I take the easy way out...

Hello all! I started my new job Monday and have been a bit busy, so sorry for the lack of the mid week post I promised. To make up for it I am going to take the easy way out for this entry!

Earlier this week CR member peterpjames made the following post on CR's low limit board:

"While in my first month of 25NL play I've done well so far, I have two big weaknesses at the moment that I think need fixing to help me win at higher levels. I think a lot of players go through these issues so I was hoping for some input.

The first is being able to fold hands I should be able to fold. I go back later and say "why couldn't I fold AA on an 8-5-2 board when I got reraised? What else could he be doing that with there except a set, especially when he limp/called a raise preflop?" I tell myself that over and over and yet I get in situations where I'm paying off sets and two pair with TPTK or an overpair. I see this at the highest levels, so I'm not sure there's one easy solution, but any thoughts would help. I try to slow down and think hands through, but this is a spot where I'm obviously losing more money than I need to.

The second is hand awareness. While I think I'm paying people off too much, I think I'm not getting enough value on my bigger hands either. When I make a bet and get called, my mind starts working through all the possible ways I could be losing the hand. I don't think I get enough value for some of my winning hands because I just end up checking the turn and/or river. When looking at my PT stats you can see I'm very aggressive on the flop and then that aggression just drops off after that, especially on the river.

Any suggestions here? I know these are broad problems without easy quick fixes, but any input or advice would be appreciated!"


I have read several of peter's posts and tried to help where I could. In this case I put quite a bit of time and thought into my reply. I have reread it about five times because I (get ready to hear me pat myself on the back) really think it is some good stuff. So for your viewing pleasure I cut and pasted the reply. Enjoy!


"Honestly? In the example listed, if at $25nl, I am pretty much going to pay a set off EVERY time. Players make the same play with KK, QQ, JJ and even AK, AQ and TT. If you are concerned about a set or two pair, try controlling the pot by checking behind on the turn and/or river when you have position.

You can also try using blocking bets (half the pot or so) when out of position. These strategies will help you in not losing big pots with over pairs and TPTK. Of course there are times when you are good and you will profit less but that is breaks.

Pot control is one of the things than has really helped me reduce my swings and become super consistent. As far as your turn and river aggression...there could be worse problems, as long as you are not often folding the winning hand to others aggression.

At this limit c-betting the flop is a standard +ev play. The turn becomes more tricky for several reasons and there are a number of things to take into consideration:

1. You want to try and control the pot and it's size. There is nothing wrong with checking the best hand even if the board has a draw (depending on the villain you may still want to bet here, just not always). Often a bet will get called anyway so by checking behind you have saved yourself cash in the event of a draw hitting.

2. Many (probably 50% or more) players at $25nl will slowplay big hands on the flop oop. Say you have AQ on the button. You raise PF and get the UTG limper to call. The flop comes A59 rainbow. UTG checks, you lead out with a 75% pot bet and he calls. You have no idea where you are in the hand. You assume you are ahead but you may have just bet drawing to the 3 queens left in the deck...or even worse. If he checks the turn and you bet, he will most certainly at least call (as in the example above) and could very well raise. If he raises, you have to assume you are behind. At this point your thoughts will often be that he has a pp or Ax. In either case there is a decent chance you are behind (to two pair or a set).

This is the main argument for checking behind. Of course there are times when he will check raise with AT or AJ and that is up to you to know the player and decide what he might have. I am simply suggesting that by checking behind you can force him to play his own hand (instead of letting you do it for him) on the river which may reveal the true strength (or lack there of) of his holding.

Also keep in mind that if you are playing well, you will lay down the best hand on occasion. That is a crappy fact of poker.

3. Many players call on the flop with nothing (Ax for example) and will fold to another bet on the turn, tempting you to fire again...which sets you up for problems when they out flopped you. River aggression is mostly dependent on 3 factors:

1. What did the villain do preflop?
2. Did the villain show strength or weakness on the flop and turn?
3. What kind of player is the villain?

Taking this all into account it is often easy (and occasionally super confusing) to decide what the right play is. Just keep this in mind: At this limit, there is nothing wrong with being a bit conservative at times. I know CR preaches aggression but lower limits require a different touch. Big pots will happen often against all the fish so wait for a spot where you are sure you are good. There is NO REASON to throw a bunch of chips into a pot when you have no idea where you stand."

I hope this helps some of you out. I will give fruitypro 90% credit for this advice, as it were, because he was the one that taught it to me. This stuff has taken me from being a slow winner to a very consistent $50nl killer. I did $650 in business in 16 hours of 4 tabling last week and just put in my biggest day ever with a $200 profit in about 2 1/2 hours of play. Am I having huge days where I make a ton of cash? Not really. Am I having huge days where I lose tons of cash? NEVER! At the lower limits a soft touch with a little less aggro will pay dividends with very little risk involved.

As a quick side note: When I get time (hopefully this weekend) I will add several blog links to the page here. There are a number of good blogs out there that bear reading.

I should also mention that the Christmas party for my old job (bartender) is on Sunday. We go to the bar and DRINK ANYTHING WE WANT (even the good stuff....Grey Goose and Absolut, here I come) FOR FREE ALL FREAKING DAY!!!!!!!!!!

So, uhhhhhhh, wish me luck?

Good luck at the tables and as always, comments are welcome here at at CR!