Dr Poker Blog- Online Poker Tips and Strategies

The Turn - Where The "Truth" Is Normally Told In No Limit Holdem

2008-07-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing is 100% in poker, but there are certain “poker truths” that you need to pay attention to. When I refer to “poker truths” I’m talking about something that’s true more than it is false. That’s as close as you can get in this game.

The “poker truth” I want to discuss today is this: "When a player shows aggression on the turn, they usually have a strong hand."

What this means is, more often than not, against an average player, you’ll know where you stand on the turn.

Let’s look at couple of typical situations where your hand is disguised:

Example 1: You get a strong hand, AKs, in LP and put in a 3xBB raise. You get two callers. The flop misses you, Q93 rainbow, it’s checked around and you put in a continuation bet of ½ the pot. How does this bet look to your opponents?

Example 2: Now let’s say that the flop hit you, K93, it’s checked around and you put in a bet of ½ the pot. How does this bet look to your opponents?

The answer is; these two bets look exactly the same. It is hard for your opponents to know what they’re up against. Now take example 1 and replace the AK with another monster, 72 off. Even though you really only have 72o, to your opponents the bet looks exactly the same.

My point here is not to raise with any two cards (though you can in the right situation), but is to point out that it is on the flop that hands are most easily disguised. This is where deception can be very useful. This is where you can often “represent” a hand and get away with it.

The Turn:
The turn is where things get clearer. Fewer players are willing to continue, at the risk of losing more chips, their bluff on the turn. Therefore, more often than not, if they bet, they have a legitimate hand. So move forward cautiously when faced with a turn bet.

An even bigger risk is calling a raise on the turn. A lot of players wait until the turn to raise their monster hands, hoping to get extra chips on the flop with a slow play. If you run into a turn raise after a relatively quiet flop you should be very cautious moving forward, there’s an extremely good chance you’ll need better than top pair to win this hand.

That pattern of smooth calling a flop bet or raise and raising the turn is almost always going to be trouble. Very few players make this move without a big hand.

According to some statistics I found that were compiled from the poker-tracker stats of several on-line players (100,000+ hands). A turn raiser goes on to win the hand 63% of the time. Even more glaring than that is 71% of turn check-raisers go on to win the hand! The data also shows that turn check-raises are generally playing 2 pair or better. So think hard before calling with just top pair.

That doesn’t mean you should automatically fold your top pair to a raiser. If you’re heads up against a loose raiser or someone who regularly bets their draws, then your top pair may very well be good for a call or re-raise. But, if you’re against a tight raiser or if someone raised after multiple players have called bets, you’re top pair is not good, so dump it.

Another problem with calling raises on the turn is that you often end up calling the river. A good rule of thumb when deciding whether to call a turn bet is to include a river bet in your odds calculation. So if you need to call 2 bets into a 10 bet pot (giving you 5-1 odds) you should also add a couple bets for the river (2.5-1 odds) which suddenly makes a lot of calling situations folding situations.

Because the turn is where the “truth” is generally told, it’s a good place for you to make some advanced plays at the pot. A turn raise or check raise bluff is very powerful in the right situations, mostly heads up. Just make sure you have a good read on your opponent and don’t get carried away. These are great moves in moderation.

In my opinion, the turn is the toughest street to play in Texas Holdem. Making the right moves here is what will ultimately make you a winning player. So going forward, before quickly calling turn bets and raises, ask yourself a few questions that may help you define your opponent’s hand.

What types of hands would he have where he would smooth call the flop and raise the turn? Two pair? A set? Does the board complete a draw?

What types of hands would he need to bet the flop and continue on the turn? Top pair? A big draw? Overs?

First and foremost you should trust your reads and knowledge of your opponents, but when that’s not enough, trust the turn.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/playing-the-turn-where-the-truth-is-normally-told.htm

Online Poker can be profitable, but be sure to choose the right table!

2008-07-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

1. PLAYERS & POT SIZES...

As a general rule, 6-8 players with a fairly large average pot size.

With most online poker sites you can see the average pot size and how many players are seeing the flop. Large pots are better as this generally means more loose players, playing no limit I'm looking to win big hands when I've got the nuts, not to grind down opponents by blind stealing and small pot stealing. I avoid most really tight games, rocks are boring and unprofitable typically. No limit is about getting paid off when you hit your monster, not stealing blinds all day.

A good table for me is one that is loose, but that is also not overly aggressive. I'm looking for a lot of players limping or calling small raises pre-flop.

2. The average number of players seeing the flop...

If you can see the average # of players seeing the flop, this is a hugely vital stat to use. Lower limits you can easily find something around 35-40%, which is pretty darn loose. Find this stat and then get one with a higher than average pot.

Sites like Bodog and Sportsbook.com will show you how many players are seeing the flop on average. I look for games with high averages seeing the flop, anything over 40% is usually good and very easy to find online.

The majority of times this makes for a good table as a tight aggressive player will play between 20% and 35% of any given hands on average, and in my opinion 35% is loooooose.

3. Watch the Button go around the table at least once - and pay attention!

Now that you've found a table with numbers that look pretty good its time to actually take a quick overhead view of the table and see what happens. Open up the table but do not sit down, or if you want you can sit down but not take your cards yet. If you are playing at Poker Stars, here is a screen shot of the table.

Take an open seat and pay attention! Watch the button go all the way around the table and take an initial assement of the table. Here are the things to look for:

A. Players limping and then calling a late position raise with weak holdings (hands like KQo, KJo, KTo, and other dominated hands like QJ (this is a good sign)

B. Look around the table at the current stack sizes - normally avoid tables where more than 3 players have 3 to 4 times the maximum buy in amount. These players can easily push me out of pots or have me committed early. They also might be solid players. (bad sign)

C. Take notice of the cards people are showing down. Look for weak holdings outside of the blinds offsuit small one gappers, Ace rag unsuited, and the plethora of other bad cards people play with. (more junk the better)

D. Take notice of who raises and who calls raises - are premium hands raised huge or limped with and are other players calling raises with weak holdings (good)

E. Any Maniacs at the table? - is there a crazy bettor or people who seem to be out to hit miracle cards by calling big bets? (good depending on seat) If you can get position on them (acting afterwards) you can get paid off when you hit a monster against them. The only problem is that you almost have to hit your hand to beat this player so you need to also feel confident that they will also pay you off when you do.

F. Who are the two worst players at the table? (can't tell? BAD) Pick out two players that are playing weak and have made mistakes. See who is playing really loose, who is playing really tight.

G. Look for players making small raises (1-2x the BB) with premium hands or even slow playing. (good, probably inexperienced players)

4. YOU MUST HAVE A GOOD SEAT RELATIVE TO THE REST OF THE TABLE...

A. This means sitting directly to the left of the Maniacs and the other Big Stacks so you always act after them. If you have a big hand you have the option to disguise it by letting them bet it for you. If you have a weak hand you can let it go fairly easily.

B. Give up position to short stacks/tight players - no problem letting the act after you if they are only going to play strong hands or not get involved often.

If you find the right combination of table factors and good relative seat then snag it! Since you've been watching the action already you can post as soon as you sit down if you want. This helps portray a loose image. If the big blind is 4 seats or less away from me I'll wait and post as soon as I sit down, although I sometimes post right away to make people think I'm loose.

5. IF THE TABLE TURNS COLD, GET UP AND MOVE...

Nothing is worse than staying at a bad table. Many times you'll find yourself sitting at a table with a bunch of tight and aggressive players. Unless you are wanting to work on your game, get up and move and go make money. Don't think that you've got something to prove.

6. TAKE NOTES...

I logged on to Party Poker yesterday to play a tourney with some friends and there were over 70,000 players playing right then. You'll probably never see a player again but if you find anyone who is horrible, take a note and especially when you find the good players, make a note. It could save you your stack later.

I recommend reading through Full Tilt Poker Download Guide for a step by step tutorial on setting a your online poker account. This is a great resource for new players.

Thanks and we'll see you at the tables!

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/no-limit-holdem-table-selection-tips.htm

AK - The Misplayed Monster

2008-07-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ace King – How To Play The Misplayed Monster

Tell me if this sounds familiar; “I can’t win with AK”, “I had big slick, I can’t believe you beat me with that!”, etc., etc. etc.

AK is a very strong hand, however it can and does get beginners in trouble. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that AK is the most misplayed hand in No-Limit Poker.

The Strength of AK
AK is a monster hand. According to Poker Room’s Expected Value (EV) calculator AK suited is the 5th strongest hand (behind AA, KK, QQ & JJ), and AK off-suit is the 7th strongest (behind TT).

There is absolutely no doubt that AK is a positive EV hand. That’s pretty much in line with what all the Poker books teach as well.

The strength of this hand is that when it hits, more often than not, you’re going to have the best hand. Of course there will be the suck outs even when it does hit, but that’s the nature of the game. Most of the time when you pair you’re Ace or King, you’ll go on to win the hand. The other thing that makes this hand strong is that when it doesn’t hit, it’s easy to get away from, or should be. I’ll touch on this more in a minute.

The Weakness of AK
AK is very pretty to look at, but it is still a drawing hand. If you don’t hit an Ace or King, you’ve just got Ace high. Unfortunately many new (and not so new) players get sucked in by its beauty and just can’t seem to let it go, even when it doesn’t hit. How many times have you seen a player call to the river and turn over and AK that didn’t hit?

Another weakness is that you’re mostly playing for top pair top kicker (TPTK). You can only make one straight and most of the time your flush draw won’t hit. Because of this, it’s not a hand that plays well against multiple players.

Pre-Flop
We’ve established the obvious, that AK is a big hand. We’ve also established that it’s lack of draws make it weaker against multiple players (but still strong enough to play). So this tells us that we need to raise with AK.

Until the game is heads up at the final table, see very few situations where limping with AK is justified. I understand the whole “mix up your game” theory, but save it for another hand. AK NEEDS to be raised or re-raised pre-flop.

With AK you will miss the flop 66% of the time (against 3 limpers), but on those hands where you hit, you want to be isolated as much as possible and you want the pot as big as possible. Let’s do the math.

I’m assuming equal bets to keep the math simple. If you limp with AK vs. three limpers you will win 4 Bets 33% of the time (ignoring post-flop). It costs you one bet each time, for a net 1 bet per 3 hands or 0.33 bets per hand.

By raising, 33% of the time you win 8 bets, costing you 2 bets each for a net of +2 bets per 3 hands or 0.66sb per hand. So, by not raising in this situation your EV per hand goes down by 0.33 bets.

This is obviously very simplistic and it doesn’t take into account the additional EV you get by folding your opponents, but it still illustrates the point. This is not a hand to limp with.

How to Play AK When It Hits
This is the easy part. BET IT! How much you bet is dependent on the texture of the flop of course. If there are draws that can hurt you, bet more. If there aren’t any obvious draws, bet what you need to and maximize your winnings. Easy, right?

How to Play AK When it Misses
I spent some time on pre-flop play, but frankly most of the problems players have with AK are not related to pre-flop play. They have a problem because when they miss the flop, they play it like they have a real hand instead of just Ace high. This is where players get into trouble.

So how should you play your AK if it misses? Well, it depends. (That’s the answer for most poker questions, isn’t it?) It depends on your position, number and type of opponents, and the exact texture of the flop, among other things. This is a fairly complex topic and there are no exact approaches, but there are some general rules that will save you some chips.

Please commit this to memory: Just because you raised pre-flop does not mean you are obligated to bet the flop.

A continuation bet (a flop bet following a pre-flop raise) is very powerful and should be used, but the situation has to be right. One thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to bet into a large field from early position.

With several players to act after you, generally the best approach is to check and either fold to a big bet or call a small bet if you have the odds to draw to your over cards and the texture of the flop is favorable. Mostly you’ll want to fold.

There are situations where you’ll want to bet. You want to bet your unimproved AK on the flop if any 2 of these conditions exist (#1 being the most important)

.1. You are up against 2 or less opponents (that are not calling stations!).

2. You are in late position and it is checked to you

3. The board is rainbow and uncoordinated

4. You have additional draws to go with your over cards

I’m sure there are other times when it would be smart to bet, but these are the general rules I follow (try to follow).

Don't get married to over cards. If they don’t hit on the flop, chances are, even if you hit, you’re going to be second best. Trying to push through several opponents with only over cards is a good way to lose a lot of chips. Remember, AK is profitable, in part, because it is easy to fold.

-jtd

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/AK-the-misplayed-monster-how-to-play-big-slick.htm

5 Tips To Use When Playing Low-Limit Poker

2008-07-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

1. Find a way to make yourself really pay attention:

A strategy I used recently at a $1/$2 limit game was to convince myself that the bets were really $100/$200 and force myself to try and make optimal plays.

Notice i didn't say play it like everyone else was really playing like they would at $100/$200, but just pretend that each bet was worth that amount to me. IE, I'm playing very close attention to everything I can to try and make the absolute best decisions possible.

I remembered that the other players weren't thinking like that but just pretended they weren't very good (or that they weren't paying much attention).

It worked well and i nearly doubled my buyin. Another key factor was the table conditions (had a total sucker at the table and one other overly aggressive/stubborn guy when he got involved (couldn't lay it down).

2. Manage your Low Limit Table Bankroll

In a 1/2 limit game you can sit down with $50 although I like to sit with $100 (table reputation) and set my must leave level at the moment my roll gets to $50 or below.

If I lose down to $75 I make myself take an honest evalutation of the table and unless i've just gotten exceptionally unlucky. Find a new table or switch up to a small Sit-N-Go I play the $5 or $10 SNG's. Also take advantage of the free roll tournaments. Nearly all the sites offer them.

3. Use Sit-N-Go's to get your No-Limit Fix.
If you are itching to play no limit poker, and who isn't... play in sit-n-go's instead of the lower stakes NL cash tables. Sit N Go's are there to get that no limit enjoyment and your loss is limited to whatever the buyin was. Poker Stars has plenty of $1 buyin sit-n-go's that you can play in all day long. If you really have to play a low limit limit cash game, check out how to win at low stakes no limit cash game I get to play no-limit and can normally cash in around 6-7 of these for every 10 I play.

In low stakes sit-n-go's, people play so stupid early - they play way too loose and they love top pair and really love two pair. You can just fold all but premiums for the first two levels and just slightly loosen up in position at levels 3 and 4 (while being selectively aggressive) and then steal in position from the next few levels and you're in the money - often.

4. Maintain Discipline - find a new table if there are not there are not obvious fish handing out their cash.
The next day I played a bit more 1/2 limit and lost down to $75 (even after winning my first couple of hands) I got up and left as there were 2 solid players there and no real fish. Low limit takes discipline. I thought I could grind out a profit, but why bother... there are plenty of tables to choose from that will be much easier.

5. Short Handed - more action.
If the action seems to slow for you at the 10 person tables then sit at 6 handed... its got a lot of action.. and even at the .25/50c tables you can cut your teeth and grow your roll. You'll need to loosen up some, but just continue to play disciplined, aggressive poker.

To practice your low limit strategies, play online poker.

Thanks and we'll see you at the tables!

KAP

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/5-tips-to-use-when-playing-low-limit-poker.htm

5 Tips To Use When Playing Heads Up Poker

2008-06-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Here are my 5 tips you can use to improve your 'Heads Up' poker play

1. You don’t have to play every hand. It’s ok to fold your small blind if you have a lousy hand. Most players heads up play every hand. IMO, this is a mistake. You can’t wait for the best of the best, but you don’t have to play 63o either.

Don’t worry about the chips you’re losing here. Folding the small bind makes the other player think you’re only playing good hands so you’ll be able to raise him off of his BB enough to make up for it.

2. Don’t limp from the small blind, at least not very often. For the most part, you should either fold it or raise it. Save your limping for the BB. You don’t have position, so you need to win most of these hands pre-flop. The BB will probably raise you anyway. You need to be the one leading the betting.

The exception is if you get a monster like KK or AA.

3. Slow play the monster hand. If you get a big pocket pair, let the other overly aggressive player do the betting for you. This is player dependant, but if you’re against a player like I was playing last night, who kept using the all-in bluff, why not let him lead the way.

4. Mix up your play, a lot. I like to play a few hands in a row where I raise every hand and follow that by several folded small blinds. Switch up your raises from the minimum raise to a big half your stack raise. Keep the other player confused.

A confused player tends to be a passive player.

5. Don’t forget what got you there! If you’re a tight aggressive player and that’s what got you to the final two, then keep being tight aggressive. Don’t suddenly become loose aggressive. You’ll be out of your element.

Obviously your play has to loosen up when you get to this point, but you don’t have to be an “any two cards” type. It’s still ok to fold middle or bottom pair to an all-in bet.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/5-tips-to-use-when-playing-heads-up-poker.htm

5 Tips for Small Stakes No-Limit Texas Holdem Cash Game

2008-06-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

Tip #1

You make your money when you hit a big hand and get paid off.

This is important - You're not going to win a lot of money by stealing the blinds. At the $25 max buyin games the small blind is .10 and the big blind is .25. Why steal 35 cents?

For the most part it is a waste of time to try to steal it, other than mixing up your game some but no one notices at low limits anyway really.

It's ok to fold from late position if you have garbage. Why raise a $1.50 to steal $ .35 when you are holding Eight Three offsuit? Just muck it.

Don’t try and make your money winning lots of small blinds… you want to get called when you have a strong hand and steal the medium sized pots when you see an opportunity to bluff (more on that below).

Tip #2.

Pick a table that will let you limp cheaply - play flops for big hands.

What you want is a table that is first loose and second mostly passive.

You want to see most of the players limping in with any two cards and especially if they are calling raises out of position with dominated hands like KJ, KQ, AJ, AT... Avoid tables that have 3 or more pre-flop raisers unless there is a compelling reason to play there. Here is a more detailed article on No Limit Holdem Table Selection. Sites with good low limit traffic are Bodog Poker and Poker Stars

You want to see flops cheaply with YOUR drawing hands and make the others PAY with theirs (by raising/playing aggressive with your strong cards). If the table is also loose (which most are) I like playing most pairs if I can get in cheaply. If it is more common for the pot not to be raised pre-flop you can limp in with all small pairs and suited connectors down to around 78.

If there has been much raising at your table then I'd muck the smaller suited connectors unless it is a loose table and then it is fine to make a loose call in position. If raising is fairly common at your table then get up and find a different table unless there is an overly compelling reason to stay. At most major sites there is plenty of table selection at the low stakes no limit tables.

One thing I have noticed is that in general you want to find a table that doesn't have quite the highest average pot, but just a couple of notches below average. On the $25 buyin tables the larger pots are around $13 dollars, so I look for a table with between $8 and $10.

Don't bother with the tables with very low average pots, these normally indicate a table full of rocks that won't give you the action you want when you hit your hand.

Tip #3.

Bluff when you miss completely and you see no aggression, not when you have draws.

Don't be inclined to bluff if you have a draw to a strong hand if the pot is relatively small. If the pot is larger and worth taking down right now then a semi-bluff could be correct, but in the small pots it is ok to let them stay small if you are drawing.

Playing no limit, you can build a pot all at once. If you're drawing to a straight and can take a free card, be inclined to take it. I know this seems contrary to the idea of the semi-bluff, but this is low limit, no limit.

Someone might be slowplaying top two pair and they want to check raise you. Plus, they will pay you off with all sorts of garbage hands. So instead of betting out on a semi bluff and either getting called, raised or winning a small pot… consider checking and seeing if you hit your hand.

If you hit your hand and your opponent was planning on check raising you’re going to now get paid off… and get paid off much more than you would with one hand than you would if you took down a number of these small pots by successfully semi bluffing. Only if the pot is somewhat large and you have a very strong draw, and you think your opponent will fold to a hefty raise should you put out the semi-bluff, and if you do, make it stick.

For example, in a small stakes game if it is checked to you’ve got an open ended straight draw. You can check and take a free card or you can make a semi-bluff. You decide to semi-bluff with a pot sized bet of $1.75. What are you going to do when you get re-raised to $7.75? You've got a draw that if hits will most likely win, but you've got to call that is too expensive based on the odds of you hitting it.

If you would have checked, you would have saved the $4 flop bet and pretty much regardless what comes on the turn you are going to be bet into by the player who was hoping to check raise. If you hit do hit your straight, BINGO $$. A player who was planning on check raising but doesn’t get the chance (because you and everyone else checks behind him) will bet out on the turn nearly every time.

You're probably going to get paid off for a decent sum of money because people who wanted to check raise on the flop are simply unprepared to lay down to a raise on the turn and they will most likely call the river unless the board is just super scary. On the other hand, if you miss your draw and are bet out into on the turn you can lay your hand down and it costs you very little of your stack.

So instead of putting yourself into a sticky situation with a difficult decision on calling/folding, don't bet here. Instead take your free card and be willing to give up the small pot.

On the other hand - if you totally miss the flop and don't see much aggression, go ahead and make a bluff at the pot. Now if you get check-raised you can lay your hand down without much deliberation.

Tip #4.

Tighten up when it comes to calling a raise.

Avoid playing attractive looking, but dangerous hands like KJ, QT, ATo.

If the pot is raised by a typical player they will be raising with AK, AQ, and many pairs. Fold these hands even if you are a blind. Sure it might only be .75 cents to call, but what are you going to do when you call a raise with Queen Jack and the flop comes Queen, Ace, Eight and your opponent bets into for the size of the pot?
This puts you in a difficult situation. - Avoid these and play TIGHT when dealing with a raise.

Tip # 5.

It's ok to limp in cheaply with drawing hands if you have the discipline to get away from the hand after the flop.

I’m not advocating ‘Any Two will Do.’ But the strong drawing hands can be played profitably if you have the discipline to get away from the hand when you are beaten.

Nut flush draws are the best example. If the table is full of loose limpers then I’m playing these hands often, and using pot sweetening bets when I have position. Even if you have to call a modest sized raise from someone, it is ok as long as they have a relatively large chip stack. (if you hit your hand you want to take their stack). Having numerous opponents with drawing hands isn't as important in No Limit as in Limit, since you can win a huge pot against just 1 other player playing No Limit as compared to only being able to take a set amount form , but drawing hands always love company.

If you miss this flop and it doesn't look very coordinated with a lot of connectors or scary, this can be a decent time to bluff. Stick in a 3/4 pot sized bet, even from early position if you only have two players to act behind you. Steal these pots unless you see resistance.

Don't call a raise and be leary of anyone who calls your flop bet. If the turn is another blank then you can fire another shot, but be sure you bet a healthy size (1/2 the pot at least) and try and make sure you're not walking into a huge trap. Most players don't have the imagination to stick in a raise on the flop (or especially the turn) without a hand. Sets can easily be hidden so tread cautiously if you get called on the flop. Checking and folding is ok, you can't successfully bluff every time.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/5-tips-for-small-stakes-no-limit-texas-holdem-cash-game.htm

Levels of Poker Play

2008-06-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here are Four Levels Of Poker Play

Level 1: This player plays too many hands pre-flop (any two suited any Ace any king, etc.). They don’t raise much pre-flop and when they do it’s usually not the right amount. They go to the river with any piece of the pot (low pair, inside straight draw, Ace high). They pay no attention to position, betting patterns, previous hands, etc. They will never fold a pocket pair, even if there are 3 overs on the board. They bluff too much and go all-in too much.

Level 2: This player has figured out a few things, like tight pre-flop play keeps you in the game longer. This player has tightened up pre-flop, but has over compensated by becoming two passive. They no longer play Kx or any two suited, but they still can’t fold hands like KJ or AT or Axs or suited connectors. They can’t get away from top pair. They have a little understanding of odds and outs, but don’t apply it to their game. They don’t raise enough pre-flop. They don’t bluff enough. They’re easy to fold with a big bet. They rarely, if ever, re-raise or check raise. Basically this is tight, predictable poker.

Level 3: This is where the player starts to really understand the complexities of the game. They realize that you have to have a better hand to call a raise than you do to open raise. They have a decent understanding of the odds and can apply them (I have 12 outs, there’s 1,000 in the pot I can call around a 300 bet without making a mistake). They play their position and they bet aggressively pre-flop. They’ll put in a continuation bet on the flop to see where they’re at even if they haven’t hit the hand. They’ll bluff and steal blinds effectively. They are starting to pay attention to betting patterns during a hand and are able to put players on a range of hands. They can categorize players as tight, aggressive, loose, passive, etc.

Level 4: This player can read other players based on past betting patterns and has a mental note of the hands different players have shown down. They use “moves” like check raises, re-raises, slow plays, etc. effectively and often. They truly play the player and will bet aggressively regardless of their cards if they have a read on a player. They have the math down and can calculate odds and probabilities immediately. They win a lot of hands without having to go to showdown.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/4-levels-of-poker-play.htm

Two Important Poker Rules

2008-06-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Rule #1: Apply pressure.

Your bets MUST apply pressure to those acting after you. This is the first thing I tell struggling / timid players and the first thing I remind myself of when I’m running bad. You have to make sure that your bets cause the other players to have to make difficult decisions. How often do you see players opening with a minimum bet, or raising the minimum from late position? These bets don’t apply pressure, they merely build the pot.

Here’s a typical example:

Blinds are 50/100, early in a live multi-table tournament; assume everyone has 1800 in chips. You have AKo (Big Slick) in late position.

2 players call before it gets to you in the cutoff seat (one before the button). You like your hand and decide to raise. You raise to 200. While it is a fantastic idea to raise with Big Slick, you need to raise a larger amount... you need to apply pressure!

This is a very common example of a no-pressure bet that is very common by new players and bad players! If you are going to raise, you need to make a hefty sized raise to make most everyone fold!

Think about this, You have two callers who already have 100 invested plus the button, SB and BB left to act. Your raise didn’t cause anyone a second of anxiety. The button now has odds to call with many drawing hands, the BB only has to put one bet in to see the flop and there’s no way the initial limpers are going to fold for one more bet each.

What have you accomplished here? The answer is nothing good. Not only have you not isolated against a single player, which should be your goal with this hand, you have built the pot to an amount that gives the chasers a great reason to stick around!

The right move here would be to raise a minimum of 3xBB. But I think in this situation, with 2 limpers and 3 players to follow that’s amount is still probably too small. I think a bet of 4-5xBB is the better move.

This bet will apply enough pressure that you may actually win the hand right there.

But in this situation, you've bet $200 pre-flop (the minimum raise).
The SB folds and everyone else calls. The pot has 850.

The Flop comes 78K with two hearts, it’s checked to you.

You've hit Top Pair, Top Kicker which is a strong hand. You are most likely in the lead right now but there are 2 hearts on the board (you don't hold the King of Hearts, either).

You bet 200.

This was a great flop for you, but it is dangerous. There’s a possible 4 flush and 4 straight. You’ve got to bet an amount that will put pressure on the drawing hands and 200 just won’t cut it. No one is going to fold their flush draw to a 200 bet when they can win a 1000+ pot.

You need to size your bet accordingly. So, what sized bet would be good enough to put pressure on the flush draw? A bet of about ¾ of the pot should do it.

If you put 600 in the pot, the flush draw now has a big decision to make. That bet will put more than half of their stack in the pot, if they call they’re basically committing to play for the rest of their chips. (This is a very important point. Pay attention to your opponent’s chip stack. A bet that commits their stack is a pressure bet.) If they know what they’re doing, they’ll fold right there, if not you’re about a 3:2 favorite to win the hand and more than double your stack.

In this situation you bet 200 on the flop. The BB & first limper call. The pot has 1450.

The turn is a 2 of spades. You bet 400.

The turn was great for you, it didn’t help the straight or flush draws, but your bet was again too small. A flush or straight draw only has to pay 400 for a chance at 1850. The pot is giving almost 5:1 on a 4:1(approximately) draw. A ½ pot bet would have put the necessary pressure on the chaser, while 400 is an easy call.

The BB calls.

The river is a T of clubs. You check, the BB bets 500 and you call. The BB shows 96s for the straight.

This is where you glare at the BB and storm off to tell your friends how your AK got cracked by 96. But this wasn’t a matter of the BB getting lucky. He played it right on every street. You made his decisions easy by not applying pressure with your bets.

The next time you’re ready to throw your chips in the pot ask yourself this question; “Is this bet going to be easy to call?” If the answer is yes, then grab some more chips and put some pressure on your opponents

Rule #2:

Don’t swim with the sharks. This is the newest addition to my rule book and it has helped me increase my winnings over the last 6 months more than anything else.

The basic rule is this. Avoid playing heads up against players who are as good as or better than you.

Get your chips from those players that are less skilled / knowledgeable than you.

There are a number of quality players that I play against every week with whom I have never been involved in a big hand. If a typical table has 4 good players and 5 poor players, why would you bang heads with the good players? Get your chips from the ones you know you can outplay.

This is really very easy to do. If a player that you believe to be better than you raises, fold. Simple. Unless you have a premium hand (AA,KK,QQ,AK), why get involved? Just wait for an opportunity against a fishy player.

That means you’ll be folding hands you might normally play, like AJ or KQs, etc. If you do have a premium hand, then don’t just call, re-raise instead. You want to try to win the hand pre-flop so you won’t be out played post flop.

Of course, you won’t always be able to avoid confrontation with a good player, but you can definitely limit it.

As an example, I recently took a trip to Tunica with a friend of mine who is a very good player. Over two days, we played at the same table for about 16 hours. In all of that time we only played one hand heads up and that one was for small dollars. I’m sure over there were several hands over those 16 hours where we could have done battle, but why would we when there was a super fish at the table giving away enough for all of the good players to share?

There are plenty of fish to get chips from, so save the sharks for the final table. Recognize who the quality players are and adjust accordingly.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/2-poker-rules-to-live-by.htm

Quick Tips for Beginners

2008-06-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Tips for Playing Your Starting Poker Hands:
There are a lot of starting hand guides available, this isn't one of them. These tips are quick helpers to get the foundation of a solid poker game underneath you. These are the concepts behind starting hands and ideas you should be thinking about while playing no limit holdem.

1. Small Pocket Pairs.
Play small pocket pairs against many opponents and try and see the flop as cheaply as possible. You typically want to play small pocket pairs against many other opponents. Especially in a cash game or in the early stages of a tournament. Criteria for playing small pocket pairs is that you can get in cheaply, simply by calling the blinds (limping) and hoping to see a flop.

With small pockets you're looking to hit a 3rd of your kind on the flop. This is called "flopping a set." If you flop your set you are almost certain to have the best hand right then, unless it is just a really unlucky flop for you. If you flop a set, bet or raise and work to get as many chips in the pot as you can.

Small pockets pairs are hands like pocket two's up through pocket 8's or 9's. The reason you want to play this hand against many opponents is because when you hit your hand, you hope that someone else has hit a hand as well and will pay you off. The more opponents still active in the hand, the more likely that one of them has hit a hand and will pay off some of your bets.

So, if you are dealt a small pocket pair it is usually a good idea to simply limp in and hope to hit your 3 of a kind on the flop. If you miss, which you will most of the time, then it is fine to check and fold to any bet. It is almost always a bad idea to call any substantial bet on the flop hoping to hit your set on the turn, just fold and save your money.

Small Pocket Pair Quick Tip: You will flop a set roughly once out of every 7.5 times you get a pocket pair. click here for a poker odds chart.

2. Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are hands that play well against many opponents, but poorly against 1 or 2 others. Suited connectors are a bit more difficult to play than small pocket pairs... with small pockets you know pretty much exactly where you stand after the flop. You either hit your set or you didn't. Suited connectors typically do not make a monster hand on the flop, but they will often flop monster draws (draws means that you need 1 more card to complete your hand, typically with a straight or flush).

Suited connectors are hands that are of the same suit, and next to one another, such as 7c 8c, 10d, 9d, or my favorite, Js Ts.

These hands play well in multi-way confrontations, against many opponents. When these hands hit, you typically have a very strong hand, strong enough to beat most everyone else. With suited connectors you are hoping to flop a strong draw, such as an open-ended straight flush draw, a flush draw or a straight draw.

Pre-flop, these hands are weak hands, and even if you hit the top pair these are still a fairly weak and vunerable hand. Suited connectors have a lot of potential to turn into very strong hands. See flops cheaply and late in position with these cards, especially if there are already a lot of players calling the blind to see the flop. Look to flop strong draws or two pair to continue against any heavy action before you.

Look to flop straights, flushes and draws to both. Do not overvalue flopping top pair with small or medium sized suited connectors. Two pair is normally good, but that means that someone else very well may have a straight draw while you have two pair with suited connectors.

Suited Connector Quick Tip: One of the best hands to hold against pocket aces is suited connector, such as 7h8h.

3. Two Big Face Cards
Do not slow play your big face cards. If you are going to play these cards, you need to come in for a raise pre-flop. Big face cards start out very strong, pre-flop, and that means that normally you should make the others pay to stick around for the flop.

Pre-flop these hands are probably some of the strongest at the table, out ranking most of the other hands out there. For this reason, these hands you want to play against as FEW players as possible. To make sure you are playing against few players, you should RAISE pre-flop when it is your turn to act instead of just calling the blind.

A hand like AQ is a strong hand, but it doesn't play well against 3+ players on average. Ideally you will be playing this hand against 1 other opponent, and you ban bet the flop virtually regardless of what comes down.

Avoid calling raises with hands like KJ, QJ, AT, even AJ and KQo. You are often times dominated by everyones 'favorite' hand, big slick (AK). There is no shame in folding KJ pre-flop.

Big Face Card Quick Tip:

Raise pre-flop to limit the field to just one other player whenever possible.

For more poker tips, be sure and check out our listing of poker strategy articles and the absolute best way to improve your play is by finding an online poker room that has SERIOUS 'play money' poker (if you don't want to deposit)..

The best way to practice these no limit holdem tips is to download free online poker software. I recommend PokerStars or Bodog Poker for new players. You can play with free chips and practice these strategies. I do recommend that you also play for extremely small stakes to get a real feel for poker. Free money poker is played differently as poker is for anything of value, even if the value is very small.

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/no-limit-holdem-tips.htm

Texas Holdem Lesson - Five Tips!

2008-06-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

1. Big Bets mean big hands, don't call them!

Do not call large bets without a very strong hand yourself. Unless you are against truly wild players (or extremely tough players), big bets will most of the time mean big hands! You have to have a bigger hand to beat a big hand.

So, unless you have a very strong hand (or a monster draw with good odds) you need to strongly lean towards folding a hand like top pair plus good kicker on scary boards like straight or flush draws, or even most semi-coordinated boards once all 5 cards are out. Especially on the river, don't call down big bets with medium strength hands!

A big bet is considered "big" by comparing it's size in relation to the current pot size. 2/3rds to 3/4th the size of the pot are generally considered large bets.

2. Bluff "less" Especially when playing poker online!

I say less but that depends on how often you bluff now. The real tip is to make yourself have a compelling reason to make a bluff. Yes, pulling off a successful bluff is an awesome feeling... winning a big pot on a bluff is fun, but overdoing it is one of the fastest way to donk off your bankroll. Slow it down unless you're playing with a bunch of rocks (tight guys who will fold unless they have a monster hand).

Good bluffs need to be set up, well timed and 'fit' into the holdem game. Just making some random bet during some point in the hand because you want to win the pot is a loosing play. Make sure you have a reason to bluff (you sense serious weakness, or have dead on reads). Don't bluff away your money, especially online! It is easy to 'call and see' online since you are not sitting there face to face and have to 'face the music' of making a donkey call.

Plus, many good players will check top pair good kicker on the river if you have called them down with a drawing hand that has obviously missed. (ie, 4 to the flush on the turn, and a blank on the river). They check to give you the chance to bluff your busted draw and pick you off with a hand like top pair or even 2nd pair, when you would have simply folded to their river value bet.

Good bluffs depend on opponents who are paying attention and have the capability of laying down a strong but vulnerable hand. Make sure you have seen something in a player that shows you that they are paying attention and can lay a hand down. Most online players call.

So - don't bluff so much, your bankroll will thank you! (mostly considering $$ games here, tourneys are more situational even than $$ games imo)

3. In general bet larger amounts.

Bet more when you are betting for value, they'll call you. Bet more when you have a strong but vulnerable hand so you end the hand there and take down the pot now. Bet more so you make they draws pay way to much to properly draw for their outs. When you bluff, bet the amount to 'get the job done', which is normally a larger amount (unless your opponent things large amounts mean bluff and smaller value bets mean monsters....

When in doubt, bet a little bit more. If there are flush draws or straight draws on the board, trying to value bet a hand like Ac Ad on a board of Js 10ds 8h with 1/4 or 1/3 pot sized bets on the flop or turn is way to small. This is a highly coordinated board, with straigt draws, flush draws, straight flush draws etc... you name it. Your hand is probably good, but you need to find out right now. You need to stick in a bet around the 3/4th's to pot sized bet to find out where you are at. You could already be behind. Strong re-raises should be respected, as well as smooth calls depending on the turn and the action.

Bet bigger and take it down or give the drawing hand very bad pot odds for calling! 3/4ths pot size to full pot size bets get it done!

4. Frequent continuation bets are fine if you are the initial aggressor pre-flop.

If you've raised pre-flop and gotten 1 or 2 callers it is fine to often make continuation bets on the flop. Continuation bets can be made when the action is checked to you on a non-threatening board.

A continuation bet is a bet that should be between 1/2 the pot up to the size of the pot, made on the flop after raising pre-flop (not calling a raise). If you make a lot of continuation bets, you also need to bet exactly the same when you make a hand.

To be a successful continuation bettor you must also bet the same when you hit your hand. Please notice I said 'frequent' and not 'constant.' Finding exactly where and when to make these takes practice, but if conditions are not bad, start firing away.

5. Don't go broke in an unraised pot - play cautiously when you and others limp on in!

In unraised pots players can literally have any two cards and if you do not have a seriously strong hand (nut or near nut), don't play a large pot. Two pair no good - fold it to serious aggression or resistance. Don't go broke by flopping two pair in an unraised pot!

Source: http://www.kickasspoker.com/poker-strategy/articles/texas-holdem-common-sense-tips.htm

Think For Yourself

2008-06-18T23:29:00.000-07:00

A disturbing trend I've noticed in the poker community is that people seem to want to follow strict guidelines when they play poker. Many want to treat poker like blackjack, where there is an optimal strategy in every situation.

This is simply not the case. Any and all advice are just some general hints that can never take the place of proper situational judgment skills. Poker is a game of people and a game of situations. It is not a game of optimal, pre-planned strategy. All of the best poker players vary their play and make decisions on the spot. Poker players that rely on a ready-made recipe are doomed to fail because they will play very predictably, and they won't take into account many important situational factors when making decisions.

There really is no way to teach someone situational judgment skills. The only advice on this topic that I can give is to practice and pay attention to your flaws. What are some situations that could be played differently? How often do you correctly place opponents on their hands?

Something that may be helpful is online poker hand histories. Some, but not all, poker rooms will display the hands of all the losing players who called a showdown (the screen will show mucks but the hand history will show the opponents' hands). Some poker rooms that do this are Party Poker and Poker Room. When you beat someone who called you to the river, or you turned a lucky draw, request the hand history and see what your opponent had. This will help give you an idea of how often you correctly judge your opponents.

If you are going to play poker, have confidence in yourself. Think for yourself. Don't worry if your play may be violating textbook guidelines. A winning poker player's arsenal combines general poker knowledge with situational judgment skills. Losing poker players don't think for themselves or simply don't think at all.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/think-for-yourself.php

Evaluating Your Own Plays

2008-06-18T00:10:00.000-07:00

To improve at most activities, a simple trial-and-error approach works well. For example, if you are playing basketball, you can improve your shooting through practice. When you make a basket, you pay attention to what you did with that shot. When you miss, you avoid what you believe caused you to miss.

This sort of trial-and-error method does not work as well with poker. In a poker game, the right move may actually cause you to lose money in any given hand because you might get unlucky. Also, the wrong move might end up working out because you get lucky.

Your Hand

Board

In this example, there is $10 in the pot, and the bet is $8. Clearly, in this situation, you should fold. You do not have anywhere near the pot odds to call.

However, let's just say you call anyway. The turn is a miracle 9 and the river is a harmless 2. You end up holding the nuts and win a big pot. Does this make your original call a good call?

No, it was clearly a mistake. However, this mistake ended up winning you a decent-sized pot. When looking back at your decision, you should not focus on the actual results of the hand. Instead, you must realize that in the long run, this type of decision will cause you to lose money.

Your Hand

Board

In this example, there is $10 in the pot and someone goes all-in for $5. Everyone folds to you. You decide to call. The turn is a Q and the river is a K. Your opponent flips over A Q and takes down the pot.

Opponent

Board

You may be upset that you lost the hand, but you made the right decision. You are only contributing 1/4 of the pot, and you have a roughly 1/3 chance of hitting the straight. You have pot odds and should make the call.

When you evaluate your plays at the poker table, do not focus on whether the play resulted in a win for that given hand. Instead, consider if that move will be effective in the long run. In the end, the luck evens out and the players that make the best plays are the ones who end up with the most chips.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/evaluating-plays.php

Party Poker Guide

2008-06-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article outlining Party Poker and a guide to using it...

Guide to Party Poker

Party Poker is by far the largest online poker room. Games of all stakes are widely popular. Because Party Poker has such mainstream appeal, the games tend to be fairly soft at this site. Many casual players are present at Party Poker. Of course, the multitude at fish at this site means that many online sharks also make Party Poker their home.

Like at any other poker site, possessing solid poker skills is the most important component to winning. Nevertheless, here are a few tips that apply especially well at Party Poker because of its size.

First, there are plenty of tables to choose from at Party Poker, so only play at the ones where the game is loose. Why play against sharks when you can play against fish? If you see people making a lot of basic mistakes, such as calling raises preflop with K 8, join in! If everyone at your table is a tightwad, find another table!

While the size of Party Poker makes game selection a dream, it unfortunately means it is difficult to keep accurate player notes for a large percentage of players in the poker room. Over time, you may see a few familiar faces. But to quickly get a handle on a lot of players at the table, you'll need to take a few short cuts.

The best way to quickly gauge the skill level of an opponent is to pay attention to his stack size. Generally, good players buy in for a lot at a limit poker game (and generally the max in a no-limit game). Lesser skilled players generally buy in for low or moderate amounts. For limit games, this is because they want an effective way to limit how much they may potentially lose at the table. Furthermore, in a no-limit game, it is much easier to play a small stack than a large stack. So buying in for a short stack is strategically advantageous for a lesser-skilled player.

This is not to imply that anyone with a large stack is a shark and anyone with a small stack is a fish. Much of the time, this is not the case. But as far as poker stereotypes go, there is a decent amount of truth to this one.

If you are an advanced high-stakes limit player, you can further take advantage of this stereotype by "scaring" away sharks from your table. Buying in for a large stack is a "signal" to other sharks that you are a good player. Since most sharks are aware of the stack size stereotype, they tend to look for games with smaller stacks. If they see a bunch of players with big stacks, they will probably look for a different game. Again, this tip only applies to winning players who play at high-stakes, and the only advantage it gives them is to hopefully limit the number of sharks that decide to play at their table.

Also, keep an eye on the bad beat jackpot tables. These tables charge an extra rake, so many sharks avoid them. This means that much of the time, only fish play at these tables. While you have to pay extra rake to sit at these tables, it may be worth it if you find a particularly soft table.

Something else I've found particularly interesting is that the games seem to get much tougher once you go past $15-$30 at Party Poker. Obviously, the higher the stakes, the tougher the games. Most players do not even play as high as $15-$30 anyway. But for those that do, the competition seems much tougher at $20-$40 and higher than the $15-$30 games. If you are thinking about playing higher limits, think twice before advancing past $15-$30.

Another standard poker skill that is especially important at Party Poker is the ability to stay off of tilt. Party Poker's software is very fast. There are also a lot of bad players at Party Poker who will lay some pretty stiff bad beats. The combination of these two factors causes many players to tilt.

Since the software is so fast at Party Poker, even a short tilt can mean losing a lot of money quickly. This is especially the case if you are playing no-limit hold'em. It is important to stay off of tilt and capitalize if you notice your opponents are tilting.

Finally, if you are an SNG player, Party Poker is an excellent poker room due to the number of SNG's available. Try to get skilled enough so that you can play higher than the $5+$1 tables. A 20% rake is pretty high for a tournament, so it makes sense to play the $10+$1 instead of the $5+$1, provided you are a winning player at these types of tournaments.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/party-guide.php

Hold'em Edges

2008-06-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

In Game Selection and Your Best Game, we went over factors that will help you choose a poker game. Hopefully, these ideas will help you find games where you are more skilled than your opponents. But in addition to the relative skill level of you and your opponents, the types of poker games will lend themselves to certain edges.

Limit Hold'em lends itself to a smaller edge. You are limited by how much you can bet, so fish are protected against making blatantly idiotic moves like calling all-in with bottom pair when you hold top set. Think about it mathematically. The bets are a mere fraction of the pot. So most of the time people call with a solid draw, they have good odds for the draw. Suppose you are playing a $1-$2 limit game (with no rake).

You

Opponent

Flop

Three players besides you and your opponent see the flop. You bet and he calls through the river. How much did your opponent expect to lose? Excluding the expected preflop loss, your opponent did not expect to lose that much. The pot going into the flop was $5. He called $1 so the pot was $7 after the flop. He then called $2 so the pot was $9 going into the river. Let's see how much your opponent lost in terms of expected value on each of the postflop streets. His expected value is his expected win (chance of winning * pot) minus his bet.

Flop: $-.55
Turn: -$1.41
River: -$2

Total: -$3.96

While he actually lost $5 on postflop betting, he only expected to lose $3.96. So essentially, for every dollar he bet, he lost $0.79. Keep in mind this is one of the worst possible situations in fixed-limit Hold'em. Rarely is one dominated in a small pot. Most of the time when people make incorrect bets in limit hold'em, their losing edge is much smaller.

If this hand was played in a no-limit hold'em game, your opponent would have lost a lot more money. Your edge over him in terms of expected value would also have been greater. This is because your bets are a larger fraction of the pot. Assuming pot-sized bets were made beginning at the flop, this is the amount in terms of expected value that your opponent would lose:

Flop: (bet of $5):-$4.04
Turn: (bet of $15): -$12.06
River: (bet of $45): -$45

Total: -$61.10

This time, he made bets totaling $65 and expected to lose $61.10. Not only did he lose more money, he expected to lose an even higher percentage. For every dollar he bet, he expected to lose $0.94! That's a much bigger edge than the one in fixed-limit hold'em simply because the bets are a larger fraction of the pot. Please note that this example did not include implied odds. In that sense, it is an imperfect example. However, it illustrates the point that when you play no-limit, the edges can be huge under certain situations, whereas in fixed-limit they generally are not nearly as huge.

Does this mean that no-limit ring games are superior to fixed-limit ring games? Not necessarily. Because the edges can be so huge in no-limit games, most players tend to stay away from them unless they are good at playing no-limit hold'em, especially at higher stakes. Also, even poor no-limit players are wary of betting their money in situations like the one above. People will not throw their money away in situations where they expect to lose 94 cents on every dollar they bet, whereas they would lose 79 cents on the dollar in a Limit game. At no-limit hold'em, being caught as a huge underdog in a big pot is disastrous, so few people who survive to play no-limit hold'em make such critical errors. However, poor players will tend to stay at limit hold'em and continue to bleed their money away slowly.

Basically, a few big fish can greatly raise the expected value of a no-limit hold'em game. You will be able to find yourself in a few situations where your edge is huge and you can win a huge pot. It is possible to make huge, disastrous mistakes at no-limit whereas it is very hard to do so in a limit game. People tend to make more common, smaller mistakes at limit, so one cannot take too great of advantage of an opponent's huge error. Obviously a soft game is preferable, but the addition of one huge fish will alter the expected value of a No-Limit game much more than it will a limit game.

So when you think about your edge in a limit or no-limit game, realize that one's edge at a mo-limit game is much more dynamic. A player's edge at limit tends to stay in a certain general area, while a no-limit hold'em edge can vary greatly depending on the play of a few players. In the example of the K4 versus AK hand, you will more than likely win money in situations like those at limit (unless you play in a tough game). However, you may or may not win any money from your opponent in no-limit games. If you are able to extract huge bets from players with top pair and no kicker in no-limit hold'em games, then you may be able to retire from your day job a little earlier. But sometimes people will not pay you off at all,so your expected gain is contracted. Basically, the really big mistakes your opponents can make are either bigger in no-limit or they do not exist at all, and this will greatly determine your expected win or loss from a game.

Nonetheless, there is the possibility of a more general edge at low-stakes no-limit hold'em games. This is because these games attract so many poor players that the addition of one or two more poor players does not significantly alter the ecosystem of the game.

Next Article: Advanced Game Selection

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/holdem-edges.php

Advanced Drawing and Pot Odds Theory

2008-06-10T23:46:00.000-07:00

When playing poker, you will often find yourself on a draw after the flop. To decide how to play your draw, you should consider the pot odds, implied odds, reverse implied odds, and the chance of a redraw.

Pot odds are fairly simple and the pot odds calculator will help you with this. Pot odds means the odds you need to need to justify a call, just based on the money in the pot and assuming you will win if you hit a draw. For example, if you have a flush draw on the flop, you have 9 outs. This means you have a 19.1% chance of hitting a flush on the turn. To justify a call just based on pot odds, you assume you will win if you hit the flush, but will lose otherwise. Therefore, amount you call must be lower than 19.1% of the pot to justify a call.

Think of pot odds in this manner: Suppose you are at a raffle. The raffle is giving away $100 in cash to a lucky winner. You have a 20% chance of winning. How much would you spend to have a 20% chance to win $100? The correct answer is up to $20. Your 'expected' win is $20 (.20 * $100 = $20).

A poker pot is very similar to this raffle. However, your 'ticket' is a bet, and it also becomes part of the prize. If the pot is $100 and you must call $20, you will in fact be winning $120 if you win (the pot plus your bet). Thus, you need at least a 20 out of 120 chance to win (16.7%).

However, the problem with basing your decision solely on pot odds is that it neglects bets in future rounds. It also neglects the chance that you may already have the best hand, and it assumes that the opponent won't draw out against on you. It also does not take into account that you could be drawing dead, meaning that the hand you are trying to hit will still not beat the hand an opponent currently holds.

Implied odds are the odds that take into account future bets. For example, if you have a 19.1% chance of hitting a flush on a turn, you can theoretically afford to call up to 19.1% of the amount of money you would expect to win at the showdown. There is no way to always know exactly how much you will be able to win on future betting rounds; this is something you have to guess on your own.

Reverse implied odds and redraws involve the chance you hit your hand and lose anyway.

Your Hand

Board

You have a 19.1% chance of hitting a flush, but not necessarily that high of a chance of winning. Someone may have or hit a full house. Thus, you have to consider how much you could lose if you hit your flush, but still lose the hand. Another example is if you have a straight draw, but there are two cards of the same suit on the board. Someone else might be on a flush draw. Even if you hit a straight, you may not win because that other player might hit a flush. So just because you have a 31.5% chance of hitting a straight on the turn or the river, it does not mean you have a 31.5% chance of winning. Basically, the idea behind reverse implied odds and redraws is that you do not automatically win once you hit your draw. You must consider the chance that you will lose even if you hit your draw and must guess the amount of money you will lose on future bets if that happens.

The pot odds calculator will tell you the percentage chance of hitting a draw, and the theoretical amount you can call based on pot odds. However, don't just use the calculator to make all of your decisions. It is a helpful tool, but you should also consider implied odds and reverse implied odds. You should also factor in the chance that you may already hold the best hand, and the possibility that you face a raise from behind you.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/drawing.php

Poker Tells

2008-06-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

Tells are traditionally associated with people's physical twitches in which one gives away the strength of his or her hand. Tells exist both in the brick and mortar and the online world. Here are some common tells:

Online

• In limit, a quick call with two flush or straight cards out generally means a draw.
• In limit, a quick raise on the flop generally means top pair.
• A poor player who is thinking generally has a weaker holding and is debating a call.
• Generally if someone thinks for awhile and then raises, it is not a bluff.
• Someone who is frequently raising the pot preflop and then folds at the flop if someone bets at him is likely to be on tilt.

Live

• When a poor player puts a hand over his mouth, it generally means he has a strong hand. Generally he is concealing a smile.
• Shaking hands means the player is nervous. However, this can mean he is bluffing or that he has a very strong hand.
• A player reaching for a drink also is a sign of being nervous.
• When a poor player 'stares you down,' generally it means he is bluffing.
• When the flop comes and a player quickly looks at his chips, he is likely to have a strong hand.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/tells.php

Utilizing Promotions- Part 3

2008-06-02T10:15:00.001-07:00

Bad Beat Jackpots
A bad beat jackpot awards a prize when one player with a spectacular hand beats another player with an almost equally amazing hand. For example, frequently the requirement for a bad beat jackpot is a four of a kind or better defeating a hand of four of a kind or better. Most of the time, the poker room requires that both hole cards are used to form the final poker hands in order for players to be awarded a bad beat jackpot.

Sometimes a poker room requires no extra rake to fund the bad beat jackpot. For example, the bad beat jackpot promotion is available at all limit tables of $1-$2 or higher at Caribbean Sun Poker. They do not charge any extra rake to be eligible for the bad beat jackpot. Because of this, the bad beat jackpot is of a modest size.

On the other hand, Party Poker has special bad beat jackpot tables, where they charge a rake of $.50 to fund the jackpot. This allows the jackpot to grow much faster. In fact, they set a record for the largest jackpot awarded in the history of poker when the bad beat jackpot reached over $700,000.

Many players avoid the Party Poker bad beat jackpot tables because of the extra rake. However, this aversion will sometimes actually make these jackpot tables a good deal. Generally, sharks and professional players are more sensitive about paying extra rake than fish. Thus, the extra rake generally scares off these players but attracts the fish, who are just hoping to hit the big jackpot. Of course, this does not mean that these tables are always softer than the regular tables, but they may be worth checking out because of this.

Furthermore, the EV lost to this extra rake is quite low. Of the $.50 extra rake, Party Poker only keeps $.05 for itself; the rest goes to funding the jackpot in some way. So the amount of rake one is paying in EV terms is only an extra $.05 per hand won. Thus, while it is highly doubtful that anyone playing at these tables will ever win or receive any money due to the jackpot, the extra $.50 rake should not be viewed as an extra $.50 lost to rake but rather only an extra $.05 lost to rake.

Sit-and-Go Tournament Jackpots
At Noble Poker, there are special promotions surrounding some of their sit-and-go tournaments. For example, their "Million Dollar Challenge" tournaments awards $1 million to anyone who wins six consecutive $10+$2 Million Dollar Challenge sit-and-go tournaments in a row.

For these tournaments, players will win the standard prizes in any one sit-and-go but will win a jackpot if they win a certain amount of tournaments consecutively. What's the catch? Basically, the poker room charges a slightly extra tournament fee. Instead of $10+$1, this tournament is $10+$2. That extra dollar essentially goes to funding the jackpot.

This doesn't necessarily make the promotion undesirable. As stated in this news article, the promotion results in an overlay for skilled players, while average and lesser-skilled players end up paying more in tournament fees.

Furthermore, a jackpot promotion like this may result in poorer play from one's opponents. Players may be prone to throwing their chips around too easily in the hopes of quickly winning the tournament. This allows a smart player to more easily sneak into second or third place.

http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/utilizing-promotions.php

Utilizing Promotions- Part 2

2008-05-31T01:11:00.000-07:00

Guaranteed Prize Pool Tournaments

A common technique a poker room will employ to promote its tournaments is to guarantee the size of the prize pool. This means that the poker room will ensure that the prize pool is at least the size of the guarantee by adding money to the prize pool if not enough players enter the tournament.

For example, suppose a poker room hosts a $200+$15 tournament with a $250k guaranteed prize pool. If 3,000 players enter this tournament, the guarantee does not matter. The prize pool would be $600k, which is well above the guarantee. The poker room does not need to add any money to the prize pool. In fact, it makes a sizeable profit off of the entrance fees.

However, suppose only 800 players enter the tournament. In this case, the prize pool would normally be only $160k. Since the poker room guaranteed the prize pool would be at least $250k, they would need to add $90k to the prize pool. This is a great boon for the players in this tournament because all the prizes are about 56% higher than they normally would be.

Most of the time, guaranteed prize pool tournaments attract enough players so that the poker room does not have to add any money to the prize pool. Every now and then, some of the online rooms set the guarantee so high that they do have to add money to the prize pool. In the past, this has been the case with Empire Poker.

Satellites to Major Tournaments

Poker rooms frequently host satellites that award seats in large, land-based poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker. In fact, the winners of the 2003 and 2004 WSOP's won their seat in the event through an online satellite.

Basically, these satellites are just tournaments where the prizes are seats in a land-based tournament event. Most of the time, they are not anything special. Just instead of receiving cash, a player receives a seat to another tournament.

The only times a satellite is special is when a poker room guarantees a set number of seats or the poker room awards extra money or prizes to the players that win.

For example, suppose a poker room is running a $100+$10 tournament that gives away seats worth $12,000 ($10k for the tournament plus $2k for expenses). They give away one package for every 120 players in the tournament. This would be an example of a satellite that is not anything special. All of the money in the packages awarded comes straight from the player buy-ins; the poker room is not adding any money itself. There is nothing different from this tournament than a regular tournament except the prize is a set package instead of cash.

Now, suppose a poker room ran a $150+$15 tournament where they guaranteed 6 packages worth $12,000 each. One in eighty players will receive a package. Additionally, the poker room will pay for peoples' hotel rooms where the land based poker event takes place. This is an example of a very nice satellite promotion. If less than 480 players enter the tournament, the poker room will have to add money to the prize pool, so the tournament will have an overlay. Furthermore, even if there is no overlay, the poker room is paying for people's hotel rooms, so they are adding an extra prize to the tournament. This satellite is much better than the previously mentioned satellite.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/utilizing-promotions.php (abbreviated)

Poker Tips- When to Quit for the Day

2008-05-31T00:41:00.000-07:00

Quitting For the Day

Even if you are the best poker player in the world, you will have some losing days. Knowing when to just call it quits for the session will do you a world of good for your bankroll. If you play limit poker, it is wise to quit if you have a swing of 40 big bets or more either way. Forty big bets at limit is a lot (especially longhand), so having swings more than this may drive you insane. The only reason to break the 40-big-bet rule is if the game you are in is really good.

Fundamentally though, you should quit because you are tilting, you have played a lot already and risk being tired, or you just have other things to do.

Here are some signs that you may be tilting:

1. You always think your opponents are bluffing.
2. You really want to break even for the day.
3. You want to get back into the action as soon as possible.

Here are some signs that you may have just played too much poker:

1. You are falling asleep at the table.
2. You have played more than ten hours for the day. (Never play more than ten hours at any one time. It is better to play many short or medium sessions than a few long ones.)
3. You find it harder to pay attention to your opponents.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/quitting.php

Utilizing Promotions

2008-05-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

We decided to outline a few of the poker promotions that often go overlooked by beginning poker players. Although some promotions are indeed too good to be true, if you go in with your eyes open it can be a great way to get more for your poker dollar. Lets start with deposit bonuses and freerolls.

Utilizing Promotions

Poker rooms often have promotions to increase traffic to their poker room. The most common type is a cash bonus, but there are other promotions poker rooms offer as well. It is sometimes difficult to discern the quality of the promotion, and many are just gimmicks that entice players to pay extra rake. This article will go over the common types of promotions, and how to evaluate and utilize these promotions.

Deposit Bonuses
Almost all online poker rooms offer deposit bonuses to their players. There are two types of deposit bonuses: signup bonuses and reload bonuses.

A signup bonus is a bonus for a new player at the poker room that makes his or her first deposit. The poker room's goal with the signup bonus is to entice new customers to try out their poker room.A reload bonus is intended for existing players at the poker room.

The poker room's aim is to keep its existing players loyal, or to encourage its dormant players to come back to the poker room. Certain poker sites, such as Party Poker, have reload bonuses monthly, whereas other poker rooms have deposit bonuses intermittently, such as Poker Room.

The quality of a bonus is judged primarily by three factors. The first is the maximum amount of the bonus. Obviously, the more money you can get the better. The second factor is how much money you need to deposit to get the bonus. For example, if you can only deposit $100, a 100% up to $100 is preferable to a 25% up to $100 bonus. In this case, you are able to max out the first bonus, but you are only able to receive $25 from the second bonus.

The third factor is how quickly the bonus clears. Even if you are awarded a $1,000 bonus, the bonus is useless if it takes 1 million hands to clear that bonus. The quicker and easier that you can work off your bonus, the sooner you will receive your extra money. Our bonus reviews give approximations as to how quickly one can expect to clear the varying signup bonuses at several online poker rooms.

Freerolls
A very common promotional method is the freeroll. For this type of tournament, there is no buy-in or entry fee. The poker room simply puts up a certain amount of money, and the invited players compete for it.

The quality of the freeroll is judged by how much of an overlay there is. Essentially, this means how much money the poker room is putting up per player. For example, if there is a $5,000 freeroll and 500 players enter, the overlay is $10. Assuming a player is of average skill, the EV of this freeroll is +$10.

Some freerolls are not truly "free"; poker rooms often limit freerolls to their more active players that play a lot of raked hands at the poker room. If someone was going to play this amount of poker at that poker room anyway, then this is not a big deal.

However, qualifying for this type of freeroll might mean playing at this poker room instead of at a different poker room. For example, you may choose to play a lot at a certain poker room in order to qualify for a freeroll but at the cost of not having the time to work off a bonus at another site. In this case, one would have to take into account the quality of the freeroll compared to the quality of the other bonus when making a decision of where to play.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/utilizing-promotions.php (abbreviated)

Playing Multiple Tables- Online Poker Strategy

2008-05-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

Here is a great article about the advantages and pitfalls of playing multiple tables online. The majority of people will tell you that multiple tables increases your profit. The following article outlines why that may not necessarily be the case.

Playing Multiple Tables
One of the many advantages to playing poker on the internet is the ability to play multiple tables at once. Some sites, like Party Poker, allow you to play up to ten tables at once. Players who have proven themselves to be winners should consider playing multiple tables at once on the Internet in order to maximize their win rate (though playing an exorbitant amount such as eight tables is almost always inadvisable).

When playing two tables at once, most players' abilities will suffer. This is because you can't pay as much attention to each game. You will not be able to adopt as many player-specific strategies as you would if you were only playing one table. Thus, if you are used to making $10 an hour playing one game at once, do not automatically assume you will earn $20 an hour by playing two games at once. Chances are, you will earn less than $20 an hour. Thus, the key decision in this case is whether you think you would make between $10-$20 an hour playing two tables or less than $10 an hour.

Since playing two tables lowers your profit rate per table, you must have already established that you can beat the game consistently in order for it to be profitable to play two games at once. If you are breaking even at a limit and decide to play two games at once at that limit, you will probably begin to lose money since your profit rate will go from 0 to say -$5 an hour per table, which amounts to -$10 an hour.

Another critical factor when deciding whether or not to play multiple tables at once is the type of game you are playing. If you are playing a no-limit game, you may be highly dependent on player reads. Therefore, playing multiple tables might be a bad idea if it will significantly affect your ability to win. However, if you play fixed-limit games at low stakes, chances are your advantages are derived from basic, tactical skills. These types of skills, such as patience and discipline, will not be affected by multiple tables. Therefore, multiple tables tends to be a better option for limit players than no-limit players.

Furthermore, playing more than one game can be stressful. You will be constantly checking each game, making snap decisions every 15 seconds, etc. This may decrease the joy factor of the game, which may be more important to you than any extra money you could make by playing two games at once. After all, poker is not just about winning money; it is also about having fun.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/multiple-games.php

Intermediate Poker Player Mistakes

2008-05-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

I love this article from pokertips.org. It highlights a ton of intermediate poker player mistakes I have often found myself making through the years. Do not become a victim of these simple mistakes- realize them and overcome them!

Common Intermediate Mistakes
POKER STRATEGY
Mistake #1: Not considering opponents' hands

Poker is a game of relative strength. It does not matter how strong your hand is; it matters how strong your hand is relation to other people's holdings. Many players just concentrate on the strength of their own hand and do not factor in what other people might be holding. Breaking this thought process is of paramount importance to becoming a winning poker player. Think about your opponents' playing styles and consider what hands your opponents might be holding.

Mistake #2: Playing too many multi-table tournaments

Multi-table tournaments tend to have a greater luck factor than traditional ring games. Often, there will be over 300 players competing in a tournament that lasts around 6 hours. While there is certainly skill involved, the luck factor is enormous. Large portions of the prize pool are often dependent on a few coinflip hands.

While tournaments are certainly enjoyable, it is difficult to consistently win money. It is also harder to learn the skills necessary to succeed at poker. Since people who play in tournaments play very few hands postflop, it takes them longer to learn a lot of the finer aspects of the game.

Ring games are available for very low stakes. The players at these games are generally not that good, so it is possible to work on your skills without risking a lot of money. It is certainly fine to play tournaments as well, but I would advise against solely concentrating on tournaments for most people.

Mistake #3: Not tracking statistics

A lot of good players play a lot of poker but do not take the time to keep track of their wins and losses. Not only is this potentially necessary if you live in a country that taxes gambling winnings, it is very important for analyzing your game.

Good players generally do not perform universally well across all games and locations. People generally do much better at certain games, limits, and poker rooms. Keeping track of statistics can help you focus on games that have a higher expected value for you. You can keep track of your poker statistics for free at Check Your Bets.

Many good players end up losing a lot of money or going broke because they keep on playing in games they cannot beat. While nothing can stop some people from bankroll destruction, accurate statistics can sometimes help people smell the coffee and improve their game selection.

Mistake #4: Playing too predictably

This is more of a problem for no-limit players than limit players. Even at lower stakes, you are bound to be at the same table as a couple of decent players. These players will pick up on betting patterns if you always bet the same way. Mix up your style a bit at times to throw people off. If you play online poker and often play too predictably, switch tables often so you are frequently up against fresh opponents.

Mistake #5: Playing too many different types of games

There's an old saying: "jack of all trades, master of none." This is an accurate description for many intermediate players who constantly switch between No-Limit Hold'em ring games, Limit Hold'em ring games, tournaments, Omaha Hi-Lo, etc.

Intermediate players should begin to focus on excelling at one game before they start frequently playing many different types of games. While it is a good idea to give different games a try, this should mainly be done just to figure out what sort of game one tends to perform the best at. Once you have identified your best or favorite game, concentrate on improving at that one poker game.

Mistake #6: Moving up limits to escape bad beats

This is one of the most common mistakes in poker. People get fed up with the bad beats entailed with playing lower limits, so they play higher limits, thinking it will somehow help them win.

Lower-stakes poker involves a lot of variance because people will play just about everything. However, with this variance comes higher expected value because your opponents make a lot of mistakes. Provided you can take advantage of their mistakes through skilled play, the common bad play at lower limits is to your advantage. For more tips about how to handle loose games, check out some of the other strategy articles on this site such as Dynamic Hand Value.

If you are losing because of bad luck, then that should even itself out with time. No person is "luckier" than another person in the long run; it all evens out.

If you are unable to defeat the lower-stakes players over time, then it is highly doubtful you will beat the higher-stakes players. You make money at poker because other people make mistakes. If players are making less mistakes, then you will make less money. You want people calling your raises with Q 5; it's as simple as that. Sure, they may win sometimes, but you come out much more ahead against people calling you with Q 5 than with K K. It may make you upset that they will win sometimes, but that's poker.

Mistake #7: Making bad folds postflop in limit hold'em

A lot of intermediate players play well preflop. However, their postflop play is horrid, especially in low-limit hold'em games. This often is not because they call down too much; rather, it is because they fold too much! Many players over-correct themselves and constantly fold postflop unless they have a very strong draw or a very strong hand. They think they are playing smart tight-aggressive play. In reality, they neglect to remember the odds they are getting.

For example, suppose you hold K 8 in the big blind. Someone raises in middle position, 4 players call, and you call. The flop is K 10 2. The small blind bets out.

Some players would fold here, which is a horrible mistake. While your kicker is not the greatest, you are getting great odds for your money. Not only do you have top pair, yu might end up hitting trips or a two-pair. Sure, there is a good chance someone else will win the pot, but there is so much money in the pot that you should go ahead and call at least one bet.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/intermediate-mistakes.php

Phil Hellmuth to Appear on Milwaukee's Best Light Cans

2008-05-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

We thought you had enough pointers to think about for now, so we took a detour to a story we found on cardplayer.com.

Phil Hellmuth to Appear on Milwaukee's Best Light Cans

Limited-Edition Cans Will Run During the World Series of Poker, Advertising Special Prize Giveaways

It is hard to discuss the World Series of Poker without mentioning Phil Hellmuth. Not only does he have the most bracelets at 11, but he also holds the record for most cashes at 64. Further cementing his legacy at the WSOP is the release of special limited-edition Milwakee’s Best Light cans, donning “The Poker Brat’s” likeness, along with a couple of his famous quotes.

The official beer of the WSOP will launch the new design on May 28, the day of the first 2008 WSOP event. Each can will have an official entry code inside specially marked packages of Milwaukee’s Best Light, Milwaukee’s Best, and Milwaukee’s Best Ice. By entering the code at

http://www.milbest.com/, participants can win poker-themed prizes. There will be hundreds of winners, but only one will receive the grand prize, a trip for four to the 2009 WSOP, along with private lessons from Hellmuth. Other prizes include poker sets, Hellmuth hats, and “Poker Brat” T-shirts.

Here is sneak peek of the designs for the Hellmuth-WSOP promotions:

Promotional participants must be at least 21 years old.

Source: http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/4223/phil-hellmuth-to-appear-on-milwaukees-best-light-cans (3 Photos Omitted)

Stack Sizes and Implied Odds

2008-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

We are constantly getting questions about stack sizes. This is a terrific article from www.pokertips.org that explains stack size as well as implied odds in depth. Even if you are a beginning player you can benefit from understanding these concepts.

Stack Sizes and Implied Odds

One of the most important factors in a no-limit hold'em game is the amount of chips people have at the table. A person's stack size affects the strategy at the table in numerous ways. For example, the amount a person buys in for is often indicative of how well that person plays. Someone may buy in for a small amount because he is not very confident in his skills and does not want to risk much money.

However, the most important thing about stack sizes is how they affect implied odds. Implied odds is a fancy word for saying "how much you can expect to win in the future if you make a good hand, taking into account the chance of hitting that strong hand."Let's say you hold 6 5 preflop. Your hand is not very strong. It is also doubtful that you will hit a strong hand at the flop, like a straight or trips. However, you have a good chance of hitting a draw, such as a flush draw or a straight draw. To win a lot of money on this draw, you will probably need to call a bet on the flop and see the turn and river to get the card you need to make a strong hand. If you hit a strong hand, you will want to bet a lot when you have the strong hand.

If the stack sizes are small, you cannot expect to win much if you chase a flush or straight draw. Speculative hands like suited connectors do well when people have large stack sizes, and they perform poorly when people have small stack sizes.

To be precise, here is what I consider to be small, medium, and large stack sizes:

Small stacks -40 big blinds or fewer
Medium stacks -41 to 99 big blinds
Large stacks -100 big blinds or more

You will see different buy-ins for different types of games. For most home games, people buy in for small stacks. A home game with $0.25-$0.50 blinds will typically have $10 to $20 buy-ins (20 to 40 big blinds). These are small stacks.

Brick-and mortar games have varying stack sizes. Nowadays, it seems that most places in Vegas restrict the buy-ins to about 40 big blinds, so people tend to have short or medium stacks. However, there are B&M games that do not cap the buy-ins, and people with 200-big-blind stacks are common. The games at online poker rooms tend to restrict buy-ins to 100 big blinds, so many people have fairly large stacks.

Stack sizes do more than just increase the value of speculative hands. They also tend to make the game fancier. Bluffing becomes a more valuable tool when people have larger stacks. You can threaten a much larger amount of money in relation to the pot when people have a lot of chips.

Suppose there is $10 in the pot. Your opponent's top pair is a marginal hand. While it will beat most hands, there is a lot on the board that massacres his hand (straight, two pair, top pair with higher kicker, etc.)

Suppose you bet $10. If your opponent has a $10 stack, he will call you, because he has so much already invested in the pot.

However, suppose your opponent has $100. He will be wary of calling. If he calls, and you fire another pot-sized bet on the turn, he will have to call $40 just to see the river. If you fire another pot-sized bet on the river, he stands to lose his entire stack due to his flimsy hand.

Large stacks increase the value of bluffing, which also means that marginal hands lose value. A hand like top pair will not get paid off when the stacks are large (except by draws or bluffs), because hands like middle pair are not going to pay off a large amount of money in relation to the pot.

Large stacks mean that fewer hands go to a showdown, and the ones that do are much more likely to involve powerful hands like straights, flushes, and sets.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/nl-stack-sizes.php

Advanced No-Limit Hold'em

2008-05-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a more advanced discussion of No-limit Hold'em. This was found on pokertips.org, and offers some great insight into playing better poker.

Advanced No-Limit Hold'em
According to famous poker player and author Doyle Brunson, no-limit hold'em is the Cadillac of all poker games. The skill involved with no-limit games is tremendous, even seasoned professionals admit that they still have a lot to learn at no-limit hold'em. However, don't let this scare you; no-limit hold'em is, in my opinion, the most fun of all poker games as well. It can also be profitable, sometimes even for beginners.

After playing no-limit extensively, I've noticed that the keys to winning no-limit are one's knowledge of the game and his ability to adapt to his opponents' knowledge. You must know what your skills are at no-limit; what stages of the game you have mastered. Once you realize how good you are at no-limit, you must then apply this to how others at your table play no-limit badly.

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to divide the skills of no-limit into several stages. After mastering each of these stages, one can expect his or her profit potential at no-limit hold'em to increase.

Pot odds
You must understand what odds you are getting if you call a bet with a draw. Since you can decide the size of the bet (it's not fixed), you should know if you are getting or giving good odds to someone.

For example, calling an unraised pot preflop with 5 5 is good odds. If you hit a set, you can expect to make a lot of money (people will not expect it, so they will call with top pair). However, let's say you have a flush draw after the turn. The pot is $10 and someone bets $20 all-in, you are getting horrible odds. You have roughly a 1 in 5 shot of hitting on the river, and you would be betting $20 to win $50.

As basic as this may be, many no-limit players have not even mastered this stage! So, if you are still insecure about pot odds, don't worry. Many others are too, and often they don't even realize it.

Knowing the differences between Limit and No-Limit
Check-raising for value is far less valuable when playing a no-limit game than a limit one because you may be giving your opponent's a deadly free card. In limit poker, if you have the second-best hand, you will lose a little bit. In no-limit, you could lose your entire stack.

Aggression
Betting is generally preferable to calling in a no-limit game. When you bet, you can win if you have the better hand or if your opponent folds. If you call, you can only win if you have your opponent beaten. If you bet, you determine the bet size. You determine the pot odds. If you call, you are accepting someone else's odds.

If you bet, you force people to pay off when you have a good hand. If you are a caller, you have to hope someone else will willingly pay you off. The importance of aggression is why tight-passive players can win a lot more at limit than no-limit.

Quick Adjustment
Different types of games require different amounts of aggression. Shorter games require one to be looser and more aggressive. However, if your up against many loose opponents, you must tighten up and wait until you have a strong hand. Generally, the opposite of what the game is does well. If the game is very loose, tighten up. If the game is very tight, take advantage and steal pots.
You also must adjust to your opponent's quality. If you are up against weak players, simply giving them bad pot odds and taking money from them bit by bit works well. If you are against better players, you must set some traps.

Reading skills
Getting an idea of your opponent's cards is very important. This takes time and experience. However, a way to improve your reading skills is what I call the 'three question technique.' Always ask yourself these three questions when someone makes or calls a bet:

• What does my opponent have?
• What does my opponent think I have?
• What does my opponent think I think he has?

Psychology and Traps
Once you hold the whopper and your opponent also has a good hand, what's the best way to double through him? Learning to get out of and set traps is very difficult and only experience will help in this department.

Fundamentally, game psychology and traps are used to manipulate the three questions mentioned earlier. For example, if you overbet the pot with a flush draw and then check when you hold the flush, either your opponent will fall for the trap, thinking you had top pair, or he will recognize the trap and check-fold to you on river. This slowplay is used to manipulate the variable: what does he think I have?

Generally, this sort of game psychology is only used on good players (players that have mastered the first four steps). Against weaker players, you should just build a good hand and extract money out of them bit by bit. Weaker players just play their hand; they don't think about what you have.

Source: http://www.pokertips.org/strategy/advanced-nl.php