What's the WORST PLAY you can make at Low Stakes?

[@lewismilesbarber1]

I don't think he was bluffing the river, these types of players aren't thinking on the level of "what can call me for this size", they are looking at their hand and thinking "I have top pair so I should bet"

[@MrAgmoore]

Top pair, decent kicker, repping a possible straight draw.

[@Love1isall]

Yeah, they frequently turn mediocre hands into bluffs accidentally 😂

[@jeffshackleford3152]

​@@Love1isallI could definitely be accused of this from time to time. Then other times I have had situations where I thought I was bluffing only to have value bet. Then I have certainly value owned myself plenty of times as well.

[@alexjohn5251]

@@jeffshackleford3152lol I did that my last session. Had QX❤ with 2 hearts on the board, river was a third spade. Bluffed my missed flush draw for the other flush and won at showdown with a pair of queens? Wish I knew what the other 2 mucked. 1-3 is wild.

[@noahschmartz2354]

thanks Bart for keeping these vids coming, brilliant as usual.

[@travisuplinger7767]

He takes thinking to the next step and it's easy to see where he comes up with a logical play. I find my self doing it in certain situations but not as much as I should.

[@Glitch47278]

This villain wasn’t bluffing river, guys who play every hand don’t think on the level of turning top pair into a bluff. He was betting for value and prob didn’t notice that there was 4 to a straight on the board.

[@SFreedberg1]

I agree

[@whotookmybadjas]

He was probably not even betting for value, just betting because top pair has to bet, right? There is absolutely no thought process that he wants to be called by worse (pretty much all worse Ax has him beat, even if you discount the Ax with a straight). Fish don't think in terms of bluff and value (at least in the correct way), they either click random buttons or do something because "you're supposed to".

[@c10wnbaby22]

@CrushlivePoker Bart can you do a PSA about what effective stack means so the callers don't keep using it incorrectly? Its always hilarious when they go around the table and list everyones stack as their 'effective stack.' Lol hey callers effective means the lowest of the stacks at the time. Callers just parroting terms with 0 idea what's going on.

[@jamesfancher7508]

@CrushlivePoker Bart can you do a PSA on basic english so I don't have to read sentences containing phrases like "don't keep using it incorrectly?"

[@c10wnbaby22]

@@jamesfancher7508 haha found the guy who doesn't know what effective stack size is. P.S. your brain is just too underdeveloped to read.

[@bryanjohnson8162]

It's kind of crazy how we didn't discuss Ace suited on the flop or the turn it totally went over my head but after seeing it shown makes a lot of sense

[@AlexH274]

suited A is often in a ton of hands that are raised pre-flop / calling a raise pre-flop.

[@curtroll]

Bart mentioned it

[@kristermister4791]

I liked this call and I liked this caller! (Don't think caller initially mentioned villain was aggro because when villain bombed river I too was under impression he was loose passive, not necessarily aggro/bluffy). Great analysis from Bart, including line of leading out on river as we block 6 8, etc.

[@happywednesday6741]

Okay me too!

[@lmw94002]

I've feel like I've been in games like this a lot. Where this type of player is at a table, goes on a little run / gets lucky and accumulates some chips and everyone wants to get in against him. This video def helps me in how to think through the hand when I've got a good, but not great hand.

[@officeofpeaceinformation5094]

I call these players weigh stations because they are just holding chips for you temporarily, it’s just a matter of Time. Im rooting for them to run good.

[@jeffshackleford3152]

​@@officeofpeaceinformation5094I like this term. I may steal it. I will credit you in any future uses of the term. I play in a few games where this guy is a super station and he picks off bluffs all day long, then when I finally make a hand, I take all his hard work away. I have played with this guy for 30 or so sessions and he still hasn't figured out that is what I do.

[@tristanjinx]

Given his table image of playing any two cards it makes sense for the villain to turn AsTs into a bluff on the river where there’s a four-liner. From villain’s perspective the only hands he should be getting called by are those which have made the smart end of the straight specifically A.8 and 8.8.

[@pokerpat6470]

Great job Bart, please keep em' coming. VERY enjoyable. FYI the Poker Beast recommended you. Thanks and regards, PJK

[@brawrecords]

In your analysis, not once was it mentioned the guy had the nut flush draw. I think the guy played the hand perfectly apart from the raise on the turn and maybe the value bet on the river.

[@jolaz69]

If I’m breaking down this hand, I’m telling the hero to fold the turn. With the flush draw on board. The hero is drawing to only 6 realistic clean outs making him an 85% dog.

[@talangue]

holy shit could this be any slower paced?

[@jimuren2388]

Jason Beaulieu I doubt it ...

[@maximehebert4627]

play it at 1.5x speed

[@jimuren2388]

@@maximehebert4627 To be fair, Mr Crush seems to be balancing his check book simultaneously with interacting with the interviewee. Well, who knows what he's doing on top of monitoring the live feed but clearly he's not single-tasking. So, that might explain why his attention is not ... shall we say ... laser focused LOL

[@kennylingus4595]

I've seen less plodding analyses when I've asked "Is there a God?

[@mbtadhl]

Thats why many poker players don't indulge in hand analysis, its very tedious. This was especially brutal.

[@williamr4053]

I didn’t read the comments, but I’m surprised they didn’t put the villain on A8ss. Flopped the nut flush draw, picks up top pair on the turn, and drills the hidden straight on the river. AT still required hero to go runner runner to suck out on the river. Hero was very lucky here, and even more lucky he didn’t run into A8ss, that could have just as easily been a hand played there.

[@MrAgmoore]

It felt like villain was repping A8

[@mattstieg5388]

Lucky in actuality, but villain had a wider than normal range & rep = harder to put on the stone A8ss

[@rbrttuck]

Thanks for the breakdown, Bart. I do have a couple of questions. 1) If we are trying to iso special villain OTF, why not go bigger with sizing? Half pot seems like we are leaving money on the table. 2) At about 6:22 villain is referred to as super lag, which confused me as actions seemed passive until this point. When does categorizing villains become detrimental to how we play the hand? From my perspective, "trapping" a player with no concept of relative hand strength seems standard, while check-calling a station seems disastrous.

[@happywednesday6741]

I think caller meant he is passive calling station

[@ChrisMillyrock]

Love the channel man. Great content and really helpful for someone trying to get into the game. Thanks for putting this stuff out there

[@varunbaid1]

I think the 'special villain' was actually value betting.. lol

[@NoirExistence]

That's immediately what I thought

[@marknoble5495]

Yes and it’s a horrible bet. No way a worse hand is calling you.

[@mlsantosh1]

I dk there is no way the villain played bad. He was good pretty much all hand. If I was the villain I would be putting the hero on 10sjacks with a spade. The 300 was a bit much .

[@cnidjniosdnmi]

He missed his nut flush draw and decided to represent the straight... pretty straightforward and common I think. The hero in this case almost played the hand worse than the villain if you ask me.

[@cnidjniosdnmi]

@@marknoble5495 Which is what the villain wanted, a fold. He was on a nut flush draw, missed and decided to represent the straight.

[@sammydolgin]

V was 100% betting the river for value

[@windy619]

I don't think villain knows what a "value" bet is tbh

[@aaronmoon6876]

No I was bluffing u idiots . I thought 325 was a good bet sizing to target Aj combos,Aq combos,Ak combos. He had a tight image I didn’t think he raised $25 with A6 of clubs. I knew once he called my raised he had Ace. I thought I had kicker problems . Good for the hero raising with A 6

[@DoctorSuccessful]

I know some guys who vpip close to 100%, but then play pretty straight up post

[@justiceforall3973]

You know, Mike Postle? Where the hell is he? Lol

[@1stFactChecker]

True, not every preflop call station plays loose or aggressive on flop.

[@jonathanpezzati9115]

The most hilarious is when you make all in vs one of them and he gets pocket aces in his hand. Freaking game

[@nicks210684]

@@jonathanpezzati9115 I played a game with a 100% VPIP, literally wouldn’t fold any hand preflop to any bet size. Must have been drunk or something. He limped UTG, folded round to me in the small blind, I shove with KK, big blind calls, fish calls. Big blind has AA and triples up 🙄. Fish leaves table fml.

[@jonathanpezzati9115]

@@nicks210684 could you imagine AA from a 70%+ VPIP? I literally don't. This is why I'm taking a pause from poker online

[@drfunkinstein1]

The caller thought having a draw out of position against a guy who doesn't fold is a great spot.

[@djStens]

pretty cringe

[@aarbar6615]

Isn't it a strange phenomenon ? I bet he's not the only rock out there with no bluffing range who thinks all his play is + ev against players who play more then one hand every third orbit

[@aro327]

Welcome to low stakes poker.

[@JackJackKcajify]

Having a draw against a station is a good spot. are you stupid? why wouldnt having a draw against a station be good?

[@Kc-ms8jb]

@@JackJackKcajify because draws miss more than they hit and you won’t be able to bluff him off a better hand if he’s calling too often?

[@88mphDrBrown]

He wasn't bluffing, in his head it was 100% for value. I also agree with your logic of bet folding the river.

[@JamesWilson-sb9iq]

I don't think in his head he was bluffing. He knew you did not have an 8 and he was value betting lol

[@aarbar6615]

Maybe 88 . That's not many combos

[@charlesfoutch1132]

me too

[@johnlogan9052]

He probably put hero on AQ or AK (hero said he had only been showing exceptional hands... which in this instance the range could be AKs or AQs or a set...) and knew he was behind and the 6 on the river was a good card to bluff for that specific range. He also knows that you know he is playing any 2 cards so his range is more likely to have the straight combinations. I don't think the villain didn't know what he was doing... I think he just made too small of a bet. Imo a bet here of 475 would be solid and force a fold.

[@pedromartins7747]

@Einstien Brown yep, I am confused by that idea too - and also the fact that they keep talking about how the villain was bluffing because he was polarized... he bet 1/2 pot on the river... he was clearly value betting. if he wanted to polarize he would have gone all in for a little less than pot.

[@michaelcraft6657]

11:40 AJ? what about 89 suited spades?

[@emphyriohazzl1510]

The main reason to not cbet in this spot is that facing a raise or a check raise would be a very bad turn of event. Against very passive players, cbetting small is ok.

[@georgewbushcenterforintell147]

The worst low stakes play determined is playing a hand just for the chance of a jackpot . Low stakes players use this as a excuse to play any suited cards and make people feel bad for not giving as much action . So 6 4 suited is not likely to be a jackpot hand but it can and if you dont play it you might kill the jackpot many will say. I say F the jackpot it's just a way for the house to rake more money and create the illusion of a big winner .

[@mattstieg5388]

I go to different table if stuck w OMCs chasing the high hand. Happens more early in the day.

[@georgewbushcenterforintell147]

@@mattstieg5388 high hand is one thing you can will that with your mind sometimes. The jackpot is incredibly hard to hit . Out of 22 years of playing cash games poker I once got a table share of the jackpot at the bike I got 1600 $ also happen to be when Jamie gold was playing at the high stakes table I think Niel was the host .

[@ligafftheindifferent3495]

I am looking at this hand and I am far from convinced that the villain made a mistake. Calling preflop and on the flop are both very reasonable plays. A flop raise might be better due to his high equity combined with a range advantage, but calling is fine. The turn raise seems 100% clear. The range of hands that bet this turn includes a lot of hands worse than Aces. In fact, the preflop raiser should probably make this turn bet with his entire range (once he bet the flop) since the Ace is so good for his range even when his actual hand does not like it. When the caller calls the raise, things change a lot. What can he call with? Broadway spade draws? AK-AJ? A3s/A4s/A5s/A6s/A7s? 76s? Anything else likely folds. So what about the river bet? This is a really bad card for the super villain. Betting with AsTs here is an odd bet because it might be a bluff and it might be for value. But since most of your turn calling range with showdown value either improved or was already ahead, this bet is really now just a bluff. But is it a bad bluff? How often does the hero have AK-AJ? I just don't think the hero folds those on a turn raise. So this bluff seems like it might work, unless our hero manages to call again after that scary river. I don't think AK will make money calling here. Even the A6 was a very marginal call. Very tough spot for both players, but I don't think either really played poorly. Had the river been a total brick, like a 5, then a river bluff seems too risky. if AT-AK called your raise, then it is not folding on the river unless you jam, and that may not work either. When a hand like AK calls the turn raise, it is not folding to a river brick very often.

[@SkeeNnN]

I see your point on the river but there are so many better hands to chose to bluff than A10s I think it has way too much showdown value. Especially if ranges are as wide as hero explained in this clip.

[@mattstieg5388]

Villain wasn't terrible until the river bluff vs wide range that beats him. Only 3 higher AJ-AKss he beats that won't call him off anyway. No lower unpaired A would call either. Many hate to surrender missed draws especially w a piece, but should've checked that showdown value.

[@TheBarkanMethodofHotYoga]

This was a great tutorial… cause I’m folding the river…. But talking about him not Likely having 8 6 with a river 6 makes so much sense….. thanks for continuing to improve my thinking process!🙏

[@sk8rdaniel]

If someone is playing any 2 cards preflop you have to be happy calling much wider

[@christopherwooten4882]

As bad as the opponent sounds here, I can kind of get behind the way he played turn and river (though as others have said he very well may have just been value betting the river). But the turn raise allows him to bluff a lot of rivers if he misses, as he's repping a straight already, and if he hits his spade he's got a quasi disguised flush. It's likely he's just really bad and didn't know what he was doing like Bart said, but just playing Devil's Advocate.

[@TheKisei]

I agree -- I think both turn and river are not terrible by Villain. Villain has slightly more equity at the turn and then when he missed the river, why not turn the pair into a bluff, but I think he needs to bet more. Then combos of value vs combos of bluffs make it harder for Hero to call (although maybe Villain's table image makes the play more difficult)

[@pashadia]

I agree with betting the river for all the started reasons; but building on top of those, in my experience an overbet is called by a worse hand with almost the same range as a half-pot bet. Why not shove the river?

[@bobbuilder5430]

Weird... villain had nut flush draw post flop... then hit top pair on the turn and value bet... villain was winning whole way through until hero got lucky on the river with two pair. Was a bit of an odd sizing on river bet as it was a bit of a bluff at that point against the straight draw.

[@richardlug6139]

He did everything somewhat right except his bet on the river he should have checked, because IMO the only hands that call him are hands that can beat you. The hero got lucky on the river he is the type that calls off a lot of chips during a night of poker.

[@MrDigitalMiami]

Monster call that could have been easier on the pocket if he would have just bet the amount he wanted on the river. Sometimes being out of position helps when you are the first to bet the pot; especially when you 3 barrel it. Nice hand!

[@EetuKorh]

32 was all I could think during this hand, really surprised it wasnt that honestly. I think villain would play it excactly like this. For sure he bets a 7-3 straight on the river when checked to.

[@nonma2312]

that's *all* you could think? 32? seriously?

[@nathanh8355]

Why the hell would the villain check raise the turn with 32? If anything guys that play anything and everything gets extra scared when they see an A on the board when they don’t have one. The point here is that you need to start putting people on ranges, not a specific hand. I thought maybe pocket 4s or something but definitely not 23 once that Ace came on the turn and he ended up check raising. I don’t think 73 plays the hand this way either.

[@nicks210684]

Nathan H 32 makes a straight on the turn, why would they be scared of an ace? They’re only losing to 63 and 86 which are pretty unlikely preflop raises from hero.

[@gratler]

really interesting hand and great analysis. however I'm not even necessarily sure that villians bet on the River wasnt for value. look at it from his view: you raise (you have tight image) you bet flop (could be TT JJ QQ KK etc.) A comes bet again small (he thinks this is a block bet and he has you with pair of A and just in case he doesnt he has outs) river you check. he knows he has a loose image so he goes for value with his A. rec players play weird lines sometimes that dont make sense but i noticed that even bad players are usually aware of their image and know when to bet light for value. often they valueown themselves but sometimes they get a call from worse and that is what they remember and so they keep doing that.

[@DJcyberslash]

Hey could you please use 4 color cards? It's hard to tell spades from the clubs.

[@Mitjitsu]

I could understand if Villain raised the turn with A3/A6/A8 of spades, but his line throughout is typical of someone only thinking of their own cards.

[@marcopastormayo8248]

At 11:05, I'm guessing villain's got 3c2c, so he had a flush draw and straight draw on the flop, and then a straight on the turn.

[@TheOneJameYT]

This is exactly what I thought

[@SilentJay321]

I'm just a noob, so take this for its worth. But I don't see Villan's play as bad here at all until the river. He flats your open with A10s on the button which is fine. He has the nut flush draw 35% of the time after the flop with 2 overs on the board. Calling your half pot bet is a positive EV play for him every time. He can put hero on a super wide range at this point. When the Ah comes on the turn and you lead for about 1/3, pot, I like his re-raise because it turned your hand face up. If you are calling, he knows you have an Ace and he has the nut flush blocker. At best for you, maybe you have a combo draw with your ace. He can still draw to the nuts. But maybe you have a better kicker than his A10. When he misses the flush on the river, at that point when you check, he has to make a decision. Does he feel is 10 is too low as a kicker and you have AJ+ so he needs to bluff? Is he trying to fold out your lower 2 pair holdings? 3 or an 8 give you a straight. That is 10 possible other hole cards he loses to with A10. He only beats A,2 and A9, and splits with A10. I see the river bet as a bluff not a punt. I feel like his mistake was his sizing was too small. Because he should have put hero on an Ace, evaluated what he could beat, realized your weakness on the river check after calling the turn reraise.

[@NO--BS.]

I need some help. Where I can find out what these terms mean. "cut-off" position, "UTG", hijack, etc. Thanks

[@iconicheight1188]

Google "poker terms"

[@phenofoxe1428]

His mindset is definitely bluff 2 pairs and 3 of a kind to fold with the straight set up on river. I had him on Broadway ace suited spades. I was leaning more for A K or A Q

[@svmohata]

at the river, im thinking villian could have A3, basis what the guy is saying about his craziness. i'm not putting it past him to raise the turn with the ace and with the possibly to hit the lower end of a straight thinking its good

[@fevolenko3995]

Agree

[@kzkilla808]

If this guy is that active and has show a propensity to bluff, doesn't leading out on the river open up hero to be bluffed raised though?

[@compteofficiel4112]

it would take a real maniac to raise without a straight...

[@Gos1234567]

kzkilla808 yea that’s why I don’t like a lead intending to fold into an aggressive guy,you may either blow out his bluffs or even get (a small percentage of the time) get bluff raised or just get called by a better hand.I can’t see a worst hand called your river donk. Against an aggressive this is a check call to me,v a passive it’s check fold (is a passive raising turn and betting river in that board) I can’t get with Bart on this one

[@leonardmccannon3136]

gerry o sullivan A lot of players have this thought process. The want to protect their money more than risk it. But the logic discussed in the hand seems solid. The hands that this villain could have, and call with in this spot - it is argued -outnumber the hands that actually beat you. If that’s true then the lead on the end should be more profitable in the long run. I think this is a pretty useful distinction if you want to get full value for hands. Although this présumés that the villain will check some hands back if you don’t lead. I would use it sparingly but it has some advantages against the right players. If I decide on betting into a hand that I might plan to check call, at least I get to set the price of the bet in many cases. River bets out of position when the other player has been jacking up the pot look strong, and it’s going to be fairly rare to see a jam over it without it being a hand that crushes you anyway. In live play, sometimes you can actually get good players to fold winning hands. (eg. Q J folding to 10 J on a jack high board. ) I think the general way of thinking about river bets here is quite useful.

[@vladbcom]

it's actually muchmuch harder to bluff raise even for a deranged player...

[@nicks210684]

There’s no stack depth to bluff raise. If hero leads out for $200 on the river that looks might suspicious. Like guy with an 8 who wants to be called. So bluffing seems insane. On the other hand if hero leads out big then he’s pretty much all in so bluff raising is again out the question.

[@dominicc.3864]

I'm not sure I understand how A-10 played the hand so poorly. If I'm missing something please let me know, I'm no expert. Preflop = seems standard, flop = standard. I actually think the villain turn raise could make sense. Hes drawing to the nuts, hit top pair, wants to build a pot if his hand hits, and it seems so rare to be raised in this spot by the hero. Also the low cards on the board could favor villians range preflop as the caller. If hero just calls on the turn, the villian sets his own price (as the hero will most likely check to villain on the river) and gets an extra bet out of our hero in case the flush comes on the river and the hero is scared of the flush. The hero may not put another dime in if the flush comes. Plus his A-10 might be good on the turn (it was). By the river it appears the villain knew he was beat and put in a chunky bet to blow A-K or A-Q out of the pot as theses are the 2 most likely hero holdings. That's how I read it....or I could just be an idiot.

[@sid7607]

But what are you getting called by on the river? Yea you get AK, AJ, and AQ to fold. But you get no value from literally any calls. All straights raise you, and some bluffs raise you and you lose your showdown value. I might turn a hand like A9 suited into a bluff here as I block 89 and just jam. When you're beating such a large portion of my range with a marginal hand, just check back and take the showdown. Before river though, I agree he played standard. I'd be inclined to raise flop, but with 2 players behind, I can understand the call.

[@coreykuhl3079]

I think you’re spot on… I would’ve put the hero on no worse than AQ… which bears my A10 suited. With the straight out there which the hero should not be in on with his large pre flop bet I think the bet on the river by the villain makes sense and almost works… probably should’ve shoved and he would’ve won the pot

[@friedrichnietzsche7736]

Enjoyed the analysis but I think I disagree with Bart somewhat re. the river decision. I think x/c is fine here. Reasons being: 1) A lot of the worse value hands we're targeting with a lead may well bet the river themselves anyway. Fish tend to merge to a ridiculous extent on the river because, as one of the other comments noted, they don't really think in terms of "value" or "bluff" in the same way that regs do and will often bet simply because they think they have the best hand. This hand is a prime example of that- our opponent's thought process here probably didn't go much deeper than "I have top pair, I bet". 2) I think that the analysis underestimates the amount of pure bluffs villain can have on the river here. If he really is playing every hand then he has every possible spade combo here and it's reasonable to think that he will take this line with at least some of them at some frequency and then follow through on the river. 3) If our plan is to block/fold the river, there's even a small chance that we can induce a value shove from this whale with a worse aces up and end up folding the best hand, which would obviously be a huge disaster. I do definitely agree that the flop should usually be a check though.

[@lightonstillwaters6789]

How was the V turn raise bad? V was ahead on kicker. Maybe V should have raised bigger? To 300+? 400+? Hero had 11 outs on turn to hit 2 pair or st. Got a nice river.

[@nicks210684]

Normally you wouldn’t raise AT there. Think about it...hero is the preflop raiser so can have all the premium A hands. If hero has an A you’re only beating A9, A8, A6, A3 and A2. And some of those will typically only be played as suited combos. Whereas hero can have all the offsuit combos of AK, AQ and AJ in CO. If hero doesn’t have an ace then raising will probably just cause him to fold. I guess with the flush draw it’s not terrible. But even still, doesn’t seem much reason to raise unless you think hero will actually fold a better ace.

if i was the billian, i would of raised more than the 200, all in or 300, and represent a straight or 2 paris on the turn. price the straight draw out. and likely many smaer 2 pairs out.

[@LivingWeirdCameron]

why would you turn A10s into a bluff?

[@angeloperez1020]

Alot of yall are saying villain was value betting which he probably was, but i personally dont like the value bet on the river is a good one. The raise on the turn i like given his equity was a good one but when it gets called i think checking back is a better play because he literally only beats A9, A2, and A3... i mean hes calling the turn raise with all aces, and then medium cards with a 6 or twopairs sets etc. just tryna figure out exactly what hands hes trying to get value from

[@tmark33m]

with the check raised turn, could you not put the V on A-8ss? seems like a hand I'd push the action with.

[@PhilipJReed-db3zc]

It's a raise IP, not a check raise. And we don't have enough info to narrow to one specific combo. As8s is obviously in his range, but apparently so is any Asxs and maybe even any AT+. In general trying to put opps on a single hand isn't wise unless hand reading street by street warrants it.

[@briancrist6388]

Does it make a difference whether its live or online poker. Would you play a hand the same way.. except for maybe assuming the online players will be tighter?

[@MrMjn5000]

thanks bart for all the videos and commentary....

[@MrBlack-wt5er]

I think preflop slow playing big pairs is the worst play in microstakes, if you haven't played a hand in awhile some of them are surprisingly smart enough to know what a pair of aces are....

[@gabrielrockman]

I disagree with Bart about the worst play. I think the worst play is when you try to bluff someone that you know is a calling station.

[@tjebbedonckers]

I find it hard to believe villain was valuebetting river, tbh. Pretty sure he was afraid his hand wasnt good enough and decided to turn it into a bluff on that scary looking river.

[@datsumcrzysht]

TD Yet bad enough to play every hand?

[@coreykuhl3079]

Scary looking river? If the river helps the hero he is never folding his straight… with nothing above trips on the board

[@alexh8613]

Funny thing is, the villain was right. The hero didn't have the 8. Just so happens that the Hero sucked out and the 6 actually made his hand better

[@retrogaminghippie3720]

Correct. Basically our hero made a could call of the raise and bet, then sucked out on the end. I guess the mistake from the header was not checking back the river when there was 4 to the straight. Guessing he did not see that

[@bobbywhite1645]

Kept thinking 23ss made sense there. Except for the pre flop flat but even thats not totally out of line on the button in a juicy game. two spades and up and down on the flop makes him continue against the c bet and the A hits him so he raises, then value bets the river check. A10 makes no sense and is a terrible river bet, shouldn't be betting for value and shouldn't be bluffing with top pair, that should check back 100%

[@bobloomis246]

Not knowing the vill, couldn't he have over played say a 6,6 and then got lucky on the river? Could he have tried a bluff on the turn when the A came?

[@samb9403]

Interesting question on what it is "special villain" is thinking. Is it possible "special villain" is just turning his hand to a bluff? He may have known he's beat after hero calls check raise on turn. 6 on the river followed by hero check tells "special villain" that hero doesn't have a straight..the only way to win would then be to represent a straight. Or is that giving too much credit to him? 😆

[@spidgeb3292]

If you're playing against a no-fold button and you're drawing out of position, why do you want to build a big pot with a bet on the flop? I don't get that move. Seems to me a draw needs better pot odds than heads up can provide on the flop, so isolating doesn't really seem to be a good value move, and there's no bluff value against button. With a strong draw, my line is usually keep the hand multi-way, and see cards relatively inexpensively. Dunno....

[@joeregan63]

This hand illustrates position, IMO. Like against this opponent, it was fine; he was so wide in his potential holdings that we just call the river and don’t feel afraid. But change some parameters about this guy. I see many dudes who play close to a 100 VPIP and play bingo poker postflop. They don’t bluff. They don’t make thin value raises. They just have it. So we have Bart advocating for a donk blocker bet (fwiw this IS a card we’d wanna have leads on), and now we’re kind of playing like the fish do. You know the move; a round of betting happens, the next card changes nothing and they donk (i call it the idiot checkraise). So often it’s “I don’t want to face a bigger bet so I’m going to set my own price”. I mock these guys for this play, but honestly, here it might be the best play. And that’s the issue w/ being OOP. We are going to play our hand worse. I like this caller. But I do think his idea of a “good scenario” is different from mine. I never want a dude like this to call in position. It makes the rest of the pot a landmine.

[@Gos1234567]

True I think Barts concept of not check calling applies more to when you in the blinds and call a flop bet with Second/middle pair then V checks back turn and river is a brick.Well there you should lead out because is V value betting 3rd pair or say Ax(which has some showdown value)? Doubtful but he may call as a bluff catch with those. When he plays in such a way that your mediocre hand has a high chance of being best then check calling makes no sense but here the guy did raise the turn and the board by the river is absolutely horrible so this situation doesn’t really explain the concept well,Batd thinks the guy will only bet a str8 on the end and because of blockers he may not have one but I could see a set or even top 2 pair betting here,why would he think Hero has better?

[@joeregan63]

@@Gos1234567 Well Bart's reasoning is 100% sound. The main reasons to have check calls are 1) Balanced strategy, obviously 2) Give your opponent a chance to bluff 3) Give your opponent a chance to value cut. Like example hand: HJ opens to 3 bb and we call in the BB with Ah7h (6.5) Kh7c3d We check call a 3 bb bet (12.5) 8h We check call a 9 bb bet (30.5) 7 Our decision here would probably be way different at 1/2 than at 5/10. At 5/10, we'd check and either raise or call depending on the sizing. At 1/2, we should almost exclusively be making a large river bet under the assumption that our opponent is incapable of folding a king or AA, and incapable of ever raising us without a boat. Clearly against a smart opponent who knows we donk any hand with a 7 in it on the river, we would never do this because they'll abuse us by value betting any king and bluffing a lot. So why would we donk at 1/2? Well for one, as alluded to prior, balance isn't very important because our opponents aren't thinking about much more than their absolute hand strength. Triple barrel bluffs are exceedingly rare at 1/2, so we don't really induce hopeless bluffs. And people don't value cut very often at this level: the amount of check downs on the river is absolutely insane. So we kind of don't have a reason to check call. Of course, this gameplay aspect ends up sticking with weaker players as they move up levels. I still remember the time my buddy snap folded a straight on Kd85-7d-3d after some guy overcalled a big flop bet, putting him squarely on a rivered backdoor flush. He was 100% ready to make a huge river bet himself, but his opponent let him off the hook because said opponent is so programmed to not try to induce bluffs or value cuts. So basically he called flop w/ terrible equity, hit his miracle and couldn't get paid, because he was forced to play so poorly due to out of position. Hence, just fold more OOP.

[@Gos1234567]

@@joeregan63 Totally agree with all of this,you hit those trips at the end there and overpairs arent betting but no way are they folding.agree about inducing bluffs is a waste of time at lower stakes unless you know specifically the guy is agrro,other wise just bet your value frequently and bigger. good fold by your buddy and i think folding in spots where most would call is the key to poker,dont know about higher levels but at lower stakes bluffing and bluffcatching is bleeding money.

[@paulpena5040]

Villains raise on the turn is pretty much mandatory. I assumed A x of spades was a huge part of his range. His river bet was a polarization mistake and a pretty big blunder. What Aces is villain beating? AJ and above is better, A8 is a straight, A3 is a straight and the other middling Aces are Aces up. He is literally only beating A9 and A2 pretty thin. And without at LEAST an Ace why would Hero ever call?

[@enemyfleet7139]

A6s preflop raises to 425 (8.3bb) and gets three callers, all out of position, and $800-$1200 dollar stacks..... in a $1/3 game. SMH.

[@iceman9646]

He raised to 25

[@johnstdm1]

Why is it that all heros always have a "very solid, TAG-like image" at the table? I haven't even finished the video yet, but this tilts me so much.

[@niemand262]

Callers to this show are not a representative sample. They are self selected callers. That is, players who know this show exists know that a TAG image is a solid strategy at 1/3.

[@coreykuhl3079]

TAG?

[@niemand262]

@@coreykuhl3079 Tight aggressive. It means they play few but strong cards, and when they play them they make aggressive actions (bet, raise, check-raise, 3-bet) rather than passive actions (calling, checking). This naming convention includes Tag (tight aggressive), Lag (loose aggresive), tight passive (old man poker, never winning big), and loose passive (the loosingest strategy ever). Playing TAG, even poorly, is a winning strategy at small stakes games (e.g., 1/2, 2/3, possibly ever 2/5) because it's really hard for you to make a mistake (its hard to mis-play strong hands), which means you will make fewer mistakes than your opponents.

[@nncoco]

@@coreykuhl3079 tight aggressive. Fewer hands - aggressive when in.

[@tom-qj6uw]

Bart, I'd like this hand analysed from villain's side, i.e. "I have a pretty wild image and sit with AsTs and 800$ effective stacks on the Button, UTG limps and villain -a decent player - opens the CU for 25$, I call, BB + UTG call. ..."

[@fevolenko3995]

HTF do we get to say the villain is bluffing? I think this is one of the worst breakdowns. Hero had the worst and still had worst of it when he got raised on turn. He hit one of his 8 outs on the river so villain was just value betting...

[@straight_flizzy]

Great advice. Needed this reminder

[@neilarado9241]

Bart, doesn’t checking this flop basically tell the other 3 players that he doesn’t have any overpairs like 8s+ ? I would think a bet is almost automatic, although I agree with a smaller size

[@maximo6037]

The problem is also bet sizing there. What serious hand is only going to bet half pot into 3 opponents on such a wet board. It basically screams weakness. Its a spot to check or bet around pot size. This also helps you narrow down your opponents range

[@813oneup]

He was semi bluffing thinking that he could get two pair to fold and so forth

[@danieljaeger3834]

Agreed. He is trying to fold out 64s, 67, A5, A6, 75 etc. What hands does he beat there on the river?

[@Badjuju22]

Havent seen the vid yet . But since ive played these lower stakes for many years. Worse won is players not betting for value with big hands and paying off large bets on river with one pair.

[@Williy_Nilly]

Great hand to discuss 👍

[@TheOneJameYT]

If this villain is playing any 2 cards and re-raises the turn on an Ace, I’d think they had 2s3s for a turned straight with a draw to the flush. Never heard that mentioned in this video but 86 isn’t the only thing they could’ve had on the flop.

[@davidsteinke1]

Great breakdown! Nice hand

[@notNaB2024]

couldn't villain raise the turn ace with A8 and then raise a river bet once the straight came in?

[@ewallt]

The analysis has tons of information, as usual, but I don’t understand why he didn’t consider the possibility of spades. We’re told the guy plays everything, which means lots of spades. So that was missing in the analysis. That makes for a ton of hands which could bluff on the river, which was missed. Another thing I missed from the analysis was a lack of discussion as to what a turn raise means. If the guy plays all his hands, his *only* chance at not getting completely crushed is to be extremely aggressive. Otherwise he’ll by buying in constantly. So what does his turn raise mean? Lots of bluffs, unless he’s a huge fish. That argues for taking a WA/WB line, which the caller did. Interesting that the title was the worst mistake to make, which is presumably checking and calling the river from up front. How about not folding to a raise against someone who is never bluffing? That seems like a worse error at this level, in terms of a fairly frequent error, worse than check/calling, which seems like just missing out on some value. Finally, these are just some thoughts, not meant as criticism.

[@hoctrungchau5023]

What the heck was Bart talking about when he said vill was bluffing, vill had top pair with nut flush draw, it might be bad thin bet for value but it’s not bluffing by the vill. Bart is lost not recognizing the vill thought he was making a thin value bet or maybe the villain is trying represent he had had A8 making a str8. Either way didn’t understand why Bart say the vill was bluffing.

[@DaelinMartins]

You have got much better at poker Bart within 3 years

[@Noondroid]

Sounds like a fun table.

[@littleinkling4604]

Either Sklansky or Harrington said with a medium holding on the river, check. A raise would enduce either a fold from a weaker hand or a 2 bet from a stronger hand, which we can't call. But the check shows weakness and allows the weaker hand to rep more than their holding. If they bet half pot, the 25% eq needed to call is less than their bluff/ 1 pair potential. This play to me is profitable at lower stakes... but I've never moved out of lower stakes so if someone wants to explain the game moving on from Sklansky and Harrington plays, please do.

[@stevebutler6428]

Bc it’s old school advice for old school players. Notice he says with “a medium holding” “stronger hand” “weaker hand”- this is playing your cards bc your opponent is playing his cards. If your opponent is playing his range vs your range- playing your cards is too exploitable and you’ll get owned at higher stakes- Ie with medium holdings check- so any time you check on the river i bet pot and you fold, if i have it i bet quarter pot and you call and you get bluffed and value city’d. Soooo you can’t win without the effective nuts and you pay Everytime you’re beat.

[@littleinkling4604]

@@stevebutler6428 Ok, but betting river still has the same problem as I mentioned. You're facing the 2 bet, or a fold - Is the fold out potential by betting the river more profitable than the X/C line?

[@coreykuhl3079]

Not trying to be the guy that knows what he had…. But when he bet the Ace my first thought was he had the Ace of spades with a flush draw…. Question for me was what was his other card? It felt like a bet with the nut flush draw on the turn and if the hero had the balls he could’ve check shoved on the River… but I don’t know that I would make that play either although it’s the right play! Crazy hand, that $325 bet was a good bet by that guy as he missed his flush but had some showdown value…

[@acesfull1026]

Personally I like the villains play. Hero said his range is ATC, so his range easily includes A3, 23, 78 type hands, sets etc. Our Hero said he only shows made hands so his range in villains eyes is probably 88+, AT+ on the turn. When the raise to $200 gets called, villain likely puts him on AT+ and turns his hand into a bluff. It's a lot harder for hero to have a set of straight in his range on the river given the action so villain either takes it down or forces hero to make a hero call.

[@acesfull1026]

@M S I don't think he's betting for value on the river, I think he's turned his hand into a bluff. I feel that by this point villain has put Hero on AT+ (probably thinking he has AK or AQ).

[@tylermokarry9731]

This is an example of a typical accidental value own; you'll see this a lot more than you might think, especially from super active players; they'll bet in spots where they have solid showdown value and it makes little sense to bet; I think they just get excited and they're not really sure what to do so they just bet and see what happens; I've called these spots down with A high before and lost and have been so shocked so many times to the point where I'm not really shocked anymore, it's just a part of the low stakes environment

[@fevolenko3995]

That's how skilled and unskilled lags build big stacks. They get max value when they hit..

[@kylebroussard5952]

Holy shit where can I find these games?! Not this type of action in New Hampshire.

[@jamiepaolinetti5087]

100%!!!, I love this guy, - "sounds like a good game"... when everyone is calling a $15 open every time in a 1-3 game! Ha! People call that good action, I call it watching people blow off their stack.

[@bakaraymoo7389]

East coast are arguably the best games in the country

[@markr8250]

@@bakaraymoo7389 that's so interesting. Why is that?

[@bakaraymoo7389]

@@markr8250 no idea but I've been hearing it for years. It's like an ecosystem where a place can't stay hot too long. Like Vegas used to be good but now it's all grinders

[@markr8250]

@@bakaraymoo7389 I've actually played a lot at Borgata. You're right, the games are great. But FYI, I played at Bellagio in Vegas this week. The players were all experienced, but the game was very soft. Poker still lives. Edit: I was playing 1/3

[@jaketaylor3129]

A bunch of spades he could have as a bluff. Broadway spades without the ace obv and he could raise the turn with a flush draw. Im not saying he’s likely to have naked spades, I’m just saying its certainly possible.

[@felixsimon7943]

I really can't believe I called the villains hand ace10 before they showed it. I feel my reads are mostly on point I just make bad moves on huge pots I guess.

[@chriswilson1968]

I check call river a fair amount of the time. Usually bluff catching or trying to induce some spewy rec player. Or sometimes I'm just pot controlling a hand I'm not trying to build a huge pot with which kinda just falls in with the other reasons. It really depends on the player, the hand and my image. If I have top top or better I'm usually just leading for value especially if I have the lead in the hand. I dont slow play much at all I'm always going for big value whenever possible. But I dont always wanna be just calling with draws and weaker marginal hands obviously you wanna balance with some stronger hands aswell. Plus they will think twice about bluffing or barreling when you show up with stronger hands after just check calling. Generally with your strong hands you should just be betting and going for value. Check calling tho does have its place. Sometimes I'll lead if I dont wanna have to check fold a hand I wanna get to showdown with or see more cards. Sometimes if you cant check call profitably but you wanna continue you can just lead.

[@Gos1234567]

Thing is here the villain is the aggressor so Bart is advising to donk river into him for a small amount which is really just a blocker bet.When someone raises the turn the natural thing on the river is to check to them to let them bluff,leading the river seems weird so I’m not sure about Barr’s “check calling is terrible”

[@compteofficiel4112]

@@Gos1234567 check/calling really only makes sense when you are pretty sure you have the best hand ...i often do this to extract value.. a good example is like AQ, A-rag-rag flop, bet flop, get called, blankish turn goes check-check, check to induce on a not-too-scary river...this works for me a lot because it looks like you took a stab with air and missed, and if they were calling with a weaker ace or a pair like TT or JJ they are going to bet a lot on the river (i mean, who wouldn't?)

[@compteofficiel4112]

@@Gos1234567 blocker bets never really went out of fashion, did they? how could villain raise without a straight, and probably not the ignorant end either...if he shoves you just fold, otherwise you probably get an extra bet of value.

[@Gos1234567]

Bruce M. Yea I can see logic in that,but what about when you are the pf caller and call flop,turn with say top pair weak kicker? Isn’t this a good scenario to check/call river oop as a bluff catch? I can’t see how that’s too bad. Isn’t leading into a polarised range as bad as raising it

[@compteofficiel4112]

@@Gos1234567 i think calling every street with a hand like that is usually a mistake, it is just too passive and would villain really continue to bet with top pair even weaker kicker? i just don't think you beat much. now maybe you could try check/raising the flop or turn though..i mean if you plan to check/call the river, why not take that money and use it to check/raise the turn and get some fold equity as well as a lot of information if called or re-raised?

[@davidpatent1053]

Villain value owned himself; small raise on turn was small because he probably felt that he was best and was not afraid of too many river cards given his flush draw to go w top pair

[@wesch6354]

I ran into a guy exactly like this last week. He called any pre flop bet with anything. Even all in jams. I had AQo and raised pre. Flop was rainbow A high. I bet he calls. Turn is a blank. I bet he calls. River puts a 3rd heart on the board. At this point there is more in the pot than I have in my stack so I put the rest out there. He calls and shows T4h. He called me all they way down with just a back door flush draw and made it. You have to be careful with these types of players. In the scenario in this video I was 100% expecting the villain to have A3o.

[@neopromise]

Thx for the lesson .

[@jwerkjy34rku2rkjoilj]

Your 4c looks too much like 4s, why don't you go 4 colour ? So what was the worst thing ? Good hand.

[@WillPage]

Villain pretty heavily criticised here IMO. He raised the turn with a very good hand. He got our hero to commit more chips on the turn as a 4-1 dog. Bit of a suck-out really w/ 9 outs max, the villain should have jammed the river; may as well put 190 more in to try and get hero to fold. Maybe he thought 325 looks stronger. Personally a 5 sec pause, quick glance at hero's chips followed by a shove and he takes it down. He could have made it look strong after the check raise turn.

[@maximo6037]

Agreed. I like the flop no raise from villain as with his draw to the nuts he wants more opponents in the pot. Then on the turn, in position, he seizes control from the hero - who is showing a lot of weakness. And completely agree with you on villains river thinking

[@paulpena5040]

Yeah but I think he's being criticized for not recognizing the straight possibilities. Hero having an 8 in his range like 7,8 ; 8,9, A 8 make complete sense on how the board played out. Jamming the river risky here.

[@noex100]

Villain practically min-raised the turn and gave hero fantastic drawing odds, so that's his fault. Turn raise should have been 250-275 total, which is a standard half-pot raise.

[@WillPage]

@@noex100 2.66 x raise on turn and the pot was only 275 when he raised to 200. What are you talking about? The villain was more than an 80% fav on the turn btw. Honestly, your comment reads as result bias to me.

[@WillPage]

​@@paulpena5040 Yeah, I think I agree mostly regarding river; we don't actually know what he was thinking but I am jamming or checking back - poor bastard getting crucified when he was 82% on the turn and built a pot.

[@Murph_.]

What can he have that he beats A6? 98 spades or any 8 spade suited hand like T8 or A8 spades... A7. Set raises the flop on such a wet board. Bet on the river is usually a bluff when it's checked to him, or a big ace where your check makes him think he's ahead or a busted flush draw. Frankly, the turn raise tells me he either hit two pair on the turn or had Ax of spades and hit the ace. He thinks he's either ahead here or has a LOT of outs. if you bet the river, he just calls unless he has you beat. If you check the river, you really HAVE to call simply because he is bluffing or thinks is pair of aces is good about 75% of the time, and you are getting odds for sure to make that call. I personally agree with Bart that you should bet the river... but you made an extra $175 by checking, so what do I know?

[@RR-bd4jp]

How is it a bluff if he has a pair of Aces. This video is over analyzing the hand. It is a basic call. You have to look him up. My guess was just a busted straight or flush draw with possible back up pair. I was close. So many things go.into it besides just seeing or feeling.

[@Stokkeland23]

The worst play you can make at low stakes is bluff and get creative. Playing loose standard while at the same time giving action without doing big bluffs or big creative plays is the best way.

[@gabrielrockman]

I almost agree with you. I would say the worst play you can make at low stakes is to bluff someone that you know is a calling station. It's fine to get creative and bluff people if you think they're scared of putting a lot of money into a pot when they don't have the nuts.

[@Stokkeland23]

@@gabrielrockman Everyone at low stakes is a calling station. That's why they are playing low stakes :)

[@windy619]

Brad Owen would bet 45 at a larger size on the river " to look like a bluff "

[@bennygoods22]

Man this guy hasn’t aged a bit, just caught on it’s an old video. He is way more polished in the calls and delivery now tho

[@Nomadic12347]

Why wasn't the showdown talked about?

[@fortunatusnine2012]

🤔 you don't seem to realize that the villain actually has the best hand till the river . His ace has a better kicker and his hand better equity with the flush draw .

[@JiveDadson]

What is the worst play in low stakes poker?

[@johnnyboychess]

Although I feel like the advice is sound. This logic is hard to follow and I don’t feel a better player from listening to this analysis. This player has been said to been running well while also playing any 2 cards. While that’s important, in most cases he’s not truly playing ANY 2 cards but understand you’re playing a wider range. With that in mind, even though he’s playing wider pre-flop doesn’t mean he has nothing which leads us to the logical question: “what’s his range” and what does he think you have/ your range is. By the river he very well probably thought you didn’t have a 3 and over bet A10. Maybe he overvalued it, maybe he put you on 2 pair that was scared and wanted a fold. But the whole time through this analysis, we should’ve started to establish a range of hands, and based our decisions to check/bet/check-raise based on what our villains range was.

[@bbbulldog61]

So are we saying the worst play you can make at low stakes was bluffing or value betting with the Ace? That's the problem playing against hyper aggressive players they put you in tuff spots.

[@williamzagarella8066]

I actually think the Villain thought he was going for Value lol. He doesnt see the hero having an 8 so I genuinely think that 325 was him value owning himself. If that 6 doesnt peel off on the end, even if it's a 3 or an 8 I bet you he still bets lol.

[@kevinkeller9279]

used to be a somewhat regular player at this room, not that it really matters. this is a check-call on the flop for the reasons bart mentioned. as played, this has to be a check to check-call on the turn, absolutely do not want to be playing for stacks with Ax when (in theory) a lot of villain's floats on the flop should be Ax (which are likely better than A6). the pot is already 75 BBs at this point and we have one pair. as played on turn facing the raise is a sickening spot but I think call is fine. on river leading is a frankly terrible idea, you should be praying to get to showdown cheaply. the best way to beat fish is to not play like a fish ourselves earlier in he hand and getting ourselves into these spots