In this example our hero raises to 3x the big blind from MP (mid position). This is considered “standard” but I really recommend the “4+1” theory of preflop betting in
most EP and MP situations where you are raising 4x the big blind PLUS one more for every limper. Our hero gets called by the button who’s playing a wide range by just calling in that
spot (a decent hand would raise that with such great position).
The flop comes J24 with two hearts, and his QQ looks good with all under cards. Naturally, this is a time to continuation bet at the $1 bet at the flop is good, although in this case a 75%
would probably be recommended (~$1.25ish). The button throws out a raise of 3x our hero’s continuation bet. What’s the right read here? We know (for the most part) that
there’s no way this guy has AA or KK. The only hand we’re afraid of at this point that have us beat are JJ (very unlikely considering preflop flat calling), 22 and
44. However, we do need to see the draws that exist. Two hearts mean a flush draw, and 24 does have some strange straight draws, and the most likely scenario is some sort of J and a very
low possibility of AK offsuit. Our hero properly acts on this and re-raises to $9. The villain simply flats which should be an indication that they have something going on in the
hand that would potentially have us crushed later.
The turn is an absolute brick filling none of the draws. Our hero sticks with his read that our opponent is on a J (QJ?) or a draw. He shoves in for about the right amount of money in
terms of bet sizing (~66% of the pot) with a pretty well disguised hand against a novice opponent. This bet gets calls out of most “bad” player’s Jx hands, and maybe
even some of the draws. The villain does call. Shows a pair of 4s and the flush draw, and the river thanks giving our hero the win.
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Check Sean's blog for updates on his poker journey at: http://www.icemonkey9.com
If you are familiar with a HUD or have already read through the article, what we are going to do in this article is run a quiz for you by providing a hand up until a certain point and then
offer you the stats of the villain.
