Pre-flop Raise Size IP vs Fish in Blinds

Make bigger pre-flop raises when IP versus a fish. Fish will not adjust their calling range. They will either play too straightforwardly and check/fold or make light call downs. Either way, its a win/win for us because a bigger pot size means a bigger mistake. Keep in mind that our hand is irrelevant for the most part. 

Example 1: Folds to Hero OTB with J5cc. There is a 43/14 fish in the BB. Hero's raise size? At least 3bbs, anything from 3.5x-5x is good. Of course you have to keep in mind stack sizes as well. 

Example 2: Hero has ATcc in CO and there is a target in the SB playing 35/22. The pre-flop raise size should be 3.5x-4x. The BTN is a 22/17 TAG but until he shows us that he is willing to make plays at us, we should isolate and play bigger pots with the fish as much as we can.

Make sure we stay consistent with the bigger raise size as this can be a big winrate boost!

Destination: SSNL, Part 4

• Verneer concentrates on button play and when we should be calling or 3-betting. He goes over a bunch adamwil's HH in detail and explains his thought process.
• This video pointed out quite a few mistakes I have been making. I need to pay more attention to the blinds and whether I want them to come along or not. 
• A few things you can address to improve your redline:
• Picking up dead money:
• Stealing the blinds
• The button as the Gatekeeper
• Re-stealing vs. regulars
• Isolating fish
• The Button is a Gatekeeper
• If the CO opens, check the blinds:
• Weaker players: call more on the BTN vs the CO open.
• Stronger players: 3-bet more on the BTN vs the CO open.
• It's your BTN: Act like you own it
• Most fish slowplay sets for the same reason they slowplay AA; because it is very strong and hard to make.

Hand examples:

10NL 6max - MP fish (50/6) calls $0.10, CO LAG (62/37) raises to $0.20, SB fish (33/17), BB fish (55/4). Hero is OTB with ATss, Hero?

• If the blinds were regulars who can potentially squeeze, a 3-bet would be preferable to isolate the CO. In this case, everyone at the table is a fish and is not likely to 3-bet. We can call OTB and expect the SB, BB, and MP limper to come along with dominated hands. Our hands plays decently well multi-way and flops strong draws and good TP.

10NL 6max - MP fish (72/4) calls $0.10, CO regish (26/17) raises to $0.40, SB fish (35/9), BB fish (50/13). Hero is OTB with KTcc, Hero?

• This spot is similar to the one above except the CO is a regish player. The CO likely knows that he can isolate the MP limper wide which makes KTcc a playable hand. We have the option to 3-bet or call and a quick glance at the blinds indicate that a call may be more profitable. If we had a hand like A9o, a 3-bet is better.

10NL 6max - CO reg (16/13) raises to $0.30, SB fish (39/0), BB fish (49/5). Hero is OTB with AdQs, Hero?

• Again, with two fishes in the blinds, it is better to call and get them to come along. 3-betting AQ wouldn't be bad here but if the reg 4-bets us, we will have to fold.

10NL 6max - CO reg (22/18) raises to $0.40, SB reg (19/15, 3-bet 5%), BB regish (26/16, 3-bet 8%). Hero is OTB with AcAh, Hero?

• This is a pretty interesting spot. The Hero ends up 3-betting, but calling is also a viable option. In my mind, there is a long list of pros, but short list of cons.
• Pros to calling:
• BB has high 3-bet % and may squeeze.
• Deception.
• Strongest hand in nlhe, hand is more or less invulnerable.
• Keep CO's range wide and get value from that range post-flop.
• Can still stack his monsters post-flop most of the time.
• Cons to calling:
• Do not stack CO pre-flop the times he has a legitimate hand.
• Blinds might end up calling instead of 3-betting.

10nl 6max - CO LAG (36/26) raises to $0.30, SB reg (19/15/ 3-bet 5%), BB reg (20/15 3-bet 5%). Hero is OTB with ATcc, Hero?

• With two regs in the blinds and a LAG opener, 3-betting is probably better than calling. If the CO folds to 3-bets a lot, a call might be better to keep in his dominated hands. The blinds don't seem to be squeeze happy so thats not much of a worry.

10nl 6max - CO regish (26/21) raises to $0.30, SB reg (24/19, 3-bet 9%), BB reg (22/17, 3-bet 12%). Hero is OTB with KdJc, Hero?

• This would be a great spot to call with AA or KK because the blinds are very squeeze happy, but with KJo, a 3-bet to isolate the CO is better. We want to either get it HU or take it down pre-flop.

10nl 6max - CO nit (11/9) raises to $0.35, SB fishy (23/10, 3-bet 4%), BB TAG (16/15, 3-bet 6%). Hero is  OTB with QhJc, Hero?

• Learned a little something from this hand. I wouldn't fault anyone for folding in this spot, I would too, but it seems a 3-bet even against a nit is very profitable. Nits will play their hand face up by 4-betting the top of their range, calling with low-medium pocket pairs to setmine, and folding everything else. If we give a nit a poker stove range of 14.9% from the CO (22+,A8s+,KTs+,QTs+,JTs,ATo+,KJo+) and assume he continues with 7.4% of his range (22+,AQs+,AKo), he will fold to a 3-bet ~50% (should be slightly higher because I did not account for our Q and J blockers). 3-betting in a vacuum is not profitable, but we will win a lot pots post-flop when he misses his set.