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CSI: online poker - help me profile this player
OK, so there is this dude on the site i play at and he's ALWAYS got a big stack. he definitely caps off immediately to max buyin if he ever goes down, and i routinely see him w/ deep stacks 250+BB on multiple tables. after watching him, i can say that he is a strong player, one of the strongest at the levels I play at (currently 1/2 and 2/4, although i mainly see him at 2/4). even though i can recognize him as a strong player, i have noticed some patterns in his play and i feel like i could use this to a great benefit against him. he is such a filter for all the cash at the tables that if i could routintely beat him, it would be well worth the effort in learning how to do so.
here is what i have noticed about him so far:
preflop:
1. plays LOTS of hands in AND out of position, 35-40% VP$IP
2. if limped around, nearly ALWAYS bets out pot from any position
3. hand range is as wide as they come, never surprised to see him turn over any two
4. usually the aggressor, but by no means exclusively (i will estimate he raises 60% and calls 40%)
flop:
1. 80-90% of the time, he bets out for 1/2 pot. occasionally mixes in a check or a bigger raise, but not nearly as often as the 1/2 pot lead out.
2. if minraised, VERY likely to call and continue to turn instead of having it out on the flop w/ a 3bet
turn:
1. bets out another 1/2 pot on turn
2. takes the same auto-call minraise approach he does on the flop
3. if in position and the opponent attempts a 2/3 pot lead out turn bet, he'll often raise it back 3-4x but i haven't seen him push on the turn often, if at all
river:
1. bets full pot amount more often than not (again, almost regardless of holdings) OR he leads out for a MINBET. in any case, he could have the nuts, an average hand, or just air.
2. i noticed that he folds a decent amoount OOP to a even a minraise on the end
So my best interpretation so far of his play is as follows:
preflop:
he feels like he is a better player than most opponents post flop, so he's more likely to see more flops than your average player might be willing to see. since he usually has a large stack, he can see more flops for the (relatively) cheaper entry price.
flop:
he bets out 1/2 pot on flop from any position not only as semibluff and pot size control attempts, but also to guage the interest of his opponent in the hand. he thinks that a 1/2 pot bet is as good as a full pot sized bet in clearing out the chaff and getting players to declare interest in the flop, but at 50% of the risk. That is a HUGE margin if that is what it does for him.
turn:
the 1/2 pot bet here shows him if the player is drawing by cold calling, but it also allows him to price his own draws cheaply on the river if a player just calls w/ a better, but not great, hand. this is +EV when it works, and for both reasons.
river:
he really puts the pressure on the opponent to make the tough decision. the bigger his stack gets, the easier this is for him to do. once he gets past the 150BB level, he really starts to chip up and gets into big hands w/ stacks 50% the size of his own.
please let me know what other data you might need to help me get a stronger line on his style, i'm away from PT at the moment out of town for work, but could provide that this weekend if interested. what other variables should i be looking for against him? what are optimal plays against him?
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