$10 NL HE 6-max: Turning my TP into a bluff?

[pokernomad]

Game

Hold'em

Game Format

No Limit

Stakes

$.05/$.10

Table Format

6-max (6 seats)

Currency

$

Hi all,

Looking for you thoughts on this hand, I have no information about this player...

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 303.9 BB
Hero (BB): 83.9 BB
UTG: 119.8 BB
MP: 260 BB
CO: 120.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J:heart: K:heart:

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 4:spade: 5:diamond: K:spade:
Hero checks, MP bets 4.3 BB, Hero calls 4.3 BB

My plan is check/call as I have top pair, but I think it could be vulnerable. He raises in MP so has lots of Kx in his range, some of which dominate my hand. He could have air here as well.

Turn: (14.1 BB, 2 players) T:club:
Hero checks, MP bets 7 BB, Hero calls 7 BB

The turn should help my range, but I am still losing to his Kx, any of his KTs just made 2 pair . I think he would bet most draws, AQ, but I think his value/bluffing is 50/50 (I am still learning this side of the game).

River: (28.1 BB, 2 players) 5:spade:
Hero bets 17.9 BB,

I decide to turn my pair into a bluff. I think the line I have taken looks passive enough to be chasing a flush, which I can now represent, and my top pair has some SDV if it gets called. I think I am only getting called by an actual flush, but I think this is risky as I don't hold a spade.

Spoiler: Villains Move...

Villain tanks for a while, calls me a "****ing fish", then...
fold
Hero wins 26.8 BB

Looking for your thoughts on this, I know this is not the perfect bluff but interested in your thoughts as always.

 

[TheHulk7]

Call on the river is probably breakeven, all in is massive -EV, you will never get called by worse and in your shove range you only have sets and 54, because we are just calling with many flushes esp low flush like 67ss etc. So raise river was a big mistake imo, better bluff would be with spade blocker, like Ax with A of spades.

sorry i just saw you lead the river, that is very value heavy line and at that limit almost always nuts, without spade makes no sense coz we still have SD value and he can jam over that, by check / call you give him the opportunity to bluff.

 

[Station_Master]

It worked, but I am not a fan of turning this into a bluff especially with no spade in your hand.

Villains line could also just be a flush draw that got there on the river or something you beat anyway, surely it's too narrow to assume villain only has AK or KQ here

 

[Aballinamion]

Hi all,

Looking for you thoughts on this hand, I have no information about this player...

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 303.9 BB
Hero (BB): 83.9 BB
UTG: 119.8 BB
MP: 260 BB
CO: 120.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J:heart: K:heart:

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 4:spade: 5:diamond: K:spade:
Hero checks, MP bets 4.3 BB, Hero calls 4.3 BB

My plan is check/call as I have top pair, but I think it could be vulnerable. He raises in MP so has lots of Kx in his range, some of which dominate my hand. He could have air here as well.

Turn: (14.1 BB, 2 players) T:club:
Hero checks, MP bets 7 BB, Hero calls 7 BB

The turn should help my range, but I am still losing to his Kx, any of his KTs just made 2 pair . I think he would bet most draws, AQ, but I think his value/bluffing is 50/50 (I am still learning this side of the game).

River: (28.1 BB, 2 players) 5:spade:
Hero bets 17.9 BB,

I decide to turn my pair into a bluff. I think the line I have taken looks passive enough to be chasing a flush, which I can now represent, and my top pair has some SDV if it gets called. I think I am only getting called by an actual flush, but I think this is risky as I don't hold a spade.

Spoiler: Villains Move...

Villain tanks for a while, calls me a "****ing fish", then...
fold
Hero wins 26.8 BB

Looking for your thoughts on this, I know this is not the perfect bluff but interested in your thoughts as always.

You have played the hand fine preflop, flop and turn. I’m not sure about our donk river, because MP still has range advantage over us. I would continue calling and checking to realize my equity.

 

[fundiver199]

Preflop, flop and turn
Everything is very standard here. Dont see any reason to do anything other than call, call, call.

River
The hands, that we might want to donk lead on a scary card are those, that cant win, if the opponent checks back. Like in this case maybe 76 or A2/A3. With top pair you dont need to bluff, because sometimes he will check back, and you will win at showdown. So even if the plan is to check-fold, the EV of checking is higher than zero, which mean, you need the opponent to massively overfold for a bluff to show profit.

The way hands with showdown value are sometimes used as bluffs is by check-raising, and the thing, we look for there, is blockers. Like in this case a good candidate would be KJ with J of spades. Or even better K4, which is a counterfeited two pair blocking more full houses. This however is pretty advanced and probably not something, you want to get to much into in the micros. So for me this would just be a fairly easy check-fold without reads.

Results
Its kind of funny, that he berated you in the chat, and most likely this mean, he put you on a flush and folded a better hand. Of course its just a guess, but for many players on pokerstars not using auto top-up in cash games is kind of a fish tell. So it might be, that by starting with a broken stack you inavertently created an image, which helped you get this bluff through

 

[pokernomad]

It worked, but I am not a fan of turning this into a bluff especially with no spade in your hand.

Villains line could also just be a flush draw that got there on the river or something you beat anyway, surely it's too narrow to assume villain only has AK or KQ here\

Thanks for your reply, quick follow up question - I understand that having As in the spot is the perfect blocker, but how much does this affect your decision? and (in this spot) what is the weakest blocker you consider to affect your decision vs my actual hand?

 

[pokernomad]

You have played the hand fine preflop, flop and turn. I’m not sure about our donk river, because MP still has range advantage over us. I would continue calling and checking to realize my equity.

Thank you for your reply - if villain bets on the river, what is the break even point for fold vs call? If he shoves, I have to fold right?

 

[Aballinamion]

Thank you for your reply - if villain bets on the river, what is the break even point for fold vs call? If he shoves, I have to fold right?

You are welcome. If villain bets on the river, as our mate @fundiver199 said, and I strongly recommend you read his point, is that if you have only one Spades and it happens to be the King of Spades, you can call a bet on the river, even when villain utilizes big sizing, because we have blocker and bluff catcher. Another line is to turn your top pair into a bluff by check-raising river (just quoting fundiver).
The contrary works pretty much the same: having no Spades on our range, if we do bet river and villain raises/jam, we have to fold 90% of times or more.

Best regards;

 

[Station_Master]

Thanks for your reply, quick follow up question - I understand that having As in the spot is the perfect blocker, but how much does this affect your decision? and (in this spot) what is the weakest blocker you consider to affect your decision vs my actual hand?

Honestly I dont think I would lead anything in that spot. The only logical hand you could have that would be a decent bluff is 76 as that never wins the showdown.