Play Optimal Poker 2

348 Pages·4.512 MB·English

by  Andrew Brokos

PLAY
OPTIMAL
POKER 2: RANGE
CONSTRUCTION

by Andrew Brokos
Play Optimal Poker 2: Range Construction

Copyright © 2020 Andrew Brokos

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written permission of
the publisher except as permitted by US copyright law.
To request permission: [email protected]

www.thinkingpoker.net
♥ Table of Contents ♣

Contents
Preface ........................................................................... i
Introduction ................................................................. 1
A Recurring Hypothetical ........................................ 8
Key Concepts From Volume One ........................... 14
How to Use This Book ............................................ 19
Chapter 1: Leverage................................................... 21
Overview & Objectives ........................................... 22
Scenario: The Two-Street Clairvoyance Game ...... 24
Equity Realization .................................................. 36
Scenario: Exploitation in the Clairvoyance Game . 39
Static and Dynamic Boards ................................... 47
Test Yourself .......................................................... 49
Conclusion .............................................................. 53
Chapter 2: Protection And Semi-Bluffing ................. 55
Overview & Objectives ........................................... 56
Betting for Protection ............................................. 57
Scenario: C-Betting Against the Big Blind ............ 61
Linear Ranges ........................................................ 67
Simplifying Strategies ............................................ 69
Pushing Equity ....................................................... 72
Test Yourself .......................................................... 74
Conclusion .............................................................. 78
Chapter 3: Range Construction ................................. 81
Overview & Objectives ........................................... 82
Range Construction Step-By-Step ......................... 84
Defending A Condensed Range .............................. 93
Scenario: Exploiting From the Big Blind ............. 105
Plan Ahead ........................................................... 115
♦ Play Optimal Poker 2 ♠

Use Heuristics to Construct Balanced Ranges .... 117
Test Yourself ........................................................ 120
Conclusion ............................................................ 124
Chapter 4: Using Leverage ...................................... 127
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 128
Hand Reading on the Flop ................................... 129
Small Bets Cap Your Opponent’s Range ............. 132
Scenario: Barreling the Turn ............................... 134
Scenario: Bet-Check-Bet ...................................... 146
Test Yourself ........................................................ 154
Conclusion ............................................................ 157
Chapter 5: Shallow Stacks ...................................... 159
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 160
Stack-to-Pot Ration (SPR) ................................... 161
Scenario: Shallow-Stacked Flop Strategy ........... 164
Pre-Flop Ranges With An Eye Toward SPR........ 170
Test Yourself ........................................................ 172
Conclusion ............................................................ 175
Chapter 6: C-Betting Without Range Advantage ... 177
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 178
Scenario: C-Betting Without Range Advantage .. 179
Use Pot Control to Preserve Equity ..................... 187
Range Construction on Dynamic Boards ............. 189
Test Yourself ........................................................ 193
Conclusion ............................................................ 198
Chapter 7: Defending with Range Advantage ........ 201
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 202
Scenario: Defending with Range Advantage ....... 203
Test Yourself ........................................................ 211
Conclusion ............................................................ 215
Chapter 8: Barreling The Turn ............................... 217
♥ Table of Contents ♣

Overview & Objectives ......................................... 218
Scenario: Evaluating the Turn............................. 219
Scenario: Barreling the 7♥ ................................... 224
Scenario: Barreling the 2♦ ................................... 228
Test Yourself ........................................................ 233
Conclusion ............................................................ 237
Chapter 9: Attacking a Missed Continuation Bet ... 239
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 240
Scenario: Evaluating the Turn............................. 241
Scenario: Attacking the 7♥ ................................... 248
Scenario: Attacking the 2♦ ................................... 255
Exploiting a Capped Checking Range ................. 261
Test Yourself ........................................................ 267
Conclusion ............................................................ 270
Chapter 10: C-Betting From Out of Position .......... 273
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 274
Scenario: Out of Position on a Dynamic Board ... 276
Scenario: Exploiting Loose Callers ...................... 289
Test Yourself ........................................................ 297
Conclusion ............................................................ 300
Chapter 11: Adapting to Tournament Play ............. 303
Overview & Objectives ......................................... 304
Scenario: Playing With Antes .............................. 306
The Independent Chip Model (ICM) .................... 315
Scenario: Clairvoyance at the Final Table .......... 320
Test Yourself ........................................................ 327
Conclusion ............................................................ 333
Conclusion ................................................................ 336
Acknowledgements .................................................. 338
About the Author ..................................................... 339

♥ Preface ♣

PREFACE

I began writing this book in the Mojave Desert. The quiet
and the solitude were a welcome respite from Las Vegas,
where I’d just spent two months competing in the World
Series of Poker. My series came to a spectacular end as I
finished in 125th place in the $10,000 Main Event.
The deep run was good for sales, and nearly as
gratifying as making Day 5 was the flood of tweets and
emails I received from readers praising Play Optimal
Poker. Despite the many frustrations of writing and self-
publishing, I was eager to get started on a sequel.
I finished writing Play Optimal Poker 2 in solitude of a
different kind. When I should have been gearing up for
fifteenth WSOP, I was instead isolated in my home so as
not to become a vector for the spread of the Covid-19
virus. At times it felt futile to dedicate so much effort to
writing about a card game while people around the world
suffered, but with poker rooms shuttered, I was also
grateful for the opportunity to monetize my time.
In my most self-aggrandizing dreams, I imagine that
there might be some greater value in this game we love,
some useful modes of thought that it cultivates. I imagine
that learning to make better decisions might contribute
in some small way to a better world more capable of
responding to this and other unforeseen challenges.
Game theory teaches us to make decisions under
conditions of uncertainty, and never in my lifetime has
the world felt more uncertain. Never has it been more
clear that my outcomes—payoffs, in the parlance of game
theory—depend not only on my own actions but on the
actions of others.
i
♦ Play Optimal Poker 2 ♠

Unlike poker, this is not a zero-sum game, and we are
not competing against one another. My greatest hope of
all, which does not seem so wild, is that we will find the
means to cooperate in pursuit of positive-sum, win-win
outcomes. Because never in my lifetime has it been more
clear that we are all in this together.
May we all make more optimal decisions!

Andrew Brokos
May 2020
ii
♥ Introduction ♣

INTRODUCTION

You are playing No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em. The turn card
has just been dealt, and it's a third club. You double-
check your cards, but unfortunately, they have not
changed: you've got no flush, no straight, not even a pair.
Your only hope is the Ace of clubs you hold, which gives
you roughly a 1-in-5 shot at rivering the nuts. You watch
your opponent for a glimmer of fear or excitement, but
he's stone-faced. The clock is ticking. It's decision time.
Do you bet or take a free card?
If this hand sounds familiar, that’s because the first
volume of Play Optimal Poker opened with a similar
thought experiment. This time, however, you’re playing
the turn rather than the river, which opens a Pandora’s
box of complications.
Before the river, ranges are not simply polarized or
condensed like the ones we focused on in the first book.
In formulating your turn strategies, you and your
opponent must both plan for the river. Hands can change
value, so even if you are bluffing the turn, you might end
up value betting the river, or vice versa.
With three clubs on the board, betting with the Ace of
clubs is appealing in part because you know your
opponent does not have the nuts. Even if you are called,
your draw gives you equity and allows you to anticipate
value betting club rivers. Anticipating potential future
value increases the profitability of bluffing the turn.
In fact, calling this bet a bluff is not quite accurate.
Depending on the circumstances, Ace-high could be the
best hand. Your turn bet could even be called by worse
hands, such as weaker flush draws against which you
would be a big favorite!
1