The last hand I posted touched on the concept of recognizing the best bluffing hand(s) in your range. Here’s another example:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com
SB (t32977)
BB (t8225)
UTG (t31597)
UTG+1 (t7626)
MP1 (t21893)
MP2 (t17250)
MP3 (t21023)
CO (t37295)
Hero (t29420)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Kh, Ad.
UTG raises to t1200, 5 folds, Hero raises to t2999, 2 folds, UTG calls t1799.
Flop: (t6173) 7s, 9h, 2c (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t2666, UTG calls t2666.
Turn: (t11505) 3h (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t4444, UTG folds.
Final Pot: t15949
Results in white below:
No showdown. Hero wins t15949.
As you might imagine, my range for 3-betting an UTG raiser is not all that wide. In most cases, AK is the only non-pair in my range. Assuming that I’m value betting (ie bet-calling) KK and AA, my options for bluffing (bet-folding) would be JJ, QQ, and AK. With the pairs, there is some chance that I will be able to check and win at showdown. The hand with the least showdown value in my range is AK, and consequently it is the best bluff of the alternatives.
The sizing of this bet is also important. Given the effective stacks, it leaves approximately a pot-sized bet left behind. This maximizes my leverage, meaning that Villain must worry not only about the size of this bet but also about the size of the bet that could come on the river.
This sizing also gives me the most options on the river. I may choose to triple barrel, to value shove an A or K, or to check behind and keep the cost of my bluff to a minimum.
I try to evaluate how universal is your claim “the best bluff hand is the hand with the least showdown value in my range”.
I just wander if this statement holds true agross variety of game structures(cash,tourney,cash,HU,6-max,fullring,limit or no-limit or Omaha).
It’s not always true, but it is in this case, where most of my range has showdown value. When you have a very weak range and will sometimes be checking and giving up when you have no showdown value, then other factors like equity and blockers become more important.
This is mostly true when there is little difference in showdown value between say the bottom 10% of your range (perhaps T-high) and next lowest 10% of your range (perhaps A-high or a small pair). If both of these hands have near-0 showdown value, then bluffing with the slightly stronger part could easily be better.
The middle of hero’s range (in this case JJ and QQ) is unlikely to fold any better hands when turned into a bluff.
The best bluff hand -I agree.But it is gotcha. My range in this context is my perception of my opponent perception of my range.The practical application of you claim is a question if my opponent see a lot of “air” in my range?.If he see the air and I am not able to correctly to asses his “airy” imagination your claim is bad advice.
If you have an exploitable read on him, then this is correct. In the absence of such a read, you should have a balanced bluffing range. Basically you shouldn’t engage in the “he thinks that I think” game unless you have good reason to think you can win it.
I came to similar limitations by assuming the same parameters like in your 9 handed example exept this is now tourney hu match.
So both players(UTG ang HERO) have to confront wider ranges on all streets vs 6-max or fullring.
You elaborate a quiet bit about importance of sizing bet on turn.
” Given the effective stacks, it leaves approximately a pot-sized bet left behind.
This maximizes my leverage, meaning that Villain must worry not only about the size of this bet but also about the size of the bet that could come on the river.”
Some time ago I was always critical of your bet sizing logic resulting frequently in underbetting turn and flop and fireworks on river.
I assumed ealier that small bets did not help me to define range of my opponent and in result I will be making error-prone river decision.
I assumed also that small bets puts to little presure on my opponnet and give to much comfort to make good decision.
Lately I realized that such strategy could be optimall across full spectrum of player profiles in HU too.
Yeah I like not just the flexibilty with your choice of river moves.But I like the flexibility as “startup” strategy aganst all spectrum player profiles including unknown one.
Underbetting flop and turn creates more frequent situations where your opponent river range consist of draws and very medium holdigns in all formats.
The UTG range is optimal to hit with value or bluff shoves on river in HU.
I love your size betting on turn.
However I believe the same sizing on turn and board will carry different priority of additional threats and interpretations in HU.
This same size betting on turn in HU will be more polarizing move.
You give suspiciously low price to see river and chance to evaluate situation.Why?
The turn card introduces str8 draws.It is cheap to make str8 or hit overpair.
You keep open questions about your range(value betting,drawing or bluffing)
I like cognitive dissonance with super low price to see river.The only thing I am afraid is UTG spaz shove.
So if you’re Villain and you have JJ, is there anything to do other than what he did, hoping some of his villains (i.e. you) won’t double-barrel with AK and check it down? Is he better off folding the flop (playing it like set-mining) when there’s no draw for you anywhere? Seems like Villain needs to think you’re FOS AND will check it down 20ish% of the time for the flop call to be OK.
Seems from everything I’ve read there’s never a good answer but interested in your thoughts.
Good question. Given how strong my range is for 3-betting his UTG raise, folding flop might be correct regardless of what I do with AK on the turn.
Failing that, it’s OK/optimal to have a range for calling once and check-folding the turn. You wouldn’t want to do it if you knew I was barreling the turn 100%, but assuming that I sometimes check the turn, he should have a call-fold range. Otherwise I wouldn’t need to fire again with AK and he’d lose value with stronger hands. The key is to also have stronger hands that can call-raise or call-call-call to protect the JJ stuff that call-folds.