Don't try this at NL2

Hi all,

My last cash session was great. Usually, I try to play my standard game at these tables. My 3 bet and stealing ranges are tight and I try to play for value for most of the time.

Of course, depending on the villains, things can change. In this hand, I decided to 3bet this very aggressive villain (46/36 over 147 hands) because he was trying to be the table captain way too often (10% 3bet and 58% attempt to steal). He actually reraised me twice before, but I had medium pocket pairs, so...I folded. This villain is not a complete maniac, though...he can fold (unlike most donkeys at these tables).

I wonder if the reasoning line is correct, or what would you do in my situation.

Here is what happened:

CD Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (4 handed) - Party-Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($6.15)
Button ($4.85)
SB ($4.36)
Hero (BB) ($9.78)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, A

With this hand I was going to isolate any limper and I decided to 3bet the aggro-villain as well and, if necessary, make a bluff of it.

UTG bets $0.08, 2 folds, Hero raises $0.22, UTG calls $0.16

Flop: ($0.49) 5, 2, 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks


I checked the flop for 2 reasons:
1) He is much more afraid of me, since his range is wide and I 3bet him. So, I decided to check to him (thats how I would play if I had a monster).
2) He was betting 47% of the flops, so...if he bets, I 3bet. If he does not bet, he actually is suspicious of something or missed the flop completely (which I think is the case).


Turn: ($0.49) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.30, Hero raises $0.92, 1 fold

Turn is blank. I check to him again because a bet here would be seen as a bluff and he could come on top of me. His hand has probably not improved and a reraise could make him fold here. Fortunately, he folded. If he called here, I was c/f the river...if he reraise my raise, easy fold.

Total pot: $1.09

Results:
Hero had 9, A (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $1.64

If he bets you can't 3-bet. You would be making a raise, which is the 2nd bet.

I think this is "reverse results oriented". In other words, usually, players are results oriented about bad beats, but you are being results oriented about a hand where you got really lucky and got away with Fancy Play Syndrome.

This is fricking 2NL. 2NL is completely beatable by just putting in raises and c-betting flops. Maybe not this hand-- maybe your line worked better. But in general, fancy play can get you into trouble.

You waited for the turn here, which means you gave your villain a free card with which to hit some hand that he could beat your unimproved A9 with. And since one of the biggest leaks among low-stakes NL players is calling down their mediocre hands, you put the villain in a position where he could hit a mediocre hand and then call you down and take the pot.

I would strongly recommend that, at lower limits, you work on a strategy of ABC tight-aggressive poker. It may not be that exciting, and you may not be making a lot of brilliant, imaginative plays, but it happens to be a strategy that makes lots of money at low limits when correctly executed. Save these sorts of plays for when you get to a level where your villains are aware of how to play back at ABC players.

Originally Posted by Raoni_Poker

I checked the flop for 2 reasons:
1) He is much more afraid of me, since his range is wide and I 3bet him. So, I decided to check to him

rethink this maybe?

raising pf then checking the flop with a big hand is fps at it's worst.

The turn play actually brings up a bluffing strat that i read in a book call book of bluffs. Or something similar to that. In a limped pot that is checked around on the flop we should c-raise the turn from the blinds and e. Obviously it works better on some turns. If we are lp we should bet if the flop is checked around and it checked to us on the turn. In theory players that limp in pf the check the flop and turn usuall have a very weak hand.

I think youre levelling yourself with the flop check logic. Most players are going to interpret a bet as strength and a check as weakness. Some players will react differently, but you cant just arbitrarily decide how this guy thinks with no evidence.