Straight w/redraw to the flush on the turn! (1 Viewer)

[gkitt80]

Just my 2c. I think a squeeze play on the button with a hand like K3 or similar isn't bad. After 2 people limp you can make a raise on the button to isolate. It is a risky play and you are just playing position here and punishing the limpers. It is not a play necessarily based on the strength of your hand.

You could do this with 79 offsuit or 8,10 suited. You are bluffing before the hand even starts and repping a stronger hand. You are hoping to get heads up with a plan to bet almost any flop and turn.

You can do this against people that play fit or fold and won't play back at you.

Welcome to the wonderful world of LAG.

Thanks Lemon. Quick question for you - how do you think about how often is the appropriate amount of times to put a squeeze play in here with a hand like K3 / 79os/8,10 suited/etc.? Do you approach it with the mind set that x out of y times you make that move, the rest you fold? If so, how did you come up with that approach? Obviously can be game/player dependent, so lets just assume a typical 1/2 game, you aren't familiar with anyone at the table before you sat down but it feels like a typical evening with a bunch of weak limp play preflop.

 

[WedgeRock]

how often is the appropriate amount of times to put a squeeze play in here with a hand like K3 / 79os/8,10 suited/etc.?

If you are hoping to take down a pot of $7 with a LAG raise of $14, you have to take it down better than 2 out of 3 times to make it profitable.

Sure, sometimes you'll smash the flop and win more than $7 when you get a caller, but sometimes you get re-raised and have to fold. And sometimes, you smash the flop and get sucked out on... Right @BGinGA?

 

[Lemonzest]

Thanks Lemon. Quick question for you - how do you think about how often is the appropriate amount of times to put a squeeze play in here with a hand like K3 / 79os/8,10 suited/etc.? Do you approach it with the mind set that x out of y times you make that move, the rest you fold? If so, how did you come up with that approach? Obviously can be game/player dependent, so lets just assume a typical 1/2 game, you aren't familiar with anyone at the table before you sat down but it feels like a typical evening with a bunch of weak limp play preflop.

It is only a play I would make if I had a good feel for the players. Many live players like to call preflop "just to see a flop." Then at the flop they play straightforward and fold if they don't hit it hard. When you raise, all the primo hands (AA/KK/AK/QQ) are in your range but are not in their range since they limped and then called pre flop.

If you are going to "make a move" and get out of line a little bit then being on the button after 2 limpers is certainly the time to do it.

Also as you played the hand I certainly would have gone "all in" on the turn. You have a straight with a draw to a second nut flush. If the player with diamonds is decent at all he would be forced to fold as he only has 1 card to go and in his mind must hit to be good.

 

[BGinGA]

Many live players like to call preflop "just to see a flop." Then at the flop they play straightforward and fold if they don't hit it hard.

True. And it's called a leak.

 

[Jimulacrum]

True. And it's called a leak.

A personal favorite of mine, in fact. One of the most profitable leaks in NLHE, if you're ruthless about exploiting it.

I used to get a whole table of guys together who would respond to my LAG game by defaulting to the "see a flop with something decent and try to beat him" strategy. I was crushing the game for an outrageous hourly rate, half in the bag and in an extremely distracting environment. Best part was that I just looked like a maniac who couldn't resist raising like 60% of my hands. That was kinda true, but they never came to understand the reason I couldn't resist raising.

 

[v1pe]

Thanks Lemon. Quick question for you - how do you think about how often is the appropriate amount of times to put a squeeze play in here with a hand like K3 / 79os/8,10 suited/etc.? Do you approach it with the mind set that x out of y times you make that move, the rest you fold? If so, how did you come up with that approach? Obviously can be game/player dependent, so lets just assume a typical 1/2 game, you aren't familiar with anyone at the table before you sat down but it feels like a typical evening with a bunch of weak limp play preflop.

The point is that you want to mix in some 3bets preflop as bluffs to help protect your value 3bet range. Hands like AXs and KXs are good hands to do this with (wheel aces and kings with middling suited cards specifically) due to their "blocker value" (makes it less likely your opponent has AA, KK, or AK. Otherwise your 3bet range is going to be so face up that your opponents can play perfectly against you. I'm not sure you need to have 50% bluffs and 50% value in your 3bet range at most low stakes live games, but it's good to have at least a few bluffs. You probably aren't going to be 3betting all that often anyway, so you don't have to bluff that often either.

 

[Lemonzest]

The point is that you want to mix in some 3bets preflop as bluffs to help protect your value 3bet range. Hands like AXs and KXs are good hands to do this with (wheel aces and kings with middling suited cards specifically) due to their "blocker value" (makes it less likely your opponent has AA, KK, or AK. Otherwise your 3bet range is going to be so face up that your opponents can play perfectly against you. I'm not sure you need to have 50% bluffs and 50% value in your 3bet range at most low stakes live games, but it's good to have at least a few bluffs. You probably aren't going to be 3betting all that often anyway, so you don't have to bluff that often either.

All the meta factors are what make poker so complex and fun. @gkitt80 if you are playing at a casino with a bunch of unknowns then don't worry about balancing your 3 betting range. If I sit down at a 1/2 game whether its at my local casino or Vegas I am playing tight and never raising trash like K3 or K4. Simply play ABC poker and raise the hands you should and fold all else. There are too many bad players that will call your preflop bet and keep calling with middle pair not knowing better.

If we are against bad players that will call you all the way down my initial squeeze play will backfire. If people are bad call stations then the strategy is to play tight, hit a hand, and take them to value town. Most money made at low stakes NLHE is by taking people to value town not by doing fancy squeeze plays.

 

[v1pe]

All the meta factors are what make poker so complex and fun. @gkitt80 if you are playing at a casino with a bunch of unknowns then don't worry about balancing your 3 betting range. If I sit down at a 1/2 game whether its at my local casino or Vegas I am playing tight and never raising trash like K3 or K4. Simply play ABC poker and raise the hands you should and fold all else. There are too many bad players that will call your preflop bet and keep calling with middle pair not knowing better.

If we are against bad players that will call you all the way down my initial squeeze play will backfire. If people are bad call stations then the strategy is to play tight, hit a hand, and take them to value town. Most money made at low stakes NLHE is by taking people to value town not by doing fancy squeeze plays.

Yes, I definitely agree. In most cases at the low stakes you don't really need to balance your ranges. You'll make the most money by exploiting your opponents.

 

[Steve Birrer]

It is only a play I would make if I had a good feel for the players. Many live players like to call preflop "just to see a flop." Then at the flop they play straightforward and fold if they don't hit it hard. When you raise, all the primo hands (AA/KK/AK/QQ) are in your range but are not in their range since they limped and then called pre flop.

If you are going to "make a move" and get out of line a little bit then being on the button after 2 limpers is certainly the time to do it.

Also as you played the hand I certainly would have gone "all in" on the turn. You have a straight with a draw to a second nut flush. If the player with diamonds is decent at all he would be forced to fold as he only has 1 card to go and in his mind must hit to be good.

If only I had a dollar for every time that is not true!