Know your opponents!

[dtbog]

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (10 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

<font color="#C00000">saw showdown</font>

UTG+1 ($89.4)
<font color="#C00000">Hero ($107)</font>
MP1 ($195.5)
MP2 ($150.33)
MP3 ($94.55)
CO ($35.5)
Button ($99.3)
<font color="#C00000">SB ($41.75)</font>
BB ($257.14)
UTG ($184.32)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+2 with K/images/graemlins/spade.gif, J/images/graemlins/diamond.gif. SB posts a blind of $0.5.
UTG calls $1, UTG+1 calls $1, Hero calls $1, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, MP3 calls $1, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Button calls $1, SB (poster) completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($7) 2/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, K/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="#0000FF">(7 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">SB bets $5</font>, BB folds, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $5, MP3 folds, Button folds.

Turn: ($17) Q/images/graemlins/diamond.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>

Villain bets [$9].
Hero is all-In [putting Villain all-in for $27 more]

Like?

[snappo]

You title it "Know your opponents" but don't give us the reads you have on your opponent. :P We need to know what it is you know about him to tell you if we like the play.

[dtbog]

[ QUOTE ]
Like?

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope not...

... because I didn't tell you the reason I limped with KJo UTG+2 in the first place. SB, BB, and UTG limper in this hand are all notorious for overplaying their hands, and there haven't been many raises at this table. I was confident that I would know if top pair would be good here against these players, depending on the flop action.

...I didn't tell you that I've seen 200 hands of suckouts and chip-spewing by these guys, and I'm pretty sure I know exactly how they play.

... and I didn't tell you that when I pushed, I was almost positive villain had a hand worse than mine (and would call), and about 50% sure that he had a flush draw

... and I was right. Villain called with 85 of hearts, he missed his draw, and I won the pot.

I see (and sometimes make) posts without any relevant reads -- and while it's a good exercise in profiling the average player at whatever level you happen to be playing, remember that a lot of the interesting hands in poker are that way because of the extra level of intuition that you apply to them through reads/knowledge of other players.

(Also, against a typical unknown, I'm not in this hand in the first place and I don't play it this way -- and I certainly don't get his stack.)

Just something to think about in the era of n-tabling and barely paying attention to the tables one is playing.

-dB

[dtbog]

ty for helping make my point /images/graemlins/smile.gif read follow-up post.

I was sort of hoping that people would read the hand and write "MUCK PREFLOP" or "you're only called if behind on the turn" without reading the thread. I see that every so often.

-dB

[PinkSteel]

Nice read. How many tables are you playing while making such reads?

[dtbog]

[ QUOTE ]
How many tables are you playing while making such reads?

[/ QUOTE ]

This table was quite the "special" table, so I gave it some more attention when I noticed the chips flying around. (It seemed like one of the most profitable situations that could ever happen at NL $100). I'd been playing three tables, but I closed one and started paying more attention to this one.

EDIT: so, two. lol

-dB

[BZ_Zorro]

TY for the post. I honestly don't know how anyone can achieve a good winrate at $50NL+ without good notes and close attention. By the hands that get posted here, it seems that few 2+2ers do it. I'm not sure if that's the nature of the forum or because it's considered irrelevant.

[BobboFitos]

dave bog for prez 2008

[soah]

The preflop call still sucks. What happens when one of those guys bluffs the flop and you've got three limpers behind you? You have to beat all of the players at the table, not just the ones that play poorly and have to act before you.

[theredpill6]

fold preflop.

[dtbog]

[ QUOTE ]
The preflop call still sucks. What happens when one of those guys bluffs the flop and you've got three limpers behind you? You have to beat all of the players at the table, not just the ones that play poorly and have to act before you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I see your point -- but without being too results-oriented, in this case I risked $6 ($1 preflop, and $5 on the flop with top pair) to win his $41. (Also, if it had been one of the other two villains, he would have had a full stack.) This doesn't alone justify the play, but the fact that I was able to get his stack in on the turn with an 8-5 flush draw should show you that my read was right.

If I'd missed the flop, I'd check/fold.

Obviously, if button makes a big raise, I'm not happy with this predicament -- but consider that since I am "protected" by the presence of the calling station in this pot, if button does make the raise I know that I am beat and can easily fold. I therefore conclude that I will only be called or raised by a late position player holding TPTK or better -- and as a matter of strict probability, that is far less likely than one of the EP donkeys getting involved and calling away his whole stack. Relative to potential gain, I don't think I'm risking much.

-dB

[dtbog]

[ QUOTE ]
fold preflop.

[/ QUOTE ]

OHHH!!!! now I understand!

-dB