Kate: "I could have cried after his 4-bet!"
This time our beloved Kate is confronted with a tough decision pre-flop. Will she be able to analyse and solve this spot correctly?
Kate: Hey Walter!
Misery or distress? I felt those were my choices after his 4-bet. I didn't like any of my options.
Fold: My odds are way too good and my hand is way too strong for that.
All-in: I would only get called by JJ+ and AK and therefore would lose money in the long run.
Call: AQ without initiative and position on the flop. Even if I manage to hit, I would only have a bluff catcher and wouldn't be able to bet myself. With KK+ I'd rather get my stack into the middle before the flop, especially in order to get paid off by AK.
In the end, I've concluded that I should go for a call. When fold and all-in have a negative expected value, a call should be the right choice despite any arguments against it.
On the flop, I was delighted to see him check, and of course, decided to attack him on the turn in order to save the situation quickly against his bluffs.
Walter: Hey Kate!
Very interesting this whole thing and a very typical problem in modern poker!
Basically, you've analysed this spot well. However, in the end, you put together the puzzle incorrectly. You should actually fold in this spot! Of course, at first sight, that appears to be quite a counter-intuitive move since the 3-bet pre-flop had actually been the right play.
Your hand is (hopefully) protected through your overall strategy, preventing your opponent from bluffing you with random hands.
You can only call the 4-bet with AQ when you're also just calling pre-flop with any other strong hands. However, of course, that's not really recommendable with KK and AA. In any case, your hand became way too obvious after your call, and this additional information put you in this ugly spot.
I like your bet on the turn, but I don't like your explanation. You're betting because you're denying your opponent equity with his weak hands, but you're not bluffing in order to avoid getting bluffed yourself. This is not a concept in poker! If that's really the justification for your play in this spot, it's definitely time to put some work into your game plan.
By the way, since we're just talking... What are you doing this Saturday? We could pose as a couple at a Mercedes dealer and test-drive a SL500 Convertible for an entire day.
Kate: Oh, that sounds funny! Breakfast at 10 at the Bagel Brothers and afterwards off to the Mercedes dealer. It's a date!
What do you think? Would you have called, preferred an all-in or followed Walter's advice and found a fold? And more importantly: will he get there any time soon or is he going to pull a Tony?
Previous episodes
- Kate & Tony: Check-raise on the flop a good idea?
- Kate & Tony: Is her huge bluff an overkill?
- Kate & Tony: Is her hero-call with K2o too insane?
- Kate & Walter: Feeling lost in a 3-bet pot
- Kate & Walter: I've called his check-raise with nothing
If you're interested in playing with a game plan, feel free to take a look at our best beginner strategies!
