Luke: Hey everyone, this is Luke Johnson for Know Your Poker. Today we're joined by a very special guest, the man himself, Uri Peleg.
So, Uri is a high stakes poker player and a very excellent coach. I've been personally coaching for the last eight years. And I feel when you are a coach, you can get a gist of how the other coaches are based on students telling you how they were. And I've only ever sincerely heard good things about Uri. In fact, very good things.
Hope you guys enjoy.
So, we've got three tables of GGPoker Rush and Cash.
Uri, do you have any opening thoughts about how you would approach this game? Obviously, this is not your main game, but I presume you're going to have kind of a crafted game plan for this level.
Uri: So, I mostly just play this level for students and videos. The way I approach this is I play kind of simple game plans, and I like to just let my attention be free floating because the people at the stake level are making a lot of mistakes that give away information.
100bb deep. The player on UTG min-raises. Everyone folds to Uri in the BB, who has.
Uri calls.
Flop (4.5 bb):
Uri checks. The opponent bets 2.3 big blinds. The opponent calls.
Turn (9 bb):
Uri checks. Opponent bets 2.3 bb. Uri – ?
Luke: We can see something here already. Top right table, the player has opened UTG, and half-potted the flop pretty fast. You've called pretty fast, and then he cbets turn for the same big blind amount but now quarter pot, which is definitely noteworthy. I mean, your hand is kind of, I don't know if stalemate is the right word, but it kind of has to call here. But I feel like this would be a great spot to do something with a different hand. A hand that might need to fold, you could maybe just turn it into a raise kind of deal, but this hand doesn't seem to be a great candidate for that. How do you feel?
Uri: Yeah, so this is kind of my approach here. I want people to have free floating attention as much as they can. And so, rather than worry about a complicated game plan, you need to look at this Ace Jack and be like, he bets small. Like you said, this hand is in the region where he should be betting similar hand strength given his size, so you can't fold. But then we say, okay, but what does his bet size imply given it's not the theoretical bet size? And you see that very often at these stakes where people, I think the theory size on a flush coming in is something between half pot and 75 percent pot.
And then we're always asking the question, what is this guy up to?
The default is always going to be things are what they seem. So, if it's a small bet, it's probably a weak range. If it's a big bet, it's probably a strong range. I have a bit of an issue of being well known as the guy who made the exploits course, so I feel a bit uncomfortable going after vacuum things because I've caught some people just playing differently against me. Generally speaking, if you're an unknown here and someone does this, just assume they're weak, raise, and put in money, and they're going to fold.
Uri calls.
River (13.5 bb):
Uri checks. The opponent bets 10.8 big blinds. The hand's outcome is unclear due to the edit, but Uri appears to have folded.
4.9
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Everyone folds to the button, and on the button Uri getsand raises to 2.5 bb. The big blind reraises to 12 bb.
Luke: So I take it we're calling?
Uri: Yeah, for a 4-bet bluff I'll be taking hands from the bottom of my calling range, but here I'm calling with a cushion.
Flop (24.5 bb):
The BB checks. Uri bets 12.3 big blinds. The opponent folds.
Luke: I don't know what to say about that. I'd probably use the randomizer because I can't decide which way to play; both options have their pros and cons.
Uri: Yeah, there are going to be some situations where big bet is not necessarily strong, but I think in this case, the small bet is virtually guaranteed to be basically middling hand strength. It's not a complete bluff, but it's very unlikely to be a trap from my perspective.
This is the way I conceptualize it. When someone takes a bet size and it's the non theory size, that means probably they don't know the theory size or they're not thinking of theory. So, they have a reason for the bet size. And then the reason is connected to a combination of the cards they're holding and what they want you to do on this board.
In his first video for GTO Wizard, the Israeli regular looks at postflop in a situation where UTG has raised and called a 3-bet from the button. By changing UTG's range to a more viable one, Uri explains how to adjust against it on three different textures.
Luke: Where if this were a low board, let's say it was and he checks, that's definitely a situation that I would probably take an overstab with my range because I expect him to not have enough check-raises. But when I expect a guy at 200 to not three-bet enough low cards, and then the board becomes all high, I agree with you that he probably is a bit too exposed with his checking range. But I also feel like he lacks the air that check folds.
Like he would lack a hand . That might be a low frequency three-bet. He probably never three-bets it and then never check folds. So, it's that fight between the fact that I don't think he's got enough check folds. But then I agree that he probably doesn't have enough traps in his checking range. And I wonder which one wins in your mind, because I don't know which one wins.
Uri: I think if you put in three streets and we think he has not enough of a calling range for three. But yeah, also, to me there's , , . There are still check folding hands. I usually make up my mind in the moment. It might even be his check timing.
I make my decision in the moment, even the timing of his check can influence it. And I immediately decide how much money I'm willing to put into the pot on the turn and river. I'll continue on blanks. Since his range is somehow hooked on the texture, I'll fold on a (not with my current hand, of course, but in principle) or a . On a repeat of a , I'll continue, on a repeat of a or a , I'll fold. And then I have to decide what to do with a flush. So, of course, there are many turns, but the decisions can be grouped, so for me, there are only five turns.
From first position, Uri raises with. Only the player in the BB calls.
Flop (4.5 bb):
Check – check.
Turn (4.5 bb):
BB checks. Uri bets 2.3 bb. BB check-raises to 9 bb. Uri – ?
Folds.
Luke: I think it's a very good bet/fold, which many people won't make. We made a standard raise preflop, checked a terrible board on the flop, and got some equity on the turn...
Uri: It's a straight.
Luke: Yeah, it's a straight, but since you fold it right away to a check-raise, it's not worth much, that's what I meant. I think a lot of people would have paid at least once. And you not only folded it, you did it immediately. I'm impressed.
Uri: When he raises, my hand is a bluffcatcher that can't improve. Since it's just a bluffcatcher, folding becomes an option. The second question is, what are people bluffing with here? On a rainbow board? Basically, it only takes a second to decide. However, on a board with a flush draw, I'd also fold; it's too unintuitive a spot for bluffing.
Luke: On a board with a flush draw, I wouldn't fold.
Uri makes a continuation bet of 2 bb, the opponent calls.
Turn (10 bb):
Uri bets 3.3 bb. The opponent calls.
River (16.5 bb):
Uri bets 1bb.
Luke: What is this?
Uri: Non-standard sizing, clearly unbalanced.
Luke: Are you using it because you're not getting enough bluffs in return?
Uri: Yes, I bet based on the strength of my hand and don't expect much aggression in return, so I don't worry about the fact that I'm playing with my cards open, so to speak.
The opponent folds.
Luke: With the other hand, you could potentially have a huge sizing? Say, with or would you overbet?
Uri: All I can say is that when you bet a third on the flop and a third on the turn, bluffing the river with a large sizing shows an expectation much higher than theoretical.
Luke: Against the wide and weak range left to the opponent, this is not surprising.
I generally like to bluff in broken lines, to use Pete Clark's term. Bet – check – bet, check – check – bet. This works especially well in the big blind against the button, when the flop and turn are checked – it's very hard for the button to defend enough hands against a bet of one-third of the pot. Your line, of course, isn't broken – you still triple-barreled – but it's somewhat similar, since your sizing on every street gave your opponent a great opportunity to raise. And now, having refused raises twice, he needs to defend 95% of his range on the river. Well, good luck!
Uri: Yeah, it won't be easy.
Luke: I would never play that, but that's why I called you – you'll probably show me lines I don't consider. Although betting 1bb on a queen is a bit subtle.
Uri: Well, I'm not insisting. I'm just playing and relaxing. Freestyle.
In second position with 120bb stacks, Uri raises to 2.5bb with . The player in the small blind raises to 11bb. The player calls.
Flop (23bb):
The opponent bets 3 bb. Uri calls.
Luke: What do you think of this sizing and the opponent in general? He immediately looks like a pro to me – just from the British flag and his nickname, "trollbag!" So his bet looks like a range bet to me and doesn't indicate anything about the strength of his hand, as it would against an amateur.
Uri: Amateurs don't usually bet that small, so his line looks professional.
Turn (29 bb):
Check – check.
River (29 bb):
The opponent bets 3 bb. Uri calls and loses. Trollbag shows .
Luke: You had the perfect suits to call. And with , would you have called too?
Uri: Oh, I don't understand this at all, teach me! Why do I need these suits? Oh, because with them he would barrel the turn, okay!
Luke: Okay, jacks, huh? ? This hand is just a lot worse than red-green jacks!
Uri: I don't know, man, he only bet six dollars, I'm just curious! Maybe he's reg, maybe he's random. Seriously, I don't think there's a fold here in a vacuum.
Luke: I still think the British flag and the trolling nickname are relevant features.
Uri: For the course, I recorded a video in which I played with 100% VPIP, never continuation betting, and always raising small bets on the turn. I was testing the hypothesis that people follow the strength of their hands, and I acted accordingly, without even looking at my cards. I played like this for 20 minutes and, I think, only lost one hand after raising the turn.
With stacks at 100bb, Uri raises to 2.5bb from second position with. BB calls.
Flop (5.5 bb):
Check – check.
Turn (5.5 bb):
The opponent bets 2.8 bb. Uri – ?
Luke: I like raising with this hand, what do you think?
Uri: I considered raising, but it's really awkward to raise with the jack of clubs. If the fourth club comes on the river, raising would weaken our jack too much.
Calls.
River (11 bb):
The opponent checks. Uri –checks?
Luke: If you were anonymous, you'd probably bet 15bb and always take the pot? Sure, checking wins some at showdown, but I'm sure an overbet wins more.
Uri: I don't even know. I call a small turn bet with , , any pocket pair with one club, and so on, and on the river I have a lot of possible bluffs in my range. But you never know what level your opponent is thinking at. Maybe they get scared after seeing a big bet and keep folding. But I mostly play high stakes, where you have to be a little more careful because people are good at calculating bluff combinations.
Uri loses to.
On the button with a stack of 100bb, Uri raises to 2.5bb with, Trollbag reraises to 10.5 big blinds in the small blind. Uri hovers over his stats – 28 VPIP, 23 PFT, 9% 3BET in 1,877 hands. He calls.
Flop (22 bb):
The opponent makes a continuation bet of 16.5 bb. Uri – ?
Uri: We played one hand where he was trying to bait me with a strong hand by betting small. If you play like that when you want to call, what do you do when you don't? His bet seemed very similar to , , , A8s. I'm quite happy with the strength of my combination against these hands. In a vacuum, I wouldn't feel so confident with it.
Uri makes the call.
Turn (55bb, effective stack 74bb):
Luke: You think he's bluffing. If he checks, do you check back to provoke him?
Uri: Of course. The added bonus is that hands are especially good here because many of his bluffs will be strengthened by a king on the river, and strengthened just enough to lose more.
The opponent checks. Uri checks back.
River (55bb, effective stack 74bb):
Luke: Do you want to see an all-in here? Or a check? Which is more pleasant?
Uri: Oh, I really want to see all-in.
The opponent checks. Uri – ?
Luke: All-in for you seems like a great idea. He can throw you a ton of bluffs and call you down with some very questionable hands.
Uri: Yeah, I always try to give my opponents a chance to make a mistake. They're still learning, they might have some random hands. And with , he apparently needs to open the shove.
Luke: I don't think so, but he might find a call, for example, with .
Uri goes all-in. We don't see the result, but it's likely his opponent folded.
Stacks are 100bb. The player in the hijack raises to 2bb. Uri is in the small blind withand raises it to 9.5bb. Call.
Flop (20bb):
Luke: What do you think about on a flop like this with nines? And by the way, what does the blue mark on your opponent mean?
Uri: Just a reg. Hand plan... If I'm too lazy to think, I bet a third on the flop and then move on. I generally have a pretty good idea of what to do in those situations.
He bets 6.6 big blinds. His opponent chats and says he loves Uri's content, then calls.
Turn (33.2 bb):
Uri – ?
Luke: For me, it's a check. It immediately comes to mind when you see the texture. But watching and playing are different processes. I wonder if I could find your line during a session?
Uri bets 24.9 bb. The opponent immediately folds.
Luke: As soon as I saw your bet, I immediately thought it was a very good one. We beat a lot of stronger hands – , , , . I like!
Uri: For me, it's just pattern recognition. In a pot where I 3-bet the small blind against MP, – my weakest pocket pair. If I'm not bluffing with , I'll have a hard time finding bluffs on this board.
Uri – ?
Luke: In a 3-bet pot, you continuation-bet a third on the flop. I don't like that, by the way...
Uri: Me too!
Luke: But you like putting pressure on your opponents?
Uri: No, it's just that, as I said before, I'm willing to sacrifice accuracy to avoid straining my brain and keeping an eye on my opponents.
Luke: Our blocks the nuts, and the smaller flushes will flop combo draws and check-raise often. It seems like a good spot for a hero call.
Uri: Firstly, I think he can make money with more than just flushes – I don't have many flushes myself. Although sets might have to worry about me catching a set of kings on the river and not getting all-in... Secondly, the most common problem is that at NL200, people simply don't bluff with huge sizings very often. You can always come up with some justification for a hero call, it might even be a very good one, but I stick to the rule: the first time it's always fold and take notes. Let him play like that again, then I can think about calling. It doesn't even have to be the exact same hand – just let him play something to convince me of his bluffing ability.
His bluffs in this situation are and with clubs. But how easy is it to sizing smaller with these hands?
Luke: Pragmatic! Writing a letter to tomorrow's self – I like it! I'm afraid I might have fallen into the trap of making a call here... Yeah, I'm sure I would have made that call.
Uri: By the way, some opponents, knowing that they will be in the video, show their cards after the deal :) But not this time.
Uri folds.
Luke: He folded, and very quickly. Do you still agree with the decision?
Uri: Yeah, in practice, that's a good fold. Plus, my mindset for the session wasn't to try to play my A-game, and when you're not playing your A-game, you're not supposed to make those kinds of calls.
Luke: I, on the contrary, try to play only my A-game, because if I play mediocre and end up losing, I tilt incredibly. When I play great, the result doesn't matter to me.
Thank you so much for the analysis! I hope we'll do a part two in the future.
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