I’ve been back from Amsterdam for a week now, playing some cash games online. Being on the road so often I haven't made many cash games posts since starting this blog. Here is a hand I find interesting. This was a $10/$20 game (maximum buy in $2000) on winamax.com and Vilain in this hand is what I call a "sticky" player. He doesn't like to give up and always thinks of ways to steal the pot. Usually he'll stick around for a while, without taking the lead, and make a move on the turn or river.

While generally a good style, I think this guy is overdoing it and as a result has pretty predictable tendencies.

Seat 1: CrocMonsieur ($2,100 in chips)
Seat 2: Vilain ($4,297 in chips)
Seat 6: ($4,503.50 in chips)
Seat 10: ($1,894 in chips)
My hand:
Blinds: $10/$20

PREFLOP
CrocMonsieur bets $65, Vilain calls $65, seat 6 calls $55, seat 10 folds.

FLOP (215) [board cards: ]
Seat 10 checks, CrocMonsieur bets $200, Vilain bets $500, Seat 10 folds, CrocMonsieur calls $300.

Now my thinking: on the flop I expect to have the best hand most of the time, and I need to protect, so I need to bet. When I see that the sticky vilain puts me to the test, I decide that this is a very weird line for him with a 10. To put it bluntly, I have no reason to believe he has an overpair or a 10. His range is more likely a draw (QJ/Flush draw) or very possibly for him, Air. Still though the pot is still small and If I push now, I might miss on some value. I decide there is more value in calling and getting it all in on a decent turn.

TURN (1215) [board cards: ]
CrocMonsieur checks, Vilain checks.

This would have been a perfect place to check raise all in, but when he checks behind on this scary board I now am pretty sure that I am ahead and can probably remove QJ and a T from his range. A flush draw is very likely because air would probably bluff now rather than later.

RIVER (1215) [board cards: ]
CrocMonsieur bets $200, Vilain bets $1,500, CrocMonsieur calls $1,300.

On the river, there is now a straight on the board that he may well have hit. There is 1500 left and the pot is 1200, so if I value bet like 900, I will be very committed to the hand if he moves in, even though he probably only moves all in with better hand, so value betting is problematic. Plus I decided that his range included more hands that would bluff than hands that would call, so making him bluff seems the way to go here. Except that if I check, my opponent will have total control of the pot, deciding whether it's going to be a big bet or not and giving me headaches. What if he overbets all in?
This is where the fake blocking bet is great: I bet a small amount to make it looks like I'm scared, when in fact I’m ready to call a push. This lines helps him bluff while insuring that all the money goes in (the pot is big enough for a push now) whether my opponent is bluffing or whether he has it, which is very important in the long run!

SHOWDOWN
Vilain shows [ ]
CrocMonsieur shows [ ]
CrocMonsieur wins $4,213.

And it works! He could have shown me a 7, but I think he moves all in all the time here, whether he’s got something or not, making me a huge favorite. I am very happy with the way I played the hand: good read, good manipulation of the pot size and the opponent’s range!