History: It’s the DTD monthly freezeout and we’re on the second level of the day. At the table are Gurpreet Nagi and Neil Blatchly. Blatchly has played a solid game thus far, but Nagi has been active and playing more hands than most. If he raises preflop, he usually makes a continuation bet. Blatchly has around his starting stack; you have 17,100; Nagi has 23,100.
Blinds are at 50/100.
Nagi raises to 300 from middle position.
You are on the button and look down at 3h-3c
What’s your move? What would you have done if the action had folded round to you?
Dom says:
“As the opening raiser has been a little jiggy so far I’d be raising from the button to 950. Folding and flatting means not only am I mainly set mining but also setting up a potential squeeze from the blinds. I’d rather just take down the 450 already in the pot, or play a bigger pot with position, therefore if I hit my set I may just felt the guy. If I just flat the pot will be relatively small, and thus getting away from top pair or an overpair should be relatively easy this deep.
If the action had been folded round to me I’d have made a standard raise to 250. I am happy taking down the blinds, but also with position I’d like to see a flop and perhaps hit my set. If the blinds three-bet me, I may four-bet them as my hand is stronger than my range in this spot.”
Mark says:
“First of all I like my situation here. This early in the tournament there’s no need to be going crazy but I do want to pick up any dead money before anyone else does. So I’m looking for good spots to double up when I make a big hand and having an aggressive player to my right with plenty of chips is a situation that has plenty of potential.
I never flat call a single raise here because it narrows my range to small and medium pairs, a few suited aces and some suited connectors. I reduce my implied odds by doing this since even though Nagi is playing super loose-aggressive that doesn’t mean he’s a fish and he may well not give up a lot of chips even if he connects once I start playing back at him. I prefer a raise to between 850 and 1,000 here depending on how he’s reacted to previous three-bets from me or anyone else. This way my hand is super disguised and I’m more likely to win a big pot when I do flop a set. It also gives me more ways to take the pot away from him when I don’t, which will be most of the time. I can represent most high card flops if checked to and since we’re both deep stacked I can put a lot of pressure on him post-flop on several streets. I’d be more inclined to flat here if at least one other person had called. One last reason for raising is that I make more in the long run here when I isolate the aggressive player rather than encouraging the blinds to come along for the reasons above when I don’t flop a set most of the time.
If the action had folded to me I would have opened for a standard raise to 300. The big blind doesn’t seem overly aggressive so I expect to pick up the blinds and even if I don’t I get to play a raised pot in position – no bad thing.”
You call.
Blatchly calls in the big blind.
Flop: Qc-9h-3d
Blatchly checks.
Nagi checks
Pot = 950, You = 16,800, Nagi = 22,800, Blatchly = 9,700
What’s your move? Does the time we take to make our decision affect anything?
Dom says:
“I’m liking this flop although one opponent could definitely hold J-T and I’ve got to make them pay with a draw. Also I think betting your sets is always good as the amount of time we bet flops with air means we shouldn’t deviate when we actually hit semi gin. I’m surprised that the initial raiser hasn’t continuation bet this flop and would be suspicious if I was check raised as nines and queens would be part of their range.
I would bet about 3/4 of the pot and 750 sounds about right. Although slightly cautious I am desperate to build this pot and let someone overplay J-J, K-K, A-A or even A-Q/A-K. By betting relatively quickly I think I’ll appear somewhat happy to take down the pot now, whereas this isn’t my intention. Too long a dwell would look more like someone with a very big holding working out how much they could extract. Of course different players will read timing tells in opposite ways.”
Mark says:
“Well obviously it’s a good flop and I’d like to build a pot here. Blatchly’s check is meaningless but Nagi’s isn’t since he’s prone to lead out as the preflop raiser. His image from the first hour makes his range huge. He has a lot of straight draws with K-J, K-T, J-T, T-8, a ton of queens and nines that want to get to showdown cheaply or make two pair or trips, three over pairs (which would be nice), sets of queens and nines (obviously much less likely) and random air.
His flop check is encouraging and indicates a possible overpair trapping or maybe even A-Q since he’s been continuation betting a lot. So I want to bet for value – hoping for a check-raise or at least to build a big pot. No sense in slow playing here against an aggressive player who will chase or maybe even semi-bluff some of his bigger draws. I don’t see any huge benefit in betting quickly but I don’t want to be dwelling up either. I just make what should look like a stab in position but not too small because I really want to build the pot. Unfortunately, because I simply called preflop, if I do get raised and come along or four-bet this flop my hand will be pretty much face-up.”
You make a quick bet of 1,000.
Blatchly folds
Nagi calls.
Turn: 8d
Nagi checks.
Pot = 2,950, You = 15,800, Nagi = 21,800
What’s your move? Are you suspicious of his line here? What sort of hands do you put him on?
Dom says:
“I don’t like this card as a potential straight has now hit the board. This means that either he now has the best hand, or I lose value from single pairs as the straight is obviously in my range.
I actually would check this turn for a couple of reasons. Pot control is rarely a bad thing with position. Also I think we induce bluffs from our opponent on the river and will gain lots of information from his river action. By betting we open ourselves up to the check-raise and complicate the situation. Other than a jack or a ten I don’t see many dangerous rivers.
His play post-flop has been extremely passive and I’d be thinking pairs like tens and jacks are a strong part of his range. J-T suitd is included, as is to a lesser extent A-K and A-J, possibly with backdoor flush draws. I think complete air is less likely as he’s out of position so floating is very dangerous, especially as I’ve rarely got nothing myself here. It’s possible he holds a queen or an overpair but I’d have expected at least a lead or check-raise on the flop.”
Mark says:
“I really don’t like over betting the flop here. I want action with this hand and Nagi seems aggressive enough to float this flop even out of position. The flop texture isn’t super dry but there are no flush draws so what am I trying to represent here? It’s difficult to represent too much that wants to price out draws here. A drawing hand or top pair weak kicker would make a smaller stab or half to three quarters the pot. I’d bet at the top of that range to three quarters or slightly more. I’m clearly looking to get it all in by the river if I boat up or if the board doesn’t become too scary so I want to start building now.
However, we are where we are so…
When he calls on the flop his hand range narrows to straight draws, Q-9, a few queens and even nines, flopped sets and occasionally overpairs although I think the overpairs check-raise here because they are either way ahead or way behind and don’t improve. The rare flopped sets probably do the same since my overbet on the flop might indicate that I have a hand that I want to continue with. Obviously a passive line from this guy has to be somewhat suspicious and although an overset is a possibility I’m probably going to lose a lot of chips if that’s the case depending on his line on future streets.
The eight of diamonds is interesting. Only T-J specifically got there. However, he still has a lot of two pair hands including 9-8 now and he could also have picked up a back door flush draw.
When he checks this turn which brings so many draws he rarely has sets and overpairs, I now have his range as the made straight (unlikely he would check with the diamond draw but certainly possible), A-Q, K-Q (both of which I think he leads the flop so unlikely), Q-J, Q-T, J-J, T-T, 9-8 (unlikely) and Q-9 (again I think he leads or check raises the flop with Q-9). Most of his range is therefore Q-T, J-J, T-T Q-9 and Q-T of diamonds is certainly possible. All of these hands would likely take a pot control line on this board and this is exactly what he did.
I don’t want to give a free card here and if he check-raises I definitely won’t be giving up to such an aggressive opponent. However, I do want to proceed cautiously now because a) he will probably chase all draws, b) he could still be trapping with an overset and c) I don’t want to get 170 big blinds in at this stage in a tournament which I have a big stack to work with and position on such an active player. My hand is by no means a lock.
I bet about half to two thirds the pot, say 1,750.”
You bet 2,000
Pot = 4,950, You = 13,800, Nagi = 21,800
Nagi thinks for a few moments before raising to 5,800.
What’s your move? Would you be concerned at this point that we are behind? Do you have any plans to fold at any stage?
Dom says:
“As I said, I’d rather have checked for pot control and as a bluff catcher. Indeed the bet may have induced a bluff or even an overplay from lesser hands, but I’d still be very concerned that he’s either got a bigger set or the nuts. Personally I’m flatting here and re-evaluating on the river. The one worry in flatting is that if he is semi-bluffing with two diamonds in his hand we are now not charging him enough to hit his draw.
I think our hand is too strong to fold against a loose player who has air within his range. Against a nit I’d be inclined to fold most of the time, but as he may be overplaying K-K and A-A as well as A-Q, I think a flat is fine. He will slow down on the river with such holdings, allowing us to decide whether to bet for value, even a set of nines are vulnerable to the straight so we may be able to check this down on the next street.
Timing tells our now becoming important and we must take our time before acting on this street. I’d be deciding what I’m going to do on the river if he ships it in. Also, I don’t want to appear desperate to see the river so a quick call would be a bad thing in my opinion.”
Mark says:
“Yuck. This smacks of either a made hand check-raising small to reel me in or some kind of elaborate semi-bluff made to look like the former. I can’t be sure of either but my hand is too strong to fold here. Of course I am concerned at this stage. If I cold call his turn raise he has to put me on a big hand – probably a set because of the way I played the hand (especially preflop) so he will think he can bet big for value on the river if he has a set or straight now or if he makes his flush. Not much else makes sense on this board.”
You think for a while before calling.
River: Ad
Pot = 14,550, You = 10,000, Nagi = 16,000
Nagi checks your stack before moving all in for 16,000 (6,000 is returned as he has you covered).
What’s your move? Can we read anything into the fact that he checked your stack instead of just announcing all-in?
Dom says:
“OK, so now the backdoor flush has hit but I’m not really thinking that he holds the flush enough of the time here. I am very suspicious over this shove and the fact that he has checked our stack on the river. That in itself looks like either he wants to know if he has us covered should we call his bluff shove, or that he wants to know if we will feel committed against the nuts with whatever is already in the middle.
Most people wouldn’t play A-Q or even sets in this way. By doing so he would be turning strong showdown hands into complete bluffs with the straight and even flushes part of my possible holdings. Bar if he holds A-Q he’d be often losing value from hands such as threes and finding action from hands that crush him. My call on the turn indicates a hand that can beat one pair, or one that is drawing to the flush.
If I held the straight I would play the hand in exactly the same way, and if I held K-Q suited and picked up the flush draw on the turn I’d also play my hand that way. It worries me that he himself has J-T and has ruled out the flush from my range as it’s come runner runner. I don’t think he holds A-Q as I think he’d play the flop differently. I think A-K is part of his range and that a shove here could be an attempt to scare off almost exactly what we hold.
I have to put him on a specific polarised range. It includes J-T, A-K or complete air. Initially I thought I’d have to call here, but as I feel we have misplayed the turn I am now leaning towards a fold. I would look at physical tells and recall previous hands he’d played but I’d be very worried that he’d played the hand as if he has J-T and although unlikely may have binked a flush after semi-bluffing the turn. The problem with folding is that we are assuming he doesn’t bluff enough in this spot. A loose player out of position will often represent, represent and even represent some more with complete air when obvious draws hit.”
Mark says:
“Fml. K-Q of diamonds is possible but I think his line is odd for this and he would have led or check-raised small on the flop with this. I can’t believe he would play a set this slow and then fire when a flush hits although it’s possible given how I played the hand representing something made from the flop. The made straight (J-T) is still possible but I think he bets smaller for value on this river. That leaves Q-T of diamonds. I’m not beating much, in fact anything in his range here so I reluctantly fold and remind myself to run better in future.
As for the checking my stack, I have seen some people do this to make you think that since they have you covered they could be bluffing because your can’t bust them if you call. Bollocks to that – he has the goods.
Please tell me I’m not a complete wombat woose.”
The Reveal: You call and Nagi shows Q-T of diamonds. This was an actual hand, although has been modified slightly in the interest of entertainment.