best No-Limit Ho Idem players in the world, Tom "kingsofcards" Marchese. This book wouldn't be as awesome without your insight and contribution.

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Table of Contents

l . Introduction

2. The Bir th Of A Hand Range

3. What's tvly Range?

4. The Pouncer

5. Offense ls The Best Defense

6 . Balancing

7 . The Chosen One

8 . We Are T he Chan1pions

9. The Overbet: Wow, That's A Big Bet

10. Mini Rockets

l l . Instinctive River Play

12. The Exan1

13. T he Final Note

14. Glossary

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11 Chapter 1: Introduction

\Vith the exp losion of training sites and personal coaching and fewer fish, No-Limit Ho Idem games have dried up .

Or so it seems.

There are players who sti ll w in a lot at their relative stakes. How do they do it? \Vhat is the di fference between you and them?

The answer is that they exp loit the bad regulars better than you. No matter how many standard plays a regu lar has in his arsenal or how solid he is, there are parts of his game where he keeps making mistakes over and over again w ithout realizing it.

\Ve are go ing to teach you how to recognize these m istakes and exp loit them. \Ve w ill be surpr ised if you don't become a belier player by the end of the book.

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11 Chapter 2: The Birth Of A Hand Range

Although it seems irivial, hand-reading s1arts before the flop. [fyou don't have a good idea of your opponent's pre-flop range, you are not meet ing the minimal requirements of a successful poker player. Stating that his pre-flop range includes pairs, suited connectors, and some broadways doesn't say much about the player, since everyone has that range before the flop. You need to be more speci fie.

Does Villain have offsuit broadways such as A To or QJo in his range at th is ptisit ion? Does Villain play suited connectors such as 65 and 67? \Vhat about su ited one-gap connectors such as 68 and 79? How does he play small pocket pa irs such as 22, 33, 44, and 55 from the bli nds? Know ing the answers to these quesiions will elevate your play against regu lars and improve your w in rate.

To help us fom1 a c lear picture of the underlying hands in a range, we will analyze a solid winning regu lar's posit ional stat istic.~ . \Ve w ill look at his SB, BB, and UTG ranges because ihose spots are the most d.ifficult to play, since they're typ icall y played out-of-posi tion. Additionall y, a pot often involves the CO or BTN versus one of the blinds, so it's important ttl kntlw htlW to exploit the SB and BB.

\Ve are going to study the range ofa player named Tom as he takes different posit ions around the tab le.

Small Blind Tom p Jays about I 7% of all hands from the small blind. Using Poker Stove nt, we see that this range consists of (22+, A Ts+, K9s+, Q9s+, .19s+, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, AJo+, KJo+, Q.Jo}, or about 225 of I ,326 possible hands.

Let's deiemline how many of these hands are suited connectors. There are four combinat ions each of65s, 76s, 87s, 98s, and T9s, for a total of20 combinat ions, or rough ly 10% of Villain's range. Th is means that if we are facJlg resistance on a flop such as 6~7 •K~, we're more likely dealing w ith a set or two pairs than an open-ended straight draw since ihere are four combinations of89s and eight combinations of66/7 i /67s.

\Ve open on the button with JTo. Tcm1 calls from the BB. On a low paired flop such as 662 or 336, Tom almost never has a real hand when be check-raises. He is basicall y representi ng tr ips or a fu ll house. Based on his pre-flop range, he rare ly has 6x or 3x in his range. ff Tom has an overpair, he is usuall y going to check-call rather than check-raise. Add it ionall y, he would've re-

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raised pre-flop most of the time w ith QQ+, leaving his flatt ing range as small pai rs, suited connectors, and somet imes AQ and '<Q.

Tom would check-call on the flop with quads or fu ll houses. \Vhen he check-raises, it's usually with either air or broadways that he :Jerends pre-tlop. lt shouldn't be surprismg that Tom is check-raising w ith these types of hands, since they have decent equity against small and med ium pocket-pairs.

Since we know that Tom never has any strong hands in his range when he check-raises on th is board, we should continue w ith the hand. The question now is whether we should 3-bet or float. A 3-bet forces him to fo ld hands such as KQ and KJ that could improve on the tum. But we leave ourselves vulnerable to a 4-bel shove because would we ever play 6x like that? Even if we do, he won't believe us. And flailing w ith 6x or with good overpairs here allows us to continue with our entire range next time our opponent check-raises us on a flop where what be represents isn't congruent w ith his pre-fl(>p ranges.

There are two scenarios that usuall y take place afier we call the flop check-raise: V il lain w ill check-fo ld tum or V illain w ill fire the tum and give up on the r iver. Our tum act ion usuall y depends on how strong our hand is. \Ve w ill bet or raise the tum w ith the bollom of our range and the top of our range. Thus, our range for an aggressive play on the tum consists of air, gutshots, overcards, sometimes big overpairs, and tr ips or better.

Our range for checking beh ind ma inly consists of medium pocket pairs w ith showdown value because we want to play a smaller pot and want to avoid mak ing a hard decision on the tum. In the occasion that Tom fires the tum after the check-raise and we have a hand such as 88-TT, if we th ink T om w ill bet the tum and river enough, we should call the flop check-ra ise, then call the tum and ri ver. Many small- and mid-stakes players raise the tum to avoid a tough decision on the r iver, even though it's far more profi table to call the tum and river. The main reason is that we will catch his river bluffs. Also, if we raise the tum, we are almost always behind if we're called. And since Villain usua:Jy has a hand w ith at most six outs if we are ahead, the value of catching a river bluff is higher than the value of protection. Of course, if you have few chips lefi on the tum- i.e. less than a pot-sized bet- you should get it in on the tum.

Big Blind Tom plays about 21% of a ll hands from the big blind.

TAGs lend to play too loosely from the SB relat ive to the BB posit ion. Looking al the posit ional stats of regu lars, a common theme is their looseness from the SB posit ion relative to the BB posit ion, even though the stats should be reversed. \Ve need to exploit th is.

You should be tighter from the SB against a late posit ional raise because you are out of

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posit ion, you don't get to close the a:t ion, and your odds aren't as good. You should play more hands in the BB than in the SB because you get better odds and you get to close the act ion if the SB calls or folds. l\t!any players still play more from the SB than ihe BB, desp ite its posi tiona l disadvantage. One reason for th is is that re-raising against a CO or BTN who opens too loosely gives the SB the initiative and also forces the BB to only play when he has a good hand. Such reasoning is correct, but only because most players in the BB don't exp loit the SB's looseness.

So, how do we exploit the SB if we are in the BB0 The answer is simple: 4-bet a lot.

Since there are 34 combinat ions ofQQ+ and AK, we can balance our range. in th is spot by adding another 34 combinat ions. Even ifV illain knows our range is QQ+ and AK as well as, say 34s and 96s, he can do nothing about it because mcire than half of the time we have a great hand. Th is means V il lain is going to fold very often pre-flop. Or he can start 5-bet shoving over our 4-bets w ith Jess than premium hJldings. Of course, in the forums, small- and mid-stakes players like io say they 5-bei shove ' ight in th is spot a Jot when in reality, it rarely happens. How many times have you caught a 6-max multi-tabler 5-bet bluffing in th is spot? N ot many. Otherwise, you can exp loit him by 4-bet bluffing in th is spot against other players and only do it for value against him.

Regarding 3-betting ranges, it's important ttl note that as stacks get deeper (I 75BBs), many small- and mid-stakes players are very unba lanced because they do not 3-bet w ith hands such as J.J and QQ. They don't feel comfortab le 3-betting those hands because they feel they are overp laying them. Hence, they aren't 3-bett ing light enough as stacks get deep and are calling with suited connectors and broadways more often. If they were to 3-bet light, then QQ and .JJ are actually the top of their range and thus, they would be ecstat ic to 3-bet w ith these hands. To exploit their unbalanced 3-bett ing range, stan 4-bet bluffing these players more. In the occasion that your 4-bet bluffs get caught, it's not the end of the world since you will get extra action and value for the top of your range--i.e . .JJ+/AQ+- since opponents will stan calling and shoving against your 4-bets I ighter.

Under t he Gun Tom plays only 12% of his hands from UTG. Th is is a reall y narrow range {22+, A Ts+, KJs+, QJs, .ITs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, AQo+, KQo} , and it puts him in a lot of tough spots, largely composed of low c.onnected boards. Th is is a strong range with good equity against a great player who is in position, but Tom will often not realize that equity. For example, 98s only has pre-flop equity of36.6% against this range. However, there w ill be numerous boards where Tom w ill have io fold that range, sinply because opponents w ill correctly deduce that his range is often polarized.

For examp le, say Tom has pre-nop stats of2 1/1 6/2.5 and opens UTG. You call with 77. The flop comes Q~3•9~. \Vhen Tom bets th is flop, you should fbld because even if he's bett ing

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100% of his hand range, you only have 40% equity w ith future streets to play. But if you hold 98s, you have up to 53% equity against the top 12% of hands, hence you should call.

Now, let's go over the poss.i ble tum cards and dec ide if we should continue if we hold 98s.

Turn 2~: If V illain is known to bet the tum w ith 100% of his range, we should call because we still have 49. 7% equity. However, no one bets here 100% of the time, so let's see what happens if Tom check-fo lds the bottom 40% of his range and bets the top 60%. Is th is a tum call ?

Villain's pre-flop range cons ists of L8 combinat ions of pairs, 32 combinati ons of AK!AQ and 40 combinat ions of suited bniadways and connectors. That's 120 combinations, and 40% of 120 is 48, wh ich means Tom is check-fo lding 48 hands and betting 72 hands. Let's figure out what hands Tom wi ll check- fo ld and see how our hand does against the rest of his range.

Tom w ill check-fo ld any AK that isn't AsKs; that's 15 hands. He will check-fo ld 44/55/66/77/88; that's 30 hands. Assuming he's betting w ith everyth ing else, what is our equity against th is new range? \V e have an equity of36.5%, wh ich is decent, considering we are gett ing better than 2-to- I. The problem is that we st ilJ have one more street to play.

Say the r iver comes 7~ . Villain bets again with his entire tum range. \Ve now only have 35.5% equity. \Ve w ill pnibably get greater than 2-to- I odds, so it's about a break-even cal l. But what if Vi llain gives up 20% of his turn nnge and bets with 80% of his range for bluff and va lue? Can we st ill call?

\Vhat is our equity once we remove 20% ofTom's holdings from his river range? That's 20% of 78. \Ve' ll call it 15 hands: three hands of76s, three hands of8 7s, four hands of JTs, plus one each of T9s and 98s .

\Ve only have 29% equity against th is range. Assuming that Vi I lain is bett ing two-th irds pot on the r iver, it's barely a break-even call. Th is is the main reason why calling dcnvn 3-barrels from a so lid player who opens UTG is not a good idea over the long run- un less, of course, he is tilti ng. So, does that mean there's noth ing we can do when a TAG opens UTG w ith a strong range? That's not the case, because we have posit ion and wi ll be able to represent a w ide range of hands, especiall y on boards where we know he rarely has two pairs or better.

The tum card (2~) dictates the frequency with wh ich Tom value-bets or bluffs. Tom is less likely to continue his bluff on a non-broadway turn card because it's tougher for opponents to fo ld their pocket pairs . Opponents might tum two pairs i f the tum card is 6 to 9. Thus, when Tom is betting on a low tum card, we should fo ld more often than not. There isn't any type of leveling to the tune of, " l know it's a bad card to bluff Thus, if ! bet here, I have a good hand and he has to fo ld." Solid TA Gs don't th ink li ke that. They check-fold if they don't have a hand

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on a board where i ~s hard Ill represent a hand.

!i's another story on a broadway turn card. Tom's bluffing frequency increases dramat icall y. \Vith a solid UTG range, a broadway tum card gives him gutshots, open-ends and pairs 10 bet with . Thus, Tom is likely 10 bet the majority of his range on a broadway turn card. Let's go over the holdings to see whether Tom can deal with a tum raise.

\Vhen the tum card is an Ace, Tom is likely to fire another shot w ith his ent ire range. He's go ing to bet at least 85% of percent of the time. \Vhat's our play?

Stacks are S200. UTG opens for S6; Hero calls; pot is S 15. Flop: S 12 bet + S 12 call + S 15 pot = S39. Villain bets S33 on tbe tum; pot is S72; he has S l6 1 left and it's up to you.

Due to the nop texture, Tom is J ikely 10 bet 85 to 90 percent of the time. Let's remove I 0 percent of his range and see what happens. \Ve' II take 22 and 44 (I 0% of 120 is 12 hands} out of his range, leaving Tom with about 108 combinat ions on the turn . lfwe take 15% from those hands (1 5% of 108 is 16), we can remove 55, 66 and four combinations of67s and 78s. lfhe check-folds w ith those holdings, how many of his turn bets are value-bets?

Tom w ill bet-call w ith 27 start ing hands: three each of AA, QQ and 33, and nine AQ; he m ight also bet-ca ll w ith nine AK combinations. A lthough AK looks like a strong hand here, Tom is drawing slim if he calls a turn raise with th is holding. Let's imagine a worst-case scenario and assume Villain will call w ith nine AK combinat ions. In total, 27 out of 96 combinat ions are value-bets. The rest are b lu ff~ and semi-b l u ff.~. So, V illain can only bet-call 28% of the time.

Lei's solve a simple math prob lem to determine how often Tom has to fo ld 10 make raising the tum profitab le for us. lf we call there is S39 + S33 + S33 =S I 05 in the pot. If we raise Tom's tum bet to $99, we risk S99 to win SI 05, so Tom has to fo ld at least 99/ (99+ I 05) = 48.5% of the t ime if our turn raise is to be profitab le. Considering that Tom will bet-fo ld 66% on that spot, it's a +EV play.

Although such a play may seem transparent, Tom might not notice that his tum bet is getting raised every time an ace lands on a broadway-small-small nop. Unti l he starts calling down and playing back, we should cont inue abusing him in th is situation.

For discussion's sake, let's assume the flop is Q+2• 7~. How often is he fi ring the turn and how do we counter it? Let's assume Tom is betting w ith 75% of his range on a tum T• . Should we call , fo ld, or raise?

Tom check-folds w ith 25% of his range, which is 30 combinations . Let's figure out what holdings Tom is check-folding w ith. \Ve wi ll remove 33, 44, 55, 66 and 88 from Tom's range,

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leaving {99+, 77, 22, A Ts+, KJs+, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, AQo+, KQtl} . \Vith wh ich of these hands w ill he bet-call ?

The answer is something like th is: six AA, three QQ, three 22, three 77, three TT, one A• Q • , one A+K+, one K •J+, 12 AQ. That's a total of3 1 hands. Considering Tom is betti ng the tum with 99 hands, he can only call 3 1/99- 3 1 % of the time. From our math above, V illain has to

fo ld at least 48.5% of the time.

Thus, when the tum comes an ace, don't freeze. Th ink how frequently V illain is bett ing and what percentage AX hands make up of his pre-flop range.TA Gs rarely ever have worse than AT in their UTG range. This means he's bet- folding the tum w ith lots of hands.

There will be times when Vi llain is check-calli ng the tum w ith AX as well. In such situat ions, he w ill fo ld to a river shove un less he's improved to two pairs or tr ip aces.

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11 Chapter 3: What's My Range?

And why is th is important?

As you move up in stakes, your opp:lnents w i II read hands better <1nd be more aggressive. They will gauge ihe strength of your hand range beiter and w ill be able to put a lot of pressure on you. Because you won't know whether you are gelling outp layed or your opponents are runn ing hoi, you may revert to the hand-range theorem: "If you are at the bottom of your range, fold. If you are at the top of your range, call or raise."

Follow ing th is maxim alone shou ld make you a better player. The hard part w ill be to detem1ine \\•hat your (>pponeni thi nks is your range in a part icular situation based on your position and the line you have taken. You should also be aware of the types of opponents you face. Against nits who always show up w ith the nuts, you should fold even at the top of your range when they use the bet-bet-bet line or raise your r iver bet.

A simple way to distingu ish between players is io remember wh ich players always seem to put you in di fficuli spots. Most likely, they're getting (JU! of li ne and using pure aggression to get you to fold. Against this type of opponent, you shouldn't fold the top of your range to river bets and should consider semi-bluffing ihe tum more.

In the exam, there are quest ions to help you become familiar w ith th is concept.

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11 Chapter 4: The Pouncer

The pouncer is a type of player that pounces on weaknesses. \Vhen he sees someone get out of line, he w ill do someth ing about it. Most players usually choose the safe route and wait for a hand. \Ve often overestimate someone's pouncing potentia l. For example, when we hold Alo in the CO and middle posi tion (lv!P) opens, we don't 3-bet for fear of getting 4-bet, even though our opponent hasn't shown any trait of being a pouncer, i.e., 4-betting light. Anuther reason we don't 3-bet is because we don't know how he plays. But our opponem doesn't know how we p lay, either. So, go ahead and be the aggressor. h's way easier to adj ust when you have the initiative.

To be a pouncer, you have to be w ii ing Hl experiment. No amount of coaching or theory discussion is going to benefit you much if you don't exper iment and try incorporat ing the advice into your game. That's why some players who aren't fundamentall y sound and don't know a lot of poker theory can still win. They try di 1Teren! plays and know wh ich plays work for their game.

In a way, poker is li ke a li tt le kid. Y:m have to push your edges ttl see what you can or cannot get away w ith .You'll be amazed at how many people elect to ro ll over and play dead and let you have your way. But you have lO force yourself to pu ll that trigger. And once ii happens, you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

The pouncer has the un ique ab ility to recognize when your range is vu lnerable and turn up his aggression because he knows you can't take the heal. If you don't know who the pouncers are in your game, th ink of those annoying players who always seem to put you in tough spots and make you fo ld when you don't have the nuts. Those are the pouncers in your game, and they are the ones whose games you should look over after each session. You w ill be surprised at what they get away w ith.

Lastly, the best th ing about be ing a pouncer is that when you are on a "heater," you w ill w in more than if you were a so lid player w ithout pouncer status. You wi ll get paid off lighter, and th is adds a lot of va lue to the top of your range. Th is doesn't necessarily mean you start " lagging" it up pre-flop. You can st ill play your standard pre-flop game. You j ust exploit ranges more effectively post-flop.

Below are two examp Jes of pouncer> in act ion.

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Example 4.1 : Th is is a spm where Hero can be a pouncer by betting the tum with the intcnti~n of bett ing the river. Vill ain's range is mostly high cards and he is rarely checking back with hands Stronger than 9X. You will get called on the turn some-of the times when Villain is holding hands such as AK. AQ, 88, 77. 76, and 44. But don't worry; he won't often call a river bet because your range is strong when you bet that tum .. Thus, you must follow through on your read of his tum range and bet the river.

A non-pouncer would've bet the turn, and if he got called, would have convinced himself that he'd get a call on the river if an ace or king didn't come, even though people don't often check behind on the flop with AK in a 3-bet pot and decide to blufT­catch with it on two streets.

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Exa m pie 4.1 : S31S6 6-tvlax SB: S581 BB: S355 UTG: S270 Hero (.\'IP}: S893 CO: S647 BT'.'/ : $737

Pre-flop: Hero on :\1P with J~ T ~ I/old, Hem raises to $24, I/old, BTN re-raises to S78, 2/olds, Hero calls S5.t

' Flop: (Sl65) 9~•3~ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (S 165) 9~6•3~5• (2 players) He;o?

Example 4.2: Th is is a classic situation where pouncers w in a lot of pots. You re-raise in posit ion w ith high cards and cont inuation bet on a missed nop. You then check back the tum and don't improve on the river. A pouncer would or should almost always bet the river.

Th ink of your range after the pre-flop, llop, and tum action. Assuming the river isn't a queen or ace, wou Id you ever show up with a hand stronger than TT by the river?

For th is reason, if you are in CO's spot, you should high ly cons ider betting the r iver if you can't beat ace-high. If you have a hand I ike 78 or TI when you get to the r iver, the decision to check-eva luate (mostly end up check-calling) or to bet the r iver yourself depends on whether you have been betting a lot of rivers. If you have, you are more likely to get called by worse, usuall y a small pair or AK/AQ. l fyou haven't been bett ing, then check-evaluate is a betler play.

Example 4.2: S3/S6 6-!Vlax SB: S417 BB: S732 UTG: S l97 1v!P: S I09 CO: $974 Hero (BT '.'I): S835

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN w ith Ao!>QY 2/olds, CO raises to S2 1, Hero re-raises to S72, CO cal Is SS I

Flop: (S 153) JY7Y5+ (2 players) CO checks, Hero bet~ S 111 , CO cal Is S 111

Turn: (S375) J•7•5•2~ (2 players) CO checks, Hero checks

River: (S375) J\'7• 5+2-!oX (2 players)

CO?

It a lso depends on whether your opponent is aggressive. lfhe has been active, then checking the river is a superior play because your range looks li ke a draw. Additionall y, si nce he is aggressive, he' ll often have air. The reason is if he is aggressive and has a high, there's no way he's checking the tum because he kr.ows he's aggressive and w ilJ likely get looked up light.

Back to Example 4.2, where Hero is on the button.

Against an aggress ive opponent who's taking down a lot of pots, y()u might have w call somet imes w iih ace-high on the r iver. Good river cards to ca ll on the river are board-pairing cards and cards that are lower than a 7 since players don't defend re-raises out of position w ith small suited connectors or small pocket pairs .

Another s trategy is to try to show up at the ri ver sometimes w ith hands stronger than TT. But since that is diftlcult to do because we want to stack our opponent, it is better to bet the tum and hope for a fo Id.

Exercise 1: Open a notepad and t it le it "\Vhen V illain Tanks." Save three hand histories from your session when V illain is legitimately tank ing over a wugh decision but ends up fo ldi ng.

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Note whether you are bluf6ng or betting (rais ing) for val ue. ff you were betti ng (raising) for value, th ink of what is the best hand that he w ill ca ll you w ith in that spot. Over t ime, you w ill see a familiar pattern in these hand histories. V illain folds way too ofien in certain spots. These are the spots where you can add a lot of bluffing and semi-bluffing hands to your range.

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11 Chapter 5: Offense Is The Best Defense

Poker is a much easier game when you are the aggressor and not the defender, check-calling both streets afier the flop w ith a marginal hand is neither fun nor pro fitab le. It's also easier to balance your betting range than to balance your check-calling range. And betti ng allows you to bluff and semi-bluff without hav ing a hand. You can often fold out your opponent's ace-high hands that have showdown value when you hold some random suited connectors.

Example 5.J: Some p layers like to check-call in th is situati on. They say they li ke to balance the ir check-call range here so that opponents w ill be less likely to barrel them on the tum and the river. Bui once you check-call the tum, un less an opponent is reall y good, he is un likely to bluff the r iver since you frequently have Qx, or won't fo ld hands li ke 88-JJ .

By checking on the tum w ith K+ Q+, you are checking w ith the top of your range and are losing value on yc;ur non-showdown hands such as 9Ts, JT, 78s, AK, and AJs. If you aren't bett ing the tum w'.th the top of your range, what are you betting the tum w ith? You should almost always bet K+ Q+ on the tum so your bett ing range isn't weak and you get more credit frnm your opponent.

Example 5.1: S3/S6 6-1v!ax SB:S82 1 BB: S l93 Hero (UTG): S988 MP: S295 CO: S622 BTN: S734

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG w ith K+Q+ Hero raises to S24, 2/olds, BTN re-raises to S72, 2/olds, Hero calls 548

Flop: ($ 153) 7+5Y2~ (2 players} Hero checks. BTN checks

T urn: (S 153) 7+5Y2~Q• (2 players) Hero?

Betting w ith K+Q+ also al lows you io get away w ith betting your non-showdown hands that can take down the pot w ith a tum bet when V illain is holding hands such as AJ, JT, A4, and 8T. But if you check, those bands are likely betting on the turn since you checked tw ice and you can't bluff-call.

Thus, it's better to just bet the ium w ith K+Q+ in this spot. Then you can also bet w ith 88-.JJ for protection and to prevent yourself from gett ing bluffed i f V illain decides to fi re the ium and the river. Of course, we can close our eyes and call the turn and the river. Bui it's sometimes better to take the I ine that keeps you out of a di fficult situat ion.

[fyour opponent starts checking back and raising your iurn bet, you should consider checking the tum more often .

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11 Chapter 6: Balancing

Balancing your range is an important practice. But how do you balance?

Before we get to balancing, we should state the reasons for bett ing. \Vhen you bet, you are either bluffing, bett ing for value, or betting for prntection.

\Vhen you bluff, you try to represent a made hand to induce your opponent to fo ld . \Vhen you value-bet, you try to represent a blu'f so your opponent can call. Betti ng for protect ion doesn't occur as much in no-limit hold'em as it does in pot-limit Omaha, but you w ill sometimes do so when you have a good but vu lnerab:e hand and you want to charge your opponents for drawing when they are beh ind.

\Vhy is it important ttl know the reasons for bett ing?

By knowing why you are betting, you avoid mak ing costly mistakes such as m indlessly bett ing in situat ions where you should check, and vice-versa. Furthermore, recogn iz ing these situations will help you to bluff and value-bet more effectively.

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Example 6.1: This is a spot where players sometimes check behind for pot control. Un less you have a better reason ihan "checking behind 10 keep the poi small wiih my marginal hand," you should bet on the tum way more often than you check.

Villain's range afier the flop call is JJ, 66, 55, 78s, .IT, QJ, KJ, AJ, TT, 99, 88, 77, and 67s. Villain may also check-calJ with hands such as 9+8+ or A+Q+, though those hands are more likely 10 check-raise the fl op than 10 check-call.

Against the above range, discounting 9+8+ and A+Q+, we have 60% equity. Although ii is un likely ihal a worse hand than JT and QJ will call our turn bet, betting the turn makes our hanJ a li ttle easier to play. It also protects our two­barrell ing range and charges our opponent to draw.

\Ve will fold if we're check-raised on the turn .

Exauo pie 6. 1 : S3/S6 6-M ax SB: S700 BB: S642 UTG: $755 MP: S623 CO: S3 1 I Hero (BTN): S934

Preflop: Hero on BTN with K~J~

3/ olds , Hero raises to ) 18, I f old, BB ca.lls 5 12

Flop: (S39) JY6+5~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets S34, BB calls $34

Turn: (S l07) JY6+5~Q~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

One might reason that making the hand easier 10 play isn't the most profitable line, and that's true. However, there are situations in which we don'i know our opponents' tendencies as well as we would like to, in which case bell ing prevents our making a costly mistake on ihe river, whether by calling or fo lding incorrectly. It is important to note that al though we strive io play perfectly and make the most profitable play whenever we can, we ofien don't play perfectly and don't have enough infomiation to make the best play.

~\1aking the most profitable play can also increase variance. lfyou know you have a 1il1 problem and start 1oplay worse if an opponent outdraws you on the r iver, then you should bet the turn. This definitely shouldn't be the reason why one would choose a less profitable play, bui sacrificing a litlle EV so you can continue playing your A game is very imp:lrtant and shouldn't be underestimated.

Alternative Line: \Ve can check behind ihe tum and call all blank rivers. Blanks river in th is situation are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and Q. \Ve can fo ld to an 8, 9, T or ace. \Ve can raise a river J and depending on ihe opponent, we can also ra ise a K. This line is very profi table against opponents who I ike to float oul of posit ion or !um whatever weak made hand ihey have on the fl op into bluffs al the river. lfyou don't know whether !his trait app lies 10 your opponent, start analyzing

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more hands.

Important Note: 1 fVi ll ain is tr icky and aggressive, we should check behind on the tum a 101 of the t ime to avoid a check-raise.

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Example 6.2: This is a bet on the turn .

A lot of worse hands such as JJ, T9-A T and 78 are calling.

Betting the tum also protects our two-barrelling range. This is especiall y important when the turn is a king. If Villain knows you are capable ofvalue­betting with less than a pair of kings on the tum, he's less likely to call your second barrels w ith marginal holdings in future hands, and th is allows you to bluff more.

Unless the river is an ace or ten, we should va lue­bei the river as well. JJ and T x w ill cal l somet imes since the king is such a great card for you ttl continue bluffing.

lfwe bet the tum, we should fo ld if we're check­raised. There are too many combinations of hands that beat us versus the combinations of draws that Villain is check-raising the tum w ith.

Example 6.2: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S688 BB: S405 I JT G : $?.?.~

Hero 0'lP) : $623 CO: S290 BTN: S740

Preflop: Hero on MP w ith Q+Q+ I f old, Hero raises to S 18, 2.folds, SB ca lls S IS, I fo ld

Flop: (S42) T~7Y3+ (2 players) SB checks, Hero bets S36, SB call s S36

Turn: (S I 14) T~7Y3+KY (2 players) SB checks, Hero?

Important ~ote: As in hand 5, if Villain is tricky and aggressive, we should often check beh ind on the turn m avoid a check-raise.

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Example 6.3: Th is appears to be a simp le spot to value-bet the ri ver. But your r iver range is reall y strong after the pre-flop, flop and turn action.

It's difficult for KJ or KT to make hero calls on the r iver because most draws get there and your opponent can on I y beat air or a missed backdoor flush draw in a situat ion where you rare I y have air and don't often have a flush draw.

There's a small chance that your opponent is call ing w ith wmse and a big chance that your opponent can show up w ith hands better than AK, so you should check back.

On the same note, since your r iver range is strong here when you bet, you should cons:der turn ing AJ 89 and 56 into bluffs ifvou make it to the , ' river w ith them. Those hands rarely, if ever, w in at shtl\vdown after the flop and tum act ion, st) i ~s

pro fi table to somet imes bluff with them.

Having a pair also lessens the chance of your

Example 6.3: S3/S6 6-ivlax SB: S385 BB: $676 UTG: S289 Hero (.MP): S972 CO: S544 BTN: $635

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith A• K• I f old, Hero raises to 524, 3 f olds, BB calls S l8

Flop: (S5 1) 7•K~Qo!o (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets S46, BB ca lls S46

Turn: (S l 43) 7•K~Qo!o6+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets S I 12, BB calls S I 12

Ri"er: (S367) 7•K~Qo!o6 •9~(2 players} BB checks, Hero ?

opponent having a low set, which h is s trong hands are composed of if he's check-calling from two streets after defending from the blinds. KK and QQ usuaLi y re-raise from the bhnds, and KQ probab ly check-raises the flop most C>f the t ime.

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11 Chapter 7: The Chosen One

\Vhenever you gei to the river, there are only a few strong hands in your range, i.e., ihe strong hands that you are trying to represent const itute only a small percentage of your pre-flop range. For example, i f you've bei the flop, turn and river on a board of K~J~8+ 7+3•, your strong hands are KK, KJ, K8, K7, AK, KQ, JJ, J8, 88, 9T, 77 and AA.

Assuming you opened from UTG and your pre-l:lop perceniage from that position is 14%, PokerStove shows that you are opening w ith (22+, A Ts+, A5s-A2s, KTs+, QTs+, J9s+, T9s, 98s, 87s, AQo+, KQo}. Th is range inc ludes 144 hands. Now, let's look at our strong hands and see if they are congruent with our pre-flop range. lfyou are opening only 14% UTG, you don't have K8, K 7, and J8 in your river range.You only have 48 hands: KK, KJs, AK, KQ, JJ, 88, T9, 77 and AA. So, at the river you are representing almost 33% of your pre-flop range. That's a lot of hands.

\Ve w ill assume that you w ill check KQ on the river, since the tum completes a straight, and what worse hands are going to call your bet? KT is going to have a tough time, and ihe majority of V illain's range is a pair plus a draw on the tum. This leaves you w ith 36 river hand comb mat ions. Now you are only represent ing 25o/o of your pre-tlop range. Which is sti LI a lot.

It should be noted that th is is a great board to 3-barrel because a lot of hands w ill call ihe turn but check- fo ld the river.

Let's look at a more interesting hand w iih a board that hits less of your pre-flop range. Suppose you open UTG and ihe board runs K7594. Yem bet fltlp, turn and river. A good player should shove over your river bet since you can't have that many strong hands by the time you get to the nver.

On ihe river, you are beit ing AA, AK, KK, KQ, KJ, K9, 99, 79, 75, 77, 55, and 68. Thal seems li ke a 101 of hands unti l you realize that KJ, K9, 79, 75, and 68 aren't part of your pre-flop range. You're left with AA, AK, KK, KQ, 99, 77, and 55. That's 42 hands, wh ich sti ll make up a large percentage of your pre-flop range.

But how many of these hands can call a river shove? You literall y have no strong hands in your range. You w ill call w ith KK, 99, 7i, and 55 because-let's be honest-· no one folds sets. Alihough on the river, AA. is the same as A K/KQ because it's hard to imagine someone val ue­shoving w ith worse ihan KQ in th is ;pen, but no one folds aces even though ihey shou ld if they are folding AKIKQ in th is spot. N ow you are left w iih KK, 99, 77, 55 and .A.A from your

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original river betting range. That's 18 hands. So, if you bet the flop, turn and river on a board of K7594, you can only call a river shove w ith 18 hands.

Th is is a spot where you have lo revert to what part of your range your hand is in. A smart player is go ing to know you rarely show up w ith a strong hand. And i fhe's a pouncer, he w i II try to take the pot from you.

The most complicated situat ion is when you open UTG and the flop comes 977 rainbow. \Vhen you bet and get raised, except for four combinat ions (three 99 and one 77), you are going to have a tough time play ing on. Conversely, you should seriously consider rais ing the flop and runn ing a 3-barrel bluff This is why it's tough for UTG raisers ttl call r iver bets on paired boards and boards with one high card and a bunch of small cards .

It should be noted that the best spots to mess around w ith are when the top of your opponent's range consists mainly of pairs.

Of course, you shou ldn't try to w in every pot; give up sometimes so your opponents don't know what you are up to.

It's very easy to play post-flop when we are ab le to narrow our C>pponents' pre-flop ranges by so much. This is why we should cons ider re-raising from the cutoff or the button whenever we can.

Players generall y don't know how to play well out of position, so their ranges end up being very unpolar ized. For example, a so lid TAG opens at UTG+ I and we three-bet on the button. A typ ical so lid TAG w ill call your 3-bet w ith 77-JJ, AQ, KQ, AJ, JT and QJ. That's probably it. He w ill rarely have AA-QQ because he would usuall y 4-bet these. He doesn't like ca lli ng pre­flop with AK out of position because if the flop comes a bunch of low cards, he' ll end up check­fo ld.i ng with the best hand. Thus, for him, 4-betting pre-flop is never a bad idea. But when you are playing against opponents who are active in position and know how to read hands well , it's bad to have an unbalanced pre-flop calling range. Thus, you should consider calling 3-bels out of posi tion w ith AK some of the lime as well as calling w ith AA-QQ.

Generall y, with AA-KK, the most optimal line to take is basicall y to close your eyes and check­call against an aggressive opponent. Don't be afraid . \Vhen the flop comes J32, a good player is go ing to bet. Then if the turn is a Q, he's going to bet again . And on a r iver 9, he's going to bet again. He never puts you AA or KK. He puts you on someth ing such as a stubborn TT that will fold to a river bet, or maybe KJ. He is also value-betting hands such as AQ, KQ, KK and A.A..

QQ is a little tricky; you just have to go with your reads. You can't go too wrong by check­calling all the way. [f s actuall y a reall y good strategy. Good players aren't afraid to move you off your hands. They are going to apply a lot of pressure to you. So, when you have a good

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hand in a 3-bet pot, call.

\Vhen I'm out of position with AK-AJ, I like to call the 3-bet from an aggressive player and play post-flop. I will check-cal l on almost every flop because I know he's going to bet a Jot of them. Additionall y, when the turn comes a high card, especially when it's an ace, I'm going to get another bet since he's going to try to move me off my hand. The river is also a check-call.

Opponents will usually 3-bet before the flop, check back the tum and fold to a river bet. Thus, if the tum goes check-check and you don't improve by the river, feel free to bet. He's going to fold a lot because check-cal Ling the flop and betting the river isn't a good line to take as a bluff. But "~th our outs that can lead to strong hands, check-call ing with those big-card hands is a good strategy.

lfwe improve to a pair other than aces, we should bet for value. I wouldn't bet an ace on the river 100 often because this is a scare card to many players, and they will bet at it 10 represent a big pair. You will obviously check-call. It's a good strategy to check-call the river against aggressive opponents, even if you inprove. He's going to bet frequently after you check the river if it's a broadway card.

A more important reason is for ba lance and protect ion for your range. You don't want your regu lar opponents to th ink that you cannot show up with a good hand on certain boards in 3-bet pots. You want them to know that you are capable of showing up with a big pair after you re­raise the flop, bet on a flop of 2~ 7~8•, check on a tum 5• , and check on a river Q• . The reason is you want him to be a litt le gun-shy the next time he's in a pot and has posi tion on you. That way, you wiU get cheaper showdowns for your marginal holdings. From the example above, marg inal holdings would be 76, 99 and A5.

One important note: balancing is not as important if you are up against bad players who don't pay attention to what you are doing; in th is case you are free to bet the river. Don't make a play without any logical j ustification and chalk it up as balanc.e. Although th is shows your opponents that you are capable of the occasional bonehead move, it's generall y a bad way to approach the game.

Here is an example where it's difficult for Villain to call a 3-barrel bluff because his range is weak.

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Example 7. l is a good spot to 3-barrel.

Unless Villain is really balanced in th is spot, his range is mostly AK, AQ, suited connectors, 99, TI, and some random hands that he 3-bet with.

Villain will often bet Jx, QQ and KK and check with JJ and AA once in a long time. There are t imes when Villain might check with J+X+ but it doesn't occur very often. \Vhen people flop such a monster after 3-betting pre-Aop with a marginal hand, they can't help but bet the majority of the t ime.

\Ve should bet the i:lop because Vil Iain's range is likely weak. \Ve can continue playing aggress ively on a lot of turns, such as 9, K, Q, spades, and diamonds. It is probably best to shove any river if Villain calls the turn.

Example. 7.1: S3/S6 6-Max SB: $700 BB: S544 UTG: S673 MP:S804 Hero (CO): S900 BTN: S434

Preflop: Hero on CO with Q~T~ 2folds, Hero raises to S 18, I fold, SB re-raises to $60, Hero calls S42

Flop: (S90) .1~ 7+3+ (2 players} SB checks, Hero ?

Your flop bet will frequently be ca[eci No need to worry. Just calm down, ti re the ium and fo llow through on the river. VilJain seldom has a strong hand in th is spot after the pre-flop and flop action. If you size your flop and tum bets so that your r iver shove is the size of the pot, then Villain will have a pretty tough call.

If the board is rainbow, it's a little different because Vi llain is more likely to slowplay and go for a flop check-raise or go in check-call mode with overpairs and sets. But a two-tone flop is a green I ight to barrel it off.

I would bet S75 on the fl op. If the tum pairs the board, I'll bei S90 because it gives the ill usion that I have the hand locked up and want to lure his draws in. I will fo llow through with a big river bet.

If the turn doesn't pair the board, I' ll bei something like S 195 so l can make a pot-sized river shove. I will shove on the river un less I improve to a hand with showdown value such as a pair of tens or queens. Of course, if the tum and r iver cards are smaller than a jack, I will likely shove the river with a pair of queen; for value.

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11 Chapter 8: We Are The Champions

\Veil , sometimes.

\Vhen we get to the river against a good, aggressive player and our river bet gets raised, somet imes we close your eyes and call to avoid being exploited. He's going to bluff-shove often because he knows our range is very narrow by the r iver.

Of course, many low- and mid-stakes players mindlessly call bets and raises at the river, claiming they can't fold because they are at the top of their range and don't want to be exploited. Th is is a valid claim, but only against the right type of opponent. Low- and mid-stakes games are so fu ll of bots who are constantly playing 8+ tab les that when they raise your river bet, it's al most always the nuts. You can fold in th is case.

But as you move up in stakes, good opponents will try to move you off your hand if the hands at the top of your range are not the nuts. That's when you sometimes call.

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Example 8.1: Th is is a spot players often get into but they don't usually talk about it in detail.

On the river, A • K• is usuall y the best hand we can show up with after the previous action. Th is means we w ill have a tough time fo:di ng since we are at the lop of our range. Our river range consists mostly of one-pair hands and bluffs.

So, do we cal I? The answer depends on several variables.

The river is a fo ld against the major:ty, if not of all players below 400NL because they wi ll rarely bluff-raise their one-pair hands on the river. If they have a hand such as 76, their thinking process in th is spot usuall y goes lo the tune of, "The Ko!o is a good card to bet because it is congruent w ith T ri's pre- flop range. However, there are times when he wi ll bluff with ai r and with the right pot odds, I can call."

Example 8. 1: S3/S6 6-/\·1ax SB: $300 Hero (BB): $I 087 UTG: S583 ;\'IP: Sl720 CO: SIOO BTN: S500

Pre-flop: Hero on BB w ith A• K• I f olds, MP raises to S 18, 3 fiJlds, Hero re-raises to S66, MP call s S48

flop: ($ !35) 2o!o6•9~ (2 players) Hero bets S I 05, CO bets SI 05

Turn: (5345) 2o!o6•9~5• ( 2 players) H~ ro checks, CO checks

River: (5345) 2o!o6•9~5•Ko!o(2 players) Hero bets S268, MP raises all-i n, Hero ?

The option of bluff-raising sometimes goes into their process but they w ill debate back and forth and eventuall y choose the safe choice, wh ich is folding or call ing. They rarely pu ll the bluff-raise trigger. Thus, whenever you find yourself in th is spot, fold. Don't call and j ust ify it by saying, "I was at the top of my range," whenever you see sets and 78. And you are going 10

see I ots of them.

However, as you move up in stakes and play against tougher opponents who are capable of and willing to pu ll the tr igger, you are going to have w close your eyes and call. Does th is mean you are going to call al l the time here since you are at the top of your range? No. for one thing, allhough you rarely show up w ith a hand stronger than one pair on the river, the trequency with which you are gelling bluff-raised is much lower than in theory. Thus, you are only cal ling some of the time. The reason for calling is 10 protect your river range so that your opponents don't get the idea that you are consistently bet-folding the r iver in th is spot. Otherw ise, your life wi II be di fficult.

You should suspect your opponent L-; turn ing his made hands inttl bluffs on the r iver if you are consistentl y in th is spot against him. If you are, he is likely blufllng you because combinat ion­wise, it's tough 10 show up w ith a good hand on th is board all the time.

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lfyou're not sure htlw to respond io a river raise, then checking the r iver is a viable opticm. However, betting the r iver is beiter in small- and mid-siakes games because you will gei some light call-downs and you will also be protecting your r iver b luff.~. After all , if you aren'i betting with A+K+ for val ue here, then what hands are you betting with on the river? Your river range will be unbalanced and it will be weighted with a Jot of bluffing hands.

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11 Chapter 9: The Overbet: Wow, That's A Big Bet

It has been a long time since overbets were common in smal l- and mid-stakes games. \Vhen Prahlad Friedman was crush ing the competition w ith absurd overbets, everyone mimicked him because it was the natural th ing to do . You copy those who win big. The use of overbets has decreased iremendously since ihen.

\Vhen th inking of situations in wh ich w 3-barrel, look for nops where Villain almost never has the nuts but w ill check-calJ often w ith marginal holdings. Examples of such nops are 442, AA5, and Q2T. You just have to trust me. They fold a lot of r ivers.

You should use an exploitive strategy against amateurs and bad players by overbett ing mostly for value. They don't fo ld and they don't care if you are only overbetting w ith the nuts.

People don't like to do th ings outside the nom1 because the standard p lay looks more correct. After a ll, it is standard for a reason. No one can crit icize your play. Bui if you want to improve as a player, you must think try to think outside the box in certain si tuat ions. One example is imp lementing tbe overbet in your game. No one w ill disagree that adding the overbet t(> your arsenal makes you a very tough player. But you must balance your range so that you don't become exploitable.

Lucki ly, almost no one in the small- and mid-stakes games w ill be ab le to exp loit you except for a few ti lty call s that happen to be right. Players at th is level aren't good enough to beat you even if you have an unbalanced range because when you overbet, it's either air or nuts. As you improve, your nut range w ill widen. An overbet is profitab le primaril y because players like to

fo ld and wai t for a better spot.

An overbet can be effective when your opponent has a very narrow calli ng range. For example, a so lid player w ith stats of 16% for UTG+ I opens pre-nop. You call w ith 76 on the cutoff. The flop is Q62. He cont inuat ion-bets and you call. In th is situat ion, you are never folding th is flop. He can have air or high cards, and y3u have outs to improve to a better hand to which he w ill have a hard time folding. The iurn is a 4. He bets. River is a 3 and he bets again.You want to tum your hand into a bluff here and overbet-shove his river bet.

lv!any players have a bet-fold mentality in th is situat ion. They don't want ttl check and lose value to hands such as QJ, QT and .J.J. They a lso don't want to check and ca ll a big bet. So they bet with the intent ion of folding. Besides sets, what can call th is river shove? It's un likely he has a 5 in his range, consider ing that he is so tight pre-flop. It is easy for you ttl have a 5 in your

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range. You can even have a hand such as 75s that decides 10 float this flop bet w ith a backdoor and luck-box into a straight on the r iver.

Since he can hold few hands that can call on the r iver, you should try the bet size that will make him told most o tten. A basic value bet w ill induce some 10 told . l3u1 he'll o tlen have Kt)+ here, and once he bets the r iver, he'll tend w call th is bet because he's getting odds and he is curious. He' ll have a tough time ca lling when you jam the river. \Ve need to balance our range so as to be more capable of shoving on 75 or a bare 5 here. Toward this end, we can shove sets on the river, and two pai r will be fine against people who like 10 make hero calls or just hate fo lding. In any case, V ill ain wil l rarely have hands that can call us. \Vhen he does show up w ith the nuts, he w ill see that we are capable of shoving a w ide range of val ue hands in this situation and w ill have 10 give us credit the next time we make th is play.

11 is important to remember that as your val ue range w idens, you w ill be able 10 get away w ith more bluffing hands as well. A simple analogy is pre-flop play. If you can re-raise w ith QQ pre­flop, then you can add more weak hands to your pre-flop re-raising range. ff you only value re­raise with AA, then the next time you re-raise, people are going to call you often because no one has AA that often.

One meia-game consideration is how to adj ust if you recently overbet the r iver and your opponent fo lded and didn't see your cards. The so lut ion is fairly simple.You overbet again until ib is part icu lar opponent starts calling. Although ii seems like people wi ll start calling if you keep overbetting, th is isn't true. Some players are very good at taking abuse and w ill fold unt il they have a reall y good hand to call with . Some players, i.e., recreat ional and bad players, get curious or t ilted af\er seeing you making two r iver overbets and wi ll start calling you. But many players, especiall y tight regu lars, just filld over and over.

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Exam pie 9. 1 presents a good board to 3-barrel and overbet-shove the river.

\Vith so much money beh ind on a draw-heavy flop, V illain is go ing to check-raise the fl op majority of the time w ith premium hands such as two pairs, sets, and straights. One reason is w protect his hand. Another reason is IO get a lot of money in before a scare card comes on the turn and we slow down with AJ or better. Since Villain is out of position, it's hard for him to attract value on later streets because we can check back the tum and control the pot.

After the fl op call, V illain's range is somewhat defined. He w ill have mostly a pair plus a gutshot such as T J, 89, TT, or 99. He might also have JQ­AJ . [fhe slowplayed pre-Aop w ith QQ-.1\A, it's not a great Aop for him; he' ll usuall y play passively with those hands for fear of overp laying them.

Example 9. 1: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S I 14 BB: S625 UTG: S789 ~IP: $1502 Hero (CO): $1020 BTN: S738

Preflop: Hero on CO w ith A •Q~ I f old, Jv!P raises to S 12, Hero re-raise to

S36, 3 f olds, iv!P calls S24

Flop: (S80) J• 8+7• (2 players) i\.1P checks, Hero bets 572, Jl.1P calls

Turn: (S224) J• 8+7• K~ (2 players) MP checks, Hero bets S 195

River: (S6 14) .I• 8+ 7• K~ X (2 players) /v!P checks, Hero ?

Against the flop range we have given him, a K~ on the tum is probably the worst card for him . \Ve should continue betting the tum and following through on the river.

Even if the turn is a di fferent card, th is is st ill a great spot to continue bluffing because his range is made up mostly of hands that can call bets on the flop and turn due to their drawing equity, but they aren't strong enough to call a r iver shove. Thus, by betting the turn and shoving any river, you are go ing to get him to fo:d the majority of his range. Vil lain won't call un less he improves w a great hand on the r iver .

\Ve are c.onfident that he can't call a river shove without improv ing because w ith our tum bet, if he has a made hand stronger than t"o pai rs, he wtluld've check-raised all-i n to end the hand and avoid making an incorrect decision on the river. There's only one pot-size bet left after the tum action and the board is so drawy. It would be disastrous for Villain if we held a hand such as A • T• or Q Ts and he failed to end the hand.

l~s possible that V illain is check-calling with two pairs on the tum, but it is high ly un likely due to stack size and board texture. Considering there's so much money in the pot already, a m istake on the r iver is very costly and he should try to avoid it.

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11 Chapter 10: Mini Rockets

Players otten have a hard time playing small pocket pai rs trom the bli nds agai nst a good cutoff and button opener. lmpli ed odds aren't great because when you hit a set, you don't get paid off that ofien since your opponents' ranges are wide and they usuall y don't have good enough bands to stack off. You are out of position and often fold the best hand.

One strategy is to fo ld 22 to 55 before the flop. That's fi ne. Just don't let people know you are fo lding small pocket pai rs out of the blinds or you'll have difticulty playing on flops such as 2-!o3-!o9Y or 4+5-!oQ~, or basicall y any flop w ith a big card and tw o cards below six .

Another common strategy is to re-raise w ith these holdings against loose cutoff and blind openers. You usuall y take it down pre-flop, and if your (>pponents play fi t-or- fold poker, you can take it down w ith a conti nuation bet. If your c-bet doesn't do the job, you w ill ofien see the tum and river for free, s ince V illain will frequently go check-check. It's not the end of the world if you're caught runn ing a huge bluff w ith a small pocket pair, since you' I I be re-raising out of the blinds with big pocket pairs and you' ll get paid off on those holdings.

The th ird strategy is to call pre-flop. Generally, the plan is to check-call low flops or flops w ith only one card higher than ten and hcpe for a cheap showdown. O f course, if your opponents are good, th is showdown isn't usuall y cheap and that's where most players are lost. lf only they knew that one can check-raise the r iver.

You can check-call the flop on boards w ith a broadway and two small cards, and ifthe turn goes check-check, you should seriously consider check-raisi ng the r iver. On boards such as Axx or Kxx, once V illain checks beh ind the turn, he rarely has top pair beat; otherwise he would bet the tum for value. So, when you check the ri ver hoping to see a showdown and your opponent doesn't oblige, you should ofien check-raise. People take this same li ne w ith strong hands such as sets and two pai rs, so your opponent doesn't need a lot of convincing to fold bis marginal holding.

Based on personal exper ience and that of many of my students, you w i IJ get a lot of folds at the river. The times you don't get fo lds are when your tipponem improves to two pairs or hits a gutshot. As we all know, having two pai rs or better in a hold'em game is pretty difticull.

For balance, you should also check-raise the rivers w ith strong holdings. Don't be afraid to lose value in the event that the hand is checked through. Your opponent will see what you have and know that you are capable of check-raising the river w ith strong holdings. Th is w ill add credibility to your r iver check-raise bluffs.

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11 Chapter 11 : Instinctive River Play

This is a very important concept. Ut:lizing it in the right situations can be the difference between a break-even player at 2/41\L and a big w inner at 3/6N L. It took me a lot to put it into pract ice.

The concept is not c.omplex, nor it is difficult to grasp. The difficult th ing is knowing whether you are applying it in an actual game. I didn't know I had th is leak until l started playing PLO, where on the r iver it's more djfficul110 extract value from th in hands than in hold'em because ranges are more po lar ized_ Only through thousands of PLO hands did I recognize that I wasn't checking enough in N LHE.

The bet-bet-bet line is very strong in N LH E. Th is line is mrely used with marginal holdings-­you usuaJl y have either the nuts or ai r. let's go lCl an example.

Example I I. I: Unless you have an aggressive and bluffy image, you should check the river here more often than you bet. K+J+ is the bottom of yo ur value range by the r iver when you are taking the bet-bet-bet line. Thus, you won't often get worse hands 10 call.

You're not go ing to be very happy when you check and see hands such as KT, A 9, 9T, and .JJ showdown. But un less you've been gelli ng out of line, those hands aren't call ing your river bet.

There are also several draws that could have missed on the river and w ill consider bluffing.

For these reasons, you should check and evaluate. The decision to check-call or to check-fold depends hea,~ l y on what type of player you face. Is Villain the type lo tum his hand into a bluff, or w ill he happiJy show down 9X or TT and hope you have a missed draw as we[ I?

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Example 11. 1: S3/S6 6-ivlax SB: S493 BB: S200 Aero (UTG): $680 MP: S500 CO : S720 BTN: $770

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG with K+Jt Hero rnises to 5 18, 2.folds, BTN call s S 18, 2.folds

Flop: (S45) K+9~5~ (2 players) Hero bets S38, BTN call s S38

Turn: (S 12 1) K+9~5~3• ( 2 players) Hero bets S I l~, BTN calls S I 14

River: (S349) K+9~5~3•Q• (2 players) Hero?

Example I 1.2: \Vhat is your act ion '.or each river card?

Before we detem1ine what we shou Id do for each river card, we should fi gure out Villain's range after the tum action. Once we know ih is, our river decision becomes much easier.

On the flop, Villa in is calling with KK, 88, 33, Kx, 8x, A3s, clubs, and sometimes 99-QQ.

After ihe turn, un less we have a crazy image, Villain's range is Kx and clubs. \Ve should go over what fl ush draws hand Villain calls with on the tum. He could have Ao!> Ko!>, Ao!>Qo!>, Ao!>Jo!>, Ao!>T o!>, A"'5o!>, A"'4"', Ao!>2"', K"'Qo!>, Ko!>.fo!>, and Ko!>T"'. He could also have Q"'J"', Q"'T"', .f"'T"', and T o!>9o!>. Since our opponent is a regular and not a random fish, it is not often Villain calls our iurn bet with a naked queen-high fl ush. For the sake of equity calculation, we will include Qo!>Jo!> and Qo!>To!> in Villa in's range.

Villain could get stubborn wiih 8x and 99-QQ and call our tum bet i f he feels we 2-barrel too much.

Now, Villain's range heading to the river is {KK-88, 33, Ao!>Qo!>, A"'Jo!>, A"'T "'' Ao!>5o!>, A"'4"', Ao!>2o!>, KJs+, Qo!>Jo!>, Qo!>To!>, KQo}. \Ve left out Ao!> Ko!> because Villain will usually re-raise pre-

Example 1 1.2 : S3/S6 6-l\1ax SB: S400 BB: S548 UTG: S755 Aero (MP): $678 CO: S766 BTN : S334

Preflop: Hero on l\·'fP with A~At

I f old, Hero raises to S 18, CO calls S 18, 3/ olds

flop: ($45) K~8o!>3"' (2 players) Hero bets 54 1, CO calls S4 1

Turn: (Sl27) K~8o!>3"' 2" (2 players) Hero bets SI 00, CO calls SI 00

River: (S327) K~8"'3"' 2" (2 players)

*Hero has S5 I 9 behind. \Vhat is Hero's action i F the river is:

A.Kt B. Qt C. 9o!> D. 9"

flop with AK. Now, let's figure out what our r iver action should be.

A. If the river is a Kt , the quest ion is should we check or should we bet. lfwe check, is ii a check-fo ld or check-call?

Since Villai n has a lot of busted draws in his range and may value-bet worse, we shtmld check instead of betting.

Agai nst the above range on a river Kt , we have 65% equity. Thus, if we know Villain bets his entire ri ver range, we should check-call. However, Villain is rarely betting his ent ire river range

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so we are going to modi fy it a little bit.

Let's assume that he' ll check back with 99, TT, J.J, and A+2+ because they have showdown value and w ith the exception of JJ, not a lot of worse hands are calli ng a river bet. This is because a pa ired river card usuall y discourages people thlm bluffing with a missed draw. That means we should check- fo ld more often w ith our bluff-catcher hands.

Against V illain's modified range, AA has 43% so we should call again.

Now, let's make V i I la in a reall y tight regu lar. He's fo lding any non-nut flush draws on the turn. He's not bett ing with anything worse than Kx for value on the river, either. Is the river still a cal.I ? No. Our equ ity is 22.7% against a range of /KK-88, 33, A+ Q+ , A+ J+ , A+ T +, A+5+ , A+ 4+, KJs+, KQo, AA). Since we usuall y get 2.5-to- I on a river pot bet, it's a check-fold . If we th ink V il lain is ca lli ng our pre-t:b p range w ith 6+5+ and 5+ 4+ and w ill bluff the river if he misses, it's still a fo ld because AA only has 29% equity on the river.

Note that when the K + pair s the board, V illain is less likely to bluff when checked to; fewer combinations give him made hands (particularly trips) to value bet, so he's more likely to be call ed_ This is where you enter the level war but as a default, the river is a check-fo ld.

B. I f the river is a Q+, should we bet or check?

lfwe bet, we get Kx or better to call and everyth ing else to fold. However, by check ing, the same Kx or better hands w ill value-bet. \Ve w ill lose to two pairs or better but we can still gain a bet from KJs, and we can pick off some m issed fl ush draws or a random bluff.

AA has 58% equ ity against a river range of {KK-88, 33, A+Q+, A+J+, A+T + , A+ 5+, A+4+,

A+ 2+, KJs+, Q+J+, Q+T+ , KQo} on a river Q+.

Since the river doesn't pair the boarci, Villain's bluffing frequency wi ll increase. Afier a ll , he' ll rarely w in w ith ace-high. Vi lla in may also value-bet w ith worse hands such as KJs and KTs. Thus, it's a check-call.

C. If the river is a 9+, shou Id we bet or check?

Since we don't have the A+, we should check. Not having the A~ increases our opponent's number of nush draws by at least 50%, wh ich means that more hands will beat us. Thus, after checking, if V illain bet.~ two th irds pot on the river, it's a fo ld.

lfwe have the A+ and the river is a ~ lub, we can safely bet-fo ld the r iver. Our having the A+ removes a lot of flush draws from our opponen~s range, and he's going to have some Kx in his

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range that have a high chance of calling a r iver bet.

lfwe check, do we check- fo ld or check-call?

AA has 58% equity against a river range of {KK-88, 33, A+Q+, A+J+, A+T+ , A+ 5+, A~+,

A+ 2+, KJs+, Q+J+, Q+T + , KQo\ , so it's a river call even though it looks like we should check-fo ld. The main reason we are calling the r iver is the high probabil ity that Villain is value­beiting KQ. lfwe know that Villain is tight and doesn't ca ll a pre-flop ra ise w ith KQo or doesn't value-bet th in on the river, it's a check- fo ld. [fhe value-bets th in, then it's a call.

D. If the river is a 9Y, check-call , bet- fo ld, and check-raise are a ll viab le options.

\Ve check-call if our opponent is aggressive and somet imes bluff at the r iver. Additionall y, he can value-bet w ith worse.

\Ve can bet-fo ld to extract value from calli ng stations but generall y don't value-bet thin or have a curious mind. \Ve are rarely getting bluff-raised in ih is spot because our line is reall y strong. Additionall y, since there's a flush draw on the flop, if Vill ain thinks we are bluffing, he's go ing to call way more o~en than turn ing a pair into a bluff.

\Ve can check-raise all-in on the r iver to get a few hero calls from KQ or KJs that value-bet the river and feel they don't want to fold the top of their range. Check-raising also w idens our check-raise river range and a llows us to get more. credit when we check-raise the r iver as a bluff.

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A. I f 1hP. river is 1hP. A+, chP.r.k- fO ld ing is the best option. Ln addi tion to the 99 and 7x hands that Vill ain may hold, nut-tlush draws also beat us .

Moreover, since our hand looks like a busted draw, it's un likely that V illain is turning 9x, TT and small pocket pairs into bluffs.

Vi II ain doesn't have that many draws at the river since the board pairs the tum. This lowers T8 and non-nut-tlusb draws' imp lied odds. Those hand might also be draw ing dead.

Thus, on the r iver, it's a check-fo ld .

B. If the river is a 2+, it's a shove. Villain's range for calling a river bet is w ide here since there are so many draws that miss. It's not unusual to see Vi ll ain show up w ith 9x or Tl -QQ at the river.

C. If the river is a T+ , it's a check- fo ld. You no no I onger beat TT. Moreover, hands such as 9x or 88 are less likely to call your ri ver bet because T+ completes some straight draws. You might also have

A~T~ and K~T~.

Exttmple II .3 : S3/ $6 6 lv!ax SB: S480 Hero (BB) : $748 UTG : S500 ~IP : $776 CO: S l 40 BTN: S228

Pre.flop: Hero on BB w ith J• J+ I f old, MP raises to S18, 3folds, Hero calls $ 12

flop: (S39) 9+7~3~ (2 players} Hero checks, NlP calls S35, Hero check-raises to S I 15, M P calls S80

Turn: (S269) 9+ 7~3~7• (2 players) Hero bets S 188, MP cal Is S 188

River : (S645) 9+7~3~7• X (2 players)

•Hero has 5427 behind. \.Vha! is Hero's action if the ri ver is :

A .A+

B. 2+ C. T+

D. Q~

Vill ain rarely has a pair ofiens on the r iver at\er the tlop action since having a ten in his hand means that he w ill have a combo straight and flush draw. Such a hand will likely 3-bet the flop and try to get all the money in on the flop.

D. If the river is a Q~, it's a close spot. It's a check-fo ld against most players. Against a few good regulars, it's a check-call. The reason is once you check the r iver, you rarely have Qx beat, un less you have AA and KK. If your opponent is capable of recognizing th is, he should tum any pair worse than Qx into b luff.~.

\Vhile it is true when you check the river, you most likely have a busted straight draw or a

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random bluff, V illain should sti II b luff w ith 9x in the occasion you have A 9s and K 9s, TT, and

JJ and w ill fold to a r iver bet a lot. It's rare for you to call on th is r iver if you check on a Q~ .

Important Note: A majority of players below 600nl, if not all, won't be turn ing 9x into blu ff.<;

in th is spot and w ill Likely have trips, a fu ll house, or a fl ush when Q~ appears at the river and they bet big. However, th is is a great spot to go over because when you take th is line and check on the r iver when a draw hits, you are almost always check- folding your entire river range.

Exercise 2: \Vhenever you play, there are river cards that make you want to scream because they are li terall y the worst card in the deck for you. Create a notepad w ith the tit le "\Vorst Card In The Deck" and copy the hand histories. Go over your action and the lines you took before the river card. Doing so w i II enable you to fi gure out great bluffing spots on the r iver when an opponent takes the same action and li ne but checks the r iver out of position. \Ve have all been in that annoying spot before. Just make sure to get the hand history down so you w ill have more confidence bluffing in the future.

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11 Chapter 12: The Exam

For these problems, ussume all you r opponents nre 11verage T AG regulars in a S3/S6 6-.\Iax gnmc. Their pre-llop stats are 22/ 16/2.5.

Problem I : $3/S6 6-Max SB: S235 BB: SS48 UTG: S289 MP: S673 Hero (CO): S630 BT'\: $677

Pre- llop: Hero on CO with At 5t 2folds, Hero mises to $14, BTN calls S24, 2 f olds

Flop: (S57} A~T•2• (2 players} Hem bets S44, BTN ca lls S44

Turn: (S I45) A~T•2•6• (2 players) Hero bets S I05, BTN calls SIOS

Ri\'e r: (S355) A~T•2•6•J• (2 players) Hero?

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Problem I : S3/S6 6-/\·iax SB: S235 BB: S548 UTG : S289 M P: S673 Hero (CO): $630 BTN: $677

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith A~5~ 2folds, Hero raises to $24, BTN ca lls S24, 2folds

Flop: (SS 7) A~ T • 2• (2 players) Hern bets S44, BTN calls $44

Tur n: (S l45) A~T•2•6• (2 playeis) Hero bets S IDS, BTN calls S l05

River: (S355) A~T +2• 6• 1• (2 players) Hero ?

Answer l: A common line players l ike to take on the r iver is to bet-fold. After all, we have the highest pai r and no fl ushes or trips are possible. And if we bet and get raised, we are likely beat and can fo lJ U UI hand .

Although th is seems like a standard spot to bet­fold, un less you have a crazy image, you should almost always check and evaluate here.

The decis ion on whether 10 call or fold heavil y depends on game-flow. The major ity of the time, it's a check-fo ld since few drawing hands can call the flop and cont inue on the turn. Hands like K• Q • or K +Jt are possible, but that's a reall y narrow range. l'v!oreover, Kt Jt isn't betting the river and we lose to K• Q• .

Villain is un likely to tum Tx and Q+.J+ into bluffs because they picked up showdown equity. And since the board is dry, V illain might slowplay hands such as 22 and TT. A.I is also a big part of

'-------------------' Villain's r iver betting range .

\V ith so few bluff<; and so many val ue hands in V illain's river range, we can safely check-fold.

On the river, if you are Vil lai n, this is a great spot w turn the bottom of your rnnge into bluffs. The bottom of your range in th is situation would be pairs or gutshots that pick up a flush draw on the tum. Ii is unlikely someone is check-calling with two pairs or better on the river. He w ill bet it for value on the river.

Alternative Line: An al ternat ive line ttl take on th is hand is ttl check the turn instead of betting. On ace-high flops, some regulars li ke 10 float continuation bets w ith gu1sht1ts such as KQ/KJ/QJ and w ill stab at the tum. Check-calling the tum allows us to pick up a few bluffs and we also balance our check-calling range. On r ivers where our hands don't improve, barr ing spec ifi c reads, it is a check- fo ld .

[fwe check the tum and Villain che:ks back, then we should bet the river for value. T x and Jx might get curious. vVe are rarely getting blutr-raised on the r iver because it's an unbelievab le line 10 take as bluffs. Small- and mid-stakes players just don't bluff-raise rivers often, especially after checking beh ind the tum. Bet6ng the r iver also protects our bet-check-bet range on ace-

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high Oops.

lmportant ~ote: One imponant note to take on this hand is that the river play is based on what

happ ened in the previous street. This is because the strength of our opponent's river range varies greatly depending on our tum action. Thus , if we bet the nop and tum, we should check the

river. lfwe bet the nop and check the tum, we should bet the r iver.

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Prob lem 2: S3/S6 6-Max SB: 5389 BB: $749 Hero (UTG): S722 MP: S485 CO: S399 BTN: S679

Pre-flop: Hero is at UTG w ith A~J~ Hero raises to S24, 4/ olds, BB call s S l8

Flop: (S5 1) A• 6+3Y (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets $43, BB check-raises to S l28, Hero?

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Problem 2: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S389 BB: $749 Hero (UTG) : $722 MP: S485 CO : S399 BTN: S679

Pre-flop: Hero is at UTG with A~J~ 1-!ero raises to S24, 4/olds, BB call s S l8

flop: (S5 I} A• 6"°3"' (2 p layers) BB checks, Hero bets S4 3, BB chec.k­raises to S l28, Hero?

L-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--'

Answer 2: A flop call is more di fficult than it looks here, especiall y when we have no backdoor equity.

If Villai n is a so lid regular and doesn't check-raise li ght, we should fo ld. However, some players like 10

call the nap and fold to a tum bet, or call the flop and the tum and fold 10 a river bet even though opponents rarely check-raise ace-h igh flop bets and s-Jow down in future s treets. Addit iona ll y, on ace­h igh rainbow boards, p layers don't suddenl y go crazy and start b luftlng against UT G opens.

But for the sake o f discussion, let's dissect BB's range. \Vith 77-JJ, V illain is way more likely to check-fo ld or check-call than check-raise th is flop because those hands have li ttle equity when behind. Thus, when Villain check-raises, b is range is consists o f33, 66, AK, AQ, AA, 45s, 67s, and some random hands.

Since solid regulars don't o fien defend w ith small su ited connectors out o f the b linds against an LJJ'(j open, he won't have a straight draw that o tlen. Additionall y, more p layers are s tart ing to

flat raises from the BB w ith AK and a lmost always with AQ so it's poss ib le for V illain to slowp lay those hands pre-flop and decided to p lay them fast on such a dry board.

PokerStove shows that A~J~ has 24.3% equity against a range consisting of33, 66, AK, AQ, 45s, and 67s. \Ve didn't include AA since it is highly un likely AA check-raises on the flop. However, Vil lain rarely has 45s or 67s here, and we're drawing dead if we're behind. lfwe remove 45s and 67s from V illain's range, our equity p lummets to I 0%. So, even if our opponent adds a few random b lu ff.~, we should fold here.

Now, let's move your posit ion to the button, where your perceived range is w ider. You should call a check-raise more o fien because p layers are more like ly to check-raise with b lu ff.~ and drawing hands. V illain also has more AX hands in h is range. However, if he bets ihe turn and a lso the river, you should fold 10 the rive r bet since it is obvious you have at least a pair ofac.es with a decent k icker at that point anJ no one is going to try 10 move you off AJ+.

If you find h im 3-barreling you two or three times, he's likely gett ing out o f line so you should be ecstatic to call a r iver bet w iih AX.

Important Note: \ Vh ile V illain could be exploit ing us on th is flop by getting us to fold a hand

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that is near the top of our range, we can safely fold it the first time around since rarely does anyone exp loit th is particular spot lfwe are being exp loited, considering V illain's check-raise range, fo lding is merely a small mistake that prevents us from potent iall y making more costly mistakes on later streets.

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Problem 3: S3/S6 6-Max SB: $556 Hero (BB): S649 UTG: S80£ MP: Sl40 CO: S900 BTN : S723

Pre-flop: Hero on BB with K• T• 4 f nlrl.<, SR open~ tc'l S I 8, Hem '?

- 46 -

Problem 3: S3/S6 6-l\·1ax SB: $556 Hero (BB): S649 UTG: S804 MP: Sl40 CO: S900 BTN: S723

Pre-flop: Hero on BB with KYTY 4 f olds, SB opens to S 18, Hero ? '--~~~~~~~~~~~~-'

Answer 3: You should never fold here.

The question is do you call or re-raise? \Ve give our opponents too much credit fur 4-betting in th is situation, resulting in our not 3-betting enough. You should 3-bet at least 75% of the t ime here.

You dcm't mind takjng down the pot before the flop, and 3-betti ng also di scourages your opponent from opening light in the SB, giving you a walk in future hands.

In the event that he does call , since it's a bli nd-versus-blind situation, his range cons ists of hands that you dominate, such as JT, 9T, K9 and T8. He will probably 4-bet with hands such as KK, .AK, KQ, in whjch case you can safely fold.

Alternative Line: If you feel comfortable playing post-flop and you are confident you can outp lay your opponent in later streets, calling is better. The only exception is if you feel your opponent calls 3-bets too wide out-of-position and is un likely to 4-bet you. In th is case, 3-bett ing is far superior.

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Problem 4: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S484 BB: $654 UTG: S ISE '.\llP: S4 70 Hero (CO}: S870 BTN: S731

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with 7• 6• 2/olds, He:o niises 10 S2-I. 2/olds, BB calls S l8

Flop: (S5 l) K• T +6• (2 players} BB checks, Hero bets S46, BB ca ll s S46

Turn: (S!L3} K• T+6•3+ (2 players} BB checks. Hero checks

Ri ver: (Sl~3) K• T+6t3+J+ (2 players) BB checks. Hero ?

- 48 -

Problem 4: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S484 BB: $654 UT G : S l88 MP: S470 Hero (CO) : S870 BTN: S73 1

P re-flop: Hero on CO w ith 7• 6• 2/olds, Hero raises to 524, 2/olds, BB callsS 18

Flop: (S5 1) K•T~6• (2 players} BB checks, Hero bets 546, BB calls S46

T urn: (S l 43) K•T~6•3~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks

Answer· 4: Th is is k ind ofa tricky quest ion because it depends heav il y on how good your opponent is and whether he fights for pots .

Against bad regu lars who fo ld a lot on the river, we should tum our hand into a bluff and bet around S 11 5 .

Although we don't expect to fold out any Kx that often, they w ill fold Tx, middl e pocket pairs such as 99, and QQ a good amount of the t ime.

Agai nst good regulars who read hands well and can call down li ght, we should check behind on the r iver.

A good regular expects us to be t any Kx or better on the turn. \Vhen we are betting on the river, we

River: (S l 43) K•T~6•3~J~ (2 players) are also represent ing a small value range, i.e., JT, BB checks, Hero? QJ, AQ, A l, Q9, and JJ. The problem w ith ~--------------~ representi ng th is range is that our opponent

expects us to bet the tum w ith gutshots. Thus, on the r iver, our value range consists mostly ofTJ and JJ hands that wanted to control the pot on the tum. \ Vi th such a narrow range on the ri ver, a good regular can call our r iver bet w ith a hand as weak as Tx.

For th is part icular spot, if you can't decide whether your opponent is a regular who is capab le of check-ca lling w ith a marginal hand, betting is bette r than checking behind because there is dead money out there and you rare ly w in the pot at showdown. Additionall y, we often gi ve our opponent more credit than deserved, wh ich means our fold equity is actuall y h igher than we thought it wou Id be.

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Problem 5: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S583 BB: S668 UTG: S764 MP: Sl59 Hero (CO): S784 BTN: S818

Pre-Oop: 'iero on CO with A+Q+ 2folds, He~o raises to S14 , 1 fold, SB re­raises to S30, Hero calls S56

Flop: (S 166) 9~8•3+ (2 players) SB bets S 124, Hero ?

- 50 -

Problem 5: S3/S6 6-!v!ax SB: $583 BB: S668 UTG : S764 MP: S l59 Hero (CO): $784 BT N: S818

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith A~Q~ 2/olds, Hero raises to S24, I/old, SB re-raises to S80, Hero cal Is 556

Flop: (S 166) 9<!>8'13~ (2 players} SB bets S 124, Hero ?

Answer 5: Players often fold or call a flop bet in th is situation.

The best play is shoving aga inst the flop bet when stacks are around I 0088, especially i fyour opponent has a high 3-betting percentage and a high continuat ion-bet percentage in 3-bet pots.

By holding AQ, we remove a lot of hands that he can call a shove w ith. To be specific, we remove 17% of hands. lfwe hold 230, V illain's range usuall y has at least 36 combinations of .t\ _t\-88 to call our shove with. By removing one ace and one queen, we remove 6 hands from that range.

lfhe call s, it's not the end of the wor ld and we have ~-------------~ 18% equity.

According to the fold equity equat ion (http://dail vvariance.com/fe-calculator.php), Villain only has to fold 55.22% of the time for the play to break-even. If our opponent 3-bets from the SB with any regu larity, it's a profi table play.

Although not likely, opponents might fold TT and JJ in th is spot to a flop shove.

Exercise 3: Figuring out how regu lars play TT and .JJ will do wonders for your win rate. Go through your database, look at your AA and KK hands and see if any regular shows up w ith TT and JJ when you check-shove the flop. !fyou rarely see it, that means regulars are giving you a lot of credit for your flop range. To take advantage of th is image, check-shove more often w ith hands such as QJ, KQ, AQ, etc. Of course, once you get caught, ytmr folding equ ity goes way down in future pois. By then, you can revert to your nonnal game and don't check-shove light as sem i-bluffs but w ith QQ+.

Another way to figure oui on whether the regu lars at your stakes call or fo ld TT and JJ in th is spot is to look at their TT and J J har.ds. See if they ever get to showdown in a 3-bet pot for a huge pot w ithout hitting a set. It's important 10 remember that post-flop play is required. Going all-in pre-flop w ith TT and JJ do not count. If you don't find many pots like th is, that means they are folding a lot of TT and JJ in 3-bet pots.

- 5 1 -

Problem 6: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S539 BB: S632 UTG: $937 MP: S239 00: S387 Hero (BT'.'i) : S7 l 0

Pre-nop: Hero on BTN witli T ~9<!> UTG raises to 518, 2folds, Hero re-raises to S63, 2folds, UTG calls S45

Flop: (S 135) .1~8~3• (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

- 52 -

Problem 6: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S539 BB: S632 UTG: $937 tv!P: S239 00: S387 Hero (BT N): $7 1 0

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN w ith T~9~ LffG raises to S 18, 2folds, Hero re-ra ises to S63, 2folds, UTG calls S45

flop : (S l35) J~8~3• (2 players) BB checks, Hero ? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer 6: Th is situat ion occurs frequent! y and many smal I- and m id­stakes players misp lay it. On the surface, it is easy to see we have an open-ended straight t!Iaw in a 3-bet pol. Assunung IOOBB stacks, it is never too bad to bet and get it all- in if we're check-raised. \Ve always have some equity in the pot and are rarely draw ing slim. B ut it's usuall y better to check back the flop in th is situation or any t ime we have the same amount of outs against a polarized range.

Players tend not to check back th is !lop in th is situation; they feel the need to bet to continue representing strength. A fier al I,

that's what one does w ith strong hanJs such as AA-QQ, AJ, J8, and .tU. Thus, when checking back th is !lop, players are afraid that their range is face-up and opponents are going to take the pot away from them by betting the tum. But th is is not the case. You can w in the pot w ith a delayed tum bluff

\Vhen we bet the flop, we want a fo ld since ten-high isn't going to win at showdown. The hands that are going to fo ld are ace-high, suited connectors, and some random sma ll pocket pairs. Against these hands, they are going to check-fo ld the tum a good amount of the time anyway. If not, they w i LI fold to a bet on a tum queen, king or ace since those cards hit the major ity of our flop check-back range. On a tum 9 or T, we can call a turn bet and evaluate the river.

\Ve are calli ng a bet on a rag turn such as 2, 4 or 5. Vill ain w ill bluff sometimes <1nd give up on the r iver because our range appears to cons ist mainly of99-TT, 8X, and AK/AQ. V illain w ill be afraid to bluff against those hands. We also have fairly well disguised nut outs on the river and are going to get paid off when V illa in has a big hand. If V illain bets the r iver and we don't improve ttl a straight, barring any specific reads, it's a fold even if we make a pair.

\Ve w ill also call most turn bets on a tum 7 or Q. A turn raise is very strong in th is s ituat ion and most hands that are giving us acti on on th is tum are going to give us act ion on the river. Additionall y, call ing al lows Villain to continue bluffing ifhe was bluffing the tum. A call also protects our tum calJjng range deters our opponents from firing multiple barrels in future hands by putt ing us on hands such as AK, AT and KQ.

Another reason we don't want to bet the !lop too often is that hands that are go ing to call the !lop bet w ill frequently check-raise all- in, forcing us to play for stacks w ith the worst of it. And

- 53 -

if we get it in on the flop, we are rarely, if ever, getting it in good because there are no draws that we can dominate.

Of course, th is situation is player-dependent. If a player check-folds a lot and only calls the fl op most of the time, then betting the flop is fi ne. But for the most part, you should check back the flop.

Variation: \Ve should almost always bet the flc>p if it comes J~8<!>3+ instead of J~8~3• . There are Jess flush draws to check-shove the flop and force us to fold since we are gett ing incorrect odds to ca ll. Additionally, strong hands such as AA-QQ, JJ, and 88 are Jess likely to slowplay because the board is drawy and those hands want to get as much money in as possible before a scare card comes and slows down the action.

Once we bet the flop, a common line to take is to size the turn bet so that we can make a pot­sized shove on the r iver. After a ll, that's what we do if we have AJ beat in this spot. Betting the flop and barreling on the turn also allows us to pick up money from loose flop call s that cannot call a turn bet. These hands are 89, 9T, TT, 99, and even JT-KJ.

- 54 -

Problem 7: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S648 BB: SI 149 UTG: S740 NIP: $992 Hero (CO): S972 BTN: S582

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith 6+5+ !YfP raises to 5 18, Hero calls $ 18, 4/ olds

Flop: (S45) J~5•3+ (2 players) !YfP bet>; S39, Hero calls S39

Turn: (S l23) J~5•3+2+ (2 players) tvfP bets S96, Hero calls $96

River: (5315) J~5•3+2+A• (2 players) MP bets S248, Hero ''

- 55 -

P robl em 7: S3/S6 6-M ax SB: S648 88: SI 149 UTG: S740 ~IP : '$992 Hero (CO): S972 BTN : S582

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith 6"'°5"'° i\i!P rai ses to S l8, Hero calls $ 18, 4/ olds

Flop: ($45) J~5•3+ (2 players) l\!ff' bets S39, Hero calls S39

T urn : (S l 23) J~5•3"'°2"'° (2 p layers) MP bets S96, H~ro calls S96

River: (S3 15) J~5•3"'°2"'°A• (2 p layers) M1' bets S248, Hero ?

Answer 7: If there is ever a spot to b luff-raise the river, th is is it.

A r a ise on the r iver is legitimate for a straight since that's how you would p lay w ith 54 and 44. Sometimes, this line works w ith 64 and A4 as well.

The great th ing about th is spot is that the A• increases Villain's b luffin,g frequency because he's trying to move you off JX. It a lso incTeases his va lue-betti ng range s ince he mig ht have AJ, A5, A3, and A2. He can also have AA.

'--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~__,

A lthough those hands are strong, they are on ly b lu ff-catchers in th is spot s ince you are rarely sho ving w ith worse for va lue. Thus, if you have a so I id image, you can o ften get away with this.

If you' re known as a great aggTessive p layer, then yo u won't likel y get peop le to fo ld A5 or betier, since those hands are at the top of your opponent's range by the river.

Lastly, make sure the stack s]ze.s are correct when shoving the r iver. You don't want ttl o ffer your o pponent 4-to- I odds and sigh in di sbe lief when he calls you off w ith a marg inal ho lding.

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Problem 8: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S522 BB: S600 UTG: 5605 MP: S73 l 00: S687 Hero (BT:"<) : 5700

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN with K•Q• or 7• 5• UfG raises to Sl8, I f old, Hero re-raises to S63, 2/olds, UTG calls S45

Flop: (S 135) T • 3 •2~ (2 players) BB checks, ~ero does what with each hand'?

- 57 -

Problem 8: S3/S6 6-lv!ax SB: S522 BB: S600 IJTC:: $60'i MP: S73 1 CO: S687 Hero (BTN): $700

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN w ith K+Q+ or 7+5+ UTG raises 10 S18, I/olds, Hero re-raises to

S63, 2/olds, UTG calls S45

Flop: (SJ35) T+3+2+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero does what w ith each hand?

Answer 8: \Vith K+Q+, you can happil y bei and get it in on the flop.Your hand is a favorite against a pai r of jacks or worse. There is a good chance your hand dominates a lower fl ush draw. Overall, your equity is great against any range that gets it in on this flop.

\Vith 7+5+, you should consider checking back a Jot of the times. The reason is if you get it in, you rarely, if ever, have great equity.

Players often mindlessly bet and get it in because ii's a 3-bet pot and you have a flush draw. Afier a JJ, it can'i be that bad. But there are defi nitely better alternati ves.

Checking back al lows you ltl continue on a Jot of iurns such as A, 4, 5, 6, and 7. You can legi timately float on a tum .I, Q, K since JX, QX, and KX make up a huge part of your range. You can bet the river if he checks. Addit ionall y, if a diamond hits on the tum or the r iver, you can stack Vi ll ain s ince he' ll expect you to bet the flop with a flush draw a 101 of the times.

Variation:Assuming we check back w ith both hands, we should call a bet on tum 9+. I fwe don't improve on ihe river (such as a r iver 4h), we should give up. The reason is ihe 9+ increases a lot of drawing hands such as 78, QJ, and J8 in our range. \Ve also have '' lot of club draws. Thus, it's best 10 give up and check back on the river.

On a tum 6Y, we should call a bet. However, on a blank river such as 2'•', we should bluff the river if check to. The reason is the tum doesn't increase many draw ing hands in our range. ii is reasonab le for us to check back the flop w ith hands such as 9Tand TJ. \Ve can also have small pocket pairs or a hand li ke 45. For1hese reasons, we should bet the river.

Important Note: Pre-flop re-raise wiih KQs shouldn't be standard in th is spot and against mtlsi opponents, it is bad. You should re-raise with KQo in ihis spot way more often than KQs. The reason is KQs plays well post-flop and has a lot more value than KQo. Another reason is players don't call re-raises very wide ou1-of-posi1jon so re-raising fold out a lot of hands that KQs dominated and it would be bad if we have 10 fold to a 4-bet.

KQs was used in !he example to illustrate the huge djfference between a king-high flush draw and a seven-high fl ush draw .

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Problem 9: S31S6 6· ~ax SB: S583 BB: S608 Hero (UTG) : 690 MP: Sl27 CO: S350 BTN: S573

Pre-flop: Hero is at UTG with A~K• Hero raises to S2~, 3/olds, SB calls S21, BB calls SIS

Flop: (S72) 8+ A'1o .I• (3 players) SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets S64, SB check-raises 10 St98, I/old, Hero ?

. 59 .

Problem 9: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S583 BB: S608 Hero (UTG): S690 MP: S l27 CO: S350 BTN: S573

Pre.-flop: Hero is at UTG with A+K• Hero raises to S24, 3 fold~, SB calls S2 l, BB calls S l8

Flop: ($72) 8+ A+ 1• (3 players) SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets S64, SB check-mises to SI 98, I f old, Hero?

Answer 9: Th is is a spot where you should fold a lot of the time even though it's tough to do so because cur hand I ooks so good.

Against a range of.JJ, 88, K+Q+, Q+ J+, J+T+ and T + 9+, we have 21.5%. The hand is much closer ifVillain can show up w ith AQ in th is spot because then we have 50% equ ity against that range. However, Villain probably re-raises pre-flop with AQ and i f he didn't, it's unlikely that he's going crazy post-flop with it on th is board.

- 60 -

Problem 10: $3 $6 6-:vlax Hero (SB): 675 BB: $304 UTG: $440 MP: $800 CO: $300 BT:'ll: 5732

Pre-flop: Hero on SB with 6• 6+ 3 folds, BTN raises 10S18, Hero calls S 15, fold

Flop: (S42l K+4• 2+ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S34, Hero calls S34

T urn: (SI 10) K+4• 2+ 8+ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (S 110) K• 5• 2+8+ Q• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S78, Hero ''

. 6 1 .

Problem 10: S3/S6 6-!v!ax Hero (SB): S675 BB: S304 UTG: S440 MP: S800 CO: S300 BTN: $732

Pre-flop: Hero on SB with 6• 6+ 3/olds, BTN raises to S18, Hero calls SIS, f old

Flop: (S42) K~4•2+ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S34, Hero calls S34

Turn: (S 11 0) K~4•2+8+ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (SI 10) K~5•2+8+Q • (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets Si8, Hern ?

Answer 10: Th is is a good spot to check-raise the river since Villain rarely has two pairs or better. He is bett ing the tum wiih KQ the maj ority of the time.

The only legitimate hands that he can call the river check-raise with are QQ and Q8.

H is range for betting the r iver might inc lude an.y KX that goes for pot contro l on the tum. He would also bet AQ and QJ a good amount of the time, putting you on small pai rs sinc.e you are likely betting the river with KX. Both KX and QX are going to fold a Joi to a river check-raise. After all, your line is consistent w ith what you are trying to represent. You can easil y have sets and KQ.

There is also a chance he decided to tum a small pair into a bluff Of course, we beat his bluffs anyway but check-raisi ng is a better play than calling since he's going to fold a lot

.__ _______________ _J of his range on the river after his tum check.

Lastly, don't worry about gett ing caught. Ii happens to everyone and very o ften to the best players in the wor ld because they are playing against ihe other best players in the wor ld.

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Problem I I : S31S5 6-Max SB: S839 BB: 5200 UTG: S723 MP: S477 Hero (CO): S678 BTN: $593

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with Q•T• Hero raises to S24, BTN calls S24, 4/ olds

Flop: (S57) Q+4• 5~ (2 players) Hero bets S48, BTN culls S48

Turn: (S l53) Q+L+5~" (2 players) Hero bets S 133, BTN ca lls S 133

River: (S4 l 9) Q+4•5~4•9• (2 players) Hero?

- 63 -

.

Problem 11: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S839 BB: S200 UTG: S723 ~1P : S477 Hero (CO) : S678 BTN: S593

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith Q•T• Hero ra ises w S24, BTN calls S24, 4/ olds

Flop: (S57) Q~4•5+ (2 players) Hero bets S48, BTN calls S48

Turn: (S l53) Q~4•5+4• (2 players) Hero bets S 133, BTN calls S 133

River: (S4 I 9) Q~4•5+4•9• (2 players) Hero ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer 11: Th is is a spot where players like to bet-fold a Jot even though they rarely get called by worse hands. Even for the times they do get called by hands such as 88-H, that's not a reason to bet. 88-JJ has a total of I 8 combinations. Since we account for 88-JJ gett ing io the r iver, we should account for 99 as well. KQ and Q.J w ill call our river bets as well and that's a total of 16 combinations. Additionall y, there's 3 more combinati ons of99. This alone makes the river a bad bet. \Ve haven't accounted for hands such as Q9, 44, 55, and 45.

Thus, the r iver is a clear check. The question is do we check-call or check-fo ld? Considering that 88-JJ w ill check behind and the tum pai rs the board, there aren't a lot of hands we can beat. Thus, the river is a check-fo ld, though it's tough to recognize th is spoi without a deep analysis because it is so easy to j ust bet-fold and move on. lf we get call ed by KQ or QJ on the river, we j ust move on w ithout putting much thought into it because if s so standard.

Th is is a spot where people get in a lot of troub le w ithout know ing they are in a lot of trouble. The reason is it is so easy IC> automaticall y bet-fold here. \Vhat usuall y happens is the major ity of ihe time, you bet and get cal led by KQ, QJ, and QT and you move on w ithout not icing it. \Vhen you go over your sessions, you will look over ihe big pots that you win or lose. Even if you go over th is hand, you won't notice the mistake that you commiited.

Since we are on the river, there's no need for protection. Thus, the question is do we bet as a bluff or for value. Obviously, we aren't bluffing in th is spot because no worse hand is going to fo ld. \Vh icb means we are betting for value. But in order to bet for value, we need worse hands 10 call. \Vhai worse hands are we expecting people to call w ith here?

lfwe bet the river, our line for the whole hand is bet-bet-bet, which represent tremendous strength . Lt is too opt imist ic for Vi I lain to put us on AK or A J and decide to bluff here. Thus, when we bet the ri ver, V illain is go ing io fo ld hands that we beat. These hands are JJ-44 and any random suited Qx that he may have.

Thus, on the r iver, ihe correct play is to check. The question now is check-ca ll or check-fold.

- 64 -

Since Villain almost never show up w ith air on the river, his bluffing rreguency is IC>w. The next question is can he value-bet worse? The answer is no. Because what can he expects us to cal I with? For these reasons, the river is a clear check-fold.

Alternative Line: Against players who flC>at a lot and like to take stab at pots, check-calling tum is best.

Important '.'lote: The common li ne to extract the most value on th is type of situations is to bet flop, bet turn, and check-fold r iver i'.we don't improve. Against curious players who like to make Hero calls, a river shove is fine because there are times they can call with worse. It's not out of the ordi nary to see a cur ious player show up w ith TT and .JJ in th is spot.

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Problem 12: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S54 1 BB: S612 UTG: S320 Hero 0 1P) : S73 I CO: 5533 BTN: 5400

Pre-flop: Hero on MP with Q+T+ I f old, Hero raises to S18, 3/olds, BB calls 512

Flop : (S39) 9~6•5• (2 players) BB ~hecks, Hero ?

. 66.

Proble m 12: $3/S6 6-Max SB: S54 1 BB: $6 12 UTG: S320 Her o (l\olP) : S73 I CO: S533 BT N: S400

Pre-flop: Hero on iv1P w ith Q~T ~ I f old, Hero mises to S18, 3f olds, BB call s S l 2

Flop: (S39) 9~6,..5+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

Answer 12: This is a spot where some players feel the need to bet. After all, that's what they do w ith overpairs so they want to balance the times they don't have an overpair.

There's noth ing wrong w ith letting ytlur opponent knows that you don't have an overpair on a flop that hit his pre-flop range.

ln this spot, you should check back the flop a lot. lfyou do decide to bet, you should fire the tum and river as well since his check-call ing range on the flop and tum is going to be pairs plus gutshots. If you don't plan on fir ing mu lt iple barrels, espec iall y w ith a river

~---------------~ bet, you should check beh ind here. Bett ing the flop and giving up is burn ing money.

Va riation: lf the flop is 9~6"5~, our flop betting frequency increases dramat ically. fn fact, you should bet the flop every time. The reason you don't get check-raise very often. JV!ost important ly, there are an extra I 0 spade c ards you can cont inue betting and try to fo ld out hands such as 9T, 98, 88, and i7 that are check-calling the flop but usuall y fold to a tum bet. There are also a lot of good turn cards for tlur hand. These cards are A, K, Q, .I, and T.

- 67 -

Problem 13: S31S6 6-Max SB: S639 BB: S408 Hero (UTG): S930 l'v!P: S248 00: S699 BTN: S722

Pre-flop: Hero is UTG w ith T ~T ~ Hero raises to S24, 2folds , BTN re-raises to S78, 2falds, Hero '?

- 68 -

Problem 13: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S639 BB: S408 Hero (UT G): S930 MP: S248 CO: S699 BT~: S722

Pre-Oop: Hero is UTG with T~T~ Hero raises to S24, 2/ olds. BTN re-raises to S78, 2 folds , Hero ?

Answer 13: You open at UTG with TT. A solid regu lar re-raises you on the BTN. It folds to you. Your action.

Unless Villain has been playing aggressively or has a tendency to 3-bet your UTG open a lot, you should fold in this spot. Although it seems weak to fold here, against a player with comparable or better ski I Is than you, it's tough to play TT out ofp()sit ion profitably in this s ituation.

lfhe is in aggressive mode, then 4-bening

'--- - - --- - - ----- - - __J and getting it in is fine.

Important .~ote: In these type ofspoL~. players should treat JJ and TT like 99.

- 69 -

Problem 14: S3 S6 6-Max SB: SI 75 BB: S32 I UTG: S800 Hero (:\I P): 776 CO: S678 BTN: S344

Pre-flop: Hero on MP with A+J+ Hero n1is~s lo S1-1, BTN calls S24, 4/olds

Flop: (S57) 3+8• 5• (2 players) Hero checks , BTN checks

Turn: ($5713+8•5• 2+ (2 players) Hero bets S4 i , BTN ca ll s S47

River: (S 151) 3+8•5• 2+9+ (2 players) H~ro ~

- 70 -

Problem 14: S3/S6 6-Max S8: S l 75 88: 5321 UTG: S800 Hero (~'lP): $776 CO: S678 8T N: S344

Pre-flop: Hero on l\1P w ith A~J~ Hero raises to S24, 8TN calls S24, 4fold~

f lop: (S57) 3~8• 5• (2 players) Hero checks, B TN checks

Turn: (S57) 3~8• 5•2~ (2 playersj Hero bets S47, 8 TN calls S47

River : (S l5 1) 3~8•5•2~9~ (2 players) Hero ?

Answer 14: You should usuall y check here. There's no point in bett ing. No pair is going io fold after the flop action. A lthough there's a non-zero chance you were slowplaying 1he Aop, they are going 10 put you on an unpai red hand and call a r iver bet. \Vith pol odds and your flop play, it's a right river call. Thus, you shouldn't bet.

The question is now check-call or check­fold?

The answer is flip a coin but th is t ime, the co in is heavier on the call ing s ide. If you have a sirong hand, you would've bet the river al ready. Addit ionall y, your opponent will check back a lot of his small pairs. The turn put a flush draw out there. There are also times V illain is check ing back some straight draws such as 6 7 and 89.

Th is is also a type of spot where he ;arely value-bets th in as well. The majority of the l ime, the best hand you are going ttl show up with is ace-high and un likely ltl call his river bet. Thus, he's going lo check beh ind w ith hands such as A2, 44, 66, and 56 a lot.

Alternative Line I: \Ve can check-call the tum and hope hands such as KQ and QJ take stabs at the pot and give up on the r iver. The reason is once we check-call the tum, our hand looks like a small pair or a pair with a draw maj ority of the time and it's un likely those hands are check-fo lding to a river small card.

Alternative Line 2: Against opponents who rarely call .li ght, we should bet the river after bett ing ihe tum. \Ve can fold out hands such as 56, 66, 44, and AQ. Against ihe more curious type who enjoy making Hero calls, we should check the river. The decision is descr ibed above.

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P1·oblem 15: S31S6 6- Max SB: S648 BB: Sl49 UTG: S740 ~IP : S492 Hero (CO): S605 BTN : S582

Pre-llop: Hero on CO with 9~8~ t->fP raises ta S21, Hero calls S2 1, 4/ olds

Flop: (S48) Q• 8•5• (2 players) t-1P checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($48) Q• 8• 5•K~ (2 players) NIP bets $42, Hero calls S42

River: (Sl32) Q•8•5•K~T• (2 players) MP checks, Hero ?

- 72 -

Problem 15: S31S6 6-Max SB: S648 BB: Sl49 UTG: S740 ~ IP: S492 He ro (CO): $605 BTN : S582

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with 9~8~ l\IP raises to $2 1. Ht!ro calls $2 1. 4/olds

Flop: (S48) Q• 8•5• (2 players) MP checks, Hern ch~cks

Turn: (S48) Q•8•5•K~ ( 2 players)

~P bets S42, Hero calls S-t~

River : (S l32} Q•8•5•K~T• (2 players) MP checks, Hero?

Answer 15: You should tum your hand into a bluff on the river. From your opponent's

perspective, the T • must be the worst card in the deck for him since it completes almost all the draws. Additionally. when Villain checks,

he is un likely to have a strong hand since you w il I check beh ind on the river a good amount w ith one-pair hands.

Important ~ote: An imponant note

regarding this situation is if every draw Ii lls up on the river and it is check to you, you should tum the bottom of your range into

bluffs. In th is particu lar situation, any hand

worse than Kx should be bluffing this river.

- 73 •

Problem 16: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S573 BB: S627 UTG: S671 ~LP: S294 CO: S589 Hero (BT'i): S734

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN with A+T• UTG raises to S20, 2/olds, Hero re-raises to 567. 2fofds, UTG calls S47

Flop: (S 143) 7~8•9•(2 players) UT G checks, Hero '?

- 74 .

Problem 16: S3/$6 6-!vfax SB: $573 BB: $627 UTG: S67 1 MP: $294 CO: $589 Hero (BTN): $734

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN with A~ T + UTG raises to $20, 2fiJ/ds, Heni re-raises to

S67, 2/olds, UTG calls $47

flop: ($143) 7~8~9•(2 players) UTG checks, Hero ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer 16: This another spot where you should check behind in a 3-bet pot.

Overpairs are going to check-shove a lot of the time and you are going to play for stacks with 32% equity. Of course, considering that you get some fo ld equity on the occasions that your opponent has AK, AQ, and AJ, ifs not bad to bet here.

However, those high-cards hands are likely to fo ld to a tum or r iver bet anyway. \Vhen you check back the flop, you have a lot of pairs in your range that aren't going to fold to a turn bet so that discourages Villain from bluffing on the tum, allowing you to bet.

Another reason why we should check behind is if Vil lain check-calls th is !lop, his range is likely pairs with a straight draw or JT and those hands aren't likely to fo ld to a tum bet.

Lastly, checkmg back protects your tlop check-back range since we checking back with hands such as AK and AQ almost always. The stronger hands in your check-back range are 9T and 8T. Those hands aren't vu lnerable on a lot of tum cards and we can call a lot of tum bets. \Ve wi II also check back QQ-AA some of the t imes, especiall y when stacks get deep. [ f stacks are IOOBB, it's be.st to bet and get it in.

[fwe have hands such as TT and JJ, we should almost always bet the flop. The reason is there are lots of hands such as 66, 9T, 8T, and AT that are check-raising th is flop. Against hands such a~ QQ-AA, our equity is 32% so it's not too bad. But Villain isn't going to have a lot ofQQ-AA because he is more likely to 4-bet pre-flop than flatting, especially in situations where stacks get pass the I 25BBs level.

Important Note: Pre-El op isn't standard and you should only re-raise 15-20% of the time in th is spot. Of course, if you are playing an opponeni do doesn't pay much attent ion, it's fine to 3-bei him as much as you want until he realizes something is go ing on.

A more advance approach is to 3-bet Villain a lot but not to the point where he realizes what is going on so he won't adjust and you can continue abusing him. This is very difficult to balance so if you find it tough, you can 3-bet him relentlessly until he fi ghts back.

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Problem 17: $31$6 6-Max SB: 5489 BB: 5607 UTG: S200 MP: $380 Hero (CO): S787 BTN: S250

Pre- llop: Hero on CO with A • 5• or A • K• 2 folds, I lcro ra1s~s to $22, 2 folds, BB call s S 16

Flop: (S47) 8f-6 •2~ (2 players) BB checks, II ero does what for each hand?

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Problem 17: S3/S6 6-i\1ax SB: S489 BB: $607 UT G : S200 M P: S380 Her o (CO): $787 BT N : S250

Pre-flop; Hero on CO w ith A• 5• or A• K• 2/o·lds, Hero raises 10 S22, 2/olds, BB calls S l6

f lop : (S47) 8~6•2~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero does what [or each hand?

Answer 17: \Vith A¥5¥ , y·ou should be! here. If you get check-raised, you can fold your harnd without much w·orry. Your hand is di fficu lt to improve and rarely has showdown value. Additionall y, the nop is very dry so it's di fficult for V ill a in to check-raise with a high enough frequency to make our continuat ion bet a bad play. Thus, betting is a lot belier than checking.

'With A• K• , you should check back some of the t imes, espec ia ll y aga inst opponents w ith a high check-ra ising frequency.

You have more outs to improve and have show down value against AQ-AT. If your hand improves, you'll dominate hands such as KQ-KT and AQ-AT and extract two streets of value. On the occasions that you don't imprnve, you'll see opponents show ing dow n w ith AQ-AT sirnce those hands do :have some showdown value. You' ll also get catch some bluffa si nce a tum ace or king is the green light for p layers to bluff

The key idea here is to check w ith hands that have potential to make a reall y strong hand and are likely to dom inate your oppcments' made hands. H igh-card hands such as AK-AJ that miss ilops: are good to check back some of the ti me.

Alternative Line: \ Vith A"' K• , it's more opponent speci fie. A gainst passive and straight forward players, checking back A• K• is heller. The reason is they are rarely w ith worse and will give you free showdowns. Against tricky aggressive players, you should bet the flop with AK. One reason is they are capable o-f check-calling the flop w iih worse aces such as AQ and AJ. Addi tionall y, good aggressive players who can read hand well know majority of your range is ace-high and w ill g ive you a hard t ime by value-betti ng th in or firing turn and river as bluffs.

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Problem 18: S3/S6 6-Max SB: 5325 BB: $570 UTG: 5329 '.\ii P: 590 Hero (CO): Sl 022 BTN: 5780

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with 5~5• 2/olds, Hero nllses to $24, 2/olds, BB calls5 18

Flop: (S51) Q•9•6~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

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Problem 18: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S325 BB: $570 UTG: S329 !v!P: S90 Hero (CO): SI 022 BTN: S780

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with 5+5• 2folds, Hero raises to S24, 2/olds, BB call s S l8

Flop: (S5 1) Q• 9• 6+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

Answer 18: [n th is siiuation, you should almost always bet to try taking down the pot.

One might wonder why we are betting on th is nop when no better hands w i II fold and no worse hands w i II call. More or less, it is a protect ion bet. \Ve fo ld out hands w ith decent equity such a~ T8, AT, and sometimes KT and KJ. Betting also makes the hand easier io play and more importantly, it prevents us from getting bluffed on the turn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check ing back also causes us to m istaken ly cal l a tum bet because we will feel we under represent our hand since our range consisted mostly of ace-high once we check back th is flop.

However, camng a non-5 tum bet is nol pro fi tab le because we m ight be draw ing dead and if we are ahead, we wouldn't know what to do against a river bet. Thus, it's best to j ust bet the flop and try to end the hand.

Of course, you don't want to always bett ing on ih is flop and might want to construci a check ing back range. You should consider checlung back with hands such as Tr, 9x, and 56- basicall y hands that can call a tum bet because opponents m ight be bett ing ihe tum w ith worse hands and on the occasions you are beh ind, you' ll have more than two outs to improve. To protect your flop check range, consider checking back w ith QX sometimes.

[fan opponent has a high check-raising frequency, you should consider checking back hands li ke 44 or 66 and trying to get to showdown.

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Problem 19: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S478 BB: S249 UTG: S663 MP: S508 Hero (CO): $620 BT N : $7 15

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with A~9~ 2fo/ds, Hero raises to S 18, BTN calls S 18, 2 folds ,

Flop: (S45) K• T •6• (2 players) Hero bets S38, BTN ca lls $38

Turn: (S 121) K~T•6~ 71!! (2 players) Hero bets SI 14, CO cal ls SI 14

River: (S349) K~T•6~7'1!A+ (2 players) Hero?

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Problem 19: S3/S6 6-1'·1ax SB: S478 BB: S249 UTG: S663 M P: S508 Hero (C O) : S620 BT N : S7 15

P re-flop : Hero on CO with A+9+ 2falds, Hero raises to S l8, BTN calls $18, 2 folds,

Flop: (S45) K+T• 6+ (2 players) Hero bets S38, BTN call s S38

Turn: (S I 21) K+T +6+ 7+ (2 p layers) Hero bets S I 14, CO call s S I 14

Answer l9: Betting is worse than checki11g in th is spot. It is rare for a better hand to call you since QJ got there and you might have AK and AT.

Villain's range is like KX or worse. It's hard to imagine him not raising two pairs or belier by the tum. Thus, on the r iver, he's go ing to have a lot of KX and pair p lus s traight draws.

A pair p lus straight draw isn't going to call a r iver bet since you have AX a good amount of the time. KX w ill fo ld a good amount o f times as well. Besides you having a missed fl ush draw, Villain isn't go ing to beat you very o ften. Considering that the board h its your pre-nop range and you have shown a lot of strength, he's going to fo ld a lot of worse hands than AX. R iver: (S349) K+T +6+7+A • (2 players}

Hero ? The r iver is probab ly a check- fo ld more often

'-------------------' than a check-call. The reasons are QJ got ihere. KX isn't going to tum his hand into b luffs. V illa in doesn't have thai many nush draws in h is range since you have the nut flush draw. lf he has a hand such as J+T+ or .J+Q+, he's likely ra is ing the flop.

There's also a good chance that you have a pair of aces and he's noi going to rry to move you off top pair on such a draw-heavy board. I fhe bets the river, it's to get yo u to fold ihe same draw thai he has. But s ince there's a Jot of middle cards on board, he's often going to have a pa ir to go with h is draw. Stl if he puts you on a draw, he's go ing to check back the river a lot.

Alternative Line: Against opponents who have a h is wry of making Hero call s, you should value-bet w ith A+9+ on the river. KT and better hands are raising the nop or the ium .. QJ w ill have a hard bme call ing the tum bet s ince it's a two-tone flop and our bet is b ig. V il lain can have Q+J+ but that is on ly one combinat ion in h is range and he would p lay ii fast on the nop almost a lways . Thus, on the river, majority o f our opponent's range is KQ, KJ, K9s, K8s, QT, IT, and T9. Against a range where we are ahead so o ften, bett ing is best. Of course, against some opponents, the river is check-fo ld.

Variation: ff the board is rainbow, river is c lear check-fo ld because Villa in is more likely 10

s lowp lay w ith KT and better hands. There's a chance he has 89 and AT as well .

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Problem 20: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S7 17 BB: S20 1 UTG: S634 MP: S789 CO: $ 1508 Hero (BTN): $739

Pre-f'lop: Hero on BTN with A•Q~ 2/olds, CO raises to Sl2, Hero re-raises to S30, 2 f olds, CO calls S 18

flop: (S69) .1• 8• 7• (2 players) CO checks, Hero bets S43, CO calls S43

Turn: (S 155) JY8+ 7•K~ (2 players) CO checks, Hero ?

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Problem 20: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S7 17 BB: S20 1 UTG : S634 MP: S789 CO: $1508 Hero (BT N): $739

Pre-flop: Hero on B TN with A •Q~

2/olds, CO raises to S t2, Hero re-raises to $30, 2 f olds, CO call s S 18

f lop: (S69) J• 8• 7• (2 players) CO checks, Hero bets 543, CO calls $43

Turn: (S l55) J•8• 7•K~ (2 players) CO checks, Hero?

Answer 20: Th is is a good spot to overbet on the tum and fo llow through on the river.

Once V ill ain calls our sma ll re-raise, he is going to have QJ, JT, 89, 99, TT, KJ, and AJ almost always .

On such a drawy flop, if V illain has A.I+, he would've check-raised to either end the hand or charge a lot for a draw. Once V illain check-calls the flop, his range has a lot of flush draws, JT, TT, 99, and 89. Basicall y hands that look good to check­call but not strong enough to check-raise.

The turn improves your pre-flop range. By over betting the tum, we represent a ll sets, 9T, AK, KJ, and AA. It's common to overbet w ith QQ on the tum as well. If Vii lain calls, w ith QQ you get to check

._ ________________ ___J behind on the r iver for a free showdown.

If Villai n ends up check-calling the tum, you should always follow through on the river by shoving. It is such a drawy board that if he has a strong made hand, he would've check-raised all-in . By check-calling, his range is mostly pairs with draws. !fa draw hits on the river, we won't know if it hits Villain's draw but we should shove anyway since he m ight have a different draw.

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Problem 21: $3 $6 6-Max SB: SI023 BB: 889 Hero (UTG): 840 MP: $476 CO: $92 1 BTN: S827

Pre-flop: Hero on UTG with A~K• Hero r.iis~s to S1.l, 3 folds, SB calls $2 1, BB calls SIS

Flop: (S72) 9~9 •K+ (3 players) H~ro bets SS.l, I/old, BB check-ra ises to Sl55, lleroca ll s SIOI

T ur n: (S382) 9+9• K+3• (2 players) BB bets S272, llcro ca lls S272

Rl\'er : (S926} 9~9 •K+3•7~ (2 players} BB bets al I-in for $492, Hern?

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Problem 21: S3/S6 6-lvlax SB: St023 BB: $889 Hero (UT G) : $840 MP: S476 CO: S92 1 BT N: S827

Pre-flop: Hero on UTG w ith A~K• Hero raises to S24, 3.folds, SB calls S2 1, BB calls S l8

Flop: (S72) 9~9•K+ (3 players) Hero bets 554, I/old, BB check-raises to

Sl55, Hero call> SIOl

T urn: (S382) 9~9• K+ 3• (2 players) BB bets S272, Hero calls S272

River: (S926) 9~9•K+3•7~ (2 players) BB bets a ll-in for S492, Hero'?

Answer 21: Your opponent is representing tr ip nines or better once he check-raises. To fi gure out what his check-raising range is, check to see i f his line is congruent with his pre-flop range. Since he defends from the SB, it is . Now, what is your range? Your flop range for bett ing is likely air, TJ, JQ, 9x, Kx, and AA. You might end up calling w ith all these hands except for ai r if you don't believe him.

3-betting the flop w ith air or low equity hands such as TJ or JQ is fine since you 3-bet w ith 9X some of the t imes as well.

In the hand, you decide to call the flop and call the tum. On the r iver, V illain shoves .

T o analyze your river decision, you should check whether you are at the bonom, middle, or top of your range. At fi rst g lance, it looks li ke you are at the lop of your range because you have top pair, top kicker. However, a tter

'-------------------' the llop and tum act ion, your hand is ac tuall y the bottom of your range because it's difficult for you to get to the river worse than A~K• . You can easil y have 99, 9X, K9, and KK. Additionall y, it's also a spot where Villain is un likely to bluff you since you almost never have air or a draw in your range and your range is very strong after calling the flop check-raise and the tum bet.

But he takes the check-raise--bet-bet line anyway. And since you are at the bottom of your range, barring any specific reads where he's a moron or a hyper-aggressive player, you shou ld fo ld.

Alternaiive Line: \Vithout a read that your opponent doesn't triple-barrel bluffs on th is board, fo ldi ng the tum is fi ne.

Important ~oie; In certain spots, it's OK to play exploitable unti l you not ice your opponent is beginn ing to expklil you. On th is hand, although folding AK on the turn seems exploitable because i ~s near the top of your flop ca lli ng range. Additionall y, we have few 9x in our range versus the combinat ions of AK, KQ, KJ, and AA that we are belling on th is flop. However, because players rarely bluff and exploit th is spot, it's OK to fo ld AK since you un likely being exp loited.

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This example i ll ustrate an important concept regardi ng balance. It's OK ttl be completely unbalanced in some spots where your opponent's range is so unbalanced and is heavil y weighted toward the nuts.

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Problem 22: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S520 BB: S364 UTG: S700 MP: S856 Hero (CO): $728 BTN : S644

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with K~8~ 2 f olds, Hero raises to S 18, I f old, SB calls S 15, I f old

Flop: (S42) 7~8~T• (2 players) BB checks, ~ ero ?

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Problem 22: S3/S6 6-Max SB: $520 BB: S364 UTG: S700 lv!P: S856 Hero (CO): $728 BTN: S644

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith K~8~ 2folds, Hero raises to S 18, I f old, SB calls S 15, I/old

Flop: (S42) 7~8~T• (2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

Answer 22: A lthough you have m iddle pair with a good kick er, you shou Id check back here on th is flop majority of the ti me.

If Villain has a small pocket pair or a hand li ke 67, he' ll be happy to go to showdown since you likely have ace-high or smal I pocket pairs. I f he has a medium pair, it is likely that he has a pair with straight draws to go with it and won't be fo lding the flop nor the tum. Additionall y, having a king helps you a little bit in case he has hands such as KQ and KJ. You' ll a lso have more outs against AT and .I.I.

For these reasons, it's a spot where you should check back the maj ority, if not all the ti me, and try to get to showdown

~----------------~ cheap l y.

If you check back and there's a tum bet, you should fo ld on non-spades turn 6, 9, and J. You can call everyth ing else and the river de~is1on 1s based on your oppcmenf s tendencies.

Board Te.xture :-.lote: If you don't have a backdoor flush draw, you shou ld consider bet- fo lding the flop. The reason is you have less turns where you can continue the hand with.

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Pr oblem 23: $3/S6 6-Max SB: S336 BB: S646 UTG : 5849 Hero (!VIP) : $629 CO: S803 BTN: S416

Pre-flop: Hero on. !vlP with K•Q~ UTG raises to S2 l , Hero ?

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Problem 23: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S336 BB: S646 UT G : S849 Hero (NIP) : S629 CO: S803 BTN: S4 16

Answer 23: Some players call here, some players fo Id here, and some p I ayers re­raise here. All three decisions seem close. Against a loose player, it's a call or re-raise since Villain is go ing to have a lot ofKX and QX in his range that we beat. He also may have other connectors such as T Jo or T9s.

Pre-flop: Hero on !v!P with K.,Q4 UTG raises ttl S21, Hero?

The interesting part is what do we do against a solid aggressive player whose

~----------------~ overall stats are 22/1 7 and opens about 14% UTG. Although KQo is a good hand, against that range, calling is not profitab le. Now, we are left with folding or re-raise. Against a reall y good opponent, fo lding is fine. Against the majority of regu lars, a re-raise is profitable.

This situat ion is a little awkward because we have a good hand. But when we re-raise, we are often turn ing our hand into a bluff because it's rare for Villain to call our rai se with a worse hand. However, due to card removals, KQo takes a lot hands such as AK, AQ, KK, and QQ out of his 4-betting range, so 3-bei! ing in th is spot is profitab le. For the same reason, KQo is a good hand to 5-bet all-i n against an opponent who 4-bets light.

\Vithout us holding KQo, Villai n has 18 combinations of AA-QQ and 32 combinations of AK and AQ. lfwe hold KQo, Villain only has 6 combinations of AA, 3 combinations ofKK, 3 combinat ions ofQQ, 12 combinat ions of AK, and 12 comb inat ions of AQ. The total is 36 combinat ions. That's 28% less hands that he can 4-bet or call our all-in with .

Alternative Line: I f the UTG player is a loose aggressive player and the players behind ytlu like to squeeze, it's a great spot to tlat hands such as AA, KK, AK, and QQ and hope that you get squeezed. On the same note, you should high ly consider turn ing marginal hands such as KQ and A To into bluffs in this spot. \Vith card removals, you'll often take down ihe poi pre-flop. Additionall y, you can get hands such as AQ and TT to fo ld because your line is congruent to KK + and AK. Of course, don'i overdo th is play. Once you get caught, stop doing th is play for a while because you will get ca lled by marginal holdings. The reason is it's a type of spot that opponents remember really well if you get to showdown with a marginal hand, especially if you give them a bad beat.

Important .\'ote: \Vhen calling a UTG raise from MP, you should consider the opponents behind you and whether they are aggressive and squeeze happy. \Vhat may be a marginal call versus a UTG raise can easily turn inlCl a huge -EV situation. The only game condit ions where you should consider calling a raise in this spot is ifthe UTG player is loose and aggressive and

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the opponents beh ind you rarely 3-bet.

lmportant Note 2: If you feel your opponents are playing t ight against your 3-beis, you should consider calling their pre-flop UTG raises w ith your premium holdings. For example, a so lid regu lar opens UTG and you are on the BTN w ith AK, you should consider flailing if you feel he's going to fold 88-TT, AJ or worse aces, sometimes AQ. You want to keep your opponent and thei r dominated hands in the pol. O f course, if your opponent isn't folding much, then i ~s an easy 3-bet pre- fl op.

Extra Question: \Vhat hands would you rather flat w ith pre-flop: AA or KK?

Ext ra Answer: At first glance, you would rather flat w ith AA because ytlu always have the highest pair and can get value out of a lot of hands post-flop. \Vith KK, it's tough to play when the flop is ace-high. However, equ ity-wise, it's belier to flat more often with KK and al most always re-raise AA pre-flop. The reason is w ith AA, you w ill cooler peop le a lot more. Since majority of solid players only stack off with QQ+/A K pre-flop, you want to get in as much money as possible w ith A.A since you have a great equity advantage - 84% to be exact. KK only has 57% equity against ihe same range. Th is is a huge difference and it would be disastrous if we slowplay w ith AA and fail to get it in pre-flop when our opponent has one of the premium hands that he w ill stack off pre-flop w ith.

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Problem 24: S3/S6 6-Max SB: 5500 BB: $907 UTG: S677 Hero ("IP) : SJ044 CO: S651 BTN: S633

Pre-flop: Hero on MP with T• 9• I/olds, Hero rn1ses to s.8, 3/olds, BB calls Sl2

Flop: (S39) ~ • 5• 3• (2 players) UTG checks, Hero bets S34, UTG calls S34

Turn: (SI07) KY5+3+8+ (2 players) UTG checks, Hero bets S97, UTG cal Is S97

River: (S30 1) K•5+3+8+2~ (2 players) UTG checks, Hero bets S244, UTG check-raises all-in ... S5 14 to call, Hero?

. 92.

Problem 24: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S500 BB: $907 llT Ci : '$677 Hero (!VI P) : $ 1044 CO: S65 1 BT N : S633

Pre.- flop : Hero on lV!P w ith T .. 9 .. I f olds, Hero raises to S 18, 3 f olds, BB call s SI 2

flop : (S39) KY5 .. 3 .. (2 players) UTG checks, Hero bets S34, UTG ca lls S34

T urn: (SI07) KY5 .. 3 .. 8 .. (2 players) UT G checks, Hero bets S9i, UTG ca lls S97

River: (S301) KY~3 .. 8 .. 2~ (2 players) UTG checks, Hero bets S:?:44, UTG check-raises a II- in . . . S5 I 4 to ca ll , Hero ?

A nswer 24: The river is a tough spot.

V illain rare ly, if ever, check-raises the river for value w ith worse hands. The key question 1s how o tten is he blutling when taking th is I ine?

H is range after the flop and the tum act ion is sets, n ushes, and pair p I us fl ush draws.

Sets are un likely to check-raise the river because it's rare for beiter hands to fo ld and worse hands to cal I.

Better hands in h is range are Q .. 1 .. , K .. Q .. , K .. J .. , A .. s ... A .. 4 ... A .. 3 .. , and A .. 2 ... A .. K .. likely 3-bei pre- flop so we w ill discount that hand from his range.

Pair p lus flush draws hands in h is range are K .. Qo and A .. Ko. If V il lain is exot ic, ifs poss ible he has A .. Qo and A .. Jo. However,

~----------------~ that is a li tt le too optimisti c.

Combination-wise, there are seven higher nushes that beat us and seven combinations of K .. Qo and A .. Ko that we beat. However, consider ing K .. Qo and A .. Ko have a pair o f k ings, V ilJ a in wi ll ca ll some of times. Add it iona ll y, V illain has to be reall y good to check-raise th is river with a h igher spade as a bluff. So we fo ld.

Important Note: Th is is a spot where fo ld ing seems exploitable because you're folding a very strong hand. If your opponent has the A .. , he could easil y exploit you. However, opponents don't exploit th is spot that often so it's OK to be fo ld. O f course, that is until you not ice your opponent is beginn ing to put pressure on you in this spot. That's when you need to call w ith the top of range.

Just remember not to mindlessly c li ck the call button because you are at the top of your range. You are only app lying such a concept if you are playing against an opponent who read hands well and you feel he is explo iti ng you in spots where your range is well. It's a d isaster to app ly th is concept versus a n it who always have the nuts.

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Problem 25: S3 S6 6-~lax SB: S-100 BB: S410 UTG: St 796 Her o p tP): S873 CO: S544 BTN: $245

Pre-nop: !-lero on MP with 8+ 7+ UTG raises to S 18, Hero re-raises to S-18, 4 folds, UTG cal Is S30

Flo p: (SI 05) T• 9+5• (2 players) UTG checks, 11 ero checks

Turn: (SIDS) T¥9+5+9+ (2 players) UTG checks, I lero checks

River: (S 105) T• 9+ 5• 9• 3• (2 players) UTG checks, Hero '?

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Problem 25: $3/S6 6-!vlax SB: S400 BB: S4 10 UTG: $ 1796 Hero (i\'IP) : $873 CO: S544 BTN: S245

Pre-flop: Hero on MP w ith 8~ 7~ UTG raises to S 18, Hero re-rais es u S48, 4

f olds, UTG calls S30

Flop: (S I 05) T.,9~5• (2 p layers) UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (S 105) T.,9~5+9+ (2 p layers) UTG checks, Hero checks

River: (S I 05) T.,9~5+9+3+ (2 p layers) UTG checks, H enl ?

Answer 25: \\'hen overbe tting, your range is polarized the majority of the t ime to a ir or the nuts. Considering that V ill ain checks three times, it's difficu lt for h im to show up w ith a hand better than Tx. Villain will have some random small pairs some percentage of the time but will fo Id more o ft en than not. A I so, s i nee th is is a 3-bet pot and stacks a ren't that deep, it's difficu lt for Villain m have small pairs anyway. He's going to have a lot of ace-h igh and king­h igh hands that w i II have a tough t ime ca lling the river bet.

Thus, th is is a great spot to overbe t the river, especiall y after the backdoor nush draw h ii.

One would reason that we represent ing a reall y narrow val ue range, basicall y nushes, so it's a bad bei. \Vh ile th is is true, a lot of regulars at small- and mid-stakes are incapable o f doing anyth ing about it. They j ust pu ll their hair and

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ fo ld.

Alternative Lille: On the tum, our opponent's range is re lat ively weak. It is a lso a tum where we rarely get check-raise. \Vi th these two factors, we are probab ly better off bett ing the tum and continue applying pressure on good rivers. Taking th is line w idens our value range on the r iver. Good r ivers are A, K, Q, J, T , and diamonds. And of course, a s ix.

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Problem 26: S31S6 6-Max SB: $443 BB: $279 Hero (UT G): $102-1 MP: $458 CO: 5562 BT~ : S800

Pre-llop: Hero on UTG with A+Q+ Hero raises to S 18, 2folds, BTN re-raise to 566, 2folds, Hero ca ll s $48

Flop: ($ 141) 2+5+J+ (2 players) Hero checks, BB bets SI 02, H eru '?

- 96 -

Problem 26: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S443 BB: S279 Hero (UT G ): SJ 024 i\ lP: S458 CO: S562 BTN: $800

Pre-flop : Hero on UTG w ith A~Q~ Hero raises to S 18, 2/olds, BTN re-raise to S66, 2/ olds, Hero calls S48

Answer 26: Th is situaiion occurs frequently, especia ll y when you play against decent regulars on the button. Pre­flop is a call the major ity of the time, u11 l e~s V fllai1J is a (:ta£y filayer \vl1L1 IJas been 3-bett ing you a Jot.

One advice is don't be afraid to call pre­flop and play post-nap poker. A .. Q~ is ahead of his re-rais ing range. Of course, the question is how do you play post-flop if you don't hit an ace or a queen?

flop: (S J 4 1}2+5+J~ (2 players)

Hero checks, BB beis S l02, Hero 1 The answer is you should check-cal l on mosi nops and check-fo ld on drawy fl ops

~-----------------~ such as 6• 7• 8+ or 8~J+7• .

Jn the example, you should check-cal l on that flop as well. There are a few reasons for th is . You are ahead some of the time. V ill ain is going to continuation bet a Jot on th is flop, and give up a Jot of the time once you call the flop bet because your range is fairly strong. The weakest made hand you have is 99 in this spot.

Basicall y, in th is type of scenar io, here's what usuaU y happens. A fl op comes X XX and V illain will continuation bet and he w ill shut down a fterward. Villain's sirategy is a good one because most small- and mid-stakes players -:heck-fo ld post-Aop if they miss or check-raise if they have a hand like QQ, AJ-KJ.

After the fl op call, the tum usuall y goes check-check.

On the river, it's a game of chicken and whoever bets usually w ins. You should bluff the r iver if you don't improve. [ f the river is a queen, you should bet for value. If the river is an Ace, you should check-call a Jot more than betti ng oui. The reason is Vill ain w ill bet ai that card a lot of the t ime, both for value and as a blu'.f, since it is such a great card to bei in a 3-bei pot.

By playing w ith AQ in th is manner and not 4-betti ng, you avoid getti ng stacked by AK pre­flop. Post-flop, you can fold out AK and AQ . Of course, his re-raising range is much w ider than ihat and some of the 6me when you bet the river, you actuall y have the best hand. However, it's much better tel bet the r iver in case he has a small pair that won't call a river bet but beats ace­high at showdown.

It will be scary at fi rst when you first play AQ in th is manner post-fl tlp . But with some success,

- 97 -

you' ll feel confident in your play and decision-making abili ty. Start incorporat ing th is type of play against weak regu lars fi rst. The better and more aggressive regu lars will put you more pressure on you and you w iJJ get discouraged about playing post-nop. As you improve playing in th is particular spot, you can start '.latting with more hands against better regulars.

Don't be afniid to play pms against them. Remember, the better regu lars in your games are only slightly better than you. They are not that much belier. Or e lse they would be playing at higher stakes already.

Alternative Line I: Check-fold nop. Jn fact, you should usuall y take th is line ifytmr opponent is aggressive and doesn't play predictably in 3-bet pots.

Alternative Line 2: If V illain is sc r~w ing around, we can 4-bet and fold. Players don't 5-bet bluff often in th is spot because you are at UTG and your range is very strong once you 4-bet.

- 98 -

Problem 2?: S3/S6 6-!v!ax SB: S634 BB: S20 1 UTG : S687 ~IP : S745 CO: S694 Hero (BTN) : S642

Pre-flop: Herci on BTN with Q~Q• UTG raises to S18, lv!P calls S18, I fold, Hero re-raises to ~72, 3j olds, MP re-raises to 5164, Hero ?

- 99 -

Problem 27: S31S6 6- ~1ax

SB: $634 BB: $201 UTG: $687 MP: $745 CO : S694 Hero (BTN): S642

Pre·flop: Hero on BTN with Q+Q• UTG raises to S18, ~1P calls $18, I fold, Hero re-raises to $72, 3/olds, ~pre-raises to SJ64, Hero?

Ans\\ er 27: You should fold here.

Against a range of AA, KK, and AK. you

have 40%. Considering that th is type of play is more l>llen aces and kings than AK, a fo ld is belier.

Of course, in the heat of the moment, it's difficult to fold but after careful consideration, you will see it's a trivial fold.

Here is some simple math on why we should folding. The total pot is S l31 I if we gel it in. Since we have 40% equiiy, we w ill w in S524.4 lm average. Th is is bad because we are risk ing S570 10 win S524.4. Add itionall y, when a so lid regu lar does something weird pre- Oop, he's more likely 10 have AA than

'--~~~~~~~~~~~~~__J AK.

- I 00 -

Problem 28: S31S6 6-Max SB: S472 BB: S744 Hero (UTG): S928 MP: S622 CO: S804 RTN : $7.~'l

Pre-flop: Hero on UTG with A.,A~

Hero raises to 524, 2/olds, BTN ca:Js S24, 2 folds

Flop: (S57) 9., 7• 7~ (2 players) Hero bets 545, BTN raises io S 138, Hero calls $93

Turn: (S333) 9., 7 + 7~3., (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S 195, Hero calls S 195

River: ($723) 9•7 • 7~3•Q~ (2 ploycrs) Hero checks, BTN beis all -in, Hero ?

- 101 -

Problem 28: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S472 BB: S744 Bero (UTG): S928 ~MP: $622 CO: S804 BTN: S739

Pre-flop: Hero on UTG w ith A"A~ Hero raises to S24, 2/olds, BTN calls S24, 2

f olds

flop: (SS7) 9" 7• 7"1- (2 p layers) Hero bets S45, BTN raises to S 138, Hero calls S93

T urn: (S333) 9" 7+7"1-3" (2 p layers) Hero checks, BTN bets S 195, Hero ca lls S 195

River: ($723) 9"7• 7"1-3•Q~ (2 p layers) Herr> r.her.k<, RTN heis ~ II -i n, Herr' ?

Answer 28: This spot is tougher than ii looks. The decision after the flop raise depends heavily on who the opponem is. Against some, a lthough fo lding here is exp loitab le and seems extremely weak, it is probably the correct p lay since you are drawing to two outs. Against others, yo u a re never fo lding. The main reason is you a re at the top of your range.

If you p lay a tight solid style, you rarely have a 7 in your hand, un less it is 78. You can have 99 and 77 but that's a total of 4 Ctlmbinat ions. lfhe happens to have T9 and decide to tum it into a b l u ft~ you have fewer fu ll house combinat ions in your range. Thus, AA is the top of your range in this spot. Against anyone you consider good and aggress ive, you can't fold.

The ques tion is how do yo u p lay the tum?

Small- and mid-stakes p layers li ke to check-shove the tum in th is spot but that is non-optimal. All better hands are calli ng and you prevent your opponents from bluffing the river. \Vhat you should do is check-ca ll the tum and check-call the ri ver. A river ace or king w il l on ly increase h is b luffing frequency. Additionally, tak ing th is line with AA. (or KK/QQ) a lso protects your check-calling range on a paired board.

Of course, if your opponent is a n it and rare I y, if ever, gets out of Ii ne, then you shou Id fo Id to the r iver bet. Although you a re fold ing the top of your range al the river, he likely has trip 7s or better.

lmporiant Note: If you are p lay ing against a V illain who you know are capab le o f making huge b luff;; and can value-bet thin, you should call the r iver. The reason is there are a ton of stra ight draws such as 56, 8T, and JT that V illain can raise the flop w ith . Additionall y, if he somehow get to the river w ith KQ, he can value-bet that hand in case you have hands such as TT and JJ .

Agai nst n its who don't p lay KK or .f J th is way, it's a river fold. They just don't pu ll tha t trigger at the end.

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Problem 29: S3 'S6 6-:vlax SB: S572 Hero (BB): 864 UTG: S-139 MP: S628 CO: S306 BT:'<: 5778

Pre-nop: Hero on BB with XX 3 folds , BT!\ raises to $24, I fold Hero calls S 18

Flop: ($51) Q• 8+3• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN ra ises ltl S47, Hero ca lls S4i

T urn: (S145) Q+8+3•3• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S 132, Hero calls $132

River: (S409) Q+8+3•3• 5• (2 players) H~ro ~h..:cks, BTN overbets S575 al I-in, Hero?

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Problem 29: S3/S6 6-/\1ax SB: S572 Hero (BB): $864 UTG : S439 MP: S628 CO: S306 BT~ : $778

Pre-flop: Hero on BB w ith XX 3 f olds, BTN raises to S24, I f old Hero calls S 18

Flop: (S5 1) Q~8~3• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN raises to S47, Hero calls S4i

T urn: (S l 45) Q~8~3•3• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S 132, Hero call s S 132

River: (S409) Q~8~3+3•5• (2 players) Hero checks, BTN overbets S575 all-in, Hero ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A nswer 29: \ Vha1 is the best hand that you w ill call in th is spot w ith?

Befure you th ink of his range, th ink of the best hands !hat you can show up w ith in th is spot. Your nmge can consists ofAQ, KQ, QJs, QTs, A3s, 33, and 88 by the river. Against a solid player, how comfortable are you calling a river overbet shove with anyth ing but A3, 33, and 88? And you have 2 combinat ions of A3s, I comb inat ion of 33, and 3 combinat ions of 88. That's only 6 combinations that you can comfortab ly call a river shove w ith.

Assuming you are defending with only I 0% of hands from the SB, you are folding over 90% of hands from the SB posit ion against the bet-bet-bet line on th is board.

The most important question is do you fo ld or call'!

Against 98% of opponents, you che: k- fo ld the river. They don't bluff a 101 here and no one in his r ight mind is going to try 10 bluff you off a hand such as AQ and KQ even though those hands are only bluff-catchers in this spot. Against the few great players, you close your eyes and tl ip a coin. Most of the time, l expect you to lose. But in order 10 prevent yourself from being exp loited in future hands, you have to call some of the times.You can't fo ld all the t ime or else V ill ain w ill take a ll your money w ithout you know ing.

Of course, if you p I ay lower than 5-1 ON L, al most none of th is is going on and some pet1p le j us1 have the nuts when they take the bet-bet-bet li ne on this board.

Then why am I showing you this example? Because that's the assignment for the next exercise.

Exe.rcise 4: Come up w ith your own boards ttl 3-barrel when you raise late position and one of the blinds defends. The key is 10 come up w ith boar ds where your opponent cannot have many strong combinat ions and/or boards where your opponent w ill ca ll the tlop and tum bet w ith their marginal holdi ngs but will fo ld to a river shove.

Hint: think of what hands he's cal ling w ith against your pre-ilop open. To help you get started, a

- I 04 -

flop such as J~ T • 7 • is a good fl op 10 bet flop, bet turn, and shove r iver.

- I 05 -

Hand 30: S3/S6 6-l\1ax SB: S887 Hero (BB): $724 UTG: S69 1 MP: S906 CO: S595 BTN : S603

Pre-nop: Hero on BB with 5• 4• 2/olds, CO raises to S 18, 2/olds, Hero calls Sl2

Flop: (S39) A~J•3~ (2 players) Hero checks, UT G checks

Turn: (S39) A~J•3~7~ (2 players) Hero?

- I 06 -

Ha nd 30: S3/S6 6-i\1ax SB: 5887 Her o (BB) : S724 UT G : S69 1 M P: 5906 CO: S595 BTN: 5603

Pre-flop: Hero on BB w ith 5Y4Y 2/ o·lds, CO raises to S 18, 2/olds, Hero calls S l2

f lop : (S39) A~J•3+ (2 players) Hew checks, UT G checks

T urn: (S39) A~J•3+7+ (2 players) Hero ?

Answer 30: This is a good spot to overbet the turn .

After Vi llain checks behind, ihe majority of the time, he' ll have AX. He can show up w iih KK-44 and JX as well. He' ll rarely :have air because it's a great n op to cont inuat ion bet.

Because his range is rarely s trong after ihe flop check, we should put a lot of pressure on his range by overbetting the tum. V illain wi ll call ihe tum bei a good amount of the time because he felt he un der-represented his hand. But since we know his range is weak, we should follow through on the r iver as we) I.

If you don't p lan on firing the river, you should check- fold the tum instead. Fir ing ihe tum and check-folding ihe r iver is burning money since Villain will call your ium bet a good amount of

._ _______________ _J the time.

- I 07 -

Problem 31: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S6 19 BB: S42 1 UTG: S1023 MP: S762 Hero (CO): S600 BTN: Sl22 1

Pre-flop: Hero on CO with 7• 5• 2folds, Hero raises to S 18, 2folds, BB calls S 12

Flop: (S39) T+8• 4+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (S39) To!;8Y4<!;3Y (2 players) BB checks, Hero bets $44, BB calls S44

River: (S l27) To!;8Y4<!;3• 3+(2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

- I 08 -

Problem 31: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S6 19 BB: S42 1 UTG: S l023 MP: S762 Hero (CO): $600 BTN: S l22 1

Pre-flop: Hero on CO w ith 7• 5• 2/olds, Hero raises to S 18, 2/olds, BB calls S 12

f lop: (S39) T~8•4~ (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (S39) T~8•4+3• (2 players"> BB checks, Hero bets S44, BB calls S44

River: (S l27) T+8•4+3•3~(2 players) BB checks, Hero ?

Answer 31 : Although a river pair is usuall y a bad card Hl bet, on such a drawy board, when Vil lain doesn't bet on the tum or on the river, he is un likely lo have a made hand. Thus, the river is a bet because Villain is going to fold a lot of ace-high or king-high hands that beat us.

It's also a spot where we get more credi t than ace-high because we would've bet high cards in ear lier streets if we wanted to bluff at the pot.

The flop check back is good to do once in a wh il e. You can hit a six for the nuts and can continue on a turn heart.

On the river, yo u aren't try ing to fold hands like 8x or better, you are trying to get high cards to fold. Thus, a river bet-size of I/2th

~------------------' of the pot should be suiTlcient.

Alternative Line: I f the tum is a club and it gets checked to you, you should bet the tum and give up on a r iver blank. The reason is V illai n's turn check-calling range is usuall y a pair plus a club. l f he has a hand like QJ or KQ w ith a club, he probably bet the turn more often than check-ca lling. Thus, he's going to have a pair at the r iver a lot. \Vith so many draws out there, he's going to have a hard time folding the river.

- I 09 -

Problem 32: S3/S6 6-!vlax SB: S588 Hero (BB): $728 UTG: S379 MP: S257 CO: S670 BTN: S584

Pre- flop: Hero on BB with 4•4~ 3 f olds, BTN raises to S 18, I f old, Hero calls S l2

Flop: (S3S) 6•3+ 2• (2 players) Liem checks, OTN bets $34, I lero calh $34

T urn: (S 107) 6 +3+2•J~ ( 2 players) Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (SI07) 6 •3+2•J~T~ (2 players) Hero checks, 8 TN bets S80, Hero ?

- I I 0 -

Problem 32: $3/$6 6-/\·1ax SB: S588 Hero (BB): $728 1 JTCi : S179 MP: $257 CO: S670 BTN: $584

Pre-flop: Hero on BB w ith 4•4~ 3 folds , BTN raises lo S I 8, I f old, Hero calls S l2

Flop: ($39) 6+3~2• (2 p layers) Hero checks, BTN bets S34, Hero calls S34

T urn: (SJ07) 6+3~2•J~ ( 2 players) Hero checks, BTN checks

River : (S I 07) 6+3~2• J~T ~ (2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets S80, Hero ·~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer 32: This is a good spot to check-raise the river.

Villain would've bet Jx or better on the tum. On the river, ycmr range 1s likely a smalJ pair and he's going to try to get val ue by bett ing with T x. l f somehow he ends up al the river w ith 88-99, he's going to be incli ned lo bet them. On an off tangent, if you have 88-99 in V ill ain's spot on th is board, please bet and not go for pot control.

The reason for betting is you get value oui of worse hand. You protect your hand. And most importantly, you get a free river showdown.

Let's assume you check ihe ium wiih 88-99 and plan to call any river bet. Un less V ill ain is super aggressive and is lloating in every pot, what exact I y does 88-99 beat on the river on ih is board? li's unlikely that Villain decides to tum his small pair into a bluff on the river by betti ng oui when your range is like ace-high or worse.

Back to the hand. Tx and 88-99 are go ing to fo ld to a river check-raise since your line is consistent with a strong hand. But don't be surpr ised if V il lai n calls your check-raise. That's OK.

Take down a note that he's the type of player who w ill make big calls if he is at the top of his range, even though the absolute strength of his holding is weak. Then you can proceed to make a lot of money off him because he won't beli eve you whenever you check-raise him again. After a ll, you are tricky enough lo check-raise on the river as a bluff in a mid-stakes game.

[fyou feel the river check-raise in this spot is too aggressive and causes too much variance, please remember to check- fo ld the r:ver way more often than to check-call. Villai n's bluffing frequency isn't that high since it Jool:s like you have a made hand after the flop check-call. Additionall y, he's happy to see a cheap showdown w ith ace-high.

- II I -

Problem 33: S3 S6 6-Ytax SB: S634 Hero (88): 60 I UTG: 709 MP: S 11-13 CO: S202 BTN: S435

Pre-flop: :lero on BB with 7• 7• UTG ra ises to SIS, 4/olds, Hero calls S9

Flop: (S33) 5•#2~ (2 players) Hero chcc~s . UTG bets Sl4, Hero calls SI-I

Turn: ($61) 5•4+2~T• (2 players) Hero checks, UTG checks

River: (S61} 5•4•2~T•.I+ (2 players) Hero checks, UTG bets S54, Hero 0

- 11 2 -

Problem 33: S31S6 6-Max SB: $63-1 Hero (BB): 601 UTG: S709 MP:S1143 CO: $202 BTN: $435

Pre-rlop: Hero on BB w ith 7• 7• UTG raises tu $1 5, 4j iJ/ds, Hero call s $9

Flop: (S33) 5• 4+2+ (2 players) Hero checks, UTG bets $ 14, Hero calls $ 14

Turn: (S6 I) 5• -1+2+ T• (2 players) Hero checks, UTG checks

Ri \'er: ($61) 5• 4+2+T• J+ (2 players) Hero checks, UTG bets 554, Hero <

Answer 33: Although it looks familiar to problem 32, river is 'a fold instead of a check­raise. The reason is against a UTG open, we won't get credit for having 22, 44, and 55 in our range. Additionally, when Villain is bening half-pot on the flop, he's expect ing us to check­raise w ith our strong hands to build the pot.

There are also too many combinat ions of Jx that Villa in can have. And w ithout a lot of nut h<U1ds in our range, it's tough to convince V i Ila in to fo ld Jx.

The ranking of options for river play is fold > call >check-raise.

- I 13 -

Problem 34: S3/S6 6-Max SB: Sll 27 BB: S724 UTG: 5 1796 MP: S66 CO: S652 Hero (BT:-1): SI 059

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN with T +9+ 3/olds, Hero ra ises to $18, I fold, BB r~-raises

to 536, He:-o calls S 18

f lop: (S75) Q'fl• 7+ (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks

T urn: (Si5) Q• T• 7+A"'(2 players) BB bets S54, Hero calls SS-I

River: (S2 13) Q• T• 7+A"'6+ (2 players) BB bets S l62, Hero ?

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Problem 34: S3/S6 6-Max SB: S ll 27 BB: $724 UTG : S l 796 M l' : S66 CO: S652 Hero (BT N): SI 059

Pre-flop: Hero on BTN w ith T• 9• 3folds, Hero raises to S18, l fold, BB re-raises to S36, Hero ca lls S 18

Flop: (S75) Q• TY7 .. (2 players) BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (S75) Q• T• 7 .. A+ (2 players) BB bets S54, Hero calls 554

River: (S213) Q• T• 7 .. A+6 .. (2 players) BB bets S 162, Hero ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Answer 34: Th is is a good spot tci b luff­shove the river.

On such a drawy board, V illain would've bet the flop i f he has J .I or better. He also bet TX a good percentage of the time.

Once he checks the flop, h is range is mostly ace-high and k ing-high .

The tum improves h is hand but it's also a card players like to bet at in re-ra ised pots. \Ve call because we might have ihe best hand a percentage of the time. Bui the main reason is we can bluff on a lot o f cards such as a heart, king, jack, and eight that complete draws on ihe river.

On the river, Villain bets again. He is basicall y representing KJ or 98. He rarely shows up w ith AQ in th is spot. He w ill have AK n good nmount of the time but that cannot call a river shove.

Considering ihat most players like to continue io represent strength, they are more likely to bet on the flop w ith KJ and 98. Thus, we should tum our hand into a bluff and shove.

One interesting note regarding th is hand is V illain shou ld almost always check ihe river w iih a pair of aces and evaluate. No worse hand is calling and against a good aggressi ve player, betiing just causes a loi of trouble. l fVillain checks, he should check-call more often than check-fold since there are so many draws out there and his line is k ind of we ird and weirdness causes people to bluff.

Important Note: A lthough ih is is a good spot to shove the river since Villa in has AK a loi in ih is spot, if Villain's pre-flop re-raise is bigger, ih is becomes a great spot to shove. The reason is he's more likely to have AK and AJ and cannot call a shove. It also decreases the likelihood that he has AA since people li ke to do weird flop raise sizes w ith AA.

- I 15 -

Problem 35: S3/S6 6-/\·1ax Hero (SB): S634 BB: S20 1 UTG: S387 MP: S745 CO: S694 BTN: S549

Pre-flop: Hero on SB wiih 8~8~ 2 f olds, CO raises to S 18, I f old, Hera calls S 15, I f old

Flop: (S42) T"5•2~ (2 players) Hero checks, CO bets S36, Hero calls S36

Turn: (SI 14) T"5•2~6~ (2 players) Hero checks, CO checks

River: (SI 14) T"5•2~~.J~ (2 players) Hero checks, CO bets S88, Hero?

- I 16 -

Problem 35: S31S6 6-Max Hero (SB) : 5634 BB: S20 1 UTG: S387 MP: S745 CO: 5694 BTN: S549

Pre.-flop: Hero on SB w ith 8~8+ 2/olds, CO mises to S 18, I fo ld, Hero cal ls S IS, I/ old

Flop : (S42) T• 5• 2+ (2 players} Hero checks, CO bets S36, Hero cal ls S36

Turn: (S I 1 4)T•5+2+6~ (2 players) Hero check>, CO ·:hecks

River: (S I 14) T•5•2+6~J+ (2 players) Hero checks, CO bets S88, Hero ?

Answe1· 35: Th i> is a spot where you should check-raise more often than you call. The reason is Villain rarely has a better hand than Jx.

If Villain has an overpair, he would've bet ihe tum. Thus, his range by the river is probabl y QJ-AJ. And even those hands will have a tough time call ing a river check-raise, provided that you make it S320 to go.

The question is why are we check-raising instead of calli ng since there are t imes when our opponent isn't fo lding .Ix on the r iver.

One reason is he may have played T x th is way and decided to go for thin va Jue on the river. The second reason is your line is consistent with two pairs such as T.I or sets. It's not surprising if you show up w iih 43s, considering you were closing the action pre-ilop and had a

.__ ______________ __J lot of odds.

If you feel ihe river check-raise in this spot is too aggressive and causes too much variance, please remember tv check-fold the river way more often than to check-cal L Vil Iain's bluffing frequency isn't that high since it looks like you have a made hand after the ilop check-call. Addi tionall y, he's happy to see a cheap showdown w ith ace-high.

- I 17 -

11 Chapter 13: The Final Note

By now, I think you understand that aggression is the key to winning. ~1ost likely, you are excited to go out and try the new options presented for you. Don t be discouraged when plays don't go your way. You are probably misapplying the aggress ion and using it against the wrong

type of players or you are doing it at a spot where your opponent's range isn't as weak as you assume.

Don't give up.

Keep working on your game. Keep asking yourself why a play doesn't work for you and why it does. And one day, everything kind of falls into place and you just "get it." But to get to that point, you must work hard. All the best playeTS in the world work hard or else they wouldn't be where they are today.

They had their ··trial and error" stage. Now it's your tum. Good luck.

- 11 8 -

11 Glossary

BB: Big Blind

BTN/Button: the dealer position, last to act on all but the fi rst round of betting

CO: Cutof~ the posit ion immediately before the button

PFR: Pre-Flop Raise Percentage, the percentage of ihe time a player raises or re-raises before the flop.

SB: Small B lind

TAG : A tight aggressive player

UTG: Under the Gun, the first pos ition after the big blind

VPI P: Vo luntaril y Put S in Pot, the percentage of the time a player puts money in the poi pre­flop, not counting blind money

- I 19 -