Hand Review
Pocket 88 vs a Small C-Bet on K72
Why BB should not automatically fold 88 against a small CO c-bet on K72 rainbow.
- Preflop: CO opens, BB calls.
- Flop: K72 rainbow, CO bets small.
- Turn: Turn 4, CO checks back.
- River: River 2. Hero decides whether 88 can bluff catch.
Looks first at hand strength and often misses position, range, and line.
88 is not calling because it feels brave. It calls because a one-third-pot c-bet on a dry K-high board can contain many missed broadways, and the price lets a medium pair continue with a plan.
Start with range, sizing, equity, and defense frequency.
Then adjust to the opponent's leaks: over-calling, over-folding, or over-bluffing.
Hand Setup
6-max cash, 100BB effective. CO opens, BB defends 88, and the flop is K72 rainbow.
Street-by-Street Training Map
| Street | Training focus |
|---|---|
| Preflop | CO opens to 2.5BB and BB calls. Pot is about 5.5BB. |
| Flop | BB checks, CO bets about 1.8BB into 5.5BB. Hero needs to continue enough versus the small size. |
| Turn | if CO barrels large on a high-card turn, 88 loses comfort and should tighten quickly. |
| River | after turn checkback, a small or medium river bet can be bluff-heavy enough to consider a price-based call. |
Pot and Sizing
- Preflop: CO opens to 2.5BB and BB calls. Pot is about 5.5BB.
- Flop: BB checks, CO bets about 1.8BB into 5.5BB. Hero needs to continue enough versus the small size.
- Turn: if CO barrels large on a high-card turn, 88 loses comfort and should tighten quickly.
- River: after turn checkback, a small or medium river bet can be bluff-heavy enough to consider a price-based call.
Range Changes by Street
- CO has more strong Kx, overpairs, and Broadway density, so the c-bet is credible.
- CO also has AQ, AJ, QJ, JT, and suited misses that small-bet automatically.
- BB still has pocket pairs, some Kx, 7x, 2x, and sets, so folding every medium pair over-defends the raiser.
- Turn sizing is the main range update: large second barrels remove many weak automatic c-bets.
Hand-to-Drill Prescription
| Step | What to do next |
|---|---|
| Read | Name position, stack depth, board texture, and opponent type before reading the conclusion. |
| Replay | Step through each street and state the value target, bluff target, or pot-control reason. |
| Practice | Run Board Texture and C-Bets and pot-odds-math in Practice Mode. |
| Review | Save one offline Analyze Lite note if the hand matches a leak from your own play. |
Decision Tree
Call more medium pairs than versus a large bet.
Fold more often unless villain over-bluffs turns.
Villain's range often contains medium showdown and give-ups.
Use price and line, not hand class alone.
Beginner Thought vs Professional Thought
Beginner: He bet, so he has a king.
Professional: Small c-bets include range pressure and missed broadways.
Beginner: Raise to find out.
Professional: Calling keeps worse hands in and avoids isolating against value.
Beginner: One pair means call or fold by fear.
Professional: Reconstruct the line and compare price to bluff frequency.
Alternative Lines
- Fold flop: too tight versus many regulars using small range c-bets.
- Call flop: preferred training baseline at this price.
- Raise flop: usually turns a showdown hand into an information raise.
- Call down every runout: too loose after strong turn and river pressure.
Exploit Adjustment Table
Next Drills
Practice small c-bet defense on dry boards.
Open DrillRehearse why small bets need less equity to call.
Open DrillTrain This Hand
Practice dry boards, wet boards, monotone boards, turn probes, and semi-bluff pressure.
Make the final-pot formula automatic before adding implied-odds adjustments.
Train big blind calls, folds, and blocker pressure by opener position, price, and equity realization.
CO bets one-third pot on K72 rainbow. Why is folding 88 automatically too tight?
The small size and CO's wide c-bet range leave enough missed broadways and weak pressure hands that 88 can continue at least one street.
FAQ
What is the main lesson of this hand?
88 is not calling because it feels brave. It calls because a one-third-pot c-bet on a dry K-high board can contain many missed broadways, and the price lets a medium pair continue with a plan.
What is the difference between GTO baseline and exploit adjustment?
The baseline prevents obvious exploitation. Exploit adjustments intentionally deviate when an opponent has a clear leak.
What should I record when reviewing a hand?
Record positions, stack depth, board texture, bet sizes, opponent type, your thought process, and the better alternative line.