In this Q&A, I answer three listener questions about playing overpairs out of position, donk betting, playing against tough opponents and the importance of learning from showdowns.

Question 1: Playing Overpairs versus a Set

Hi Sky,

To answer the question, “So, what now???”, let's think about the player you're up against in this hand. You said he's an ABC TAG player, which means he plays very straight-forward and only calls post-flop with good hands and strong draws.

So, what's a player calling flop and turn with on the 2c4c8h6h? Let's look at this calling range in Flopzilla Pro:

I started the above calculation by giving Villain a very tight CO calling range of only 8%: JJ-22,AQs-ATs,KQs-KJs,QJs,JTs,T9s,98s,AQo. And I gave you non-club Queens.

In order to narrow his flop and turn calling range, we have to use Poker's Ultimate Question: What's he doing this with?” Consider:

• His player type and tendencies
• Your bet size
• His position
• The board cards

As the board cards are dealt and Villain's range is narrowed, your equity in the hand steadily decreases. You go from 76% preflop to 70% on the flop to 67% on the turn to a final 37.5% on the river versus his river calling range.

The only hands you're getting value from on this river, versus your triple barrel, would be 12 combos of TT and 99. His 5 flush combos and 15 set combos are beating you, and he's just folding his 8 weaker pairs.

I think the best river play is to check and call a small bet if it smells like a weak bluff attempt, or fold to a large bet which would indicate he has a set or flush.

What's the quickest way to know a villain has a set?

I discuss donk betting strategies in this Newsletter Exclusive video:

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then make that play instead.

Hello Sky,

I feel like I’m getting bluffed a lot, and my opponents are putting me to very tough decisions.  Do you have any positive advice for someone getting disillusioned and feeling frustrated with tough opponents?

I play in cardrooms where the cards are dealt out of an electronic machine so no dealer and we get dealt about 50 hands an hour. Most of the player pool is grinders since recreational players don't trust the cpu, so the caliber of competition is tuff.

Should I transition to online? I've been playing LIVE poker for about four years now.

Thank you very much for your time and advice

Cheers, Sen

Utilize Table, Seat and Opponent Selection

An important aspect of profitable poker is good table, seat and opponent selection.  Card rooms full of fish are wonderful, full of sharks not so much.  Find another fishing hole, whether that's another cardroom or a bar league or casino.

If you play mostly in cash games, table and seat selection are easy. Request table changes and if strong players are on your left, try to move to their left when a seat becomes available.

If you play tourneys, you can't table and seat select. But you can select the tourneys you play in, so find ones with weaker players. The monthly $250 tourneys might have loads of good players, but the $70 nightly tourneys…?

Lastly, there's opponent selection. Before calling preflop with J9s, do you just see the hand and decide to call?

Or, are you taking into consideration who the open-raiser is, their position, their bet size and their stack size?

Are you also looking at the players left to act to see if there are 3bet squeezers still in? Your call will sweeten the pot and make it more likely you'll face the squeeze from aggressive players.

If you practice making better selections, you'll find poker to be more enjoyable and profitable.

Pay Attention to Tough Spots

Start taking note of these “tough decisions”. Record the details of the hand so you can review them and improve your strategies. Maybe you're doing things that put you in these tough spots.

And, by noticing these tough spots and learning why they're tough, you can use them against your opponents. If you find them tough, they will, too.

Transition to Online Poker

Lastly, I don't recommend making a full transition to online play, but you absolutely should play online.

Online requires a smaller bankroll. It's easier to practice your selection skills, too.

And with PokerTracker 4, you can develop a database of hands to learn from and improve your skills.

Support the Show

A huge thanks to Werner Taschner and Ian Crotty for picking up my brand new 1-Hour Poker Study Workbook this past week. This workbook with it's 7 parts is guaranteed to get your studies on the right path to success in your 2022 poker journey. Good luck and happy studies!