O-Poker

Hoyazo's post from yesterday about re-stealing in cash games (3 betting preflop), prompted this post. It started as a comment on his blog but had gotten way too long for a comment.

From Hoy;s Blog:
"All this is to say that so far, reraising the hyperaggroclowns with strong but not the strongest hands has in fact proven to be a winning strategy so far for me. Is Blinders maybe wrong that restealing is -EV in cash games?"

I haven't read Blinders post about re-stealing being -EV in cash games, but I strongly disagree with that statement that re-stealing (3 betting) is -EV for 6 max nl cash games. It may be a correct statement most of the time in full ring nl games though (I think Blinders mainly plays full ring.)

You absolutely have to re-steal in 6 max cash games (mainly with position) for several reasons.

1. The re-steal with position will often narrow the hand range that you are putting your opponent on if he calls and will take down the pot a lot of the time. If he flat calls, you have position for the remaining streets and have a good chance of winning the pot even when you miss.

2. If he never 4 bets OOP without QQ-AA, you can easily lay down to a 4 bet when you know you are beat.

3. I would say 8 out of 10 times when a hyper aggro flat calls your 3 bet preflop (at lower limits) he is folding or shoving to your flop bet which equals more $$ and higher EV because you either win the pot or have a pretty good idea of your hand strength vs. his. (Note: Table/Player dynamics have a huge impact on this statement - know your opponent and your image.)

4. If you never 3 bet without a monster, your monsters will get paid off a lot less than they should. If you are seen as 3 betting lightly, someone is likely to shove on your QQ-AA with something like 99-JJ. They may even flat call your 3 bet preflop and then shove on your overpair with 99-JJ on a low flop or top pair any kicker.

5. Another advantage of 3 betting is that it will cause people to play back at you a lot more. Translation - you will get more action.

6. If you find that your 3 bets start getting 4 bet more than they should, you can tighten up. It usually takes several orbits before most players catch onto the fact that you have tightened up your preflop raising and 3 betting ranges.

Of course, you have to be aware of the better players that realize what you are doing. As you notice them changing the way that they are playing against you , you can adapt and use it to your advantage.

LJ posted a comment on Hoy's 3 betting post asking how to play AK preflop. I am assuming that she meant at a 6 max cash game against a hyper aggro player. If that is the case, I am trying my best to get all of the money in preflop against that type of player. More often than not you are taking down a decent size pot preflop. There are only two hands that you are very far behind (AA,KK) and you have one of each of those cards. You are a coin flip against any pair and may be ahead of a few hands that he might call with - depending on how aggro he is.

I will fold AK preflop against a super tight player that is shoving/betting enough to commit themselves. It is very player dependent.

CTS had a great post a while back on 3 betting and 4 betting preflop. It should be read and re-read by anyone that plays 6 max cash games seriously. I don't do this subject justice at all.