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Theory

Awhile back on here I was all gung ho about writing a book about poker. I started off with preflop and was going to write baout the game street by street. I obviouskly didnt get too far and for good reason. There is no set way to play poker. Any style can win. The CR style which I utilize is optimal for me and many others yet many variations exist. A common theme or rather question I see on forums is what should i be thinking about. Honestly I have struggled with this myself until lately. Of course I no where near have all the answers and on occasion catch myself reverting back to some less then optimal thinking while playing. That being said I feel like giving it a go.

To be honest it is very simple. We all run HUD or should be and from there we can loosely determine some form of preflop range for any villain whom we have data on. So before we take a flop we want to decide villains range based on his position and action taken. Ex: 20/17 TAG raises from UTG and calls BTN 3bet. We can assume a tight UTG opening range and based on villains aggression and stack sizes his most likely range for flatting a 3bet preflop is 99-JJ as well as AQs+. Of course again this is villain and read dependant but I think you can get an idea of what I mean. More common is fish limp called from MP, range=alot.

Next we take the flop if called and our percieved range for villain is typically large at this point. Now when the flop peels our 1st thought shouldnt be "yeah I hit" or "Fuck I bricked". We want to see how villain reacts to said flop. Does he donk, check? Now we take our range against his range and decide what our optimal line is. This is pretty 1st level shit imo but then again something I feel many overlook. The real meat and potatoes is after our flop decision. It is actually nearly impossible to go over all the different possible scenarios which can play out. Therefore I will try and simplify the thoguht porcess.

Villains preflop range will become more defined based on there flop action. From this action we can reassign a narrower range and from there decide how to best proceed. At all times our 1st thought shouldnt be our two cards but rather our villains range. From there we can then decide what is the best line for our hand. each street we have only 2-3 possible choices. If we can think of our opponents range deciding which action is best should be a no brainer.


EX: Villain is 22/20/4

Warning: Please dont play this bad!

Full Tilt Poker, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $265.55
UTG: $565.80
CO: $199
BTN: $214.60
SB: $98.90

Pre-Flop: Jc 7d dealt to Hero (BB)
2 folds, BTN raises to $7, SB folds, Hero raises to $24, BTN calls $17

I had no real history with villain and he had stats of a blind thief. I have been toying with 3betting light here with complete trash and I dont advise it. Villain calls. Now we assign a range. So TAG calls 3bet IP either a monster like QQ+ sometimes AQs+ or small PP and med SCs like 89+

Flop: ($49) 3h 2h Jd (2 Players)
Hero bets $28, BTN calls $28

Villains range either has us crushed or it doesnt and betting out should get us some good info as to where we are. He flats our cbet. Assign a range. QQ+ is out of question as those hands call pre to jam safe flops. AA is still slightly possible but not too likely. Therefore its either a weak made hand like 99 or TT looking to get to a cheap showdown or a float. A float being more likely imo due to our bet sizing.

Turn: ($105) 2s (2 Players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $65, Hero raises to $213.55 and is All-In, BTN folds

Not sure if my turn line is optimal but lets assign a range. What hand that villain has played to this point does he bet? It appears to me his whole range at this point is air. Small PPs check behind as well as draws so not to get CRAI. The only thing left are hands which have no real show down value unimporved. Calling and c/c the river could best maximize our EV but I think our shove could possibly fetch a hero call from TT.

Results: $235 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked Jc 7d and WON $232 (+$115 NET)

OK so not the best played hand but still one where we can see how ranges develop. This is an excercise we should be practicing in and out of hands. The next step after getting ranges handled is determining wether we should be pot controlling, tuning our hand into a bluff, or trying to get it in. Optimally we will always choose the line which is most EV.

So it has been way long since I last posted here, and last time I was ranting about 6-8 tabling. I changed my tune. The optimal number for me is 3 with 4 happening if the games are just too good to pass up. As you can see from my graph at the 25K hand mark is when I made this choice, not to shabby. As for my last two posts I feel very strongly about the passages and feel they can be applied to the game of poker without a doubt. I will rant more later when my thoughts are in place.

Follow up post

This is a passage that goes hand in hand with the last post I made.

Decisiveness

In life you must make decisions. Be decisive. It is very important. Hopefully you will make more good decisions than bad decisions, but ultimately it is better to have made a bad or poor decision than to have not made a decision at all. When you have made a decision, do not second-guess yourself. If you do there could be no end to it. Just make the best decision you can and then stick with it. If it was a bad decision, then you can learn from it.

In ancient Japan they believed you should have great spirit and determination, and when you need to, you should be able to decide in an instant.

Sound similar to 6 tabling to you? Lately I have been playing 6-8 tables which allows me less time to think so I have to decisive. Once I decide the outcome is irrelevant. I simply do the best i can with the information I have at the time. This has helped immensley with tilt. I have little to no time to feel emotion from a bad beat. My goal is to eliminate all emotions from poker. This is a graph of my session yesterday. Ay not time during the session did I check my results or have an idea wether I was ahead or behind. i know if I am playing poker I am making money and that is all that matters.

Mental edge.

I have decided sporatically i will try and post some theory posts on here. So look for them every now and again. Along those line I have a passage for you to think about. I think this relate to poker extremely well.

Grace Under Fire

In extreme situations, when you are forced to make decisions under pressure, the key is to stay calm and settled down. By doing so you can think clearer and make better decisions. of course, to stay calm and settled under extreme conditions is a difficult thing to do. The way to do it is to not concern yourself with what the consequences will be, and that must weigh into your decision, but you have to look at it as if you are deciding it for someone else. It is liike a lawyer deciding what statements or arguments to make. It could be the difference of wether someone lives or dies, yet he can thing clearly becuase it is not his life that hangs in the balance. Even when things seem overwhelming, stay calm and focused. Eventually you will have things under control.

This is my book

Well my feeble attempt at writing my thoughts on poker and the 6-max game. In no way will these be as in depth as they could be. What I write isnt absolute either. There are many other ways to play. Please do ask questions if you have any and check back frequently as I will be writing a daily piece till all streets are covered. aftyer that I will dive into concepts and theory.

Poker by street

To really get in depth on the game of poker you have to start to think about your action on every street and why you take it. I don’t think many consider pre-flop to be a street but is the driveway leading to the streets. This is where you decide what car you will take out of the garage and drive down the street. Certain vehicles will serve you better on certain days. OK enough with the metaphorical thinking.

Pre-flop

Pre-flop: This is a loose guideline to pre-flop play. The biggest thing to consider pre-flop is your position and next your hand strength. The hands I outline are strictly for being 1st in as well as isolating weak limpers. Your 3 betting range whether it be 3 betting or calling a 3bet will be drastically different. All discussions from here on out pertain to 6-max strategy. I don’t feel a lot needs to be said about pre-flop strategy but I will touch upon the most important. Position is number one. Everyone knows this yet few utilize it to its fullest potential.
UTG and UTG+1: In order to get action and loosen up your image from these two spots opening all PP’s is quite effective. It is nice to mix in a random SC as well but not entirely necessary. Yet I think I rather raise 87s here then QJs because it is easier to play post flop OOP. As for non pairs Ajo+ and Kqs+ work well for me. If my table is tight and my image is well I will expand upon this range.

CO: This is when my range begins to open up as I will more times then not end up with position post flop and will be able to play my hand profitably against my opponent. Our range is all of the UTG & UTG+1 range plus SC down to 65 and off suit connectors down to 89. Also A9o+ and Kto+. This is where we can begin to utilize HUD number as well. If the BTN and blinds are tight we can open our range up more.

BTN: This is the whore of position. She spreads her legs for any two cards. Due to your position sometimes your cards are irrelevant. This is where good hand reading skills and shear aggression will win you the pot 9 times out of 10. You can raise a lot of suited junk here as well as any Ace as long as the blinds arent 3 betting you often.

3 betting: This is by no means the know all end all on 3 betting but rather some observations of my own. If you look at the range of hands I just said we should be raising from the CO and BTN position it is obvious that the majority of them cannot withstand a raise. Therefore I think 3 betting from the blinds is something that isn’t being done enough by the average player, including myself. The toughest thing about 3 betting from the blinds is it goes against the idea of position. This is again a spot where we can use are HUD numbers. If the PFR has a high attempt to steal which I believe is 20+ then we should be 3 betting lighter from the blinds. The majority of the time we should take the pot down pre-flop. Also if called we can C-bet and show a profit as well but I do believe our c-betting frequency should decrease in 3 bet pots when OOP. When 3 betting IP I think we can stick to a pretty tight range depending upon our villains numbers. If villain looks tight then we shouldn’t be 3 betting light. If villain is loose then we should. Also you should be more apt to 3 bet a CO raiser light then a UTG or UTG+1 raiser due to the ranges we have discussed. With hands that flop well I tend to call IP against tight players rather then raise and open the door up for them to blow me off my hand. Calling IP also allows you to make moves post flop. Again HUD should show you villains c-bet number and if it 70+ we know that this villain is betting with air here often enough that a float or raise will show profit.

Flop play

This where poker begins. You can study starting hand charts but if you cant play your hand profitably post flop you will not be a winning poker player. The variables of post flop play are endless and to generalize isn’t easy but I will try.
HU to the flop: Whether in or out of position for the most part you want to c-bet on the flop. Flop texture and villains tendencies are something to take into consideration the times you feel a c-bet will not have success. As you move up the stakes villains are going to become a little more tricky and begin to float and play back at you. Experience will guide you in these times. If the flop texture is horrible and you feel the villain will not fold the majority of his PF calling range a delayed c-bet can be a profitable alternative. The profit in a c-bet is in its success overtime and the fact that it will help your image and increase the likeliness that you receive action when you flop big. I suggest varying your c-bet sizes at random by one more or one less bet every now and again so to not be robotic. I don’t recommend adjusting strictly based on your hand strength but rather on flop texture and the perceived skill level of villain. It goes without saying the cheaper the c-bet the less successful it has to be to show a profit. C-betting is so well known and expected these days that slowing down isn’t horrible. This doesn’t mean completely giving up when you miss a flop but rather trying to find a different line to take the pot down.

If led into in these situations you have three choices, fold/raise/call. I feel raising is actually over used. Yes a lot of the time you are going to raise and villain will go away and you take it down. This is great when you have air but what about when you flop MP or a draw? If I have air in these spots with no real outs I think giving up isn’t horrible. It allows villain to create an image in his own mind. I imagine that image of one who is raising loosely and is easily pushed around post flop. Good image to have? Yes and no. Another option in these spots is to take your draw cheaply and look to hit and then extract value. I don’t mind this line if you feel villain is capable of 3 betting you off your draw. If he is more passive raising is your best line. You build a pot for when you do hit, give yourself a chance to take it down without getting there, and lastly if you miss the turn you typically can take a free river. The spot I think that most people over look is when you flop a marginal hand like MP. Lets say I raise it up from the BTN with 89 and the flop comes down 479r and villain fires 2/3 pot into me. Raising here is wrong. Yes you have top pair and there are a ton of possible overs but those arent always bad for your hand. Villain is leading out here with such a wide range that you mosty likely are best. This is a perfect spot to take a passive line and call down. Yes you will get drawn out on occasionally or face to much heat on the turn or river to call but this is where hand reading will become key. I think more times then not by knowing your villains tendencies you will be capable of extracting quite a bit of value from aggressive opponents who have you on overs. These guys simply don’t know how to give up on bluffs. The 89 hand is just and example. There are times where I will make this play with AK when I flop TPTK. Aggression owns but being the aggressor isn’t always the best possible way to extract value.

Poise

A comment I left on a fellow card players blog.

Wow, as I titled my comment it clicked. Poise. This is the essential tool of a poker player. Here is the Dictionary definition. 1.To balance or be balanced. 2. Balance; stability. 3.Composure. 4. Dignity of manner. Next time you watch a video listen to how poised they sound. Nothing faulters there voice. They take everything in stride and play the winning game they know and trust.