However, far too often, players who discover the power of range betting will make the mistake of doing it too often.

Range betting too often can be quite costly. You’ll find yourself in tough spots on turns and rivers with too wide of a range. And your opponents may even “accidentally” exploit you on the flop simply because you bet too often on a board that smashes their range.

With this in mind, cash game crusher Tim Jenkins created an in-depth module inside the Upswing Lab to help you understand when to range bet and how to proceed on future streets.

Tim’s graph playing online cash games. You’re in good hands.

This article is a preview of Tim’s module.

If you want to access the full lesson, join the Upswing Lab here and use code RANGEBET to get $50 off.

(Already a Lab member? Click here to watch the module.)

Let’s get started!

The Immediately Obvious Advantages of Range Betting

Tim starts off his module by explaining why range betting for a small size on the flop is so effective. Namely:

1. Range betting is both an awesome exploitative strategy while still being theoretically sound in many cases
2. It’s a strategy that is simple and easy to execute
3. It can drastically reduce the likelihood of us making big mistakes compared to other bet sizing strategies
   
4. Its simplicity frees up mental energy for us to think about other consequential things, both while playing and studying

When most intermediate poker players start experimenting with range betting, the benefits become clear quite quickly. You simply win more pots and end up in fewer tough spots when you use this strategy.

Let’s jump ahead to the big mistake players make when implementing this strategy…

You Shouldn’t Always Range Bet

According to Tim, one of the biggest mistakes players make when they find out about range betting is that they try to do it too often.

Here are two key points from Tim:

1. There are a lot of boards and scenarios in which range betting is not a winning strategy
2. Even if range betting is +EV (expected value) in a given situation, it may yield significantly less EV than a different sizing strategy

For example, on low paired boards like 4s3s3d, the preflop raiser doesn’t benefit from a high frequency, smaller sizing strategy. Because the preflop raiser has a big overpair advantage on these boards, more money can be won (on average) with a different approach (bet big or check).

Another example of a bad board to range bet is a wet, middling board (like 7c6c5h). Especially out of position, the preflop raiser is often at an actual equity disadvantage against the preflop caller and should often check 100% of the time to protect their range.

The Importance of Knowing How to Play the Turn

One thing I noticed from Tim’s lesson was that a huge amount of emphasis was put on how to correctly play the turn after range betting flop.

The turn is really where the skill comes into play, and where you can really start pushing the biggest edge against the competition.  

Reading board texture is key, and it’s important to study to develop an understanding of how each potential turn card impacts the nut advantage of each player. 

By understanding which player has the advantage in the nutted-hand class on every turn, we can more appropriately tailor our bet sizing strategy to any specific situation. We’ll also know how to select the best bluffing combinations to use based on their nut blocker characteristics. 

Thinking Ahead to the River

As with the turn, going into the river we’ll need to consider how various runouts will play to each player’s nut/equity advantage.

However, before arriving at the river, we will also want to consider how each hand in our range plays as a bet or check on the turn. 

River considerations on the turn:

1. What are the nut advantage/equity shifts for each player across various river runouts?
2. How aggressively do we expect our opponent to play the river if we check back the turn?
3. Which hands in our range benefit from checking back turn?
4. Which hands benefit from being 3 street value bets, and which hands make for the best triple-barrel bluffs on the river?

These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself on the turn.

Final Thoughts

We can roughly outline the three steps to developing a fundamentally sound range betting strategy into the following:

1. Develop an understanding of which flops are appropriate to range bet on, and which aren’t.
   In some cases, we are at an equity disadvantage and range betting is a big mistake. While in other cases it might just be significantly less +EV than a different betting strategy.

2. Learn to read board textures…
   …especially as it applies to how each potential turn impacts each player’s nut advantage.

3. Think ahead to the river.
   Consider what hands you might want to bet the turn with to have as a future bluff on 5th street. Also, consider how you expect your opponent to play on the river if you check back the turn. 

If you want to master range betting, join the Upswing Lab to get instant access to Tim’s in-depth module on the topic.

And remember to use coupon code RANGEBET to get $50 off (expires 12/31/2024). Your bankroll will thank you.

As always, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time!

P.S. If you want to keep improving your poker game for free, scroll down to related articles and pick your topic of choice below.

The post The Mistake Poker Players Make When C-Betting appeared first on Upswing Poker.

But there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding ICM, and how to correctly apply it. 

This short article, based on advice from tournament crusher Nick Petrangelo, will help clear up that confusion.

Let’s get started!

Nick Petrangelo’s Crash Course on ICM

Put simply, ICM is a concept used in tournaments to determine the value of each chip in relation to the tournament prize pool. 

In cash games, 10,000 in chips have a value of exactly $10,000. However, in tournaments, 10,000 chips are obviously not valued at a 1:1 ratio like that.

But we still need to know how to value our chip stacks in tournaments. This is where ICM comes in.

Nick explains that there are 3 major factors we use to make ICM calculations:

1. Stack distribution
2. Payout structures
3. What percentage of the field cashes

Here’s an explanation from Nick, himself:

ICM basically means that you’re not playing a cash game and you’re not playing the beginning of a tournament.

At the later stages of a tournament, ICM represents a shift where the value of your stack is now being considered in terms of the prize pool. You’re not playing for chips, but real dollars.

The First ICM Mistake to Avoid

According to Nick, one of the biggest mistakes players make when they find out about ICM is that they try to treat it as an exact science.

While making perfect ICM calculations in-game isn’t necessary, understanding the general outline of ICM at every stage of the tournament is key to success. 

When Do We Apply ICM?

ICM can play a major factor in our strategy adjustments, specifically at the later stages of the tournament. Nick uses the term “ICM pressure” to describe ICM’s level of importance at any given stage of the tournament.

Generally, peak ICM pressure is reached when on the bubble. Nick explains:

ICM pressure is extremely high when say there are 19 players left in the field and 18 cash… So when you get 19th you get zero, and if you finish 18th, you get some multiple of your buy-in back. All these factors are going to come together to dictate all of your strategy adjustments.

Nick continues:

Towards the end of the tournament, we’re going to want to think about stuff like if “I’m a huge stack I probably don’t want to clash and play a huge pot with another huge stack when we have a lot of expected value (EV) already.”

Adjusting to What Percentage of the Field Cashes

The key to knowing how much to adjust for ICM in-game is to know what percentage of the field is left and what percentage of the field cash. The closer the percentage of the remaining field gets to cash, the more intense the ICM factors become. 

ICM peaks in pressure when we get to the bubble.

Most Common ICM Adjustments

Now that we’ve got a sense of what ICM is, let’s learn how to use it to our advantage. Here are some majorly important adjustments we should be aware of when ICM becomes a factor. 

Folds Become Plus EV

Poker is generally thought of as a game where money can only be earned through aggression. Folding is an action that can have 0EV at most

However, Nick explains that in ICM scenarios a huge part of our EV can come from folding: 

Unlike in cash games where when you fold it’s worth zero dollars, when you fold in ICM scenarios, whether you’re on the bubble or there’s pay jumps, folds are always plus EV. This is because your stack has the potential to increase in value if somebody behind you busts

Try to Win More Pots Without Showdown

A strong ICM strategy is preflop-oriented. We don’t want to be playing postflop too much, and we should consciously try to win more pots without showdown. Says Nick:

We want to be playing a tight-aggressive strategy in ICM scenarios. We aren’t going to be defending our Big Blind wide because we don’t want to go postflop versus stacks that cover us… If we’re a middle stack we really want to stay away from the big stacks.

We’ll also want to increase our opening sizes in some cases to try to win more hands without going postflop. At 20 big blinds deep, for example, you might want to open to 2.5x when in a cash game you would only open to 2x.

Nick adds that we’ll also want to be more selective with our 3-betting selection. In general, our 3-bets should be heavily blocker oriented (i.e. high cards). We don’t want to 3-bet low cards that unblock our opponents’ continues (which are largely broadway combinations like KQ or QJ). Remember with all of these adjustments we’ll be adjusting in relation to shifts in ICM pressure.

Biggest ICM Mistakes

According to Nick, there are 2 major mistakes players most commonly make regarding ICM. 

Don’t Treat ICM as a Binary Decision

Many players who are aware of ICM will take it to the extreme when they think they’re in ICM scenarios by either playing super tight when they’re short or super aggressive when they’re the big stack. Remember that ICM pressure is dynamic and constantly changing. There is no uniform ICM strategy. Every spot is unique.

Don’t Take the Model as an Exact Science

Nick explains that it’s important as you learn more about ICM you are also aware of the limitations of the model. The current ICM study tools available on the market aren’t able to calculate future game implications with any accuracy. For example, ICM tools will underweight the value of winning a big all-in pot that allows you to become chip leader and stream roll your shorter stacked opponents at the final table.

Therefore, the outputs from ICM solvers can oftentimes suggest playing way tighter in spots than you should be. Like with solvers in general, ICM calculators should be thought of as a guide rather than a script you precisely follow.

Final Thoughts

We hope this article has gone a long way in helping to demystify ICM.

Do you have any other tournament-specific concepts that you want us to cover?

Let us know in the comments.

The post A Quick Guide to ICM in Tournaments (ft. Nick Petrangelo) appeared first on Upswing Poker.

Thankfully, you don’t need to be a savant to understand the mathematical principles of poker.

This quiz will test your knowledge with 10 questions about the core mathematical components of poker.

You’ll get a famous poker pro from the golden era of the poker boom based on your score. Good luck!

(Note: Click here to reference the table positions.)

If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser.

How Many Questions Did You Ace? And Which Player Did You Get?

Let us know in the comments below. Here’s a link to the answers and explanations: https://upswingpoker.com/poker-math-quiz-answers/

Note: Doug Polk has created a new poker crash course called The Postflop Playbook, which costs just $7 and takes less than 2 hours to complete.

When you get The Postflop Playbook, you will learn how to make quick and profitable decisions that translate to more (and bigger) winning poker sessions. Learn more now!

The post The Poker Math Quiz That You Need To Ace appeared first on Upswing Poker.

If you think you should never fold the top of your range in poker, your answer will probably be no. But should it be?

This concept of capped ranges has been around for a long time. However, according to high stakes poker pro Uri Peleg, the misapplications surrounding this poker rule-of-thumb run far and wide.

In this article, Uri analyzes a monster pot played by Brad Owen and discusses whether or not Brad could have avoided what might seem like an unavoidable bad beat at the Bellagio.

Let’s take a look at the hand!

Note: Uri is the creator of Elite Cash Game Exploits, an advanced training course made for poker players who want to gain a massive edge on their opponents. Learn more about Elite Cash Game Exploits here!

Brad Owen Flops the Nuts at the Bellagio

$10/$20/$40 at Bellagio. $5,230 effective stacks.

Preflop: Brad is dealt in the Hijack
Brad raises to $120. Big Blind calls. 

Flop ($290):
Big Blind checks. Brad checks.

Turn ($290):
Big Blind bets $320. Brad raises to $1,000. Big Blind calls. 

River ($2,290):
Big Blind checks. Brad bets $2,000. Big Blind raises all-in $4,110 effective. Brad…?

Analysis

Let’s set the stage: Brad slow-plays the flop with the nuts, raises the turn, and is now facing a brutal all-in check-raise after the board pairs on the river.

Thinking about ranges, it’s fair to assume Brad’s range is pretty much capped at having a flush — he probably wouldn’t raise the turn with a set, so he can’t possibly have a full house.

The Big Blind, meanwhile, has an uncapped range and is now representing a number of the full house combinations that are certainly within that range.

In his vlog, Brad explains that he thinks he has to call because he’s getting great pot odds. Plus, and perhaps more importantly, he’s at the very top of his range with the nut flush. 

Brad’s logic of always having to call with the top of his range is a heuristic taken from GTO poker theory. In GTO poker, it’s pretty much a fundamental rule that one must call with the top of one’s range in virtually every spot in order to prevent being exploited by opponents.

In short, if Brad is folding the nut flush here, he theoretically opens himself up to being exploited by an aggressive bluffing strategy.

Misapplications of Capped Range Theory

While most GTO poker players would agree with Brad’s logic, in Uri’s opinion, Brad still made a big mistake by feeling like he was forced to have to call it off on this river. Here’s why:

Always calling with the top of our range was thought of as a way to make sure that our opponents could never profitably bluff us. [The logic goes:] Sometimes we’ll get stacked, sure, but our opponent won’t be able to profitably bluff us.

You can calculate exactly where this line is by using pot odds and/or solvers.

Brad needs to call with roughly 50% of his range to reach the minimum defense frequency (MDF) and keep himself from being exploitatively bluffed — this number is based on the pot odds his opponent is getting on his bet. In theory, if Brad folded more than ~50% of the time, his opponent could show a profit here by bluffing every. single. time.

Without looking into a solver, Uri estimates that Brad will need to call with about 75% of his flushes in this spot to reach that minimum defense frequency.

Now, we are at a crossroads. There are two choices for how to approach this hand:

• Take the balanced GTO approach (call) and make the opponent indifferent to bluffing.
• Fold “too often” and accept the possibility of being exploitated.

Uri would urge you to lean towards the second option.

Breaking Out of the Capped Range Mindset

Uri explains that there’s a key question to ask yourself if you’re ever stuck in a similar situation: “Is this a spot where it’s important for me to stop my opponents from over-bluffing?”

Here’s Uri expanding on that thought:

Look at the way this hand played out. Brad’s opponent potted the turn, called a big raise, and then would be doing this suicide check-shove if he were bluffing on the river.

With Brad only having about $2,000 behind, it’s just tough to imagine what his opponent could even be bluffing with.

For me personally, this is a spot where I wouldn’t worry about drawing a line in the sand.

To Uri, there isn’t any reason to stress about folding the top of our range in this spot. He compares it to worrying about running a red light in a country with no police and no cars around for a 100-mile radius. 

Just run the red light. Or in this case, just fold. You don’t need to concern yourself with being exploited in ways that are virtually impossible.  

Results

Brad calls the $2,110 more with on the board. His opponent shows and drags the $10,510 pot.

Do you agree with Uri?

Let me know in the comments below.

If you agree with Uri’s basic assumptions — that an opponent would never shove a worse flush nor would he shove as a bluff — this is an obvious fold.

But even so, it’s tough to fold the flopped nut flush for a min-raise on the river. Even though I agree with Uri’s analysis, I’m not sure I could make the fold in-game. Could you?

That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables!

Note: Become an exploitative machine and P-R-I-N-T money at the poker table when you get Uri Peleg’s Elite Cash Game Exploits course.

Take $100 off with coupon code BRADBEAT100.

Click here to learn more and sign up.

The post Brad Owen’s Brutal Decision With Flopped Nut Flush (Analysis) appeared first on Upswing Poker.

…so we made this quiz to put your preflop strategy to the test.

You’re about to answer 10 questions, and you’ll get assigned a poker player based on your final score.

Good luck!

(Note: Click here to reference the table positions.)

If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser.

How Many Questions Did You Ace? And Which Player Did You Get?

Let us know in the comments below.

Note: Doug Polk has created a new poker crash course called The Postflop Playbook, which costs just $7 and takes less than 2 hours to complete.

When you get The Postflop Playbook, you will learn how to make quick and profitable decisions that translate to more (and bigger) winning poker sessions. Learn more now!

The post The Preflop Poker Quiz (Only 20% of Poker Players Will Get 10/10) appeared first on Upswing Poker.

Straddles are quite common in live cash games, but most live players make the same mistakes over and over again when the straddle is on.

For this article, I dove into Nick Petrangelo’s new Smash Live Cash course and pulled out 3 preflop tips that will help you play straddled pots to perfection.

Let’s get started!

Tip #1: Play Tighter in Every Position

The number one rule in straddled pots is this: play tighter!

Straddles are commonly thought of as a way to create more action. But this doesn’t mean that you should be loosening up your ranges.

In fact, the opposite is true. Nick says the following in his Smash Live Cash course:

The number one thing to remember in straddle games is that you’re supposed to play tighter.

So many people don’t seem to get this, but you have to keep in mind that there are 3 blinds now and an additional player to act behind you.

To properly adjust for this, your opening ranges should be from one position earlier from your current position.

For example, if you are on the Button in a straddled pot, you should raise with your usual Cutoff range. If you are in the Cutoff, you should raise with your usual Hijack range. And so on.

Adjusting for Shorter Stacks

The other major factor that incentivizes tighter play in straddled pots is stack depth. It’s important to remember that, due to the straddle, everyones’ stack gets cut in half in terms of big blinds.

For example,  suppose you are in a $5/$10 game with a $1,000 stack. If someone puts out a $20 straddle, our stack has gone from being 100bb down to 50bb. The shorter stacks get in cash games, the tighter you’ll generally need to play. 

One other side note: your hand selection should change a bit when stacks get shorter. Speculative hands (like low pocket pairs and suited connectors) go down in value. At the same time, high card hands go up in value. Don’t neglect those factors when the straddle is on and you’re deciding whether or not a hand is worth playing.

Tip #2: Don’t Limp from the Small Blind (Raise or Fold Instead)

Live players make mistakes in straddled pots from every position, but Nick typically notices the biggest mistakes are made by the players in the blinds, in particular the Small Blind.

Limping way too often from the blinds is one of the major ways players consistently bleed money in straddled pots. As Nick says in the course:

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make in straddled pots is that they limp way too much from the blinds, especially the Small Blind. Particularly in no ante games, the relatively bad price you are being laid to enter into the pot is very important.

Nick goes on to say that many players tend to underestimate how much of Small Blind’s range is going to under-realize its equity with two players behind rather than just one.

With this in mind, the optimal Small Blind strategy in straddled pots is to play a fairly tight range and only enter the pot with a raise. Your raising range from the Small Blind in straddled pots should be very similar to your raising range from the Cutoff in an non-straddled hand.

I’ll end this section with a quote from Nick reiterating this point:

In the Small Blind we don’t want to be limping into two opponents while we’re out of position.

Instead we want to raise aggressively, putting the Big Blind in a difficult position sandwiched between two players. People are generally pretty bad at playing a defense strategy against the Small Blind from the blinds, so as long as we play the right ranges, this spot is generally going to go really well for us.

Tip 3: Use a Small Raise Size

Players seem to have major misconceptions about how to size their opens in straddled pots.

You do not need to raise to a big size when the straddle is on. In fact, doing this is extremely spewy, as Nick explains:

I see people open to 4x or 5x all the time in straddled pots, and just in general. Really, the optimal size is somewhere between 2x-2.5x. There’s no need to use a 4x size.

When you 4x or 5x, you’re just losing money with the middle and bottom of your range. We technically shouldn’t even be opening those hands if we’re using a bigger sizing.

An absolute rule across all of poker is that the bigger you bet, the fewer hands with which you can profitably bet. This is especially true preflop. Nick explains why big opens in live poker wind up costing us a lot of expected value (EV):

If we think we have an edge in the games we’re playing in, we should be trying to play as many hands as possible to maximize this edge.

That’s going to mean we’re going to need to use smaller opening sizes. It’s not sustainable to just be nuking in 4x and 5x opens. That’s something that has to go and is pretty contagious among a lot of different populations in cash games.

This is largely true in all live cash game hands, but especially so in straddled pots.

Do you like playing straddled pots?

Let me know in the comments.

Hope you enjoyed this one. If you want to continue upgrading your live cash game skills with Nick Petrangelo, be sure to check out his Smash Live Cash course.

Note: Want to win the max in live poker games? Get the new Smash Live Cash course and start learning tactics that P-R-I-N-T money versus live players. Learn more now!

The post Stop Bleeding Money in Straddled Pots (3 Tips from Nick Petrangelo) appeared first on Upswing Poker.

This quiz will test your skills with preflop and postflop situations. In all 10 situations, you hold Pocket Aces. 

Let’s see what your score looks like at the end (be sure to drop a comment with your results).

You’ll get assigned one of four poker pros based on how well you do.

Good luck!

(Note: Click here to reference the table positions.)

If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser.

How Many Questions Did You Ace? And Which Player Did You Get?

Let us know in the comments below.

Note: World-class pro Doug Polk has created a new poker crash course called The Postflop Playbook, which costs just $7 and takes less than 2 hours to complete.

When you get The Postflop Playbook, you will learn how to make quick and profitable decisions that translate to more (and bigger) winning poker sessions. Learn more now!

The post [Quiz] Do You Play Pocket Aces Like A Pro? appeared first on Upswing Poker.

In this article/video, Nick will walk you through a multiway pot that happened in a massive stakes cash game at The Lodge Card Club. 

The double straddle is on for this hand, making the blinds a staggering $100/$200/$400/$800! After recapping the action on each street, Nick will provide his overall analysis while focusing on some important concepts for playing in straddled pots preflop and multiway pots.

Let’s get started!

Note: Nick Petrangelo and Brad Owen’s brand new Smash Live Cash course just came out! If you want to destroy live cash games, don’t miss out on this course. Learn more now!

Multiway Clash in Massive Stakes Cash Game

Stakes: $100/$200/$400/$800

Stacks of relevant players:

• Doug Polk (Big Blind): $35,200
  
• Ginge Poker (Straddle): $41,700
  
• Nick (Double Straddle): $148,000
  
• JD (UTG): $55,300
  

Preflop

JD raises to $2,000 UTG with A J. Doug calls in the Big Blind with Q T. Ginge Poker calls in the straddle with K 9. Nick calls in the double straddle with 9 8.

Preflop Analysis

The double straddle is on for this hand, which means that everyone’s stack sizes are going to be cut in half twice in terms of big blinds. Doug’s stack, for example, has shrunk from 175bb to less than 50bb.

Nick starts off his analysis by noting that everyone at the table should tighten their preflop ranges because of the shallower stacks.

JD makes a standard open with Ace-Jack offsuit and his 2.5x sizing is good.

Back to Doug, who should mostly 3-bet with a hand like Queen-Ten suited, but calling is fine. Doug is likely going to be incorporating more calls in this spot in general (as he should) given that most live opponents don’t squeeze from the straddle nearly enough. That said, Nick still prefers a 3-bet most of the time with this hand.

Ginge has the perfect hand (K9-suited) with which to call in the straddle. K9-suited can be a good bluffing hand from some positions, but with shallow stacks and another straddle behind, this isn’t an ideal hand to squeeze with. Calling is profitable enough.

Nick’s offsuit connector is weak, but he has a few things going for him. He’s getting a good price to call in the double straddle and is in position vs two of his opponents. Thus, calling is reasonable.

Let’s head to the flop!

Flop

The flop comes K T 9. There is $8,100 in the pot.

All players check.

Flop Analysis

An action flop where every player has a piece!

• Doug flops middle pair and a combo draw with his Q T
• Ginge flops two pair with K 9
• Nick flops a weak bottom pair with 9 8
• JD flops a gutshot straight draw and overcard with A J

The flop checks around to JD who is the in-position preflop raiser. JD quickly checks, which makes Nick think that JD didn’t consider that his Ace-Jack is a reasonable hand with which to bet here.

In general, you should reduce your c-betting frequency when more players are in the pot. But you shouldn’t play poker based on general rules. Let’s get specific.

Nick pulls up a multiway solver for JD’s spot:

This shows that JD’s range connects very well with this board, and there are many strong value hands and high equity bluffs with which he can bet. Ace-Jack offsuit, in this case, is a hand that should be bet every single time, and Nick prefers using a a very small size (10-15% pot).

Small bets can be a very powerful weapon in multiway pots. In this case, even versus a tiny bet, the out of position players will have a tough time defending properly.

Turn

The turn comes 4, making the board (K T 9) 4. There is $8,100 in the pot.

Doug bets $5,500. Ginge calls. Nick folds. JD folds.

Turn Analysis

On this brick turn, Nick explains that Doug has a great betting hand. The solver mixes Q T between bet and check, but…

Because the players in the straddles likely have wider preflop ranges than the solver (which plays fairly tight preflop), Doug should feel a greater incentive to bet. Those wider ranges he’s likely up against don’t connect on boards like this as often as a solver range would, meaning he’ll get a lot more folds and possibly even calls from worse hands.

(If you play in low stakes live games, you may want to read that last paragraph again. It’s a key takeaway for how to adjust against the looser preflop ranges of players in your games.)

Ginge makes a smart play by just calling with K 9 and not going for a thin value raise. Doug has a very narrow range when betting into 3 opponents, especially when he uses this big size (70% pot). Ginge, therefore, wants to only raise with the strongest hands in his value range (mostly QJ) along with some strong draws. K 9, meanwhile, fits perfectly into the just calling category.

River

The river comes 8, making the final board (K T 9 4) 8. There is $19,100 in the pot.

Doug bets $6,000. Ginge folds.

River Analysis

Doug has a lot of viable options for extracting value with his newfound flush. The trouble is that Ginge is a really smart player and is going to be playing cautiously given how Doug played the turn. Hear from Nick himself:

It’s just incredibly hard for Doug to have bluffs here. He would have had to not 3-bet a hand like AJ-offsuit with a diamond, then bet 70% pot into 3 people on the turn, and would then have to follow through with the bluff on the river.

Doug goes for a small value bet (which is the best size given how few bluffs he has) and Ginge snap folds. In theory, K9 is a GTO call here, but Nick notes that Ginge is probably aware that even a capable player like Doug likely isn’t finding enough bluffs in this spot to warrant a lot of marginal calls. 

Another option for Doug is to check, which may induce thin value bets (and perhaps some bluffs) from Ginge. Then Doug could check-raise to go for max value, hoping to get called by a hand like 7 6.

Final Thoughts

Wrapping things up, Nick thinks both Doug and Ginge played their hands really well. The only potential adjustment that stands out to Nick is Doug’s river play.

But what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The post Doug Polk Flops a Monster at $100/$200/$400/$800 (Multiway Analysis By Top Pro) appeared first on Upswing Poker.

This article/video zooms in on 5 hands that were played by an Upswing Lab member at $0.25/0.50 HUNL.

Heads-up crusher and Lab coach Daniel “DougieDan” McAualay analyzed the member’s sample in a recent 3+ hour video coaching series.

Watch Dan review the hands here or read on for a written version:

Let’s get started!

Hand #1

Preflop

Preflop: Hero is dealt A J on the Button.
Hero raises to 2.5x. Big Blind calls. 

Not much to say here: Ace-Jack offsuit is a standard raise from the Button.

Flop

Flop (5bb): J 3 3
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 3.58bb. Big Blind check-raises to 11.8bb. Hero calls. 

We make our first mistake by betting too big on the flop. Dan explains that we usually want to bet most paired boards at a very high frequency using a small c-bet sizing of around 33% pot. Even with the small sizing, the Big Blind is still going to be forced to fold a lot of hands like T8-offsuit and Q5-offsuit that have totally missed the flop. This big size is simply unnecessary and suboptimal.

Facing a check-raise, Dan notes that while we certainly can’t fold top pair top kicker on the flop, we should be very concerned about the strength of Big Blind’s range going into the turn. The vast majority of players don’t play aggressively enough on paired boards from the Big Blind. This is especially true in lower-stakes games. So, when we bet big and face a raise, our alarm bells should be going off.

Turn

Turn (28.5bb): (J 3 3) 9
Big Blind bets 22bb. Hero calls. 

Dan explains that this is a particularly bad turn for our range. Not only has the flush completed, but most of the potential bluffing combos Big Blind could have (such as Q T or T 8) have picked up some equity and can continue betting. 

When we consider how unlikely it is that our opponent is bluffing in this spot, there is a strong case to be made for folding Ace-Jack with no flush draw here on the turn. Calling is the “standard” and solver-approved play, but it becomes an easy fold if our opponent is rarely or never bluffing.

We would certainly rather have a hand like Jack-Ten with the T here, because then at least we have more outs versus a hand like A 3.

River

River (72.6bb): (J 3 3 9) A
Big Blind bets all-in for 73.9bb. Hero calls. Big Blind wins with J 3.

Dan wouldn’t hate a fold here, as surprising as it may seem. We have plenty of better hands (flushes, full houses, or bluff-catchers that block the flush) with which to call in this spot. However, calling with the rivered top two is understandable.

In solver land, this hand is a cooler, but versus a human opponent in a low stakes game, we can probably get away.

Hand #2

Preflop

Preflop: Hero is dealt J 6 on the Button.
Hero raises 3bb. Big Blind calls. 

Dan notices that we have changed our opening size to 3bb in this hand. While there can be logical reasons for adjusting our opening size to specific opponents, this is generally unnecessary. 

Dan explains that it’s more important not to over-complicate things, particularly at low stakes. 

The EV difference of a 3x and 2.5x is relatively minimal [even if you’re adjusting it based on your opponent’s tendencies]. You don’t need to overload your brain with things you don’t need to be concerned about. Just have a raise size and stick to it.

Note: Want to know how to play every hand in every common preflop situation? Get instant access to extensive preflop charts and lessons (for cash games, heads-up, and tournaments) when you join the Upswing Lab training course. Lock your seat now!

The Advanced Solver Ranges for cash games — one of six sets of preflop charts in the Upswing Lab

Flop

Flop (6bb): J T 6
Big Blind checks. Hero checks,

Like the last one, this is a flop on which we’re better off using a small bet size. Two pair, in this case, is a hand Dan would always bet.

Solvers will sometimes incorporate checks with hands like two-pair for balance and protection, but this is one of those things that isn’t necessary against most real-world opponents. We want to be applying pressure to our opponents, forcing them to make decisions they aren’t sure about. 

Turn

Turn (6bb): (J T 6) 3
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 4.28bb. Big Blind folds.

As played, going for the delayed c-bet is a good decision and the size is reasonable.

Onto the next one.

Hand #3

Preflop

Preflop: Hero is dealt 9 8 on the Button.
Hero raises 2.5bb. Big Blind calls.

You should raise upwards of 80% of hands on the Button in heads-up play, and a middling offsuit connector like 98 falls well within that ~80%.

Flop

Flop (5bb): 7 6 3
Big Blind checks. Hero checks.

On this monotone board, Dan would like to see us bet with our entire range for a small sizing. 

98-offsuit with no flush draw makes for a particularly good bet because it’s actually pretty difficult to play this hand on a lot of turns after checking back.

Dan notes that if we check back and the J, for example, comes on the turn, then we’re in a tough spot if our opponent decides to probe bet for a large sizing. We’d be forced to either call a big bet with a 9-high draw or fold a hand with 6 pretty clean outs.

In general, the check here and in the last hand illustrates a theme in our member’s play: not playing aggressively enough in position.

Turn

Turn (5bb): (7 6 3) A
Big Blind checks. Hero checks.

As played, Dan would like to see a delayed c-bet on this turn. We’re drawing dead against flushes, but a bet will force a lot of better hands to fold. Plus, we have equity against the Big Blind’s non-flush made hands (such as two pair).

River

River (5bb): (7 6 3 A) J
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 3.58bb. Big Blinds calls with Q T. Both players chop.

Betting on this river is good, but the size could be better. Dan would prefer to see a size bigger than pot to force more folds from the opponent’s very weak range. 

Hand #4

Preflop

Preflop: Hero is dealt K 2 on the Button.
Hero raises 2.5bb. Big Blind calls. 

K2-offsuit is obviously a weak looking hand, but it’s certainly strong enough to raise from the Button.

Flop

Flop (5bb): Q 5 4
Big Blind checks. Hero checks. 

Again, we miss an opportunity for an effective small c-bet. 

Dan notes that this board is especially ripe for a small bet when we consider our entire range. We’ll have a lot of 4-X and 5-X hands in our range, for example, so if we bet small, we can get both value and protection with those hands

On top of that, a small bet allows us to bluff efficiently (including with hands like K2-offsuit) because it will force the opponent’s many crappy hands to auto-fold. Potentially folding out hands like K6-K9 or even T8 would be a nice win in this spot. 

Turn

Turn (5bb): (Q 5 4) A
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 3.58bb. Big Blind folds. 

Another good delayed c-bet, as played. We have picked up some gutshot straight draw equity and we represent Ax really well, since we would have checked back so many Ax hands on the flop.

Hand #5

Preflop

Preflop: Hero is dealt K K on the Button.
Hero raises 2.5bb. Big Blind calls. 

You won’t be surprised to read that this is a good raise with Pocket Kings.

Flop

Flop (5bb): 8 6 6
Big Blind checks. Hero checks. 

This is another paired board texture on which Dan would like to see us c-bet small with our entire range. 

Dan suspects that our Hero is trying to incorporate too many sneaky traps into his game that, in reality, are only hurting his win rate. Although Pocket Kings are a reasonable check back, in theory/solver land, it’s very unlikely that checking back makes more money than betting in this spot against most opponents.  

My advice is to think about which play makes the most money. Does betting small make the most money? Probably yes, unless you know they’re going to probe turn 3x pot with a lot of bluffs or something like that. (But in general) there are just too many unknowns. Just play ABC poker, no nonsense.

Turn

Turn (5bb): (8 6 6) 9
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 3.58bb. Big Blind calls.

As played, this is a good spot for a delayed c-bet with Kings.

River

River (12.16bb): (8 6 6 9) 4
Big Blind checks. Hero bets 8.68bb. Big Blind calls with T 8. Hero wins.

A good bet on the river, but we probably missed a chance to get 3 streets of value because of that errant check back on the flop.

Final Thoughts

Heads-up No Limit really is a beautiful game. You get to play so many hands and get into so many unique spots, all while battling and gathering reads on a single opponent. If you haven’t dipped your toes in the heads-up poker streets, I highly recommend doing so.

Want some more hand analysis, but from a tournament this time? Check out Patrik Antonius Hero Calls Bottom Pair with $825,000 On The Line (Analysis).

That’s it for today. Good luck at the tables!

The post 5 Heads-Up Poker Hands Analyzed By A Pro appeared first on Upswing Poker.

If you want to win as much as possible in live cash games, read on.

Nick Petrangelo is an elite poker pro known for his $24 million in tournament earnings. He’s also a cash game crusher who started playing $1/$2 (at Turning Stone Casino) and worked his way to beating the highest stakes tables in the world.

This video + article series was created by Nick to help you boost your bottom line in the live cash games you play. Starting with part 1 today, a new part will come out every Friday, all leading up to the release of Nick’s new Smash Live Cash course, which features poker vlogger Brad Owen.

Nick is kicking off the series by analyzing a hand in which Doug Polk goes for a $39,200 bluff against “Ginge Poker” at $100/$200 on the The Lodge Live poker stream.

While walking us through this hand, Nick emphasizes the importance of adjusting our strategy to live opponents that aren’t playing ‘perfect GTO’ poker. 

Making these adjustments can sometimes lead to us making some pretty counterintuitive plays like we’ll see from Doug in this hand.  

Note: Nick Petrangelo and Brad Owen’s brand new Smash Live Cash course just came out! If you want to destroy live cash games, don’t miss out on this course. Learn more now!

Doug Polk’s Big Bluff at the Lodge

Location: The Lodge Card Club in Austin, Texas

Stakes: $100/200/$400 (straddle)

Stacks: Doug ($159k), Ginge ($62k)

Preflop

Doug opens from the Lojack to $1,000 with A T. Ginge 3-bets to $4,000 from the straddle with A K. Doug calls. 

Preflop Analysis

Nick explains that there are two major points of analysis when it comes to studying preflop: bet sizing and range.

With Ace-Ten suited, Doug has a standard open from the Lojack.

Faced with the open, Ginge has a clear 3-bet with Ace-King suited. Nick would, however, like to see Ginge use a larger sizing (5x rather than 4x) because of the deep stack depth. The 3-bet range should contain an optimal balance of:

• Premium hands
• Suited Aces
• Suited broadway hands
• Some suited connectors
• Good pocket pairs

Versus the 3-bet, Doug has a pretty clear call. But as he calls, Doug should be making some key considerations about Ginge’s range going forward in the hand. Nick summed it up by saying (paraphrased):

Nearly all players, but especially live players, will typically make the mistake of not 3-betting enough of the weaker parts of their range, including the suited connectors and some of the gapped broadway combos. 

A few missing combos of 87s, AJo, JTs, etc. might not seem that important, but this can exponentially narrow our opponent’s range in a lot of spots like this postflop.

Keeping in mind these considerations about Ginge’s range, let’s take a flop.

Flop: J 7 7 ($8,300)

Ginge Poker bets $2,700. Doug calls.

Flop Analysis

Nick would rather see Ginge use a big bet or check strategy on this flop. He explains that a lot of players like to default to the high frequency 33% pot bet, but this is a spot in which that sizing just doesn’t make as much money.

Nick adds that a big bet or check strategy is especially good in this spot if Ginge does have a tighter 3-bet range because he has fewer weak holdings diluting his range.

Once again, Doug has an easy call. The in-position player shouldn’t have many raises in this spot at all, even against the small bet. The nut flush draw is a clear-as-day smooth call, never raising.

Turn: J ($13,700)

Ginge checks. Doug bets $6,500. Ginge check-raises $16,000. Doug calls.

Turn Analysis

This hand starts to get pretty cool after Ginge check-raises on this double paired board. According to Nick, this check-raise is amazing for several reasons:

Not only does Ginge unblock the drawing combos with A K, but he also blocks a lot of the suited J X combinations Doug could potentially have here (like A J and K J). 

AK of clubs also blocks A 7, so it’s pretty clear this is one of the best check-raise bluff hands for Ginge. A very sharp play.

Meanwhile, Doug should, again, be thinking back to what he thinks Ginge’s preflop range looks like. Slight shifts in the number of drawing combos Ginge can have to check-raise bluff with here should greatly impact Doug’s strategy going forward. 

Doug will still have no choice but to continue with the nut flush draw. But if Doug felt Ginge was especially tight, Nick notes that he might have been better off checking back the turn.

River: Q ($45,700)

Ginge checks. Doug goes all-in for $39,200 (effective). Ginge folds. 

River Analysis

This is a tough card for both players. Ginge may realize at this point that Doug’s range is really hurting for Jx combos (Doug now can’t have Q J).

With this in mind, Ginge could bet here and put Doug to the test, or check. Both options are pretty reasonable with AK of clubs.

After Ginge checks, Nick explains that Doug should be going through his range to try to determine his potential bluff and value combos. 

At first glance, Doug’s A T would seems like one of the worst possible bluffing candidates. This hand blocks a ton of missed draws and Ace-high hands that make up the bottom of Ginge’s overall range in this spot. And when bluffing, you generally don’t want to block the worst hands your opponent can have.

However, it’s important to note that Doug might not have that many other bluffing candidates given how aggressive of a line he’s taken in this hand. He’s not reaching this point in the hand with 9 8, for example, very often.

On top of that, Doug might be thinking that Ginge doesn’t have nearly enough Jx in his range to defend properly against a bet. This allows Doug to exploitatively over-bluff in this spot, which all goes back to Ginge’s (perhaps) tight 3-betting range.

Putting it all together, Nick thinks Doug is making a very clever play here: he’s shifting his bluffing frequencies and targeting folds from the stronger parts of Ginge’s range that Ginge is likely going to over-fold. 

Analyzing Doug’s River Bluff in a Solver

If we plug this hand into a solver, we will quickly notice that Doug’s combo selection here with A T is seemingly terrible. In fact, it’s the absolute worst combo to bluff with according to the solver.  

However, according to Nick, the solver, in this case, may not tell an accurate story of what is actually going on.

As we touched on throughout our analysis, every one of Doug’s decisions in this hand needed to take into account that Ginge isn’t playing ‘perfect GTO’ poker. 

Understanding this, Nick explains that all that we have to do is create a solver sim that takes out a slight fraction of Ginge’s weaker 3-bet holdings preflop, and we can see that Doug’s bluff goes from being ‘terrible’ to actually making money. 

The key detail is small here, but you can see that betting with ATs goes from losing over $6K to winning over $12K once the preflop 3-betting range is adjusted to be more realistic.

Final Thoughts

This hand helps illustrate that, when it comes to live cash games, the old adage of ‘playing the man, not the cards’ really is true. 

And this is what the Smash Live Cash course is all about – helping players develop strong fundamentals and then showing them how to adjust their strategy to live opponents. 

Doug’s play in this hand may not be in line with the solver, but Nick thinks it’s probably more profitable in practice. But what do you think? Let me know in the comments below or tweet @UpswingPoker.

Ready for part 2 of Nick’s article/video series? Check out: Doug Polk Does The Thing He Said To Never Do (Analysis)

Want to win the max in live poker games? Get the new Smash Live Cash course and watch your hourly win-rate soar. Learn more now!

The post Did Doug Polk Screw Up? Elite Poker Pro Nick Petrangelo Breaks It Down appeared first on Upswing Poker.