PEACHFRONT SPEAKS

it takes talent: stealing with any two cards from the button

2009-05-07 - 1:54 p.m.

Folks, don't try this one at home.

OK, I've been studying the coaching videos and trying some of the exercises and, as we all know, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. One thing I've been studying recently is how to exploits TAGS who play "fit or fold" after the flop. It's a risky play, but there's one coach who advocates pretty much always stealing on the button with ATC until you meet with resistance, if you have evidence that both blinds are tight players who either fail to defend their blinds by immediately folding too often or who fail to defend because they are content to play "fit or fold" on the flop.

Here's the setting. 30/60 Limit Hold 'Em at the B. I had been playing in a very good short-handed game, but unfortunately, we busted all of the fish, and now some very tight players (including a couple of professional women players) were moved onto my game. For whatever reason, but probably because they think I'm not too tough, the two ladies sat immediately to my left, with the tighter of the two acting immediately after me. In theory, the game was no longer short-handed, but in practice, it was, since a lot of players were walking around while hoping for some more fish to swim up.

But, for the moment, the table is playing pretty tight.

I am on the button. All fold to me. I hold the mighty 63 of offsuitedness. So I raise. They don't call it "Any Two Cards" for nothing, right?

Small blind folds, as expected. Big blind, who is probably already getting pretty sick of my shit, three bets.

Folks, it's limit hold 'em. I never fold in this spot, having position and getting 5-2/3 to 1. I call.

The flop is something like 9, 3, 2, with the top two being hearts.

Hey, go me. I flopped a pair. But it isn't a very strong pair. And...the BB is a tight, highly skilled player who will C-bet anything, so I get no more information when she bets this flop. Her three betting range could be any A as well as any pocket pair. And there's no pocket pair I beat, since even the lowly 22 has flopped a set. But I gots me a pair. And...I maybe gots me a bluffing opportunity. I almost never "float" the flop. When I just call on the flop, the chances are pretty huge that I have a draw, based on what she's seen of my play. So...I call, figuring if she's missed with her A and face hand, that I'll pick up a lot of bluffing opportunities on the turn. And, what, the hey, I have 4 or 5 opportunities to improve to two pair, depending on whether the 6 of hearts is good.

The turn is the third heart. I'm forgetting what it is, nothing too significant, we'll call it a 7.

She C-bets again. Or maybe she's betting with the best hand again. Who knows? I don't have enough information. But I do have that nice heart onboard. I raise.

The big, long think that goes on forever. Oh brother. Naturally, I'm thinking, Fold, Fold, Fold but if she's thinking whether to raise or not, and the big think is Hollywooding, then it's all for naught. I'm done with the hand. My mighty pair of 3s with a 6 kicker is not calling any turn three-bet. I pray that she's trying to decide whether to fold.

She finally takes the third option. She calls. Hmmm.

The river card is a gorgeous 3 of diamonds. She checks. I bet. Now I'm praying for the call, which comes quickly, since once she decides I'm bluffing the turn, I'm probably bluffing the river too, right? When I turned over my hand, well, I didn't make any friends that day, so I just had to be happy to scoop the pot.

Executive summary: A good day yesterday. Despite this story, however, most of my profit came from the loose players, and I was up most of the two racks I won in the first couple of hours. My image must be terrible. When I finally left the game, the table broke. And if you play like Peachfront, they'll laugh at you too. So I'm just saying.

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