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2006/12/07
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Manne wrote:
The hand in question comes from a four-handed online no-limt hold ’em game with $2/$4 blinds. Both the Hero and the Villain have $400 stacks.
The Hero opens with a raise to $14 holding K :heart: J :club: in the CO. The BTN folds, the SB calls, and the BB folds. My student describes the CO as loose and passive, so his range for calling here is probably much wider than we’d expect to see from a better player.
The flop comes J :spade: 2 :spade: K :club:, giving Hero top two pair. SB checks, Hero bets $22 into a $32 pot, and SB calls.
The turn brings the Q :spade:, completing some possible flush and straight draws and also putting Hero behind KQ. SB checks, and Hero checks behind. Against a loose and passive player, I think you can make a case for betting here, but a check has its advantages as well.
The river is the 8 :club:, and now SB bets $60 into a $76 pot. My student folded, but he shared the hand with me because he was concerned about folding such a strong hand after showing so little strength.
What Are You So Afraid Of?
Players will sometimes say that their hand is “underrepresented” in a situation like this. After all, all Hero has done so far is raise from late position, make a continuation bet, and then check the turn. How can Villain expect him to have a hand as good as two-pair, and therefore isn’t it exploitable to fold such a strong hand getting better than 2:1 pot odds?
The short answer is that yes, this is an exploitable fold. Game theoretically optimal (GTO) play would require Hero to call with nearly 70% of his range. Yet here, we are talking about folding a hand that is probably in the top 10-15% of Hero’s range for getting to the river in this way. This is a big deviation from GTO play and therefore potentially exploitable.
There’s another question we have to ask, though: so what? When students come to me with fears like these, I encourage them to articulate what exactly they are worried about. Being “underrepresented” or “too weak” are not bad things in and of themselves. Before acting on feelings like these, you need to articulate how exactly these things could end up costing you money.
Read more: Thinking Poker: What Are You So Afraid Of?
I'm only Afraid of losing.
Join:
2006/12/11
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1758
mike1 wrote:
I'm only Afraid of losing.
Good luck on your search Mike, hoping that you will be able to take home lots of cash.
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2015/09/08
Messages:
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LaurenAlly wrote:
Good luck on your search Mike, hoping that you will be able to take home lots of cash.
I only play sometimes not so much.
Join:
2015/09/20
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The Hero opens with a raise to $14 holding K :heart: J :club: in the CO. The BTN folds, the SB calls, and the BB folds. My student describes the CO as loose and passive, so his range for calling here is probably much wider than we’d expect to see from a better player.
The flop comes J :spade: 2 :spade: K :club:, giving Hero top two pair. SB checks, Hero bets $22 into a $32 pot, and SB calls.
The turn brings the Q :spade:, completing some possible flush and straight draws and also putting Hero behind KQ. SB checks, and Hero checks behind. Against a loose and passive player, I think you can make a case for betting here, but a check has its advantages as well.
The river is the 8 :club:, and now SB bets $60 into a $76 pot. My student folded, but he shared the hand with me because he was concerned about folding such a strong hand after showing so little strength.
What Are You So Afraid Of?
Players will sometimes say that their hand is “underrepresented” in a situation like this. After all, all Hero has done so far is raise from late position, make a continuation bet, and then check the turn. How can Villain expect him to have a hand as good as two-pair, and therefore isn’t it exploitable to fold such a strong hand getting better than 2:1 pot odds?
The short answer is that yes, this is an exploitable fold. Game theoretically optimal (GTO) play would require Hero to call with nearly 70% of his range. Yet here, we are talking about folding a hand that is probably in the top 10-15% of Hero’s range for getting to the river in this way. This is a big deviation from GTO play and therefore potentially exploitable.
There’s another question we have to ask, though: so what? When students come to me with fears like these, I encourage them to articulate what exactly they are worried about. Being “underrepresented” or “too weak” are not bad things in and of themselves. Before acting on feelings like these, you need to articulate how exactly these things could end up costing you money.
Read more: Thinking Poker: What Are You So Afraid Of?