~ H A N D H I S T O R I E S ~
ZipRake.com - Hand Analysis: Setting The Rope-A-Dope Trap
If you've ever been at a table with a super-aggressive player, you probably now the frustration that can come in watching him or her play big-stack bully as your sub-par hands prevent you from fighting back. This can be especially frustrating in short-handed play and when you're out-chipped, but the upside is that when you finally find a hand you're almost guaranteed action. This is particularly true in heads-up situations, in which loose-aggressive players are more likely to bet at signs of weakness, especially if they raised before the flop, and you called from the blinds and checked to them on the flop.
The "rope-a-dope" strategy described here is a perfect play for that maniac that doesn't know when to slow down with the aggression. If implemented correctly, he will essentially hand his chips right over to you. We are of course making a few assumptions about the type of player we are up against:
1) Based on our observations, the player will lead betting with a wide range of hands, and will also make loose calls before the flop.
2) The player will most likely react aggressively towards signs of weakness, and is not afraid to make follow-up bluffs on the turn and river.
3) The player will re-raise and be very aggressive with mediocre hands such as small pairs, weak aces, and any two paint cards.
Recently I found myself up against one such player that met all of these criteria. He had amassed a sizeable lead at the table, getting very lucky on a few earlier hands and continuing to just steamroll over more passive players. We were down to 3 players in a $5 STT at this point, all of us having just made the money, and I had a little less than half of his chipstack. I'm on the button and the super-aggressive player is in the Big Blind when I pick up the following hand:
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BTN): 3,395
SB: 2,355
BB: 7,750
Pre-Flop: (240) 9c Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
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This is a solid blind-stealing hand, and quite likely the best hand at the table right now, so it's certainly worth a raise.
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BTN): 3,395
SB: 2,355
BB: 7,750
Pre-Flop: (240) 9c Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to 480, BB calls 320
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My opponents call here certainly doesn't say anything for the strength of his hand, as he could have any two cards. It does however indicate that he most likely doesn't have a strong hand. He most likely would have pushed with any pair, most Aces, and even hands such as KQ and JT, hoping to re-steal. With only a call, I can be fairly certain that my hand is ahead before the flop.
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BTN): 3,395
SB: 2,355
BB: 7,750
Pre-Flop: (240) 9c Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to 480, BB calls 320
Flop: (1,040) Ac Qs 4d (2 Players)
BB checks
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This is a great flop for me, as I have a decent top-pair holding and there aren't a lot of draws out there that I should be worried about. The only hand that I'd be concerned about would be A4 or Q4, as any other hand that has me beat (AA, QQ, 44, AQ) would have surely raised me before the flop. The BB's check indicates that he most likely has no piece of this flop, as I have already seen him lead out into an original raiser with as little as 3rd pair on the flop. Either that or he's trapping me with one of the two hands that I'm currently behind, but not too worried about.
So I'm fairly ready to get my chips in here, but I want my opponent to come along with me. Knowing that any sign of weakness from me will most likely flip his aggression switch to full blast, I go ahead and send him the signal that I missed this flop completely and am ready to surrender. Instead of making a continuation bet like I normally would against an average player, I check in hopes of setting a trap. Remember that there also aren't very many hands that I'm worried about here. Right now I have top pair and he most likely has no pair at all, otherwise he would have either raised before the flop or bet on the flop.
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BTN): 3,395
SB: 2,355
BB: 7,750
Pre-Flop: (240) 9c Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to 480, BB calls 320
Flop: (1,040) Ac Qs 4d (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks
Turn: (1,040) 4h (2 Players)
BB bets 800
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My trap has worked! The turn card is not scary as if he had a four he would have most likely bet on the flop, and would now try to trap me by checking or betting a little less. It's also just less likely that he has a 4 given that two of them are on the board, so the A4 and Q4 hands I was thinking of earlier are pretty much out of the question. The only question now is whether I should call or raise. Since there don't appear to be very many river cards that are going to defeat me, why not just call and give him one more chance to scare me away?
Full Tilt Poker, $5 + $0.50 NL Hold'em Sit n' Go, 80/160 Blinds, 3 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter
Hero (BTN): 3,395
SB: 2,355
BB: 7,750
Pre-Flop: (240) 9c Ah dealt to Hero (BTN)
Hero raises to 480, BB calls 320
Flop: (1,040) Ac Qs 4d (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks
Turn: (1,040) 4h (2 Players)
BB bets 800, Hero calls 800
River: (2,640) 4c (2 Players)
BB bets 1,920, Hero raises to 2,115 and is All-In, BB calls 195
Results: 6,870 Pot
Hero showed 9c Ah (a full house, Fours full of Aces) and WON 6,870 (+3,475 NET)
BB mucked 5d Tc (three of a kind, Fours) and LOST (-3,395 NET)
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As you can see, I got exactly what I wanted. The villian couldn't help but fire away once again into the face of obvious defeat, and had no choice but to call my microscopic raise over the top of his strange bet size (just put me all-in already). The 4 on the river made it a much easier move, but no matter what came on the river I was going to get my chips in there and would be completely shocked if I did not double up.
Let's just revisit some aspects of this hand now that we've walked through the whole thing. First, the villian called my 3xBB raise with T5 offsuit, a very marginal hand to call a raise with, even with all those chips. Secondly, the play that really made this hand effective for me was the simple check representing weakness on the flop. If I say to myself "okay, I have top pair but it's really not that strong, I should bet here to find out where I stand and hopefully just take the pot down," then I would most likely have done just that and would have won a much smaller pot. My faith in my hand, as mediocre as it was, was based on my observations of my opponent, and any slim chance of him out-drawing on me by giving him a free card or two would be easily offset by the likelihood that he would instead have nothing and would begin bluffing at the pot. More often than not, this will be a +EV move against this type of player.
So remember this play the next time you're up against a super-aggressive bully, especially when play gets short-handed or when you're playing heads-up against one. Even with a less-than-nuts type of hand, a little check can go a long way in inducing the kind of action you want.
Best of luck at the tables. ~ B.
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