Had my first winning day of the week yesterday. Played eight $2 double-up SNGs, winning six of eight. One of the two that I lost lasted less than an orbit. Oh well. Also played 100 hands of $.02-$.04 6-max NLHE, and picked up a whopping $1.15. So, the 'roll sits at $150 and change. In considering adjustments I could make -- at least in the short run -- to get out of the tailspin, I decided to tighten up and stop playing A-rag in 6-max, except maybe to steal from the button. I've been raising from most positions (not re-raising) with A-rag, and I've been getting into trouble this week with it. I was finding myself refusing to lay down the hand to a 3-bet pre, and then finding it (a) hard to believe I was ahead of much, and (b) very hard to lay down on later streets if I hit the A or even the kicker. No particular logical explanation for that, apart from being off my rocker. So, I'm giving that up for now.
As I mentioned to Marsh, one scenario I need to develop more intelligence on is what to do when the SB or BB re-raise my CO or Btn raise when I hold a less than premium hand. If I'm holding a monster (AA, KK, QQ, AK), no problemo. But what to do when I open raise from the CO with ATo, AJo, KQo or 88 and the BB (who may (a) just be sick of me stealing, or (b) be actually holding a real hand) re-pots? Calling seems like the worst choice. So, what to do? While I know the answer is "it depends on the opponent and the opponent's stack," any general guidance on how to respond to blind 3-betters when we hold a sub-monster? (I saw a lot of 3-betting from the blinds during my brief foray into $.05-$.10, and that prompted me to realize that I lack even a general plan for those situations.)
$100 swing...the wrong way
13 years ago
7 comments:
those hands u mention appear to be mini monsters so I would flat with them. Now if u are stealing with Q7 suited. Q9 or J7 then a fold may be acceptable.
U have a positional advantage so I would go with them. Calling does not seem like a bad option to me.
I, too, am wondering what to do in that position. In the past, I’ve tended to either call or fold, depending on what I know about the villain. Almost never am I raising again there, as it feels to me like the only real re-raise option there is to go all-in (before he does on his 2nd raise). And the prospect of that scares the bejesus out of me.
Do others agree with Jase here? With all due respect, I don't. I'll admit ignorance as to the precise definition of "mini monster," but AT doesn't feel like a monster when facing a 3-bet from a guy OOP. What am I hoping for on the flop apart from trips, 2 pair or a fluky straight? Same ? for AJ.
Flat calling just puts me in further limbo, doesn't it? Since I presume a 3-better out of the SB/BB is going to bet out on most flops, aren't I folding most flops....or calling down/raising with a predictably-dominated hand if an A hits the flop?
Take this with a grain of salt from the guy who set mines with Queens, but if I'm potting from the CO or button then I am doing it with a hand that I'm going to the mat with, namely AA, KK, AK, and on good days prolly QQ and maybe JJ. I personally am not raising with hands like ATo and for online microstakes I'm prolly not even playing them since I can go to any of my other multiple tables and find a better hand to play.
I also suspect that you are raising from late position more than average and when you do that you're going to get people playing back at you. Tightening up your range will cut down on people trying to steal from you *if* they are paying attention.
Another option may be to min-raise with tweener hands. Negreanu said in his microstakes challenge that he mins his entire range. By min-raising you make re-pots more affordable to call if you want to play or cheap to dump if you don't.
Another suggestion would be to signing up for the 2+2 forums (free) and stopping by the bookstore and look for a good book. Killer Poker Online for instance deals specifically with online play.
1) Yes, stop playing Ax from early to mid position. It is an easily dominated, 1-pair type hand. Stealing with it from the button is fine but I've sat at tables where I was stealing from the button with ATC.
2) How you respond to resteals from the blinds really does depend on who's doing it. Is this the first hand that the BB has played in 3 orbits? If so you should be folding everything but the top 2-3% of your range.
In general I'm inclined to call with hands like TJ suited and mid pocket pairs (assuming the blind is 70+ BBs deep). AT, AJ, KQ should get folded. If I'm stealing very actively and this is the 3rd or 4th time I've noticed the same player from the blind restealing, he is getting 4 bet every time.
If the restealer has less than 50 BBs in his stack I'm not continuing in the hand without the top of my range, unless he is a maniac in which case I'm shoving all of the hands you listed.
I agree mostly with what Chuck said. You guys have been playing long enough to know that "it depends" is always the answer here.
You have to pay attention to 2 main things to aid these decisions:
1. What have you been doing.
2. What has he been doing.
As was mentioned, if you are extremely active from the button, you can expect to get played back at by certain types of players.
Not all of them will, a lot will just start calling you since they realize you raise ~every button. Also, some will figure out that you are raising most buttons and then wait on a huge hand to repop you with.
It's up to you to figure out which type of player this guy is. After you have made that decision, it's pretty straightforward to play the hand (preflop anyway) thereafter.
I will say that without a pretty big hand my general line is to fold, as most of these guys are passive and when they RR out of the blinds they have something big. There are very few that I have notes on RR'ing from the blind with crappy hands shown down.
Regarding Ax. I basically just don't play this hand. I will raise it from the button but even then I fold it sometimes. These hands to me have the least showdown value as I am basing a lot of my strategy on the fact that these players can't fold top pair with almost any kicker.
About what Chuck/Jason said about what action to make. Jason said to call, Chuck said to raise if villain is active or maniacal in these spots. I think this is a very tricky spot because I am reluctant to jam into just one guy (less dead money pre) with non-premium hands.
Often vs. the maniacs or short stacks, they will get it in with you regardless of the flop, and it's fairly safe to see it for their price then decide how to proceed.
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