Turning TT into a bluff

[Sam]

Triple Barreling TT

Hi guys, I wanted to share this interesting hand I played a few weeks ago at the Horseshoe casino in Indiana (1/2 NL):

There is a UTG straddle to $4, I have about 225 in front of me, and look down at TT in UTG+1. I open to 16, and pick up the button and the straddler. The button is a passive player who has shown he’s not in the mood to play big pots, and rarely raises. He has already made some tight folds. The straddler is very passive and tries to see tons of flops, but shows little aggression post flop. I myself have a very tight image, as I have been card dead all night and haven’t played much.

Flop comes A97 rainbow. Straddler checks, and here is the critical decision in the hand for me:
Holding TT, I block a lot of draws, considering there are no flush draws. The straddler is playing a pretty wide range, and I definitely have a range advantage on both players. If I were in a later position, I would check far more often, but because I was first to act preflop, my range is far more heavily weighted towards strong aces and possible set combinations. If I bet, I will never get an ace to fold, but against the button, I expect he will fold most of his range, and I can still get called by worse pocket pairs, and the straddler I expect to go away most of the time. If I check, the button won’t get out of line too often, but may take a stab in a straddled, 3 way pot, and I likely would have to call one bet. Furthermore, checking effectively turns my hand face up for the rest of my hand. With all this in mind, I go for a bet of $23. I sized down for a few reasons: first, the flop is pretty dry and I would want to get value from worse holdings if I had an ace, so this balances my range nicely. Second, I expect both players to fold pretty often, and sizing up won’t get more folds than this size. Finally, if I do get called, especially by the button, I can shut down on most turns and lose less money.

The button does call, and the straddler folds.

The turn is a pretty interesting card, an offsuit 8. It’s one of the best cards in the deck for me, short of a ten, giving me a straight draw. Here is the second interesting decision of the hand. I mentioned on the flop that i was planning to shut down on most turns if the button called. This card, however, seems like a great card to double barrel with. If i check, the button may choose to bet his ace, in which case i probably have to check-fold my equity. This isn’t a bad option. However, if the button can bet anything worse than an ace, like a straight draw or a worse pair he’s turning into a bluff, my line becomes super exploitable, so I’m a little hesitant to go this route. Check-call seems like a terrible option because the only way I realize my equity is if there is 4 to a straight on board on the river, in which case the button likely checks back a ton of the time on the river, meaning i would have to jam into him on the river, which just seems very awkward and exactly like what i have. If i check raise the turn, he would likely bet about 50 or more, with me having about 180 or less behind, so I would probably have to check-shove or at the least commit myself in a situation he may feel obligated to call with the price I’m giving him on the turn. He probably doesn’t have AK in his range, but AQ, AJ, etc. are all very much in there.

Here are the merits of betting: as mentioned, I have a tight image, and I would put A8 and below in a very tough spot, probably a spot this player would have to fold very often, maybe even AT and AJ sometimes. I also set a pretty decent price for myself. I ended up choosing to bet $50 into a pot of $97. If and when he calls, he very likely has AQ or better which will probably call the river, so with these assumptions in mind, I am betting $50 to win (97+50 (from his call) + 136 (what i have left behind)), which is about 5.7 : 1, which is pretty great, especially if both tens left in the deck are live. One more point: if I don’t bet this turn, then the only turn card i can really bet is a ten, which means I am only betting turned sets, and my range has no balance, so I think this is a pretty cool hand to turn into a bluff here and a pretty mandatory bet once i bet the flop. Anyways, I bet 50, and he calls.

In a larger game, I would feel obligated to triple barrel the river, but in this one I am not as concerned about balancing my river range, so once he calls I am only jamming the river on cards that improve my hand.

The river comes a jack, giving me the straight, and as planned I jam for $136 more. The button goes well into the tank, looking me over a few times, and eventually tosses in a call. I show, he mucks, and we take it down. Based on how long he tanked, I would put him on AQ or maybe 87 or 97, since I think any better two pair would’ve called faster. In any case, it was a very interesting hand and I would love your guys’ thoughts on my decision to bet the flop and the turn, sizing, my logic, etc.

Thanks guys!

[Sam]

Also I want to mention that AK, AJ and flopped sets are absolutely in my range when I take that line, so I’m not telling a horrible story throughout.

[John S]

I think you’re overthinking this a bit much for this level. It’s good for you to think on this many levels, but the average 1-2 player doesn’t think about ranges or balance or anything like that, so don’t expect people to be using the same logic you are. Low stakes is all about making hands and getting paid.

First, I like the bet pre-flop. I don’t play much 1-2 anymore (usually play 2-3 or 2-5), but from my experience people playing below 2-5 rarely 3 bet – usually only AA, KK, or maybe QQ will 3 bet. So when you say the button is a passive player I would still put AK in his range. I think that’s something to keep in mind when the flop comes A high and he calls.

On the flop, I like the bet and the foresight. A lot of players get into hands without a plan and lose a lot of money because of it. I think you win a lot with this flop bet against everything but an Ace, a lot of people will fold JJ or TT there with the Ace on board.

The turn bet I’m not so sure on. I think he has an Ace here a lot of the time, and he’s probably not folding A6 or better considering that he either has two pair, an open-ended straight draw, or a pretty decent kicker. 9-8 and 8-7 also beat you now, but would he even have those hands if he is as tight and passive as you say he is? Maybe suited, but only a few combos of those left, so you really only have 8-10 outs.

My guess is he had Aces up or maybe AK/AQ. With a 1 liner to a straight out there and a fairly big bet relative to the game (I agree with Bart Hansen on this one that at these levels it’s not usually about the bet to pot ratio, it’s the size of the bet relative to the blinds), he’s going to think even if he has top 2. A rec player that doesn’t play much or research will almost always hesitate and think you’re betting a 10. In this case, 68BB is a good size bet, even though it’s only about 2/3 pot, so I’m not surprised he tanked a bit then called.

Overall, I think you did some good things in the hand. Just remember what you said about the player and how a player like that is going to act in these situations. A passive player who doesn’t like to play big pots isn’t calling 3 streets with second pair and no draw.

[Sam]

Hi John,

Thanks very much for the input. I see what you’re saying about the turn, but then what line do you prefer there? Check-fold, check-call, check-raise?

[John S]

I’m not 100% sure. I’m probably leaning between check-call or check-fold, depending on the sizing. You have 8-10 outs here, and when you hit I think you get paid off (which you did). I just think when that player type calls at this level you are up against an Ace at least 80% of the time, and he’s probably not folding unless it’s A2 or something with no kicker. And with these stacks (unless it goes check-check) I’m not sure you’re deep enough to bluff him off a decent Ace when the river misses you. I’m just not sure I want to inflate the pot on the turn when you probably only have 20% equity.

[Sam]

I guess I’m just not convinced I get paid off if I check call and then shove the river. If I check, he likely bets his ace a lot of the time for protection (or value if he has two pair or better), and then I think it has to be check fold. If I bet I can at least set my price and get paid off more often on the river or just shut down the river when I don’t improve

[John S]

I see your point, I guess I just would go for a lower variance route there when I’m like 90% sure I’m behind and I’m not going to be able to bluff him off of the hand. Nothing wrong with your play, just riskier and not how I would have done it. But glad it worked out for you.

[Author]

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