CC Grade 1

Question 1

What hand qualities and situation make it mandatory to bluff barrel the turn? (i.e. when is EV of checking a lot worse than EV of betting?)

Answer 1

-No Showdown Value
-Nut potential
-Out of Position

e.g. SB vs BB.
hero has 8h7h
AsJs5d SB b33, c.
6h SB ? MANDATORY BLUFF

Question 2

What are the two things that matter most when determining whether your hand must be value bet, can’t be value bet, or is optional to value bet,

Answer 2

Urgency
Landing equity- since equity drops lower as bet size gets bigger, we need to know how much landing equity we need for each bet size to be able to value bet for that size.

Question 3

What happens to your equity after a villain calls a bet? Aka, how does your landing equity on a given street compare to your finishing equity on that street.

Answer 3

It goes down since they shed bad hands from their range by folding.

Bigger sizings make villain shed more hands so equity drop is larger.

Question 4

What is minimum landing equity for value betting wet turn w/ 33% pot, 75%pot, or 150%pot?

Answer 4

B33- 55%
B75- 65%
B150- 75%

(10-15% less than value betting Dry Turn or River)

Question 5

What is minimum landing equity for value betting dry turn or river w/ 33% pot, 75%pot, or 150%pot?

Answer 5

B33- 65-70%
B75- 75-80%
B150- 85-90%

(10-15% more than value betting on Wet Turn)

Question 6

On turn do we need a lot of equity to value bet?

Answer 6

No, e.g. normally B33- 55% minimum
but don’t even need 50% especially if OOP

(equity denial and implied odds in play)

Question 7

On river do we need a lot of equity to value bet?

Answer 7

Yes, we need more since pure equity now! More strict since:
No equity denial
No more implied odds

Question 8

On wet turns (where hand is ahead more often than our equity suggests), can you value bet with higher or lower landing equity compared to dry turns or rivers (where hand is way ahead or way behind)?

Answer 8

On wet boards, you can value bet with lower landing equity.

Question 9

Do we need more or less equity to value bet IP compared to OOP?

Answer 9

IP needs a little more equity to value bet due to risk of re-opening the action
OOP needs less equity to value bet since checking doesn’t close action

Question 10

When must you value bet?

Answer 10

• When hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size
  AND
• Urgency is HIGH

e.g. BB vs BU (Ad2d)
flop: Jh4h2s X-B33-C
turn: 2c X-?
-landing equity is 94%
-board is way ahead/way behind spot except for flush draws, need to be more strict on how much equity we need to value bet
-Monster equity w/ MUST BET (chooses B150, B33 only close in EV bc solver raises a lot but people don’t
-Finishing equity is 91%

Question 11

When is it optional to value bet?

Answer 11

• Hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size
  AND
• Urgency is LOW

e.g. BB vs BU (KcTc)
flop: Ks7d6d X-B33-C
turn: 3d X-?
-landing equity of 67% is not enough for B75 on dry turn/river
-villain having lots of 20-30% equity hands (draws and pair+ draws) is misleadingly lowering our equity.
-Higher equity than seems hand qualifies for B75
-spot not urgent though so optional
-hand not seeking to build huge pot or win massive amount

Question 12

When is it forbidden to value bet? aka mandatory to check?

Answer 12

• Hand is not strong enough to pick a certain bet size
  OR
• You are not building a betting range using a sizing small enough to value bet your hand.

e.g. BB vs BU (KcTc)
flop: Ks7d6d X-B33-C
turn: 3d X-?
-betting w/ 77 turns equity from 56% to 47% after BB calls.
B33 is mistake of 1.3%, B75 is huge blunder of 10.7%!!!!!

Question 13

Is denying equity (aka protection) to live hands your opponent has to fold a sufficient reason for betting?

Answer 13

No, denying equity is a useful bonus but not sufficient reason for betting.
Denial comes in handy when fold equity you get by betting is largely useful to you.

You don’t “bet for protection”
You bet for value with a BONUS OF DENIAL.
You bluff with a BONUS OF DENIAL.
Denial can be a SWING FACTOR.

Denying equity to hands that are already losing only wins you a little against those hands.
When you risk that bet to make those hands fold, you lose extra to hands that beat you.
MAKE SURE BET HAS HIGHER PURPOSE (Value or Bluff)

e.g. BB vs BU (9h9s)
flop: 8h5c5s X-B33-C
turn: 2d X-B75
-9h9s bets due to landing equity but benefits from overcards folding too

e.g. BB vs BU (Kc6c)
flop: KhQc4s X-B33-C
turn: 5s X-X
-Kc6c does not rly deny equity in a useful way, flush draws you get value from since their equity is poor,
-hands you deny equity to are stuff like gutshots, pocket pairs

Question 14

What is draw obsession syndrome?

Answer 14

Obsessing over draws getting there and betting to “price someone out.”
Draws are supposed to call from villain a large amount w/ draws due to implied odds, etc., don’t have to bloat pot for when they do!

e.g. BB vs BU (AsAh)
flop: 8c7cs6s X-?
-Solver checks but EV bet and EV check very close
-Only have 53% equity vs. hand like QcTc, so urgency not high when villain has this hand. Better draws def not folding too

Question 15

How can denial be a swing factor?

Answer 15

Can turn a thin value hand which prefers to check in a dry (way ahead/ way behind situation) to a bet on a wetter texture (more villain hands are just draws & behind)

Question 16

Bluffing aims to do what?

Answer 16

Bluffing aims to get villain to frequently fold hands with very high equity against your hand.

Question 17

When we’re bluffing, which is more useful? Getting very useful fold equity or denial

Answer 17

Fold equity is much more useful than that gained by denial.

Unlike when value betting, downside is we lose when called.

Question 18

What are the four types of bets?

Answer 18

Value- 0-10% ish average equity folded by villain to your bet
Value/Denial- 10-35% ish
Bluffing/Denial- 35-65% ish
Bluffing- 65-100% ish

Question 19

What two key factors determine whether you:
a) cannot bluff
b) it’s optional to bluff
c) you must bluff

Answer 19

-Showdown Value (is EV of checking high or low?)
-World Favorability (EV of range. e.g. massively ahead, IP, nut advantage etc.) fold equity will go up

Question 20

Most common factor that makes bluffing a mistake?

Answer 20

When hand is performing too well by checking for betting to be as good, even if we fold out better hands.
Risk of bluffing should be rejected when checking is highly profitable.

Question 21

What is an unfavorable situation for bluffing?

Answer 21

When opponent has range advantage, fold equity is lower.

Only choose bluffs that have either :
-Some nutted redraw (on the turn)
-Positive blocker effects (on the river)

Especially bad to bluff when villain has range advantage and positional advantage, they will be slightly underfolding compared to the expected amount of fold equity.

Question 22

Are turn probe opportunities favorable? (should OOP bet after X-X on flop)

Answer 22

Turn probe opportunities are usually UNFAVORABLE for OOP and demand a selective bluffing strategy since preflop raiser retains an advantage when he checks behind on the flop.

Question 23

When is it optional to bluff?

Answer 23

-Not in unfavorable world
AND
-Do not have too much SDV to bluff

Question 24

Spots that are very often optional bluffs when you hold both air hands or draws are:

Answer 24

a) Cbetting the Turn (double barreling)

b) Delayed Cbetting (bluff more than double barrel, favorable world, optional since bet now, or wait til river)

c) Probing the Turn on a very low/connected board
(more favourable than most turn probe opportunities)
can wait til river to bluff

d) Betting the flop where your range is stronger than villain but not massively

e) Triple Barreling on the River

Question 25

When is it mandatory to bluff?

Answer 25

When you are in a FAVORABLE SITUATION for your range on the river and have NO SDV you MUST BLUFF

1) You retain your preflop range advantage all the way through the hand either because you haven’t bet yet or due to a very good runout.

2) You call a bet on an earlier street then Villain checks the turn giving you a range advantage

rarer spots:
3) cbetting flop w/ huge range advantage and no SDV
4) being OOP w/ promising draw that has zero SDV
5) double barrelling a very good turn card for your range again with no SDV but some sort of nut potential

most other juicy looking spots are optional- exploitative factors aside

Question 26

What factors influence relative hand strength?

Answer 26

Range Filtering
Texture
Configuration

Question 27

What are the two types of range filtering?

Answer 27

Polarizing- when a range contracts by removing some of its more middling hands by taking a more aggressive action than it could have

Condensing- when a range contracts by removing some of its strongest and weakest hands by taking a more passive action than it could have.

Question 28

Is it good or bad to bet for thin value against a polar range?

Answer 28

Bad to bet for thin value, polar range does not have many middling hands you beat that will call. Villain only hands that cannot call and hands that beat you!

If you’re ahead, your better hands can get value by villains weak hands bluffing!

Question 29

Do we use a small or large bet sizing against a condensed range?

Answer 29

Use large sizing since villain is capped. Even though bigger bets result in lower finishing equity, w/ a polarized range we have sufficient landing equity and won’t isolate ourselves against too strong of a continuing range.

Question 30

Do we slowplay against a condensed range?

Answer 30

Avoid slowplaying against condensed range, as they skew towards calling as form of investment and will check back more.

Question 31

What is a merged range?

Answer 31

Merged ranges have not been polarized either by player’s action or board texture.

A lot of MEDIUM HANDS at high concentration NATURALLY but also some strong & weak.

Question 32

What is the cannon rule? i.e. what ranges do you fire a large sizing at?

Answer 32

Fire large sizing for value and as bluff against merged or condensed ranges

Question 33

On dry textures, what will the BB caller’s range type be on:
a) dry low boards
b) dry high boards

What sizing does BU use as a result?

Answer 33

Merged on low boards e.g 863r (BB has mediocre pairs)

Polar on higher boards e.g. A73tt (BB either has it or doesn’t, no A-high compared to low boards, hard combinatorically to have a pocket pair)

LARGE SIZE ON DRY LOW FLOPS IP
SMALL SIZE ON DRY BIGGER FLOPS IP

Question 34

On semi-wet texture e.g. KJ5tt or 972tt what will BB caller’s range type be on:
a) low boards e.g. 972tt
b) high boards e.g. KJ5tt

What sizing does BU use as a result?

Answer 34

Villain is quite merged/ condensed on both high and low flop textures.

Creates a lot of medium strength hands in BB’s range, KJ5tt creates way more second pair and medium strength hands (flush draws and straight draws are actually mediocre)

Deploy LARGER BET with strong hands and various bluffs on SEMI-WET UNPAIRED TEXTURES

Question 35

On wet texture what will BB callers range type be? (merged, condensed, polar?)
e.g. on Q83sss

What size does BU use as a result?

Answer 35

BB will be polar

BU should prefer smaller bets

e.g. Q83sss exclusively small bets (even 10%pot sometimes). BB has 2 spades (high equity), 1 spade (high equity), or no spade (low equity e.g. J7cc can’t call 10%pot).

Question 36

In the following hand considering triple barrel after turn overbet, what is the value betting threshold aka what is the weakest hand that can be value bet on river?

e.g. BB vs BU
flop: AdTc3s X-B33-C
turn: 7h X-B150-C
river: 5h X-?
(clean run out)

Answer 36

AK is weakest value bet.
AQ does NOT value bet after overbet as it’s too weak against villain range.

BE AWARE OF HOW YOU FILTER VILLAINS RANGE
RELATIVE HAND STRENGTH IMPORTANT

Question 37

In the following hand considering triple barrel, what is the value betting threshold aka what is the weakest hand that can be bet on river?

e.g. BB vs BU
flop: AdTc3s X-B33-C
turn: Jc X-B150-C
river: 8c X-?
(messy run out)

Answer 37

KQss (straight) is weakest value bet.
Even AsAh (set) is checked.

RELATIVE HAND STRENGTH IMPORTANT

Question 38

When turn runout is messy or disastrous, what happens to urgency of good hands?

Answer 38

It goes down and lose urgency to double barrel.

Clean runouts mean villain still condensed, you must barrel.
e.g. BB vs BU
flop: AdTc3s X-B33-C
turn: 6h X-?

Disaster runouts mean villain is more polar now
e.g. BB vs BU
flop: AdTc3s X-B33-C
turn: Td X-?
-Even AK checks mostly mixing some bet. Villain concentrated towards Tx. Let them bluff the river and turn AK into a bluffcatcher.

Question 39

In tighter configurations is relative hand strength above or below absolute hand strength?

Answer 39

In TIGHTER configurations relative hand strength IS BELOW absolute hand strength?

e.g. UTG vs CO 3b or UTG vs BU 4b or UTG vs BB SRP

look at call/fold thresholds against B33 and see how tighter configurations encourage OOP to fold more since IP has less bluffs to bet naturally

Question 40

In looser configurations is relative hand strength above or below absolute hand strength?

Answer 40

In LOOSER configurations relative hand strength ABOVE absolute hand strength?

e.g. ranges get wider don’t need as good of a hand to have a relatively powerful holding since BB continues wider.

look at call/fold thresholds against B33 and see how looser configurations encourage OOP to fold less since IP has more bluffs to bet naturally

Question 41

What is the reason blockers are beneficial when bluffing?

Answer 41

Blocking continue range
aka
Unblocking folding range

Question 42

Calling hands in open action spots: which is more important required equity or required EV?

Answer 42

Required EV for calling (Required Pot Share) is more important. In open action spots Required Pot Share is amount of EV you need to breakeven by calling.

Required Pot Share can be calculated by asking what % of new pot (after you call) your investment is equal to. Just estimate

Question 43

What determines required pot share when calling a bet in open action spot?

Answer 43

-Equity is base

-Realizability of equity
-Future fold equity
-Implied Odds

Question 44

What three factors are always better in position and why?

Answer 44

1) realizability of equity

2) future fold equity

spots can be be higher EV as bluff on later street e.g. when IP calls flop bet and OOP checks turn. Gaining range advantage allows IP to leverage fold equity on later street

3) implied odds-

when calling bet IP, chance to value bet river increasing pot against OOP medium hands. When OOP, river can go check check
OOP is not guaranteed two value bets like IP is

Question 45

What is the “Don’t Have the Odds” Fallacy?

Answer 45

“Don’t have the odds” fallacy only looks at equity and compare that to our target pot share. Target equity is only same as target pot share in end of action spot.

e.g. BB (KdTd) vs BU
flop: 8s8d6c X-B33-C
turn: Jd X-75-?
-student would say we need 30% to call, then looking at K outs (3) and diamond outs (9) we have 12 outs –> 24% equity.
-This ignores the time that villain has air and sometimes KT is good.
-“We have close to pot share in equity, implied odds, and some chance of winning w/ K-high”

Question 46

What types of hands have low realizability of equity?

What types of hands have high realizability of equity?

Answer 46

-hands that rely on winning with marginal SDV and lack redraw to powerful hands struggle to realize due to folding

-hands which combine SDV with improvability and/or have nutted outs are going to have higher realizability by continuability

Question 47

How is BB vs SB different than BB vs BU on exact same flop in terms of pot share facing a 33%pot bet

Answer 47

BB folds more OOP, but when IP folds closer to breakeven point

Question 48

Why do flimsy hands like pair-draws, backdoor draws, and gutters call flop cbets?

Answer 48

Future fold equity. there is actually enough times that villain does not cbet turn, so don’t focus on just times they barrel.

e.g. BB (Ts9s) vs BU
flop: KhQc4d X-B33-C
turn: x X-X
river: x X-?
-RIVER IS PROFITABLE BLUFF FOR BB w/ range advantage from filtering, now fold equity should be above breakeven point for whatever sizing

-chance to make profitable river bluffs allows flimsy flop calls and lose money when villain barrels. don’t get too carried away though, still consider implied odds and equity

Question 49

Implied odds hands mostly gain us what amount of the pot when they hit?

Answer 49

Way more than 100% of the pot

e.g. BB (JhTd) vs BU
flop: KhQc4d X-B33-C
turn: 6s X-B75-
river: A or 9 are 212% or 179% respectively (villain bets more on ace)
When you have the nuts, the stronger your opponents range means the more EV you get (set BB vs UTG is higher EV than set BB vs BU)

Question 50

What two factors affect future fold equity in practice?

Answer 50

1) position
2) opponent type (station or non-station?)

Question 51

What are some examples of hands with good and bad realizability on board like 975rainbow

Answer 51

on 975r
Good) Pair+draw, even JTss
bad) underpairs, ATo, AQo, KQ,

Question 52

What is nut obsession fallacy?

Answer 52

Don’t just say range advantage and justify it by listing most nutted hands.
Low hands bring down equity of our range as much as high equity hands bring it up. More medium brings concentration to medium

Question 53

What is Total Amount Fallacy?

Answer 53

Obsessing over absolute number of good hands in a range instead of concentration of good hand combos.

It’s about HOW OFTEN not how much.

Question 54

What is the Range Advantage Therefore Bet Fallacy and
Range Disadvantage Therefore Check Fallacy?

Answer 54

On flop, somewhat true but on turn and river must be more polarized

On the flop, range advantage increases betting frequency and large range disadvantage lowers betting frequency OOP, but on turn and river we must polarize our ranges to some extent so don’t just bet middling hands on turn or river w/ huge range advantage.

e.g. BB vs CO (8d8s)
flop: JhTh4c X-X
turn: Qd X-B75 —> B75 IS A BLUNDER for 88! Don’t bet middling hand when you need to polarize range. DESPITE big range advantage, don’t make POLARIZATION ERROR
-don’t overinvest w/ hand too mediocre hand for value and too mediocre to bluff

e.g. BB vs CO (4h4s)
flop: JhTh4c X-B75
turn: Ts X-X —> CHECK IS A BLUNDER for 44! don’t be passive when urgency is high even despite range disadvantage (IP that is, OOP can checkraise)

Question 55

The Literal Nuts Fallacy, and Nutsaphobia, what are they?

Answer 55

Literal Nuts Fallacy-“But we have more 96s for the straight than he does”
Don’t hyperfocus on just 3 combos of 96%equity hands when you have 24 combos of 90% equity hands.

Nutsaphobia- “He could have a set.” Don’t be afraid to bet just because they have a nut advantage.

Question 56

What are the three factors regarding hands in either players range that are the source of range advantage in a situation like CO vs BB JhTh4c?

Answer 56

-UNIQUE high equity hands (e.g. KK), which is part of nut advantage.
-CO has higher % of top pair & second pair in his range. BB sometimes 3bets these combos so less for him in SRP.
-CO has less % of very low equity hands in range like 75dd or bad K-suited or Q-suited that are abundant for BB. This brings down equity of BB range.

Question 57

What are sources to recognize nut advantage in situation like UTG vs BB 9d3d2s after BB check>

Answer 57

UTG vs BB 9d3d2s after BB check

-even though BB can have 6 more combos of sets compared to UTG, BB has 202 combos so only 3% of nuts
-meanwhile, UTG has 224 combos and JJ-AA (24 combos) which is 11%. These hands have around 80% equity and are entitled to more than the pot in EV. SIZABLE NUT ADVANTAGE w/ less literal nuts

Question 58

What are three purposes of betting?

Answer 58

Value
Bluffing
Denial (cherry on top for either value or bluffing)

Question 59

How does range advantage influence flop betting frequency? How does bluffing, denial, and value influence this frequency?

Answer 59

Bet more and less polarized

Why?
1) Bluffing and Denial benefit from villain weaker range bc V needs to fold more frequently when he lacks the strength to continue the expected mathematical amount.
2) Value- have more value hands when V is weak, so our weaker absolute strength hands are stronger. can bet more thinly
3) Bluffing- Since fold equity is higher than normal when we have a range advantage our bluffs are more profitable so we want to make more of them.
4) Denial- villains range is relatively weak, a lot of combos will be air hands w/ some redraw. We benefit more now from bonus of denial since we run into live weak hands that fold frequently.

Question 60

What flop sizings will we adopt as our conventional sizings when we have a large nut advantage vs not having one?

Answer 60

with large nut advantage- B75
without large nut advantage- B33

“Do we have a LARGE nut advantage?” is the question we should ask.

Question 61

What bet size and how frequently will we bet in small nut advantage and small range advantage situations?

e.g. T85monotone

Answer 61

B33, infrequently! check 85%

Frequency controls sizing is a fallacy. Correlation not causation.

Question 62

What bet size and how frequently will we bet in small range advantage and big nut advantage situations?

e.g. BB vs BU
flop: 7h6h2c X-?

Answer 62

e.g. BB vs BU
flop: 7h6h2c X-?

BU has large nut advantage, so B75 as choice infrequently (38% freq)
BB has strong range due to texture and connecting w/ unique hands
Meanwhile, some of BU’s unique hands like two big cards have dropped significantly in equity on this texture.

Question 63

What bet size and how frequently will we bet in big range advantage and small nut advantage situations?

e.g. BB vs HJ (66% equity)
flop: AsQdQc X-?

Answer 63

e.g. BB vs HJ (66% equity)
flop: AsQdQc X-?

-High frequency, small sizing
-both players have similar concentration of Qx
-Where does HJ range advantage come from?
Less trash/low cards
more decent hands like AK/ AJ/ KK

Question 64

What bet size and how frequently will we bet in big range advantage and big nut advantage situations?

e.g. BB vs UTG (59% equity)
flop: J22r X-?

Answer 64

e.g. BB vs UTG (59% equity)
flop: J22r X-?

-Betting 100% of time w/ B75 76% of time and B33 24%, CAN SIMPLIFY to 100% B75
-hugely in UTG favor w/ best Jacks and Overpairs on hard to hit board. BB has more trips but scarce enough to barely matter
-if JJ2r instead, BB and UTG would have similar conc of jacks so B33

Question 65

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet on the following board vs BB?

KQQr

Answer 65

KQQr

small size high freq, both have similar conc of Q

Question 66

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet on the following board vs bb?

Tc5d4c

Answer 66

B75 mid freq
large nut advantage meh range advantage

Question 67

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet vs BB on the following board vs bb?

As7d4c

Answer 67

B33 mid freq
-overpairs not good w/ A
-Ax similar concentration

Question 68

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet on the following board vs bb?

Qh9h9s

Answer 68

B33 for mediocre freq
-9 is prevalent in both ranges, so no huge nut advantage but still range advantage. Gotta be careful because BB will be somewhat polarized here

Question 69

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet on the following board vs bb?

J72ccc

Answer 69

b33, low freq 35-40%
-nut advantage neutralized, villain is polarized

Question 70

What frequency (low, mid, hi) and what size (B33/B75) does CO cbet on the following board vs bb?

654r

Answer 70

b33, low freq
-BB has nut and range advantage, they will put in money

Question 71

TURN BARRELING: How do range equity and nut prevalance change from preflop to turn in a turn barrel opportunity?

Does barreler reach turn barrel opportunity with a large nut advantage?
Do barreler arrive at turn barrel opportunity with a range advantage?

e.g. BU vs BB
Flop Js6d3d X-B33
Turn 8c

is 8 good for BU?

Answer 71

e.g. BU vs BB
Flop Js6d3d X-B33
Turn 8c

Preflop: BU equity starts out high, BB condenses range by calling(not 3betting)
Flop Js6d3d: Board is better relatively to others for BB, J not good for BB but two-tone helps BB catch up as well as 6 and 3 being low.]
-nut prevalance goes down on flop for BB, goes up for BU
-equity drops for BU, goes up for BB

B33 by BU polarizes his range by betting & equity nudges up, BB caps range by calling but equity gets higher than BU due to shedding weak hands and keeping medium strength hands.
-nut prevalence for BU goes up, goes down for BB

Turn) 8 is good for BU, no flush runout or low straight completer or pairing low card (would polarize BB). BU can stay polarized.

LARGE NUT ADVANTAGE BUT RANGE DISADVANTAGE FOR BU
Bet 40-60% of time w/ B75

Question 72

Is there a need to split cbet sizes in position before the river?

Answer 72

No, minimal EV loss if larger just changes to large, or smaller changes to small, but large changing to small or vice versa is bad.

(OOP can use 2 size though, but strong pros still use one size preriver all nodes)

Question 73

What is benefit of B150 vs B75 as turn barrel size? CHOOSE ONE THOUGH

Answer 73

B150
-More principled choice for a blank turn
-Less familiar to opponents
-Makes you look like an end boss

B75
-More familiar
-Limits amount of new things to learn
-Consistent with delayed c-bet sizing

Question 74

Is following runout favorable, neutral, or unfavorable for the cbettor?

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: 5h2h2c X-B33-C
turn: Qd X-?

Answer 74

FAVORABLE
-Q is great bc Q hits everything BB folded (lot of Qx).
-BU should bet

Question 75

Is following runout favorable, neutral, or unfavorable for the cbettor?

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: Kh9h8s B33-C
turn: 8h ?

Answer 75

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: Kh9h8s B33-C
turn: 8h ?

UNFAVORABLE
-Paired middle or bottom card (disaster for cbettor)
-flush runout (disaster for BU)
-build a stronger checking range on bad runout for cbettor OOP, can always check/raise check/call

Question 76

Is following runout favorable, neutral, or unfavorable for the cbettor?

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: 8d7d3s X-B33-C
turn: 5c X-?

Answer 76

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: 8d7d3s X-B33-C
turn: 5c X-?

NEUTRAL
Turn world is on average favorable for IP due to nut advantage, but below average turn card evens it out

Question 77

Is following runout favorable, neutral, or unfavorable for the cbettor? What type of hands should we bluff

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: Js6d3d X-B33-C
turn: Kc X-?

what do KQ, JT, 99, QT, Trash (T7ss, As5d) do?

Answer 77

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: Js6d3d X-B33-C
turn: Kc X-?

FAVORABLE, frequency goes up to 70% often w/ B75
-BB must fold 43% (overfold compared to alpha) so fold equity for all bluffs is high.
-KQ must value bet, JThh can value bet, 99 must check, Draws bluff very often, trash bluffs often)

Question 78

Are we aggressive in neutral world?

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: Js6d3d X-B33-C
turn: 4s X-?

what do QhQc, AsJc, QhJh, Qs8s, Kd8s, 9h7h

Answer 78

No we show restraint. BU has range disadvantage but will survive in EV due to large nut advantage and benefits of position. Average turn frequenciess 45-50%, in neutral worlds this goes down to 35% B75.

e.g. BU vs BB
flop: Js6d3d X-B33-C
turn: 4s X-?

QhQc must value bet, AsJc can value bet, QhJh must check, Q8 draws bluff a little more often than range, Kd8s Semi-trash can bet esp when block both flush draw, 9h7h trash (don’t bluff while blocking folding range)

Question 79

Are we picky in unfavorable worlds?

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: Ac6h3c B33-C
turn: 6c ?

what do AsQs, AhTh, JsTc, Th8h do?

Answer 79

YES
-check at high frequency and protect checking range in unfavorable world
-value bet very strong hands
-strict with bluff requirements

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: Ac6h3c B33-C
turn: 6c ?
-nightmare turn for SB, SB EV is 48%, SB bets only 20% of time for B75
-after SB bets, they polarize since only 20% means shedding bad hands

don’t have to value bet anything here! can value bet AsQs, must check AhTh, JsTc draws bluff sometimes, Th8h (trash) never bet.

Question 80

Ace turn fallacy

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 772r B33-C
turn: what are best cards for SB?

Answer 80

-A is not always beneficial to flop c-bettor,
(such as in very wide range encounters where PFC will call small cbet w/ a lot of Ax combos)

-T J Q K turn is more favorable for cbettor than A in general since those were folded more to cbet, but not A-high (sizing and board dependent)

-A turn can kill overpair advantage and BB catches up.

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: Ac6h3c B33-C
turn: 6c ?
-turns: Q is great, 7 is greatest at 66% compared to A at 55% since trips on the board gives advantage to overpairs.
-A kills overpair advantage!

Question 81

As flop cbettor, do you trap more IP or OOP?

Answer 81

Trap more OOP

• IP flop cbettor, turn checking range should be capped but bolstered by some high equity non-nutted hands (call these Tier 2 hands)
• OOP flop cbettor, turn checking range should be uncapped and even check some nutted hands (compare bet to checkraise!!)

Question 82

What are our standard 5 categories of unmade hand barrels (give examples of each)?

What’s the worst world that each category can be bet in?
a) amazing world
b) favorable world
c) neutral world
d) unfavorable world
e) awful world

Answer 82

a) UTTER TRASH (0 overcards) in Amazing worlds
b) SEMI-TRASH (1 overcard) in Favorable worlds
c) MARGINAL DRAW (bad gutters, 2 overcards, 1 over flush draw blocker) in Neutral worlds
d) -DECENT DRAW (Good Gutter, 2 overcards) in Unfavorable worlds
e) PREMIUM DRAW (OESD, flush draw) in Awful worlds

UNMADE BARRELABILITY IS LINEAR W/ UNMADE HAND CATEGORY STRENGTH

Question 83

A float bet flop opportunity is?

Answer 83

-The opportunity to make a bet after the OOP preflop aggressor checks the flop.

SB vs BB SRP
flop: xxx X-?

by float betting, you polarize range when you can check behind

Question 84

Rank the following hands as float bet candidates in the following situation:

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c x-?

66-
Ad7d-
Jd7d-
As9c-
Qs4s-
AdJh-
QcTh-
Jd6d -

Answer 84

Bet hands that are polarized in nature- So high equity bet more, check medium more, and nut potential unmade hands more

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c x-?

true answer:
Jd7d- 100% bet- VALUE
Qs4s- 100% bet- BDFD/BDSD no SDV, NUT POTENTIAL
66- 65% bet- value not high investment ceiling, but optional to slowplay! denial here is not driving factor as checking is still high EV
QcTh- 65% bet- blocks 2 BDFD but is air w/ pair draw, NO SDV mandatory
Ad7d-55% bet- VALUE but A blocks villain’s continues (SB has a lot of Ax) and
AdJh- 55% bet- surprising but we’re in a wide range battle and is actually good enough pair draw that will destroy villain range when we hit. also some SDV. wider the range, easier to turn pair draw into bet
Jd6d - 45% bet- no BDFD optional bluff
As9c- 15% bet- some implied odds for a 9 turn, but A more dominated.
no pure checks, need a true middling hand

my try:
Ad7d- VALUE but blocks continues
Jd7d- VALUE
Qs4s- BDFD/BDSD no SDV
QcTh- blocks 2 BDFD but is air w/ pair draw, NO SDV mandatory
Jd6d - blocks 76s combos, doesn’t block BDFD, no SDV
As9c- blocks 2 BDFD w/ crummy A-high SDV
AdJh- doesn’t block much of continue range and is pair draw. mediocre but good A-high SDV
66- blocks 76s, but is too valuable for polarization

Question 85

What is the Linearization Pitfall for float betting?

Answer 85

The Linearization Pitfall for float betting is when you bet hands from top down (make a linear range) and shy away from low EV bluffs which are a staple of a betting range in all spots which are not HORRIBLE for range
-gotta bluff
-don’t skew to value so much

DON’T JUST CHECK DOWN IN WIDE SPOTS WHERE NO ONE HAS ANYTHING LIKE LIVE DOES

Question 86

What is Drawmania Pitfall for float betting?

Answer 86

Don’t auto bet every draw since most will be indifferent between bet and check. CHECK HAS BENEFITS TOO

Question 87

What is the Protection Obsession Pitfall for float betting?

Answer 87

Focusing too heavily on the branches in the tree where we get outdrawn and failing to protect checking range as a result.

Checking behind ranges in float bet opportunities are some of the most unprotected in the whole game tree so good players will expect this leak. NOT OK AS BASELINE STRATEGY

Question 88

What happens to nut advantage and range advantage for SB vs BB when SB declines to cbet the flop?

Answer 88

SB retains some range advangtage but nut advantage might decrease somewhat.

Question 89

How close do equities of various hands run on flop compared to later streets?

Answer 89

The “young” equites run quite close together, meaning when one is ahead they unlikely to be as far ahead as they would be with older equities on turn or river.

Question 90

How close do equities of various hands run on on low flops in regard to float betting?

Answer 90

On low flops equities run very close together because the player who is behind almost always has significant redraw.

On low flops (YOUNG EQUITY AND LOW) float betting you can MIX BAG IT for VALUE, BLUFF, DENIAL.
There is a large boost of denial to get and this pushes thinner value bets and flimsy bluffs over the line of being optional

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c x-?
-when we B75 (gotta polarize) w/ K5dd we get called by worse like QJhh & fold out better like K9dd & fold out live stuff like Q8ss.

ANY LOW BOARD, SB vs BB a lot of mixed bag betting

Question 91

What is the mixed bag betting?

Does this happen more on low boards for float betting?

Answer 91

MIXED BAG means you can bet for VALUE, BLUFF, DENIAL

ANY LOW BOARD, SB vs BB a lot of mixed bag betting VALUE, BLUFF, DENIAL

On low flops (YOUNG EQUITY AND LOW) you can MIX BAG IT for VALUE, BLUFF, DENIAL
e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c x-?
-when we B75 (gotta polarize) w/ K5dd we get called by worse like QJhh & fold out better like K9dd & fold out live stuff like Q8ss.
-Hand like AhTs can bet for Value/Denial (Get value from worse and get worse hands to fold)
-Hand like Q6hh can bet for Bluff/Denial (get better hands to fold and worse hands to fold)

Question 92

How close do equities of various hands run on on higher flops? Especially in regard to float betting?

Answer 92

Equities run further apart.
If ahead, you’re very far ahead or opponent has too much equity to fold anyway (flush draws etc.).
On these high flops, simplify again to strat of infrequent big bets since we have NA but not RA after OOP checks.

e.g. AhQd6h SB vs BB X-?
infrequent big bets, Q7ss would be a check (not enough purpose to bet)
K8ss is a check too (not enough purpose for betting)

Question 93

In mixed bag situation like lower flop float betting on 773 flop, do we play polarized or semi-polarized?

Answer 93

We play semi-polarized. We bet more polarized hands at higher frequency but still bet many depolarized hands since denial is prominent here.

Solver chooses to B75 54%, B33 0%, and check 46% (semi-polarized)

Question 94

In higher flop e.g. AhQd6h, float bet situation SB vs BB, do we employ a polarized or semi-polarized strategy?

Answer 94

Play a fully polarized strategy.

texture is less favorable for BB so bet less.
There is less denial to gain by beting.
Nut advantage is a little smaller so solver is torn w/ small amount of b33 (3%). simplify to B75 as it fits framework more clearly

Question 95

e.g. AhQd6h SB vs BB X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then how does 8s6s for BB fit into that strategy?

Answer 95

fully polarized since range and nut disadvantage.
86 is mediocre hand that is not low enough equity to bluff, so fits right into checking range

Question 96

e.g. SB vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c x-?

What is strategy (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) first then how does Jd8d for BB fit into that strategy?

Answer 96

Semi-polarized, J8dd is mediocre but good enough to bet in this favorable world.
Fold equity you garner on lower boards is much more useful so it fits as a bet

Question 97

e.g. AhQd6h SB vs BB X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then how does AcJs for BB fit into that strategy?

Answer 97

Polarized, hand does not seem good enough to fit into a fully polarized strategy on first sight but also seems good enough for value and that’s because it’s OPTIONAL

Question 98

e.g. SB vs BU 3bet pot
flop 8h5h5d X-?

What does range vs range picture look like?

what do 7s7c and AsQd do?

Answer 98

Semi-polarized (more merged). Our range is denser in pocket pairs and less dense in unpaired holdings so we wield small range advantage here. allows us to bet quite often and quite merged. SB has large nut advantage from overpairs that they can check so it keeps BU sizing small.

My first try: SB has nut advantage but range advantages are similar. Neutral world, even favorable for BU. BU will want to bet semi-polarized

MIXED BAG SPOT
-villain has a lot of high cards so denial is again a significant boost that lets medium equity hands bet 7s7c included, and AsQd is in value/denial kinda world that can still check (mixed bag)

Question 99

e.g. SB vs BU 3bet pot
flop QsJs6c X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then betsize?

Answer 99

Polarized. SB is in slightly favorable world, and denial is not a benefit on this board, so BB should not bet mediocre hands into it. Hands like 99 or TT are too thin for value and do not gain much from denial since villain only folds hands that are very dead anyway like Ah4h.

-build very high equity value range which allows us to use only large bets
-do a lot of checking behind otherwise
-B60 more preferred
-CLEAR VALUE AND CLEAR BLUFFS
-AdQd bet
-Ad5d bluff

Question 100

e.g. SB vs BU (Ah8h)
flop As5c3c X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then betsize?
Pure check? Pure bet? Mix?

Answer 100

favorable, in polarized strategy with big bets. value threshold at good top pair+ so this is good enough to put as a mix.

Question 101

e.g. SB vs BU (Ah5h) 3bet pot
flop 9d5c2d X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then betsize?
Pure check? Pure bet? Mix?

Answer 101

semi-polarized, mergy, can bet at higher frequency w/ benefit of denial purposes with mixed bag. B33 pure
(lower the pair, higher the denial factor)

Question 102

e.g. SB vs BU (KdQd) 3bet pot
flop KsJh7s X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then betsize &
Pure check? Pure bet? Mix?

Answer 102

polarized spot. no benefit of denial, board better for SB. when you bet you want to bet large sizing. probably checks most of time since mediocre pair.

K high, J high, T high, flops the most cbet n SB vs BU 3bet pots since SB has so many more of those cards in their 3bet range than BU has in calling range.
SB has a lot of offsuit broadways 3bet so those boards are great for them.

Question 103

e.g. SB vs BU (Jc8c)
flop Ts7s6s X-?

What is strategy first (polarized, semipolarized, linear?) then betsize?
Pure check? Pure bet? Mix?

Answer 103

Very neutral world. Semi-polarized as a result. Should bet w/ benefit of denial as is mixed bag area.

Question 104

SB vs BU 3bet pot
What boards are especially favorable for SB and disadvantageous to BU as a result?

Answer 104

K high, J high, T high, flops the most in 3bet pots since SB has so many more of those cards in their 3bet range than BU has in calling range.
SB has a lot of offsuit broadways 3bet so those boards are great for them.

Question 105

What three factors does textural awareness take into account?

Answer 105

-range/nut advantage
-RELATIVE Hand Strength
-polarization

-State of range advantage and nut advantage
-Equity mapping: whether absolute hands strengths are stronger or weaker than usual or of average relative hand strength.
-Polarization- how polarized each range is and what it means for our strategy

Question 106

What three broad categories serve as milestones along the spectrum of board texture?

Let’s focus for now on wide ranges where less betting and calling have occurred.

Answer 106

Water Analogy:

Still Lake- extremely difficult board to connect with like 6d6h2c9c4s . unnaturally innocuous. Drastically promote the strength of absolute hand rankings and don’t interact with much of either players range. things stand out and are clear and more impactful, pair is incredibly strong. EASY TO HIT, HANDS BETTER THAN NORMAL

Choppy Sea- textures are average. e.g. Ts7s2cQd6h. Relative hand strength can be estimated w/ board offering medium amount of range interaction. other stuff is going on so decent pair isn’t great and isn’t clearly great. MEDIUM EASY TO HIT, HANDS ARE SAME

Tsunami- board invalidates pair or even two pair. e.g. Td9d6s8cJc. Turns value bets into check and checks into possible bluffs. HARDEST TO HIT, HANDS ARE WORSE THAN NORMAL

AK in above still lake board is a mix (quite strong)
AK in above choppy sea board is likely a check (moderate)
AK in above tsunami turns value bets into check and checks into possible bluffs (could be a bluff)

Question 107

What is Snap-Identification trap with regards to runout textures?

Answer 107

Don’t assume everything is choppy sea texture because they are most common (those with medium level of connectivity).

Mind makes hand strength identifications very quickly, so make sure to actually take time to assess whether hand is better or worse than average based on THE ACTION SEQUENCE and THE TEXTURE

Smaller pots w/ wider and unfiltered weak ranges will have second pair and ace high generally on the stronger side, so even though absolute strength might seem weak at first glance many hands are better than they look.

Question 108

What type of runout (still lake, choppy sea, tsunami) is the following texture? And is hero’s hand strong enough to value bet, a mediocre check, or weak enough to bluff.

SB (TdTh) vs BB
flop: 7h7s3c X-X
turn: 4c X-X
river: Kc ?

Answer 108

average not quite still lake more choppy. since a lot of checking and hard to hit. pair of T is still strong enough to value bet

Question 109

What type of runout (still lake, choppy sea, tsunami) is the following texture? And is hero’s hand strong enough to value bet, a mediocre check, or weak enough to bluff.

BB (6c6s) vs UTG
flop: AcKcJs X-X
turn: 9d X-X
river: 8h X-?

Answer 109

TSUNAMI board, don’t be fooled to thinking 66 is good enough to check here.

66 is bad enough on this board to BLUFF

Question 110

What type of runout (still lake, choppy sea, tsunami) is the following texture? And is hero’s hand strong enough to value bet, a mediocre check, or weak enough to bluff.

SB (Qd7d) vs BB
flop: AhAs3c X-X
turn: 8s X-X
river: 8h X-?

Answer 110

Still lake given action, still enough to value bet Q7 here since it’s actually the middle of your range. don’t be fooled into thinking Q-high is weak enough to bluff

Question 111

Range Geography- Four Reference points
What are the four important thresholds within ranges?

Answer 111

Bottom up Threshold 1: Point where hand becomes good enough that it’s too strong to bluff
Bottom up Threshold 2: Point where hand becomes good enough that it can value bet
Top down Threshold 3: Point where hand becomes too weak to value bet– must check
Top down Threshold 4: Point where hand becomes weak enough that it may bluff.

Question 112

SB vs BB
flop: 8c2h2d B33-C
turn: 3s X-X
river: 7d ?

Where does a hand become good enough that it’s too strong to bluff?
Where does hand become good enough that it can value bet?
Where does hand becomes too weak to value bet– must check
Where does hand becomes weak enough that it may bluff.

Answer 112

still lake

bottom up:
threshold 1: Kd5d too strong to bluff
threshold 2: decent ace-high good enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: Ad9d too weak to value bet
threshold 4: Kc4c weak enough to bluff

Question 113

SB vs BB
flop: Qs9s5h X-X
turn: 6d X-X
river: 4h ?

Where does a hand become good enough that it’s too strong to bluff?
Where does hand become good enough that it can value bet?
Where does hand becomes too weak to value bet– must check
Where does hand becomes weak enough that it may bluff.

Answer 113

choppy sea

real answer:
bottom up:
threshold 1: A7dd (alright A-high) too strong to bluff
threshold 2: 76ss (3rd pair) good enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: A5 (4th pair) too weak to value bet
threshold 4: Ah3d (bad A-high) weak enough to bluff

my first try:
bottom up:
threshold 1: K4 too strong to bluff
threshold 2: T9 (second pair) good enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: 98 (second pair) too weak to value bet
threshold 4: 22 weak enough to bluff

Question 114

SB vs BB
flop: Th9h6h X-B33
turn: Qc X-X
river: Ah ?

Where does a hand become good enough that it’s too strong to bluff?
Where does hand become good enough that it can value bet?
Where does hand becomes too weak to value bet– must check
Where does hand becomes weak enough that it may bluff.

Answer 114

Tsunami texture: (almost like 3 cards above 9 is normally tsuanmi-ish most of time)

4 flush rivers favor SB due to so many strong offsuit broadway combos!

real answer:
bottom up:
threshold 1: T7ss (3rd pair) too strong to bluff
threshold 2: 96ss strong enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: As8h (top pair weak kicker) too weak to value bet
threshold 4: K9dd (4th pair) weak enough to bluff

my first try: (answer was waay too nitty overestimating tsunami-ness)
bottom up:
threshold 1: A6 (two pair) too strong to bluff
threshold 2: 78hh (flush) strong enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: 54hh (low flush) too weak to value bet
threshold 4: AK (top pair) weak enough to bluff

Question 115

Raising the river has a higher threshold as we are already facing a polarized range.

What two types of hands do we not want to value bet thinly against broadly speaking?

Answer 115

Hands that will fold anyway (Very low equity hands)
Hands that are likely to beat our value (Very high equity hands)

polarized hands have more concentration of each so don’t go thin agains them

Question 116

SB vs BB
flop: 8c2h2d X-X
turn: Qd X-X
river: Jd B33-?

Where does a hand become good enough that it’s too strong to bluff?
Where does hand become good enough that it can value bet?
Where does hand becomes too weak to value bet– must check
Where does hand becomes weak enough that it may bluff.

Answer 116

EXTRA POLARIZE since raising and thesholds higher up as a result.
choppy sea texture.

real answer:
bottom up:
threshold 1: 3s3d (lowest pair) too strong to bluff
threshold 2: KJ (2nd pair) strong enough to value bet
top down:
threshold 3: JsTh (2nd pair meh kicker) too weak to value bet
threshold 4: AhTd (A-high good kicker) weak enough to bluff

in raise river opportunites, most hands that raise are also calling, derive raises from calling range and not folding range when we face aggression because we repolarize. we want to interfere with villains calling range to allow both call and raise to be good for us. LOOK FOR BLOCKERS FOR BLUFFS.

my first try:
bottom up:
threshold 1: AJ too much SDV to bluff
threshold 2: AQ thinnest value raise
top down:
threshold 3: JT too weak to value raise
threshold 4: AK highest SDV bluff

Question 117

SB vs BB
flop: KcKh9d X-B33-C
turn: 5d X-X
river: Tc ?

Identify a hand for each of the following categories:
-Slightly Too Much SDV to bluff
-Thinnest Value Bet

Answer 117

real answer:
-slightly too much sdv to bluff 2s2h (underpair)
-thinnest value bet 96ss (3rd pair)

My first try:
- slightly too much sdv to bluff 54s (4th pair)
-thinnest value bet T9 (3rd pair)

Question 118

SB vs BB
flop: Js8s3c X-B33-C
turn: Qc X-X
river: 3h ?

Identify a hand for each of the following categories:
-Slightly Too Much SDV to bluff
-Thinnest Value Bet

Answer 118

real answer:
-slightly too much sdv to bluff A7!! (got it right)
-thinnest value bet J6hh (2nd pair)

-slight too much sdv to bluff is A7 (A-high)
-thinnest value bet is 55 (middle pair)

Question 119

How important are blockers to the swings of a hand?

Answer 119

Not very, they are at most 5% swings.

DON’T MAKE DECISION PRIMARILY ON BLOCKERS
-don’t skip considering more important factores like being in a favorable world and having tons of fold equity, then decline bluff bc blockers said so. that’s backwards

BLOCKER LIMITATION RULE

Question 120

Name 5 blocker effects (situations where blockers play a part)

Answer 120

Effect 1- Turn Flush Draw Removal as the Aggressor
Effect 2- Giving Up Relevant Busted Flush Draws
Effect 3- Raising Flop, BDFDs and Dead Suits
Effect 4- Flush Blockers when Bluffing Three Flush Rivers
Effect 5- Blocking the Value Range when Bluff-Raising the River

Question 121

How do blockers play a role in the following situation. Effect 1- Turn Flush Draw Removal as the Aggressor

Answer 121

Blocking is all about removing hands in opponents range that make a candidate play by you more likely to achieve its optimal result.

What is optimal result of double barrelling the turn as a bluff? Villain folds. So strive to block hands that would continue against our bluff! even if these hands my not be greatest in terms of equity (don’t just block nuts, block every continue!)

Flush draw is very common continue so try to block it when bluffing!

Question 122

e.g. BB vs BU
9s3d2c X-B75
6c X-?

Considering blocker effect 1- Turn Flush Draw Removal as the Aggressor, how do each of the following hands play on the turn?
a) QcTh
b) QdTs
c) AcJh

Answer 122

a) QcTh- BLUFFS A LOT
b) QdTs- CAN BLUFF SMALL AMOUNT MOSTLY CHECK
c) AcJh- CHECK, even though Ac, you have a lot of showdown!

CRAVE CLUBS, not other way around

BB vs BU
9s3d2c X-B75
6d X-?

Question 123

Considering blocker effect 2- Giving Up Relevant Busted Flush Draws, is it better or worse to block flush draws before they miss when bluffing? Is it better or worse to block flush draws after they miss?

Remember, blockers are only small detail, other factors more important first

e.g. BB vs HJ
Js7s7d X-B33-C
4c X-B75-C
6h X-?

a) QsTs or Ts9s do what on turn but what on river

Answer 123

Blocking flush draws before they miss is a good thing for bluffing.

After these hands have bricked on the river they give up since flush draws are no longer +EV to bluff with e.g. QsTs or Ts9s give up. So on river, blocking their missed flush draws that will give up is bad for bluffing. You want to unblock their folding range and block their calling range!

Note this is neutral world where it is not mandatory to bluff all of our air, and therefore bluffing our worst blocker air will be -EV. Unblocking flush draws air can happily be your bluffs! KdQd can bluff happily as it unblocks folding range.

BUT DON’T LET BLOCKERS PREVENT YOU FROM BLUFFING AIR WHEN RANGE IS FAR STRONGER THAN OPPONENTS (usually in spots where they polarize then checked where we have condensed), regardless of how negative your blockers are.

Also, consider whether opponent is station or a nit first of course! Do they fold more or less? Blockers can be overrun by this fact.

Question 124

In following hand, river probe situation for BB is a highly favorable world.

e.g. BB vs HJ
Js7s7d X-B33-C
4c X-X
6h ?

In this highly favorable world situation, do you bluff air with the worst blockers that block their folding range? e.g. Ks8s or As3s

Answer 124

Mistake to check air even with bad blockers here in a highly favorable world situation. must bet even Ks8s and As3s

There is a huge range inequality after Cbettor IP (HJ) has declined to bet again. HJ polarized, then checked after BB condensed, so there is a huge range inequiality and extra fold equity that comes with BB’s much stronger range.

Ks8s and As3s actually aren’t so bad of blockers anyhow in a river probe situation. IP motivated to bluff more with 1 or 2 spades but checked so less likely. blockers are dependent on action sequence.

Question 125

When bluff raising a flop cbet, how does blocker Effect 3- Raising Flop, BDFDs, and Dead Suits come into play?

Answer 125

When bluff-raising a flop c-bet, goal is to reduce the amount of time your opponent continues. Smaller branch is when bluff hits the nuts and gets paid.
1) On a Rainbow Board you can reduce continues by blocking the backdoor flush draws and Unblocking the dead suit.
2) On a two-tone (draw) board you can do this with suited cards which block backdoor flush draw; offsuit cards that block front door flush draw. Here you prefer to unblock the two dead suit

Question 126

When thinly value-raising a flop cbet, e.g. w/ top pair how does blocker Effect 3- Raising Flop, BDFDs, and Dead Suits come into play?

Answer 126

When thinly value raising a flop (e.g. top pair), you want villain to have backdoor draw he can call your raise with so we prefer to block the dead suits when not bluffing. Don’t expect same for full flush draws.

e.g. BB vs BU flop: X-B33-R4x
Qs2s2c QJhh thinly value raises, QhJc doesn’t

Question 127

What is blocker Effect 4- Flush Blockers on the Flush River?

Answer 127

Now when river flush hits, any hand that contains a flush making card becomes a far better bluff and even a better thin value bet.

e.g. BB vs HJ
AhAc3h X-B33C
2s X-B75-C
8h X-?

Flush blockers increase EV of bluffing
KhJd bets pure, KdJS checks

Flush blockers increase EV of thin value bets
AdJh bets pure, AsJd

Question 128

What is blocket Effect 5- Block the Value Range when Bluff Raising the river? (STRICT RULE)

Answer 128

When you bluff-raise the river, it is not good enough to get villains bluffs to fold (if this was the goal w/ a hand that beat bluffs with you’d just call SDV and fold non-SDV, since investment is not worth it). Normally don’t raise air just to beat villains air, unless you block their value range.

e.g. oftentimes you can only raise river if you block a pair or sets (like low pairs blocking sets)

There when you raise the river vs a very polarized range, you are always incentivized to use blockers to Villain’s value range and this very often means raising pairs but always means thinking about what Villain’s value range is and how to block it.

e.g. BB vs HJ
AsQd3c X-B33-C
Qs X-B75
5h X-B75-R4x
low % of time strong enough to raise, so bluffs must be chosen carefully which means consider blockers.
-Ah3h can raise not a value raise, basically 95% check but could raise so optional bluff since blocks A, pocket 3 etc.
-Ks3s, bluffs 50% cuz blocks KQ, blocks set of 3s
-KJdd blocks KQ, QJ

Bluff raising river vs a polar range is very different to normal bluffing spots because having good blockers actually trumps having low SDV.