Craig, first off thanks a bunch for the insights here. I know I just pounded you with a bunch of questions, but I need to fix the way I think. I attack the game logically but as you can see my thought process is off. It's like I use the information I've learned and pick the wrong concepts at the wrong times.

I'd like to continue with the TT hand analysis at 7.35 with a follow up.

I see several things wrong with betting this flop when I do it, but I'm sure this is solid. So I'll post all the things I think are wrong and right with betting the flop here.

Given:
UTG limps
TT in the Small Blind folded to you.
You make it $2.50 to go BB folds and UTG flats
Flop comes 9h 4c 7s

Ok so even though you only have stats on 13 hands he's still playing 23/23 and this narrows his range when he limp calls UTG to MP and small connectors .. which I think we agree.

This board does hit his range for sets and one gappers which are open enders.

So here's my main problem with betting this flop. You begin to build a big pot when you bet this flop and get called and you are OOP on the turn. You're not scared of an overcard and if you flat here you can extract more value from weaker players who think they should bet every flop.

You miss value from a lot of his range and half the time he'll fold his MPs like 55/66 because you lead out from the SB with MPs. I would expect anything you can get value from here floats, which he does with anything you're behind vs.

So...
1. Pushing out hands which he may take a stab at.
2. Creating a bigger pot exponentially (since it was a bigger PFR) on the turn where he is flatting with all hands you get value from as well as all hands you're crushed with.
3. If a draw gets there, you'll be put in a situation where c/c the turn is just a tough spot but you need to for value (as you can't lead into him as often).
4. This quickly becomes a mess by the river because the pot is going to be bigger than you are going to be comfortable with TT.

I understand you're thinking but I think cbetting here is better than checking for a number of reasons

-we have the best hand here a large % of the time so I want to get money in whilst I'm ahead
-he has a lot of middling SCs in his range which on this board almost all have some sort of pair or draw so we get value from 56/67/78/89/9T etc
-im giving up initiative if I check
-he's pretty much an unknown so I have no idea how often he'll stab vs a missed cbet
-I don't want to give him a free card so I have to protect my TT as well

I'm fairly comfortable betting the flop here and I'd go as far to say as I think it's quite bad not to, just my opinion though. Maybe I'll check/call some turns like 6/8 though if he just flats my cbet.

Hey James, thanks for the great questions. I'll do my best to answer

A3s 2:18

I floated as he only bet half pot and I suspect he wasn't too strong and may shut down on some turns plus I have two backdoor draws and an ace may come. Looking back I think a raise would be better here, imo raise > call > fold but I don't think any one option is terrible.

If I turn the ace or 4/5 clubs then yes I would call another barrel otherwise I'd just fold flop.

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JTo 4:17

I don't always open this but in this instance the table conditions were perfect. Both the blinds were weaker players so I'll be playing a lot of pots HU vs one of them in position and the reg to my direct left was a nittier reg so I don't expect him to 3bet me much. The BTN was an unknown so that's the only bad thing but I think it's fine to open in this situation as we want to play as many pots as possible in position to fish and JT is a decent hand to do it with.

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33 5:41

With the weaker player opening and SB flatting I will always just flat 33 here. I'm basically just set mining against two 100bb stacks. I'm OOP vs the weaker player so I'm looking to just 3bet for value here as I don't expect him to have a high f3b%. Playing 33 OOP in a 3bet pot when I haven't really worked out his post flop play seems bad to me as you're almost always facing 3 overcards on the flop and I don't know how light he floats etc so I may end up make large postflop mistakes. If I have a value hand like KQ for example then I'd be squeezing to around $6.50-$7

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ATs 6:04

I'd be folding ATo here but decide to call ATs as it's too pretty :P A 3bet is essentially turning my hand into a bluff and I think ATs plays fairly well post flop, as you see I didn't go too crazy when I hit top pair. If you aren't comfortable playing post flop OOP then folding can't be terrible.

TT 7.35

I isolated him preflop so I have flop initiative. It's a good flop for me so it's a fairly easy cbet. I'm betting for value on this flop, I'd think a lot of his limping range was small connecting cards like 56,67,78,89 etc which a lot have picked up pair plus straight draw. I think most people would raise suited broadways/overpairs preflop here.

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A7o 7:50

Yup don't do this. Was def fancy play syndrome on my part, as you say it looked very much like a small pair as he was min betting which I thought he'd fold. But you are absolutely correct don't bluff stations! Luckily it was only a small mistake and not for many BBs

Hey Craig, thanks for the video. I've watched about 8 minutes of it and I want to comment on what I've seen so far. I would like to play devil's advocate on several hands to help build a discussion around some of them. I'm not quite a winning player yet so I know my thought process is off, but this is one way I can fix it, by putting my idiotic ideas out there. Here goes....


Crussty1 NL 50

At 2:18 into this video you raised and unopened pot on the button with A3s the flop comes Kc2d6d. My question is on you floating this flop. You mention a backdoor flush and straight draws, which would equate to about 3 outs (if my reading serves me right) and an overcard with. Is there really enough value in floating this flop? Does the villain OOP ever donk into you with less than mid pocket pairs, a King, or diamond draw?

If you turn the ace, or even say the 4 or 5 of clubs which will bring you closer on both draws, are you going to call another 2/3rds pot bet?

I struggle with when to float properly. I try to eliminate when the turn will still not present me with a solid holding.

Also, with Regs, I would expect them to float with a lot of mid pairs, but otherwise raise/fold instead of floating steals with big hands and speculative ones. Is that correct thinking?

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4:17 - Table 1 you open raise in MP with JTo. I typically like this hand as a call in position behind at least one person voluntarily in the pot already. Do you find JT plays well enough in LP to open with in MP?


BTW, my game is full ring which might alter that answer though I've been told the difference between full and 6 max is that you play 6max as if there is no EP.

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7:50 - Table 4 A7o - a 46/0 leads into you on the flop and turn typically this looks like a small pair, you decide to check raise him but isn't that agaisnt the thought processes of trying to bluff the stations? If your value from them is when you hit, why not just dump the A7?

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7:35 - Table 1 TT - you bet into a UTG limper with TT here. I think a lot of his hands are small PPs, and suited broadway cards where he's attempting to solicit a multiway pot. If that's the case, betting the flop isn't going to get you value from weaker hands or force stronger hands to fold. Are you simply betting to protect your hand? If so can you do this on the cheap for say $2.25 and if flatted your not building too big of a pot?

6:04 - Table 3 ATs - defending by flatting an EP raise. Seems a bit light, are you going to get value when you hit and ace, or play this hand well enough post flop to make up for the disadvantage of being OOP? Again I'd 3bet fold here depending on his fold to 3bet% at least as often as I flat, but mostly letting it go. Unsure if that's too nitty.

5:41 - Table 1 with 33 in the BB. You stated earlier that SooSick was a weaker player and with the SB completing there is not really a worry of big holding there, what percent of the time if any, do you three bet? I would normally choose this as a perfect time since PFRer has a PFR of 30% and represents a big range. If you get flatted, you are still deep enough for the set, and can definitely represent a strong Ace on the flop.

If you do three bet do you make it a little bigger because you're OOP to like $6?

(FYI my first post is at the bottom I didn't post it last like I should have, thanks in advance for discussions on this video.)

Hey guys, sorry if the audio was a bit up and down. The mic I was using kept slipping off my head and I had to pause the recording a few times in the middle. Just watched it back and it seems fine though. Oh and minor point; I obv know I only had a gutshot straight flush draw with the 33 hand.......honest ;)