VanDice is In the Well

Van Dice wrote: »

Ok, this is exactly the sort of problem that you can deal with away from the table rather than trying to decide on the fly while you're playing. There is no definitive answer, but instead I'll try to answer with some of the factors that should influence your decision.

First, his 3bet of 7% is an average across all positions. So when you raise on the button, and he reraises from the BB, the percentage is bigger than 7%. Just say for this example it's 10%.

Then your next problem is assigning him a range. Some people 3-bet very polarized ranges, while others 3-bet more balanced ones including hands like 88. Against people with the polarized 3-bet ranges, you can 4-bet bluff a lot. They just won't have enough good hands in their range that they can shove for value.

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Off on a tangent, if you're 4-betting, you can make it 52.

[I'm NOT saying any of these ranges or assumptions are correct in this example, just giving an example of how you can think about a situation on paper]

Anyway, you make it 52. So you're risking 45 more to win 30. Assume he either shoves or folds. If he folds to your 4-bet 60% of the time, you break even on the bluff. If his shoving range is JJ+, AK - that's 3% of hands. So if he's 3-betting more than 7.5% [3%/40%], you can 4-bet any two profitably. Those ranges won't hold exactly true for most people, and obviously if you start 4-betting any two, he will notice and adjust.

Also, try to 4-bet bluff hands with an ace in them, because of card removal.
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Anyway some factors that should influence your decision:

He's made his 3-bet size quite small. You should call more often.

How often does he c-bet in RR pots? The higher this is, the more apt you should be to both slowplay monsters preflop, and also shove flops as bluffs. Against players who 3-bet a lot and c-bet too much, rather than 4-bet bluffing you should be much more inclined to call their 3-bet and bluff-shove flops. When choosing hands to do this with, think what his calling range of your flop shove will be, and try to select hands with some equity. Overcards with backdoor flush draws, gutshots, etc.

Does he check-fold a lot in RR pots?
Does he fire a c-bet and then give up?
What does he think of your hand strength in RR pots?

Those are just some of the things to think about, not everything.

Well, maybe to be specific on one of the hands, I don't think you should do anything other than call with 99. And a lot of the hands you listed are going to be extremely difficult to play profitably. You should probably be folding most of the time with them.


The deeper it is, the more frequently I call. The more you call, the weaker your hand is, but this is compensated for by having positional advantage with deep stacks.

Van Dice wrote: »

Thanks for all the questions, hope they were answered at least semi-respectably.

Over and out...
Three dots in an ellipsis...right Kayroo?

Over and out....
Three dots in an ellipsis...right Kayroo?