"No fear" is helping my game

I think my biggest leak in 6-max is chickening out when the other guy bet big, even when my gut instinct said he was bluffing. I just couldnt stomaching losing 70$ or however much the villain bet.

More recently, as I accumalated a lot more buyins (im up to 40 now!), I play without fear, never afraid to call away any portion of my stack if my instinct says im ahead. And it pays..

Both hands involved flush draws that hit, but in both cases the villain didnt have them.

Both of these hands took a lot of guts to play.. I would have not been able to make either of these call-downs without a lot of money in my bankroll

This is why good bankroll management is so important.

***** Hand History for Game 2456415103 *****
$400 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, July 31, 19:42:56 EDT 2005
Table Table 40492 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: SirTrader239 ( $369.20 )
Seat 2: sammy_farha8 ( $172.20 )
Seat 3: EvilEcstasy_ ( $400 )
Seat 4: AARubicon ( $578.48 )
Seat 5: nuttyturtle ( $571.30 )
Seat 6: mrjack10 ( $231.36 )
sammy_farha8 posts small blind [$2].
EvilEcstasy_ posts big blind [$4].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to EvilEcstasy_ [ Td Ad ]
SirTrader239: nh!
AARubicon folds.
nuttyturtle folds.
AARubicon: ty
mrjack10 folds.
SirTrader239 raises [$12].
sammy_farha8 folds.
EvilEcstasy_ calls [$8].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7h, 8c, Ah ]
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
SirTrader239 bets [$15].
EvilEcstasy_ raises [$30].
SirTrader239 raises [$30].
mrjack10: i had ace high
mrjack10: lol
EvilEcstasy_ calls [$15].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ts ]
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
SirTrader239 checks.
** Dealing River ** [ 2h ]
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
SirTrader239 bets [$120].
EvilEcstasy_ calls [$120].
SirTrader239 shows [ 4s, 9s ] high card ace.
EvilEcstasy_ shows [ Td, Ad ] two pairs, aces and tens.
EvilEcstasy_ wins $354 from the main pot with two pairs, aces and tens.

***** Hand History for Game 2456421150 *****
$400 NL Texas Hold'em - Sunday, July 31, 19:44:00 EDT 2005
Table Table 48851 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 2 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: ms0640 ( $369.40 )
Seat 2: maxjan21 ( $253.70 )
Seat 3: crazy_dmnd ( $195 )
Seat 4: EvilEcstasy_ ( $390 )
Seat 5: StuOongar ( $632.70 )
Seat 6: HYEBETS ( $696.60 )
crazy_dmnd posts small blind [$2].
EvilEcstasy_ posts big blind [$4].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to EvilEcstasy_ [ Kh Jh ]
StuOongar folds.
HYEBETS calls [$4].
ms0640 folds.
maxjan21 folds.
crazy_dmnd calls [$2].
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Kc, 6c, 4d ]
crazy_dmnd bets [$4].
EvilEcstasy_ raises [$10].
HYEBETS calls [$10].
crazy_dmnd calls [$6].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 2c ]
crazy_dmnd checks.
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
HYEBETS bets [$25].
crazy_dmnd folds.
EvilEcstasy_ calls [$25].
** Dealing River ** [ 8h ]
EvilEcstasy_ checks.
HYEBETS bets [$65].
EvilEcstasy_ calls [$65].
HYEBETS shows [ 7h, 7s ] a pair of sevens.
EvilEcstasy_ shows [ Kh, Jh ] a pair of kings.
EvilEcstasy_ wins $220 from the main pot with a pair of kings.

This is good stuff. I'm glad to see that you're doing so much better in 400nl now. I know you dont need to be told this but just be really careful with those big call downs . Keep 'em coming though - its helpful to see inside the bigger games.

Call for the right reasons, always keep that in your mind, it helps me think clearly when I'm facing a half stack bet etc...

I played in a live $2-4 pot limit game in Ft worth, and i'd say 1 of 3 pots was won with a stone cold bluff.

Can you say anything about what led you to make the calls.

first hand he is betting from the button so, if he's an aggressive player he could have any cards. The flop betting looks suspicious with the two minraises. I'm thinking he's either trying to draw money into the pot or he doesn't like his hand but feels he has to represent TP. The call at the end is alot easier with the Ts on the turn, plus the fact that he checked the turn.

the second hand is a bit trickier, but the lack of a PFR and the lack of a raise on the flop seems to indicate he doesn't have the K. I would be worried about the flush draw on the turn, though.

I like the play in the second hand. Those are suspicious bets on an obvious scare card.

Here's a strange thought to ponder. In higher stakes 6-max, people bluff the flush so much it's like a religion. Is it possibly +EV to *always* call those bets after the flush card hits, as long as your hand is probably the best if your opponent doesn't have the flush?

It just depends on the player, if he's loose enough and I have a good hand, i'm calling him unless his betting patterns tell me other wise

I had a read on a big stack bully in one 100 NL 6 max game, he would bet $7-8 on bluffs, and $4 when he had a pair of sometype.... it was so blatant he eventually left the table because I think he knew I caught onto it.

Originally Posted by dalecooper

Here's a strange thought to ponder. In higher stakes 6-max, people bluff the flush so much it's like a religion. Is it possibly +EV to *always* call those bets after the flush card hits, as long as your hand is probably the best if your opponent doesn't have the flush?

Dale-

Much better avatar this time around! I likey.

I agree about the religiosity and flush bluffs at higher level 6MAX. It's a goddamn cult. I'm right there with you, calling them more often than not at this point. I did not notice a huge difference from $50 to $100NL in this regard, as most oversized bets to a flushed board indicated a flush. But it's almost the exact opposite at $400NL, and I have made it a point on the flop now to watch extremely carefully for betting patterns when it comes 2 or even 3 to a flush on a flop.

Spino-

WTG on the Prius goal, it's good to hear there are other FTR member with a green streak in them aside from the cash