Capping with Trash (theoretical discussion)

[TStoneMBD]

SB is a tag player, but he seems a little timid. not like weaktight timid but he just doesnt have that fearless quality. you feel like he gives you respect and plays straightforward against you. even though youre a 43ATTSB type of guy he treats you like youre a 30ATTSB guy which means that he isnt liberally 3betting your raises.

you openraise from late position in a shorthanded 20/40 limit game and the SB 3bets you, BB folds.


what hands should you be capping? is it a good idea to be capping alot of your bad hands in this situation in an attempt to generate folding equity and keep the opponent's actions pure? sometimes its hard for me to determine when the opponent will fold ace high postflop after youve capped preflop or if he will automatically take it to showdown which some players seem to do. is the option of capping preflop strictly dependant on the frequency that the opponent folds ace high on the flop or turn or are there other reasons why you would want to cap?

im starting to think that its a good play to cap preflop with alot of hands that you will often want to see the flop/turn/river with, or hands that you will often want to take to showdown like Ax or small pairs. im thinking that capping weak hands with no showdown value will often be a losing play because you are forced to bet the flop and turn to capitalize on your folding equity when if you just called preflop you can fold the flop when you miss entirely. i think committing yourself to a river with these weak hands isnt a good idea unless your folding equity is substantial. does this make sense? however, i think it was jeffw that created the discussion on whether you would want to cap your small pairs preflop or wait until the flop to raise them. there was some great discussion in that thread and there are certainly times when both options are very practical.

clearly there isnt a definitive yes or no to capping certain hands in this situation so thats not what im looking for. im particularly looking for insight into a better understanding of the implimentation of this strategy when at the table.

[DeathDonkey]

I could take this the other way and say this type of opponent is the one I won't cap with AA against, since he is likely to have a decent hand and maybe overplay it later. I could see building a preflop strategy around both approaches (capping light, not capping with monsters) but not sure which opponents each strategy would be best utilized against. Good thoughts. I'm also guilty of capping light in multiway pots for nothing more than to hopefully get the flop checked to me.

-DeathDonkey

[Spicymoose]

First of all, we have to think about what his range might be. Although he really respects you, this is still a blind stealing situation. That said, I would think his range might be somewhere in the area of ATo+, A9s+, KTo+, KTs+, QJs, 77+.

Now we have to think about what happens if you cap. If you cap, and he really respects you, he might put you on a range of AQo+, AJs+, KQo, KJs+, JJ+.


....

I started to write more, but realized I was kinda rambling, and didn't have any real point. So, for now, my main point is that capping your non best hands could have some merit, as he will put you on a vastly different range than what you might have. And, since the goal of poker is to make our opponents make plays different than they would if they knew our cards, capping seriously handicaps our opponents at the cost of 1 SB.

One more point. Since your suited connector hands connect with 2/3 of all flops, you will at least be calling one bet on the flop. If you just call his 3-bet, he will surely lead into you on the flop, and you will have to at least invest that 1 SB. Why not invest it preflop, and then you get to decide if you want to push more agression on the flop, or take a free card with a deceptive hand?

I don't know what all this means, but I like the idea of possibly capping with odd hands such as 98s. By the way, against his range, 98s has 35% equity, and a low pocket pair such as 55 has 43% equity.

[Schneids]

The most important reason to cap is the effect it has on most people for future hands:

They're not going to 3-bet you as lightly because they know you're psycho enough to make them put in a 4th bet. Getting them to fold PF more often in blind stealing situations is usually a victory.

[TStoneMBD]

so you would say that capping alot of hands holds alot of value or were you just supplying a reason for why capping has merit even though you think its still a losing play?

[flawless_victory]

i cap about 90% of the time in the situation you described mostly for reasons schneids suggests above.

[Schneids]

[ QUOTE ]
so you would say that capping alot of hands holds alot of value or were you just supplying a reason for why capping has merit even though you think its still a losing play?

[/ QUOTE ]

Against a decent player the capping of the hand itself is a losing play; but if it is making them fold T8 now from the SB instead of 3-betting it against your button raise, then it's a winning play. So...answering your Q: it depends.

[Spicymoose]

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i cap about 90% of the time in the situation you described mostly for reasons schneids suggests above.

[/ QUOTE ]

90% of the time would seem to include 66, 76s, A8o. You are capping these regularly (in the situation he described)?

Does derb do this?

[flawless_victory]

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[ QUOTE ]
i cap about 90% of the time in the situation you described mostly for reasons schneids suggests above.

[/ QUOTE ]

90% of the time would seem to include 66, 76s, A8o. You are capping these regularly (in the situation he described)?

[/ QUOTE ]
yes.