July has been a very successful month for the Fearless River Team!

We had TWO Instructors each take home their 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet and a 3rd place finish in the WSOP Online Main Event! 🏆

Take a look at how Nick, Tony, and LuckyChewy fared.

Nick Binger

Fearless River Instructo Nick Binger outlasted a massive 2,408 entry field to win his 2nd WSOP bracelet and took home an impressive $133K first prize at the World Series of Poker Event #24 8-Hand No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

If you’ve ever watched one of his Strategy Episodes, attended a Live Workshop and heard his lecture, or had the pleasure of sitting at one of his Lab Day tables, you know how dedicated instructor Nick Binger is to teaching his students.

Nick has dedicated over 12 years perfecting his poker instruction skills and enjoys teaching as much as he enjoys playing.

Nick has helped many students reach their goals and achieve success in the game they love. Click below to learn more about Nick...

Tony Dunst

Fearless River Instructor Tony Dunst took home his 2nd bracelet when he outlasted a massive 1,361 entry field and scored a huge $168K 1st prize during the World Series of Poker Event #21 $777 buy-in 6-Hand No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

As a high-stakes pro and co-commentator for the World Poker Tour, Tony who has spent over eight seasons analyzing some of the most pivotal hands from World Poker Tour events.

Away from the bright lights of the WPT set, Tony is a force to be reckoned with both at the live and online felt. Tony has been putting in the work and getting great results.

Tony's experience grinding the tournament and cash game scene make him a huge resource and asset for our Members and Students. Click below to learn more about Tony...

Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger

Fearless River Instructor Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger took 3rd place and scored $140K in the huge 2,126 entry field World Series of Poker Event #31 $1,000 buy-in Championship Main Event!

LuckyChewy is one of the best all-around players in the game today and had 8 cashes in major live tournaments in 2019 alone.

Chewy has been tearing up the virtual felt and continues to evolve and improve his game dominating both online tournament and cash games.

LuckyChewy's experience, positive mentality, and success make him a powerful resource and asset for our Members and Students. Click below to learn more about Chewy...

Fearless River Member and Live Workshop Student Bryant Morrison has been putting in the work and seeing big results at the poker tables.

Bryant recently conquered a field of 322 players to win his first WSOP Circuit Ring in the Seniors Event at the Choctaw Durant stop. The $250 buy-in tournament generated a $64,400 prize-pool and as victor, Bryant was awarded $13,948 and a coveted Gold Ring.

We asked Bryant about his recent win, how he prepares, and more…

In His Own Words

Q: Do you play many live tournaments? Why did you pick this specific event to play?

Bryant: I only play live tournaments but I practice at FearlessRiver.com using the GTO trainer more and more now. I do not play cash games to speak of unless I am waiting for a tournament to start. I chose the Choctaw event because it fit my schedule during the Christmas break. I play WSOP in the summer, again on break, and this circuit event was close enough to drive to.

Q: You’ve attended two of our live workshops. How would you say these live events have helped your game?

Bryant: Both workshops added to my understanding of the game on a theoretical level. I constantly refer to handouts even now as I develop a playing strategy for different situations. Being able to ask questions and listen to other players' questions greatly increased my knowledge of the game. The best time for learning at the second workshop was the laboratory work where we all played our hands openly with the instructors advising and critiquing our play. That one day is worth all the money in [my] opinion.

The greatest take away from both workshops was the fact that they made me reconsider what my game was doing. Then, after working at home to unscramble my brain, my game would improve to a better understanding of certain aspects of the game that I was repeatedly seeing at the tables.

Q: How often do you use Fearless River to improve your game? What specific features do you like about the online training site?

Bryant: About 6 weeks before I go to a tournament setting I begin to use FearlessRiver.com extensively, every day if possible. I am not a professional so I have to plan when I can play and that includes when I can practice as well. Right now I only play twice a year: WSOP summer and any circuit events during Christmas break. I might add Spring Break this year to that schedule since there are now more WSOP circuit events planned.

I have created my own constantly updated index of all the episodes so that I can drill into any specific element of poker. Using this index I can review cbetting, 3rd bullets, stack to pot ratios, speculative calling, exceptions to these rules, and many other situations that might confuse me at the table. Having these episodes available 24/7 at my beck and call has proved tremendously useful to keeping my play sharp. If I had to learn this at the tables through actual play I would never be where I am now.

This most useful element of the website has been the addition of the GTO trainer. I did not enjoy it at first, constantly being graded down with losing points for errors, until I understood the tool’s usefulness. I am not supposed to win; I am supposed to develop a pattern of play that minimizes my losses in each different scenario.

Then, later at the tables, when I recognize the same situation, I will know the proper move based on stack size, position, stack to pot ratio, and the other factors taught at the workshops. Then it is up to me to decide whether it is the proper moment to DEVIATE from perfect play to maximize my exploitation of the situation.

It is at that moment in the tournament that the training pays off: you realize your opponent is just not that good after all. Voilà! The chips slide your way. Next hand please!

The GTO trainer never makes a mistake so you know you are learning the proper action EVERY TIME. Build knowledge off of that and table play becomes much more readable.

Q: Can you name a few specific skills or techniques from the Fearless River game plan that helped you win this WSOP ring? Can you talk about how or why they helped?

Bryant: One of the basic skills reinforced with the membership and the workshops is thinking of stack size as BBs and adjusting your play accordingly. Knowing where you are in the tournament helps make decisions so much easier. If it is time to shove all in with A2o (my winning hand) then make the play.

In my specific winning hand my opponent had 8 bbs left... I knew he had to be pushing ALL-IN with wide open ranges so when I had the A and was only risking a few more bbs to end the tourney my second card was less relevant to me. A in the window and the ring was mine.

I would never have thought like that before this training. My cards would have been the most important item in my equation. Instead, looking at the stack sizes, position, time, stack to pot ratio, reads, and the reward my call with a weak A was practically automatic. Move the clock back and his stack is larger proportionately so the call would be less likely but with only those few bbs left it was an opportunity I could not pass up. I doubt I would ever have thought about poker like this without training at Fearless River.

Q: $13,948 for a $250 buy-in is an impressive return on investment. Do you have any plans for future tournaments? Where will we see you next?

Bryant: Future tournaments will be WSOP summer events that fit my schedule. The money is not the motivation; the competition is. $1000 buy-in at WSOP returns hundreds of thousands and the higher events, with higher skill levels, return more. The math is the same for ROI but the “life changing” amounts are not going to appear for me. I am already settled into the retirement life style, just not completely yet.

Look for me at WSOP in the summer events but hopefully you won’t recognize me and future I am just an old timer, the OMC type, who is just playing his cards as he gets them. ABC with a little luck, that’s what I want you to see when you see me. Meanwhile, back at the site I will have put in multi-hour days on the GTO trainer, updated my index, reviewed and drilled certain elements, attended another workshop (probably, based on schedule), and hopefully added a few more tools to my war chest.

Q: Do you have any advice for players trying to learn and improve their No-Limit Hold’em game?

Bryant: The key to improving is to actually use the tools you have. Playing is one way but it is slow, expensive, and time consuming. The GTO trainer is on all the time and is free with unlimited use when you buy into the monthly program. You can even put in, practice, play, resign and come back later when you plan on playing your next tournament with no penalty. Thus, you can plan your own time instead of having the tournament schedules run your life. Your wife and family will appreciate your presence in the “off” seasons.

While I also suggest a workshop they are expensive and will “break your game” until you recollect your thoughts and adjust to what the new information gives you. Well worth the time and money but be prepared to have at least a week off after the workshop to work the material into your game before you play. Now I may be slow and perhaps you can adjust faster than this poor old man but you do need some time to change your game.

Q: Aside from poker, what else do you do for fun?

Bryant: Ahhh… the back-story, personal part of this interview. As a window into my life let me summarize by saying that in my long life I have not been idle. I have practiced law, taught history (still doing this one), piloted my own aircraft with a multi-engine instrument commercial license, instructed accelerated freefall skydiving with over 1,000 jumps, scuba dived to a depth of 350 feet on a salvage attempt, sailed the Caribbean as a bareboat charter captain, raced downhill slalom (very briefly), written 6 books (4 published), traded commodities, played golf down to a 12 handicap, raised 2 children to be better than me, kept a wife 12 years younger than me happy for the past 30 years, and besides just playing poker I now find pleasure in studying and practicing the game. And I’m not done yet!

Why This Story Stands Out

Bryant approaches poker the same way he’s approached everything else, from flying to skydiving to writing books: as a student. He built his own index of Strategy Episodes, puts in focused practice before every series, and learned to think in stack sizes and position instead of just his cards. His winning hand, A2 offsuit against a short stack, is a perfect example.

Congratulations, Bryant, and thank you for sharing your story!

Thousands of poker players descended on the Rio in Las Vegas for 6 weeks of action during the 50th World Series of Poker looking to win a prestigious WSOP Bracelet (and some cash too).

Fearless River Member Susan Faber was one of those players there to win her first WSOP bracelet.

And guess what? SHE DID!

Sue emerged as the victor in the $500 buy-in Salute to Warriors No-Limit Hold’em event* defeating the field of 1,723 entries and earning $121,161 in the process.

Sue was the only woman to win an open No-Limit Hold’em event at that year’s series. We caught up with her to talk about the win, her love of the game and how she studies.

In Her Own Words

Q: What do you enjoy most about playing poker? How did you get started playing No-Limit Texas Hold’em?

Sue: I started playing poker when my son got me involved in playing online poker about 10 years ago. I realized I was far behind the other players on the net and started looking for classes I could take to get better. I found that you were teaching classes in Las Vegas and traveled there to participate. I took the beginners class and the advanced class.

The thing I enjoy the most about playing poker is of course winning but also the social aspect. I have met so many nice people both dealers and people playing the game and have made many good friends.

Q: Is poker a hobby or do you have goals for your poker career?

Sue: Poker is a hobby. I would love to play more in live events and plan to do that in 2020.

Q: Do you play many live tournaments? Why did you pick this specific WSOP event to Play?

Sue: I only play live events now. I picked this event because it was a salute to warriors and I have so much respect and thanks to give to the men and women that serve. My husband also served in the Army.

*According to a report from the WSOP, the funds raised will support the roughly 100,000 U.S. troops and their families. A portion of each buy-in went to the USO. The event raised $43,075 for the charity, which will be used to fund USO projects throughout Southern Nevada.

Q: How did it make you feel to be playing on the big stage under the lights and on live stream? Were you nervous? How did it feel to have your family and friends there to watch?

Sue: It was definitely an experience of a lifetime. It seemed unreal. I was not nervous because I was so concentrated on the game. I loved having family and friends there to watch and it was an experience of a lifetime for my husband also he was so proud of me.

Q: How often do you use FearlessRiver.com to improve you game? What specific membership features do you like about the online training site?

Sue: I use it weekly to review past episodes or the new ones that are sent to me. I love the online training site because I can go back and review any aspect of the game I want to at any time. The episodes are so timely and involve so many things that I can add to my game.

Q: Can you name 3 specific skills or techniques from the Fearless River training that helped you win this WSOP bracelet? Can you talk about how or why they helped?

Sue: Learning and memorizing the opening hand ranges helps me to know what cards to play in the position I am in and narrowing what cards my opponents have in their positions. Knowing when a flop is dry or coordinated and continuation betting after the flop. Short stack play really helped at the final table. The mental game with Jared Tendler helped me come back from large losses.

Q: $121,000 for a $500 investment is a pretty amazing payday. Any big plans for the money?

Sue: $10,000 of it will be saved for the main event next year. I would like to go on a cruise and do some remodeling to my home.

Q: Aside from poker, what else do you do for fun?

Sue: love to spend time with my two grandchildren.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add about your experience?

Sue: I am so glad I joined which gave me the skills and confidence to win the bracelet at the WSOP this year.

Why This Story Stands Out

Sue studied consistently, reviewing strategy episodes every week, and focused on fundamentals: opening hand ranges, reading flop texture, continuation betting, short stack play and the mental game work with Jared Tendler that helped her bounce back from tough losses. In a field of more than 1,700 players, that preparation showed.

Congratulations, Sue, and thank you for sharing your story!

DECISION POINT: You're in the early stages of a live daily tournament with blinds at 200/400 and a 400 big blind ante. Action folds to you in the Hijack with A♠T♥. You raise the standard open to 1,000 and get called by the Cutoff and Big Blind. On the J♠A♥8♣ flop the Big Blind checks, you bet 1,200, and only the Cutoff calls. The turn is 5♣ and action is on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a live daily tournament. It is still early on with 200/400 blinds with a 400 big blind ante and most of the field still remaining. We are dealt A♠T♥ in the Hijack seat and everyone folds to us. We make a standard open to 1,000 chips and both the Cutoff and the Big Blind call. The flop is J♠A♥8♣ and the Big Blind checks.

This is a tricky spot as we likely have the best hand and strongest range, however this is the type of coordinated flop that also connects quite well with our opponents’ ranges. If we decide to bet, a larger sizing will likely fold out a lot of the hands we have dominated and only get called by hands that are either ahead of us or have significant equity against our AT offsuit. If we bet too small we keep a lot of dominated hands in but are also giving our opponents a tremendous price to hit any potential draws.

Having the Ten in our hand does help as it blocks some of the QT/T9 combinations that make up some of our opponent’s highest equity draws. Since we are early in the tournament and the effective stack in the hand is over 70BBs, it makes a lot of sense to keep the pot small for now and keep our opponent’s weaker hands in. We can then determine how to proceed based on the flop action and the specific turn card.

We elect to bet 1,200 and the Cutoff calls and the Big Blind folds. The turn is the 5♣. This is one of the more innocuous turn cards that could have appeared and is unlikely to have significantly impacted the equity of our hand versus our opponent’s range.

Often players are inclined to continue betting in this spot to try and deny equity to the opponent’s draws. We are essentially facing the same dilemma on the turn that we just encountered on the flop. If we bet large enough to deny equity to our opponent's draws, we are likely to only get action from hands that are ahead of us.

If we choose to fire a turn second bullet we are basically at the bottom of the range we are trying to represent. Additionally, we have to play the rest of the hand out of position, which likely creates some tough decisions on a majority of river cards. Checking keeps all of our opponent’s weaker hands in their range that won’t call a turn bet, but we still can potentially get value from on the river, and we may induce bluffs from weaker hands as well.

Reviewing this spot in a solver, the output confirms we are on the cusp of hands that could potentially bet. When holding AQ or AK, the solver would choose to purely bet for value. With AT however, checking to keep the opponent’s range wide to induce bluffs and/or betting for thin river value against weaker made hands is favored against a looser opponent capable of calling down with weaker Ax hands or Jx hands.

We could continue betting for value exploitatively, however against all other opponents we should check.

Checking is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You're in a live $5/$10 cash game with most stacks at around $1,000 (100BBs). It folds to you in the Cutoff with 8♣8♥ and you make the table standard raise to $30. The Button, who is a very tough player, raises to $90 and you call. You check the 6♣2♦2♣ flop, your opponent bets $100 and action is back on you. What do you do?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a live $5/$10 cash game with a very tough player seated to our immediate left. Most of the stacks are around $1,000 so we’re playing with 100 big blind effective stacks.

Action folds around to us in the Cutoff with pocket eights, we make a standard open to $30 and the Button to our immediate left reraises to $90. A good, aggressive Button player should be reraising us with around 14% of hands versus a Cutoff open. This range includes hands we are way behind preflop such as the large over pairs, but also includes a lot of overcards, Axs, and some suited connectors.

If we choose to reraise in this spot, all the hands we have significant equity against would likely fold and force the Button to only continue with the hands that dominate our range. Given those considerations, this is a good spot for us to call to keep our opponent’s range wide and try and navigate profitably postflop.

The flop is 6♣2♦2♣ and is one of the better flops for us that doesn’t contain an 8. Even though the flop is great for our specific hand, the best approach is to check with our entire range. The Button still has a range advantage over us and will likely continuation bet their entire range, therefore checking should allow us to get the most value in the long run. We check and the Button bets $100, or around half the pot.

Our opponent is a very tough player, so they likely recognize this as an appropriate spot to continue with nearly their entire range. In fact, when we analyze this spot in a solver, the Button is supposed to bet 81% of their combinations on this flop. We are still well ahead of their overall range and although our hand does benefit from protection against a skilled and aggressive player, we benefit more from keeping our opponent’s range wide.

Note that if the Button were much tighter and only raised premium hands as many low stakes players do, we would look to play speculatively and flop a set. In this scenario we are against a good, aggressive player, and we need to construct a range that can continue facing aggression on this flop. Pocket eights fall firmly into that category.

Calling is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You’re in a one-day, fast-structured daily tournament. 12 places get paid and there are 40 players remaining. The table is 8-handed and the blinds are 800/1,600 with a 1,600 big blind ante. You are in the Big Blind with 7♥7♦ and an 8,800 stack after posting your blind and ante. The MP1 player raises to 6,500, MP2 calls, and action folds to you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a fast-structured one-day local tournament. Nearly 40 players remain with the top 12 being in the money. The blinds are 800/1,600 with a 1,600 big blind ante. We are in the Big Blind with 7h7d and have 8,800 chips after posting our big blind and the big blind ante, and the table is currently 8-handed.

The UTG player folds, and MP1 makes it 6,500. This raise is over 4 big blinds and represents over a quarter of their remaining stack. MP2 flat calls and everyone else folds over to us in the Big Blind.

Playing with a short stack is often an exercise in patience and picking your spots. Ideally, we would have found a spot to move all-in before we got this short. However, in these very fast structured daily tournaments the blinds can catch up to us quickly. That means we are likely to often find ourselves in situations such as these, so navigating them well adds meaningfully to our overall win rate.

If we continue with this hand, we are basically all-in. This situation really becomes a math problem where we estimate our opponents' ranges, estimate our equity against those ranges, factor in any perceived risk premium we have, and then decide how to proceed.

There aren't really range charts for opening more than 4 big blinds with an awkward stack, but intuitively we can guess that MP1 likely has a hand they are willing to risk their stack with. This range might look like 99+/AJs+/AQo+. Assuming that MP2 recognizes the situation, they are probably calling with a very narrow range of hands as well. Calling would normally cap someone's range but given the abundance of short stacks at this table and the unusually large opening raise size, our opponent could easily call with big hands as a trap. Given that potential, we would estimate MP2’s range to be something like TT+/AQs+/AQo+.

Using an equity calculator after the fact, we can see that against these two ranges we have just over 25% equity with 77. This means we need to be getting over 3:1 pot odds to break even. If we move all-in and assume both players call, we will be risking 8,800 chips to win 24,800 chips (2.8:1). This is very close, but not quite enough to continue, especially once we factor in any ICM/risk premium that our stack has.

In real-time, without an equity calculator, we can take a simple shortcut in these situations where continuing is likely close. The first question we want to ask is "Do we dominate any hands in our opponent's range?”. In this case, in order to continue, we would want our opponent’s likely ranges in this spot to include some hands such as 66 or A7s. If we are able to dominate even a small portion of our opponent's range, our overall equity increases significantly.

If we have observed our opponents enough to think it is likely that by shoving we may induce an all-in from the original raiser which causes the caller to fold a reasonable percentage of the time, then moving all-in becomes a compelling play. We would likely have over 35% equity all-in against the original opener's range in a heads-up situation.

Without very opponent specific information however, our hand just isn't quite good enough to continue with. In fact, against the ranges we estimated, pocket tens is the minimum we would need to continue.

Folding is the best play.

DECISION POINT: You’ve just late registered a local daily tournament with a fast structure. This is the last level of reentry and blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. The Cutoff opens to 1,200. It folds to you in the Big Blind with 9♦8♦ and you call. You check the Q♦T♣4♦ flop. Your opponent bets 1,200, you check-raise to 4,000 and get called. The straight comes in on the J♠ turn and action is on you. What's your move here?

PRO ANSWER: We're playing a local daily tournament with a relatively fast structure. This is the last level of reentry before late registration closes. The blinds are 250/500 with a 500 big blind ante. We have 25,000 chips, having just registered and have no reads on the table.

We are dealt 9d8d in the Big Blind. Action folds around to the Cutoff who opens to 1,200 chips, and everyone else folds to us. We can mix in some preflop reraises with suited and connected hands, but the more standard play is to call, which we do here.

The flop is QdTc4d and we flop a flush draw along with the bottom end of an inside straight draw. This is a board that we connect fairly well with as the Big Blind, but still heavily favors the preflop raiser. We check and they bet 1,200 chips, or just over one third pot. We will have a lot of hands we can easily continue with here, such as pairs, flush draws, and some straight draws.

We also flop some strong hands that would love to check-raise now such as T4s/QTs/44. In order to get max value when we check-raise our stronger hands, some bluffs must be included as well for balance. The most logical bluffs come from some of our highest equity draws. Examples of those are ace and king high flush draws where the flush and our over card are often outs, as well as combo draws such as ours.

Taking those factors into consideration we decide to check-raise to 4,000 chips and the Cutoff just calls. The turn is the Js which completes our straight. Many players first instinct is to bet the turn when they hit their hand after check-raising, and often that is the correct approach. If we really step back and think about what each player’s range looks like in this situation, this Js is actually a much better card for our opponent than it is for us.

Much of their continuing range improves on this card, so it’s a card that we will want to be checking quite frequently. One way to protect our checking range so our opponent can’t just bet and take down the pot every time we check the turn, is to mix some strong hands into our checking range. Our particular hand makes a perfect candidate as it doesn’t fear giving away a free card since we have the flush draw, and we can induce bets from the Cutoff when they have hands such as AT that are likely to fold to continued aggression.

If we're up against a passive player who is unlikely to bluff appropriately when we check, then we could exploitatively continue betting. Against opponents who are finding the appropriate amount of bluffs by attacking perceived weakness, it’s very important to have some strong hands that we can check with.

Checking is the best play.

Satellite poker tournaments are a great way to play a larger buy-in event at a lower price. So you don’t need to have big bucks to be in contention for a game-changing score, Fearless River is here to help increase your edge with key adjustments for satellite play.

Use the strategies below to sharpen your focus and who knows, maybe you’ll turn a few bucks into a huge payday.

Should You Play a 🛰️ Satellite Differently?

YES YOU SHOULD!
Approaching satellite play with the same strategy used in a regular poker tournament will often result in you busting when you would otherwise have a seat to the target tournament locked up.

Watch this Strategy Episode from Instructor Nick Binger as he discusses the key strategic adjustments you need to make when playing satellite poker tournaments.

Need Help Closing The Deal?

In this Fearless River Strategy Episode watch and learn as Nick Binger reviews several key hands from a satellite to highlight the unique adjustments during the endgame.

These strategy concepts could help you avoid busting on the bubble and secure your seat to a major championship event!

The Keys 🗝️ to Satellite Play

• Every seat winner gets the same prize
• Make sure you know the rules of the satellite you are playing and how to secure your seat
• Satellites come in several formats: traditional freezeout, milestone and shootout
• No incentive to build a large stack once you are likely to win a seat
• As your chances of winning a seat go up, ranges should tighten
• There are spots in a satellite poker tournament where you should fold to an all-in with almost any hand
• In satellites, folding pocket aces preflop can be the correct play
• Pay very close attention to stack sizes and level changes!
• 10BBs can be a big enough stack to all but lock up a seat

Quiz Time! Test Your Satellite Skills

In a satellite poker tournament where blinds are 900/1,800 and a big blind ante, 11 players remain with 6 players winning a $7,200 main event package. Places 7-10 get $1,050 in cash and 11th gets $100. You are currently in 6th chip position.

The Cutoff (who is the short stack at the table) moves all-in for 28,400. Action folds around to you in the Big Blind with A♥K♦ and 28,000 behind after posting the blinds. What's the correct move here?

It’s YOUR Turn to Play...

Picture yourself as one of 6 remaining players in a satellite. How do you play your 30 Big Blind stack against a call from a tough chip leader with two short stacks in play and lock up your seat?

Click below to play a free Final Table sample pack from the Fearless GTO Trainer to see firsthand how decisions change at the final table.

Here are some tips when practicing with the Fearless GTO Trainer:

• Your goal is to select the action for each individual hand that is as close to 0.00 EV as possible
• An EV loss of 0.00 means your choice matched the GTO play
• EV Loss Color Coding Hint:
  • Green = Near GTO Play
  • Orange = Take Caution
  • Red = Probable Leak in Your Game

Members can practice more hands from this scenario anytime by playing this Fearless GTO Trainer Final Table pack anytme.

How's your game going? Please share your success and let us know how these strategies changed your game.

Good luck and good playing,
-Team Fearless River

DECISION POINT: You're in the early stages of a $500 WSOP bracelet event with blinds at 300/600 and a 600 big blind ante. Most stacks are in the 50BB range, and you have no reads on your tablemates. Action folds to the Button who raises to 1,300, the Small Blind folds, and you defend in the Big Blind with 6♠3♠. You check the K♠7♣5♣ flop, the Button c-bets 1,200, and action is back on you. What's your move?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing a $500 buy-in multi-day bracelet event at the World Series of Poker. The tournament is still in the early levels, and we just moved tables a few hands ago, so we have no significant reads on our opponents. Most of the stacks are in the 50 big blind range. The blinds are 300/600 with a 600 big blind ante and we are dealt 6♠3♠ in the Big Blind. Everyone folds to the Button who opens to 1,300, the Small Blind folds, and action is on us.

With the big blind ante in play we are getting very favorable pot odds to continue from the Big Blind. While some of our weakest hands should definitely be folds, the defending range must be very wide when getting this price and calling with any two suited cards is a must. If we’re folding more than 20% of all total hands against this raise size when closing the action in the Big Blind, that means we are folding way too frequently in general.

We do elect to call, and the flop is K♠7♣5♣ bringing a backdoor flush draw and an inside straight draw. This is a flop that favors the preflop raiser’s range, so we will be checking 100% of hands by default in this situation. We check and the Button bets 1,200 into a 3,500 pot. While our hand might not seem like much with a gutshot straight draw and backdoor flush draw, we are getting nearly 4:1 on a call and the Button should have a very wide hand range in this situation.

With three cards to a straight and three to a flush in a Big Blind defense situation facing a small bet against a wide range such as this one, we should be alert that this scenario is potentially a good spot to check-raise. Our opponent is likely betting a super wide range on this board. That means that even when the Button does call our check-raise we still can potentially improve our hand to a likely winner and will pick up additional equity on some turn cards that will allow us to continue semi-bluffing.

Looking at this spot in a solver after the hand, the output indicates a split between calling (around 60% of the time) and raising (around 40% of the time). While our play shouldn’t always mimic a solver, understanding what the “optimal” play is based on pure theory is a good starting point. Deciding which option is best will often come down to tendencies for each player in your game.

If we had opponent specific information that the Button played tighter ranges, calling would often be the preferred option since the implied odds of hitting a straight would be higher and our check-raise would induce folds less frequently. Facing opponents who open more than they should from the Button, or continuation bet with a higher frequency than the solver suggests (which is 65% in this situation), we can adjust by check-raising.

The one clear mistake in this spot would be to fold. If we are considering a fold in this situation, we likely are proceeding too conservatively postflop when defending the Big Blind and would benefit greatly from tools such as the Fearless GTO Trainer to improve play in these postflop spots.

Calling or raising are both correct plays.

DECISION POINT: You are playing Day 2 of a $5K WSOP Bracelet event and blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. It's early in the day and there is still approximately 50% of the field remaining. The average stack at your table is around 40BBs except for the Button who has 100BBs. You raise to 12,000 from UTG with J♥J♠. A Middle Position player calls, the Hijack calls, the Button reraises to 60,000, and action is back on you. What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are playing early on Day 2 of a $5K buy-in WSOP Bracelet event. Around 50% of the field is remaining, and the blinds are 3,000/6,000 with a 6,000 big blind ante. We have just under 40 big blinds, as does most of the table except the Button who has 100 big blinds. We are dealt pocket jacks Under the Gun and make a standard open for this level to 12,000 chips (2BBs). Two players call the open and action folds to the Button who reraises to 60,000. Everyone else folds and the action is on us.

Much of the decision in this spot comes down to our assessment of the Button and whether they are capable of making a move with a wider range. If we assume that they are a skilled and studied opponent, then they definitely should be showing up with some A5s/KTs type of squeeze semi-bluffs in this situation in addition to stronger hands. Based on the Button’s assumed range, this is a slam dunk shove with jacks. Taking a closer look at this hand using a solver, the result shows it's a pretty clear +EV move to shove here against a GTO opponent.

During situations at the table like this in real-time it’s useful to ask ourselves, "Does our opponent ever have a hand here that we dominate?", such as TT or AJ in this instance.

If the answer is yes, we have a very compelling reason to continue with all the likely dead money in the pot since the middle position stacks are unlikely to have hands they can continue with here. If the answer is no and we believe the Button is raising a tighter range to include only premium pairs such as AA-JJ plus AK and AQ, then we could consider exploitatively folding.

In a $5K buy-in WSOP Bracelet event, most of our opponents are likely to be more than capable of including some semi-bluffs in their 3-bet squeezing range here, making our hand a fairly trivial all-in. Using the framework of asking ourselves the question “Does my opponent ever have hands I dominate?” will help us exploitatively adjust in the event that we do run into an opponent who has an extremely narrow range in this situation.

Moving all-in is the best play.