I'm Just a Swingin'

What a week! I had my biggest winning day and two biggest losing days ever... I have not done my books yet but I suspect I was down about $250 or so. Not too bad considering the circumstances, I guess. I am still searching for some consistency and I think I have identified some things to help me in that fight:

1. I am daydreaming a lot while I play.
2. I am still calling off some chips on the river.
3. My "experiment" with re-raising min-check raises is over!

Allow me to expound:

1. I am daydreaming a lot while I play: This has always been one of my toughest issues to overcome. I have always had a creative, mind wandering, day dreaming sort of thought process. This made it tough to concentrate in school (it was worse in college since I had nobody to answer to) and makes it tough while at work. My brain is always working on something, too bad it isn't always what my body is working on... I am not sure how I can remedy this. In the past I have tried playing more tables so I am forced to concentrate at all times. I think I am at my best when I play 2-3 tables though. So when I have a slower pace with fewer tables I really have to work on concentrating. It is a never ending battle.

2. I am still calling off some chips on the river: I am paying people off too often when I have TPTK type hands and get value raised. I am a lot better with this but I need to be more disciplined. I am def working very hard on this and have shown improvement.

3. My "experiment" with re-raising min-check raises (in a raised pot): I think I mentioned it here at some point (or maybe not) but I have long been baffled by the min-check raise on the flop. So I decided to take one for the team and start playing back at players who do this.

I have found that if a blind is taking this line it is very often a steal attempt. This is especially true with flops that are uncoordinated and contain an ace or a king. This is not always the case but very often is. If a min-check raise comes from EP, a solid player, or a tight/passive player, beware. They use this to try and get action on monster hands. They will also use it with TT-KK on an ace high flop to see where they stand.

After you re-raise in this situation you are obv hoping for a fold. Of course, if they come back over the top you must fold. If they call, it can be a bit sticky. Usually following a call on the flop they will check the turn. If this is the case I narrow down their holding to a draw, a low-middle pp, or a weak ace (if an ace flopped). From here you can decide to either bet or check behind, depending on your reads. I will say this: a LOT of players use the min check raise to see where they stand with the three hand types I just listed. I cannot tell you how many times we checked down and they showed 55 or A4 or 67s. That def seems to be their range when they make this play (min check raise flop, call re-raise, check turn).

As with any other play I think playing back at the min-check raiser can be +EV if done at the right time. I spent 2 weeks doing it almost every time... I knew I would take some losses in doing so but it allowed me to get a better feel for when it will work in the future. I hope I explained this well enough that you all get the gist of it. If anything needs more in depth discussion, let me know and I will talk more about it in my next post.

This is also a great example of why you should have "check raise %" on your PAHUD at all times. You can get a great feel for who is doing it and how often. If a villain has a 10% figure for check raising, I am playing back at him a ton more. As I stated in my last post (scroll down lazy ass) I am willing to email my PAHUD layouts for UB, AP, or FTP at your request. Just drop me a line in the comments here or at CR (jeff218).

Thanks for reading kids. Until next time, good luck at the tables.