From chapter 1:

Hand 38
CRUCIAL HAND 3 - MAKING THE WRONG READ - FOLDING TOP PAIR
Blinds: 400/800/100, My position: 2 off the button, Hand: Jc 3c, My chip stack: 73,400

New round, same procedure. Or maybe not?

I make it 2500 two off the button with Jc3c. The BB ponders for a while but finally decides to call. It felt like he was thinking about the re-raise and not the fold so my instinct tells me that my J3 is probably not the best hand…

The flop comes:

Jh 8c 6s

Top pair, ridiculous kicker - but top pair nonetheless!

He was supposed to check but instead he decides to fire out 6000. What was that all about? It is not very often that I am facing a substantial lead-out bet when I am the initial raiser and therefore I wanted to take my time to make sure I made the right decision…

My opponent had another 14k in front of him which meant my maximum down-side from this point on would be a total of 20k. Maximum up-side 26k.

Options:
Folding: Seems very odd now that I finally flopped top pair.
Calling: Putting in 6000 and awaiting his next move.
Raising: Shooting 20k into the middle hoping my J3 was ahead.

Three very different approaches and whichever one to take is gonna be decided solely on my read on the situation.

Read:
• He looked eager to re-raise pre-flop - not a good sign.
• He led out 6000 which is a significant part of his stack - not a good sign
• He looked mighty confident about the situation at hand - not a good sign.

I can remember three times in my career where I raised pre-flop, flopped top pair, and folded facing a single bet! Was this going to be the fourth?

The only holdings that made some kind of sense to me were the AJ, the QQ and hands of similar strength. The more I thought about it the more confident he looked, and in the end I saw no other choice than to muck my hand! I folded.

Because of my very curious nature I showed the Jack face-up, as I was certain he was going to turn it over if he had bluffed me. Don't worry - he did! He turned over two Tens displaying his victory to the table, or should I say - my ridiculous fold…
Where did I go wrong?
My initial read about him wanting to re-raise before the flop was correct - re-raising pre-flop with TT would be the normal play.

My read on his confidence level after his lead-out bet was also correct - I think taking my time made my opponent certain that his TT was the best hand because how could I ever be taking that long with a Jack in my hand?
My read on his lead-out bet was incorrect - I took it as a sign of strength where it was in fact meant as a stab to take down the pot if I didn't hit the flop.

I made an informed decision based on all the facts I had available at the time. I came to the wrong conclusion but that is bound to happen when you sit 10 hours at the poker table. Maybe I should think twice next time I am about to fold top pair on the flop…

mod's are getting a little lazy ~ this should be in the book forum

mod's are getting a little lazy ~ this should be in the book forum

I view book posts as good to be left in general poker for a bit and then moved to the book forum where it will be easy for people to find longterm.

Excellent book, and may add to the legion of players who think you can play small ball in an online shallow stack tourney, ty GH.

Excellent book, and may add to the legion of players who think you can play small ball in an online shallow stack tourney, ty GH.

Hahah, too true.
Keep playing small ball folks!

greatest sig ever?

it's damn good. who is that in the back w/ BG?

greatest. sig. ever.

greatest sig ever?

greatest sig ever?

agreed

i have no money and i cant find this on thepokerbay . gg me.

If you have no money, why do you need a poker book to begin with.
Step one of bankroll management: acquire a bankroll.

notice he never says - guess i shouldnt have raised with J3

Books like this are just as bad for my poker as cardrunners and other sites like it.

I shitty poker players. This makes less of them.

Just finished it.

Books like this are just as bad for poker as cardrunners and other sites like it.
"Poker Philosophy" books are one thing... Be aggressive here, be passive and patient there... Whatever. You can hand a monkey a trumpet- it doesn't mean he's going to be able to do shit with it.

It's the instructional instruments (like this book or cardrunners, etc) that deconstruct the damn thought process of a winning player and get the rabble "thinking right"; these make poker worse for everyone. No, most people aren't going to be able to successfully implement a ULAG strategy like Gus, but carefully outlining the thought processes and handing it over to anyone for a few bucks potentially takes everyones game 'up a notch' which is bad for a game that relies on a wide disparity of skill in order to remain profitable.

Who doesn't love a fish!

In general, ppl don't take the time to read poker books/forums/signup to watch videos. If someone wants to take the time to learn a craft/skill and apply it for fun or money i've no problem with that in the slightest.

Borrowing it from a friend currently. I'm amazed at how often people in a 10k tourney would pop on the button (while Gus defends his blind every single time with any two) or the cutoff and not only not C-bet but basically surrender on every street to Gus. Gus wins way too many hands OOP that the late position raiser gives up for some reason.