A little trick I have been working on that help me alot - with an example

[N I V V Y]

I have had much trouble in the past with strong, but nonetheless marginal made hands - overvaluing them and getting caught out.

All the superb content on this site has helped me to improve alot in this area.

Very recently, the thing that has helped me the most is literally shouting out (be loud and proud lol) "Bluff Catcher", whenever I am in a spot that feels dangerous.

Until recently, thanks to the cash game course, I didn't realise that it was that my opponent had flopped or turned, or rivered the NUT ADVANTAGE.

Before that, I just felt uncomfortable, but ploughed on regardless and blindly calling down with my top pair.

Shouting, "BLUFF CATCHER" has allowed me to concentrate the mind and actually makes me stop and think about all the hands in my opponents range that could be bluffing or beating me. This has undoubtedly helped me make better and more profitable decisions.

An example of this is the following hand I played V Snowie.

Snowie opens from Lojack and I re-raise the button with AA.

Snowie checks flop and I cbet small. Snowie calls.




Snowie then leads out on this turn. Then I shout "BLUFF CATCHER".



Snowie has more 7's in his range, 66 for value, so I need to be careful. In the past i probably think. "OK, he has a flush draw" and raise.

Then I would stack off to his 66 or 7's and still pay off the flush draw when it came in. lol. Admit it. You all have done this.

Now though, shouting "BLUFF CATCHER" shocks me into seeing sense. It's why I shout it. I can then think about his entire range which prepares me for the river card as well.

I CALLED.

Snowie checks river. 54 gets there, 33 gets there and he could easily check raise me large with all his value and some of his bluffs and put me in a miserable spot. In my Spot snowie rates betting and checking as even EV, so checking here is fine. Previously i would blindly try to squeeze value out of the river from a queen, and calling with a shrug if I am check rasied.



Just a small working example of how this site has help me improve my game - and a little trick i am using to help me implement what I am learning.

Works for me!

The showdown? Not important really but Snowie had.


88

[LondonImp]

Haha nice work - just try and avoid doing this at a live table or you may give away your hand strength just a tad

Also, I can't help but imagine you saying bluff catcher like Peter Griffin...

[Cloutier]

I laughed so hard at this I almost spilled my coffee.

[Maniac1130]

I am with Cloutier, I LOL'd as well!!

[N I V V Y]

Also, not if the cat is asleep on your lap!

[Guido]

great post but

i have some Questions About your post

why did you think on turn he has a flush draw when the flop was rainbow ok he can Always have a flushdraw but not very likely , isnt it?

i would not raise the turn for the main reason: AA is no nut hand here and villian can easily have the 7 , call it nut advantage or whatever but always when board changes more or less drastically i am carefully on turns whereas I love to bet for thin value on rivers as I dont have to fear any more draws , in position i can see villians action and range him more accurately and the board can change drastically again or brickin and in my games river check raising happens always never

so i like the call on turn but dont like the check on river

you can bet small and fold to a raise

but it is very dangerous too check back too often if you care about eV : )

[N I V V Y]

flush draws he could have. Td9d, 9d8d, 4d5d, 8d5d, 5d3d, AdJd, AdTd, Ad9d - although he would probably have raised some on the flop he would almost certainly call the A9/T/J

Snowie calculates my EV of checking or betting small on the river as EVEN. Only betting 50% pot is better. By 0.23 EV - so virtually nothing.

I should add also that this a tournament set up.

In a cash game I would lean more towards a river bet.

In any event it was an example of my new approach to not value owning myself too easily. Especially Multi Tabling, it is all too easy to quickly click buttons without really considering the options - particularly mid way through a grind. For me, doing this cuts through the near hypnotic state and helps me to think a little more clearly, just when I need to.

Out of interest, what is your method, especially when multi-tabling?

[Paul Khoo]

i would also suggest bet/fold at river. snowie assume opponent is a good player by bet fold AA always it will be neg ev. but in most game most player are not check raising bluff enough. checking back is fine if you have read that opponent like to put you in tough spot .

[Guido]

I really Think you overemphasize the fear of value owning yourself and also tournament considerations , you click Buttons when just call , when deciding to value bet Thinly you have too choose an amount and to make a mature decision

When you Range villian correctly more often than not you should value bet thinly no Matter whether it is a cg or mtt

Perhaps you could make more money than you already make by "value owning yourself " more often

I dont have a Method , i play up to 6 tables at the same time , most often 4-5 and thats enough so i can Think through eveything almost always

[N I V V Y]

You make a valid point. I defo have a tendency to shy away from thin value spots on the river.

Importantly though. This hand is verses Snowie, not the general MTT population (I am almost certainly betting river here in my usual €20 games, as it isn't a thin value spot in these games) . Likely not going to do it against a very tough opponent. I wish snowie had a feature to be able to play against players of varying degrees of competence. Maybe in the future.

This is how thin the value is in this spot (in this hand verses this opponent)

Using a 25% size.
Check 74% of the time with EV of 35.12
Bet (25% size) has an EV of 35.12 (using this size snowie will check raises all in a small portion of the time)

Using 50% sizing
Check 0% of the time with EV of 35.12
Bet 100% of the time with EV of 35.33

Bet pot
EV of 36.66

The problem is the bigger you bet, the more often snowie raises to counter.

Snowies best advice on the river for me. Use 25% sizing and check 74% of the time and bet 26% of the time with an EV of 35.12 whichever decision you make.

[N I V V Y]

Although snowie throws up some strange glitches sometimes.

Literally just played a small session practising short stack SB v BB play. and looking throgh the errors

Preflop range advice is to raise all 99+ 100% of the time.

Then in the errors, it gives me this great tip. I raise with 99 here. ok I raise too small which generated a small ev error. But the tip? lol



Baffled!

[Maniac1130]

N I V V Y Great post man! I really like the idea of Mentally keeping yourself in check with a keyword that you shout out loud! I hope it's been working amazingly for you!