asterixobelix2012

Welcome to the Course and Best of Luck asterixobelix2012,

Hopefully you will enjoy around here. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, we will be around for you. Meanwhile good luck on tables, we will be waiting for your homework.

You can now start with your 1st Lesson:
Lesson #1

The whole course plan:
Overview of Beginners Course

Best Regards.

Question 1: What is your motivation for playing poker?

I have always been fascinated by the game and really enjoy playing it. However I like to win money at poker too. I don't consider it as a profession and maybe never will but I want to be a serious poker player who clearly understands the game and makes money in the long run.

Question 2: What are your weaknesses when playing poker?

While playing on a loose table I usually win cause I play tight and am able to understand the loose players and know when to strike. When, however, I end up on a tight table I try to be loose and aggressive against the tight table but, more often than I would want to, I end up making some mistake that costs me my stack. Loose tables aren't always easy to find so I would want to work on my game at a tight table.

Question 3: What does it mean to play tight aggressive?

Tight and aggressive to me means to play select premium quality hands and be aggressive with raising when in a good hand. After forming an image of a tight and aggressive player on the table I am able to often win blinds or small pots post flop when in position with a bluff or a semi bluff since people usually believe that I have a good hand thanks to the image I created. So, I win big pots by being tight and aggressive with premium hands and I also steal in the occasional small pot by bluffing.

Good job! Homework #1 Done!

Most of the weakness you wrote can easily be fixed by posting hands (analyzing your session). We will start writing feedback to your play. Usually negative feedback will put you into thinking phase and trying to fix all those leaks. It's almost the same as you lose money, you will remember it more than winning part. By this situation it's gonna be that negative feedback you gonna remember and try to avoid them next time.

What about tilt? Do you adjust any way to it?

Tight style is usually called playing selected hands. Like following the Starting Hand Chart. Aggressive should be also pretty clear that already the word says how you should be playing. But the problem playing aggressively is that you have to watch that you don't play too aggressive. Find good spots, find good targets. About The tight-aggressive strategy you can read in this article: "What is the Big Stack Strategy?"

Hopefully you will enjoy the Course. Some points earned.

Thanks for the feedback.

As far as tilt is concerned, I've learned the hard way by flushing away my bankroll many times how dangerous tilts can be. I used to move to higher limits to make up for the losses which now i understand that was even worse. Now, every time I have a bad beat or lose my stack I just get out of the room if I'm really pissed off at the way someone played or I played, but now that happens very rarely. I have become more patient. Now when I lose my stack and if I feel I'm fine and not getting emotional I buy back and start playing, perhaps more carefully, with no intention of winning back my stack though but just making the right decisions. I have come back and recovered many times after maintaining such a mind set on the table but I make sure that my goal is not to get back whatever I lost or get personal and angry with someone but to play better. Involving in friendly chats with players on the table, even the ones I lose to, keeps me calm.

Question 1: What do you think you could play differently than suggested in the BSS Starting Hands Chart and why?

I like to play suited connectors in late position, especially T9s and 98s since they give pretty high straights. I play them even if there was a marginal raise.

I carefully analyze my opponents when I do play them and carefully assess the situation. With aggressive players or maniacs behind me yet to act, I probably won't play them and will keep something special reserved for them. I pay most attention to the two people sitting to my left cause they'll be the ones reacting to my open raises or limps in the late position. So if they are tight, I play loose and alter some moves on SHC accordingly. If they are loose or very loose, I play tighter and like I said if they are very loose and very aggressive, I might even play tighter than the SHC suggests and keep something special to slow play them.

Another thing I do which might actually be wrong is that I play my pairs a lot more often than SHC suggests. From early position I might play a 77 or 55 from UTG +2 or even UTG. If the table is really tight I might even open raise. If however I face a raise after I call, I use the Call20 rule, give up my hand on the flop if I don't hit anything, play according to the scenario if I do hit a set.

The SHC doesn't distinguish between AQs and AQo. Now here's an example of what I mean. The SHC asks to fold when faced with a raise in middle position. Lets say I'm in MP3 with AQo and MP2 open raised. Testing on Equilab, if you input the hand range for a standard MP2 open raise, (66+,AJs+,KQs,QJs,JTs,T9s,98s,87s,AJo+,KQo) you AQo has 49.49% equity, less flavored by a very small margin.

       Equity     Win     Tie
MP2    50.51%  45.90%   4.61% { 66+, AJs+, KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AJo+, KQo }
MP3    49.49%  44.88%   4.61% { AQo }

Same situation AQs instead of AQo has a 52.06% equity.

       Equity     Win     Tie
MP2    47.94%  43.62%   4.33% { 66+, AJs+, KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AJo+, KQo }
MP3    52.06%  47.73%   4.33% { AQs }

If the player at MP2 happens to be loose, his hand range goes up and AQo equity ends up being 52.7% and AQs shoots up to 55.12%.

I don't play AKo as aggressively. If there is a raise from a tight player in an early position and some decent players call, I might just call and not re-raise. The reason why i do this is because I figure a tight player raises with JJ+ or even TT+ and players calling him might have high cards or even an ace or a king, then I am pretty much beat cause the cards I need are not in the deck. Lets say UTG +2 raises with TT+, MP2 calls with any broadway and MP3 who happens to be even looser calls with any A2s+ or A5o+ and I got my AKo at button.

       Equity     Win     Tie
UTG+2  49.73%  49.47%   0.26% { TT+ }
MP2    14.43%  13.36%   1.07% { ATs+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, ATo+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo }
MP3    12.44%  11.05%   1.39% { AA, A2s+, A5o+ }
BU     23.39%  21.45%   1.94% { AKo }

So I like to play with Ako aggressively with very few players and vice versa.

So in a nutshell I respect the SHC and use it as a guide all the time but alter it depending on situation to situation basis like the few examples I gave.

Question 2: Do you have questions about your preflop play? Post your hand for evaluation.

My answer to the first question pretty much takes care of question 2 as well. The feedback on the various hands l listed as examples should take care of this. Other than that I have started posting hands for evaluation and will keep doing so as I play.

Question 3: What is the equity of AKo against the top 5% range? 5% means 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo.

I have taken 3 scenarios for this. In all of them I am on the button with AKo and the top 5% range is in UTG+2, MP3 and CO. Although the SHC might not recommend playing the 5% range from early or middle positions but people on lower limits most definitely do which is why I have taken these scenarios.

       Equity     Win     Tie
UTG+2  53.69%  45.28%   8.41% { 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo }
BU     46.31%  37.90%   8.41% { AKo }

       Equity     Win     Tie
MP3    53.69%  45.28%   8.41% { 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo }
BU     46.31%  37.91%   8.41% { AKo }

       Equity     Win     Tie
CO     53.70%  45.29%   8.41% { 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo }
BU     46.30%  37.89%   8.41% { AKo }

Pretty much the same. Obviously position won't make any difference as AKo will always act after. This reiterates my point of AKo being less favored in many scenarios. I personally think they might be over hyped. But again I might be looking at it the wrong way, so please let me know where all I've gone wrong.

Question 0: Download and install the Equilab.

Done

Question 1: You are holding K :spade:Q :spade:. What is your preflop equity against an opponent who has 3 :diamond:3 :club:? How does the equity change on this flop: J :spade:5 :diamond:3 :spade:?

Pre Flop Equity

       Equity     Win     Tie
CO     49.22%  48.84%   0.38% { 3d3c }
BU     50.78%  50.40%   0.38% { KsQs }

Post Flop Equity

Board: J♠5♦3♠
       Equity     Win     Tie
CO     73.54%  73.54%   0.00% { 3d3c }
BU     26.46%  26.46%   0.00% { KsQs }

Equity considerably drops to almost half of preflop after 33 made a set and KsQs was stuck on a flush draw.

Question 2: What would you do in the following hand?

No Limit hold'em $2 (9-handed)
Players and stacks:
UTG: $2.00
UTG+1: $2.08
MP1: $1.92
MP2: $1.00
MP3: $3.06
CO: (Hero) $2.08
BU: $2.00
SB: $2.00
BB: $1.24
Preflop: Hero is CO with A :club:J
5 folds, Hero raises to $0.08, BU calls $0.08, SB folds, BB calls $0.06.
Flop: ($0.25) 2 :club:6 :diamond:3 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BU checks.
Turn: ($0.25) 5 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.22, BU raises to $0.44, BB folds, Hero...?

Hero has 9 outs giving him 4:1 odds. After BU raise the pot is $0.91 with $.22 to call giving a little over 4:1 pot odds. So Hero should call and play for his flushdraw.

Looking from the equity perspective, BU might not have AA or KK else he would have reraised and tried to go all in pre flop. Without any other information I'd put him on AT+ or pocket pairs. Doesn't seem like he would have called the pre flop raise with a 45 for a straight. Had he hit a straight he would have raised on the flop. He could have hit a set with 55. Had he hit a set with 22,66 or 33 he would have raised on the flop. So with these hand ranges I calculated the equity.

Board: 2♣6♦3♦ 5♣
       Equity     Win     Tie
CO     49.67%  39.73%   9.94% { AcJc }
BU     50.33%  40.39%   9.94% { 55, ATs+, ATo+ }

The equity on the pot comes to 19.47% (.22/1.13)
Again Hero should call and see the river.

Question 3: Do you have questions about your postflop play? Post your hand for evaluation.

Nl5

Good job! Homework #3 Done!

About Question #1:
Preflop Equity:

Equity Win Tie
UTG 50.78% 50.40% 0.38% { KsQs }
UTG+1 49.22% 48.84% 0.38% { 3d3c }

Postflop Equity:

Board: J♠5♦3♠
Equity Win Tie
UTG 26.46% 26.46% 0.00% { KsQs }
UTG+1 73.54% 73.54% 0.00% { 3d3c }

About Question #2:
There are several occasions on turn:
a) If we take just odds for the FD and we take into account that all our odds are clean. Which means:
Total Pot = $0,91 ; We have to Call = $0,22 -> According to that it means we are getting ~4,16:1 odds. For flushdraw we would need 4:1. Which tells us that we are getting perfect odds.
b) If we consider the opponent having sets here:
Which means we have to discount outs, for example 6:c and also 3:c. Which means we have 7 clean outs so that means we need 6:1 odds. That tells us that we need ~$0,41 on river to make it profitable. If we expect the opponent being loose enough and being able to pay us no-matter what then we can do the Call here properly.
c) We might even have overcards as outs or even 4 as a out:
Although this kind of situation ain't that likely. I'd rather discount that one and either pick a) or b). Most likely towards Call.

You are doing great progress, keep going!

Good job! Homework #2 Done!

Suited Connectors can actually be a very strong hands. They have very good implied odds in multiway pot and as well we could even play them more aggressively and take the initiative and isolate. Therefore I don't even mind you playing them.

Another thing I do which might actually be wrong is that I play my pairs a lot more often than SHC suggests. From early position I might play a 77 or 55 from UTG +2 or even UTG. If the table is really tight I might even open raise. If however I face a raise after I call, I use the Call20 rule, give up my hand on the flop if I don't hit anything, play according to the scenario if I do hit a set.

Totally agree about this part, PPs should even be raised on higher limits rather than limped. On smaller stakes it's totally fine to just limp in.

Also about the AQo/AQs type of hands the main point is what SHC teaches is how to play those hands preflop&postflop while not face any ugly and hard decisions to make. It picks the easiest hands which are usually the easy way to play. Later on you can always adjust to your own range and own play according the opponents.

About Question #3:

       Equity     Win     Tie
UTG    46.32%  37.92%   8.41% { AKo }
UTG+1  53.68%  45.27%   8.41% { 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo }

Hopefully you enjoy the School so far. Some more points earned.