Hey guys! Vitaly Inferno here. Today we'll talk about playing terrible flops in 3-bet pots, out of position.
First, let's answer the question: what are trash hands, and what characteristics are needed to identify them?
- Low Equity Hands: This means we'll rarely hit. We can also get into situations where we won't get paid, like four to a straight.
- Blockers on Folds: This is the determining factor when we decide not to bet – blockers on folds.
- Bad Implied Odds: If we get there, can we easily get paid by worse?
- Reverse Implied Hands: How often will we be ahead after hitting, especially if our opponent is leading with the nuts?
- We Can Rarely Barrel Bluff: There are some exceptions, though, and I'll talk about them a bit later.
Example #1
The first example is textbook.
- The button raises
- I three-bet with . I'm playing a slightly polarized range in the BB.
- On the Q82 flop, I'm check-folding.
Let's see what GTO Wizard has to say about that.
Firstly, on such a flop, given some polarization preflop, we cannot play a range bet, and at least on the flop the question will arise – what to do with trash hands?
I'll be focusing on boards with medium and mid-range continuation betting frequencies. If, for example, we're checking our entire range, then there's no need to worry about what to do with trash hands—we'll just check them.
The next point to consider is fold blockers. When betting, you want to understand what hands your opponent will fold. Folds are expected from sevens, worse pocket pairs, and connectors like A7.
With a seven and a six, we block the folding range as much as possible, except for AJo. With a jack, however, we have backdoors and overcards, and we want to bet. But because of the polarized range, hands like J6 are checking.
Are our implied odds bad? If we hit nine and then five with 76, we might get paid off, but we'll rarely get there.
There are also reverse implied hands, because our opponent will continue with, say, JT. With barrels to the river, these hands will take up part of his range. So, even with a straight, we won't have 100% equity. Sometimes flushes will hit on the turn and river: our opponent's range includes JTs in small amounts. All of this adds up to reverse implied hands for our backdoor straight.
Can we bluff with this hand? In some situations, we can continue on the flop with a blocker hand and barrel, for example, with a ten on the turn. But here, all hands with equity continue, so there's no real need to add anything.
Solver bets almost nothing worse than AK, in this situation the hand is actually the worst bluffThere's no room for trash hands on this board. With 76, we block folds from 87, 77, and 66, which partially continued on the flop—so the hand isn't suitable for unblocking barreling.
Example #2
Same spot, button open, we three-bet. Flop 764.
On boards like this, continuation bets are rare, about 25%. KJs, AQs without a backdoor, and most unsuited overcards become check-fold hands with a few exceptions.
The opponent often bets a quarter. We should be pushing all AK and AQ with this sizing, but most hands that haven't hit the board will check-fold. The button has the nut advantage, and the three-bettor plays very modestly here. Hands like should be checked. In this situation, betting isn't -EV like in the previous case, but it's still significantly inferior to checking.
The lower our overall c-bet frequency, the more trash (even relatively good trash) we should check-fold.
With hands like these, we typically have only two options. Let's figure out when it's okay to bet trash. The button opens, we 3-bet from the SB, and bet a polarized flop size. You might ask, "What kind of trash hand is that?" If we look at the equity distribution, KJ unsuited has only 25%, which is practically the worst hand in the range. Even 54 has some gutshot and similar equity without a backdoor, and then there's A3o...
A suited card increases equity from only 25% to 29%. The continuation bet frequency will be below average. However, the hand does have some bluffing potential. For example, with a flush, we'll definitely double-barrel with K-Jo and a suited king—it's one of the best bluffing hands.
We'll move slow on this board: we lack fold equity and blockers against our opponent's folds—QJ, AK, and AJ.
On a structure like this, we almost never want to bet hands without backdoors or draws, except, for example, KJs, which block KTs and JTs. These hands act as rare bluffs on broken lines against full blanks, like deuce. In this case, part and . We will have blockers on the opponent's continuation range – but very rarely.
Example #3
Our favorite spot again, this time with QJs. The flop is A64. On ace-high boards, there's a lot of incentive to check the middle—in reality, we're not chasing the low cards, since the button is already chasing them.
QJs blocks our opponent's strongest bluff catchers, AQ and AJ. We can barrel bluff and knock out better hands on the flop. We build a strategy with small bets and relatively polarized frequency. For example, QJ without backdoors is played relatively often from a bet. KQ is played less often—we block more folds and knock out dominated hands. Moreover, our opponent will rarely have AK. Therefore, it's more important for us to block combos with AQ and AJ.
If the turn is a blank, like a nine, QJs will be one of the main hands to barrel. On the flop, the opponent has a lot of AQ and AJ—by the river, these will be the hands he'll show down. Therefore, the hand should be bet on the turn. On certain rivers (like a ten), QJs are a hand that will be a third-barrel bluff due to blockers. We force the opponent to randomize with AJ and A5.
It's important not to overdo it with the quantity. Barreling can be justified by blockers on calls, but if we're always on the gas, opponents who don't fold much will make money off us. So there's no shame in randomizing! We need to have a balanced range on subsequent streets without skewing into trash. These are hands with very low equity; we don't want to put a lot of money into the pot and go against the odds. No matter how brilliant a poker player we are, we can't fight the odds.
Example #4
Another important point is how to play AK when we miss the board. Let's look at an example!
This is one of the boards I'll be playing for a split: there are hands like medium pocket pairs, including AK, that we want to push for a small bet. Opponents won't raise much, so we can go even more often at this sizing. The overall continuation bet frequency is high here, and we check 30% of the time. But what about the sixteen AK combos?
The gist is this: we should rely on continuation frequency and bet roughly the same number of combinations. The same applies to checking. This rule is fairly heuristic, but it can be used to more or less effectively play out your strategies. On a board with a 75% continuation bet, I'd bet about 75% AK. However, some hands are better suited for betting, while others are better suited for checking. Therefore, with a suited card, I'd check 15%, and without it, 35%, leaving a 25% balance in the middle.
If your opponent bets after checking, you have a choice between check-calling and check-raising. With a suited card, you can check-raise more often; without, you can check-call.
Even against made hands, we have equity . We call with a suited king because our opponent has nut flush draws that would like to fly away.
For this reason, calling with a suited ace becomes unprofitable. We play either unsuited or with a suited king to avoid blocking our opponent's draw. Our opponent is shoving a lot of pairs, but his shoving range includes gutshots, hands like A5, and half the nut flush draws.
Example #5
Another hand. The cutoff opened, we 3-bet in the BB, and on the flop of 32T, we bet 50% of the pot.
With this structure, we have a medium continuation bet frequency. With AKo, you can mix betting and checking like 50/50. On the turn, my play already looks a bit iffy, plus I don't really like the suits; I'd like to block ATs and KTs.
What does the solver say? Our flop frequency is above average, 63.5% of the time we bet AK—we can use a randomizer if we want. If a draw hits the turn, we only continue with suited cards. Without suits, betting will be very rare: we'd like to have blockers on AT and KT.
Now let's look at the opponent's betting range (and how the field might play in reality). I expect them to bet 99, 88, and 66 more often. Midrange Tx bets are less common, especially KT, so as not to expose themselves to a check-raise.
Even if our opponent has played GTO, we'll start check-pushing a bit with AK, primarily hands that don't block backdoors, like the king or ace of clubs. We have equity blockers against strong AT and KT. In theory, our opponent will often have to call with pocket pairs. But in reality, I expect the field to overfold wildly at mid-stakes. A solver will never fold hands with Tx here; these hands have very high equity. And the check-shoving range here includes bluffs: flush draws like AJs, AK, and the occasional gutshot.
GTO opponents can't fold any Tx here and must call some pocket pairs. So, it's possible to out-bluff, which is what I did in the hand. Sometimes you want to make a good play even with imperfect blockers!
But I advise you to carefully select hands for delicate plays: with the best blockers and preferably against opponents who can overfold even top pairs to a check-shove. Then your check-shove with a king will be profitable here.
That's all for now, thank you for your attention. I hope you found this interesting and useful!
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