Late Position/Blind Wars

Remember a couple of years ago when re-raising preflop without AA-QQ or AK was kind of a revolutionary strategy that only sharks knew how to do? My, how times of changed...for a while, 3-betting became popular but this could be exploited by 4-betting light and getting a lot of folds. These days, it's really not that big a deal to stack off pre-flop in late position/blind battles with AQo, TT, and even lesser holdings. Everybody is just willing to ship in 100 bbs when in late position or in the blinds with pretty much anything. For instance, here's a hand I played the other day vs. a semi-regular who, while definitely on the aggro side, is a break-even player, and not a total nutjob:

SB: $79.05

BB: $48.00

UTG: $53.45

UTG+1: $19.20

UTG+2: $31.95

MP1: $45.35

MP2: $24.20

Hero (CO): $50.00

BTN: $15.70

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Kd Ks

5 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, SB raises to $8, 1 fold, Hero raises to $20.50, SB raises to $79.05 all in, Hero calls $29.50 all in

Flop: ($100.50) 2c Jd 4s

Turn: ($100.50) 7h

River: ($100.50) Js

Final Pot: $100.50

SB shows 3c 3h (two pair, Jacks and Threes)

Hero shows Kd Ks (two pair, Kings and Jacks)

Hero wins $97.50

Pocket threes...good enough for a 5-bet shove. Obviously one way to combat this is to stack off lighter pre-flop and just get it in with TT. But this subjects you to the whims of the RNG quite a bit...given that I'm down about 25 buy-ins on all-in EV in the last month or so, I'd like to avoid that. But on a more serious note, postponing some aggression until later streets makes it more likely you'll get a fold. Everybody knows that against most regulars's range for stacking off preflop in a LP/blind battle, no two cards are a huge dog, since you're villain could always have AK or 33. Hand values just run really close together. After the flop, things change. It's easier to convince a villain that he may be way behind, and also you could actually get it in when he is way behind (not just in the sense of your specific hand destroys his specific hand, but your range slaughters his range). Here are a couple of examples of hands where I raised AQ in late position and got 3-bet. In both cases, I may or may not have gotten a fold by 4-betting preflop, but also if I get shoved on, I'm in a gross spot. No matter how weak a villain's preflop 5-betting range is, AQ is never going to be a monster favorite vs. that range.

Hand #1:

MP2: $90.35

Hero (CO): $54.05

BTN: $58.85

SB: $98.75

BB: $68.05

UTG: $69.55

UTG+1: $65.80

UTG+2: $96.70

MP1: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Ad Qs

5 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, SB raises to $5.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $4 (I think my edge post-flop in position with AQo is bigger than my edge pre-flop for stacks with AQo...so I call)

Flop: ($12.00) Ks 4d Jh (2 players)

SB bets $7, Hero raises to $20, SB folds (It's WAY more difficult for him to stack off on this frop than it would be for him to stack off preflop. TT-55 obviously hate this frop...really anything besides a king, it's tough for him to continue, because when he ships it in and gets called, he's pwnd pretty hard a lot of the time. JJ,44,KJ are definitely in my range, as well as QTs, which has a lot of equity against whatever he has, and occasionally I'll have a slowplayed AA,KK, or AK. If he does ship it in, I'll have to call with my gutterball and over. I'd have to call off about $28 more to win $52, and even against what I'd call a very tight range I have 32% equity:

Board: Ks Jh 4d

Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied

Hand 0: 32.283% 31.94% 00.34% 15180 161.00 { AdQs }

Hand 1: 67.717% 67.38% 00.34% 32018 161.00 { KK, JJ, 44, AKs, KJs+, QTs, AKo, KJo+, QTo }

So I still risk the possibility of getting it in as a slight dog, just as I would by shoveling money in pre-flop, but I have a lot more fold equity raising the frop instead, AND I win more money when he does fold, because at that point he has also put in a c-bet.)

Final Pot: $26.00

Hero wins $24.70

Hand #2

This villain is 14/12 in about 250 hands that I have on him (just to show you that even guys with tight stats can turn into maniacs when facing a steal attempt of their blinds):

SB: $50.00

BB: $63.10

UTG: $73.60

UTG+1: $50.00

UTG+2: $64.40

MP1: $115.65

MP2: $9.25

Hero (CO): $53.50

BTN: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Ah Qh

5 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, SB raises to $5.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $4 (Same reasoning as before)

Flop: ($12.00) 5d 2d 4c (2 players)

SB bets $7.50, Hero raises to $20, SB raises to $44.25 all in, Hero calls $24.25 (I frop a gutter and two overs and put in a raise. This is really more of a value raise than in Hand #1, because I think he will ship in a lesser ace much of the time, as well as some flush or straight draws that I'm a favorite against, and sometimes total air. And if he's towards the top of his range with, for instance, TT, I still have 37% equity.)

Turn: ($100.50) 8d (2 players - 1 is all in) (Preparing to throw raptop out of window...)

River: ($100.50) 3s (2 players - 1 is all in) (Whew...)

Final Pot: $100.50

SB shows 8c Ts (a pair of Eights)

Hero shows Ah Qh (a straight, Five high)

Of course these plans backfire sometimes when your villain 3-bets some junk hand that he would fold to a 3-bet and then frops a monster vs. you. But with people seemingly so willing to stack off with anything pre-frop, I think in the long run it's better, especially with position, to take a frop with your medium-strength hands and proceed from there. The worry is then, what's left in your 4-betting range? Is it just AA-QQ and AK? If that's the case, you might be afraid villains will start folding too much to your 4-bets, which you don't want when your 4-betting range is so strong. Two potential responses: 1) just call preflop with AA-QQ and AK as well...this gives more credibility to your flop raises, and avoids the problem of getting folds on all your 4bets...you're never 4betting. 2) Mix in some 4-bets with hands are total bluffs and play poorly post-frop...QTo, A5o, etc.. I try to mix it up and use both 1 and 2. Even if you're not balancing your range exactly right, it only takes your opponent seeing you 4-bet/fold once or twice for him to be suspicious of all your later 4-bets and give you action. Or even better than seeing you 4-bet/fold, he flats your 4b with AA and you frop trips with JTo....

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post, but I'd definitely like to hear some comments. I think the idea used to be that calling 3-bets with medium strength hands pre-frop was bad (especially out of position, and I still agree with that to a large extent) because you don't know where you're at and there are a lot of flops that you don't want to see. However these days when you 4-bet and get shoved on, you still don't know where you're at, because there is 5-bet bluffing going on. Putting in 30bbs or whatever your 4-bet amount is and then folding with any decent hand is probably pretty bad. Thoughts?

-BRUECHIPS