Skype and Teamviewer ---> $70-110$ per hour VAT inklusive (yep I pay taxes) but only in German
Just kidding but you have a good idea, I think it is crucial to talk with other players to become a winning player or get better. I think here are enough friendly guys playing microstakes and look for buddies to learn the game, just ask in another thread
But for now, step by step. It's not easy to write in English for me, thats why I start now and mabye write the next post later/tomorrow.
First of all, forget about beeing polarized or merged or whatever. Your goal should be getting maximum expected value from every hand you play. If you find the maximum expected value preflop for every hand in your range (impossible but we can get some approximations) you'll get some byproducts like balancing or beeing "merged" or "polarized".
Next step to construct good preflopranges: do basic pokermath, like pot odds, equity (robust non-robust), EV, stuff like that. When I write a content-post I assume that the reader understand that math behind. Furthermore for constructing preflop-ranges google for "realization factor" (R), there is a good post on 2+2 about that realization-factor. With a bit logic you can construct better ranges.
I'll show you that logic and tools to construct better ranges, with your examples in this and the nexts posts.
BB vs. EPScenario: Villain opens from UTG 3bb, the others fold, we are in the BB and have some advantages now: we close the action and got good pot odds. We have to pay 2bb to see a flop with a pot of 6,5bb, with most of our hands our goal is get back only 2bb of that 6,5bb in the long run to be more profitable than folding hand X, keep that in mind, we can x/f very often postflop and mabye play a wider range than villains frequency only because of that fact.
Pot odds:
4,5bb are in the pot we have to call 2bb, getting pot odds 2,25:1 ~30,8%
---> we need 30,8% equity to make a profitable call.
Here are hands with 30,8% Equity against "standard" tight/solid ~16% UTG-Range.
Okay, logic, way too wide, right? right. We now adjust the required equity first for the whole range because it is easier. I think 90% realization is a good start point.
30,08 / 0,9 = 33,42
Thats a good startpoint. Now we have to think about the hands which are obv not good or mabye not good to call. You can do that with R and say, "okay Axo has an R of 0,8 or 53s has an R nearly 1" I dont know the correct factors but with some logic and experience we can get a good result.
Start with Axo:
ATo ---> call, to much equity to fold.
A9o ---> close but even if we realize only 80% of our equity, we have a +EV call and 80% is a tight view imo. but mabye the equity is bad (nonrobust), okay A9 often has to fold on the flop as the best hand oop, Axx ---> often dominted, most of the time we have no opportunity to bluff with that hand in logical way. ---> fold.
Now we know that ATo+ are +EV defends
If A9 is a bad call, is K9o bad too? Yes it's bad against UTG just muck it.
Offsuit Broadways:
KQo: "equity-call" easy
KJo: mh, good equity but villains weakest Kx is mabye K9s (4 combos), KTs (4combos) ---> 8 weaker Kx and KQo, KQs, AKo, AKs = 32 better Kx + no opportunities to make good bluffs, we are in bluffcatch-mode with that hands, thats only good with way more equity.
Okay, next hands in short.
Pockets:
easy calls.
Now the suited side:
Axs all defends
Kxs ---> K9s+ are good defends, below is tricky because the better Kx in Villains range but KTs and K9s is better to call because of good flushes and bit potential to bluff +EV postflop.
Same for Qx and Jxs
Suited connectors:
We realize our equity well with all suited connectors and 43s is the threshold. SCs make good hands and have good potential to make good bluffs because if we checkraise 43s on 862r with backdoorflushdraw, we only make better hands fold and we are drawing to hands which beats villains calls.
With hands like 43s or 54s we make low straights and villain has only few low straights in his range (some of them we dominate but some of them dominates us, depends on villains range obv) and we can justify x/r more often on lowboards where calling is tricky because 2 streets left and our calls are often obv hands.
Call all 43s+ or 54s+
Suited onegapper:
Same like suited connectors, I think 53s is the threshold.
3gapper:
close, the higher the gap the less equity we realize, thats why we should fold them against 3bb (I hope this is an english sentence^^)
Okay, now we have our raw defend range.
3betting:
There is no rule of thumb where our value-3bets ends.
60% Equity is a good start point, but only for this positions.
AA - QQ obv value
AKs - obv value
AKo - not that obv there are advantages in call and in 3bet, but standard should be 3bet
AQs - 3betting is good because weaker hands call and good equity fold but, if villain opens QJo a call is mabye better than 3bet.
JJ- close but fine, we deny equity and weaker hands call, we also can call but playing JJ as non-aggressor is hard in all spots.
Bluffs:
Villain has a strong range which can defend well against 3bets from the bb. Furthermore a lot of hands are nice calls and the other hands which are top fold range play not well in 3bet pots.
I think it is okay to use crap Axo and some low suited connectors, Axo block call and 4bet-range and the low suited connectors play well against calls and can call against small 4bets.
Your range:well constructed with your state of skill
KQs: There are some spots where KQs is a good 3bet but not against UTG, because all weaker Kx fold and the better call or 4bet, but well good equity is going to fold and some flips call and good bluff opportunities postlop. I think you should call. Same for KJs.
Axs: play better in 3bet pots than in single raised pots, mabye it is okay to 3bet!
Note about sizing: The openraise sizing has a big impact for our strategy. If Villain raise smaller, like 2x our required Equity decrease and we can call way more often even if villain raises the same range. Easy folds become easy calls now. On the other hands, if he make it bigger, we have to fold more often and maybe 3bet some hands which are calls against 3bb.
Next range tomorrow.