Tuesday, March 10, 2009

AK in a Blind Battle

What I said about March starting out really well? Nevermind that. Things have turned for the worse at 25NL and I'm back down to even for the month. I'm pretty close to having to move some of my Bodog PLO winnings (up some 4 hundo in the past 3 weeks) over to fund my Full Tilt NLHE habit. So maybe I should just be playing more PLO then? Perhaps, but I'm stubborn about being a winning NLHE player, especially at the lower stakes, where I know it shouldn't be this hard.

And while I try to figure this thing out, I'll keep posting NLHE hands here, and while the running is bad, expect the results of these hands to be the same.

Here I'm in a 3-bet blind battle with things looking pretty good...

Full Tilt Poker, $0.10/$0.25 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
UTG: $26.91
MP: $43.65
CO: $41.78
BTN: $50
SB: $33.74
Hero (BB): $51.54
Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (BB)
4 folds, SB raises to $0.75, Hero raises to $2.25, SB calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50) K 7 7 (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3.50, SB calls $3.50

No reason not to C-bet...in BvsB, villain's C-bet calling range is wide - any PP, any K, and of course any 7.

Turn: ($11.50) K 7 7 [ 2 ] (2 Players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Here's where I make a small mistake...I should be shooting for 3 streets of value here, since opponents are unlikely to give any credit. Furthermore, a 7 is probably raising here for value, so I can help define my opponent's range. Instead, I choose to check, since the 2 is such a blank, thinking that I can induce a thin river value bet or a bluff.

River: ($11.50) K 7 7 2 [ 8 ] (2 Players)
SB bets $6, Hero raises to $12, SB raises to $27.99 and is All-In,
Hero?

So here I figure I can get thin value from KQ/KJ/KT/99-QQ, which is a pretty decent part of his range here. Thin river value raises are not something I shoot for very often, so I don't know what to make of this.

Is this a bad spot for a river value raise?
Should I ever expect someone to make a bluff raise or to raise with worse than AK here?
Can I justify a call?
...
...
...

Hero folds

Results: $35.50 Pot ($1.77 Rake)
SB mucked and WON $33.73 (+$15.98 NET)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't mind the raise on the river, but I do mind the fold. Does it smell like he has a 7? Yup, sure does. But if you're going to raise the river, then you have to be willing to call his shove, otherwise just call his lead-out on the river. Anyway, you're getting better than 3:1 to call his raise, so if your opponent has a weaker King just 25% of the time, then calling is the profitable move.

Hef

noldmax said...

Mark, when you're looking for thin value, you have to be willing to make thin folds, because the very nature of thin value bets is that you will often be beat even when your opponent calls. So when you are raised, it is usually a pretty sure sign that I'm crushed. Why on earth would my opponent push here with anything I can beat? He should be scared by my river min-raise, not excited. Unless he knows I am prone to thin value raises (I almost never do) and thus willing to bluff-raise, he is never (nevermind 25%) raising here without at least a 7.

Anonymous said...

I'm not so sure. People tend to play a little differently when it's heads up, and even more so when it's a battle of the blinds. In HU play, if you have any pair on the flop you are usually ahead of your opponent. And when it's a top pair of Kings you feel even better about your hand. He definitely isn't putting you on a 7, so when it's not a scare card for him, he can turn it around and use it as a scard card against you. If he has KQ or KJ, he's going to feel like he has the best hand here, especially after you check the turn, which is what gave him the confidence to bet and then push the river. Based on your betting so far, he could legitimately think that you have something along the lines of 99-QQ, AQ, or AJ.

Hef

spritpot said...

I agree people get spewy blind vs. blind, and in particular they often get clingy when they limp/call the sb. I'd probably call this off unless I knew the villain was really tight or something. I know it seems retarded for him to shove it all in with KJ or A8 but you're playing NL25 and it's a blind battle. AK just too good to fold, especially after you check the turn.

I'd also definitely bet the turn. When you flop pretty much the nuts in a blind battle, you want to get value on every street.

I don't agree that thin value bets require thin folds. You're assuming that since he has better often when he calls (here, that's definitely not that case), and that he raises better hands than he calls (usually not the case. His raising range will be more polarized, but not necessarily "better", as in you have less equity against it).

-bruechips

DoucheHunter said...

I will just call u a skirt! nuff said........

D-

Anonymous said...

You should have called me. I had Kd-Jd. I checked the turn in hopes that you would bet. Even though I didn't river my flush, I was still pretty confident that my top pair was the best hand given that it was a battle of the blinds.

SB

noldmax said...

Thanks SB! Please keep up the river pushes w/ TPWK, and I'll be sure to donk off next time!