Mix It Up!
A group of my fellow Full Tilt Poker pros and I recently completed a tour of Germany where we got to spend a lot of time interacting with a whole new generation of players from around the country. What I noticed along the way - aside from the incredible enthusiasm for the game - is that many of these players are very technically sound, but lack the real-life game experience to use their knowledge creatively.
To me, these players are like artists who learn by copying the works of past masters. They've studied the styles and understand the concepts, but their games lack originality. It's paint-by-numbers poker.
For beginning players, reading poker books and strategy articles provide a great foundation for learning the basics of the game. These materials teach the importance of strong starting hands, position, and aggression. But, as Phil Ivey recently pointed out, relying too much on other's people advice can actually stunt the growth of your game.
One of the most important pieces of advice I offer to new players is this; mix things up. There's more than one way to become a winning player and it's up to you to find the style - or combination of styles - that works best for you. Look at some of the game's best known tournament pros like Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, and Erick Lindgren. Each of these players is a master of mixing up their games and of playing "against the grain" of the competition.
If you're normally a tight player, go a little bit crazy and loosen up for a while. You might be very surprised at the results you get. The same goes for those of you who usually play a very aggressive style. Rein it in at times and try out a tighter style of play. By switching gears like this, you'll prevent your opponents from easily determining how you play and you'll be able to take advantage of opponents who don't make adjustments to their games. Sitting in a rock garden? Take advantage of your tight opponents by playing more hands. Surrounded by maniacs? Tighten up and pick off their bluffs by playing more premium hands.
Knowing when - and how - to make these changes comes with experience, so don't be afraid to experiment, especially online. It's very easy to sit down at a low-limit table − or even a play money table if you're more comfortable with that - and try out some new tactics. Experiment with different starting hands, not just the ones recommended by the books. Try playing a hand like 8-6 suited from early position and see what happens. You might not win the pot, but it's an experience you can learn from and draw on later in your poker career.
Another great way for players to start mixing up their game, especially newer ones who play No-Limit Hold 'em almost exclusively, is to try out some of the other forms of poker out there. Play some Limit Hold 'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Stud, and Razz. Doing this will likely give you a fresh perspective on No-Limit Hold 'em and open up your mind to some new ways to approach the game.
Its one thing to read a book where the information presented is based on someone else's experience. It's entirely another to have that experience for yourself. Get online and experiment. Try different plays and different games and see how mixing things up can help make you a more successful poker player in the long run.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tilt Control
Tilt Control
About two years ago, I wrote On Cavemen and Poker Players, which talked about the importance of learning to control your emotions at the poker table. Since then, I’ve had time to further refine my views on this topic, especially when it comes to the concept of tilt.
To begin, let me state the obvious: tilt happens to everyone. In fact, it’s safe to say that tilt is one of the most feared words – and concepts – in poker. So, what causes tilt? Well, that’s different for everyone. For some, it’s a bad run of cards or continuously getting unlucky when you’re opponents hit their miracle two and three-outers on the river. For others, it’s just playing poorly for an extended period of time.
No matter the cause, however, the fact remains that once most players do finally go on tilt, all bets are off and their games suffer. They end up playing the wrong cards in the wrong situations or at the wrong times and losing a lot of chips. For some players, this can be the beginning of a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself and, eventually, destroys their confidence along with their bankrolls.
Knowing what causes tilt is one thing, but the bigger question is, what is tilt? Personally, I believe it’s a chemical reaction that takes place in your brain. It’s similar to the primal emotion of being in danger, coded into our DNA just as if we’re in the forest being hunted so many thousands or years ago. Instead of being chased by some wild animal, we’re being hunted by other players looking to gun us down with another bad beat.
The effect of this primal emotion is enormous – your whole chemistry changes and you go into a different frame of mind that will completely change the way you play the game. The key to stopping this from happening and going on tilt is the ability to separate yourself from that emotion. Rather than playing based on that primal instinct, you should continue to play smart, thoughtful poker without worrying about your short-term results.
In order to achieve this, you must train yourself to believe that winning and losing at the poker table, at least over a short period of time, both have the same meaning. This might seem counterintuitive at first, because the object of the game is always to win. But you have to accept the fact that you can’t win every hand and that losing is a part of the game.
Look at how you approach a coin flip situation. If you’re winning at the time you’re faced with a coin flip, you’re going to be more hesitant to take that chance because you don’t want to risk losing what you’ve already won (and possibly more). If, on the other hand, you’re presented with the same situation when you’re losing, then you’re probably going to be more willing to take the risk and go for the coin flip because you want to win your money back. Either way, I think both cases are detrimental to your game because in either situation, you’re more worried about the short-term outcome rather than about playing solid poker over the long term, which is what being a winning player is really all about.
When you become indifferent to winning or losing over the short term, you won’t have to worry about going on tilt because you’re focusing simply on playing good poker. That’s all that matters at the end of the day – playing well. As poker players, we can do nothing more than to play our best game and let the cards fall as they may. When you adopt this attitude, your long-term results will take a turn for the better, no matter what kind of variance you face over the short term.
About two years ago, I wrote On Cavemen and Poker Players, which talked about the importance of learning to control your emotions at the poker table. Since then, I’ve had time to further refine my views on this topic, especially when it comes to the concept of tilt.
To begin, let me state the obvious: tilt happens to everyone. In fact, it’s safe to say that tilt is one of the most feared words – and concepts – in poker. So, what causes tilt? Well, that’s different for everyone. For some, it’s a bad run of cards or continuously getting unlucky when you’re opponents hit their miracle two and three-outers on the river. For others, it’s just playing poorly for an extended period of time.
No matter the cause, however, the fact remains that once most players do finally go on tilt, all bets are off and their games suffer. They end up playing the wrong cards in the wrong situations or at the wrong times and losing a lot of chips. For some players, this can be the beginning of a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself and, eventually, destroys their confidence along with their bankrolls.
Knowing what causes tilt is one thing, but the bigger question is, what is tilt? Personally, I believe it’s a chemical reaction that takes place in your brain. It’s similar to the primal emotion of being in danger, coded into our DNA just as if we’re in the forest being hunted so many thousands or years ago. Instead of being chased by some wild animal, we’re being hunted by other players looking to gun us down with another bad beat.
The effect of this primal emotion is enormous – your whole chemistry changes and you go into a different frame of mind that will completely change the way you play the game. The key to stopping this from happening and going on tilt is the ability to separate yourself from that emotion. Rather than playing based on that primal instinct, you should continue to play smart, thoughtful poker without worrying about your short-term results.
In order to achieve this, you must train yourself to believe that winning and losing at the poker table, at least over a short period of time, both have the same meaning. This might seem counterintuitive at first, because the object of the game is always to win. But you have to accept the fact that you can’t win every hand and that losing is a part of the game.
Look at how you approach a coin flip situation. If you’re winning at the time you’re faced with a coin flip, you’re going to be more hesitant to take that chance because you don’t want to risk losing what you’ve already won (and possibly more). If, on the other hand, you’re presented with the same situation when you’re losing, then you’re probably going to be more willing to take the risk and go for the coin flip because you want to win your money back. Either way, I think both cases are detrimental to your game because in either situation, you’re more worried about the short-term outcome rather than about playing solid poker over the long term, which is what being a winning player is really all about.
When you become indifferent to winning or losing over the short term, you won’t have to worry about going on tilt because you’re focusing simply on playing good poker. That’s all that matters at the end of the day – playing well. As poker players, we can do nothing more than to play our best game and let the cards fall as they may. When you adopt this attitude, your long-term results will take a turn for the better, no matter what kind of variance you face over the short term.
Stealing the Blinds
Stealing the Blinds
May 21st, 2008
The middle stages of a poker tournament can be a tortuous and tedious experience for even the most seasoned pro. The long trek toward the money, combined with a variety of potentially tricky scenarios you may face along the way, make it difficult to come up with one sure-fire strategy to help you through. That said, one aspect of mid-tourney play that’s extremely important is picking up pots pre-flop.
If you’ve been card dead in the first few levels you may only have as many chips as what you started with, or you may have been lucky enough to double or triple up early on. You may be minutes or hours away from making the money, depending on the number of entrants, and the average chip stack may be 20, 30 or even 40BB, based on the structure.
No matter what the situation is, however, it’s important to remember that once the blinds start to represent a decent percentage of your stack, you want to steal as much as possible. Raising the blinds a fair amount also balances your play and gets your big hands paid off more often. You’ll lose a few of your raises with speculative hands when people come over the top of you or call, but you’ll win a few as well, and raising will convince people to play back at you on those times when you happen to have big hands.
Bear in mind it’s still important to pick your spots. Continue to play tight from early position – stick to big pairs and AK – but from late position, start to attack the blinds with a variety of playable hands. At this stage of the tournament, if you’re going to play a hand, you should be coming into the pot with a raise every single time.
From the cutoff or hijack, for example, I’m going to open with hands like 9Ts, any Ax suited, all pairs, two picture cards, and even looser hands than that from the button. If I’m in late position and facing a raise, I’m either going to want to smooth-call with a really good hand or re-raise bluff them to pick up the pot pre-flop.
If somebody makes a pre-flop raise that’s more than 10% of my stack and I have a hand I want to play, I’ll consider moving all-in over the top of them. Any smaller re-raise commits me to the hand and flat-calling gives me no idea of where I’m at. If I smooth-call, my opponent is likely to bet first after the flop and without top pair or an over-pair, I’m going to be forced to either fold the best hand or, possibly, move all-in with the worst hand.
For example, let’s say somebody opens in mid-to-late position for 300 and you’re on the button with T-T and 2,000 in chips. In this situation, I would assume the raiser is opening with any two picture cards, any pair or suited Aces, so a hand like T-T is definitely strong enough to play against their range.
I think the best play here is to move all-in. This will put some pressure on your opponent if they don’t have a very good hand and they’ll be likely to fold. This move also helps you avoid the trouble you might face if you just smooth-call the raise and over-cards come on the flop. If you’re holding T-T and the flop comes Jack or King high, you really have no idea what your opponent has if they lead out, which means you will probably have to fold.
I’d recommend moving all-in with 8-8 or 9-9 in this situation too because you’ll get more action pre-flop and maximize the value from your coin flips. If someone raises pre-flop with A-Q and you elect to just call with a mid-pocket pair, they’re likely to miss the flop and check-fold. However, if you go all-in over the top and they call, you have a good chance to take their whole stack and set yourself up for the rest of the tournament.
By moving all-in with hands like A-K, A-Q, 9-9 and T-T in these situations, you’re giving yourself more opportunities to win pots by either getting your opponents to lay down marginal hands, or to make calls that put them in coin-flip situations. By mixing up your game a little and making these moves with monsters every once in awhile, you can also get your opponents to make some calls where they’re huge dogs.
Remember, the first goal of tournament poker is to make it into the money. By aggressively attacking blinds and antes when you think you’re likely to be a favorite in the hand, you can build a stack that will help carry you through the tough patches you may face in the middle stages, and put you in position to play for the win once the bubble bursts.
May 21st, 2008
The middle stages of a poker tournament can be a tortuous and tedious experience for even the most seasoned pro. The long trek toward the money, combined with a variety of potentially tricky scenarios you may face along the way, make it difficult to come up with one sure-fire strategy to help you through. That said, one aspect of mid-tourney play that’s extremely important is picking up pots pre-flop.
If you’ve been card dead in the first few levels you may only have as many chips as what you started with, or you may have been lucky enough to double or triple up early on. You may be minutes or hours away from making the money, depending on the number of entrants, and the average chip stack may be 20, 30 or even 40BB, based on the structure.
No matter what the situation is, however, it’s important to remember that once the blinds start to represent a decent percentage of your stack, you want to steal as much as possible. Raising the blinds a fair amount also balances your play and gets your big hands paid off more often. You’ll lose a few of your raises with speculative hands when people come over the top of you or call, but you’ll win a few as well, and raising will convince people to play back at you on those times when you happen to have big hands.
Bear in mind it’s still important to pick your spots. Continue to play tight from early position – stick to big pairs and AK – but from late position, start to attack the blinds with a variety of playable hands. At this stage of the tournament, if you’re going to play a hand, you should be coming into the pot with a raise every single time.
From the cutoff or hijack, for example, I’m going to open with hands like 9Ts, any Ax suited, all pairs, two picture cards, and even looser hands than that from the button. If I’m in late position and facing a raise, I’m either going to want to smooth-call with a really good hand or re-raise bluff them to pick up the pot pre-flop.
If somebody makes a pre-flop raise that’s more than 10% of my stack and I have a hand I want to play, I’ll consider moving all-in over the top of them. Any smaller re-raise commits me to the hand and flat-calling gives me no idea of where I’m at. If I smooth-call, my opponent is likely to bet first after the flop and without top pair or an over-pair, I’m going to be forced to either fold the best hand or, possibly, move all-in with the worst hand.
For example, let’s say somebody opens in mid-to-late position for 300 and you’re on the button with T-T and 2,000 in chips. In this situation, I would assume the raiser is opening with any two picture cards, any pair or suited Aces, so a hand like T-T is definitely strong enough to play against their range.
I think the best play here is to move all-in. This will put some pressure on your opponent if they don’t have a very good hand and they’ll be likely to fold. This move also helps you avoid the trouble you might face if you just smooth-call the raise and over-cards come on the flop. If you’re holding T-T and the flop comes Jack or King high, you really have no idea what your opponent has if they lead out, which means you will probably have to fold.
I’d recommend moving all-in with 8-8 or 9-9 in this situation too because you’ll get more action pre-flop and maximize the value from your coin flips. If someone raises pre-flop with A-Q and you elect to just call with a mid-pocket pair, they’re likely to miss the flop and check-fold. However, if you go all-in over the top and they call, you have a good chance to take their whole stack and set yourself up for the rest of the tournament.
By moving all-in with hands like A-K, A-Q, 9-9 and T-T in these situations, you’re giving yourself more opportunities to win pots by either getting your opponents to lay down marginal hands, or to make calls that put them in coin-flip situations. By mixing up your game a little and making these moves with monsters every once in awhile, you can also get your opponents to make some calls where they’re huge dogs.
Remember, the first goal of tournament poker is to make it into the money. By aggressively attacking blinds and antes when you think you’re likely to be a favorite in the hand, you can build a stack that will help carry you through the tough patches you may face in the middle stages, and put you in position to play for the win once the bubble bursts.
Control Your Environment
Control Your Environment
We've all had moments in good old fashioned brick and mortar casinos where our senses become overwhelmed by an environment that we have no control over. From uncomfortable chairs to overflowing A/C to the guy sitting next to you who obviously hasn't bathed since the last time the Cleveland Indians won the Series, playing live poker can be a less than pleasant experience at times. That's why one of the biggest advantages of playing online poker versus live poker is the ability to control your environment. By standardizing all the variables of game play and setting your poker playing environment to your liking, you can maximize your focus and take that next step toward becoming a winning player.
So how do you control your environment? Well, let's start at the beginning. If you're anything like me, you're going to be very anal about your poker playing environment. That means you turn off your phone and shut down whatever program you use for instant messaging. Even if you're just playing for fun, you should still be taking poker seriously (unless you're just looking to flip away your roll). Along those same lines, make sure to turn off the TV, stop surfing the web and answering emails. This is about minimizing distraction in an effort to maximize focus, and one of the pitfalls of online poker is all the readily available procrastination devices at your fingertips.
Now that you're distraction free, tune the other variables in the house to your liking. Is the temperature in the house comfortable? Check. Do you have water and soda within reach and a tasty meal ready to go in the fridge? Check. What about music? I always like to have some music going in the background, but nothing too loud or distracting (if you're singing along with the lyrics, it means you're not focusing on poker).
So you've got all the peripherals taken care of, now comes the game play itself. Go through the options in the game lobby and set everything to your liking. Most of it is up to you, but personally, I like to roll with the animation off (so the game runs smoother) and “highlight bet amount” turned on. For those of you who don't know, when you turn on “highlight bet amount” it makes it so the bet amount is always highlighted when it's your turn to act. That means all you have to do is type in the amount you'd like to bet when it's your turn − no having to manually highlight the number yourself or fumble around with the bet slider. I also like to set the game background to plain brown, especially when you've played down to the final table. That bright blue “hockey rink” final table background can be distracting, so I always switch it off.
Once again, you're doing all of this because it's to your advantage, not just because you're a control freak. By controlling your environment, you give yourself the best chance to maximize your focus on the game and be a winning player. This is far and away one of the biggest assets available to all online poker players.
We've all had moments in good old fashioned brick and mortar casinos where our senses become overwhelmed by an environment that we have no control over. From uncomfortable chairs to overflowing A/C to the guy sitting next to you who obviously hasn't bathed since the last time the Cleveland Indians won the Series, playing live poker can be a less than pleasant experience at times. That's why one of the biggest advantages of playing online poker versus live poker is the ability to control your environment. By standardizing all the variables of game play and setting your poker playing environment to your liking, you can maximize your focus and take that next step toward becoming a winning player.
So how do you control your environment? Well, let's start at the beginning. If you're anything like me, you're going to be very anal about your poker playing environment. That means you turn off your phone and shut down whatever program you use for instant messaging. Even if you're just playing for fun, you should still be taking poker seriously (unless you're just looking to flip away your roll). Along those same lines, make sure to turn off the TV, stop surfing the web and answering emails. This is about minimizing distraction in an effort to maximize focus, and one of the pitfalls of online poker is all the readily available procrastination devices at your fingertips.
Now that you're distraction free, tune the other variables in the house to your liking. Is the temperature in the house comfortable? Check. Do you have water and soda within reach and a tasty meal ready to go in the fridge? Check. What about music? I always like to have some music going in the background, but nothing too loud or distracting (if you're singing along with the lyrics, it means you're not focusing on poker).
So you've got all the peripherals taken care of, now comes the game play itself. Go through the options in the game lobby and set everything to your liking. Most of it is up to you, but personally, I like to roll with the animation off (so the game runs smoother) and “highlight bet amount” turned on. For those of you who don't know, when you turn on “highlight bet amount” it makes it so the bet amount is always highlighted when it's your turn to act. That means all you have to do is type in the amount you'd like to bet when it's your turn − no having to manually highlight the number yourself or fumble around with the bet slider. I also like to set the game background to plain brown, especially when you've played down to the final table. That bright blue “hockey rink” final table background can be distracting, so I always switch it off.
Once again, you're doing all of this because it's to your advantage, not just because you're a control freak. By controlling your environment, you give yourself the best chance to maximize your focus on the game and be a winning player. This is far and away one of the biggest assets available to all online poker players.
Playing Over-Cards
Playing Over-Cards
For many players, there's nothing prettier than peeking at their hole cards and seeing paint. A-K. K-Q. Q-J. They're all big hands and, often times, very playable ones, especially in position. Sometimes though, your masterpiece of a starting hand can lead to a very ugly result.
The fact is over-cards can be some of the trickiest hands to play well if they don't connect with the board. So how do you avoid going broke when you whiff with your overs? In the words of Kenny Rogers, "you gotta know when to hold 'em and you gotta know when to fold 'em."
Let's say you're in late position or in the blinds with over-cards and are facing an all-in bet after seeing a ragged flop like 8-5-3 rainbow. What do you do? The answer is an unequivocal "It depends". First of all, what could your opponent possibly be betting here? Top pair? An over-pair? A set? Your read of your opponent's hand should greatly influence your decision because if he's holding anything but a set, you may have odds to call.
That brings me to the next question: how much is he betting? If your opponent's all-in bet is worth half the pot or less, I think you have to call with any two over-cards so long as you think they're still live. Over-cards give you six potential outs to the board, meaning that you're only about a 3-1 dog against top pair if you have no straight or flush draw possibilities. Your over-cards may even be ahead if you think your opponent is pushing all-in on his own draw or is bluffing at the pot.
In situations where you're not facing an all-in bet, the decision becomes a little harder because you must not only consider the size of your opponent's current bet, but also the size of his next potential bet. If you're both deep stacked and you call on the flop, you could find yourself facing a sizable bet on the turn. In this situation, I believe mucking your hand and looking for a better spot is the preferred option.
Another thing to consider in this type of situation is your position relative to your opponent. If you're playing from position, you may want to consider staying in the hand even if you miss the flop – especially if you can do so cheaply. For one thing, calling a cheap bet on the flop might let you hit one of your overs, giving you what may likely be the best hand. For another thing, being in position can let you try and steal the pot away on the turn or river if your opponent shows further weakness on those streets.
Facing this same situation out of position is much riskier as your opponent has control of the hand and gets to act behind you on every street. I'm much more likely to throw my over-cards away here and look to play a better hand later on.
While position can be a key factor in determining if you carry on with your over-cards, the texture of the board is also something to be considered. On a flop like the one earlier – 8-5-3 rainbow – I'm much more likely to at least see the turn with my two over-cards than I am if the flop is more coordinated, like 9-8-7 or something that brings flush or straight draw possibilities. Why? Because unless my opponent is holding a pocket pair, it's just as likely that he missed the flop the same way I did. On a more coordinated flop, there are more ways for my opponent to connect and, even if I hit one of my cards, I could be drawing dead against a flush or straight.
If I'm in a pot with multiple opponents, I'm even more likely to play my over-cards conservatively because there are that many more hands that can easily beat me. Where I might try to continuation bet the flop against a single player, I'll almost certainly check against multiple players because I don't want to give someone the chance to raise behind me and force me to give up chips I don't need to waste.
If someone does bet and another player calls, I can very easily give up my hand without having lost too much. If, on the other hand, someone else bets and the action folds back to me, I can determine whether I want to fold, call or possibly even raise in an attempt to steal the pot myself.
When all is said and done, the key to playing over-cards successfully is not to fall in love with your starting hand no matter how pretty it may first appear. Play your hand smart after the flop and you can avoid an ugly result.
For many players, there's nothing prettier than peeking at their hole cards and seeing paint. A-K. K-Q. Q-J. They're all big hands and, often times, very playable ones, especially in position. Sometimes though, your masterpiece of a starting hand can lead to a very ugly result.
The fact is over-cards can be some of the trickiest hands to play well if they don't connect with the board. So how do you avoid going broke when you whiff with your overs? In the words of Kenny Rogers, "you gotta know when to hold 'em and you gotta know when to fold 'em."
Let's say you're in late position or in the blinds with over-cards and are facing an all-in bet after seeing a ragged flop like 8-5-3 rainbow. What do you do? The answer is an unequivocal "It depends". First of all, what could your opponent possibly be betting here? Top pair? An over-pair? A set? Your read of your opponent's hand should greatly influence your decision because if he's holding anything but a set, you may have odds to call.
That brings me to the next question: how much is he betting? If your opponent's all-in bet is worth half the pot or less, I think you have to call with any two over-cards so long as you think they're still live. Over-cards give you six potential outs to the board, meaning that you're only about a 3-1 dog against top pair if you have no straight or flush draw possibilities. Your over-cards may even be ahead if you think your opponent is pushing all-in on his own draw or is bluffing at the pot.
In situations where you're not facing an all-in bet, the decision becomes a little harder because you must not only consider the size of your opponent's current bet, but also the size of his next potential bet. If you're both deep stacked and you call on the flop, you could find yourself facing a sizable bet on the turn. In this situation, I believe mucking your hand and looking for a better spot is the preferred option.
Another thing to consider in this type of situation is your position relative to your opponent. If you're playing from position, you may want to consider staying in the hand even if you miss the flop – especially if you can do so cheaply. For one thing, calling a cheap bet on the flop might let you hit one of your overs, giving you what may likely be the best hand. For another thing, being in position can let you try and steal the pot away on the turn or river if your opponent shows further weakness on those streets.
Facing this same situation out of position is much riskier as your opponent has control of the hand and gets to act behind you on every street. I'm much more likely to throw my over-cards away here and look to play a better hand later on.
While position can be a key factor in determining if you carry on with your over-cards, the texture of the board is also something to be considered. On a flop like the one earlier – 8-5-3 rainbow – I'm much more likely to at least see the turn with my two over-cards than I am if the flop is more coordinated, like 9-8-7 or something that brings flush or straight draw possibilities. Why? Because unless my opponent is holding a pocket pair, it's just as likely that he missed the flop the same way I did. On a more coordinated flop, there are more ways for my opponent to connect and, even if I hit one of my cards, I could be drawing dead against a flush or straight.
If I'm in a pot with multiple opponents, I'm even more likely to play my over-cards conservatively because there are that many more hands that can easily beat me. Where I might try to continuation bet the flop against a single player, I'll almost certainly check against multiple players because I don't want to give someone the chance to raise behind me and force me to give up chips I don't need to waste.
If someone does bet and another player calls, I can very easily give up my hand without having lost too much. If, on the other hand, someone else bets and the action folds back to me, I can determine whether I want to fold, call or possibly even raise in an attempt to steal the pot myself.
When all is said and done, the key to playing over-cards successfully is not to fall in love with your starting hand no matter how pretty it may first appear. Play your hand smart after the flop and you can avoid an ugly result.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Jackpot hit in 07/2007 was $464,652.03!
Best Online Poker Casinos.
Playing the Blinds in Ring Games
Especially in no-limit ring games, you should almost always call the half-bet from the small blind. You should probably do the same thing in tournaments play. Even in limit play, it only costs you half a bet so long as no one has raised the hand. Many professional players and authors will tell you that you shouldn’t put extra money into the pot that you don’t have to unless you have some semblance of a hand. I suppose this is often true in limit hold ‘em, because you don’t really have large implied odds if you do hit a big hand with your garbage cards from the blind. If you do manage to hit your monster hand and you check-raise, your opponents will probably be leery of you being on the play and may very well fold. If you’re only picking up a few extra bets, it’s not worth it in the long run to play any two cards from this position.However, the implied odds are so much greater in no-limit play that it is almost always worth it to play any two cards from the small blind. Consider this hand: You have Q-5 offsuit from the small blind. When it gets to your turn, 4 others callers are choosing to stay in for the minimum bet. You call for half of a bet at 6 of you see a flop of Q-5-4. This is a great flop for you! One player from middle position bets about the size of the pot and everyone folds until it’s your turn. Now, perhaps he has made a set on the flop, but you don’t think that he has one. Even if he has a set of 4s, you can still hit another Q or 5 to make a full house. You decide to raise him back 3 times his bet. Your opponent raises you all-in and you quickly call. The turn brings a 7 and the river brings a J. Your opponents turns over pocket K-K and you’ve just doubled up.This is a real hand that I’ve played in, and some people really like to slowplay big pocket pairs for whatever reason. They’ve let you in for a very small price, and you’ve hit two pair. Flopping two pair with a couple of rags occurs more often than you think, so you should probably try to see a flop from the small blind. If you do choose to see a flop, you must have the discipline to let your hand go on the flop, even if you caught a piece. If you had that same Q-5, but the flop came K-Q-J, you’re obviously out. There are just too many draws and made hands that probably have you beaten right now. Fold to play another day.If you play an aggressive game, another consideration may be to raise when everyone folds to the blinds. If you’re on the small blind, consider raising 4x the big blind. Your opponent is going to have position on you throughout the hand, but he’s still going to need to be holding something to make that call. If he does call and you don’t get any help on the flop, you’re going to have to check and fold is he bets. If you get raised preflop and you don’t have a hand, you tried your best to steal but you’re going to have to call it quits at this point.
Many players get themselves into trouble by continuing with a bluff even when they get raised. Why do it? You were caught bluffing, and unless you have a strong reason to believe that your opponent is also bluffing with a worse hand, just fold and fight another battle. You can also try to raise from the big blind when you’re up against the small blind and he just tries to limp in.
Remember, it almost always makes sense to play the small blind with any two cards. You could flop a monster, and you’ll often get paid off well for it. Just be willing to drop your hand when you don’t flop that monster.
Best Online Poker Casinos.
Playing the Blinds in Ring Games
Especially in no-limit ring games, you should almost always call the half-bet from the small blind. You should probably do the same thing in tournaments play. Even in limit play, it only costs you half a bet so long as no one has raised the hand. Many professional players and authors will tell you that you shouldn’t put extra money into the pot that you don’t have to unless you have some semblance of a hand. I suppose this is often true in limit hold ‘em, because you don’t really have large implied odds if you do hit a big hand with your garbage cards from the blind. If you do manage to hit your monster hand and you check-raise, your opponents will probably be leery of you being on the play and may very well fold. If you’re only picking up a few extra bets, it’s not worth it in the long run to play any two cards from this position.However, the implied odds are so much greater in no-limit play that it is almost always worth it to play any two cards from the small blind. Consider this hand: You have Q-5 offsuit from the small blind. When it gets to your turn, 4 others callers are choosing to stay in for the minimum bet. You call for half of a bet at 6 of you see a flop of Q-5-4. This is a great flop for you! One player from middle position bets about the size of the pot and everyone folds until it’s your turn. Now, perhaps he has made a set on the flop, but you don’t think that he has one. Even if he has a set of 4s, you can still hit another Q or 5 to make a full house. You decide to raise him back 3 times his bet. Your opponent raises you all-in and you quickly call. The turn brings a 7 and the river brings a J. Your opponents turns over pocket K-K and you’ve just doubled up.This is a real hand that I’ve played in, and some people really like to slowplay big pocket pairs for whatever reason. They’ve let you in for a very small price, and you’ve hit two pair. Flopping two pair with a couple of rags occurs more often than you think, so you should probably try to see a flop from the small blind. If you do choose to see a flop, you must have the discipline to let your hand go on the flop, even if you caught a piece. If you had that same Q-5, but the flop came K-Q-J, you’re obviously out. There are just too many draws and made hands that probably have you beaten right now. Fold to play another day.If you play an aggressive game, another consideration may be to raise when everyone folds to the blinds. If you’re on the small blind, consider raising 4x the big blind. Your opponent is going to have position on you throughout the hand, but he’s still going to need to be holding something to make that call. If he does call and you don’t get any help on the flop, you’re going to have to check and fold is he bets. If you get raised preflop and you don’t have a hand, you tried your best to steal but you’re going to have to call it quits at this point.
Many players get themselves into trouble by continuing with a bluff even when they get raised. Why do it? You were caught bluffing, and unless you have a strong reason to believe that your opponent is also bluffing with a worse hand, just fold and fight another battle. You can also try to raise from the big blind when you’re up against the small blind and he just tries to limp in.
Remember, it almost always makes sense to play the small blind with any two cards. You could flop a monster, and you’ll often get paid off well for it. Just be willing to drop your hand when you don’t flop that monster.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
When and How to Bluff in No-Limit Cash Games
We all know that bluffing is an essential part of poker. If the strength of everyone’s bets was always correlated to the strength of everyone’s hands there wouldn’t be much mystery to the game. Bluffing in no-limit hold’em, especially in cash games, is a much more powerful weapon than in limit games. While you’re risking more of your own stack, you’re also putting your opponent to the test by forcing them to call you down for a sizable amount with what may not be the best hand. Unfortunately, many beginners and intermediate players view bluffing as more of a guessing game than a well-timed and calculated execution. When you bluff it should make sense and you should be making each move for a specific reason. If you simply bluff on a whim you’ll have a much lower success rate than if you plan your actions and take advantage of proper timing. The following rules should be thought about, even if only briefly, before you execute your next bluff in a no-limit cash game. If you find yourself thinking critically about every action and incorporating some of the following thought processes into your game, I assure you that you’ll make more money and become more confident about your game. So, next time before you bluff…1. Know thy opponent. Usually when you make a big bluff, it’s going to be up against a single opponent as you’re much more likely to be called and/or raised with more than one opponent. Your read on your opponent is crucial to pulling off a successful bluff. If you’ve seen him call to the showdown with middle pair or worse, you shouldn’t be bluffing him. If he’s a maniac who loves to raise, you shouldn’t even try it. The best opponents to bluff are tight-weak players and tight-aggressive players. These are the types of players who can lay down a strong hand that isn’t the nuts.2. Reading betting patterns. This is the best way to read your opponent, especially online where physical tells are non-existent, is through his betting patterns. When you’re looking to steal the pot on the flop, turn, or river, see if your opponent’s bets indicate weakness. Examples would include making a tiny bet in relation to the pot, leading out on the flop and checking on the turn, or making a weak call. If you’re paying attention, these can often be dead giveaways to the strength of your opponent’s hand. Take advantage of that information!3. Is the board scary for your opponent? Instead of giving up on a missed hand or bluffing on based on the read of your opponent, check the board. If your opponent is likely to have top pair, two pair, or even a set, did the board put 3 hearts or 4 straight cards out there? If you’ve been meekly calling to set up a bluff later or hoped to improve your hand but didn’t, the best thing that can happen would be for a scare card to hit the board in the form of an overcard, a completed flush, or a completed straight. You opponent will be aware of the board because he’s likely been afraid that you’re drawing to a better hand. If a scare card does fall and your opponent acts weak by checking or making a small bet, you might try to make him believe that you just completed a draw.4. Does your play fit the bluff? Following the logic of the previous tip, given the sequence of betting you need to convince your opponent that you have a better hand than he does. For example, let’s say the board is K-8-2 with two spades and your opponent has A-K. You’re holding the J-10 of spades and you call his pot-sized bet on the flop, When a 4 of hearts comes on the turn, your opponent can probably safely assume that it didn’t help your hand. However, if it was an 8 of hearts, your opponent may give you credit for an 8 since you just made a weak call on the flop. If you plan to bluff, think about how the hand has played out and if your play would make sense for the hand you’re trying to represent.5. Finally, bet like you mean it. Once you’ve decided to throw caution to the wind, trust your read, and make a huge bluff, don’t send a boy to do a man’s job. When you bluff in no-limit hold’em, you’re going to have to be comfortable with throwing in a lot of chips. If you aren’t, you probably won’t be successful and you’re better off just folding. No one is going to fold to a minimum re-raise if they have any sort of hand. The goal of bluffing is to convince your opponent that you have a better hand and get him to lay it down. You’ll have to scare him by making at least a pot-sized raise, if not more.The next time you’re considering making a bluff in a no-limit hold’em tournament or cash game, think critically before you do. Realize what you’re trying to accomplish and go over these tips in your head before you push in all those chips. Set your opponent up by reading his play, taking advantage of the scare card, and making a sizable bet when you sense weakness. The end result should be picking up some extra chips more often for when you really do want to get paid off!
We all know that bluffing is an essential part of poker. If the strength of everyone’s bets was always correlated to the strength of everyone’s hands there wouldn’t be much mystery to the game. Bluffing in no-limit hold’em, especially in cash games, is a much more powerful weapon than in limit games. While you’re risking more of your own stack, you’re also putting your opponent to the test by forcing them to call you down for a sizable amount with what may not be the best hand. Unfortunately, many beginners and intermediate players view bluffing as more of a guessing game than a well-timed and calculated execution. When you bluff it should make sense and you should be making each move for a specific reason. If you simply bluff on a whim you’ll have a much lower success rate than if you plan your actions and take advantage of proper timing. The following rules should be thought about, even if only briefly, before you execute your next bluff in a no-limit cash game. If you find yourself thinking critically about every action and incorporating some of the following thought processes into your game, I assure you that you’ll make more money and become more confident about your game. So, next time before you bluff…1. Know thy opponent. Usually when you make a big bluff, it’s going to be up against a single opponent as you’re much more likely to be called and/or raised with more than one opponent. Your read on your opponent is crucial to pulling off a successful bluff. If you’ve seen him call to the showdown with middle pair or worse, you shouldn’t be bluffing him. If he’s a maniac who loves to raise, you shouldn’t even try it. The best opponents to bluff are tight-weak players and tight-aggressive players. These are the types of players who can lay down a strong hand that isn’t the nuts.2. Reading betting patterns. This is the best way to read your opponent, especially online where physical tells are non-existent, is through his betting patterns. When you’re looking to steal the pot on the flop, turn, or river, see if your opponent’s bets indicate weakness. Examples would include making a tiny bet in relation to the pot, leading out on the flop and checking on the turn, or making a weak call. If you’re paying attention, these can often be dead giveaways to the strength of your opponent’s hand. Take advantage of that information!3. Is the board scary for your opponent? Instead of giving up on a missed hand or bluffing on based on the read of your opponent, check the board. If your opponent is likely to have top pair, two pair, or even a set, did the board put 3 hearts or 4 straight cards out there? If you’ve been meekly calling to set up a bluff later or hoped to improve your hand but didn’t, the best thing that can happen would be for a scare card to hit the board in the form of an overcard, a completed flush, or a completed straight. You opponent will be aware of the board because he’s likely been afraid that you’re drawing to a better hand. If a scare card does fall and your opponent acts weak by checking or making a small bet, you might try to make him believe that you just completed a draw.4. Does your play fit the bluff? Following the logic of the previous tip, given the sequence of betting you need to convince your opponent that you have a better hand than he does. For example, let’s say the board is K-8-2 with two spades and your opponent has A-K. You’re holding the J-10 of spades and you call his pot-sized bet on the flop, When a 4 of hearts comes on the turn, your opponent can probably safely assume that it didn’t help your hand. However, if it was an 8 of hearts, your opponent may give you credit for an 8 since you just made a weak call on the flop. If you plan to bluff, think about how the hand has played out and if your play would make sense for the hand you’re trying to represent.5. Finally, bet like you mean it. Once you’ve decided to throw caution to the wind, trust your read, and make a huge bluff, don’t send a boy to do a man’s job. When you bluff in no-limit hold’em, you’re going to have to be comfortable with throwing in a lot of chips. If you aren’t, you probably won’t be successful and you’re better off just folding. No one is going to fold to a minimum re-raise if they have any sort of hand. The goal of bluffing is to convince your opponent that you have a better hand and get him to lay it down. You’ll have to scare him by making at least a pot-sized raise, if not more.The next time you’re considering making a bluff in a no-limit hold’em tournament or cash game, think critically before you do. Realize what you’re trying to accomplish and go over these tips in your head before you push in all those chips. Set your opponent up by reading his play, taking advantage of the scare card, and making a sizable bet when you sense weakness. The end result should be picking up some extra chips more often for when you really do want to get paid off!
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