FL: Gold Graduation Exam

Question 1.

Preflop: Hero is BU with 8, 7
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO folds, You call, SB raises, BB folds, MP3 calls, You call.

Flop: (7,00 SB) J, 9, 3 (2 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls. You?

You decided to over-call from the button after an open-limp from a fish in MP3. A TAG in the SB raised from the SB and fires a continuation bet on the flop, which the fish just calls. Is this a good situation to apply the free card raise?

• Answer A: Yes, a free card raise is a good idea in this spot, as I only have 8-high and I'm obviously behind. A free card raise is particularly good when I'm sure that I'm behind, because only better hands will fold to my 8-high.

• Answer B: No, a free card raise is inappropriate here, mainly because there is a showdown-bound fish in the hand. I hardly have any fold equity and the raise doesn't really make things cheaper for me either, as the odds of 1:11 are the same as the probability of the gutshot - the raise can't be more than break-even here. Additionally, I run the risk of facing a 3-bet and being isolated, meaning the free card raise would turn -EV. I therefore just call here and take a look at the turn.

• Answer C: Yes, I will apply the free card raise here, because the pot is already quite big and I can win 9 SB while only putting 2 SB at stake. The TAG's range is made up of many pocket pairs and A-highs like AT or smaller, which he will fold to a flop-raise right away. My outs to the 8 and the 7 could also be good at this point and the fish has trash in his hand often enough, meaning the chance that both fold right on the flop is quite big.

Question 2.

Preflop: Hero is BU with K, Q
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO folds, You raise, SB folds, BB calls, MP3 calls.

Flop: (6,50 SB) J, 9, 4 (2 players)
BB bets, MP3 calls. You?

You find yourself in a similar situation. MP3 is the same player than in the first hand. The BB is a medium strong player, however, who isn't overly aggressive, but quite showdown-bound. Do you make use of the free card raise in this case?

• Answer A: Yes, raising the flop and taking a free card on an unimproved turn is indeed a plausible play here. The aggressor could fold better hands like pocket pairs or A-highs. Moreovere, my 8-8.5 discounted outs equate to about 33% equity and a raise would already be break-even in itself. I thus don't really need fold equity and are even ahead against all draws (except for A-high flush draws). A 3-bet by the mediocre aggressive donker which would isolate me is rather unlikely, too.

• Answer B:
  No, I prefer to just call the flop. I can't really get a lot of better hands to fold here, as I have K-high myself and the donker has a high WTS. I don't want to isolate myself here in case the aggressor plays donk/3-bet with a jack. I'd rather see a cheap turn and keep the fish in the pot.

• Answer C: Both a free card raise and a call are justifiable here. The advantages and disadvantages from answer A and B mostly balance out in this spot.

Question 3.

Which one of the three spots is the best fit for a free card raise?

SPOT A

Preflop: Hero is BU with A, J
MP2 calls, MP3 folds, CO calls, You raise, SB folds, BB calls, MP2 calls, CO calls.

Flop: (8,50 SB) Q, T, 2 (3 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, CO bets. You?

SPOT B

Preflop: Hero is BU with J, T
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO folds, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, BB folds, MP3 calls, Hero calls.

Flop: (10,00 SB) K, Q, 5 (2 players)
SB bets, MP3 calls. You?

• MP3 = calling station
• SB = very aggressive LAG with a WTS of 45

SPOT C

Preflop: Hero is BU with Q, T
MP2 calls, 2 folds, You raise, SB folds, BB calls, MP2 calls.

Flop: (6,50 SB) 9, 8, 4 (2 players)
BB bets, MP2 calls.You?

• UTG = calling station
• BB = unknown

Question 4.

Against which opponent type would you prefer to use a free card raise?

• Opponent A: Against calling stations, who play donk/call or donk/3-bet exclusively with medium strong or strong made hands and who will almost always donk the turn again after a donk/call.

• Opponent B: Against a TAG, who will check the turn too often after a conti-bet with initiative.

• Opponent C: Against a player who has a flop aggression which is too low, but a WTS of 43.

Question 5.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 6
MP2 calls, 4 folds, You check.

Flop: (2,50 SB) T, 5, 2
You?

You are in the big blind and check against the UTG limper with 76. You miss the board and have to act first against the unknown opponent. What's your line?

Question 6.

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, 7
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, 3 folds, You check.

Flop: (2,50 SB) K, 6, 8 (2 players)
You check, MP3 bets. You?

You're up against a rather unconventional player type in this hand. He has a high WTS and is aggressive, so you've opted for a check with your K7o instead of building a big pot with a marginal hand out of position.

Your opponent has stats of (40/10/1.8/42) and prefers loose limps pre-flop, while open-raising only rarely. He reacts too aggressively to any kind of weakness and is a welcome victim for bluff induces. Which line seems the most promising to maximize value here?

Question 7.

Preflop: Hero is BU with 8, 7
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO calls, You call, SB folds, BB checks.

Flop: (4,50 SB) T, 8, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, CO bets.

You are on the button with 87s and only call after the UTG and the MP3 have already entered a huge pot. On the flop, both BB and MP3 check, and the unknown CO bets. How do you proceed?

• Answer A: I raise him right away in order to protect my hand - I have a middle pair, after all. The opponent is unknown, and there is a multitude of possible draws he could bet here. I often have the best hand, and even if I'm behind, I still have enough outs to my 2-pair and gutshot to overtake the opponent. The CO's range is loose in general and he could easily try to buy the button because the other players have checked.

• Answer B: Ich prefer to just call here. I only have a second pair with no kicker. I might have outs to the gutshot, but this only amounts to 4 outs. A bet into 3 opponents usually corresponds to a strong hand and I want to avoid isolating myself or risking a 3-bet in this spot. I would say I'm probably behind here and I want to draw cheaply. If I avoid isolating myself, I also get better implied odds, because the other opponents will rather call 1 SB than 2.

• Answer C: I don't see myself ahead often enough after this bet. Villain bets against 3 opponents, after all. I might have a gutshot, but that's only worth 4 outs. I have to discount my outs to 2-pair to 2-3, because a straight is already possible and even though an 8 might give me the 2-pair, it will also give the 9 a straight. The pot is only 5.5 SB in size; all in all I prefer to wait for better spots to continue a hand and I fold.

Question 8.

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, Q
4 folds, You raise, BB calls.

Flop: (4,00 SB) 6, 7, 2 (2 players)
You bet, BB calls.

Turn: (3,00 BB) K (2 players)
You bet, BB calls.

River: (5,00 BB) J
You?

You're in the SB with AQo and have to face a calling station in the BB. Over the last 200 hands, he has stats of (45/10/0.7/43) and you know that the opponent is rather passive. You don't have any detailled information about his behaviour, though.

On the flop, which you missed, you made your standard continuation bet, and the calling station did what he does best: he called. On the turn, a bing shows up and you decide to bet again because you think you're ahead often enough and you could find an easy fold to a raise. As expected, the calling station calls again. On the river, a jack hits the board and you are left with three possible lines. Which one do you choose?

• Answer A: I bet again on the river. The calling station has a high WTS and sometimes even calls a Q-high. I also have a value bet against some A-high hands.

• Answer B: I check the river and fold to a bet from the calling station. There might be a few draws who busted, but his AF is so low that he doesn't bluff often enough in order to make a call profitable here. I might be new at the table, but I haven't seen this opponent bluff so far.

• Answer C: I check the river and call a bet from the calling station. There aren't enough worse hand who will pay me off. Even if an A-high will call another bet, he will often check good enough hands like a 6 and a 7 behind and I save a bet. Additionally, a lot of draws like T9, 87, 54, T8, 95, 43 and flush draws have completely missed. Villain could bluff-bet these hands in case I check, but he will fold them to another bet.

Question 9.1.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, J
MP2 folds, MP3 raises, 3 folds, You call.

Flop: (4,50 SB) T, 9, 4 (2 players)
You check, MP3 bets.You?

You defended your BB against the (45/10/0.7/43) calling station from hand 8 who open-raised from QJs. On the flop, you hit your OESD and 2 overcards. How do you react?

• Answer A: I check/call and try drawing as cheaply as possible, because I hardly have any fold equity against this opponent.

• Answer B:
  I play my draw aggressively, because I hardly need any fold equity with my 40% equity. I can also play bet/3-bet turn in case I improve, which holds more value than a check/call flop and check/raise or donk/3-bet in case I hit my draw.

Question 9.2.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, J
MP2 folds, MP3 raises, 3 folds, You call.

Flop: (4,50 SB) T, 9, 4 (2 players)
You call, MP3 bets.You call

Turn: (4,50 SB) T, 9, 4 Q (2 players)
You?

Let's assume that you've chosen the passive line on the flop and that you hit your top pair with the queen on the turn. It's clear that you want to take over the initiative here. Which line is the best pick to do so?

Question 10.

What's a calling station's biggest weakness?