PhoenixPhreak

Homework 3:

Question 1: You are holding KQ. What is your preflop equity against an opponent who has 33? How does the equity change on this flop: J53?

Preflop Equity:
KQss 50.8
3d3c 49.2
Postflop:
26.5 vs 73.5

Question 2: What would you do in the following hand? (Remember that it is important to explain your reasons, simply posting "Fold" or "Call" isn't enough!)
No Limit hold'em $2 (9-handed)
Players and stacks:
UTG: $2.00
UTG+1: $2.08
MP1: $1.92
MP2: $1.00
MP3: $3.06
CO: (Hero) $2.08
BU: $2.00
SB: $2.00
BB: $1.24
Preflop: Hero is CO with AJ
5 folds, Hero raises to $0.08, BU calls $0.08, SB folds, BB calls $0.06.
Flop: ($0.25) 263 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, BU checks.
Turn: ($0.25) 5 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.22, BU raises to $0.44, BB folds, Hero...?

I would call. The pot would be $.91 with $.22 to call. Without any other information on the player it is difficult to determine what he is raising with. Villan called pf after us, so it is possible but strange that they would be holding a 4. A set is a high possibility. If they are holding a set, we don't have direct pot odds to support calling, but with the chance that they have weaker holdings (even something like KK would leave us with more than just flush outs), and also small but possible implied odds on the river, I think it is best to get another community card.

Question 3: Do you have questions about your postflop play? Post your hand for evaluation. (Post your hand in the hand evaluation forum and provide a link to your hand in your private thread in the Locker Room.)

NL2 JJ Continuation Betting

Homework 4:
Post a hand:
Line Check 2NL AJo

Review a hand:
0.05 NL Pocket Aces

Hand Question:
Equity with KsQd vx 7c7h on a Js9c8h board is 41.6%

Good job! Homework #3 Done!

About Question #1:
Preflop Equity:

Equity Win Tie
UTG 50.78% 50.40% 0.38% { KsQs }
UTG+1 49.22% 48.84% 0.38% { 3d3c }

Postflop Equity:

Board: J♠5♦3♠
Equity Win Tie
UTG 26.46% 26.46% 0.00% { KsQs }
UTG+1 73.54% 73.54% 0.00% { 3d3c }

About Question #2:
There are several occasions on turn:
a) If we take just odds for the FD and we take into account that all our odds are clean. Which means:
Total Pot = $0,91 ; We have to Call = $0,22 -> According to that it means we are getting ~4,16:1 odds. For flushdraw we would need 4:1. Which tells us that we are getting perfect odds.
b) If we consider the opponent having sets here:
Which means we have to discount outs, for example 6:c and also 3:c. Which means we have 7 clean outs so that means we need 6:1 odds. That tells us that we need ~$0,41 on river to make it profitable. If we expect the opponent being loose enough and being able to pay us no-matter what then we can do the Call here properly.
c) We might even have overcards as outs or even 4 as a out:
Although this kind of situation ain't that likely. I'd rather discount that one and either pick a) or b). Most likely towards Call.

You are doing great progress, keep going!

Good job! Homework #4 Done!

This weeks homework was a bit easier. But the idea of that is to help you go through last weeks stuff if you didn't go through everything. Or either way maybe even read some more articles, watch some videos and of course attend in the coaching. What will also help for your game is the evaluation part of other members hands and of course posting your own hands.

If you have interests you could try calculating the equity with a formula which you can use even on tables(either playing online or live poker):
(Amount of outs x 4) – (Amount of outs – 8) = Your Equity

About Question #3:

Board: J♠9♣8♥
       Equity     Win     Tie
UTG    41.41%  41.41%   0.00% { KsQd }
UTG+1  58.59%  58.59%   0.00% { 7h7c }

Hopefully this wasn't too easy homework for you.

Random small update:
I have been playing a bit, and really trying to focus. I know that my concentration is a big part of my problem as well.
I am slowly advancing through the Beginner's course articles, videos, and homework.
Life has been really busy in general, though this week should be lighter.
As far as poker goes specifically, I am just playing on Stars. This doesn't get me any PokerStrategy points, but I like the software the best.
With that, I am still struggling with the cash games, but I have plateaued over the last several thousand hands. I know I am still making mistakes and that is why I'm not winning, but my all-in equity shows me positive $15 instead of negative $20... where my earnings currently are.
I've also had some success with SnGs and am still just trying to learn and enjoy poker.

Homework 5:

Q1: Hand for evaluation using stats.
2NL AQo

Q2: Evaluate another's hand.
NL2 - Playing set?!

Question 3: Consider the following situation:

$10 NL Hold'em (7-handed)

Stacks & Stats:
UTG ($10)
MP ($8)
MP2 ($9)
CO ($10)
Hero($10)
SB ($10) (17/13/2.6/24/1212) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
BB ($10) (27/9/2.0/29/333) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]

Preflop: Hero is BU with 6 , 7
4 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, SB calls $0.40, BB calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.20) 3 , 3 , T (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1.20) J (3 players)
SB bets $1.00, BB calls $1.00, Hero...

What action would you take, and why?

AHH! I don't know what to do. I keep thinking through this and then choosing a line. When I argue my rationale, it all seems crap.

Here I go again...

Our Diamond flush is a made hand and it is relatively strong. Though many stronger flushes are possible, these are only a small part of Villain's range. I would bet to $5 or so and look to protect my hand. With those stats, it is not likely that the SB will call if he has a weaker hand. If he raises, I'm out. But there is a good chance the SB is taking a stab at the pot and a raise here is to protect our made hand. The BB is a bit more passive and could even call down with a worse, drawing hand. Though if he too raises, I'm folding.

I can't see simply folding our hand here, and the chances for other hands to improve makes passively calling down a poor choice.

Question 4: Consider the following situation:

$10 NL Hold'em (8-handed)

Stacks & Stats
UTG ($8)
MP ($10)
MP2 ($9)
MP3 ($6)
Hero ($10)
BU ($10) (25/21/3.8/26/1250) [VPIP/PFR/AF/WTS/Hands]
SB ($10)
BB ($10)

Preflop: Hero is CO with J , J
4 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, BU 3-bets to $1.30, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.30

Flop: ($2.75) 6 , 9 , T (2 players)
Hero...

What action would you take, and why?

The Villain could be betting PF with a huge range of hands. We have a strong hand that can be bet for value even though it is only an over pair of Js.

I would check, planning on c/raising as our opponent is likely to bet with most of his holdings. We should take advantage of his aggression and look to get our money into the middle.

p.s. Man, those two questions were really hard for me. I guess part of my mind keeps thinking they might be trick questions.

I know for the first one that two other opponents in the pot makes our hand weaker, but I don't see enough reason to fold. Like, the aggression of the TAG could mean he is wisely betting a hand like AdJc, and we must protect our hand. But am I giving him too little credit? Should I assume he has a stronger hand than that?

For question 4, I know we should discount his holdings based on his wild aggression. Or should I have been treating JJs like any other pocket pair, hoping mainly for a set?

I'm comfortable with my first answers, but I know I could be wrong and am looking forward to the comments!
Thanks so much.

Small Bump!

Thank you moderators for all your hard work. I'm anxious to see how I did on this homework before posting my next bit for Homework 6 (though I have finished the articles, videos, and all).

Homework 6:

Question 1:
Hand with multi-way postflop...
NL2 AQ Tricky Multi-way pot

Freeplay situation...
NL2 A5s Freeplay

Question 2:
Evaluation of a Flopped set, river flush draw completion:
Nl2 Fr Jj

Evaluation of a Axo bluff:
nl2 A8

Question 3:
$25 NL Hold'em (10 handed)

Stacks & Stats
UTG ($25)
UTG+1 ($25) rock
UTG+2 ($25)
MP1 ($25)
MP2 ($25) LAG
MP3 ($25) maniac
CO ($25)
Hero BU ($25)
SB ($25)
BB ($25) calling station

Preflop: Hero is BU with Q , J
5 folds, MP3 raises $1.00, CO calls $1.00, Hero calls $1.00, 1 fold, BB calls $1.00

Flop: ($4.10) 3 , J , A (4 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($4.10) Q (4 players)
BB bets $2.05, 2 folds, Hero...?

What action would you take, and why?

I would raise to around $10. There are few hands the villain has that beat us, only KT(8ways), Pocket pairs which are unlikely from the flop action IMO, and possibly AQ, which also seems not likely enough to fold or simply call with this board. If the player reraises, I'm out. If he calls and checks river, we reevaluate, but if it is a blank we go all in.

Well, for Question 3 (homework 6), I tried to give it a real go, but I had a bad feeling about my answer after. I read up on some of the replies from another Beginners' Course Thread. I see that I am probably way behind against a usually passive calling station. I should have been considering the hands he actually could have... And besides perhaps an Ax of clubs, there is little he would 'wake-up' with that we have beat.
A call will give us a chance to win if he is bluffing/betting a weaker hand. Or do we actually just fold this hand right here...?

For sure, my biggest weakness is being too much of a calling station in situations where I don't want to let go...

Sorry for delayed answer, I have been moving to new country so it did take me to set up everything at my place, now I am back and starting to evaluate the homeworks.

Good Job! Homework #5 Done!

About Task #3
It's a very close decision: does protection or pot control weigh heavier here? Do you want to protect against hands like 3x or A:dx and K:dx? Or do you want to control the pot size and try to induce a bluff on the river in case there is no T, no J and no additional ♦?

Raise/fold is out of question - with the given pot size and the good made hand you have, it can't even be considered.

In case you decide to go broke, you can't really be blamed either. It's not a sign of weakness that the rather tight small blind decides to bet into two people here, though. I would say a call is to be slightly favored, while the many outs against you are annoying. The big blind who calls rather loosely speaks in favor of a raise/broke again. Both options are finally considered equal, which shows - all things considered - how close and full of variance these spots really are.

About Task #4
You've called pre-flop and then hit a good board. You basically have two choices now: either you assume that your opponent will go broke loosely or puts you on a bluff often and you thus check/raise - or you play check/call in the spirit of way ahead / way behind. The problem with the latter is that there are a lot of cards you don't want to see in the later course of the hand. All in all, it depends on your balancing as both lines make sense under certain circumstances.

A check/fold would be really pointless, of course. It's hard to say whether you should donk-bet here; donk/fold can be discarded as that would turn your hand into a pure bluff and your opponent would interpret this as weakness and start raising you out of flops with hands like AK/AQ/air. So, if you want to donk-bet, it has to be a donk/3-bet.

Good luck on tables and with the Course.

I know for the first one that two other opponents in the pot makes our hand weaker, but I don't see enough reason to fold. Like, the aggression of the TAG could mean he is wisely betting a hand like AdJc, and we must protect our hand. But am I giving him too little credit? Should I assume he has a stronger hand than that?

Guess you got your answer already from previous post.

For question 4, I know we should discount his holdings based on his wild aggression. Or should I have been treating JJs like any other pocket pair, hoping mainly for a set?

You would need to know that the guy is also 3betting loose vs you to ship money profitable enough with those PPs. Often time players tend to overplay their PPs as JJ/QQ and of course even AK. Especially vs UTG ranges as nowadays people even fold JJ from UTG.

Thank you moderators for all your hard work. I'm anxious to see how I did on this homework before posting my next bit for Homework 6 (though I have finished the articles, videos, and all).

Hey mate, you are doing so far very good. Just I have been busy with moving that's also why I couldn't take a look at the homeworks earlier.

Good Job! Homework #6 Done!

A call will give us a chance to win if he is bluffing/betting a weaker hand. Or do we actually just fold this hand right here...?

He will just have really hard time to continue with a lot worse and we isolate vs strong range by doing that.

About Question #3:
Two lines can quickly be discarded here: fold and raise/fold; your hand is simply too strong for those alternatives.

It's hard to assess whether you should put in a raise here. When a rather passive player decides to bet into three players while being out of position, it does look strong. It's more likely an indication of a made hand than that of a draw.

A raise naturally protects, but you run the risk of isolating yourself against very strong range. Which weaker hands could your opponent possibly continue playing here?

The deciding factor finally comes in the size of the pot. This tiny pot simply isn't worth putting yourself into a tough spot where you could potentially end up risking your entire stack. A raise would be overplayed here and pot control takes the precedent over protection.

Best of Luck on the tables and with the Course.

Hey there,

Seems your making great progress, well done!

Look forward to seeing you in the study group.

Peace out

Sorry for the delay it's been for a while. You can see my last post (just a few minutes ago) in my other Blog, explaining why I've been a bit busy this last little while.
I'm doing well and just wanted to update Veriz and everyone about where I'm at right now with the homework.
I'm still watching through the Beginner's Videos. Though I'd previously watched the HasenBraten videos for the Beginner's Course up through Video 6, I am now also watching Veriz's videos for the Beginner's Course. I achieved Silver status and now can continue studying for Homework 7. It has a lot to read for ShortHanded play and I think it will take me a little time to go through it and really try to understand it. But I am working.

Like I mentioned, I've been a bit busy, but I plan to start posting and commenting on more hands in the Hand Evaluation Forum again. I don't want to be chewed out like KiromanAAKK or whoever in Veriz's 4th video for the Beginner's Course

Also, I'd like thoughts on this, but I plan on retrying all the HW hands without looking at my previous answers. I want to see if I've learned the proper concepts now that it has been a while since I did those homeworks and hopefully I can make good decisions for them.

Thanks all!

Kiroman is still playing. Just he has limited time but you can always try to be better than others, that's never wrong!

The more hands you remove the better it is, homework is just a start for them. There were students who posted tons of hands and at the same time evaluated also a lot of hands. The more the better and the faster you learn.

Keep us in touch how you have been and how is your progress going on. Good luck!

Been doing well. I have reviewed the Lessons 1-6 and am starting to take a look at Lesson 7. I am committed to finishing all the articles and videos for Lessons 7 and 8 by the end of November.

BR Update. Since the 4th of October I have run up my PokerStars account from $61 to $161. I'm now playing NL5 and am stoked to get my FTP money back too! It is only $79, but still better than nothing.
I'd like my PokerStars BR to be at $250 by the end of the month. $400 would be awesome too, but I won't be disappointed if I can get to $250.

I've also been meeting on Skype with a PokerStrategy member and going back and forth with sweat sessions. I've learned a lot from him and it is great to have a poker friend to keep up motivation! ♠_biggrin:

Great to hear that you got your money back! Only good for your bankroll.

What I'd recommend doing is that don't set any goals for reaching specific amount of $$$, rather just continue doing whatever you do. No matter what you reach, even maybe higher than $400. If you don't reach it you may be miserable and turn down your game instead.

Sweat sessioning is very cool, it's similar as you would get coached. Though you are able to talk with somebody who is around the same limits as you, so still can put out the thought process what you thinking and he/she can comment.

I want to give a quick update before posting my Homework 7.
I've been slowly going through all the articles related to SH play. Most of those listed in the main Short Handed Theory overview article, and there were a lot of pages to read through, related a lot of plans for FR too.

Though I've been kicking myself for going through those articles slowly, I've found that by working on my PF, then Flop, then Turn, and now river streets slowly I've been able to improve my thinking for each without having too much information to think about (that was new) and missing some of it.

My BR is at $472.63 on PokerStars (so I'm down $2.37 lifetime on Stars ♦ ) and is at $598.63 with all my accounts.

I plan to keep working hard and I'm really getting a lot out of meeting with other players on Skype and join.me for session reviews and sweats.

I do want to put a tiny bit more time into Full Ring as I move up the limits. I plan to play some NL16 now and I'd like to feel comfortable at NL25 before trying to focus on NL10 SH. What do you think of that plan?

And last, I have another question. Should I be focusing my BR management on just the account I have money in, or should I consider all my online BR from sites put together? Either way I plan on staying strict when I need to move down in limits. And with sites where I have only like $10 or $50 (or even up to $100), I plan on staying at NL2 anyways, only moving up to NL5 when there is a decent buffer...
But when I'm playing on PokerStars where the bulk of my money is, should I consider my overall online BR?

And here is my Homework 7:
Question 1: Hand posted in the forum for Short-handed:
NL2 SH A7o

Question 2: Hand commented on in the forum for Short-handed.
[Nl10-Sh] TT river bluff

Question 3: Consider the following situation:
$10 NL Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats:
UTG($10)
MP ($10)
CO ($10)
BU($10)
SB ($10)
BB (Hero) ($10)

What action would you take, and why?
I would fold. Versus two opponents, one of which showed aggression preflop and the other who was first to cold-call, we are against two strong hands. Though I like our open ended straight + flush draw, we are too often against much stronger hands. We can find places where we are much further ahead.
If it were just against the All-in bet, with the BU folding, I would be much more open to calling, but the higher pot odds are outweighed by our flush draw being so low.

Question 4: Consider the following situation:
$10 NL Hold'em (6 handed)
Stacks & Stats:
UTG ($10)
MP ($10)
CO (Hero) ($10)
BU($10)
SB ($10)
BB ($10)

What action would you take, and why?
The BB betting out shows strength like he hit one of the 4s. But I don't think we can play scared without any more information. There is no flush draw and a straight draw is also very unlikely. I think raising only isolates us against hands with a 4 and perhaps AQ... So calling and looking to raise on the turn is the line I would take.

Originally posted by PhoenixPhreak
I want to give a quick update before posting my Homework 7.
I've been slowly going through all the articles related to SH play. Most of those listed in the main Short Handed Theory overview article, and there were a lot of pages to read through, related a lot of plans for FR too.

Though I've been kicking myself for going through those articles slowly, I've found that by working on my PF, then Flop, then Turn, and now river streets slowly I've been able to improve my thinking for each without having too much information to think about (that was new) and missing some of it.

My BR is at $472.63 on PokerStars (so I'm down $2.37 lifetime on Stars ♦ ) and is at $598.63 with all my accounts.

I plan to keep working hard and I'm really getting a lot out of meeting with other players on Skype and join.me for session reviews and sweats.

Keep up the good work. Keep posting hands and attending coachings.

I do want to put a tiny bit more time into Full Ring as I move up the limits. I plan to play some NL16 now and I'd like to feel comfortable at NL25 before trying to focus on NL10 SH. What do you think of that plan?

And last, I have another question. Should I be focusing my BR management on just the account I have money in, or should I consider all my online BR from sites put together? Either way I plan on staying strict when I need to move down in limits. And with sites where I have only like $10 or $50 (or even up to $100), I plan on staying at NL2 anyways, only moving up to NL5 when there is a decent buffer...
But when I'm playing on PokerStars where the bulk of my money is, should I consider my overall online BR?

If you can easily move your BR between sites then I would consider it all as one.

Is there a particular reason why you would play nl2 or nl5 when you normally play nl10/25? Or is that mostly for fun?