Let Them In or Move them Out?

I’m pretty sound conceptually at poker. It comes from my numerous years of poker study and discussions with countless intelligent, studious, and experienced players. That said, I’ve been one-dimensional in the way I’ve applied that knowledge, applying it almost exclusively to limit hold’em. In no-limit I’ve got a lot to learn, but a very sound foundation for learning. And I’m looking forward to sharing that learning experience and growing our games together.

Now that I’m taking up no-limit, I’m studying the expert advice of experienced no-limit players. I understand the concepts they describe, but lack the “feel” to understand when and how to apply them. I anticipate the feel will come with time, experience and focus.

Most concepts basically play the same, though the numbers in no-limit are different and varying. But a few require a new way of thinking. In limit, with the small bet size in relation to the pot, with all but your strongest situations and the smallest of pots, you’ll generally do better if your opponent folds. This even applies preflop where in limit the expected value (EV) from the blinds folding is usually greater than if they call.

But in no-limit the bets are proportionally bigger, and the blinds are smaller. Getting your opponent to call big bets, particularly in bad spots, can have massive value and is something to do your utmost to attain. Additionally, with the larger betting sizes it’s easier to influence your opponents into folding in large pots, something very difficult to do in limit.

Several hours into a $2-$5 session at the Aria, $650 deep, I picked up the K J in the big blind (BB). It folded to an aggressive and weak player in the cutoff (CO) who had me covered; he open raised to $20. The button and the small blind (SB) both folded. I definitely wasn’t folding, so my options were to three-bet or to flat. I pondered how each option would play.

If I three-bet, I didn’t want a call or get four-bet. Mr. CO wouldn’t call without having a hand that had high equity against my holding. Also, playing a big pot, with this holding, out of position, against an aggressive player isn’t going to be a winner over time. Out of position, I’ll get outplayed and lose betting equity more often than if I had position.

But if I flatted, it would keep in hands which I had dominated in his range such as J-10, Q-J, K-10, K-x suited, etcetera. And if he held one of those hands, I might pick up significant bets from him with a large edge. Even though the hands I dominated were a small part of his range, the fact that it added huge value when he did greatly increased my hand’s overall equity. Additionally, flatting prevented me from getting four-bet, a call I probably wouldn’t make with this holding. I called the $20.

The flop came the K J 6, giving me top-two pair. Not much of Mr. CO’s range had me in dire trouble. He could have flopped a set, but I had a king and a jack which reduced the odds of either of those sets. He’d continuation bet (c-bet) every hand he’d taken the lead on since I’d sat down, so I decided to try a check-raise in order to acquire the equity from his c-bet bluffs. And check-raising might facilitate building a big pot in case he held a strong hand, but one weaker than mine. This wasn’t the right flop to slow play since it was rich in potential draws, and I wanted to get value from drawing hands if he missed.

I checked, he fired $30, I made it $75, and he called. The turn card came the 4, $190 in the pot. I chose to bet $140, about a three-quarters-pot size bet. I wanted to charge the draws, but not fold the weaker portion of his calling range. The bet’s size felt about right, but this is one of those “feel” questions that I lack the experience to feel confident about. Mr. CO tanked and then called.

The river came the 9, filling both the straight draw and the flopped club draw. Not only did this weaken my holding, but it also made Mr. CO less likely to call with a marginal hand. He seemed like an aggressive guy, and I thought checking might pick off his bluffs even though I hadn’t made a committed decision on whether I would call a big bet. If he bet big, I would attempt a read and make my decision from there. I knuckled. Mr. CO turned over the K 10, and the dealer pushed me the pot.

The hand speaks to adjusting my play from limit to no-limit based on no-limit’s larger bets. By not shutting my opponent out preflop, I had acquired $215 of action with an opponent drawing virtually dead. And while I understand this hand came down very favorably for me, with the value I obtained, it doesn’t have to come that way very often to significantly mathematically adjust how my range plays in various situations.

I like the way I played the hand. I’m unsure if I could have made more on the hand by having a better bet-sizing “feel.” But conceptually I was sound; I took my opponent’s tendencies into account, played him accordingly, and trapped him into losing over 45 BBs. And you can’t do that heads-up in a limit hand; forty-five BBs is $1,800 in $40-$80.
If it keeps going like this, I think I’m going to enjoy this no-limit game! ♠

Roy Cooke played poker professionally for 16 years prior to becoming a successful Las Vegas Real Estate Broker/Salesman. Should you wish any information about Real Estate matters-including purchase, sale or mortgage his office number is 702-376-1515 or Roy’s e-mail is [email protected]. His website is www.roycooke.com. You can also find him on Facebook or Twitter @RealRoyCooke