{"id":2529022,"date":"2024-02-13T16:19:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2529022"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:44:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:44:45","slug":"cash-game-poker-hand-review-it-matters-how-you-get-broke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/cash-game-poker-hand-review-it-matters-how-you-get-broke\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash Game Poker Hand Review: It matters how you get broke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a hand I played in a $3\/$5 NLHE game that has a mandatory $10 straddle. It had some interesting features that made me bring it to the PokerCoaching Discord group<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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  1. Preflop Action – Facing a late position raise from the blinds<\/a>
  2. Flop Action – What bet size with top pair?<\/a>
  3. Turn Action – Misplaying my hand<\/a>
  4. It matters how you get broke<\/a>
  5. Conclusion<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    Preflop Action – Facing a late position raise from the blinds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There are two limps of $10, and now a competent pro on the button makes it $50. The small blind folds, and I find K\u2665<\/mark>Q\u2666<\/mark> in the big blind. The button is not a crazy person, and they\u2019re not raising any two cards. But with two limpers<\/a> in front of them, they will widen their range to try to take down the $35 in dead money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I decide that my KQo is in fine shape against their range, and make a 4x 3bet to $200. Already, that was a little controversial. MrLorenzo<\/strong> wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cFirst, I think you can flat. The chart below doesn\u2019t take into account the limpers, but KQo calls vs BTN raise.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And below that, Mr. Lorenzo had uploaded a chart showing KQo in the big blind calling a button raise. He acknowledged that the chart doesn\u2019t take into account of the limpers, but we simply can\u2019t ignore them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can make an argument for folding KQo if the button has a snug raising range. You can make an argument for 3-betting<\/a> if the button is wider and\/or I suspect he\u2019s trying to isolate the two limpers and take down their dead money. You cannot<\/em> make a good argument for calling here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Anyway, I make it $200, and it folds back to the button, which thinks briefly and then calls. That was the second-best possible outcome. Obviously, my first choice was that the two limpers would fold, the button would chuckle, show me ten-seven suited, and throw it in the muck. But this was better than either or both of the limpers calling \u2013 had that happened, I\u2019d have been in a mess. Note that the button 4-betting would have been a fine outcome \u2013 my cards are in the muck before their chips hit the felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But now, there\u2019s $30 dead in the pot for me to share with the button, and I\u2019m probably not in awful shape since they\u2019d have presumably 4-bet their kings, aces, and sometimes queens or ace-king. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Poker<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    When facing a raise from the button, you mostly want to 3-bet from the big blind,<\/em><\/strong>
    especially with dead money in the pot.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Flop Action – What bet size with top pair?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    With $425 in the pot, the flop is a pleasing K\u2663-9\u2665<\/mark>-2\u2663. So far so good. We started $1100 effective, so the SPR is 2:1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s a bit dangerous to model this in a poker solver<\/a> like GTOWizard since there\u2019s no way to model the limpers. And 5x opens just aren\u2019t a thing in the Sim. But let\u2019s pretend that the button opens, I 3-bet from the big blind, and they call. GTOWizard has me c-betting my specific hand almost always on this flop. It spreads the sizes over four different buckets, but the good news is that it sees no difference among the EVs of any of the bet sizes (or checking, for that matter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I choose to bet $115, which is pretty close to 25% of the pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Joey P (the MTT Hero) offered an intriguing alternative:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One option with a small SPR is to go 3E. Bet about $90 on the flop. With small SPRs 20% is always an option given by the solvers. That leaves about $810 behind with a $605 pot. Then go about $230 on the turn, leaving a bit under 1\/2 pot for the river. That way you milk and tempt the lower pairs to be enticed by your sizings. You get paid off by more 9X hands and maybe even 88\/77 type hands.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I think the old timers used to call this massaging the pot.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By the way, when Joey said \u201c3E,\u201d he\u2019s suggesting a series of three bets, all an equal percentage of the pot, that will result in my shoving the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I actually love Joey\u2019s suggestion, and my private coach, with no hints or suggestions, came up with the 3E idea as well. One way of looking at it is that no hand better than mine is folding \u2013 I\u2019m at a hand strength inflection point. If my opponent has pocket aces<\/a>, KK, or AK, they get my stack. Thus I should coax weaker<\/em> hands to stay in the pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using 3E sizing would maximize my chances of keeping those weaker hands in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But I bet $115, my opponent thinks briefly and calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Poker<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Are you a cash game crusher? Take the quiz that tells you!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Turn Action – Misplaying my hand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s $655 in the pot, and the turn is a bricky 5\u2666<\/mark>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s $785 left in the stacks, not much bigger than a pot-size bet. This is where made a big mistake \u2013 I jammed the rest in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note that had I followed Joey\u2019s (and my coach\u2019s) advice, the pot would have been a bit smaller going to the turn. But even after my bet on the flop, I could have gone 2E (two equal size bets to shove the river) on the turn. That would be $275. Maybe that keeps in QQ, pocket jacks<\/a>, and perhaps KJs, if any of those hands ever get this far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The only reasonable target for my shove would be some kind of flush draw, perhaps an ace-high draw that thinks an ace might be good. But hoping for a call from those hands was wishful thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I put myself in a position where I was only going to get called by better hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My opponent paused only briefly, then said, \u201cWell, I hope we\u2019re chopping,\u201d and slid in calling chips. As soon as they said that, I knew I was toast, and that they had ace-king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Which is exactly what they turned up after I showed my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Poker<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Before putting your entire stack at risk, take your time and consider the spot.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It matters how<\/em> you get broke<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I was going to lose my stack, one way or another, once that flop came out. When we started 110 big blinds effectively, got three bets in preflop<\/a> with those big sizes, and then we both flopped top pair, all the chips were going in.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So I don\u2019t feel bad about losing all my chips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What I do<\/em> feel bad about is how I lost them. The best way I could have lost them would have been to do 3E betting from the flop, as Joey and my coach suggested: $90, then $230, then the rest on the river. The second best way would have been with the flop bet size that I did use ($115) and then going 2E from the turn ($275, then the rest on the river). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note that in all these scenarios, my opponent on the button gets all my chips, given the hand that they actually had. But there are many alternate universes where they have a different hand. And in those universes, they fold at some point in the hand after paying off a street or two. And in a very small number of universes, they actually pay off three streets of betting, and I double through them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And I\u2019m not the only one who struggles in spots such as this. Poster Mkindc said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI think your thought process is good. It’s raise or fold preflop \u2013 and what to do depends entirely on your read of your opponent.  You reasonably deduced that your hand performs well against the button\u2019s range<\/a>\u2026 so be it. Once the flop comes, you’re playing for stacks. Exactly how you play for stacks, I’m not entirely sure, but the money is going in.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clearly, I wasn\u2019t sure how to play for stacks, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But now I know \u2013 3E was very likely the best choice, and I\u2019ll be ready for the next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I wasn\u2019t the only one who learned something from the discussion. MrLorenzo, who had initially suggested that I should simply call the raise preflop, wrote toward the bottom of the thread:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI believe this is a leak on my side. I tried to \u2018save\u2019 Lee from the tough spot he was in by suggesting a worse move and probably a tougher spot. We need to do the right thing, even if it’s going to be painful when the result is complicated.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yes, exactly. Sometimes doing the right thing puts us in tough spots. But when we have a resource such as the PokerCoaching Cash Game Discord<\/a>, we can discuss these tough spots and learn how to navigate the most profitable path down the stream, even if it involves some choppy water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This is a hand I played in a $3\/$5 NLHE game that has a mandatory $10 straddle. It had some interesting features that made me bring it to the PokerCoaching Discord group.  Preflop Action – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":2529187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,877,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2529022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A-746x420.png",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A.png",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/PC-Blog_Cash-Game-Poker-Hand-Review-It-matters-how-you-get-broke_A-100x100.png",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lee Jones","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonesleehgmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":35,"uagb_excerpt":"This is a hand I played in a $3\/$5 NLHE game that has a mandatory $10 straddle. It had some interesting features that made me bring it to the PokerCoaching Discord group.  Preflop Action – […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529022"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539773,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2529022\/revisions\/2539773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2529187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2529022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2529022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}