Cash game strategy – moving up the limits: Winning at $100NL

In this bankroll journey we’ll show you how to move up the levels by studying a player type that we can expect to find at the $100NL ($0.50/$1) level. At $0.50/$1 cash games the nits will begin to thin out a little, and be replaced by more aggressive players. They may not be maniacs, but we will assume that they will look to exploit any opportunity that we give them. Our two critical aims against aggressive players must always be:

1. To reduce the opportunities they have to give us really difficult decisions
2. To acknowledge that there must always be some tough decisions, and embrace them

Let’s get started!

Beware of the blocker bet

The blocker bet is an overused and dangerous tool. This is something that we will try to understand by looking at the rare scenarios in which it can be useful. The blocker bet comes about when we have a hand such as J♠-J♣ on a Q♥-9♥-2♣-3♦-K♥ board. We have called our opponent’s flop bet out of position, and he has checked behind on the turn.

On the river a nightmare K♥ appears, and we decide to make a very small ‘blocker’ bet. It may get a small amount of value, but effectively it is saying ‘please don’t bluff me’. In one sense it is a bet for information, which is another dangerous concept.

The blocker bet can actually be correct if it accomplishes what it sets out to do. The underlying assumption of it must be that we can pass to a raise because our opponent will not bluff us. If our opponent is predictable enough that this is true, then the bet can be an effective tool.

Some people actually underuse the blocker bet, as they do not recognise this scenario as being a useful one. However, we only have to think a little further to realise why the blocker bet should be considered a dangerous, and mostly obsolete, tool on the river.

For the bet to work we are assuming an opponent who plays completely honestly, which is a very rare thing. As soon as we add in the potential for our opponent to bluff, the blocker bet has only succeeded in making the pot bigger and more confusing. Our idea of a bet for information is ripped apart as soon as an opponent is good enough to not give us the correct information.

An even stronger argument against a blocker bet comes about when we have limited the strength of our hand by just flat-calling the flop and turn out of position. A typical example would be when we have A-J on a dry A♠-T♣-3♦-4♠-8♦ board, and have check-called bets on the flop and turn. With our hand losing to a wide range of holdings, the prospect of playing the river out of position can seem daunting.

However, the worst option against a good player would be to blocker bet the river. The difference now is that we have declined two opportunities to raise, and are so unlikely to be strong, that the bet absolutely screams ‘please don’t bluff me’. Only a very tight, and poor player, would allow your plea to be consistently answered.

To check or bet?

Neither a bet or a check will lead to an easy river decision, and our key consideration should be which is the less difficult of the two. This is a question you should expect to consider many times in tough poker games – not which situation is perfect, because there is none, but which is the less awkward of the two. This will so often be to check.

By checking we keep the pot smaller, but it is more difficult to quantify what a talented opponent has when he raises. For many in that situation, paranoia will take over from logic, and they will actually change their plan, and call down far too much.

Less experienced poker players (and interestingly, I would say, British ones) have a real fear of being bluffed. On the contrary, you should hope to make a good proportion of your chips by allowing yourself to be bluffed. This is a key concept to understand.

Any hand can have one of two types of value. Where it is strong enough that your opponent will call with more losing hands than winning hands, its value is in a value bet or value raise. However, this is often not the case. Then, the value of a hand is in calling an opponent’s bluff. This is the bluff-catching value of a hand.

So, when you have Q-Q on a K-6-5 board, or A-T on an A-9-3 board, it is unlikely that an opponent will pay off a raise with a range that favours you. Instead you should turn both hands into bluff-catchers, and be happy to check, and call down at least two streets.

Tougher decisions will come when your opponent fires a third barrel, but crucially, there is no other way to avoid them, and so they should be embraced. Less experienced players will let their fear of being bluffed over the streets cause them to find a more convoluted way of persuading their opponent to stop bluffing.

One flawed idea can be to check-raise the Q-Q on the K-6-5 board, or A-T on the A-9-3 board, hoping to halt the action. However, not only do you have little hope of being called by worse, you immediately lose the bluff-catching value of your hand.

Tricky opponents, tricky decisions

You will find good opponents can give you even trickier decisions. A strong foe will know there is little you are representing when you check-raise dry boards. Take the A-9-3 example, where it is assumed you would have three-bet A-K preflop.

So, your opponent may re-reraise, or even flat-call in position, looking to take the pot away on the turn. While check-calling is awkward, we can appreciate that it is probably the least awkward of many difficult situations. Against very aggressive opponents, the blocker bet can also still be useful, although for the opposite purpose than the one for which it’s usually intended.

Originally, they were used against nits to make a raise completely predictable as being strong, but now we can use them against very aggressive players. They do not make a raise completely predictable as a bluff, as there will always be a range of genuine hands that they raise with. However, they may make a raise predictable enough that we can make money by setting up this situation to call.