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Capstone Drills

Lesson 30 · Mixed advanced spots across concepts · 24 practice questions

Integrate concepts

Real hands do not arrive with a course title. The same river decision can involve price, blockers, villain's line and his tendencies all at once, and the skill this course trains is finding the factor that decides the spot. Most of the time one factor dominates. At low SPR it is commitment: the price is fixed and the only question is whether your hand beats enough of a jamming range. On a card that completes a draw it is texture. Against a described opponent type it is the read. When nothing unusual is happening, it is simply price against hand rank: how much equity do I need, and where does this hand sit in my range? Name the dominant factor first; then the details fall into place behind it.

Example. 3-bet pot, flop K♣Q♦5♥: villain jams 36 into 24 and you hold A♥A♦. The factor is SPR: you need 36/(24+36+36) = 38%, and against a 3-bet-pot jamming range of kings, draws and worse pairs, aces have more — call. Same kind of spot on A♠K♦7♣ with Q♣Q♦ facing 22 into 16 (need 37%): the factor is the board — an underpair to two big cards beats almost nothing that jams: fold. River A♠9♦3♣2♥7♠ with A♣J♥ facing 12 into 24: at 25% this is normally a call, but the opponent is a nit, so the read decides — fold.

Common mistake: applying the last concept you studied to every hand. Blockers do not matter when the price is 20%; MDF does not matter against a player who never bluffs.

Review key themes

Five themes cover most postflop decisions, and each has a number or a test attached. Price: a third of the pot asks for 20%, half for 25%, two-thirds for 29%, a full pot for 33%, and 1.5 times the pot for 38%. Defense: continue with the top of your range against big bets and with most of it against small ones; third pair and ace-high go first. Value: bet when worse hands call — three streets with sets and two pair, one or two with top pair, thin on the river after villain checks. Draws: count clean outs; 12 or more raises or calls, 8 calls at a fair price, 4 needs a very good price. Pot control: a medium hand in position checks once and calls a fair river bet.

Example. Turn K♠9♦5♣2♥ with K♥Q♣ facing 12 into 18: price 29%, top pair with a good kicker, a turn that changed nothing — call. River A♠K♦9♣5♥2♠ with 9♥8♥ facing 12 into 16: price 30%, third pair — fold. Flop 9♥8♥2♣ with J♥T♥ facing 4 into 6: fifteen outs — raise, or call. River K♥9♦4♣2♠7♥ with K♣T♦ after villain checks (pot 16): worse kings and nines call — bet thin. Turn A♥9♦5♣3♠ with 9♣8♥ after the raiser checks (pot 12): middle pair — check back. River 9♠7♦4♣3♥2♠ with K♣K♦ facing 12 into 18 (need 29%): an overpair is near the top of your bluff-catchers — call.

Common mistake: knowing the rules separately but not the numbers. 'Big bet, fold; small bet, call' only works when you know that big means needing a third of the time and small means needing a fifth.

Five questions, in order

When a spot feels difficult, slow down and go through the same five questions in the same order. First, ranges: who raised preflop, and who has the stronger hands on this board? Second, texture: is the board dry, so that hand values stay put, or wet, so that they will change? Third, your hand: where does it rank within your own range — top, middle or bottom — and does it have outs or blockers? Fourth, villain's line: what has he said with each bet and check so far? Fifth, the action: which option makes the most money against that range at this price? The order matters, because each answer narrows the next. Skipping to 'what do I have?' is how medium hands get overplayed.

Example. Turn Q♥8♥3♦2♥, villain bets 14 into 16 and you hold Q♣J♦ with no heart. Ranges: he raised and has kept betting. Texture: the flush just arrived. Your hand: top pair, no redraw, middle of your range. His line: a big bet on the card that completes the draw. Action: you need 32% — folding is the standard line, and a call is close at best. River A♥9♥4♥2♦7♣ with K♥Q♣ after villain checks (pot 22): your hand is king-high and cannot win a showdown, but the K♥ means he cannot hold the nut flush, and his check says he is not strong — bet. Turn K♥7♦2♣T♠ with Q♥J♣ after floating, villain checks (pot 8): he showed weakness and you picked up eight outs to a straight — bet.

Common mistake: answering the fifth question first. 'I want to call' is a feeling; the first four questions tell you whether it is right.

Key takeaways

• Low SPR with an overpair or top pair top kicker facing a jam (need 38%) → call; with an underpair on a high board (need 37%) → fold.
• A draw completes and villain bets big into your one pair with no redraw (need 32%) → folding is standard.
• Combo draw or nut flush draw facing a bet → raise or call; never fold.
• Villain checks the river: top pair → bet thin; missed draw holding the nut blocker → bluff; middle pair → check.
• Two-thirds pot on the river (need 29%): an overpair calls, third pair folds; against a nit, fold even top pair.

Sample drill from this lesson

FAQ

Key terms in this lesson

MDF (Minimum Defense Frequency) · Equity · Outs · Range (Poker Hand Range) · Board Texture (Wet vs Dry) · Position (IP vs OOP) · Bluff Catcher · SPR (Stack-to-Pot Ratio) · Pot Commitment · Blockers · 3-Bet Pot · Pot Control · Float · Thin Value Bet

All 29 lessons