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A limit hand
Jan. 2nd, 2006 05:37 pmBLUFFThis made a comment on an earlier post that he thought 15-30 was more suited to my style of game, because you got fewer calling stations who would inevitably suck out on you. In other words, you got less pot equity and more fold equity.
As I said in that post, my major problem with 15-30 is not the quality of my opponents. I will happily go bulldozing away in an aggression battle, no matter what the limit. My problem is that I am uncomfortable with the real money represented by the stakes. This leads to the fatal flaw of protecting wins and chasing losses. It's vital that you do not fall into this trap when you move up in levels.
Another factor is that BLUFF tends not to play at the same time as I do. I have recently signed back into Party, having negotiated an under-the-counter rakeback (note link above if you are interested in opening up one of these yourself!) but, because the new account stops me using my old Neteller account, I have had to deposit my own money via Visa. And, since it is a "new" account, the deposit was limited to $500. I thus have to suffer the humiliation of playing $2-$4 until I can build up a reasonable stack.
Anyway, even at $2-$4, in certain types of game, the more aggressive style of play can reap regular dividends. It's the following kind of hand where the money is made, not the Ace-x suited that hits a flush on the turn.
$2/$4 Texas Hold'em
Seat 2 (Birks) is the button
Seat 1: samlclemens ( $233 )
Seat 2: Birks ( $138 )
Seat 3: rollemhigh1 ( $132 )
Seat 4: GaryPaulD ( $177 )
Seat 5: TEPop ( $77.58 )
Seat 6: joeyjett ( $33 )
Seat 7: LoveRedApple ( $69 )
Seat 8: chengjimmy ( $200.75 )
Seat 9: sidcrosby ( $106 )
Seat 10: shiggy9 ( $105.50 )
rollemhigh1 posts small blind [$1].
GaryPaulD posts big blind [$2].
Dealt to Birks [ 8h Th ]
joeyjett (UTG+1) calls [$2].
Birks raises [$4].
rollemhigh1 (SB) calls [$3].
GaryPaulD(BB) folds.
joeyjett calls [$2].
The raise of one limper (and, although this is not the case here, the raise of two limpers) gives more verisimilitude to your hand than a raise without any previous callers. At $2-$4, the players see it as less likely to be a semi-steal of the blinds.
Flop Jh, 8s, Jd
I quite like this flop. Unless one of my two opponents has a Jack or something like A8 suited, I'm likely to be in front. I've just run a Monte Carlo on it against likely calling hands and my pot equity comes out at 46.5%
rollemhigh1 checks.
joeyjett checks.
Birks bets [$2].
rollemhigh1 calls [$2].
joeyjett calls [$2].
Turn 7h
Should I be worried? Well, if the Jack is out there, I'm going to get check-raised on the turn. But this is no reason to slow down. My pot equity (with the flush draw) is now over 50%. It's this kind of situation where I differ seriously from the conventional wisdom, that suggests checking "half and half" hands on the turn, saving your bets for very strong hands and outright bluffs that you can fold to a check-raise without hesitation.
rollemhigh1 checks.
joeyjett checks.
Birks bets [$4].
rollemhigh1 folds.
joeyjett folds.
Birks wins $23.
End of story. I would guess that they both took a card off on the flop with either two overcards, or an overcard and a gutshot, or a small pair. In all these cases I am right to bet the turn, even though I am forced to call a check raise.
As I said in that post, my major problem with 15-30 is not the quality of my opponents. I will happily go bulldozing away in an aggression battle, no matter what the limit. My problem is that I am uncomfortable with the real money represented by the stakes. This leads to the fatal flaw of protecting wins and chasing losses. It's vital that you do not fall into this trap when you move up in levels.
Another factor is that BLUFF tends not to play at the same time as I do. I have recently signed back into Party, having negotiated an under-the-counter rakeback (note link above if you are interested in opening up one of these yourself!) but, because the new account stops me using my old Neteller account, I have had to deposit my own money via Visa. And, since it is a "new" account, the deposit was limited to $500. I thus have to suffer the humiliation of playing $2-$4 until I can build up a reasonable stack.
Anyway, even at $2-$4, in certain types of game, the more aggressive style of play can reap regular dividends. It's the following kind of hand where the money is made, not the Ace-x suited that hits a flush on the turn.
$2/$4 Texas Hold'em
Seat 2 (Birks) is the button
Seat 1: samlclemens ( $233 )
Seat 2: Birks ( $138 )
Seat 3: rollemhigh1 ( $132 )
Seat 4: GaryPaulD ( $177 )
Seat 5: TEPop ( $77.58 )
Seat 6: joeyjett ( $33 )
Seat 7: LoveRedApple ( $69 )
Seat 8: chengjimmy ( $200.75 )
Seat 9: sidcrosby ( $106 )
Seat 10: shiggy9 ( $105.50 )
rollemhigh1 posts small blind [$1].
GaryPaulD posts big blind [$2].
Dealt to Birks [ 8h Th ]
joeyjett (UTG+1) calls [$2].
Birks raises [$4].
rollemhigh1 (SB) calls [$3].
GaryPaulD(BB) folds.
joeyjett calls [$2].
The raise of one limper (and, although this is not the case here, the raise of two limpers) gives more verisimilitude to your hand than a raise without any previous callers. At $2-$4, the players see it as less likely to be a semi-steal of the blinds.
Flop Jh, 8s, Jd
I quite like this flop. Unless one of my two opponents has a Jack or something like A8 suited, I'm likely to be in front. I've just run a Monte Carlo on it against likely calling hands and my pot equity comes out at 46.5%
rollemhigh1 checks.
joeyjett checks.
Birks bets [$2].
rollemhigh1 calls [$2].
joeyjett calls [$2].
Turn 7h
Should I be worried? Well, if the Jack is out there, I'm going to get check-raised on the turn. But this is no reason to slow down. My pot equity (with the flush draw) is now over 50%. It's this kind of situation where I differ seriously from the conventional wisdom, that suggests checking "half and half" hands on the turn, saving your bets for very strong hands and outright bluffs that you can fold to a check-raise without hesitation.
rollemhigh1 checks.
joeyjett checks.
Birks bets [$4].
rollemhigh1 folds.
joeyjett folds.
Birks wins $23.
End of story. I would guess that they both took a card off on the flop with either two overcards, or an overcard and a gutshot, or a small pair. In all these cases I am right to bet the turn, even though I am forced to call a check raise.
