1/3 Queens and Jacks
8-handed
MP young Asian: wide opener, then plays fit or fold. Have played with him a few times.
Button: unknown Italian gu
Check calling the flop on the other hand keeps villains range nice and wide. Loads of bluffs, low pairs he can have that we beat, (and any Q's will likely check back because they are scared of everyone folding).
.
This is a nicely expressed counterpoint to the ol "find out where they are at" logic. Because we are not revealing where WE are at, we can benefit even tho we are slightly deprived of info on villains hand.
Well 'find out where we are' is never a reason to make a bet.
The point here is that (as always) we are playing against a range, and should make our decisions based solely on that range. If it's +eV to make a certain play against that range then we should do it, if it's not then we can't.
As such sometimes checking, can be intentionaly done to keep a villains range wide, and as therfore ensuring our hand is ahead of said range.
If we narrow or polarise a villans range by betting all that can happen is we end up being called or raised by a range we are poor against, and fold out all the range we are good against.
A simple way of thinking about this without worrying about ranges properly is the thinking:
If we bet we fold out everything we are beating, and only get action when we are behind.
Another thing to think about, is that we fold out all (almost all) of villans bluffs by betting.
In this particular hand donking folds out all of villans actual hands we beats, and doesn't give villain a chance to bluff.
Our hand is poor against villans range that calls our lead out.
Our hand is massive against villans c-bet range.
So if you assume the bet sizing in both scenarios is the same, then we are far far better off check calling, than donking and being called.
