5 CRUCIAL CASH GAME

HAND BREAKDOWNS
 CASH.
This collection of hand reviews come directly from the third level of
CORE. Concepts include bet sizing, dialing in aggression, navigating
multi-way pots, and maximizing EV on every street. Keep in mind that
these hands are deep into CORE, so any concepts that are new to you
would have been covered in earlier lessons. If you find yourself lost at
any point while reading this guide, we highly recommend upgrading to
a CORE Membership for just $5/week - it’s insanely good value and
the perfect mix of rebuilding your fundamentals and adding advanced
edges to your game.

With that said, let’s dive into the hands!

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 2

HAND 01

AK
T O P P A I R O N A 4 -WAY F L O P

This hand was played at the $1/$3 live tables by a RCP member and delves into sizing
our bets in very multi-way pots. Making improvements in your bet sizing can be the
difference between encouraging calls from second-best hands and only getting
action from the rare hands that crush you. So be sure to grasp this concept!

PREFLOP
UTG open-limps, UTG+1 and UTG+2 both overlimp and it folds to Hero in the lojack with
A♥K♦ who iso-raises to $35.

A K
E UTG+2 M HERO

E UTG+1
P
3 297 P
1 315 M HJ
P
2 297 LIMPS RAISES TO P
2 325
LIMPS $35

E UTG CO
297 LIMPS
C
P
1 O 300
$3 $1

B BB
S SB B BTN
B 297 B 299 U
T 300

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 3

A♥K♦

The HJ cold-calls, the original UTG limper overcalls, UTG+1 overcalls, and UTG+2 folds
after apparently vocalizing a complaint regarding the size of the iso-raise.

While the iso-raise may seem somewhat large, this is generally sound strategy in these
types of spots. AKo does not want to encourage multi-way action. In fact, it’s usually
better to take down the pot preflop than get more than one-caller. We therefore want
to choose a sizing where the most likely outcome is either that we take it down preflop
or that we get a single caller. The fact that even such a large raise size here finds itself
going 4-way to the flop may suggest that an even larger iso-raises may be effective in
this particular live game.

FLOP ($147) K♠J♣7♣

It gets checked to Hero who makes a bet of $100 into the pot of $147. We definitely
don’t want to check and give a free card to multiple opponents and our hand is also
strong enough to extract value.

There is, however, a bet-sizing tweak we can make here.

The CB sizing can be somewhat problematic in this hand. Before we can select an
appropriate size, it’s important that we think about the answers to the following
questions.

• Are we committed right now on the flop?

• Will we be committed on every turn card?

Although it’s certainly close when holding TPTK with such a shallow SPR, we shouldn’t
ignore the fact that we are playing in a 4-way pot. Relative hand strengths decrease
drastically in such scenarios. Given that, it would be reasonable to answer “no” to
both of the above questions.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 4

A♥K♦ - K♠J♣7♣

As such, a large flop sizing can potentially cause us two issues:

• It’s difficult to fold the flop when shoved on (although we don’t want to commit)

• It’s difficult to get away on a bad turn card given the stack depth

We can easily solve these two problems by making a smaller bet on the flop.

Not only can we comfortably fold the flop if shoved on, but we’ll retain a much larger
degree of flexibility on the turn. So even if the turn card comes terrible (perhaps the
Q♣) we would retain enough stack depth where check/folding remains an option if we
choose a smaller CB size such as $55.

As played, Hero bets $100, the HJ is the only caller, and we see a brick turn.

TURN ($347) 4♥
At this point, Hero goes all-in for villain’s remaining $190. Villain calls and shows KQo.

The 4♥ is one of the best cards we could have hoped for. Villain didn’t raise the flop
which means he is often on a one-pair type hand, or a draw. The 4♥ doesn’t complete
any draws nor does it improve any reasonable two pair combos, meaning our shove for
value on the turn is straightforward.

Note that had Hero used the smaller size on the flop and was only called by the HJ, the
turn can certainly be bet again for value. Though if you felt the HJ would bet most of
their range if you checked to them on the turn, even on a such a brick, a check/shove
is a very attractive option.

BIG TAKEAWAYS
• Do your hole cards prefer HU or MW pots?

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 5

A♥K♦ - K♠J♣7♣4♥

• Choose preflop raise sizes that accomplish your goals & maximize EV.

• Top pair in a 2 SPR pot has different commitment ideas in HU vs. MW pots.

• Smaller CB sizing can encourage weaker hands to continue, while large CB sizing
can disincentivize weaker hands from continuing.

NEXT STEP
Grab your copy of Optimizing Ace King (written by two of our PRO coaches) and get
the entire strategic blueprint with AK. This in-depth book prepares you for playing
preflop, crafting postflop lines, handling gutshots, and choosing the right bet sizes
along the way. See the entire table of contents for OAK here.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 6

HAND 02

76
T R I P L E B A R R E L F O R VA L U E

This hand was played at 50NL online. While hitting monster hands isn’t super common,
it’s crucial that you know how to maximize value when you do. In this hand we improve
to a straight, but at the same time a flush draw fills and the river complicates things by
putting 4-to-a-straight on the board. See if your line looks like ours...

PREFLOP
Action starts with everyone folding to Hero in the CO with 7♠6♠. Hero open-raises to
$1, and min-raising as a steal here is totally acceptable.

M HJ 7 6
P 50
E UTG HERO
C
P 125 O 50
RAISES TO $1

$.50
BB
$.25 B BTN
B
B 49 U
T 27
SB
S
B 112
The button calls and both of the blinds fold.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 7

7♠6♠

FLOP ($2.75) K♠8♣5♣

Hero flops an open-ended straight-draw (OESD) and fires a continuation bet of $1.25
into the $2.75 pot. Most players just automatically fire this CB, but then play reactive
poker as the board rolls out. But by being proactive, we can craft a plan for barreling
turns and rivers right now.

Stronger players will find it apparent immediately from the flop that 7♠6♠ is a likely
candidate for a triple barrel. Why is this the case? Note that we have the type of
holding that likes to build a pot – a nut draw. Building the pot is beneficial since we
can elicit a bigger payout on those occasions when we get lucky and hit. Two barreling
hence nearly always makes sense, and we’ll naturally fire the third barrel for value if we
make our straight.

Although we will hit our straight somewhat frequently, it’s still true to say that we’ll still
miss the majority of the time. When that happens, we’ll find ourselves holding 7-high
on the river. Seeing as this is one of the worst hands we can possibly hold in terms of
showdown value (SDV), it makes an excellent candidate for a river bluff.

As you can see, whether we hit or miss, firing three streets is extremely likely.

Of course, this is not to say that hand will always fire three times. On board
runouts where we pick up a pair of Sixes or Sevens, firing the river as a bluff will be
unnecessary since we end up with some SDV. Another much rarer situation is where
we catch the straight but there is a four-to-flush on the board by the river. We can
no longer value-bet, but bluffing is again unnecessary since we have a measure of
showdown value.

TURN ($5.25) 9♣
The turn completes our straight, but it also puts a third club out there making the flush

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 8

7♠6♠ - K♠8♣5♣9♣

possible. However, our hand is still strong enough to extract value.

As such, Hero fires a bet of $3.25 into the $5.25 pot.

Sometimes players make the mistake of checking the turn since the flush completes,
but it’s a mistake to give villain a free card in a scenario where our hand is vulnerable
AND still clearly strong enough to extract additional value.

Villain calls the second barrel and we see a river.

RIVER ($11.75) 6♦
The river card is not the best for us since our straight gets demoted from a two-card
straight to a one-card straight. Not only is it harder for villain to pay us off when it is so
likely that we have a straight, but now if he holds any 7x holding we’ll chop the pot.

Having said that, we can usually still eek out a third street of value if we size our bet
appropriately. In this case hero bets $5.50 into the pot of $11.75 and villain pays off
with 9♠6♥.

BIG TAKEAWAYS
• Even from the flop, we can make a rough plan for turns & river.

• Good players play proactive poker, while weaker players are very reactive.

• There are still many value opportunities with strong, but not nutted, hands. Don’t
automatically check the turn (when the flush draw completes at the same time) nor
check the river (because the board 4-straights).

As a aside, if we were instead to held a nut flush-draw (NFD) on the same flop, say with
A♣4♣ on K♠8♣5♣, we might expect to fire two barrels with a much higher frequency.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 9

7♠6♠ - K♠8♣5♣9♣6♦

Naturally we’ll fire three streets if we hit our flush, but on board runouts where we
miss, our Ace-high confers a measure of showdown value. In most instances would
therefore plan to take a bet/bet/check line with such holdings.

NEXT STEP
One of the best resources available for understanding
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R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 10

HAND 03

99
P R O T E C T I O N W I T H S E C O N D PA I R

This hand was played at live $1/$3 by an RCP member. Hands like 99, TT, and JJ
present interesting complexities given how often they will contend with an overcard
on the flop. This spot presents some big-picture ideas on handling these situations
properly while explaining how protection actually applies with tough one pair hands.

PREFLOP
There is an UTG straddle for $6 and villain in the lojack decides to limp in. Hero is next
to act in the hijack with 9♠9♣ and makes an iso-raise of $35.

9 9
E UTG+2 M LJ

E UTG+1
P
3 300 P
1 394 M HERO
P
2 300 CALLS $6 765 P
2

RAISES TO $35
E UTG CO
P
294 $6 STRADDLE C
O 300
1

$3 $1

B BB
S SB B BTN
B 297 B 299 U
T 300
Everyone folds to the original limper from the lojack who calls.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 11

9♠9♣

FLOP ($80) Q♣8♦4♥

Villain checks and Hero elects to fire a continuation bet of $50 into the $80 pot.

While many players might decide to check-back here citing showdown value as their
primary reason, a continuation bet usually ends up being the most profitable decision
for two reasons:

• 99 is vulnerable and we benefit from folding out our opponent’s equity share.

• Limp-callers fold too much against flop cbets in general.

Overall, $50 should do the trick and rate to be +EV here.

TURN ($180) K♠
Villain checks and Hero opts to check behind on the turn.

This line is fine, and honestly, likely even the best option. Underbetting can be
considered, but it is not mandatory. However, a large bet would probably not be a
great idea. The K♠ is simply not favourable enough that it makes sense to be investing
large amounts of our stack.

Some concepts are exceedingly simple and yet at the same time extremely powerful.
The turn card is non-favorable for us so we keep our investment low. It’s true that we’d
like to protect our hand further, but we should be willing to let this go given this exact
turn. It’s amazing how many players come unstuck from basic core principles that
underlie the entire game.

If a situation is good, invest chips. If a situation is bad, don’t invest chips.

What could be simpler?

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 12

9♠9♣ - Q♣8♦4♥K♠

Instead, players find themselves following a convoluted path of reasoning, perhaps

convincing themselves that villain probably doesn’t like the K♠, therefore thinking that
a big bet will be best.

Poker doesn’t need to be complicated.

You will have plenty of other value combos to bet, and many other bluff combos that
should be prioritized over 9♠9♣. This isn’t to say that we should check every time we
flop second pair and the turn reduces our hand to third pair. But think about what your
opponent called your flop bet with, how likely they are to fold facing another bet, and
where your current cards fall within your range as a whole.

RIVER ($180) J♦
Our opponent checks again and Hero decides to check behind.

This is easily the best play since betting doesn’t accomplish anything here. We can’t
reasonably expect to have over 50% equity when called, so there is little sense in re-
opening up the action. There is also no need to bluff here seeing as our pair could still
win at showdown - albeit, at a low frequency.

Unfortunately, villain shows us A♥J♥ and scoops the pot.

Hero’s overall play here was solid, but solid play just means we’ll make money in the
long run - not that we will win every single hand we play.

BIG TAKEAWAYS
• Seeing one or more overcards on the flop is common when holding a hand like 99 (it
actually happens about 2/3 of the time).

• You don’t want to automatically check every flop that contains a single overcard

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 13

9♠9♣ - Q♣8♦4♥K♠J♦

and miss chances to protect your hand while also getting your opponent to
relinquish parts of their equity share.

• Consider how many combos you would bluff with on the turn, and prioritize bluffs
that have no chance of winning at showdown over those that have some SDV.

• Don’t get overly-ambitious when villain checks the river. They may not want to bet
a stronger one pair hand, but that doesn’t mean they want to fold to a bet either -
especially after you check the turn behind!

NEXT STEP
Would you have put villain on AJ in this hand? Do you fully know what your betting
range looks like on the turn?

These are skills you’ll build and refine as you complete this workbook full of actual
hands from $1/$2 and $2/$5 live cash games. Explore the workbook here...

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CA S H G AM E H AND S | 14
HAND 04

75
B L U F F I N G A M I S S E D S T R A I G H T D R AW

This hand was played at 200NL online and provides an excellent jumping off point to
discuss triple barrel bluffs. Knowing when to pull the trigger, and when to stifle the
urge to do so, is a critical skill that separates spewy players from refined regs.

PREFLOP
In this spot, it folds to Hero who open-raises to $4 with 7♦5♦ on the button.

HJ
M
P 200
E UTG CO
C
P 200 O 200

RAISES TO $4 7 5
$2
BB
$1 B HERO
B
B 198 U
T 196
SB
S
B 199
The SB folds and the BB is the only caller, which he should be doing so extremely
frequently given the small sizing.

If the BB is playing well, his range will be wide here.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 15

7♦5♦

FLOP ($9) J♥6♠4♣

The BB checks and Hero fires a continuation bet of $4 into the $9 pot.

C-betting is a strong play here seeing as we have good equity, and most importantly,
the ability to improve to a nutted holding by the river. Not only do these types of draws
have excellent pot-equity when called, but they also benefit from building the pot
since they have excellent implied-odds. (Contrast this with barreling a non-nut draw
where we might be unsure about stacking off even if the draw improves).

The small sizing works well on this dry texture as well. It’s also not a problem if villain
peels wide seeing as our OESD is strong enough to semi-bluff any turn card.

As played, the BB calls.

TURN ($17) 2♣
The BB checks again and hero fires a second barrel of $8 into the $17 pot.

Although the turn doesn’t improve our hand, we still have more than enough potential
to feel comfortable firing the second barrel.

Another characteristic of a great barreling opportunity that we’ve yet to mention is

how much SDV our hand is likely to have on the river. In this spot, we will end up with
one of three things if the BB calls our turn bet:

• A nut-straight 17% of the time

• A pair 13% of the time

• Or 7-high 70% of the time

When we miss the river entirely, our 7-high is more or less the worst possible holding

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 16

7♦5♦ - J♥6♠4♣2♣

within our range (aside from maybe 73). This typically makes it an exceptional
candidate for a river bluff!

Is this because we expect non-SDV hands to generate a higher expectation as bluffs

compared to hands with SDV? Not at all. However, hands with SDV can often be played
profitably as checks while hands without showdown value produce $0 in expectation
when checked. It’s therefore much more likely that bluffing is the best play when we
have a hand without SDV on the river.

With all of that said, the BB calls again.

RIVER ($33) 9♦
The BB checks one final time, and Hero pulls the trigger on a triple barrel bluff for $22.

In terms of default plays, the triple barrel can be considered standard by virtue of the
fact that we have no SDV (which was going to happen often on the river anyway).

Position should also be considered when deciding whether to fire the third shell.

When it comes to player-pool analysis (seeing the tendencies of all players at a given
stake) there is a tendency for players to fold too often against river cbets when
OOP. Presumably this is because players are more likely to raise the turn with their
strongest holdings when OOP. Slowplaying is more tempting in-position when the river
will be easier to play.

So while our opponent may opt to slowplay his sets OOP on J64 rainbow, it’s unlikely
he will continue to check/call when the turn produces a club draw. The good news is
that our opponent will typically be somewhat capped on many river cards, and while
we certainly wouldn’t expect them to fold QJ, we might not expect them to call with
every Ace-high or 54 type of hand.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CA SH G AM E H ANDS | 17
7♦5♦ - J♥6♠4♣2♣9♦

A final component at work here is any card-removal effect. As an example of this, it

is generally considered favorable to not have a club in our hand when we bluff. The
reason is that it allows our opponent to have the largest amount of possible busted
flush-draws by the river. Caution is advised however, since many players take the
concept too far while employing very large simplifications. It’s not a given that our
hand is good on the card-removal front. For example, if our opponent were to check-
raise or fold all of his club draws OOP on the turn, then it’s of little relevance that we
block the clubs.

All of these factors together make this an excellent spot to fire the barrel, and the BB
kindly mucks his hand and the pot gets pushed in our direction.

BIG TAKEAWAYS
• Consider how much SDV your hand is likely to have if your opponent calls your flop
and turn bets. The less SDV your hand has, the more likely it’s a good bluff candidate.

• Players typically float and raise differently whether they are IP or OOP. Consider
position when deducing their range and choosing how many bluff combos you
should fire with.

NEXT STEP
There are four key ways to exploit players in poker - and #1 is bluffing more against
players who fold too often. See the other three ways you should be exploiting players
with this free Poker Exploits Playbook.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 18

HAND 05

AA
A C E S O N A S C A RY B O A R D

This hand is from live $1/$3 and Hero has a big decision to make with AA. One of the
most significant skills required to play overpairs well is knowing when to implement
pot control, and this hand explores this very concept when we see a scary flop in a
multi-way pot with one of those opponents being nitty.

PREFLOP
Hero is on the button with A♥A♣ facing an open-limp from UTG+2 whom he describes
as “old man coffee” (OMC). Hero iso-raises to $15.

E OMC M LJ

E UTG+1
P
3 387 P
1 300 M HJ
P
2 300 LIMPS
P
2 300

E UTG CO
P
1 300 RAISES TO $15 C
O 300
$3 $1 A A
B BB
S SB B HERO
B 117 B 123 U
T 487

Both the SB and the original limper call and we go to the flop.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CA S H G AM E H AND S | 19
A♥A♣

FLOP ($48) 9♦8♣7♦

Both villains check to Hero who elects to check behind.

One thing that solvers teach us is that it is often correct to check overpairs on
especially coordinated board textures. This is especially true when we are the preflop
aggressor and villain is the preflop caller. The caller typically has a range advantage on
such textures which often incentivizes hero to play less aggressively and check more
frequently.

Underpinning this notion is the assumption that our opponent will be following a
perfect game theory optimal strategy which won’t even be close to true in the majority
of scenarios. So while checking might end up theoretically correct in some instances,
checking is rarely the best play in practice.

In the hand in question, not only can A♥A♣ easily extract value on the flop, but it is
extremely susceptible to being outdrawn if it doesn’t bet. This is especially true given
that we are playing a multi-way pot and there are two opponents who can potentially
outdraw us.

A common rationale behind checking is that “we don’t want to get check-raised.”
There are two pieces of good news here:

• The average villain won’t check/raise anywhere near as much as a theoretically

optimal opponent.

• It’s very easy to simply fold AA in the face of a check/raise as an exploit.

Bet-folding is hence significantly easier than checking and looking to play multi-way
turns. Note that when you see the results of this hand Hero may look good for dodging
a bullet, but we want to avoid being unnecessarily results oriented.

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 20

A♥A♣ - 9♦8♣7♦

TURN ($48) 7♣
SB checks and OMC bets $10 into the $48 pot.

It strongly looks as if Hero’s A♥A♣ are good right now and Hero should be raising for
value and protection. A raise to at least $40 should be reasonable and accomplish
both of those goals.

However, Hero opts to continue taking the passive line and opts to just call.

Notice at this point that Hero has veered heavily away from the suggested line
(checking the flop when our coach would have bet, and calling the turn when our
coach suggests raising). If you ever remark that the line you would take deviates two
or more times from the actions suggested by respected coaches, you would benefit
from analyzing the hand more deeply and understanding that you may have drifted
into the strategic abyss.

Anyhow, once Hero calls, the SB calls too and we go 3-way to the river.

RIVER ($78) A♦
SB checks and OMC bets $30 into the $78 pot. Hero raises to $90.

At this point, our primary goal is maximizing value. The OMC player type is one that
usually only bets consecutive streets with a hand they deem strong, and they only
put their stack in with nuttish hands. So OMC’s bet here does indicate that they like
their hand, but if they have a hand they would bet/call with (say a straight or a smaller
flush), would they call more than just $60 on top?

Sure, it’s easy when OMC has a boat and shoves over our raise, but there are many
other hands in OMC’s range that can give us action. So while a raise to $90 is

R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CASH GAME HANDS | 21

A♥A♣ - 9♦8♣7♦7♣A♦

reasonable, raising to something like $130 is likely higher EV (unless you think OMC is
more likely to just bet/shove over $90 with full houses but will bet/call them for $130).

All of that being said, Hero does opt to raise to $90 and the SB folds.

OMC goes all-in and Hero naturally snap-calls scooping a sizable pot against J♣T♣.

BIG TAKEAWAYS
• Remember that there is a difference between GTO solver output in a heads up pot
and exploitative lines in soft multi-way pots.

• Most players (live players especially) fail to check/raise at a correct frequency and
tend to check/call or check/fold too often.

• Avoid being results-oriented. Hero looks like a genius when this exact holecard set
up and runout occurs, but Hero misses so much value when taking this line against
the plethora of other hands these opponents are playing.

NEXT STEP
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ranges and edge toward optimal plays. Check out SplitSuit’s The Hand Reading Lab
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R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CA S H G AM E H AND S | 22
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R E D C H I P P O K E R .C O M CA SH G AM E H AND S | 23