CC Grade 3 Notes Flashcards
What is the Interference Theorem with regards to bluff selection when repolarizing and raising on the river ?
(Repolarize means to raise a bet having condensed your range by calling an earlier one, e.g. raising river after facing a triple barrel)
e.g. BB vs CO
Jd3h2c- X,R33,C
7d- X,B75,C
Ks- X,B75,R4x
Interference Theorem-
When you repolarise on the river, you will want to bluff with:
a) Pairs on blank runouts
b) flush/straight blockers on wetter runouts.
e.g. BB vs CO
Jd3h2c- X,R33,C
7d- X,B75,C
Ks- X,B75,R4x
bluff raises here would be J8ss, 43ss, but not QhJs since Q is bad blocker to bluffs.
Flop Mixing Tier 2 Value Raises, let’s look at tier system
Raised infrequently, raised sometimes, raised frequently. Better the kicker of top pair on j3d against a range bet for instance increases raise frequency.
J8hh infrequent
JcTs sometimes
KcJc frequently
Flop Mixing- Bluff raises
on Jd3h2c against R33 we raise 4x.. raised occasionally, raised at some frequency, raised frequently.
Q8hh occasionally
Q6dd mid
54cc Raised frequently
Homework Task 1-
BB vs CO
KsQh7d- X, R33, ?
set this up in trainer and do it 50 times.
a) compose list of where five most common mixing errors occured
b) compose a list of any EV losses you made
c) Name the main thing in-game you have to be more cogniscient of.
Realize you raise gutshots and OESDS a bit more. pairs with BDFD raise more.
High polarity strategies on turn are often easier to implement since it is more intuitive.
What are the 5 buckets of hands that you have?
Where do these hands in the following situation fit?
BB vs CO
8d5hJc- X,X
8s- X,?
a) Ad7h
b) AcQc
c) Js9s
d) AhJs
Pure check
Bet Infrequently
Bet Sometimes
Bet Frequently
Pure Bet
a) Ad7h bet frequently
b) AcQc check.
c) Js9s pure check
d) AhJs pure bet
River Bucketing
BB vs CO
QhTh7s- X,B75,C
5d- X,X
3h- ?
How does our thought process go for bet sizes in this favorable situation?
In spots where toolkit can be simplified to 3 bet sizes and we have EV advnatage and must therefore bluff wherever possible, our thought process will go as follows
a) We have a lot of Qx and Tx so B33 will be common, bluffs will be rare.
b) We have a little bit of AQ KQ so B75 will be for rare value, bluffs will be rare in this size as well.
c) We have a lot of 2pair+ so B150 will be common, so this is where my bluffs will go.
NO REAL STANDARD REASON TO CHOOSE ONE BLUFF SIZE, with exception of when going big you need good blockers.
Ask what tier is my hand?
Tier 1 B150
Tier 2 B75
Tier 3 B33
Tier 4 Check
Bluffs- IS there a sizing my hand has negative blockers for? If yes, roll between 2 other sizes. If no, roll 3 sizes but weight the preferred size most (like weight 50% B150, 30% B33, 20% B75
Functions of Blockers/Unblockers
What are the four different functions of blockers?
Positive Functions for Bluffing:
Combo blocks calls, Combo unblocks folds
Negative Functions for Bluffing:
Combo Blocks Folds, Combo Unblocks Calls
Positive Functions for Calling:
Combo Blocks Value, Combo Unblocks Bluffs
Negative Functions for Calling:
Combo Blocks Bluffs
Combo Unblocks Value
Focus on combo unblocking folds for bluffing. When no flushes present on river, most useful metric for determining how positive your blockers are. Tedious to block calls without also blocking folds when villains calling range is 1 pair. If you block 1 kicker of opponents pair, you unblock all of their other kickers, which becomes a lot in late position battles. Opponents folds have a lot more in common so focus on unblocking the folds, as they are likely to share a rank or suit when trying to unblock flushes/straights/etc. FOCUS ON UNBLOCKING FOLDS WHEN BLUFFING, NOT BLOCKING THE NUTS.
What is bluffing EV?
If ranking 3 types of bluffs that all block X calls:
A= highest bluffing EV that blocks Y-1 folds
B= middling bluffing EV that blocks Y folds
C= lowest bluffing EV that blocks Y+! folds
What are they like in
a) unfavorable,
b) slightly unfavorable,
c) neutral,
d) slightly favorable,
e) favorable world
EV gain or loss between bluffing and checking.
a) sometimes bluff A, never B or C
b) Always bluff A, never B or C
c) Always bluff A, sometimes B, never C
d) Always Bluff A, always B, might bluff C
e) Always bluff A, B, C
if we can determine which world we are in (range vs range EV is best reference), and if we can determine whether hand is A B or C wiht respect to blocking folds then we can choose between bluffs that don’t seem to excel at blocking calls.
Unblocking folds, real example
HJ vs BB
KhJd7d- X,B75,C
4s- X,B150,C
2h- X, B133(all in) or Check?
a) How favorable is this world?
b) Examine following hands and determine which blocks Y-2, Y-1, Y, Y+1, and Y+2 folds
Q8hh
A6dd
T9cc
AdTs
A3ss
a) slightly favorable (remember blank rivers after overbet favor OOP caller, whereas straight completing rivers is really great for IP)
b)
Q8hh Y-2 (not a lot of Qx or 8x in villain range, 8x doesn’t block folds)
A6 blocks Y+2
T9blocks Y (KT and K9 are close to hands that fold)
AdTs blocks Y+1
A3ss blocks Y-1
lets look in more detail at BB’s reaction to HJ’s all in
Q8hh only blocks 1 frequent folds (K8s)
As3s blocks frequent folds AsJs and AsJx
Tc9c blocks pure folds KTs and KTo and frequent fold K9s
AdTs blocks pure folds AdJx, KdTd, AdTd, KdTx
Ad6d blocks pure folds AdQd, AdTd, AdJx, Kd6d, 6d4d
Double Delayed stab- more unblockers
calls don’t have much in common, e.g. pairs have wide array of diff kickers
folds have a lot in common, sharing similar cards e.g. A-high, K-high etc
So when bluffing, makes sense to focus more on villains folds, rather than calls
What does villains folding range look like in following spot?
How would you structure a bluffing range to unblock it?
SB vs BB 3BP
7d7s5c- X,X
Jh- X,X
Js- ? (X,B75,B150?)
How favorable is this spot?
villain will fold mostly Ax and Kx
since we aren’t bluffing w/ Ax anyway, main goal is to avoid bluffing w/ hands that block these big cards.
Could argue KQ is good bc it blocks KJ and QJ, but there are almost no combos.
Folding range is what matters here.
This is slightly favroable world w/ 54.55% EV. Bluff all class A and class B, and stay away from Class C hands. here 4s4h has 6.3% EV and QsTs has 3.5% EV
Unblockers in highly unfavorable spots
when it checks through to the river in 2bet pots, OOP caller is at huge disadvantage. Mildly condensing actions of each player leave OOP’s preflop range disadvantage in place.
e.g.
BB vs UTG
Ad6h5s- X,X
Ks- X,X
Kd- (X, B33, B75, or B150?)
EV here for OOP is 27%
Match the hands with their bluff candidate grade
a) T9dd
b) T9ss
c) 75hh
a) T9dd is grade C to never bluff
diamonds are particular bad since spades will prob get bet on turn, so diamonds block air here!
b) T9ss is grade B, since villain declined to bet on turn (flush draws common) you unblock more air now.
c) 75hh is grade A sometimes bluff, they don’t arrive here with a 7 and then folding! they don’t have a 7 or 5 all that often
when checks til the river you want to have the busted flush draw!
don’t bluff here w/ T9 just to recoup money
Look at villains reaction to B150 and our B150 strategy
BB vs UTG
Ad6h5s- X,X
Ks- X,X
Kd- (X, B33, B75, or B150?)
bluffs here aren’t in Tx8x or 9x region, not bluffing anything in the middle range. don’t block the folds at highest frequency! villain is supposed to fold 77-JJ even QQ, and a lot of Ax. So don’t block this region
At all costs avoid hands that block underpairs but not broadways.
What are villains folds here and do i block them? if no, go ahead and bluff
Don’t fall victim to nuts obsession fallacy!
HW 3, analyze 3 hands in node of SRP OOP delayed probe opportunity when runout is not super wet
do presolver review where estimating
a) favorability
b) class of your hand as a bluff (wrt unblocking folds)
c) what you should do
d) run it in a solver and note any inaccuracies.
Five parts of a Flop X/R Range are?
1) Thick Value Region (sets, two pair on dry or flush, straight on wet)
2) Thin Value Region (TPDK, TP+BDFD, Mediocre Overpair on low board) kinda entitled to 70%ish of the pot. not mandatory on flop, but want to raise eventually.
3) High EV Bluff Region (nut flush draws, combo draws, flush draws, even good gutters). Hands perform well in giant pots when they can leapfrog villains bluffcatchers. Mix call/raise
4) Hybrid Region (made hand with some redraw, example low pair low kicker which actually has 5 outs to two pair or trips, can get better to fold.
5) Low EV Bluff Region (mix call/fold/raise)
people don’t find 2,4,5 enough
EV Spectrum goes
1 starts near 300% pot EV
2 starts near 100%ish pot EV
3 starts near 66%ish pot EV
4 starts near 15%ish pot EV
5 starts near 0%ish pot EV
3 is only loosely a bluff in the sense that villain commonly folds significant equity vs the raise
4 combines reasons mainly value and extreme denial. lower the EV of call and the more useful the fold equity, the closer a hand gets to qualifying as a hybrid raise.
5 is sometimes +EV but in other cases 0EV. sometimes mix fold/raise and sometimes mix/call/raise
- Thick Value Region
How is this region played on the following boards?
a) unpaired multitone textures
b) paired or monotone textures
a) on unpaired multitone textures, there are times when this region must raise and other times it can elect to call depending on how polarised c-bettors range is. Against merged range you want to raise yourself.
b) indifferent to calling and raising since it pushes villain towards air with its blockers.
Case A
Pure Raise on unpaired/multitone facing R33 BB vs BU
As9s4d w/ 4s4h
urgency is high to build the pot now against this merged range. huge EV loss to not raise.
Case B
Mixed Raise on unpaired/multitone facing B75 BB vs BU
KhJh4d w/ 4h4c
more polarized range will put in money for you, don’t get their air to fold
Case C
Mixed Raise on Paired Flop facing R33 BB vs BU
JhJc7d w/ 7h7c
incredibly polarizing flop. normally on multitone texture 77 would be a raise, paired flops are exception. Villain is incredibly polarized by this flop. While a jack is unblocked by our hand, so too are the bluffs in villains range that will fire future streets at high frequency. Hand has polarizing blockers, meaning we block hands that hands that would only invest by calling, so very likely we will face aggression in a checkback line.
Case D
Mixed Raise on Monotone Textures facing B33 BB vs BU
Tc6c4c w/ A5cc
Most of range that calls you has a club, but villain won’t just bluff only clubs on turn so you block villains future air bluffs.
What is Cobra’s Rule? Regarding sizing for Region 1 hands after raise gets called?
Wet Turns give the check-raiser a big RA, but equalize the NA. So bet frequently w/ small sizing.
Dry Turns give the caller a RA, but preserve the raise’s NA since the higher EV draws have bricked but they still have medium hands. So bet very big or go for snake in the grass w/ check-raise
As9s4d
Since we know that NA increases sizing & RA increases frequency, we can expect spade turns to demand a completely different strategy to blank turns. (Shown in PIO that spades go small, bricks go polar)
-9 or A particularly bad for us.
-K or Q not overbet since villain will 2pair up on these boards more often than us (we 3bet our AQ AK etc)
-4 is overbet since our hybrid raises become particularly strong,
-2,3,5 also overbettable bc hand completes some straights but also two pairs the hybrids, and are a brick for opponent.
the greater the extent value region is preserved the bigger sizing is going to be but the lower your frequency
when value region not preserved lower the sizing but very high frequency.
Range Explorer Comparison Regarding landing ranges after raising R33 cbet on flop
BB vs BU
As9s4d- X,R33,R4x,C
Compare following turns:
7h (dry/3tone)
2s (wet/2tone)
7h-
IP is largely ahead rangewise, causing OOP to have to check-fold a lot. but they have nut advantage.
MIX check (checkraise) and B120.
Region 1 (which unblock villains calling range) will pure bet, just as it pure raised flop. like 4s4h.
With blockers to calling range Region will will have as much EV by checking, like Ah9d.
2s OOP largely ahead, but NA for IP.
simplify to B33. Our range is MERGED and POWERFUL now (as opposed to polarized and air-heavy)
Our Region 1 hands have now become much thinner value bets (like 4h4s). this set can turn into boat as well!
- Thin Value Region
How does it raise on following flops?
a) polarized
b) condensed
c) monotone
d) multitone
Thin Value region has less urgency to build pot. Always mix call/raise regardless of texture.
Case A facing R33 BB vs BU
As9s4d w/ A8hh raises like 20%
great to unblock diamonds here as a sidenote
raise then don’t barrel off large if called, check or go small later.
Villain range betting, they must continue lots of weak/merged hands.
Case B facing B75 BB vs BU
KhJh4d w/ Ks7s raises like 9%
Much less raising vs bigger sizing as our range deploys less raise frequency.
Raises to get called by worse, or for denial against Ax or gutters for instance
here thin value hands raise w/ similar frequency to global frequency. (high EV bluffs, hybrids, low EV bluffs often bet way more than global)
Case C
facing R33 BB vs BU
JhJc7d w/ 9s9d raises about 50%
Denial is biggest role here, as long as we don’t get out of line later.
Case D
Facing B33 BB vs BU
Tc7c4c w/ 64ss raises about 12%
Not often so we don’t want to do this all the time.
Again removing continues and unblocking bluffs
How Thin Value Hands React to Different Turns
BB vs BU
JhJc7d- X,R33,4x,C
compare turns
a) 4s
b) Td
a) 4s lets us remain far more polarized than villain but his range is still quite polarized given Jx is so much better than all other regions.
MIX B75 and CHECK
Hands like 9s9d (that were Tier 2 or 3) now drop to Tier 4.
b) Td. He the polarization gap closes and the cobra insists we bet smaller. Not such a great turn that we can range bet though.
MIX B33 and CHECK
Hand like 9s9d becomes a Hybrid.
- High EV Bluff Region
How does it raise vs polarized, condensed, monotone, multitone?
High EV bluffs are already very high EV, so can be seen as value-bluff hybrids
Case A
facing R33 BB vs BU
As9s4d w/ Qs8s about 80% of time
Hands entitled to majority of pot are value raises- these ones just get very useful fold equity
Case B
facing B75 BB vs BU
KhJh4d w/ A6hh about 40% of time
Again overal raise frequency is lower so this hand is actually far above the mean global freq.
Case C
facing R33 BB vs BU
JhJc7d w/ Th9h near 100% of time
We have more raised on paired boards than any other rough texture. Some high EV draws become pure raises under these conditions. Global raise range on this board is high too, as you’re facing range bet and easy to have random J
Case D
facing B33 BB vs BU
Tc6c4c w/ Kc9s near 25% of time
Again our pot entitlement makes this a literal value-bluff. Can raise later too.
How High EV Bluffs React to Different Turns
BB vs BU
KhJh4d- X,B75,4x,C
How are different turns played?
a) 2c
b) Qh
a) when we suffer this brick turn card our range is now in unfavorable world. Mix 75 and Check
Note: due to larger flop c-bet no need to overbet despite large NA
We have a low global betting frequency here so even this hand checks frequently (30ish%)
b) Qh brings in flush and straights so we’re now in highly favorable world where solver bets range.
Solver chooses 34% B75 and 66% B33, 0% check.
We can simplify to 100% B33 w/ almost no EV loss.
- Hybrid Region
How does it raise vs polarized, condensed, monotone, multitone?
Marginal made hands which benefit a lot from fold equity and retain decent equity when their raise is called.
More vulnerable these are and the weaker they play as calls, the more often they will opt to raise.
Case A
facing R33 BB vs BU
As9s4d w/ 43hh raises near 80% of time
Fold equity is fully denial based, no element of bluffing yet but could change on turn.
Case B
facing B75 BB vs BU
KhJh4d w/ Ad4s raises near 50% of time
This hand unblocks a lot of Villain’s bet/folds. 4 doesn’t interact with much and the Ad doesn’t really either. But we would not raise Qs4s as it is not overpair to board.
Case C
facing R33 BB vs BU
JhJc7d w/ 2s2c raises near 45% of time.
Again elements of value w/ huge spread of denial. Our range is most polarized here. Villain is meant to call a bunch of unpaired hands here so denial is huge.
Case D
facing B33 BB vs BU
Tc6c4c w/ 6d5d
Again lower kicker makes hand vulnerable enough to hybrid raise.
Flop Hybrids on Turn after Raise
BB vs BU
Tc6c4c- X,R33,4x,C
How are different turns played?
a) Jh (brick turn)
b) 2c (wet turn)
a) neutral spot but our hand plummets in EV further.
Hybrids oftem become useful bluffs (tier 6) on worsening cards for their equity as this hand now unblocks a lot of Villain’s folding range.
6d5d would raise about 45% of the time. (neutral world where low EV bluffs can bluff sometimes)
b) BU has monopoly on offsuit big cards and overpairs, so actually is a disaster for BB range of low flushes and lower EV bluffs (33% OOP EV)
This spot is so unfavorable Tier 6-7 must be given up and this hand is certainly no Tier 5 bluff.
- Low EV Bluffs
How does it raise vs polarized, condensed, monotone, multitone?
Low EV bluffs usually close to 0EV and indifferent between call/fold/raise. May even be losing calls but breakeven/winning raises
Low robustness but some distant nut potential.
Case A
facing R33 BB vs BU
As9s4d w/ T8dd raises near 10%, calls like 55%, folds rest.
Two backdoors alone are barely enough to break even vs even a range bet. Profitable riving bluffing opportunities when they check back turn. Not just backdoors here but also pair draws.
Case B
facing B75 BB vs BU
KhJh4d w/ Th9d raises near 40%, folds otherwise
Illustrating that raise can be better than call. Raises way more than global frequency as a hand here.
If these 3 things are true, you want to raise instead of call
1) Pot odds are bad
2) OOP so less future fold equity
3) hand is frail and not surviving in terms of SDV
Case C
facing R33 BB vs BU
JhJc7d w/ Kh5h raises near 4-5% and folds rest
Would not raise 6c5c since 6 not high enough of pair to be worth it.
Case D
facing B33 BB vs BU
Tc6c4c w/ 6d5d raises near 40% and calls rest.
We stay away from backdoors here as they are just too insignificant on monotone boards.
How to play Low EV Bluffs on the Turn after raise and get called.
Judgemental Crow’s Rule
Having raised the flop, do not bluff again with low EV bluffs that missed a neutral or unfavorable turn card.
a) villain called
b) unfavorable turn
means you should give up a lot with huge deficit in fold equity and nothing going on with your hand! (kinda like turn probe opportunities where board favors PFR where BB should just give up a lot)
Judgemental Crow says “Were you thinking of bluffing just there? Were you? That’s a horrible blunder, you idiot”
Don’t pile money in spots with air when spot is unfavorable for you.
Case A
BB vs BU
As9s4d- X,R33,4x,C
Kc- ?
T8dd checks always. OOP EV is 40% so highly unfavorable world so can’t choose T8dd as bluff.
Catching System
What do the following hands do against B150, B75, B33?
Value Beaters
Bluff Catcher A (Good)
Bluff Catcher B (Average)
Bluff Catcher C (Bad)
Frail Hands (not always folded)
Don’t just look at hand against specific sizing! Make sure to be elastic to be have a good defense frequency.
Value Beaterscall all bets
Catcher A (Good) calls B75, B33 and mixes call against B150
Catcher B (Average) calls B33, mixes call against B75, fold against B150
Catcher C (Bad) mixes call against B33, folding against B75 & B150
Frail Hand folds against B33, B75, B150
Tiering a Catcher (Facing B75)
SB vs BB
Js7S2c- X,X
5h- B75, C
Qh- B75, ?
Name a hand in each Tier facing this action.
On this turn, tends to recommend just B150 or B33 bc it more accurately describes hands that want to bet. Like overpairs, KJ, set for B150, then block for 7x, 88, 5x, meh Jx.
Here we call normal amount of time. Catcher system is most intuitive facing B75. Luckily, pool loves this size.
Not massively unfavorable spot so approaching MDF here.
Catcher’s tier may change w/ blocker interactions
Q is actually bricky given the action
Value beater- J8hh
Catcher A- A7hh (want to unblock bluffs)
Catcher B- T7cc (T blocks some bluffs), T is a dangler that blocks bluffs
Catcher C- 8s8d (2 blockers to villains bluffs like 98 makes it a losing call)
Frail Hands- Ks4s (horrible blockers for both cards)
Tiering a Catcher (Facing B33)
SB vs BB
Js7S2c- X,X
5h- B33, C
Qh- B33, ?
Name a hand in each Tier facing this action.
Facing B33 we must call very often in neutral worlds like this one.
Value Beater- A7hh (3bb EV, if you see large EV like a few bb or 20%pot, 30% pot, it is not just a catcher. Catchers hover around 0)
Catcher A- 53dd (doesn’t interfere w/ bluffing range, can even raise, blocks two pair or sets!)
Catcher B- 4s4h (can raise even, same reason as above)
Catcher C- KhTh (raises a lot, but interferes w/ bluffing range. Blocks some value like KJ though, so prob only raises to make sure we don’t just only bluff lower cards that don’t interfere w/ bluff range. Only raises since EV is 0.01 instead of call which is 0.00)
Frail Hand- Th9d (interferes like crazy with bluffing range)
Tiering a Catcher (Facing B150)
SB vs BB
Js7S2c- X,X
5h- B33, C
Qh- B33, ?
Name a hand in each Tier facing this action.
Great line, since a lot of nutted hands on our brick turn and brick river!
Here we place a premium on blocking value bets and unblocking bluffs
Value Beater- Qs8s (reason Qx is good enough is bc SB is betting exactly because this Q is a brick for our range. When we call turn overbet last card he expects to run into is a Q)
Catcher A- Kc7c (catcher removes combos of KQ, blocks 77 set, unblocks bluffs. don’t throw away half BB by folding here especially when villain overbluffing)
Catcher B- J8hh, T7dd can’t. J blocks two pair like QJo.
Catcher C- 65ss loses whole bb even though block 5, but 6 is a dangler.
Frail Hand- 98hh
make sure to keep raise frequency in check here.
