2/4: a few isolation plays, please comment

Wolf44 · #1 11-20-2006, 01:39 AM

Hi everyone,

after lots of stud8, razz and some o8, I want to sharpen my 6maxLHE game. Just played in a session where I did a few isolation plays. Would be cool if you could tell me your minimum isolation holdings in these situations.

Thanks much in advance! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Hand 1:

it´s my third hand in this game, no read on villain.

PokerStars 2/4 Hold'em (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].
2 folds, CO raises, Hero 3-bets, 2 folds, CO calls.

Flop: (7.50 SB) 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets, CO raises, Hero folds.

Final Pot: 5.25 BB

Hand 2:

villain is 56/25/0.8/33 - got a little fancy there on the turn.

PokerStars 2/4 Hold'em (6 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
UTG raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 3 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (7.50 SB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets, UTG calls.

Turn: (4.75 BB) A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks.

River: (4.75 BB) K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, UTG folds.

Final Pot: 7.75 BB

Hand 3:

same villain as in Hand 2, this is just 4 hands later. What do you think about the call down?

PokerStars 2/4 Hold'em (5 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: 2+2 Forums)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
1 fold, MP raises, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets, 1 fold, MP caps, Hero calls.

Flop: (9 SB) 9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero calls.

Turn: (5.50 BB) 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero calls.

River: (7.50 BB) 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 9.50 BB

Thanks much for your help!

Jiggymike · #2 11-20-2006, 02:14 AM

Oye, sorry Wolf but I can't approve any of these, MAYBE hand 2 against that loose raiser. In hand 1 and 3 I just fold, maybe call in hand 3 if BB will usually call because limper is so loose. I just think that 44 and 55 are a little low to be isolating because it will be tough to say where you stand on most flops...I could be way wrong in this though.

As for the rest of your play, I like the b/f with that board in hand 1. Hand 2 I like the lead on the flop. I probably would have just bet the turn but against an aggressive player who bets more than calls you might gain an extra bet here by inducing the bluff...board doesn't have THAT many draws. And sorry but I hate the call down in hand 3 with him capping.

raze · #3 11-20-2006, 02:32 AM

Hand 1 - Too loose for me. You aren't really ahead of anything (except Ace-rags & 22-44), you might be dominated by a bigger pair, and you're gonna be afraid of just about any flop.

Hand 2 - I take the normal route and bet the turn; however, this looks okay to me. You might squeeze out extra value this way by inducing a bluff, or by taking two bets from any pair he might make on the river.

Hand 3 - I fold pre-flop.

mikeysong · #4 11-20-2006, 03:25 AM

hand 1 - i like the fold
hand 2 - bet the turn, don't be fancy with it
hand 3 - i think pf is up to you on preference but if u think he's tilting go for it. I think a majority of the time u're losing money here, so it's not worth it

sharpie · #5 11-20-2006, 03:54 AM

1) Fold PF, flop fold is standard.
2) Bet the turn
3) I'd just fold PF with the limited read and no read on BB. Whether to calldown or not seems close to me. Do we think he's capping with AJ type hands PF? If so I don't mind a calldown.

Wolf44 · #6 11-20-2006, 04:06 AM

well, it seemed to me that he maybe has gotten a little fired up in hand 3 because I reraised him pf once more. The guy showed Q6o ...

But as everyone seems to be a lot tighter in these situations, I´ve got something to work on - thanks a lot everyone for commenting!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Could anyone recommend some literature (or a good thread here) on isolation plays/minimum standards? I think there was some stuff in Yao´s book, will look that up. Haven´t done a forum search yet, but will do that right now.

YertleTurtle · #7 11-20-2006, 04:08 AM

GRUNCH:

Hand 1 - I usually fold here unless I have some sort of read. Rest of the hand is good.

Hand 2 - I bet the turn and bet the river. I'm not sure if you extracted value or lost it but I don't see a reason to get tricky in position.

Hand 3 - I either raise the flop or fold. I am more likely to fold since you have been tangling with villian recently. When he bets the river I suspect you are beat solidly.

sharpie · #8 11-20-2006, 04:20 AM

[ QUOTE ]
well, it seemed to me that he maybe has gotten a little fired up in hand 3 because I reraised him pf once more. The guy showed Q6o ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea the combination of being 3 bet by you twice in a relatively short amount of time, plus the last time you did it he might've felt owned on the river.

As for 3 bet isolating people if I don't have a read I'll mostly just 3 bet hands that are favorites against his range. Once you get reads on the blinds (you want them tight) and the initial raiser (you want him weak) you can consider opening up a little more, but I rarely do it. I save most of my isolating when a weak or loose player limps, especially if the blinds are tight.