PNL Volume 1
Finally got it today and I like what I've read so far. I've read the first three parts, which cover Basics, Fundamentals, and the REM Process (REM stands for Range, Equity, and Maximize). The first two parts were pretty much a brush up of stuff I already knew, (odds, outs, bet sizing, pot control, etc) but there were some good tidbits in there anyway. After reading the section on pot control I knew I made an error on a hand I had played about a month ago in a live game. Here it is:
The blinds were $.25/$.25 and we were playing 7 handed. UTG limps and I pump it up to $1.50 with K
K
. Folded to the BB, he calls. Limper folds. To start the hand I'm sitting with $27, opponent has me well covered.
Pot is $3.50. Flop comes T 3
2. He checks, I bet $2, he calls.
Pot now $7.50. Turn comes 8. He checks, I decide to keep the pot small and check behind.
Pot still $7.50. River comes 6. He checks, I bet $4, he thinks/acts for a bit and checkraises $12 on top. I fold.
The turn is where I made my mistake. Many pros advocate checking behind on a lot of turns with top pair and overpair hands to keep the pot small, and the authors of PNL advocate the same strategy. However, the authors do offer some exceptions. One reason you would bet the turn is if your opponent will only checkraise you with a hand that has you beat. It makes a lot of sense.
So on a T 3 2 8 board, if I had gotten checkraised, I could be almost positive that my opponent had pocket tens, threes, twos, (maybe eights). Against a set I have 5% equity. Taking a free card has little value. My approach to pot control was basically "Ha ha, I avoided your trap."But it's okay to get checkraised sometimes. If that wasn't the case, I'd hardly ever c-bet flops.
I knew my opponent liked to defend his blind, so plenty of possible spade draws were in his range once he called the flop. Any suited connector down to 54 and one gapper down to 75 were in his range, perhaps even a few two gappers (Q9, J8). 54 of any suit was a possibility as well. I also knew that he would not likely checkraise me on the turn with just a spade draw (and probably not a pair & draw either).
So If I just make my $4 bet on the turn, he can c/r me and I can throw it away. If I bet I might just pick up the pot, which is fine, or I might get a loose call from a flush draw hoping to make a little something on the river to justify the call.
The same concept applies to many of my opponents in online games. I usually bet the turn against them anyway because I know they're loose/passive donks and they usually have a draw or weak pair. Against good players betting the turn makes sense too though, as long as they are not so tricky as to c/r you with a draw or pair + draw, or anything that your one pair currently beats. Against somewhat wild players you want to check behind and keep control of the hand, not bet, get c/r'd and get dragged into a big pot where you'd have to make a tough decision for your stack.
On another note, had an interesting session tonight on Cardboard Poker. I jumped into 2 tables and played $25 NL. On one table I was getting creamed. Lost about $12 after seeing some flops, calling a few bets with really great implied odds (one person would bet like 1/2 the pot, two people would call, and I'd call with a gutterball)., and then whiffing. Also had a few hands where I raised preflop, bet the flop & turn with top pair, flush hit the river and I'd have to check/fold to a PSB.
So I'm down to about $13 and I get AQ two off the button. I raise to $1, button calls and has $10 to start the hand. We're heads up on the flop and it comes T99. I checked, he checked behind. I was going for a c/r on this flop with the plan of getting it in. Turn is the 6. I bet $2, he calls. River is the J. I shove, he calls and mucks A9. Don't know why but for some reason I thought I'd get called there. I figured I underrepresented my hand and he might pick off a bluff. He only had $8 left, so I thought he might call with any pair. If he had moved in on the turn I don't know what I would've done. So I got lucky there.
Game broke up and a little while later I joined another table. Some guy from Montreal was there he-hawing it up. He showed a bluff and the next hand I'm in the SB and complete with K2. We take a flop 4 ways, it comes 243. I check, BB checks, Frenchie (who's UTG) weak-leads for $.25, one call, I peel, and BB folds. Turn comes 5
and it gets checked around. River is a blank, 2 and I check. Frenchie overbets pot, other guy folds, and I put him on busted hearts (he had weak-led the last hand with a draw, and proudly showed a bluff on the end). I forget what the exact pot was and I'm too lazy to do the numbers but it was like 1.25x the pot. I call with my trips, and he shows 76. COCK. Couldn't put him on the gutterball (though any ace had me beat too).
Then I get into another pot with him when I had KJ. Raised to $1, he called in position. We're heads up and the flop comes 5-6-7r. Check-check. Turn comes J, I bet $2, he calls. Pot's now ~$6. River comes 9, I check, he bets $4.60 and I figure he's not bluffing since he knows I'm gonna call him down. Also any 8 got there. I fold and he shows A4 high. Great.
As I soon figured out though this guy's bluffs were transparent. When he overbet the pot, he had it and when he bet 2/3 - 3/4 he was bluffing. He actually got away with it for awhile. He wasn't aggressive preflop though, he'd play a lot of hands but limp a lot and raise some. I limped a few hands to him and he just limped behind instead of punishing me with a raise.
I got him back though. Had 33 in the CO. UTG minraised, I called, he called out of the BB. Flop comes T-5-2r, checked to me, I bet a buck, Frenchie calls, UTG folds. Turn comes 9, check-check. River is a 2, he bets $2.50 I pick off his A8 high. Another hand I had two jacks and raised it up to $1 preflop. He called from the BB. Flop came T-high. He checked, I checked behind. Kinda risky as an overcard could come on the turn but I had a good read on him and wanted to induce a bluff (he never c/r'd as a bluff btw). Turn comes an 8 or something and he checks again. Now I have to bet. So I bet $3. He calls. River is another low card. I bet $5, he calls, and I take it down. Didn't see what he had.
Guy was blowing up at this point and ended up giving his money away. He had $60 when I joined the table and went broke. He was playing every hand, not raising and then sometimes calling down postflop and sometimes betting & raising. Others at the table commented after he left that he was probably drunk. Makes sense, that Canadian beer is like moonshine.
The blinds were $.25/$.25 and we were playing 7 handed. UTG limps and I pump it up to $1.50 with K
K. Folded to the BB, he calls. Limper folds. To start the hand I'm sitting with $27, opponent has me well covered.Pot is $3.50. Flop comes T
3 2. He checks, I bet $2, he calls.Pot now $7.50. Turn comes 8
. He checks, I decide to keep the pot small and check behind.Pot still $7.50. River comes 6
. He checks, I bet $4, he thinks/acts for a bit and checkraises $12 on top. I fold.The turn is where I made my mistake. Many pros advocate checking behind on a lot of turns with top pair and overpair hands to keep the pot small, and the authors of PNL advocate the same strategy. However, the authors do offer some exceptions. One reason you would bet the turn is if your opponent will only checkraise you with a hand that has you beat. It makes a lot of sense.
So on a T
3 2 8 board, if I had gotten checkraised, I could be almost positive that my opponent had pocket tens, threes, twos, (maybe eights). Against a set I have 5% equity. Taking a free card has little value. My approach to pot control was basically "Ha ha, I avoided your trap."But it's okay to get checkraised sometimes. If that wasn't the case, I'd hardly ever c-bet flops.I knew my opponent liked to defend his blind, so plenty of possible spade draws were in his range once he called the flop. Any suited connector down to 5
4 and one gapper down to 75 were in his range, perhaps even a few two gappers (Q9, J8). 54 of any suit was a possibility as well. I also knew that he would not likely checkraise me on the turn with just a spade draw (and probably not a pair & draw either).So If I just make my $4 bet on the turn, he can c/r me and I can throw it away. If I bet I might just pick up the pot, which is fine, or I might get a loose call from a flush draw hoping to make a little something on the river to justify the call.
The same concept applies to many of my opponents in online games. I usually bet the turn against them anyway because I know they're loose/passive donks and they usually have a draw or weak pair. Against good players betting the turn makes sense too though, as long as they are not so tricky as to c/r you with a draw or pair + draw, or anything that your one pair currently beats. Against somewhat wild players you want to check behind and keep control of the hand, not bet, get c/r'd and get dragged into a big pot where you'd have to make a tough decision for your stack.
On another note, had an interesting session tonight on Cardboard Poker. I jumped into 2 tables and played $25 NL. On one table I was getting creamed. Lost about $12 after seeing some flops, calling a few bets with really great implied odds (one person would bet like 1/2 the pot, two people would call, and I'd call with a gutterball)., and then whiffing. Also had a few hands where I raised preflop, bet the flop & turn with top pair, flush hit the river and I'd have to check/fold to a PSB.
So I'm down to about $13 and I get A
Q two off the button. I raise to $1, button calls and has $10 to start the hand. We're heads up on the flop and it comes T99. I checked, he checked behind. I was going for a c/r on this flop with the plan of getting it in. Turn is the 6. I bet $2, he calls. River is the J. I shove, he calls and mucks A9. Don't know why but for some reason I thought I'd get called there. I figured I underrepresented my hand and he might pick off a bluff. He only had $8 left, so I thought he might call with any pair. If he had moved in on the turn I don't know what I would've done. So I got lucky there.Game broke up and a little while later I joined another table. Some guy from Montreal was there he-hawing it up. He showed a bluff and the next hand I'm in the SB and complete with K
2. We take a flop 4 ways, it comes 243. I check, BB checks, Frenchie (who's UTG) weak-leads for $.25, one call, I peel, and BB folds. Turn comes 5 and it gets checked around. River is a blank, 2 and I check. Frenchie overbets pot, other guy folds, and I put him on busted hearts (he had weak-led the last hand with a draw, and proudly showed a bluff on the end). I forget what the exact pot was and I'm too lazy to do the numbers but it was like 1.25x the pot. I call with my trips, and he shows 76. COCK. Couldn't put him on the gutterball (though any ace had me beat too).Then I get into another pot with him when I had KJ. Raised to $1, he called in position. We're heads up and the flop comes 5-6-7r. Check-check. Turn comes J, I bet $2, he calls. Pot's now ~$6. River comes 9, I check, he bets $4.60 and I figure he's not bluffing since he knows I'm gonna call him down. Also any 8 got there. I fold and he shows A4 high. Great.
As I soon figured out though this guy's bluffs were transparent. When he overbet the pot, he had it and when he bet 2/3 - 3/4 he was bluffing. He actually got away with it for awhile. He wasn't aggressive preflop though, he'd play a lot of hands but limp a lot and raise some. I limped a few hands to him and he just limped behind instead of punishing me with a raise.
I got him back though. Had 33 in the CO. UTG minraised, I called, he called out of the BB. Flop comes T-5-2r, checked to me, I bet a buck, Frenchie calls, UTG folds. Turn comes 9, check-check. River is a 2, he bets $2.50 I pick off his A8 high. Another hand I had two jacks and raised it up to $1 preflop. He called from the BB. Flop came T-high. He checked, I checked behind. Kinda risky as an overcard could come on the turn but I had a good read on him and wanted to induce a bluff (he never c/r'd as a bluff btw). Turn comes an 8 or something and he checks again. Now I have to bet. So I bet $3. He calls. River is another low card. I bet $5, he calls, and I take it down. Didn't see what he had.
Guy was blowing up at this point and ended up giving his money away. He had $60 when I joined the table and went broke. He was playing every hand, not raising and then sometimes calling down postflop and sometimes betting & raising. Others at the table commented after he left that he was probably drunk. Makes sense, that Canadian beer is like moonshine.
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