Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

Hi, I'm Irish Mike, and I may be thinking about crossing to the dark side. Part of this is the standard limit player's lament, but a lot of my interest came from playing live at Four Winds last weekend and making $209 in 90 minutes at 200NL but making just barely that much in four days of 3/6 limit. And on Sunday I saw a guy with $1600 in front of him at that table. I'd like to be that guy. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I'll be posting the three hands that really got me that money. In each of them I think I made fundamental mistakes, but hey, that's what we're here for, right? So berate at will. I can take it.

Here we go:

Live 1/2 NL

I'm in LMP with AJo. "Smoker" makes it $7 from EP. He seems pretty tight, having bought in for the max $200 and sat on his hands for most of the time. The two guys on my immediate right call. Caller #1 has been involved in a lot of pots preflop but has yet to take a single one to showdown, much less win. Caller #2 I called "Hector" in my TR. He's very fast and loose. Both of them have about $50 behind. I call with about $110 behind and everyone else folds.

Flop: ($31) A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
Smoker bets $10, Caller and Hector fold. I raise to $25, Smoker calls.

Turn: ($81) K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]
Smoker checks, I check behind.

River: ($81) Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
Smoker checks, I check behind.


KEY DECISION POINTS:
1. Preflop coldcall. My whole reason for getting into this pot was to eventually go HU with the overplaying Hector. He'd be prone to push a lot of hands on the flop, and pairing up with either card would be more than enough to stand against his all-in range. The other two guys would probably fold. I was looking at about 74-7 in implied odds ($21 from the three $7 bets, $3 in blinds, $50 from the rest of Hector's stack).

If PNL disagrees with me, it's not by much. I've set up SPRs of just over 1.5 (50/31) against Hector and the other caller and just over 3.5 versus Smoker (110/31).

The problem is, while AJo is certainly favorable against the other two callers' ranges, is it too much of a dog against the deeper EP raiser to splash around here?


2. Flop raise. Is $25 a good amount into a pot that's now $41? Or should I have raised just slightly more to set up a shove on the turn? Raising to $25 left me $85 behind in a pot of $81. I don't know if he will call that much if I shove. However, if I raise to $30, that leaves me $80 in a pot that's $91, and he may call that. But the downside is he may not call the flop raise.


3. Turn and river checkbehinds. Had any non-[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] card below a J shown up, I'm obviously happy to get my money in. However, the turn K changed things, as AK and KK now beat me again. The river Q didn't do me any favors, either, as AQ, QQ, AT, and TT all got there.

I did not want to shove myself after that disaster turn. After I raised the flop, if the K helped Villain he's probably waiting for me to bet so he can check/raise me all-in. I didn't want to walk into that trap. On the river, while it's an easy bet/fold, I can't think of a single hand I beat that would pay off a bet except maybe KQ. Most of the time I bet that, I'm just throwing money away.


Okay, that's Hand #1. Flame away.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

Raise the flop to at least $35ish, be happy to get it in if he shoves. I probably shove turn since you are so short and two pair is basically the nuts live.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

darsh,

you know exactly what my nl advice is worth but:

with the limpers, a non-exorbitant raise, and most importantly position, i'm happy to see a flop with this hand.

i think you should raise more on the flop. between the flush and broadway draws, i'm happy to just take this down now. if villain has an A, he will hopefully give you action immediately. if he doesn't, he's unlikely to put a lot of money in the pot anyway.

the turn is one of those spots i don't understand well in nl. checking behind seems reasonable both for pot control and because the K is a scary card. also, with slightly more than a PSB left, a c/r would be icky. however, i really hate giving free cards on this board and we would like to bet for value against Ax-type hands. so i don't know [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

as played, the river is a no-brainer.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

on the flop I'd definitely raise more - pot sized raise feels right.

on the turn I'm not afraid of a check raise. It feels like he has given up on the hand and a shove here wins it. From your read, I wouldn't expect tricky play here from "Smoker" I'd rather put in a half pot bet or so but you don't have enough behind for that line. If you put in a small feeler bet, any flush draw is calling. Your only real options here is check behind or push.

I don't think pot control is important here due to stack sizes.

As played, the river is fine.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

Hello Irish Mike,

Now that you have crossed over to "ze dahk side", let me give you the first rule passed down from the Emperor....




[ QUOTE ]
"Smoker" makes it $7 from EP. He seems pretty tight

[/ QUOTE ]

+

[ QUOTE ]
I'm in LMP with AJo.

[/ QUOTE ]

=

I place my cards in "ze muck" and go service my light sabre.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

[ QUOTE ]
I place my cards in "ze muck" and go service my light sabre.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure what that last part is supposed to mean, but the tables were electronic, so there really wasn't a muck pile. But I get where you're driving this train.

I should have been more specific in saying that this was only about a 10-minute read. I didn't have a hundreds-hand dossier on this dude. Besides, if he were really as tight as I've claimed, he would have beat AJ on that board. What raises from EP there that doesn't? KQ and maybe 99. So he either had one of those two hands (which would explain the pretty feeble flop c-bet), or was gamboooling it up with something dumb like 65s or something.


But hey, it's an honor having you drop by. I already owe Ed a beer for SSHE, so I suppose now I owe him two and you one. And whichever one of you came up with page 281 I'm buying for all night. (If you've not read PNL yet, I'm not spoiling it. It's HILARIOUS. I strongly suspect that was Ed's work.)

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hello Irish Mike,

Now that you have crossed over to "ze dahk side", let me give you the first rule passed down from the Emperor....




[ QUOTE ]
"Smoker" makes it $7 from EP. He seems pretty tight

[/ QUOTE ]

+

[ QUOTE ]
I'm in LMP with AJo.

[/ QUOTE ]

=

I place my cards in "ze muck" and go service my light sabre.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen, brotha.

Re: Four Winds Live 200NL Intro and Hand #1
 

[ QUOTE ]
And whichever one of you came up with page 281 I'm buying for all night.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, Matt and I probably spent more time concocting, editing, and debating that little "joke" than half the strategic stuff in the book!.....

(well maybe not half, but we'll take the beer).... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]