Preflop call in NL?
 

Full Tilt Poker, $0.05/$0.10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $10.35
MP1: $4.15
MP2: $2.25
CO: $2.50
BTN: $5.90
Hero (SB): $7.55
BB: $10
UTG: $8.75
UTG+1: $14.30

Pre-Flop: 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG calls $0.10, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.10, MP1 calls $0.10, MP2 calls $0.10, 2 folds, Hero ...


What is your line here? For me, in limit it's an easy call. Figuring that if I hit the higher flush will be incredibly rare, and if it presents itself I stand to lose minimum.


However, is this a leak in lower Passive full NL game where 4-5 see the flop and I generally get looked up for pot size river bets?

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

You should absolutely complete here. Being OOP in an unraised pot here is obviously not ideal but if you don't hit the flop (i.e. flop a straight or a flush or a straight and/or flush draw, two pair, or trips) it's easy to get away from this hand and you're being offered like 10-1 immediate odds (with potentially huge implied odds).

Completing w/ suited connectors here is 100% correct.

EDIT: Also, if your opponents are going to call PSBs on the river you should just be smart about what you're showing down. Obviously bluffing is not advisable and you need to plan the hand so that at every stage you know how far you're willing to go w/ whatever it is you end up holding. "If I make a flush am I willing to commit my whole stack?" (the answer to this is almost always yes) or "Is bottom two pair likely to be good and if so how much can I get out of these guys?" "Are my trips getting outkicked," etc.

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

Thanks for the great response, appreciate the explaination. I did lose you at one point:

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Obviously bluffing is not advisable

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I'm previously a low stakes limit player, could you explain, in detail what a bluff is?

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

[ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the great response, appreciate the explaination. I did lose you at one point:

[ QUOTE ]
Obviously bluffing is not advisable

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm previously a low stakes limit player, could you explain, in detail what a bluff is?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, we're obviously not going to win at showdown w/ 43s unimproved. One of the nicer things about NL, however, is that showing down premium hands isn't nearly as important as it is in a limit game. That said, obviously table conditions vary by game and at lower stakes (typically below around 25NL) people won't necessarily consider the motivation behind bet-sizing so "bluffing" in general might be more difficult at this level. In other words people won't often say, "hmm...that looks like a valuebet, I'm probably beat a lot of the time here so I think I'll fold," rather they'd say, "well, I think I'm beat but it's only $5, so what have I got to lose."

Specifically bluffing just means betting and getting someone with a better hand to fold (or, in Sklansky-speak, forcing someone to act differently than he would if he could see your cards). In this particular hand (I obviously don't know any of the action) it would probably look like having something like a flush draw or a straight draw that doesn't come in (or just bottom pair) and representing something stronger to induce a fold. And the trick is to sort of represent something all along so that you're not just making a suspicious desperate looking bet on the river to represent a flopped set or something. You have to make your final bet look coherent.

Anyway, against a lot of opponents, particularly at 10NL this might be kinda tough and it's definitely something you should only use sparingly.

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

I was a 5/10 limit player and switching - this is a great call.

Think about implied odds and not drawing odds.

What is great about this is that it's an easy fold on the flop OR a great money maker.

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

Haha, thanks again, I was being sarcastic about what is bluffing, but do appreciate the dedicated response.

Re: Preflop call in NL?
 

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Haha, thanks again, I was being sarcastic about what is bluffing, but do appreciate the dedicated response.

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Right I kinda figured but it kept me occupied at work for like 5 minutes. Plus bluffing is different sorta in limit vs. no-limit.