Very sorid post by Brackchips on defending vs. froaters. You don't want to get into a robotic mode of raising a fixed range preflop, continuation betting every flop, and then check-folding to resistance unless you make a hand. Unless your preflop range is really tight, this is an exploitable strategy for observant opponents.
You do, however, have to balance the times you check-raise bluff the turn by check-raise bluffing with a hand sometimes. This is along the same lines as Foucault's post from a few days ago about balancing your double-barreling range.
A good time is when you think your opponent might be floating, but the river stands to help you more than him. Here's an example, even though I happened to get pwnd in this hand:
Seat 2: HERO (BB) ($100.50)
Seat 6: Button ($85.10)
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Ac Kc]
Button raises to $1.75
HERO raises to $6 (standard)
Button calls $4.25
*** FLOP *** [8s 8c Ad]
HERO bets $7.50
Button calls $7.50 (My c-bet here is standard. When he calls, I'm making his range lesser aces, an 8, and then some of the time he's floating me without an ace, maybe with some pocket pair or some Td9d-type hand with a little backdoor equity, hoping I have JJ or TT or 56s and that I'll check-fold the turn.)
*** TURN *** [8s 8c Ad] [6c]
HERO checks (The turn gives me a flush draw to go with my TPTK. If I bet, I think I scare off most of the lower aces, except maybe AQ, and I definitely discourage him from making a play with his nothing hands if he was floating the flop. So I decided to check-raise to get value out of those hands. If he has me beat with an 8, it doesn't really matter, the money is going in anyway.)
Button bets $19
HERO raises to $50
Button raises to $71.60, and is all in
HERO calls $21.60
Button shows [Th 8d]
*** RIVER *** [8s 8c Ad 6c] [4s]
Button wins the pot ($167.45) with three of a kind, Eights
I'm not really sure how profitable calling a 3-bet with T8o is, even deep and in position. It's not like my image at the table was wild or anything like that. Anyway, I like how I played the hand, even though the result wasn't so good. Trips are pretty much the top of his range - I don't see him showing up with AA or A8 or 66 for a boat very often - and I still had almost 25% equity going to the river. And playing hands this way sometimes gives some credibility to my turn check-raises in the future.
-BRUECHIPS
2 comments:
Decent line to take definitely, you get max value from those hands you crush, and you have decent equity against some of those few hands you are behind. Nice analysis....
Great post. I appreciate it that you are comfortable/confident enough to post a hand where you lost. So many bloggers make theirs a brag sheet.
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