[Slim Pickens]

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Hand 1-11
Do you like betting the turn (and the amount) and folding to a raise ?

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Overall, I like his advice on this hand. Given the read on the opponent as loose-passive, his flop call doesn't necessarily mean a strong hand, most likely a 6 or 7. Also, that read does let us bet/fold the A on the turn. There is some argument to be made for checking the turn to induce a call on the river from K7/K7/65 or whatever stupid hand he called the flop with, but then you have to consider folding to a river bet, and it becomes a much more read-dependent play. Since we're not likely to have a very strong read (more of just a general one), I think the straightforward play is best.

I would like to point out something about bet sizing. In this hand, he raises to t180 at 30/60 blinds, then bets almost the full pot (t350 into t390) on a 762 two-tone board. After getting called, that leaves t1410 behind in a pot of t1090, which is kind of an awkward ratio. It forces him to make a choice between three weak-looking turn plays: making a 2/5-pot bet, overbet shoving, or checking. Say the initial opening raise was to t150 instead. That would create a pot of t330 on the flop, where a flop bet of t200 would put t730 in the pot on the turn, with t1590 behind. The board is not particularly draw-heavy and also not likely to have given your opponent a made second-best hand, and as such doesn't warrant a large flop bet. With 2x pot left in your stack, there are many more play options available. Now, a turn bet of t400 looks consistent with the strength you've been showing throughout the hand. He's much less likely to feel priced in by the size of the pot. You also would have the option of making a weak-looking play if that's what you wanted to do. If your opponent shoves the turn, you aren't getting as favorable odds to call, so you have to be right less often to make a fold mathematically correct. Overall, smarter bet sizing on the earlier streets can make a huge difference in the options available later.


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Hand 1-18
Do you like betting the draw with 3 players after ?

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Eh, sometimes. I think bet, check/call, and check/raise are all viable options on that hand depending on exactly how it plays out.

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In general, do you like the concept "if you will call a small bet, make that bet instead" ?

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It's not a bad way to stay aggressive. It's also why holdem players suck at O8 most of the time [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]. Especially at lower levels, most opponents don't know anything about blocking bets, so they'll work. If some of your opponents are sophisticated enough to bluff-raise weak-looking bets, I like the concept less.