Fun With Underbetting
note: cross posted from Andrew's blog at http://www.thinkingpoker.net/Blog/
This guy was min-raising every time he opened the pot, so I started min-check-raising him on the flop. Naturally that frustrated him, so more min-raising ensued.
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
SB: $1,107
Hero (BB): $7,603
Pre-Flop: 
dealt to Hero (BB)
SB raises to $20, Hero calls $10
Flop: ($40) 
(2 Players)
Hero checks, SB bets $27, Hero raises to $54, SB raises to $175, Hero raises to $296, SB folds
Results: $390 Pot ($0.50 Rake)
Hero mucked and WON $389.50 (+$194.50 NET)
These aren't quite min bets, but the objective was similar. In this case, I thought these small bets would frustrate the guy and get him to call down with a smaller pair. Even though it's pretty obvious what I have, he would just feel like a tool folding 99 to these little bets, and it would be exploitable.
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
SB: $2,102
Hero (BB): $2,000
UTG: $2,285.50
CO: $2,283
BTN: $3,721.50
Pre-Flop: 
dealt to Hero (BB)
UTG calls $10, CO raises to $45, 2 folds, Hero raises to $150, UTG folds, CO calls $105
Flop: ($315)
(2 Players)
Hero bets $175, CO calls $175
Turn: ($665) (2 Players)
Hero bets $375, CO calls $375
River: ($1,415) 
(2 Players)
Hero bets $800, CO calls $800
Results: $3,015 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero showed (two pair, Kings and Queens) and WON $3,012 (+$1,512 NET)
CO mucked 
(two pair, Kings and Nines) and LOST (-$1,500 NET)
This guy had been 3-betting me a ton. I like bluff-raising the flop with these stacks because it's very hard for him to play back. If he calls, there are a ton of scare cards on the turn, and if he 3-bet bluffs, he has to fear that I'm going to shove on him with a lot of draws. There just isn't much he can do.
Full Tilt Poker, $3/$6 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
CO: $744.30
BTN: $1,223.20
SB: $1,405.60
BB: $741.20
UTG: $1,153.10
Hero (MP): $1,611.40
Pre-Flop: 
dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $21, 2 folds, SB raises to $72, BB folds, Hero calls $51
Flop: ($150) 
(2 Players)
SB bets $100, Hero raises to $244, SB calls $144
Turn: ($638) 
(2 Players)
SB checks, Hero bets $245, SB folds
Results: $638 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked and WON $635 (+$319 NET)
There was about $1000 left in the effective stacks on the turn. Here, the underbet was designed to look like I was trying to induce a check-raise.
Three Things to Try
note: cross posted from Andrew's blog at http://www.thinkingpoker.net/Blog/
When you're trying to add new elements to your game and new tricks to your arsenal, you may end up making some plays that are, in a vaccuum, negative EV. However, the overall process of experimentation and trying to open up your game going to be very profitable for you in the long run. Here are three things that you probably don't do often enough and should make an effort to incorporate into your game, even if they cost you a little money in the short run as you learn how to execute them effectively:
1. Turn a hand with showdown value into a bluff.
2. Plan a triple barrel bluff from the flop and then execute it.
3. Check-raise bluff the river.
The most educational and least expensive way to start trying this stuff is to think it through ahead of time. Don't just sit down and start triple barreling at every opportunity to see when it works (hint: it will stop working very quickly). Instead, think it through ahead of time. Think about what boards and what type of opponents will be best for these plays, and then try to execute them at the right times.
Strange Play in a Four-Bet Pot
note: cross posted from Andrew's blog at http://www.thinkingpoker.net/Blog/
Here's a pretty interesting spot where I made what might be called a pre-emptive blocking bet:
Full Tilt Poker, $5/$10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
SB: $2,184
BB: $2,000
UTG: $1,000
MP: $1,000
CO: $2,413
Hero (BTN): $4,150
Pre-Flop: Kd Kh dealt to Hero (BTN)
2 folds, CO raises to $35, Hero raises to $120, 2 folds, CO raises to $320, Hero calls $200
Flop: ($655) Ah Td 6h (2 Players)
CO checks, Hero bets $333, CO folds
Results: $655 Pot ($3 Rake)
Hero mucked Kd Kh and WON $652 (+$332 NET)
First off, let me cover the pre-flop. CO was a decent regular, definitely capable of 4-betting light. However, we didn't have a sufficiently aggressive history that I could expect to get action if I 5-bet him. Calling is very clearly best, then, to maintain some deception about my range.
When he checks the flop as the pre-flop aggressor, I'm putting him on one of three things, from least to most likely:
1) A slowplayed monster- With AA, this is definitely a good time to check; however, that's a small part of his range, checking with TT is a lot less good (because I could well have top pair), and it's not a guarantee he would do it;
2) Air that is giving up- I'd expect him to fire once when an Ace flops if he has nothing, but then again people do tend to play pretty straight-forwardly in 4-bet pots;
3) An underpair playing for pot control- With QQ or JJ, he's definitely checking this flop to show down cheaply and induce bluffs.
4) Top pair playing for pot control/value- With something like AJ, he has a very strong hand that still probably does not want to play for stacks. By checking the flop, he can try to keep the pot smaller, induce bluffs, and get value on a later street from hands that might fold to a flop bet.
This may seem like a bad bet, then. After all, I'm only expecting a narrow category of worse hands to call, and overall I'm expecting to be behind his calling range. I do think I should have bet a little less, but in all likelihood, I'm going to have to pay off at least one bet to hands that are beating me anyway. Unless he does something crazy like overbet shove, I'm going to call at least one street. I think that betting now is the best way to get value from the occasional underpair, as a bet on a later street is going to look stronger than a flop stab.
Plus, this lets me control the size of the bet that I pay off to his Ax and deter the occasional double barrel bluff that I can't pay off. If he check-calls the flop, I'll be very comfortable folding if he leads out on the turn, or if he leads out on the river after the turn checks through. However, if I check now, I'd probably call the turn and fold the river. That means I'd pay off a turn bet of like $450-$500, often to Ax, and then fold to a river bet, which might occasionally be a bluff.
In looking over this now, I think I could accomplish all of this with a slightly smaller bet, probably in the $250-$300 range. But nevertheless, I think it's an interesting spot where position and narrowly defined ranges in a 4-bet pot greatly influence my play.