Polished Poker Vol. I Study Group

[Aces2w1n]

Hello! This is my first time posting in this thread. I'm quite new to online poker and it's been a very volatile road for me so far. good upswings & very bad downswings as well. There's a lot to learn of course.
I'd appreciate any help offered from anyone very much

Here blind vs blind. After the flop bet I put him pretty much in Ace high range since he snap bet both flop & turn. My intention was to catch the draw but as you can see I did miss it. But I turned it into a bluff and raised him making him think I caught a straight or perhaps a set as well. I think it's not very likely he has two pair or he'd have raised more on the turn. Likely A2,A3 . What do you think of this hand?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 100 BB (VPIP: 30.43, PFR: 26.09, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 23)
Hero (SB): 103.5 BB
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
UTG: 96 BB (VPIP: 22.22, PFR: 14.81, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 28)
MP: 171 BB (VPIP: 20.97, PFR: 11.29, 3Bet Preflop: 4.00, Hands: 65)
CO: 214 BB (VPIP: 47.62, PFR: 19.05, 3Bet Preflop: 12.50, Hands: 23)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 6c 5d
fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop : (5 BB, 2 players) Ad 4c 7h
Hero checks, BB bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Turn : (11 BB, 2 players) 5s
Hero checks, BB bets 3.5 BB, Hero raises to 11 BB, fold

Hero wins 17.5 BB

Folding pre prolly better but against unknowns i think this is fine.

I think once we check and he bets he will either have us beat well or just trying to bluff us.

I think raising gives us a chance to get bluffed off a very good hand and folds out a lot of hands he could pay us off with on river.

The board is working for us as well so we shouldnt be scared... diff story if we had a naked Ace like the opponent couldve had before we raised.

 

[Figaroo2]

Hits his range, but still it's a second best range from yours. He's betting 1/2 pot on that board into you. I'd raise the flop at this level most of the time.
Turn, now connects with some of his draw range, but not his limp/call range. I'd raise again.
River, I would probably shove. Your hand looks like a missed draw now, and you can probably get a lot of hero calls especially w/ what he has left.
A lot of missed value here for sure.

Re the QQ calling down hand.....You sir are too good, he had As9s, so yeah lots of missed value, he likely would have called a flop raise and gotton it in on the turn.
I suppose I'm concerned that as his AF is low he already beats QQ even on the flop, I'm calling of course because I believe I'm still ahead a lot of the time, but raising feels like we just fold out worse and get called by better more often than not.

 

[Figaroo2]

What do you think of this hand?
PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players

Hero (SB): 103.5 BB
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 6c 5d
fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB
Flop : (5 BB, 2 players) Ad 4c 7h
Hero checks, BB bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB
Turn : (11 BB, 2 players) 5s
Hero checks, BB bets 3.5 BB, Hero raises to 11 BB, fold
Hero wins 17.5 BB

Ok you understand that you are on a steal with a crap hand right!? Most of the time this is a fold against anyone but a tight nit who doesn't defend his BB enough.
So you want to make it 3x to x4 preflop to give him less incentive to play his marginal holdings.
Once he calls and an ace flops and we have an open ended straight draw then I'd cbet this pretty much 100% of the time.
We have raised first so we can represent having hit the Ace a lot easier than he can as he just called preflop. If he had any ace a lot of players in the BB will 3bet here versus the SB.
If he calls your cbet you still have great equity in your well disguised draw. A cbet will take this down a lot and as we still only have 6 high, winning the hand with a cbet on the flop is a perfectly acceptable result.
Ideally he calls our cbet with an ace and then we hit our draw and keep betting.

So as played, when you check the flop he takes a stab with his full range hoping you don't have an ace and will just quietly go away
On the turn however, why not just call his small turn bet and try to hit your draw? Generally if they are giving you the good odds to draw you should just take those odds because he is making a mistake not charging you enough. There will be plenty of times ahead of you when you won't be getting the right express odds to call, especially on the turn!.
Raising the turn with your draw is ok but you risk betting blown off the hand if he re-raises and you will never have the chance of seeing the river card to see if you could have made your straight.

 

[Alucard]

Thanks for the inputs guys.
Figaroo lets say as played and I call his turn bet. & I completely miss the river. like a brick 2. What should I do then at the river? Bluff bet him big representing a straight? Or?

And yes I understand it wasn't a good hand for a steal. I'm following doug polk's opening range atm and 56off is a one hand down from that range.

 

[Alucard]

I had a good session today. I'll post some of interesting hands.

This is a hand I'm regretting a bit. I think I wasn't able to get the maximum value out of this. I didn't show any aggression until the river except for the preflop raise. What should I do different?
The flop I didn't bet because I thought that would pretty much show that I have a flush and didn't raise on the turn for the same reason and felt it'd scare the button away as well. But he folded. On the river I pretty much went for value but perhaps the bet was a bit on the large side?

pokerstars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (MP): 251.5 BB
CO: 94 BB (VPIP: 12.50, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 9)
BTN: 195 BB (VPIP: 28.10, PFR: 15.71, 3Bet Preflop: 3.95, Hands: 219)
SB: 69.5 BB (VPIP: 25.78, PFR: 3.13, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 137)
BB: 119 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 23.53, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 53)
UTG: 103 BB (VPIP: 18.31, PFR: 11.27, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 75)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Kc Qc
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop : (12 BB, 4 players) 9c Jc 2c
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn : (12 BB, 4 players) Td
SB bets 11.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 11.5 BB, fold

River : (35 BB, 2 players) Tc
SB checks, Hero bets 25 BB, fold

Hero wins 34 BB

 

[Alucard]

Ok here I was a bit hesitant to play aggressive on the turn thinking the villain have caught a boat or a set perhaps. Because there are some players at 2NL who'd donk/min raise both the flop & the turn and make call your 3bets and fire a big bet on the river by connecting heavy with the board. Some times they are bluff cbets. I'd usually raise them on both flop & turn but I didn't have that much info on the villain. So with the turn bet I only called. Did I make a mistake & raised him more? And again the sizing of the river value bet?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 152 BB (VPIP: 47.14, PFR: 35.71, 3Bet Preflop: 3.57, Hands: 74)
SB: 70 BB (VPIP: 26.47, PFR: 2.94, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 34)
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 23.08, PFR: 23.08, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 26)
UTG: 94 BB (VPIP: 19.05, PFR: 4.76, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 21)
Hero (MP): 154.5 BB
CO: 164.5 BB (VPIP: 29.05, PFR: 17.43, 3Bet Preflop: 2.15, Hands: 251)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Ac Ad
UTG raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 6 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 4 BB

Flop : (13.5 BB, 2 players) 7d 5s 9h
UTG bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 3 BB, UTG calls 2 BB

Turn : (19.5 BB, 2 players) 9s
UTG bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

River : (21.5 BB, 2 players) 2h
UTG checks, Hero bets 15 BB, fold

Hero wins 20.5 BB

 

[Alucard]

Both players are decent players. The table was a bit on the aggressive side. After the shoves I guessed pretty much it's aces vs kings or AK. Was it the right play to get out of the way?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (SB): 104 BB
BB: 146.5 BB (VPIP: 14.38, PFR: 11.71, 3Bet Preflop: 2.94, Hands: 307)
UTG: 100 BB (VPIP: 24.00, PFR: 16.00, 3Bet Preflop: 9.38, Hands: 77)
MP: 124 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 23.08, Hands: 21)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
BTN: 153.5 BB (VPIP: 24.36, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 80)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Qs Qc
UTG raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, BTN raises to 10 BB, Hero calls 9.5 BB, fold, UTG raises to 42 BB, BTN raises to 153.5 BB and is all-in, fold, UTG calls 58 BB and is all-in

Spoiler

Flop : (211 BB, 2 players) Qd 9c 3d

Turn : (211 BB, 2 players) 8h

River : (211 BB, 2 players) 6c

UTG shows Kd Kh (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 18%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)

BTN shows As Ad (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 82%, Flop 90%, Turn 95%)

BTN wins 203.5 BB

 

[PokerNuts01]

Nice fold here mate.. very nice read!

 

[Figaroo2]

Thanks for the inputs guys.
Figaroo lets say as played and I call his turn bet. & I completely miss the river. like a brick 2. What should I do then at the river? Bluff bet him big representing a straight?

Well there are many factors to take into account when deciding whether to bluff or not.
It is statistically proven in the mathematics of poker book that if you are going to bluff that you should do it with your very weakest hands, those which have absolutely no chance of winning at showdown. This hand falls towards that category but it is equally important to consider your opponent in the hand. Is he a calling station? Does he fold to pressure without a very strong hand? Is he a decent player who recognises that call call then a big lead bet when the draws miss is often a bluff? Or is he a weak player just looking at his own cards?
This is why you need to pay attention to what other players are doing and have a hud to help you make the decision.
In this hand if we had called cheap on the turn we don't actually have that much invested in the hand and trying to bluff weaker players off a pair of aces isn't usually a good idea. However think about why he bets so small on the turn? Is he on his own draw and just trying to set a cheap price or is he very strong and just milking you? More often than not I find its the former, there are always going to be more drawing hands than strong hands.
Overall the fact that he didn't raise pre flop suggests that he doesn't have an ace so I think this is a good spot to bluff especially as there are not a lot of draws on this particular board. You don't need to make it massive a value looking 75%-80% probably gets it done.

 

[Figaroo2]

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players

Hero (MP): 251.5 BB
SB: 69.5 BB (VPIP: 25.78, PFR: 3.13, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 137)

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Kc Qc
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB
Flop : (12 BB, 4 players) 9c Jc 2c
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn : (12 BB, 4 players) Td
SB bets 11.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 11.5 BB, fold
River : (35 BB, 2 players) Tc
SB checks, Hero bets 25 BB, fold
Hero wins 34 BB

Id bet half pot on the flop for value and to charge draws, sets plus the Ace of clubs are going to call up to full pot and might even raise but half pot will also pick up calls from Jx, 9x, hands with the Kc, maybe even Tc and all T8 or QT will call. So you are definitely missing value from a wide range on the flop here.

When the SB leads into 4 players on the turn this is going to be polarised to either a semi bluff with good equity when called or a strong hand. I like the call on the turn as it gives him the opportunity to bluff shove on the end whereas a raise folds out that option for him. If he has a big hand like a slow played set, a lot of chips will still go in on the river anyway.
Woot on the river card... Your river sizing is fine, you have the straight flush nut hand so it doesn matter if he might have a full house looking to check raise and if his draws missed they aren't calling much of anything anyway.

Yeah so value lost on the flop, when the monotone board flops and you don't have the ace and its multiway there is a better chance someone else will have the ace, so bet your made flushes to charge hands with the lone ace of the monotone board.

 

[Figaroo2]

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem

UTG: 94 BB (VPIP: 19.05, PFR: 4.76, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 21)
Hero (MP): 154.5 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Ac Ad
UTG raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 6 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 4 BB
Flop : (13.5 BB, 2 players) 7d 5s 9h
UTG bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 3 BB, UTG calls 2 BB
Turn : (19.5 BB, 2 players) 9s
UTG bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB
River : (21.5 BB, 2 players) 2h
UTG checks, Hero bets 15 BB, fold
Hero wins 20.5 BB

Ok so we know enough from his stack size and stats that's he's a donkey. He knows enough to fold his garbage but still a beginner in that he only open raises strong hands pfr 4.76% and limp calls or calls other top 20% hands.
you will see these split stats often (wide vpip/pfr gap.) When you see this gap and they open raise then you will often be up against a very strong range. So here UTG it's fairly safe to assume that he's strong.
I'd make it 10bb maybe even 12 he's going to play and the bigger you make it the more it looks like 88 99 AJ type hands rather than aces.
I've seen this 1bb lead out often in 2nl zoom it's usually a fish with a weak made hand or a draw that doesn't really know what to do so he just bets 1bb.
Yeah so on the flop make it at least 10bb and at least 2/3 pot on the turn. This guy could be as strong as KK here and will call you down so just keep betting until he raises you.

 

[warturtle7]

Hi everyone hope you guys are having a nice summer

Do you think I should have betted OTR?


PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, €0.10 BB (6 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from http://poker-tools.flopturnriver.com/Hand-Converter.php

Button (€19.01)
SB (€2.05)
Hero (BB) (€16.87)
UTG (€4.65)
MP (€4.85)
CO (€19.75)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q

, Q

2 folds, CO raises to €0.25, 2 folds, Hero raises to €1, CO calls €0.75

Flop: (€2.05) J

, 7

, 3

(2 players)
Hero bets €1, CO calls €1

Turn: (€4.05) 2

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets €1.93, Hero calls €1.93

River: (€7.91) 10

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Total pot: €7.91 | Rake: €0.40

Results below:

Spoiler

Hero had Q

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
CO didn't show
Outcome: Hero won €7.51

 

[Figaroo2]

Do you think I should have betted OTR?
PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, €0.10 BB (6 handed) - PokerStars
Button (€19.01)
SB (€2.05)
Hero (BB) (€16.87)
UTG (€4.65)
MP (€4.85)
CO (€19.75)
Preflop: Hero is BB with Q

, Q

2 folds, CO raises to €0.25, 2 folds, Hero raises to €1, CO calls €0.75
Flop: (€2.05) J

, 7

, 3

(2 players)
Hero bets €1, CO calls €1
Turn: (€4.05) 2

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets €1.93, Hero calls €1.93
River: (€7.91) 10

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks
Total pot: €7.91 | Rake: €0.40
Results below:

Spoiler

Hero had Q

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
CO didn't show
Outcome: Hero won €7.51

You are a good favourite on this flop 60%/40% against a 3bet calling range CO v BB when you are 168bb deep.
He should be calling a bit wider than usual this deep.

Bet 2/3 pot on the flop and 2/3 pot on the turn and 1/2 pot on the river and fold if he raises turn or river.
The 2 on the turn doesn't change the hand much and actually makes you a couple of points better overall. His 3bet calling range will mostly be pair heavy and with only a few flush draws AdKd AdQd maybe AdTd which is only 3 combos compared to at least 40+ combos of pairs 77-AA and AK AQ AJs that will call the 3bet.
You did lose quite a lot of value in this hand, especially if he has something like AJ.

 

[John A]

Hi everyone hope you guys are having a nice summer

Do you think I should have betted OTR?


PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, €0.10 BB (6 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from http://poker-tools.flopturnriver.com/Hand-Converter.php

Button (€19.01)
SB (€2.05)
Hero (BB) (€16.87)
UTG (€4.65)
MP (€4.85)
CO (€19.75)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q

, Q

2 folds, CO raises to €0.25, 2 folds, Hero raises to €1, CO calls €0.75

Flop: (€2.05) J

, 7

, 3

(2 players)
Hero bets €1, CO calls €1

Turn: (€4.05) 2

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets €1.93, Hero calls €1.93

River: (€7.91) 10

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Total pot: €7.91 | Rake: €0.40

Results below:

Spoiler

Hero had Q

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
CO didn't show
Outcome: Hero won €7.51

Sorry guys, I've been traveling the last couple of weeks.

OTT and OTR it depends... really need more info to give you a better answer. Any stats at all on opponent?

 

[Alucard]

Guys what do you think of this hand? Should I raise him on the turn? Very weird play by him.

888 Poker - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 134 BB (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 20)
SB: 97.5 BB (VPIP: 59.46, PFR: 21.62, 3Bet Preflop: 23.53, Hands: 37)
BB: 103 BB (VPIP: 7.69, PFR: 7.69, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 39)
UTG: 40 BB (VPIP: 18.11, PFR: 9.45, 3Bet Preflop: 4.65, Hands: 127)
UTG+1: 140.5 BB (VPIP: 35.76, PFR: 20.53, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 151)
MP: 158 BB (VPIP: 16.13, PFR: 8.06, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 62)
Hero (CO): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7s 7h
fold, UTG+1 calls 1 BB, fold, Hero calls 1 BB, fold, SB raises to 4 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 3 BB

Flop : (10 BB, 2 players) 6h 8s 6s
SB bets 5 BB, Hero calls 5 BB

Turn : (20 BB, 2 players) 2d
SB bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

River : (22 BB, 2 players) 4s
SB checks, Hero bets 12 BB, SB raises to 87.5 BB and is all-in, fold

SB wins 43.5 BB

 

[warturtle7]

Sorry guys, I've been traveling the last couple of weeks.

OTT and OTR it depends... really need more info to give you a better answer. Any stats at all on opponent?

Villian had this stats after 18 hands:

VP 19
PR 13
3Bet 11

My line of thought was that a second barrel OTT would give away the strength of my hand

 

[warturtle7]

Guys what do you think of this hand? Should I raise him on the turn? Very weird play by him.

888 Poker - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BTN: 134 BB (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 20)
SB: 97.5 BB (VPIP: 59.46, PFR: 21.62, 3Bet Preflop: 23.53, Hands: 37)
BB: 103 BB (VPIP: 7.69, PFR: 7.69, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 39)
UTG: 40 BB (VPIP: 18.11, PFR: 9.45, 3Bet Preflop: 4.65, Hands: 127)
UTG+1: 140.5 BB (VPIP: 35.76, PFR: 20.53, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 151)
MP: 158 BB (VPIP: 16.13, PFR: 8.06, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 62)
Hero (CO): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7s 7h
fold, UTG+1 calls 1 BB, fold, Hero calls 1 BB, fold, SB raises to 4 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 3 BB

Flop : (10 BB, 2 players) 6h 8s 6s
SB bets 5 BB, Hero calls 5 BB

Turn : (20 BB, 2 players) 2d
SB bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

River : (22 BB, 2 players) 4s
SB checks, Hero bets 12 BB, SB raises to 87.5 BB and is all-in, fold

SB wins 43.5 BB

What hands are we trying to get value from by River betting?
Or what better hands are folding?

 

[Alucard]

What hands are we trying to get value from by River betting?
Or what better hands are folding?

yes I thought of that. but only after the play. River bet has no value at all.

So it's a mistake on my part.

So how should I play after his turn min bet?

 

[Figaroo2]

yes I thought of that. but only after the play. River bet has no value at all.
So it's a mistake on my part.
So how should I play after his turn min bet?

As you block the straights it looks like he made a flush on the river. Although looking at his stats Id strongly suspect this is a bluff a lot of the time.
He was probably drawing on the turn and you should have bet at least half pot on the turn to charge his draws. Treat a 1bb bet as a check, in effect you gave him a free card and telegraphed that you didn't have much either.

 

[Alucard]

As you block the straights it looks like he made a flush on the river. Although looking at his stats Id strongly suspect this is a bluff a lot of the time.
He was probably drawing on the turn and you should have bet at least half pot on the turn to charge his draws. Treat a 1bb bet as a check, in effect you gave him a free card and telegraphed that you didn't have much either.

Please teach me how you'd guess it's a bluff most of the time by looking at his stats.
I cannot tell much by looking at the hud stats other than a players aggression, and his overall quality at the tables.

 

[Figaroo2]

SB: 97.5 BB (VPIP: 59.46, PFR: 21.62, 3Bet Preflop: 23.53, Hands: 37)

Ok so his VPIP is very high 59%. The sample size of 37 isn't very big but it's enough for me to know this guy is very loose and the pfr of 21 and the high 3Bet % indicate he is aggressive and likes to come in raising to grab the initiative.
Even the best lag won't be playing more 35-40 VPIP even at 6max AND good lags don't play at this level so they are usually just bad lags..
..This guy id class as a whale, he plays anything suited or connected and in your hand he doesn't need a strong hand to isolate two limpers. He's going to c bet and take it down often enough to make it a profitable play with just about any two cards.
Once you call indicating you have something, you, almost by definition are a massive favourite against his RANGE. I mean literally 60-70% of the time you're ahead and he has air here.
So he has a problem and it's a regular problem for him playing 59% of all hands. He has to deal with his garbage hands. He can either fold them, call down with them or bluff with them.
If you have 37 hands with the whale you should already have an idea as to whether he's a bluffer or a folder or a calling station.... and his aggression stats will assist you here even if you have been multi tabling and not in the position to know exactly what he's doing.
So let's say he disposes of his hands by bluffing. In the hand discussed he makes it 1bb on the turn this is him testing the strength of your hand. If you just call then how strong can you be?? Then he knows any decent river bet should be enough to get your fold.
Even better for him is that an excellent bluffing card hits the river, now all sorts of flushes and straights are possible and unless he runs into you having a flush he'll be fine.
Now of course because he's shoving a lot of air then he should be shoving his made hands as well. This is why you really need to pay attention to how these guys play and what they showdown. For example If he isn't shoving his made hands and just value betting them normally then you know most of his shoves are going to be bluffs.
So in this hand plenty of time this shove is going to be air, BUT we don't know enough about his bluffing frequency yet to make it a profitable call down.
When you find these players they can be one of your biggest sources of income so pay close attention to them and shut down other marginal tables so you can focus on him properly. Sometimes these players will win many stacks very quickly and get very deep and think nothing of spewing off a few stacks to you.

 

[Alucard]

Thanks. I'll certainly put some work into stat reads.

Ok. The previous hand when villain was at bb, a fish was in the SB. SB raised o 6BB. BB 3bets to 9BB. The SB shoves. And he folded. The villain was definitely one of the aggressive players on the table trying to bleed the fish but I felt he was rushing a bit nevertheless.
Was I right to check back on the flop? I felt if he check raised me with any sort of hand, I'd be a bad spot.

888 Poker - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (CO): 287 BB
BTN: 59.5 BB (VPIP: 9.40, PFR: 6.80, 3Bet Preflop: 6.78, Hands: 149)
SB: 147 BB (VPIP: 20.31, PFR: 14.06, 3Bet Preflop: 7.89, Hands: 130)
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 17.05, PFR: 5.68, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 90)
UTG: 192 BB (VPIP: 11.30, PFR: 5.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.90, Hands: 297)
UTG+1: 51.5 BB (VPIP: 8.41, PFR: 3.74, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 108)
MP: 57 BB (VPIP: 15.04, PFR: 7.96, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 113)
MP+1: 50 BB (VPIP: 17.57, PFR: 12.16, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 74)
MP+2: 98 BB (VPIP: 10.94, PFR: 4.69, 3Bet Preflop: 4.55, Hands: 130)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7s 7d
fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop : (7 BB, 2 players) Jd 9s Js
SB checks, Hero ?

Spoiler

Hero checks

Turn : (7 BB, 2 players) 7c
SB bets 5 BB, Hero raises to 12.5 BB, SB calls 7.5 BB

River : (32 BB, 2 players) 5d
SB bets 16 BB, Hero raises to 64 BB, SB raises to 131.5 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 67.5 BB

Hero shows 7s 7d (Full House, Sevens full of Jacks)
(Pre 81%, Flop 87%, Turn 100%)

SB shows 3d 3c (Two Pair, Jacks and Threes)
(Pre 19%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)

Hero wins 277 BB

 

[Alucard]

888 Poker - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (MP+1): 100 BB
MP+2: 170.5 BB (VPIP: 38.10, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 21)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
BTN: 102.5 BB (VPIP: 14.52, PFR: 11.29, 3Bet Preflop: 8.70, Hands: 63)
SB: 100 BB (VPIP: 10.47, PFR: 2.62, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 194)
BB: 160 BB (VPIP: 53.85, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 13)
UTG: 65 BB (VPIP: 15.38, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 13)
UTG+1: 55 BB (VPIP: 21.57, PFR: 20.59, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 102)
MP: 89 BB (VPIP: 13.70, PFR: 5.48, 3Bet Preflop: 4.00, Hands: 75)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB, CO posts penalty blind 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has Ad Ah
fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 5 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB calls 4 BB

Flop : (11.5 BB, 2 players) 8c 8h 3d
BB bets 11.5 BB, Hero raises to 32 BB, BB calls 20.5 BB

Turn : (75.5 BB, 2 players) 3c
BB bets 75.5 BB, Hero?

Spoiler

Hero calls 63 BB and is all-in

River : (201.5 BB, 2 players) Qd

Hero shows Ad Ah (Two Pair, Aces and Eights)
(Pre 88%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)

BB shows 8s Kd (Full House, Eights full of Threes)
(Pre 12%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)

BB wins 189 BB

 

[John A]

And here's another one. I'm not exactly sure 4 betting would give me the maximum value out of aces. Isn't in better to slow play and get more chips from the villain if possible? Specially from nitty players?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

MP: 48 BB (VPIP: 25.33, PFR: 17.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 77)
CO: 101.5 BB (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
BTN: 189 BB (VPIP: 13.04, PFR: 13.04, 3Bet Preflop: 22.22, Hands: 25)
SB: 50 BB (VPIP: 9.52, PFR: 9.52, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)
Hero (BB): 172 BB
UTG: 100 BB (VPIP: 11.11, PFR: 11.11, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Ah As
fold, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, BTN raises to 10.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 28 BB, fold, fold

Hero wins 24.5 BB

Looks fine.. if stack sizes were closer to 100, I'd maybe go a little smaller to try and get him to justify a call vs your range. But as played, std.

 

[John A]

I had a good session today. I'll post some of interesting hands.

This is a hand I'm regretting a bit. I think I wasn't able to get the maximum value out of this. I didn't show any aggression until the river except for the preflop raise. What should I do different?
The flop I didn't bet because I thought that would pretty much show that I have a flush and didn't raise on the turn for the same reason and felt it'd scare the button away as well. But he folded. On the river I pretty much went for value but perhaps the bet was a bit on the large side?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (MP): 251.5 BB
CO: 94 BB (VPIP: 12.50, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 9)
BTN: 195 BB (VPIP: 28.10, PFR: 15.71, 3Bet Preflop: 3.95, Hands: 219)
SB: 69.5 BB (VPIP: 25.78, PFR: 3.13, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 137)
BB: 119 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 23.53, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 53)
UTG: 103 BB (VPIP: 18.31, PFR: 11.27, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 75)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Kc Qc
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop : (12 BB, 4 players) 9c Jc 2c
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn : (12 BB, 4 players) Td
SB bets 11.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 11.5 BB, fold

River : (35 BB, 2 players) Tc
SB checks, Hero bets 25 BB, fold

Hero wins 34 BB

Bet small on the flop, about 5bbs, min raise the turn. Anything they are betting on the turn there, he'll call a min raise too. With more info, perhaps make a bigger turn raise. If the BTN didn't bet that flop, there's no reason to flat and hope they will come along.