Below is an interview I did for a friend's poker newsletter coming out in April. I figure if I'm going to be posting free strategy advice all over the internet I might as well post it here as well. I think this might be interesting for people since it involves three huge pots where I do some really weird/aggro things which might not make sense. Watch my rationalizations. I'd love to convince you guys my plays are good, but I'm not going to post the accompanying math or really do any in depth analysis so you just get a summary in paragraph form. I think this interview is OK because it's very clear and compact- I get a whole lot of important info packed into a paragraph. I think it's bad because it's imprecise and I don't show my work/math so you don't really get the explanation of the situation only the conclusion. Comments are fine but I'm not going to be expanding on strategy stuff so don't expect stuff like that

*You always seem to be involved in some of the most bizarre and interesting hands in the history of online poker. There was an interesting hand that took place 6 months ago.
First, were you on tilt?

No, I wasn’t on tilt.

What was going through your head during the pre-flop battle?

AARookie is a very aggressive 4bettor, particularly against aggressive 3bettors like me which is probably a good thing. I’d estimate in this spot he was 4betting me around 30% of the time which comes out to a range of around 8% of hands. I think call is standard in my spot with my hand, however with >400bb stacks and an opponent with a wide 4betting range I think 5bet bluffing is pretty nice as well. Once I saw the 6bet I was priced in against any range which was not exactly KK+ so I had to call. I think 7bet bluffing is too loose.


*How did you feel after making the “right” play on the river, only to be outdone by a gutsy Hero call? I know once in a rare moon, my heart would beat really fast and my hands start trembling and I literally have to quit because I can’t control my mouse.

Well, I mean, the decision in the hand occurred on the flop. If I float with no pair no draw OOP in a 6bet pot the only possible explanations are that I was tilting or that I thought my opponent’s range was extraordinarily weak. I’m guessing a combination of timing and betsizing and history tipped me off to making this float. It was a few months ago but I believe my reads were that he would check back QQ, KK and Ax/Axs which he would be 6betting preflop with. That left him with hands like KsKx, AA, AK if he decided to 6bet which is somewhat unlikely combination wise relative to frequent bluffs on a board like this. Therefore, I decided to play for a turn check/check line given my good pot odds on the flop such that I could make a very profitable river jam. I don’t think I was ‘outdone’ at all in this hand: all of my reads/decisions in the hand worked out how I wanted them to work out based on this range. Had this been a 15bb pot instead of a 400bb pot no one would have gotten excited.

Did this hand affect your confident at all? If so, how did you gain it back?

If AArookie is disposed to call/bluff me this lightly then I need to make my preflop 3+betting ranges more linear and I need to make my ranges nuttier and less polarized postflop. Or some combination of these two things.


Stakes: 40/80nl 6-Max. Game was 5-handed
Hero (SB): $33,739.5
(BB): $42,479
UTG: $19,498
CO: $47,508
BTN: $16,000
Pre-flop: 9c6c dealt to Hero (SB) ... UTG folds. MP folds. BTN raises to $178. You 3-bets to $720. Villain 4-bets to $1920. You 5-bet to $5127. Villain 6-bets to $9055. You called.
Flop ($18,288): 8s 2s As … You checked. Villain bets $6650. You called.
Turn ($31,588): Qc … Check check.
River ($31,588): 4c … You shoved. He called with 4d6d.
--- --- ---
Hand 2
BB: $36,123
Hero (BTN): $49,870.5
Pre-flop: 8sQs dealt to Hero (BTN) … Hero raises to $600, BB raises to $1,800, Hero calls $1,200
Flop: ($3,600) Ad 4d 7s … BB bets $2,600, Hero raises to $6,325, BB calls $3725
Turn: ($16,250) 2h … BB checks, Hero checks
River: ($16,250) Ts … BB bets $11,200, Hero calls $11,200 … BB shows Qd9d and won $38,649.5


You said that it would’ve been so much easier to just float the flop than raising it. Can you expand on this?

If I float the flop the hand is very easy to play, although still marginal from an EV perspective. If the turn is a spade/Q then I can call another bet, as well as on some other cards sometimes. If he checks the turn I have a profitable bluff on any card. I can then double off the river with near 100% frequency on cards like the 6d and then check and lose on cards like the 9h.

Also, let’s say you call the flop and the board runs the same, would you bet the turn if checks to? Would you call a river bet if you do check the turn? Would you bet the river if the turn goes check check and BB checks the river?

I just answered that, but it will almost never go check/check on the turn. If it does go check/check then I will almost certainly bluff the river when checked to.
What if you improve to a pair of nines or queens on the turn, would (or should) you bet?
If I had a nine in my hand I would call another bet if I improved to a pair of nines.


--- --- ---
$100/$200NL
BB: $35, 147.5
Hero (BTN): $21,299.5
Pre-flop: 9hQh dealt to Hero (BTN) … Hero raises to $600, BB re-raises to $1,800, Hero calls $1,200
Flop: ($3,600) 4d Ad Td … BB checks, Hero bets $1740, BB check-raises to $3,600, Hero calls $1,860
Turn: ($10,800) Qh … BB bets $4,300, Hero calls $4,300
River: ($19,400) 7h … BB bets $25,447.5 and is All-in. Hero calls $11,599.5 and is All-in


You said, “When I do something like this to someone I don't pat myself on the back for making a great play, basically, what I'm doing is saying my opponent is an idiot. For me to bet/float, bluffcatch and bluffcatch on a board which is good for my opponent's preflop 3betting range after they checkraise me I need them to have a range wildly unbalanced towards bluffs and to have given me enough information through their play such that I can call 3streets with a clowny hand.”
This hand was inspiring. Not because that you won a huge pot with a weak hand but because it shows that there is a lot to poker that is still unexplored.
If someone out there wants to improve and work on his game, what do you suggest ie how would you do it if you have to do it all over again, knowing what you know now in terms of learning and improving as a poker player?

I would play a lot of hands and study a lot. Basically do exactly what Jose ‘Girah’ Macedo has done.


Lastly,
1. Who is a part of your poker inner circle? Not necessarily the best but players who you exchange ideas with.
2. Which player changes your game the most? How did he change the way you think about the game, the way you play?
3. Who do you think is the best HUNL and 6-max at the moment?
4. What is a common mistake(s) small-stakes players make?
5. Assuming the momentary reward is relatively the same, if given a choice, which incident would you like to occur tomorrow? Crushing Phil Ivey at Rail Heaven or winning the ME?


1. No comment.
2. Probably Ben Straate.
3. Jungleman is best HUNL. There are a ton of good players 6max NL… Urnotindangr is quite tough 6max.
4. Not being aggressive enough
5. Rail Heaven.