Playing Flop as PFA OOP

Will aim to pot control + checking a lot

POLARIZED BETTING RANGE
-bet only strong value hands + good bluffs (top pair top kicker, FDs, OESDs)
-check mid strength hands and weak bluffs (top pair mid kicker, gutshot, A highs)

MAIN FACTORS: BET OR CHECK?

1. WHAT ARE THEIR RANGES?
• vs wider range we can go thinner for value + more fold equity with bluffs (bet wider range)
• vs tight range- we have less value and less equity with bluffs (bet narrower range)
2. HOW MANY STREETS OF VALUE DO I HAVE?
• if 1 or 2 max, we can start by checking the flop
• if 3 streets, we always bet to start building pot (flopped sets, overpairs, straights)
3. HOW MANY OPPONENTS?
• vs multiple: polarized range
• HU: depolarized range- bet our entire range for small size
4. BOARD TEXTURE
• the wetter the board, the more polarized we bet
• eg. KQ on [QJ9] 4way- we check as many stronger hands can call + hard to get 3 streets
• eg. KQ on [Q38] rainbow 4way- we can value bet
5. VS WHICH PLAYER TYPE?
• vs good/tight players- we check OOP more often
• to protect our checking range
• we should include check/raise range + delayed cbet range
• vs looser/maniac
• check really strong hands sometimes to let them hang themselves
• if they're real sticky- only bet strong hands as value
6. DO I NEED EQUITY PROTECTION?
• ONLY IF WE HAVE ENOUGH FOLD EQUITY
• bet low pairs (usually 8 or below)
• eg. A4s on [4T2] 3way- benefit from equity protection with fold equity

CHECK/RAISING AS PFA

-effective vs aggro/call happy players

-deny free turn cards and river equity

HAND STRENGTHS

-check/raise with: very strong value, strongest draws + sometimes weak draws/backdoors

-with medium value hands: we bet or check/call (eg. top pair midkicker, weak FD)

-do not mind getting money in on flop with strong value and best draws (sets, NFDs)

-with weaker draws, we don't mind check/raise/folding (gutshots, BDFDs, bottom pair)

-we can barrel on many turns -> give up if we don't improve

VS PLAYER TYPES

-multiway + wet boards -> mainly go for value as less fold equity

vs aggro bettors- assess tendencies

-how often do they cbet when checked to?

-the more they bet/fold-> more bluffs we can use

vs regs

-stab very wide on flop IP

-exploit them by using check/raising wide with bluffs

vs tight/loose passive players

-use almost only strong value

-bet our good hands when they're passive

WHEN FACING A RAISE OOP

On dry boards:

vs aggro players:

-call with strong hands and let them hand themselves

-never 3bet flop- keep all his bluffs in

vs tight players:

-proceed very cautiously and make some big folds right away

-re raise with our best value hands as they're rarely folding

On wet boards:

vs aggro players:

-call with medium/good value hands and call down sometimes on blank runouts

-with very good value-> we want to re-raise (if we know they'll call with worse hands)

vs tight players:

-proceed cautiously and make big folds right away

-they'll call most draws therefore- we shouldn't have any bluffs

* LEARN TO FOLD [AA]- IT IS STILL JUST 1 PAIR HAND*

-vs very passive players who raised flop-> they're only raising 2pair, sets or better therefore JUST FOLD