Miller, Ed. Smallll Stakes No-Limit Holdem

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opponent called, he probably doesn’t have a five. Few hands that contain a five would bother calling the flop. He’s much more likely to hold a hand like TT or KT. Don’t fear a hand just because it’s possible.

Plan your betting with good hands. You’ll extract more value and balance your bluffing. Use the following examples to spark your imagination. Getting value for good hands requires just as much inventiveness and planning as choosing the right situations to bluff.

But always remember that the river is the money round. If you adopt a more aggressive river strategy, you will be much harder to play against, and you’ll gain a huge leg up on your competition.

Planning Betting Lines Around The Commitment

Threshold

You are in a 6-handed $1–$2 game with $200 effective stacks. The first two players fold, and the 27/25 cutoff opens for $7. The button and small blind fold. You are in the big blind with K♥Q♥.

The cutoff is an aggressive player capable of opening a wide range in late position. He is smart, and his range narrows to a 3-bet. You are comfortable playing against him postflop, so you opt to flat call the preflop raise.

The flop comes 8♥4♣2♥, giving you two overcards and a flush draw. You are first to act. What should you do?

In a situation like this, it’s very helpful to sketch different postflop lines. Let’s outline the pertinent information.

Stack-to-pot ratios. (See Sidebar.) SPR is very useful in postflop planning, even if it’s not your primary preflop concern. Here the pot is $15 and the remaining stacks are $193, so your SPR is about 13. In other words, there are three pot-sized bets left before you are all-in. That’s an important thing to know.

Your opponent’s hand range and tendencies. The cutoff’s range is wide here and usually weak. His strong hands include sets and big overpairs. His medium hands include small overpairs and top pair. His weak hands include underpairs and no pairs. He tends to be

aggressive. He will definitely commit with his strong hands, but he will also bluff if you choose the right postflop line.

Your equity and your opponent’s perception of you. You have two big overcards and a flush draw. You are a favorite over most of the cutoff’s hand combinations, and your equity is favorable against his range. One thing to note, though, is that your equity drops considerably on a blank turn. That’s pertinent because you’re out of position. As for perceptions, you think he views you as solid. He would consider laying down medium strength hands depending on how the action unfolded.

From the above outline, you glean that committing to your hand is fine since your equity is solid even against your opponent’s all-in range. Ideally, you prefer to be the one making the final all-in bet. That way you maximize fold equity. Also, while you prefer to get allin on the flop, you don’t mind getting it in on a blank turn so long as you are the one making the final bet. Calling an all-in on a blank turn is the least favorable option.

So, you have a few choices with regard to postflop lines. You can check the flop. Your opponent will c-bet a large percentage of the time. When he does, you can make a big checkraise. However, you should probably overbet if you choose this line. If you make a standard sized checkraise, your opponent will have the option of making the final commitment bet. Also, your opponent might view a standard sized checkraise as a bluff some percentage of the time, and he might decide to commit with some of his medium strength hands. Either of these lines loses fold equity. Checkraising all-in solves that problem, but it’s a big overbet. Unless you balance your range by overbetting with other types of hands, your opponent might pinpoint your holding as a semibluff with a flush draw.

Another—and perhaps better—option is to lead into your opponent on the flop. Leading into the preflop raiser on an 8-high board may appear weak to him. Since he’s aggressive, he may bluff raise a fair percentage of the time. He may also raise with some of his medium strength hands to take control and gain information. If he does raise, then you can reraise all-in. That way you take advantage of fold equity, and you have two streets to hit your hand if he does call.

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Stack-To-Pot Ratios

A stack-to-pot ratio, or SPR, is a number that that measures the size of the pot relative to the remaining stacks. You calculate it in a heads-up pot by dividing the size of the smaller of the remaining stacks by the pot size on the flop before any flop betting. For example:

You raise to $5 and the big blind calls. The pot is $11. You have $400 behind, and the big blind has $150. Your SPR is $150 (the smaller of the two stacks) divided by $11 (the pot size), or about 14.

SPRs help measure the risk versus reward of getting all-in. Suppose you raise with A♥Q and the flop comes A♦6♠6 . With an SPR of 2 (e.g., $40 stacks and a $20 pot), you would likely commit to the hand no matter the action. The pot would be far too large to consider getting away from top pair/good kicker. But with an SPR of 10 (e.g., $200 stacks and a $20 pot), you would often be taking the worst of it were all the money to go in.

Calculating the SPR is a useful exercise because it gives you an instant, concrete figure to use to decide whether to commit to a hand or not. It helps you plan your postflop play. You don’t use it in isolation, but it supplements your hand reading. For instance, you might commit to a hand against a crazy player with an SPR of 8, but consider folding the same hand under heavy pressure from a nit with an SPR of 4. And you might go ahead and commit against the nit with an SPR of 1.

We discussed SPRs in great detail in our previous book,

Professional No-limit Hold’em: Volume 1. Here are a few critical concepts regarding their use:

Don’t waste time calculating SPRs to three decimal places. “It’s about 4” or “It’s around 10” is all the precision you need.

Top pair hands like AQo generally profit more with low SPRs below 5.

It is much easier to steal if you can make top pair fold. When postflop stealing is a big part of your strategy, you prefer high SPRs that leave room for forcing top pair to fold. Usually this requires an SPR of at least 8.

Pairs and small card hands like 86s do better with high SPRs of at least 10. High SPRs are required for you to have large implied odds, and they also allow for more opportunities to steal.

On dry boards like A♦6♠6 , generally low SPRs are required to commit to medium-strength hands. Similarly, bet sizes should usually be smaller.

On coordinated boards like J♠9 8♠, you can often commit to made hands with relatively high SPRs if your opponents will get all-in with draws.

Our discussion of SPR in Professional No-Limit Hold’em focused on live games, which generally feature weaker and less observant opponents. For $1–$2 6-max games, we stress the following differences:

Do not vary your preflop raise sizes based on your hand strength, at least not regularly against smart opponents.

Raise the same regardless of which hand in your range you hold. If the effective stacks are 70bb or more, do not make SPR your primary concern with regards to opening raise size. See our chapter on “Understanding Fixed Bet Sizes” in Part 4: Beyond $1–$2 for more details.

Pay more attention to SPR when making or facing a 3-bet. Sometimes online it is profitable to get all-in with top pair good kicker even with SPRs well above 5. This is because online play tends to be far more aggressive than live play.

Like implied odds and hand reading, SPR is just a tool. But mastering its use will help you make more confident and more accurate commitment decisions.

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If you lead into your opponent on the flop, he might sometimes flat call instead of raising. If he sees your lead as weak, he may decide to float you. He may also flat call with some of his medium strength hands to keep the pot small. If the turn blanks, you can checkraise allin. This takes advantage of his bluff aggression. However, he may check behind with some of his hands that want to get to showdown. In general, the more likely you think your opponent is to bet the turn, the more you should lean toward checkraising all-in on the turn. The more likely you think he is to check behind, the more you should lean toward firing another barrel on the turn.

Outlining possible betting lines can be very helpful to smart postflop play. Consider the usual pertinent information such as SPR, hand ranges, equity, tendencies, and perceptions. In situations where you are out of position with a big draw, try to plan your line such that you take advantage of fold equity, often by making the last and biggest bet.

Ace-Ten Suited In The Cutoff

Effective stacks are $200. Everyone folds to you in the cutoff, and you raise to $7 with A♦T♦. The button calls, and the blinds fold. The flop comes T♠5♥2♣. The pot is $17, you both have $193 left, and you are first to act. What should you do?

Make a plan. As usual, your plan should depend on ranges, tendencies, and stack and pot sizes. Let’s take a look at different options based on different opponents.

Your opponent is loose. He plays almost 50 percent of the hands he’s dealt. His range on this flop is quite wide and includes many worse hands like any ten with a worse kicker, and smaller pairs. Even with a relatively high SPR (about 11), against this opponent you can commit profitably with top pair/top kicker. Figure out the best way to get all the money in. If he’s aggressive, check to him with the plan of checkraising. If he’s passive, the best plan is to simply value bet him hard. Realize that the turn will sometimes bring a scare card (any jack, queen, or king), and you may have to reassess your commitment

decision or change your value betting line. But if the turn is any card less than ten, keep the pedal to the metal.

Your opponent is fairly tight and plays reasonably postflop. He will almost never get all-in on this board with a hand worse than yours. Against him, you should not be committed. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t get value out of your hand. If he’s passive and will call at least one bet with a hand like a medium pocket pair, bet two-thirds of the pot, or whatever amount you might normally c-bet. Then consider checking the turn and making a value bet on the river. Assuming your opponent isn’t very likely to bluff, you should probably fold if he shows aggression. For example, if he calls you on the flop and then bets the turn hard when you check, consider checkfolding the turn. Or even if he raises you on the flop, consider folding if he’ll rarely raise with a worse hand. Another option for you is to check the flop and try to eke out some value on the turn and river. The bottom line is that you want to play a small pot.

Notice that a tight opponent might call a flop bet with a hand like pocket eights, but will probably fold that same hand to a turn bet, particularly if the turn is an overcard. That means a turn bet is less profitable for you. However, it should also give you ideas for how to play other hands. For example, if you had 7♦6♦ instead of A♦T♦, you might bet a queen on the turn exactly because you know your opponent will fold so many of his marginal hands.

Your opponent is tricky and aggressive, but smart. You might be conditionally committed against this opponent. For example, if you think he’ll bluff-raise you on the flop and then continue his bluff on the turn, consider betting the flop, calling his raise, and then checkraising all-in on the turn. Or, if he’ll bet worse hands if you check, consider checking then doing something goofy to try to induce a bluff, such as minraising, or raising small. You might also consider checkcalling all the way if he’s the type to fire three barrels on a stone cold bluff. But keep in mind, you really need to know your opponent well to make plays like this.

Be sure to pay close attention to the tendencies of tricky opponents. Because their ranges are tougher to narrow than standard opponents’, you really need to hone in on specific patterns. For

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example, say you know that your opponent will bet the flop often with air, but will rarely fire a second barrel. You might checkcall the flop with the plan of checkfolding the turn if he bets. Or, say your opponent will happily fire two barrels on a bluff, but almost never fire a third. You might checkcall twice with the plan of checkfolding to a big river bet.

Getting Value In Medium And Small Pots

Playing big pots is often easier than playing medium and small ones. If you’ve been following our advice, when you create big pots you already know whether you’re committed or not. But medium and small pots, almost by definition, require more decision making. With more money left in the stacks relative to the pot, you are likely to play more postflop streets and have more decisions to make.

Playing medium and small pots well is an integral part of winning in 6-max games. In these situations, ranges tend to be wider, and hand reading is paramount.

Your goals in medium and small pots should be to gain information early, extract value from weaker hands, and control the pot to your liking. Let’s take a look at a few examples. All are from 6- handed $1–$2 games with $200 effective stacks unless otherwise specified.

Checking Behind On The Turn For Pot Control

You open for $7 in the cutoff with K♥J♥. The button folds and an aggressive opponent calls in the small blind. The big blind folds.

The flop comes K♦T♣5♠. The small blind checks, and you bet $11 into the $16 pot. He calls.

The turn is the 6♠. The small blind checks. Your opponent is wily, and a turn checkraise would put you to a tough decision. You decide to check with the intention of calling a river bet. This is a classic pot control line with top pair/medium kicker.

If you instead had middle pair, you might bet the turn. Since you have less pot equity relative to your opponent’s range, a turn

checkraise doesn’t bother you as much. Also, calling a river bet has less value. But with top pair, checking the turn to pick off a bluff (or weak value bet) on the river is a smart play.

Betting The Turn In A Multiway Pot

Everyone folds to you on the button with K♠8♠. You raise to $5. You are fine with winning the blinds outright, but if called you are comfortable playing a postflop pot with position. Both blinds call.

The flop comes K♦T♣5♠. The 29/17 small blind leads for $10, and the big blind calls. The small blind is fairly loose, so he could have a lot of possible hands on this board. You haven’t played much with the big blind, so his range is more unknown to you. However, you have top pair in a three-handed “button versus blinds” pot. Ranges tend to be wider in these situations, and you could easily have the best hand. You decide to flat call the $10. This allows you to keep the pot small for now and gain more information on the turn.

The turn is the Q♥. Both players check to you. Here you should bet because your opponents are likely weak. On this board you will get called by weaker hands like a pair and a straight draw, and usually only very strong hands will checkraise. It makes no sense to give both players a free card. Checking the turn and calling a river bet doesn’t have good value because your opponents aren’t very likely to bluff. They’ll usually either have hands that are better than yours, or they’ll have hands that want to see a showdown. Also, opponents generally play more straightforwardly in multiway pots. Bet about two-thirds pot and fold to a checkraise.

Overriding Pot Control

You open for $5 on the button with T♥9♥, and only the big blind calls. He is a loose-passive player with stats of 38/4.

The flop comes K♦T♣5♠. The big blind checks, and you bet $8. This bet serves the purpose of gaining information as well as getting value from weaker hands. Your opponent’s response to the bet will help you narrow his range. If he checkraises, he likely has you beat, and you can safely fold. If he calls, he could have one of any number

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of weaker hands like a straight draw, an ace, any pocket pair, or a five.

If the turn is a blank, consider betting again. If he checkraises you there, he probably has you crushed with a slowplayed monster. You don’t mind that he’s putting you to a commitment decision, because you have no intention of calling.

Controlling the pot to your liking sometimes means denying your opponent the opportunity to put you to a stack decision unless you are confident in that decision. Here you are confident that you will fold if checkraised, so denying a free card and extracting value from weaker hands takes precedence.

Checking The Flop

You open for $7 in the hijack with A♣2♣. Only the 22/20 small blind calls. He is a solid regular in this game.

The flop comes A♦9♥3♠. The small blind checks. This is a good spot to sometimes check the flop. A free card is unlikely to hurt you, and it may even help you because your opponent could catch a pair on the turn. Or he may simply decide to look you up on the turn and/or river with a hand he would have folded on the flop.

Checking the flop works better with top pair than with second pair. You should be more inclined to bet second pair because you don’t mind a checkraise as much. Also, checking the flop works better the higher your top pair is. Top pair of aces is best for this play, whereas top pair of tens isn’t so great since so many overcards can come. With top pair of kings you can also check the flop. Top pair of queens is a judgment call since there are eight potential overcards.

Saving Your Value For The River

The button opens for $7, and the small blind folds. You are in the big blind with Q♦T♦. Folding isn’t an awful plan. The button is a solid regular who plays about 25 percent of his hands and raises about 20 percent of the time. However, his opening range on the button is wider. You think he’d open about a third of his hands on the button, so routinely folding your blinds to his late position steals is not ideal. You should be able to defend yourself, particularly when your hand

has decent equity against his range, as Q♦T♦ does. Reraising him is an acceptable option, and so is calling, particularly if you feel comfortable playing a postflop pot out of position against him. You decide to call.

The flop comes Q♣J♥6♠, giving you top pair. The pot is $15, and you have $193 left. You are not committed to getting all-in, so you opt to take a line that keeps the pot small. You check, and your opponent bets $11. You call.

The turn is a 5♦. You check, and the button checks behind.

The river is a 9♣. You lead for half the pot—in part because you think your opponent will raise only with better hands but will sometimes call with worse hands like a weaker queen, a jack, and sometimes less. Most importantly, you think that you will be ahead on average when he calls. You might bet more if he viewed you as bluffy or if you thought a smaller bet might induce a raise that you don’t want to face. You might check if your opponent would rarely call with a worse hand but might bet worse hands or bluff if checked to. Against standard opponents, a half pot value bet works well.

Changing Your Commitment Plan, But Still Value Betting

You raise to $7 under the gun with black kings, and only the button calls. He is a solid player with stats of 19/17. He views you as being smart and aggressive.

The flop comes Q♦6♦4♣. Your opponent could easily raise and get all-in on this flop with a good queen or a flush draw. So, you bet $13 into the $17 pot and plan to commit. If he calls, you will reevaluate the situation on the turn. The button calls.

The turn is the J♦. This is not a good card for you. It completes the flush and may have given your opponent two pair. If you get all-in here for $180 into a $43 pot, you are usually in bad shape and possibly drawing dead. You decide you are no longer committed. However, if you check, your opponent may still bet some of his worse hands. So you opt to checkcall and then reevaluate on the river. You check, and he checks behind.

The river is a 7♥. Just like in the previous hand, you lead for half the pot because you think your opponent will raise only with better