Following on from the previous article , “Important Points in Poker Part 2,” I would like to summarize some important points to think about when playing poker.
Pot Control
Basically, inflating the pot unnecessarily with marginal hands can result in big losses.
With hands of this strength, playing passively and using them for bluff catching is a good way to use your hands.
Even when playing passively, by balancing your hand range so that it doesn’t become too weak, you can also prevent your opponent from bluffing.
Check-raise on the flop
Check-raising on the flop is one tactic that has changed a lot,
especially in heads-up pots where the big blind calls an open-raise.
The flop check-raise rate for MTT players is roughly 7-8%, but if you can bring this closer to 20-25%, you’ll be playing closer to GTO.
If you don’t play this way and give up on many flops or simply call, it will be difficult to respond to your opponent’s CB.
To respond to CB, you need to create a check-raise range by mixing semi-bluff hands in addition to value hands, and you need to play while thinking about your plays from the turn onwards.
Doing so will force your opponent to reduce their CB range, which will in turn help protect your BB’s hand equity.
Thin Value Bet
A thin value bet is a value bet on a weaker hand when you have a marginal hand.
Whether you can make this bet or not can make a big difference in the outcome.
There are three main benefits to thin value betting:
① You can gain additional chips.
② You can force your opponent into making difficult decisions.
③ You can expand your bluffing range.
Thin value bets are generally made on the river.
The river pot is the largest of all the streets, so it is very valuable to get value there.
Being able to get thin value, especially against loose callers, is a very important point.
Regarding ③, since the range of value bets becomes wider, you can also widen your bluffing range accordingly.
The important thing when making a thin value bet is to consider your opponent’s hand range and playing tendencies.
If your opponent is unknown or you don’t know their playing tendencies very well yet, a thin value bet won’t work well. A
thin value bet is made when there isn’t much difference in the strength of your opponent’s hand, so you need to analyze your opponent’s hand range in more detail than with a normal value bet.
River bets can easily lead to big losses, so if you can’t narrow down your opponent’s hand range, avoid making unreasonable thin value bets.
●Checking in OOP
Playing out of pocket is difficult.
If you force a bluff out of pocket, or even if you have a hand with showdown value like a middle pair or a top pair with a weak kicker, if you bet off the flop, the pot may become too big later on, making playing out of pocket even more difficult. By
not forcing yourself to corner because of aggression, and by increasing your checks, you can play more comfortably and also protect your checking range.
River bets
Betting on the river is a bit special in that it does not protect your hand’s equity.
On the river, except for chops, your hand’s equity is either 100% or 0%.
If your opponent checks on the river and you bet, make sure you understand whether the bet is a value or a bluff before making your move.
Taking into account the actions up to the river, if you think your hand has high equity, make a value bet; if your hand has low equity and no showdown value, and you think there is a high chance of stealing the pot by betting, make a bluff bet; and if you think your hand’s equity is somewhere between value and bluff, make a check.
