Borg Session. I don't know how to win the most. Please help!!

[Carmine]

I had a winning session at the Borg yesterday but also a frustrating one. I came away from the game thinking I've gotten very good at losing the least in this game. It's the winning the most part that gives me trouble more often than not.

Could have been the session that's causing me to feel this way. I was making big hands but most of them were very exposed(at least in my mind) and OOP. I'm going to list them in order in case image comes into play at some point. This is over the course of a five hour session.


1ST hand at the table. I know some of players. Villain is unknown
Preflop: Hero is BB W/88
MP limps, CO calls, <font color="red">Button raises </font>, SB folds, Hero calls

Flop: JJ8r (four players)
Hero checks, MP check, CO checks, Button bets, Hero calls, fold, fold.

Turn 9 (two players)
Hero is afraid of a check through on that card and leads but I think I would have lead any non-A/K turn. In my mind the flop call looks dangerous no matter what.
Button Folds [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

I showdown some solid hands for the next two hours

Hand #2
Preflop: Hero is BB W/K5s
<font color="red">UTG raises </font> , MP Calls, HJ Calls, Button calls, SB Calls, Hero calls

Flop: AKK (6 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG bets, <font color="red">MP raises </font> , folded to Hero who calls??, UTG folds.

Turn 6 (two players)
Hero bets, MP calls

River 8
Bet, Call

Another hour or two and I'm now using my image to steal several pots, showdown another solid hand or two and also get caught at least once if not twice making a move.

Hand#3
Preflop: Hero is UTG W/AKdd
<font color="red">Hero raises </font>, all fold to BB who is relatively new at table, just okay and some aggression to her and she raises, Hero just calls.

Flop: 6d8dJd (two players)
Hero checks, BB bets, <font color="red"> Hero raises </font>, BB folds

Orbit or two later

Hand #4
Preflop: Hero is BB W/KQo
<font color="red">UTG raises </font>, Mp calls, Button calls, Hero calls

Flop: QAQr (four players)
Hero Bets because that C/calling stuff just causes me turn problems and what idiot would lead out a Q here. Also UTG has trouble releasing and MP will raise any Ace here. However the same image that has helped me steal pots today my be counter productive here and perhaps I should change gears, but what will I do on turn if I C/Call here.
Anyway...

UTG Calls, all fold.
Turn: K (two players)
Bet, Call
River: Q
Hero thinks of C/R here but really doesn't know if UTG would bet assuming he even has an Ace.

Hero finishes the day up a rack and depressed. How many chips did I leave on the table

[ckmo]

I'll give it a try. I'm assuming this is at 10/20. I haven't played it in over half a year but I doubt it has changed much.

Hand 1: after the c/c on the flop, I think I'd lean towards checking and seeing if Button follows through with a bet. He still has control so unless he is completely passive he may at least give it one more try. Since it is heads up, you can only hope he has a piece or the ability to fire one more bet. At least with the turn check you give him the chance to throw one more bet in as a bluff if nothing else.

Hand 2: I'd probably bet/call the flop instead as a c/r would be expected with trip Ks, then c/r turn if there is a flop raiser or keep the lead. If you've been playing solid for the past hours, you're not gonna be cold calling 2 on the flop without at least a K.

Hand 3(assuming you didn't c/r her on the flop since she was bb and you were utg): If you're going to just call the 3bet pf, I think you have to let her keep betting for you after you murder the flop. I'd say call flop, call or raise turn assuming she bets, then bet or raise river.

Hand 4: I don't see much you can do here as played, I would check the flop and expect UTG to bet and hope to trap ppl in the middle with a raise.

[elindauer]

Why do you think the only option after you check a flop with a big hand is to call? If calling is causing you problems because it looks like a big hand, then raise! The only reason to call is for deception, so if you find a spot where a slowplay is exposing the big hand you have, then just play it fast and hope for the best.

In hand 1 for example, the line you took is one of my favorite bluff lines. This is right out of HFAP. when I hold a J, I virtually always raise the flop. Note that your opponents will likely read your hand as an 8, maybe a small pair, or a bluff / draw, and may call you down with as little as ace high. Check-call / donk leads to a LOT more folds than check-raise / lead. -Check-call / donk just screams trap attempt.

Hand 2 is fine.

Hand 3, again, you lead because you don't know what to do after checking and calling, but checking and raising is just as good. In hand 3 a check-call / check-raise line is also a fine choice, since your opponent will likely bet any ace again on the turn, figuring you for a broadway draw on a weaker ace (while hoping you don't have a queen but not frightened enough to check).


donking hands like these is a metagame move you might use against overly tight opponents that you see often... you are just covering yourself for all those other times when you steal with nothing. I suspect the kinds of players who need to do this though are very rare, I just check-raise it every time and don't bother trying to donk bluff an AQQ flop into multiple players!

-eric

[James.]

i donk more of those flops.

[StrictlyStrategy]

lol the check-call donk line on a board like JJ8 is ALWAYS trips from a bad player.

Not saying you're bad or anything but it's kind of a weak line.

3B PF as played CR flop.

[The DaveR]

Some guy raised me on the turn with TT on a T966 board. I had JJ and immediately slammed the brakes. If he had raised the flop I would have gone to town.

[Carmine]

[ QUOTE ]
lol the check-call donk line on a board like JJ8 is ALWAYS trips from a bad player.

Not saying you're bad or anything but it's kind of a weak line.

3B PF as played CR flop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I checked the flop hoping for PFR to CB bet, I would just call and hoping to get calls from those limped hands with their straight draws or raised by a J. Once it's HU I'm flocked. I think checking the turn again was my plan B should it end up HU but then the turn card looked dangerous to PFR IMO as it now completes straights which is all he was ahead of if he was holding an overpair and if he had UI overcards he would just check through even quicker.

I agree though that checking is still better once plan A hits the toilet. Does anyone like my initial flop plan to let the player in between make their hand cheaply.

Online I play this hand much more aggressively as nobody believes you and I also play 6-max exclusively. Then I try to make conscience adjustments to live full ring but maybe over-adjusting.

As you can see I did try the more aggressive C/R line in the third hand hoping I would get called and raised by an overpair on a safe turn or just played back at on the flop. That didn't go well for me either. I figure if i play that one passively and a [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] hits the turn my action is gone.

[mongidig]

Hand 1) Keep checking and hope he catches something or has an overpair or a Jack.

Hand 2) Bet the flop, as played reraise. Your cold call is way too transparent and the pot is too big to slowplay.

Hand 3) Call flop, raise turn. She probably has an overpair and will keep firing and will probably call your turn raise. If a diamond hits the river it could kill your action so raise the turn.

Hand 4) Just bet the flop and hope for a worse queen or an Ace.

[ckmo]

[ QUOTE ]
I think checking the turn again was my plan B should it end up HU but then the turn card looked dangerous to PFR IMO as it now completes straights which is all he was ahead of if he was holding an overpair and if he had UI overcards he would just check through even quicker.


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand your logic here. You were planning to check the turn if it was heads up but you decided to donk instead because the card was probably scary for the pfr? This makes no sense to me. What are you trying to accomplish here? Are you trying to get him to fold?

You all but have the hand locked. If you check, theres the chance he'll keep betting or check through. If he does check through maybe he'll improve on the River or at least be suspicious enough and he'll call you down.