DECISION POINT: You have late registered for a daily tournament with a fast structure. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. It folds to you in MP1 with 9♥9♣ and you raise first-in to 1,000. Action folds to the Big Blind who just calls. The flop comes 7♣6♣5♥ and your opponent bets 1,000. Action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We have just entered a daily tournament with a fast structure and are jumping in a few levels after the start. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. We are dealt 9♥9♣ in MP1 with our 10,000 starting stack. Everyone folds to us, and since pocket nines are a part of our first-in hand range from this position, we open to 1,000 chips. Everyone folds except the Big Blind, who just calls.

The flop is 7♣6♣5♥ and our opponent leads for 1,000 chips. Unlike our recent decision from a cash game session, this is a spot where a good opponent should be doing some leading based on theory. This board does connect well with a Big Blind defense calling range, but they have many hands that benefit from protection, and this is a board we won’t be expected to continuation bet often.

The Big Blind’s range should include a lot of 1-pair hands, especially those that have some sort of straight and/or flush draw to provide some backup equity. They will also lead with some overcard combinations that include flush draws, both backdoor and direct, as well as some 2-pair hands for balance. When we look at this situation closely, the Big Blind should be leading with around 50% of their range on this board.

From our perspective, we have an overpair with an inside straight draw and a stack to pot ratio (SPR) of around 3. This is not a spot we would ever be looking to fold our hand, so the main question we have to ask is if we should just call or raise. When considering the potential leading range for the Big Blind as discussed above, we can assume:

• We are well ahead of most of their 1-pair hands
• We still have significant equity against many of their 2-pair hands
• Many of their overcards have significant equity against us

It is important to consider that if we were to raise now, many of their hands that we are well ahead of will call, while many of the overcard combos that have significant equity against us will fold (with the exception of direct flush draws using both hole cards). When our opponent will continue against aggression with hands such as 74s but folds hands such as JhTh or KcTh, that is a huge win for us.

Raising is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You’re playing in a live $1/$2 cash game. The table includes mostly loose/passive recreational players with many hands going to showdown, a lot of calling, and very little aggressive action. The UTG player limps, you raise to $10 from MP with K♣Q♠, the Big Blind calls, and the limper folds. The flop comes A♣T♣9♣. The Big Blind bets $14 and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We’re playing a loose/passive live $1/$2 cash game. The table is full of recreational players with many hands going to showdown and lots of calling with very little aggressive action. We are dealt K♣Q♠ in MP1. The UTG player limps and the next player folds with action on us.

As a basic default rule against limpers, we will raise with any of the hands that we cannot call with according to the calling criteria that are included in the first-in raising range for the seat position of the limper.

The first step is to determine whether we can call profitably per the calling criteria, and in this case KQo is not a true speculative hand and does not play well multiway. Looking at the first-in range from the initial limper in UTG we see that KQo is included, so isolating the limper is our preferred default play. We make it $10, everyone folds to the Big Blind who calls, and the initial limper UTG folds.

The flop is A♣T♣9♣ and the Big Blind leads for $14 into the $23 pot. In a typical game where there are some amount of skilled opponents, when the Big Blind calls preflop in this situation they likely have a very condensed and capped range. In a loose/passive game filled with recreational players, the Big Blind’s range a bit wider than it should including many of the sort of hands players want to “see a flop” with such as offsuit broadway cards, suited connectors, and pocket pairs.

When a player leads into the preflop raiser (often called “donk” betting) on flops that favor the preflop raiser, it’s often either an attempt to “see where they are at”, or because they are worried about not getting action on a big hand when they check. On a board like this monotone flop with an Ace and broadway draw which many recreational players find quite “scary”, this donk lead is typically because the Big Blind is worried we won’t bet and another club or straightening card will fall on the turn.

Holding the Kc and an inside straight draw, we still have a lot of equity in this pot, but it is unlikely we have the best hand at the moment. If the board texture was scattered or all low cards and more likely that our opponent was lead/donk betting a medium strength hand to “see where they were at”, there would be a lot of merit to making a semi-bluff raise.

On this particular board, many of the hands the Big Blind is leading with are actually happy to see a raise. Hands such as Ax/T9s combos or even small flushes prefer to get chips in on the flop before a scary card comes on the turn or river. Our hand has significant equity with the Kc and inside straight draw, and we have a lot of potential opportunities to float and take the pot away on the turn if another scary card hits. Given these factors, calling makes a lot more sense than semi-bluffing on this coordinated monotone flop.

Calling is the best play. 

P.S. Check out our December live study session where we focused on Dealing with Limpers. Watch a preview →

DECISION POINT: In an online Tournament with blinds at 500/1,000 and a 1,000 big blind ante you are dealt 8♣8♠ in the Cutoff seat. Stacks at the table range from 10BBs to just over 40BBs. The early position players fold, the MP1 player open shoves for 15,000 (15BBs) and action is on you with 21BBs behind.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the middle stages of a major Sunday online tournament. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante. The stacks range from 10 big blinds to just over 40. We are dealt black eights in the cutoff and it folds to MP1 who open shoves for 15,000.! Everyone else folds and action is on us.

When analyzing spots like this after the fact, we should approach from two perspectives. First, we should estimate MP1 range and how our hand performs against that range, much like we would in real-time at the table. Second, we should double check our estimate in real-time by running the spot in a solver to see what things look like when both players are using optimal ranges.

Studying in this way allows us to exercise our brain in the same way that we will use at the table, and then either reinforce our thoughts with the solver or discover any errors.

If the decision was wrong in real-time we can determine if this is a fundamental leak and what adjustments need to be incorporated to our game plan. If the opponent was likely shoving different ranges than the solvers suggest which may often be the case, then we can consider the merits of making an exploitative adjustment against our real life foes.

A primary consideration is whether MP1 has a non all-in raising range here. It’s likely at this stack size that they would raise a more standard sizing and not just move all-in with AA/KK and some of their other biggest hands.

Given this we can assume that MP1 is likely to have a capped range that includes many suited broadway hands, some big Ax hands, and some middle pairs. The key factor we need to assess is if MP1 will ever move all-in with pocket pairs lower than 88 or Ax combinations where their kicker is lower than 8.

In real-time we thought it was possible our opponent is capable of shoving as light as 77, but 66 or less and A8s or worse seemed unlikely so we chose to fold.

Through post hand analysis using a Game Theory Optimal Solver we can see that if MP1 is splitting their range properly the all-in range will include 66-99, A8s-AJs, AKo, KJs, KTs, QTs+. The range of hands that prefers to raise a standard amount first-in at 15BB blinds includes a mix of stronger hands (TT+/AQs+), some smaller suited Ax combinations, and offsuit broadway hands. Against the specific all-in range provided by the Solver we see that 88 has a +550 chip (+.55 BB) expectation. This means that against an opponent using GTO ranges we should be calling, although the decision is still very close.

In real world situations many players might shove hands such as TT/JJ, especially as they don’t want to encourage action and have to play postflop. If MP1 was the type of opponent to use this larger sizing with medium pairs that may be vulnerable on overcard flops then this spot would quickly become a fold. We would also have an easier call if we were in the Blinds with fewer players behind yet to act.

Against a GTO opponent, calling is the best play. Against specific opponents shoving narrower ranges or higher pairs, you could make an exploitative fold.

DECISION POINT: You’re playing a $1,500 regional tournament main event at a local card room that brings serious recreational players and pros. The play at your table has been aggressive with a lot of players firing multiple streets and few hands going to showdown. Blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante and you have a 20,000 chip stack. The opponent in UTG+1, who is an accomplished player, opens to 1,100 and everyone folds to you on the Button with J♦T♦. You call and the flop comes J♠J♥8♠. The early position opponent c-bets 1,200 and the action is on you. What's your move here?

PRO ANSWER: We're playing in a regional tournament at our local card room. It's a $1,500 main event that tends to draws in a lot of serious recreational players as well as pros from around the region. The action at our table has been a bit on the aggressive side, with lots of players capable of firing multiple barrels and few hands going to showdown.

The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante, and we have 20,000 chips to start the hand. We are on the Button and are dealt J♦T♦. The UTG player folds and the opponent in UTG+1, who we recognize as an accomplished player and WSOP Bracelet winner, opens to 1,100 chips. Everyone else folds.

This is a great spot to call as part of an overall Button defense strategy. Our hand plays extremely well postflop with positional advantage, giving us a big edge at this stack depth against players who are capable of firing multiple barrels.

Both Blinds fold and the flop is J♠J♥8♠. The UTG+1 player comes out firing 1,200 chips, or just over one third of the pot. This is a flop where the early position raiser has a significant range advantage, and we can expect them to be betting nearly their entire range. We flopped a very strong hand and have a decision to make. Should we slow play our three of a kind or play it faster by raising now?

In this case, we are in position and against a single opponent. They should be continuation betting with a very wide range of hands, including plenty of overcard combinations that might not call a raise on the flop but could easily put more chips in the pot if they hit something like an ace or a king on the turn. UTG+1’s c-bet bluffing range could also easily continue bluffing on a lot of turn cards.

Many players immediately see the flush and straight draw cards on this board and become passive for fear of getting drawn out on. While that is the case, flush draws make up a very small portion of our opponent’s overall range, and we block a key straightening card by holding the Td in our hand. Additionally, if we raise it is difficult to get called by many worse hands. An early position raising range is unlikely to have many worse Jx combos than our JTs, and while UTG+1 does have some AA/KK/QQ hands, even those might proceed with caution when we raise the flop.

When we pause to consider the specific opponent, table tendencies, our position, the stack depth, and how both our ranges interact with this board, our best chance to win a big pot and maximize EV in this spot is to slow play and just call.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You’re playing a daily tournament and late registration is still open. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. A player in Middle Position raises first-in to 1,100 and it folds to you in the Small Blind with J♠J♣. You 3-bet to 4,000, the Big Blind folds, and the original raiser calls. The flop comes 9♥6♠6♣ and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We're playing in a daily tournament. Late registration is still open and the blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. We are dealt J♠J♣ in the Small Blind and the action folds to MP2 who opens to 1,100 chips. Everyone else folds and action is on us.

Out of the Small Blind we prefer to reraise with a linear range, meaning that we will be reraising for value with hands that are ahead of our opponent’s range. Our opponent in Middle Position should be opening with around 25% of total hands as the first-in raiser.

Our jacks are well ahead of that range, so they would be a part of a linear 3-betting range. Typical 3-bet sizing will be around 3x the opening raise size, but since we will be out of position the remainder of the hand, we want to reraise a bit larger to make up for the positional disadvantage. We elect to make it 4,000 chips and our opponent calls.

The flop is 9♥6♠6♣ and action is on us. As the preflop 3-bettor we have a large range advantage on this flop and have all the big overpairs in our range. MP2’s range consists mostly of bigger suited cards and middle pairs, most of which don’t connect very well with this board. Since we have such a tremendous range advantage, it is ideal to c-bet with our entire range.

Typically, we utilize a smaller bet size when c-betting our entire range. However, this situation is unique. The stack to pot ratio (SPR) is just under two. With so much money in the pot in relation to our stack, some hands in our range start to really benefit from protection.

In this case, our really strong hands like AA/KK and semi-bluffs, such as AKo/AQo type hands, prefer to bet around 25% of the pot. Our more vulnerable hands, like TT/JJ and A9s, want to bet a larger sizing of around 50% of the pot in order to protect against many of the potential overcards that connect with MP2’s range.

Betting half of the pot is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a daily tournament and you don’t have any significant reads on your tablemates, with the exception that most have been showing down reasonable hands. The blinds are 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante and you have 20,000 chips to start the hand. The action folds to you in the Cutoff with 7♥7♣, you open to 1,000, and only the Big Blind calls. Your opponent checks the K♣5♥2♦ flop, you c-bet 900, and they call. On the 3♣ turn, the Big Blind leads out for 1,500. Action is on you — what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the earlier stages of a daily tournament with blinds of 200/400 and a 400 big blind ante. Most of the players have been showing down reasonable hands when we’ve had the opportunity to see them, and we haven’t developed any significant reads to this point in the session.

With 20,000 chips to start the hand in the Cutoff and 7♥7♣ we make a standard raise to 1,000 chips, and everyone folds to the Big Blind who just calls. The flop is K♣5♥2♦ and the Big Blind checks to us. This is a board where the preflop raiser from the Cutoff will have a significant range advantage and we will frequently continuation bet with our entire range. In game we make the preferred choice and bet 900 into the 2,600 pot, and the Big Blind just calls.

The turn is the 3♣ and surprisingly, our opponent leads for 1,500. When an opponent takes a line where they lead into the aggressor on the turn, there are often one of several factors at play.

First, the Big Blind will often lead the turn when picking up additional equity, which in this case would mostly be flush draws but does include some Ax, 6x, and 4x hands.

Second, they could have turned two-pair or better with hands including A4, K3, 33, 53, and 32s, and are trying to build a pot fearing we may not fire again on this board texture. Lastly, this turn lead may be intended to to deny equity since we are betting such a wide range on the flop. Many of the 5x combos in the Big Blind’s range benefit greatly from generating folds from some of our random overcards such QJo that still have significant equity.

Given these assumptions, the Big Blind’s leading range likely consists of some draws, some bigger hands, and some medium-strength hands looking to clear out equity. Our pocket sevens are doing fairly well against that range. However, there is little reason to raise as our opponent is likely to fold medium-strength hands we dominate, continue with the hands that dominate us, and proceed with draws only if getting the correct price.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a multi-day tournament at the World Series of Poker with late registration and reentry still available. Most players have around 50 big blinds but you’ve worked your stack up to 100BBs. The action folds around to you in the Cutoff with A♠T♠ and you make a standard raise to 1,000. The Button, who is an accomplished Pro and has a 105BB stack, calls and the Blinds fold. The flop comes Q♣5♠4♥ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a multi-day event at the World Series of Poker. The tournament is in the early stages with late registration still open and players are allowed to reenter. Most players have around 50 big blinds but we’ve managed to work our stack up to 100BBs. The Button is a very studied Pro. The blinds are 200/400 with a 400 big blind ante and we are dealt A♠T♠ in the Cutoff. The action folds to us and we make a standard raise to 1,000. The Button decides to call and both Blinds fold. The flop is Q♣5♠4♥ and we are first to act.

The primary driver of continuation betting frequency on the flop is range advantage. Many players make the mistake of assuming that just because we are the preflop raiser, we have a range advantage on dry boards such as this one. Position is a key factor to consider in c-betting spots, and had we raised in Early Position instead of the Cutoff we certainly would have a range advantage on this board. However, in this specific situation we have a wide uncapped range and our opponent has a significantly narrower range that is capped and condensed.

Reviewing this spot in a solver after the hand we see that the Button actually defends with less than half as many hand combinations as we raise with from the Cutoff (215 vs 450) and has a slight range advantage (51% vs 49%) on the flop before any action takes place.

This happens most frequently in Cutoff opens vs Button call and Small Blind vs Big Blind scenarios. When facing skilled and aggressive players in these situations who are capable of utilizing their position appropriately, we should check the flop quite frequently. In fact, based on the solver results the Cutoff checks with the entire range around 85% of the time. It’s very important to note that checking here doesn’t mean giving up. We should be checking some of our big hands to protect our checking range and add some check-raising with some strong value hands and bluffs such A2s/A3s on this particular board. Check-calling on the flop also makes up a portion of our strategy, particularly against smaller bet sizes.

If our opponent on the Button was a more passive recreational player in this spot the strategy would change significantly. There would be more merit to betting because a passive opponent would likely be calling preflop with a much wider range, negating the range advantage a more narrow and condensed range has on this board, and they would be far less likely to float and raise the flop with the appropriate tendencies to discourage us from continuation betting.

Against tougher players it’s very important to recognize these spots as high frequency checks or we will quickly bleed chips to good players who utilize position well.

Checking is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the middle stages of a daily tournament with over 50% of the field still remaining and 500/1,000 blinds with a 1,000 big blind ante. Most players at your table have 20-40BBs and you are relatively new to the table with no significant reads on your opponents. From Under the Gun you make the standard 2.2x open raise to 2,200 with J♥J♦. Players in Middle Position, Hijack, and Button all call. The flop comes 9♥8♦8♠ and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in a daily tournament at a local casino. It is the middle stages of the tournament with just over 50% of the field remaining. Most of the players at our table have 20-40 big blinds and we are relatively new to this table with no significant reads. The blinds are 500/1,000 with a 1,000 big blind ante.

We are dealt J♥J♦ UTG and make a standard open to 2,200 chips. The player to our immediate left calls, as do the Hijack and the Button. Everyone folds and we go four ways to the flop.

The flop is 9♥8♦8♠. Playing multiway pots out of position can be extremely tricky. With a SPR (stack to pot ratio) of around 2 and holding an overpair, it’s going to be very difficult to get away from our hand without some sort of significant action from multiple players still left to act behind us. When deciding if we should c-bet or check, it is important to think of what our entire range wants to do in this spot.

The default range from UTG consists mostly of bigger overcards and overpairs, and while we do have some 77/A9s/A8s type hands as well, the overcards and overpairs will make up the majority of hands. Our opponents are much more likely to have condensed ranges that connect with this board in some way. For that reason, most of our range prefers to check in this spot.

Many players mistake checking for weakness or giving up here, and that’s simply not true. Depending on how the action unfolds behind us there are several options to continue including check-raise, check-call, or check-fold if multiple opponents go all-in before it’s back around to us. By checking, we allow our opponents to take stabs at the pot with hands they otherwise might fold to a bet, such as 66/55 or even some ace-high hands.

Our hand does benefit from protection, so if we were to lead at all in this spot, hands like JJ/TT/A9s would make the most sense. We become very easy to play against if we bet all of our made hands and check all of our misses, and our range is made up of far more overcards and misses than big hands and overpairs.

Checking is the best play.

DECISION POINT: In a live daily tournament with blinds at 1,000/2,000 and a 2,000 big blind ante you are the effective stack at the table with 36K (18BBs). You’ve observed the field as being very passive with many players limping. The action starts with a limp from UTG followed by calls from MP2 and the Cutoff. The Button folds and the Small Blind completes. Action is on you in the Big Blind with 8♥8♣.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a daily live tournament with a very passive field with lots of limping. The blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a 2,000 big blind ante. Most of the stacks are around 100K and we are the shortest with 36K to start the hand.

We are dealt 8♥8♣ in the Big Blind. The action starts with a limp from UTG followed by calls from MP2 and the Cutoff. The Button folds, the Small Blind completes and action is on us with a middle pocket pair and 10K in the pot before we act. There is no real “GTO” solution for this spot because our opponents aren’t supposed to have limping ranges from early position, so we have to fall back on range analysis and what we know about each opponent to make the best decision.

Any time we can potentially add 20-25% to our stack uncontested by moving all-in, we should at least consider shoving all-in as a potential option. In this particular situation, we also have a very solid hand that is likely favored over our opponents’ ranges and has reasonable equity even when called. It is very unlikely that anyone is calling preflop with a very strong range aside from potentially UTG, so the most important range to consider is that of the UTG limper.

In many live games we will see players limping in from all positions and a wide range using hands they “want to see a flop with”. This limping range typically includes Ax combinations, hands with two broadway cards, pocket pairs, and suited connectors.

Against this range we would be way ahead and our hand would easily warrant moving all-in. There some opponents who may be a little more sophisticated and will limp with big hands to trap, particularly at tables where there is a lot of preflop raising occurring. If we had specific information on the UTG player’s potential to limp with strong hands as well this decision becomes much easier.

The last step is to consider the overall table dynamics. Is this a table where we are able to pick up chips easily through winning uncontested pots? Since we are currently the shortest stack at the table the answer is likely no, however if we are likely to take down uncontested pots with a decent frequency in future orbits checking becomes the preferred option.

Most players aren’t capable of limping with a truly balanced range, and there are only a few combinations of big hands available to begin with. Consequently, players who employ a limping strategy in early position can easily start including too many hands in their limping ranges. Without a specific read that the UTG player limps infrequently and does so with strong hands, the ability to add over 25% to our stack by winning an uncontested pot when we move all-in is far too enticing to worry about the few times they are trapping with a big hand.

Moving all-in is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You are in the early stages of a daily online tournament with blinds at 10/20 and no ante. Play has been very active and loose with most stacks at the table near the 2,500 starting stack. The UTG player limps, UTG+1 raises to 90, and action folds around to you on the Button with A♦A♠. You reraise to 320, the Big Blind calls, and both Early Position players call. On the Q♠J♣T♦ flop it checks around to the UTG+1 player who goes all-in for 2,205.

Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing in the early stages of a daily online tournament. The play has been pretty active and loose so far and most players are still near their 2,500 starting stack. The blinds are 10/20 with no ante. Theoretically, with no ante everyone should be playing tighter ranges, however we’ve observed several opponents playing ranges wider than they should given the situation.

We are dealt A♦A♠ on the Button. The UTG player limps for 20, UTG+1 makes it 90 chips, and everyone else folds to us. Our hand definitely prefers to raise and not allow multiple players to see the flop cheaply. A standard reraise is usually 3x the initial raise plus an additional amount to account for previous callers. In this case that would be a total raise of around 290 chips. Given that this table has been playing pretty loose we opt to make it a little larger and raise to 320. Even with the increased raise size we still get calls from the Big Blind, UTG, and UTG+1.

On the Q♠J♣T♦ flop both the Big Blind and UTG check and UTG+1 moves all-in for a huge overbet of 2,205 chips. The first step to deciding how to respond to this shove is to put our opponent on a hand range. Considering the preflop action and the fact that we hold two cards that are ace blockers, it’s very unlikely anyone has AK.

Additionally if the UTG+1 player had AK they would likely want to check and try to induce a bet rather than just move all-in. This makes UTG+1’s range much more likely to include several pair + flush draw hands as well as some two-pair hands. It’s possible they might play some pairs including TT-QQ this way as well, although those hands are strong enough we would expect them to check the flop at least some portion of the time. Taking these factors into account, if our opponent has a hand range of KTs+, QTs+, JTs, QQ-TT we are still over 43% against that range.

Our hand has a lot of equity and will be the best hand on the flop a fair portion of the time. The times we don’t have the best hand on the flop we still have a lot of equity versus even the hands that are currently ahead. We have solid outs including four kings that can make the nuts plus several other cards that improve our hand against two-pair and we can still make a set of aces. If we believe UTG+1 would ever overbet with a draw such as A9s/T9s or would potentially shove the flop with a pair and big draw such as KK, our equity goes up to nearly 47%.

Since this is early in the tournament and there is very little ICM pressure we should make decisions that are very close to Chip Expected Value. While we do have to factor in the slight chance that UTG or the Big Blind could be slowplaying a big hand, there shouldn’t be many big hands aside from 98s in their ranges considering the preflop action. We have to call 2,205 to win 3,495 meaning we only need 40% equity to continue.

If the table was super soft or we had some specific read that the UTG+1 player would just never make this huge overshove on the flop without 2-pair or better, we could fold. Since the table has been observed to be playing very loose and splashy, we simply have too much equity to fold pocket aces with so much money already in the pot.

We can expect to have the best hand reasonably often, and even when behind on the flop we have plenty of outs to improve.

Calling is the best play.