bluff check-raise donk bet exploit fold equity motivation A seven-figure cash game pro breaks down Phil Hellmuth's fundamental leak after studying 100+ hours of footage. The analysis reveals how fear manifests in five ways: avoiding tough preflop decisions, scared postflop play, fear of looking foolish, fear of not getting paid, and fear of being pushed around. Players learn to identify and exploit these patterns in opponents while eliminating fear from their own game. Fear costs money. Helmuth's snap-calls, monkey bets, and thin value sizing reveal scared play patterns common at all stakes. How Fear Bleeds Your Stack: Snap-folding premium hands - Instantly folding AK to squeezes at 130bb deep demonstrates fear of tough decisions rather than maximizing EV Monkey betting syndrome - Betting without purpose on flops four-ways with underpairs shows fear of later street decisions, not strategic play Short stack protection - Buying in for 50bb in soft games reveals fear of looking foolish when deep, sacrificing massive EV Trappy value sizing - Betting 35% pot on rivers with strong hands because of fear opponents won't call bigger, leaving money on the table Call-down syndrome - Paying off multiple streets with fourth pair or bluff catchers stems from fear of being pushed around by weaker players Limp-reraise tells - Over-trapping preflop then checking back strong turns shows fear of not getting paid instead of building pots Avoiding initiative - Cold-calling three-bets with JJ instead of four-betting demonstrates fear of facing tough decisions with initiative
