Minor Adjustments

A minor tweak I've made to my game recently is lowering my raise size from the CO/BU/SB when folded to. I picked this up from a Johnny Everypot video on 2P2, and the reasoning behind why it is good to do so makes sense. The new raise size has also made me a little more comfortable playing what has been a 15/12 style lately.

My session last night ended up pretty average (+1.5BIs, +$75 in FPPs), mainly due to being set over set in a $370 pot. D'oh. I had one particularly interesting hand history I thought I'd share, as it is a great example of how good hand reading can pay off.

Villains in this hand:
UTG is a fish, I don't have his stats offhand.
MP3 is a TAG regular, who runs something like 14/12. He is definitely capable of making moves.

Poker Stars, $0.50/$1 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 9 Players

BB: $144.65 (144.7 bb)
UTG: $107.55 (107.6 bb)
Hero (UTG+1): $100 (100 bb)
MP1: $19.55 (19.6 bb)
MP2: $18.65 (18.7 bb)
MP3: $100 (100 bb)
CO: $70.10 (70.1 bb)
BTN: $126.20 (126.2 bb)
SB: $118.95 (119 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is UTG+1 with
UTG raises to $5, Hero calls $5, 2 folds, MP3 calls $5, 4 folds

I suppose I could have 3-bet light here to isolate the fish, but I much prefer a call. Standard.

Flop: ($16.50) (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $8, MP3 calls $8, UTG folds

When I bet out here, I expected to take the pot down right there unless MP3 has a set, in which case I get raised. It's also possible MP3 could have a big draw or two pair he would likely raise as well. The cold call was confusing, and in my head weighted his range heavily towards 55 and 99.

Turn: ($32.50) (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

In hindsight, I should almost certainly be taking a bet-fold line here, as based on the flop action I'm very probably ahead with the villain still having some draw equity. However, he very well may fold 55 or 99 to a bet here (which isn't bad, because those hands have a fair number of outs). Checking to induce a bluff on the river (when the straight doesn't complete) isn't a terrible option, but I wasn't thinking about it at this point. It's also worth noting that while the third heart came, it being an ace reduces the chances that villain was drawing to a flush.

River: ($32.50) (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 bets $24, Hero calls $24

At this point I timed down to put the hand together. I really should have taken more time on the turn and realized that a bet/fold line is best (it usually is), but instead I opted to figure the hand out here. Better late than never I guess. The action was completely consistent with the villain having a pair with a busted straight draw. He could also show up with a hand like KhQh here. Since we only need to be good ~30% of the time to make this call +EV, and I think this is a bluff ~50% of the time, I feel this is a pretty clear call. Note also that the villain's bet was fairly large, which is typically of a bluff that they don't want to be called.

Results: $80.50 pot ($3 rake)
MP3 showed (a pair of Sevens) and lost (-$37 net)
Hero showed (a pair of Tens) and won $77.50 ($40.50 net)

Villain did end up having a pair + straight draw, but not the hand I was expecting. Quite a loose call preflop, with a standard bluff at the end which we were able to snap off due to our hand reading skills.