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Jmahoney · #21 04-05-2008

(search for strategy)

For an explanation about how to find out what your M-value is go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-ratio

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We all know tournament play calls for significantly different strategies than cash game play. Which ones, though, is the question.

Here, we detail them, with a focus on situations where you have a mid-range M value of 8-15 (coined by Dan Harrington, M is the "zone" represented by the size of your chip stack in comparison to the blinds and antes).

One of the key points to keep in mind in order to improve your tournament results is that you must avoid letting your stack dwindle to the point where you have little or no fold equity.

M = <8

With an M of less than eight, you really only have one move. You simply attempt to pick the best possible spot you can, cross your fingers and move your remaining chips into the pot. You can attempt to choose your spots well, but let's be honest: the amount of skill you can bring to the situation is really limited. At this point, you're at the mercy of Lady Luck.

M = >15

With an M above 15, you're in decent shape and have time to be somewhat more selective. However, the one phase where you need to be able to adapt your play is when you find yourself below the average stack size and with an M between 8 and 15.

M = 8-15

This is the critical medium-stack area. Your tournament fortune depends on your ability to skillfully negotiate these tricky waters and return to the more comfortable zone (with an M of 15+).

There are two primary situations to focus on when you need to chip up, namely button, small blind, big blind play (B-SB-BB) and re-stealing against a single late-position raiser.

In today's article, we'll take a closer look at the first situation.

Waiting for the "Right" Hand... and Why It's the Wrong Strategy

Many players, when they become short-stacked, start looking for one good hand. They decide to wait until they get the "right" hand, and then try and double-up. If they are successful, they tighten up again and slowly begin to revert to the same position they were in before. This type of strategy can be summarized by the familiar phrase: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

The limitation of this strategy is that, in order to succeed, you require three things to occur. Specifically, you need to find a suitably strong hand in the time frame required; when you do find such a hand, you must get action (get all of your chips in); and when you get all of your chips in, you actually still need to win the showdown.

An alternative strategy and, in my opinion, one likely to be more successful in the long run, is to identify situations that may be favorable or conducive to accumulating chips and try to focus more on them.

Button-Small Blind-Big Blind Play

Obviously, one of the most common of these is B-SB-BB play. Generally speaking, most players play too cautiously (usually passively, as well) when they are in a B-SB-BB situation.

An extremely important element to successful tournament play is the ability to quickly and accurately assess the play (ability) of the players immediately around you. That is, the players to your immediate left, who'll be in the blinds when you're on the button, as well as the players to your immediate right who will be in the small blind or on the button when you are in the big blind (small blind).

If you're unable to pay attention to anyone else at the table, try to at least determine what these players are capable of and how they tend to react to various situations. They are your bread and butter. If you can dominate the action against your neighbors, you have a good chance of making it deep into the money.

The Bubble Approacheth: Raise Away

When you're involved in a B-SB-BB situation and your M is in that critical 8-15 range, it is important to be as aggressive as you can. This is even more critical as you approach the money.

Despite the fact many players know intellectually to remain aggressive (or become even more aggressive) as the bubble approaches, the simple reality is that many players become preoccupied with the potential to finish in the money and tend, as a consequence, to play significantly more cautiously.

You must be able to identify these players and when you do, be absolutely ruthless. If they are willing to regularly give away their blinds (and the chips), it's your constitutional obligation to take them.

Against many of these players, simply pushing any two cards is the correct approach. Although you may wish to fold every once in a while just so it doesn't become totally obvious to your opponent(s) what you're doing - after all, you don't want them to change their behavior.

The Limp Re-Raise: Another Useful Tool

In addition to simply raising far more often (which you should definitely be doing), another powerful technique to attempt against slightly more aggressive opponents is the limp re-raise.

If you attempt to limp re-raise and your opponent simply checks behind you, you get to see a flop. On the flop, you can still make a move at the pot (assuming you don't actually hit your hand). Remember, many opponents will be looking for a way to get away from the hand cheaply.

If you miss the flop, you still have a good chance to take down the pot and you cannot afford to leave this dead money on the table. Remember, you need to chip up if you want to win this thing.

Probe Bet on the Flop

To attempt this, make a probe bet on the flop, or if you are feeling cheeky, attempt to check-raise the flop. This will cause most players to fold everything but top pair.

Finally, you need to know who on your right is capable of trying to open light in an attempt to steal the blinds, but is also able to lay the hand down to a re-raise. Against players like this, you should be quite aggressive. If you're able to successfully re-steal against a button or small blind raise, you'll pick up between 30-40% of your stack without seeing a flop - a fantastic result for you.

Some Parting Words of Wisdom

Remember, in B-SB-BB confrontations, players will open the pot with a much wider range. Don't be afraid to move your chips into the middle. You have to be willing to commit all of your chips to the pot with hands that under more normal circumstances would be marginal at best. If you think there's a reasonable chance your opponent will fold or if you believe you're ahead of your opponent's range, be aggressive.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/tournam...drange-m-value

Jmahoney · #22 04-05-2008

In Part I, we outlined a few key tournament techniques that can significantly improve your results. In Part II we look at another - the re-steal against a late position raise.

Specifically, we'll deal with the re-steal as one of the key strategic adjustments you need to make when you find yourself in a tournament with an M (coined by Dan Harrington, M is the "zone" represented by the size of your chip stack in comparison to the blinds and antes) in the 8-15 range.

The Re-Steal

Many players tend to play too tight when facing an opening raise from late position (for simplicity's sake, let's assume any raise from the hijack, cut-off or button is considered late position).

Of course, when a player raises from under the gun, you usually need to show him a little respect. A raise from the cut-off, though, could represent a fairly wide range of hands. So whenever possible, you want to be aggressive and try to go after the money already in the middle.

Imagine you have an M of 8 and are on the button with A-8 suited. Against a typical opponent, who raises to 3x the big blind from the cut-off, you have a fairly easy decision. You should move all-in, unless you know for a fact the cut-off is very tight.

Even hands that don't have an ace may be perfectly reasonable hands to make a move with. For example K-Q or K-J, or even possibly surprising hands such as J-T or 8-7 suited. And although I prefer not to try a move with the smallest pocket pairs (22-44), all other pairs are strong enough to move in with.

If you want to dramatically improve your tournament results, you must be playing to win. You may end up eliminating yourself just before the money or just in the money far more often than you did before.

But the chances you take will lead to considerably more final table appearances, a much better chance of finishing in the top three positions, and a much better chance of earning a big payday.

Remember, to make the correct decision about whether or not to try a re-steal, you must, at minimum, consider the following factors:

* Your opponent's probable range of hands
* The probability he'll fold to your re-raise
* How your hand will perform in a showdown if he calls

In my experience, the more I can be dispassionate about the decision and separate the results from the process, the better my results become. If you can get in the habit of considering all of these factors analytically as opposed to emotionally you'll be on the road to improved results.

The Squeeze Play

The other common re-steal is the squeeze play. The squeeze play, well known to any tournament poker regular, involves trying to take advantage of a player you suspect is opening (raising) light.

It's used when a second player, who also (presumably) knows what the first player is doing, decides only to call rather than raise. This, of course, leaves both players ripe for the squeeze play.

The player executing the squeeze play simply makes a large re-raise. This traps the initial raiser (who likely has a relatively weak hand) between you and the caller. This makes it extremely difficult for the original raiser to call. The caller also tends to have a weak hand because he wasn't prepared to re-raise pre-flop.

For some reason, the caller often simply notes the original raiser is possibly making a position raise and he wants to try and see a cheap flop. By re-raising (and putting on the squeeze) you deny him that possibility.

Consider the following common situation: you're in the big blind with $15,000. The cut-off raises 3x the big blind to $3,000 and the button calls. If you have any reasonable hand, you should consider moving all-in.

If both players fold, you'll have added $7,500 to your stack. Because there's the possibility of stealing the pot, you can move in with far more hands than most players would normally consider.

More Aggression = Improved Results

Although it's been written many times before, it's worth repeating because it's so important: in tournament play, the real money is in the top three positions.

Simply sneaking into the money will do little for your profitability in the long run. If you truly want to improve your results, you must play to win.

Try and look for opportunities to use the re-steal more often. If you do, you'll start to notice you have a much healthier stack as the tournament reaches its critical stages.

Being more aggressive - especially when your stack creeps down into the 8-15 range - will pay off with more final-table finishes and, we can hope, more tournament victories.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/tournam...-value-part-ii

Jmahoney · #23 04-05-2008

(search for strategy)

In No-Limit Hold'em, playing drawing hands well is critical to your overall profitability.

Most of the time, playing aggressively is best. But knowing exactly when to jam the pot and when to call is tricky and usually depends on whether the pot is heads-up or multi-way.

Playing drawing hands aggressively does three important things:

1. Forces your opponent(s) to lay down marginal hands
2. Creates doubt about the true strength of your hand (and helps disguise strong hands)
3. Gets you bigger pots when your draw hits

In this article, we'll discuss how position affects drawing hands in a heads-up pot.

General Rule:

When you're heads-up, drawing hands should be played aggressively - independently of your position. Because you only have one opponent to beat, taking an aggressive approach will often win you the pot without going to a showdown.

In Position

When you're in position heads-up, you simply have more options. Typically, if I'm in position and flop any reasonable draw (flush, straight or even a gut-shot straight draw with two overcards), I'm going to play the hand fast.

If my opponent bets the flop, I'll raise; if he checks, I'll bet. In this sense, position doesn't have a huge impact on the flop. Whether you're first or last to act, you'll be the aggressor.

But things can get tricky if your opponent has a strong hand. If he bets, you raise and he re-raises all-in on the flop, or he checks to you and then makes a large check-raise when you bet, it's decision time.

In either situation, you simply have to go with a little bit of math and your gut feeling. Depending on how deep the stacks are, if you do the math, you'll probably find calling (or moving all in against the check-raise) is never as bad a play as it might intuitively seem.

Sometimes it's better to make a (slightly) negative EV play (for example, moving all-in) if it results in your opponents making fewer moves (bluffs) at you in the future. As an added bonus, once they've seen you're capable of moving all-in on the come, you'll also tend to get more action on your big made hands.

Playing the Turn

In heads-up action, the play of drawing hands on the flop is not influenced tremendously by position - you're simply going to play your hand aggressively. It's really on the turn where position most comes into play.

Let's assume you've missed your draw and one player, who's called your bet (or raise) on the flop, checks to you on the turn. If you're in position, you have a couple of options:

One, you can keep representing strength and fire a second barrel. This puts your opponent, who's out of position, in a tough spot as he'll have to fear another bet on the river.

Two, you can simply check behind and see the river card for free (an option you don't have if you're out of position).

Checking behind may seem weak at first, but if your opponent has ever seen you bet the flop, check the turn and then bet the river with a strong hand such as top pair, top kicker or a big over pair, then a bet-check-bet pattern can be effective.

Using this betting pattern will make your drawing hands and your strong made hands look exactly the same, and that can only benefit you.

Another profitable situation that can pop up is if your opponent flops a strong hand but waits until the turn to make his move. If you're playing aggressively (which, after you've read this article, you will be) and fire a second barrel on the turn (after missing your draw) and your opponent raises, his raise will very often be too small.

Case in point: Imagine on the turn you've bet $80 into a $100 pot. An opponent with a strong hand (but not a lock) will often only raise to $200. So you're now getting 3.2-1 pot odds. If both of you have money behind, you'll have an easy call based on the implied odds.

This kind of betting error is amazingly common, and it's an especially profitable opportunity if you're in position. Your opponent has to act first on the river and will usually end up paying you off if you hit your hand. He simply won't be able to convince himself you were on the draw.

Playing Drawing Hands Out of Position

Simply put: Playing drawing hands out of position gives you fewer options and can get you into awkward spots if you miss (both on the turn and on the river). So generally it tends to be less profitable. But, despite this, it's still critical to play aggressively.

The primary reason it's less profitable is if you miss your draw on the turn, you don't have the option of checking behind and taking a free card. If you check and your opponent senses weakness and bets the turn, you'll usually have to give up the hand and miss the extra shot at the pot on the river.

To make matters worse, if you bet, a large raise may shut you out and again cost you an opportunity to make your hand (and presumably win the pot) on the river.

When you're out of position and flop a draw, you should still bet. You also can try and win the pot right then with a large check-raise, but although this will often win the pot, if it doesn't and you miss on the turn, you'll again be in an awkward spot.

Anytime your opponent calls a bet on the flop and you miss on the turn, you'll have a decision to make. Lots of players weakly check their drawing hands and then fold (to a bet). But if you find yourself playing this way, you're costing yourself a lot of money.

To plug this leak, you have to do two things: increase the percentage of times you fire a second barrel, and be more selective pre-flop (play fewer drawing hands) when you're out of position.

Remember, if you want to maximize profit on drawing hands, position and aggression are the key elements of success. In heads-up play, any reasonable draw should be played aggressively. The number of outs you have may vary depending on the draw, but the way you should play the hand doesn't change that much.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/nolimit...-drawing-hands

Jmahoney · #24 04-05-2008

In No-Limit Hold'em, drawing hands can often be very profitable.

In part one of this article, we analyzed the play of drawing hands in heads-up situations and concluded an aggressive approach is usually best.

In part two, we'll discuss playing drawing hands in multi-way pots. To play correctly, and thus maximize potential profit, it's critical to understand how position influences optimal strategy.

As a general rule, against exactly three opponents, it's usually correct to play as you would in a heads-up pot - aggressively.

One of the few exceptions to this rule is if you're second to act and the pre-flop raiser has position on you. In this situation, if the first player bets and all you have is a draw, it's generally best to proceed very cautiously - at least until you see how the pre-flop raiser acts.

However, if you're in a pot against more than three players, your position - relative to both the pre-flop raiser and the post-flop bettor (if you're neither) - is an important factor to consider before developing a strategy for the hand.

Consider one of the more common cases:

You're in a standard $2/$4 NL game and are dealt 7d-6d in the cut-off. A player in middle position limps in, so you limp too. The button then raises to $18.

Both the big blind and the middle position limper call and so do you. If the flop comes Kd-Th-5d, how should you play the hand?

If the action is checked to you, it's usually best to check as well. Let the pre-flop raiser (the button) decide what to do before committing more chips to the pot. If he bets, you'll see how the other two players react to the bet before you have to make a decision.

If either player check-raises, you can muck your hand, saving a bet. If both players call the bet, you might also consider folding. This may seem counterintuitive (as you would seem be getting very good odds to try and hit your flush), but with two callers, it's also much more likely you're up against a bigger flush draw.

Of course, if you'd flopped an open-ended straight draw instead of the flush draw, you'd happily call despite drawing to a worse hand (a straight as opposed to a flush), because then you'd be drawing to the nuts. Generally speaking, in multi-way pots, the quality of your draw is much more important than it is in heads-up play.

It's significantly more profitable to be drawing to the nut flush or the top end of the straight draw. There's nothing worse than making your draw and discovering you still have the second-best hand.

Alternatively, if either of the players acting before you bets the flop, you'll have to decide between raising (ill-advised), calling or folding. If you think the button (the pre-flop raiser) is likely to raise, you'll be better off folding. If instead you think he may call or even fold, then calling is perfectly acceptable.

There are several important positional factors to consider before deciding on a particular action (when you've flopped a draw). Successful players, at minimum, will automatically be aware of the following:

1. Who was the pre-flop raiser, and where is the post-flop action most likely to come from (in relation to you)?
2. How many people will act after you?
3. If the pre-flop raiser has position on you, how many people are between you and him and are these players tricky or straightforward?

Assuming you have, at least, considered the above, what should you do with this information?

The basic principle is relatively simple:

With a drawing hand (on the flop), you ideally would prefer one of two outcomes - you successfully steal the pot, or you get the right odds (pot and/or implied) to try and make your hand (this is often easier if there's more than one opponent). Both outcomes are okay.

What you don't want is to end up heads-up against a strong made hand without the correct odds to draw to your hand. Although this may occasionally happen if you're aggressively raising (or re-raising) your draws, it's generally best to try and avoid this situation.

What does this suggest about optimal post-flop strategy? If you're acting immediately before the pre-flop raiser (or the player you believe is intending to bet the flop) and the action is checked to you, you should generally check and re-evaluate when the action gets back to you.

By betting, you tend to reduce your implied odds. If the original raiser has a hand and raises your flop bet, it will usually drive out the other players leaving you heads-up (and out of position) with a drawing hand unlikely to be a favorite.

If you're first to act and the pre-flop raiser is last to act, you have three options:

1. Bet. In this case, you're hoping to either pick up the pot or that the players in the middle call and build a pot for you. If you get a couple of callers and then the pre-flop raiser raises, you'll have to decide whether to call (and hope the other players do too, giving you the correct odds to make your hand), or re-raise (representing a set or two pair) and try to steal the pot.
2. Check and call (if he or others bet). Here you're simply trying to make your hand cheaply and hope to get the correct odds to do so.
3. Check (with the intention of making a large check-raise to try and take down the pot immediately). A problem with this strategy is if you're up against a real hand. If your opponent moves all-in, you may have to call, depending on the stack sizes and the pot odds. Or if he simply calls, you'll have to act first on the turn and if you miss your draw, you'll be in an awkward spot.

Alternatively, if you're last to act and the pre-flop raiser is immediately before you, it may be best to call (rather than raise) if he bets. Your intention in this case is to try and bring along some of the other players (who checked to the raiser on the flop), thus improving both your implied and your pot odds.

Finally, if you're last to act and the original raiser acts first and bets the flop, you once again have some good options. If other players in the middle call, you can either call, trying to hit your hand cheaply then extract value (this is generally the better approach, because the chances of stealing the pot against multiple players are relatively low) or play more aggressively and raise on the semi-bluff.

The main point to remember:

To maximize your profit on your drawing hands, be aware of your relative position and adjust your play accordingly.

Good luck, and good flops.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/nolimit...ing-hands-pt-2

greywolf5 · #25 04-06-2008

Just a little tip for those of you who find yourself with almost no chips left in a game---Do not give up and just throw your chips away. I have seen many players come back to finish in the top five--You can always come back!! A lot of players try to bully you and make you feel stupid for staying in because you only have a small amount. Hang in there, you can come back!

bobf111 · #26 05-27-2008

Jmahoney
Poker King Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 240
Credits: 0

Strategy: Heads-up poker (1vs1)

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(search for strategy)

I can't get over how fun heads-up limit poker is. I used to play the limit single table tournaments all the time when no limit wasn't all the rage and filled with the fishies and somehow forgot about this little jewel in the rough.

I think the best part about heads-up limit is that it really teaches you every single human aspect of limit poker in all it's glory. Aggression, hand selection, bluffing, trapping, reading, value betting, folding and lastly, pot odds. Probably in that order as well. I'll give a quick pointer on each topic:
Aggression - The poker pro's weapon of choice

The weak of heart get steam rolled with extreme prejudice in heads-up poker. You have two ways of winning a pot - you show the best hand or your opponent folds. You know in the poker books where they talk about playing poker without even looking at their hands? That's the value of aggression right there. Imagine that you DON'T see your hands and NEITHER does your opponent. In this scenario, the mathematical implication is that you will win 50% of your showdowns long term. What does this mean then? You need to cause your opponent to fold more often then you do. There is thus only one viable poker strategy - bet and raise.
Hand Selection - Play with what you have

Since we CAN actually see our hand, the real value is putting money into the pot when you have the best of it and not putting money when you don't have the best of it. Too many people I'm playing with in limit heads up games aren't penalizing me enough by letting me see flops for free after posting the BB. Or they let me limp in from the SB without fail. Heads-up poker teaches you to always raise with those Aces, Kings, Face/kicker, mid-high suited connectors and pocket pairs because they'll reap long term value. It makes you accustomed to raising for value and playing out on a flop whether or not the cards hit or not.
Bluffing - Pushing your opponent out of pots

Most of the time in heads up poker, you and your opponent won't hit anything on the flop. This is where bluffing and aggression come in, because you ALWAYS want to take down the pot if you and your opponent have nothing. The flop is like the introductory sword fight, where you declare your intent to fight and your opponent stops to decide and walks away or challenges you back. A lot of feints and fakes on the flop. Then when the turn comes, that's where the real action is, because with good precision, you can make a lot happen with a check-raise bluff or a raise behind the action. If your opponent was merely feinting an attack on the flop, you'll have caught him with his pants down, regardless of what you have. Looking and observing for those small little patterns or timings from your opponent is the key to this tactic. And sometimes you simply toss one out to see what happens. In the event you get caught red-handed, then you switch to a no BS mode and draw your opponent in for the kill by using your own bluffer's image to your own advantage.
Trapping - Keeping your opponent off balance

When your foe thinks that you're not being honest, that's the time to trap him for his money. A check-raise / raise on the turn that gets called in addition to a river bet nets you 2BB just from that play and most likely another 1BB from the pre-flop and flop. You could thus fold on the flop on an unraised pot four times in a row if you could pull a trap every 7th time. So when you're up against another aggressive opponent as well, who simply likes to run you over with bets, simply sit back, let him do the betting and hammer him with check-raises and raises when you have a hand. You can afford to fold when you have nothing, since your traps will make up for it. And if you have Ace high or low pairs, you can still flat call to showdown if necessary to shove the proverbial stick into his spokes.
Reading - Spotting those tells and working them

Trying to figure out where your opponent is in a heads-up poker game is a little like trying to beat someone at a prolonged game of rock-paper-scissors. They only have three options and it's to you to guess what they're doing. If you're right more than 33.3% of the time, let's say 35% of the time, then you're mentally beating them long term. If you think rock-paper-scissors is luck, hah, think again. You all know Phil Gordon right? He's part of Team Tiltboys, rock-paper-scissors theory / world champs extraordinare. Poker and especially heads up poker is the same way. You make those reads and you're making money. Making the read is all about discerning patterns in their behavior that are statistical anomolies. That's why you pay attention - how often does he check-raise, does he have it when he does, will he bet low pair, will he bet draws. Usually you can't just figure this out with one action on your opponent's part, so you often have to raise on the flop or call and see the turn to figure out what's going on. Because with only one action, there's only 3 choices to choose from - bet, check, call. By adding in a raise or calling the flop, that increases the options from 3 to 9, bet-bet, bet-check, bet-call, check-bet, etc.. This tells you a whole lot more than just 'Oh I think he's bluffing because he bet on the flop with low cards showing!' vs 'Oh I think he's bluffing because he bet on the flop with lowcards and is now checking the turn'.
Value Betting - Extracting extra big bets

Value betting is simply getting in that turn raise and river bet so that your opponent doesn't see a showdown for cheap when you got a hand. Even when your hand is a little iffy, you toss that sucker out and at least gain some fold equity from it if he's tight. If your opponent is loose, you get some equity from the bet with Ace/X calling you down. Too many times in games, I see opponents check down on the river with a superior hand because they're scared I might have them beat. If they're going to have me beat 80% of the time, and I'm going to be calling the majority of the time (I am on the river, after all), it's a very worthwhile proposition. In heads up, there aren't a lot of draws that go on, so an opponent sticking with you to the river is probably calling with mid-pair or low pair and least often a monster. Getting that extra bet in is something that you shouldn't be afraid of doing.
Folding - Knowing when you're beat and getting out of there

Knowing when to get rid of a dominated hand is pretty big, especially if it can save you from a big bet or two. Often you won't realize it until you're down to the river or turn, but the willingness to drop a hand when you are sure your opponent isn't bluffing is just like extracting an extra big bet of your own. Lots of times in a full ring game, it's almost impossible to fold with some of the odds the pot is laying you, such as top pair / top kicker when the pot shows something like 20BB to a single raise on the river. You only have to win 5% of the time in order for this call to be correct. In heads-up, the pot is often more often 3-5BB or so, giving you a good reason to fold if you're certain that you're beat. Once the pot becomes larger, then it becomes harder to fold at critical points like the river, given that the pot is laying you very good odds at that point. The key is to fold early and when you're in trouble rather than late and committed over your head.
Pot Odds - Counting your outs correctly and integrating them

Pot odds is actually the least important in heads-up, because rarely will you call because you are 'getting odds'. If anything, if you have odds to call - BET! Play those flushies and straight draws aggressively, because whatever odds you are getting, aggression gives those odds a skyrocket value with folding equity tossed in. Even with a inside straight draw, it's not a bad idea to bet if checked to you or first to go, because you still have the possibility that your opponent might fold to you (likely in heads-up). If you miss your draw, you can keep attacking and hope he folds, or by miracle, you may even hit your draw and have a very well disguised hand that's perfect for trapping.
Conclusion - Heads Up Poker Strategy

Well, that's my quick and dirty tips to heads-up limit poker and effective strategy in the game. Playing this type of 1 vs 1 poker will definitely be a difficult and struggle at first, even for the seasoned texas hold'em player, but it's a skill that becomes very valuable for almost all players, as tournament poker players benefit substantially and limit players sometime have games that become quite short-handed.

http://www.tightpoker.com/articles/heads_up_poker.html

bobf111 · #27 06-05-2008

roo27
The Rooster Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 303
Credits: 0

different types of players ! ! !

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identify the different types of players at a table. Here’s some insight into different playing styles, how to identify them, and how to play against them. In terms of how to play against them, it depends upon your own style. Currently, I am playing more ’small ball’ poker which entails playing several hands and requires decent reading skills. It is the most effective strategy, but also the hardest to play as it requires you to make far more decisions. As well, it is can be very ineffective if you are at an aggressive table or especially ineffective at an aggressive table with turbo blinds since you will rarely get a cheap look at the flop.

The beginner:

You can usually spot a beginner from a mile away by these characteristics:

1. They play almost every hand.
2. They usually never make pre-flop raises or bet to protect their hand.
3. They are frequently calling stations.

How to play against them:

1. You can eat them alive by simple strategies like preflop raises as they will call these with any hand.
2. Always becareful not to try to bluff a beginner as they will usually not put you on the hand that you are trying to represent. They can be very difficult to bluff as they will call because they cannot tolerate not knowing what hand you have.
3. When you have a good hand, you can bet hard into the calling station and take a large portion of their stack.

The Rock

How to identify them:

1. They play very few hands.
2. They only play premium hands such has high pocket pairs or Aces with good kickers.

How to play against them:

1. Usually they aren’t much to worry about as they spend most of the time out of the pot.
2. If you are in a pot with a rock, you can be pretty sure that they have AK/AQ/AJ or high pocket pair, so watch out for these hands if you are betting against them.
3. Rocks are usually easy to bluff, provided that there is a good flop texture. If you bet against a rock, be sure that there are no aces or high cards on the board, and they will likely fold as they are very tight with their chips.

The Calling Station:

How to identify them:

1. They have the same characteristics as the beginner, but they differ in that they will actually bet when they have a good hand.
2. They rarely bluff, so if they are betting, you can usually put them on at least some hand.

How to play against them:

1. Never bluff a calling station! I once bet into an open-ended draw as a semi bluff. Everyone folded except for the calling station. I bet again, this time even more chips at the turn to try to shake him off, and he simply called. At this point, I was confused and somewhat worried that he was slow playing me. He checked at the river in front of me. Worried, that he was looking to check raise, I also checked as I missed my straight. To my astonishment, he turned over king five off suit for the win! I couldn’t believe that he kept calling me with high card king given that there was neither a str8 or a flush draw that he had. As well, he hadn’t actually paired either of his cards.

The Chaser

How to identify them:

1. The chaser is the guy who will call any bet regardless of pot odds to chase down his flush or straight draw.
2. They rarely make preflop raises.
3. They play several hands.
4. They will usually bet once they’ve made their straight.

How to play against them.

1. If you catch a good hand on the flop and you bet to protect your hand and the chaser calls without re-raising you, you can be pretty sure they are chasing if their are two suited cards on flop or a possible straight.
2. Though the odds are in your favor that they will miss their straight, be careful of trying to bet them off their chase as they can make a big payout by catching it.
3. I especially don’t like to go all in on the flop against them to protect my hand as they will call and may knock you out with the suck out.
4. My preference is to make a medium bet after the flop. This way if another suited card hits, I won’t lose too many chips.
5. If suited card doesn’t hit on the turn, I will make a larger bet after the turn as even a chaser will not always chase from the turn.
6. Rarely, if you flop a boat, you know that you can cash them out by betting large. To do this, you have to bet very big after the flop, not turn. Or you can try to slow play them and hope that they will catch their flush, but this is riskier as if they get a free look at the cards and miss, you will not get a payoff. Personally, I would rather bet large pretending that I am protecting a hand like top pair/top kicker and additionally hope that they catch the flush and bet hard.

The Maniac

How to identify:

1. The maniacs are the easiest to identify.
2. They often go all in preflop several times, strangely they seem to always win with junk cards.
3. They love to raise preflop with even an Ace with bad kicker to steal the blind.
4. They bad really hard after the flop to steal the pot, often overbetting a hand like mid pair to make it seem like they have a very good hand.

How to play against them:

1. You have to avoid calling preflop raises unless you have a hand like a pocket pair or an ace with a good kicker.
2. If you call a preflop raise with a hand like suited seven/eight and miss flop, they will eat you alive by making a large enough bet that you cannot call even if you have a decent draw.
3. Better maniacs will realize their table image and use it to their advantage. For example, you might be tempted to stand your ground against a maniac betting very large with your top pair/top kicker, and call only to get knocked out by a set that they hit.
4. Maniacs can be the hardest to play against as they are fearless.
5. They only effective way to counter one is to try to trap them. Let the other players battle the maniac until you have really good hole cards. If you manage to hit a really good flop, check and let them hang themselves trying to bluff you off.
6. The only other way to counter the manaic is to call them when they go all in preflop with a high pocket pair or a hand like AK/AQ.

The Shark

How to identify them:

1. The shark is the experienced player who is often quite street smart.
2. The shark plays more on how other people bet/react, than on their own actual cards.
3. The shark has a wide array of tools like check raising/ effective bluffing/ trapping /slow playing/ overbetting hands to steal/ raising to steal blinds / rarely makes a bad call.

How to play against them:

1. The biggest weakness of a shark is simply the card run that they have. If they are getting bad hole cards and missing flops, you can take advantage of this.
2. Be wary of folding agains them as they often will bet to represent a better hand than they actually have. If you think you have the best hand, but are not certain, stick to calling them out rather than pushing all in as they might be trapping you.
3. If you are a beginner, the only effective way to counter a cagey shark is to play ‘big bat’ poker looking to make home-runs instead of out playing them.
4. To do this, stick to playing pocket pairs looking to make sets or hands like AK/AQ/AJ.
5. The best way to bet against a shark is all-in. If they think they are beat, they will have to fold.
6. Pre-flop raises are not a good idea because if you miss the flop, they will smell blood and bluff to make you fold.

The Tight Player

How to identify them:

1. They don’t play very many hands.
2. They almost never bluff.
3. They almost never make a call when they are beat.
4. They always bet when they have a good hand.

How to play against them:

1. Tight players are very easy to play against as their strategy is rarely effective. Though they don’t hand out many of their chips, they generally don’t accumulate very many chips either unless they are having a good run of cards. As well, most players can easily put them on a good a hand and immediately fold to them.
2. Tight players get absolutely abused by maniacs and loose aggressive players who steal their blinds and bluff them off of hands.
3. The easiest way to abuse a tight-aggressive player is by a combination of bluffing and overbetting your hand when you are in a pot against them. They will often fold top-pair/kicker if you bet representing a flush that may have hit on the turn, for example.
4. Eventually, most tight players will get frustrated by a comination of constantly getting bluffed and by their diminishing chip stack. At this point, you have to trap them when you have a really good hand. Instead of their usual fold, they may simply call you out or try to fight back by re-raising you, even all in sometimes.
5. Never be afraid of bluffing an tight player by representing or pretending that you just hit a flush on river or something like that. Early game, if they call or re-raise, simply fold to them because they likely will have a very good hand and will not fold.

The Loose-aggressive Player

How to identify them:

1. In a nutshell, think ‘gus hansen.’
2. The loose-aggressive player is often the most difficult to play against.
3. They will raise action preflop and bluff the pot after everyone misses flop or overbet out of position to scare off other players.
4. They absolutely love to steal blinds late game by raising preflop.
5. They can be extremely dangerous as they are not afraid to gamble. For example, you might go all with pocket QQ short stacked late game. They will call you with a hand like K7 suited and knock you out when they catch a king.

How to play against them:

1. There is no easy answer to this question. You’re ultimate results playing a loose-aggressive player are going to depend more on luck than anything.
2. If you call their preflop raises and miss the flop, you are pretty much in a double bind. If you try to bluff them, they will call if they caught anything on the flop or re-raise you. If you hit a flop and they tried to bluff out of position, they are often smart enough to fold to a bet if they don’t have a hand or any outs.
3. If you try to steal blinds by raising, they will protect their blind by calling.
4. If you try to steal blinds with going all-in, they will call you with a marginal hand and seemingly perpertually get lucky and flop two pair to beat your high pocket pair or suited ace king.
5. In a nutshell, I like to play pretty tight vs a loose-aggressive player. Knowing that they want nothing more than turning the game into a coin toss–except maybe running you over with aggression, I try not to give them what they want.
6. I am willing to call pre-flop raises with a good hand or better yet, call all in preflop if I know they’ve been raising to steal quite frequently.
7. At the core of an effective loose-aggressive player, you will not find a complete idiot. They will fold to bluffs and generally not call if you push back against them if they think they are beat.
8. Loose-aggressive players are also susceptible to smart bluffs. For example, if they bet hard on the flop and you simply call. Then a third suited card hits and they check, if you bet representing the flush and they don’t have it, they will likely fold.
9. Though they seemingly play wild, they are usually pretty smart and try to put you on hand. You have to represent a better hand to bluff them back or simply trap them with a very good hand.

bobf111 · #28 06-10-2008

#1 16 Hours Ago
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Betting the River with Marginal Hands

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Betting the River with Marginal Hands

In No-Limit Holdem, it can be difficult to know what the right play is on the river when you're out of position with a marginal hand. In my experience, if you think your hand is good enough to call with, you should consider betting the river if you don't think your opponent will try to bluff.

Say you're playing in a tournament and raise in late position with K-10. You know K-10 isn't a great hand, but from late position, it's strong enough to pressure the blinds. The player on the button calls and both blinds fold.

Now the flop comes 10d-7c-3d. This is a nice flop for you and you lead out at the pot. The button calls. What are you to make of the call? Well, he's probably got something – maybe a flush draw or another ten – but it's hard to pinpoint an exact hand.

The turn brings the 2c. This wouldn't appear to have helped your opponent, but you don't really know where you stand and you're trying to avoid playing a big pot at this point in the tournament, so you check. Your opponent bets about half the pot and you call.

The river brings an interesting card: the 4c, making the board, 10d-7c-3d-2c-4c. What's your best play? It's tempting to check again, because of the completed flush draw. But betting here has a few advantages over checking and then having to make a decision if your opponent fires at the pot.

Since the flush cards came backdoor (on the turn and river), your opponent probably doesn't have the flush, and he may doubt that you have it, too. Thus, he will suspect that you're bluffing, having missed the diamond flush draw. So if you bet here, he may call with a hand weaker than yours, like J-10, Q-10, or even 9-9 or A-7. However, there's still the possibility that you have the club flush, so your opponent probably won't raise with a hand like A-10, J-J, or maybe even a set. On the other hand, if you check, your opponent might bet on the river with those hands and you may pay him off, because you think he might be making a thin value bet with a weaker hand like Q-10.

The trick here is to bet a little less than your opponent would have, had you checked to him when he had the best hand. By putting out a somewhat smaller bet, you get to show down your hand cheaply against a better ten or a set, and you will also get your opponent to call with weaker hands that he would have otherwise checked with. Your bet here serves a purpose whether you're ahead or behind in the hand.

If your opponent raises, you can be pretty sure he has you beat and you can fold (unless he's a tricky opponent who may bluff in this spot), having gotten some very good information on the strength of his hand at minimal cost.

Note that this is the kind of bet you want to make when you're pretty sure that your opponent has some sort of hand that you have a decent chance to beat, and that he won't bluff if you check. In spots where your opponent might hold a busted draw and bluff, it's often more profitable to check and then pick off the bluff with a call. For example, you might check and call in this same situation with 10-9 or 9-9 against an opponent who bluffs a lot.

There aren't too many worse hands (if any) that your opponent will call you with if you are beat, and your opponent may check some of the marginal better hands like J-10 or Q-10. The idea in this situation is to lose fewer bets against better hands while you get some value from your opponent's bluffs.
__________________
I love that piggy

bobf111 · #29 07-22-2008

It can be tricky when your dealt a small pair pre-flop in Texas Holdem. By small pair I mean from pocket 2s up to pocket 6s. These aren't easy cards to fold but if you don't hit a set on the flop, they're very difficult to win with.

Here's a guide to maximising your pre-flop small pairs and I've found this is a decent strategy when playing Texas Holdem poker to maximise the potential of the cards whilst retaining a folding strategy to minimise any losses that small pairs can invariably lead to.

Fold pre-flop when there are more than 5 players left to act in the betting round. This includes the small and big blinds.

If you have less than 30 times the big blind left in your chip stack, fold. The odds aren't in your favour enough to play and put yourself short-stacked.

If you have more than 30 times the big blind then you shouldn't be putting in large raises. Depending on the players round the table, ie., if they're fairly loose, you may find a small raise in order but really in this case you should be trying to get to the flop for a little cost as possible and keeping as many players in the pot as possible. If you hit a set on the flop then you can maximise the pots value, if not, fold.

Remember, with a small pair, you have to hit a set on the flop or the odds are firmly stacked against you and folding is order of the day. However, if you make a set on the flop, don't slow play the betting round. Probably betting the value of the pot is about right. Slow playing at this stage will give you a smaller pot and will keep more players in the hand who will be trying to better your hand.

As with all Texas Holdem strategies, you must also take into account the players at the table. Hitting the set on the flop with a low pair might be ok but if the rock on the table is suddenly betting big, you'd better weight up what they might have and what you choices are in order to keep your chips!

bobf111 · #30 07-23-2008

Solid Poker Players

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• A solid poker player knows the general probabilities of the game. For example, they know that you have about 1 in 8.5 chance of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair, and that you have about a 1 in 3 chance of completing a flopped flush draw by the river.

• Good players understand the importance of outs. Outs are simply the number of cards that will improve your hand. Count your outs, multiply them by two, and add one, and that's roughly the percentage shot you have at hitting.

• Good players can figure out the pot odds. Knowing outs is meaningless unless it's translated into rational, calculated betting. Knowing you have a 20% chance of hitting, what do you do then? If you're not sure, check out our Pot Odds in tip of the day.

• Math skills are the most basic knowledge; it's day-one reading. Anyone who doesn't understand these concepts should not play in a game for real money until they do.

Skill #2: Discipline

• Good poker players demand an advantage. What separates a winning poker player from a fish is that a fish does not expect to win, while a poker player does. A fish is happy playing craps, roulette, or the slots; he just hopes to get lucky. A poker player does not hope to get lucky. He just hopes others don't get lucky.

• Good poker players understand that a different game requires a different discipline. A disciplined no-limit player can be a foolish limit player and vice versa. For example, a disciplined limit hold'em player has solid preflop skills. When there is not much action preflop, he or she only plays the better hands. When a lot of people are limping in, he or she will make a loose call with a suited connector or other speculative hand.

• A disciplined player knows when to play and when to quit. He recognizes when he is on tilt and is aware when a game is too juicy to just quit while ahead.

• A disciplined player knows that he is not perfect. When a disciplined player makes a mistake, he learns. He does not blame others. He does not cry. He learns from the mistake and moves on.

Skill #3: Psychology

• A good player is not a self-centered player. He may be the biggest SOB you know. He may not care about anyone but himself, and he may enjoy stealing food from the poor. However, when a poker pro walks into a poker room, he always empathizes with his opponents. He tries to think what they think and understand the decisions they make and why they make them. The poker pro always tries to have an answer to these questions:

1. What does my opponent have?
2. What does my opponent think I have?
3. What does my opponent think I think he has?

• Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step, manipulating the answers is the second and more important step. Suppose that you have a pair of kings and your opponent has a pair of aces. If you both know what the other has, and you both know that you know what the other has, then why play a game of poker? A poker pro manipulates the answers to questions #2 and #3 by slowplaying, fastplaying, and bluffing in order to throw his opponent off.

• Good poker players know that psychology is much more important in a no-limit game than in a limit game. Limit games often turn into math battles, while no-limit games carry a strong psychology component. Thus, poker tells are much more important in no-limit games.

Skill #4: Understanding Risk vs. Reward

• Pot odds and demanding an advantage fall into this category. Poker players are willing to take a long-shot risk if the reward is high enough, but only if the expected return is higher than the risk.

• More importantly, they understand the risk-vs.-reward nature of the game outside of the actual poker room. They know how much bank they need to play, and how much money they need in reserve to cover other expenses in life.

• Good poker players understand they need to be more risk-averse with their overall bankroll than their stack at the table.

When you play in an individual game, you must value every chip equally at the table. You should only care about making correct plays. If you buy in for $10, you should be okay with taking a 52% chance of doubling up to $20 if it means a 48% chance of losing your $10.

However, you should be risk-averse with your overall bankroll. You need to have enough money so that any day at the tables will not affect your bankroll too much. If you worry too much about losing, then you will make mistakes at the table. You need to leave yourself with the chance to fight another day.

bobf111 · #31 07-24-2008

Straight Draws in Low Limit Holdem Poker

Paul Kammen

Part 1 of a tutorial on how to play for a straight in low limit holdem poker: Preflop and play on the flop, including double gutshots and a few bad hands never to play.

Playing two suited cards any time you get them in low-limit holdem poker is a recipe for disaster. If you read my last article on flush draws, you saw why it’s important to select your flush draws carefully, playing middle and big suited connectors that give you chances at a flush or straight or the chance to flop top pair.
Unsuited Connectors

This time, we take a look at another mistake made by many low-limit holdem players: misplay of unsuited connectors. Many make costly mistakes by playing unsuited connectors like 9T and “one-gap” unsuited connectors like T8. I am consistently amazed by what so many players want to see the flop with, but when I hear “It’s only $2 and Gus Hansen hit with that hand last week,” that is a player who is more than welcome at my home game anytime.

Admittedly, some unsuited connectors can be tempting to play -– especially if you’ve gone for a while without winning a pot. Every poker player knows what it is like to go for many hands without seeing the flop, or seeing the flop only to miss it every time. Logic and common sense can go out the window. Hands like T9 offsuit can start to look good, because you have the vision of the 7-8-J flop. But odds are that's not going to happen, and if you flop a pair you can get into even more trouble.

You must be very selective when playing unsuited connectors. This is because straights are not as powerful as flushes, and you may lose even if you hit your hand. You also have to remember that straight draws vary in value, meaning you have to pause and ask yourself:

1) How big are my cards?

2) Am I drawing to the low end of the straight?

3) What are the chances I am drawing dead? and

4) Do I have other outs?

The situation can also change drastically depending upon what the board is showing.

Bigger is Better: When connectors are unsuited, you obviously cannot flop a flush. So unsuited connectors are much weaker than suited ones. Be much more selective in even limping with connecting cards that aren’t suited.

Forget about playing trash hands like T9 or lower. These are poor plays in any position -- call only with 78 or higher if you are the little blind and it has not been raised. To play these hands is a losing proposition, period.

The hands that you do see the flop with will vary based upon position. Hands that you can see the flop with from any position include: AK-AT, KQ-KJ, and QJ. If it has not been raised, raise with AK, AQ, AJ, and KQ. (Here you are not so much going for a straight as hoping to flop top pair and would prefer a narrow field.) If it has been raised, fold AT and KJ, call with the rest and re-raise with big slick (AK). (AT offsuit is a deceptive hand that has cost me plenty when I stayed in with raises -– so unless it is suited, drop the AT if it has been raised; your odds for a straight are minuscule and you may very well be out-kicked if you flop top pair.)

The other playable unsuited connectors (and one- and two-gap suited connectors) are JT, QT, and KT. Of these, JT is the weakest and while some players will limp in late position, I will drop it more often than not unless it is a “family pot” of five or more callers. JT is just too much of a “sucker hand” in that more often than not you will not get a straight-draw on the flop, but will get a Queen, King, or an Ace, having to muck your hand, or worse, flop top pair with Tens or Jacks and have a Queen, King, or Ace come on the turn or river. With QT and KT, you can limp with if you are on the button, the little blind, or one or two off of the button.

This list may sound unimpressive, but if you expand it and play other unsuited connectors or tempting one- and two-gap hands like J9, J8, T8, etc., you will be a losing player. Remember: When your two cards are not suited, the value decreases dramatically, so you have to be going for top pair or better as another option if you do not flop an open-ended straight draw.

Playing the straight draw on THE FLOP. If you do not make top pair or an open-ended straight draw, the vast majority of the time you will fold. The only exception is if the flop gives you the chance of making the nut flush. For instance: You hold AQ with the Ace of clubs; the flop comes 9-T-8, all clubs. Here, you could still back-in to the straight, but you have more outs for the flush and will see the hand to the river. Any Ace would also put you in great shape. If you do catch a Jack, odds are you will have the best hand as well; just be aware that you do not have the nut straight.

If you flop top pair, play the hand aggressively. Bet if no one has yet and raise if there has been a bet. If there is a bet and a raise, however, you have to slow down as you could be up against two pair or a player who flopped a set. Fold your straight draw if the flop is all of one suit and you do not have a flush draw and it is two bets, as someone may have a flush or be on a better draw.

If you flop two pair with a pair on the board, you again have to be careful, especially if you have the lower pair. For instance, if you limped on the button with JT and the flop came J-K-K, you could call one but not two bets. If there is a bet, raise as if the player who bet had a King; if so he will re-raise you and you can fold. Facing two bets in this situation, fold, as you are likely up against another King or could be facing the other Jack with a higher kicker than you.

If you do flop an open-ended straight draw, most of the time you will want to see the hand to the river. However, there are exceptions. One is if the board is paired, and you are drawing to the low end of the straight. For instance, you hold T9, limped on the little blind, and the flop comes J-Q-Q. This is a bad flop for you. Sure, you have an open-ended straight draw, but you may very well be up against a stronger straight draw, or a player who has made trips. Check, and hope for a free card, and fold if there is a bet -– the hand just becomes too costly to play when you are going for the low end of a straight.

The Suited Board. Another time you shouldn't go to the river with your flopped open-ended straight draw is when the board is all of one suit. If you have one of the suited cards, you can certainly see the turn and river as long as that card is a 10 or higher, but if not, you have to be very careful. This is especially true in a large field. Remember, many players love to play two suited cards at the low limits, so you are in a tough situation. You may be excited to have an open-ended straight draw, but you are really down to six outs -– you need one of the six cards that would complete your straight but not make the board four of the same suit, and have to dodge another card on the river. You also have to be hoping your opponent hasn’t already made his or her flush. With any straight draw on an entirely suited board where you have no chance at a flush, proceed with caution. You can limp if the pot is large and you are on a nut-straight draw, but tossing this hand most of the time is a solid play: You have six outs and may be drawing dead, so no need to chase when the flush is looming.

If you flop an inside straight draw, fold unless you also have a flush draw or two over-cards. For instance, say you have KQ, and the flop comes 2-9-T, all spades... and you have the King of spades. Stick around. If it is two bets, dump the hand as you may be up against 10s, a set, or the player holding the Ace of spades.

You can also consider a raise when you have an open-ended straight draw. This has the desired effect of buying a free-card on the turn, and deceiving your opponents as most will not put a raiser on a draw. Returning to the example of KQ, suppose you flopped T-J-2. Rather than automatically calling, bet or raise if it is a “rainbow” flop (all different suits). If there are two suited cards, just call as you may be up against a four-flush.

Of course, if you do flop a straight, play the hand hard. You can slowplay it if you have the nut straight and it is a rainbow flop, but most of the time a made straight should be played aggressively by betting and raising.

bobf111 · #32 07-25-2008

A discussion of handling your flush draw in Limit Texas Holdem, low stakes games. Suited connectors, one-gappers.

Many low-stakes Texas holdem players use no-limit poker tournaments on TV as a guide for how to approach the game. This is a huge mistake that leaves many a novice frustrated. People learn quickly (or in some cases fail to learn, and lose a lot of money in the process) that low stakes holdem and the final table of a high stakes no-limit tournament are two very different beasts.
One of the biggest mistakes is play of flush draws. Many players thrive on action, which is why the majority of low stakes holdem games are loose and passive -– many callers want to see the flop (after all, it's “just $2 to call,” right?) and hope to hit their hand. Many will call the flop bets and, even worse, turn bets, hoping for the miracle cards that they saw their favorite pro get to win a huge pot. The odds for the draw, the pot odds, and the chances of making another hand other than the draw -- these are all foreign concepts.

Playing two suited cards can be confusing, especially when it seems the pros play them all the time on TV. But playing them well is a key to holdem success. Here’s a guide to help you know when to play your two suited cards and when doing so will just get you into trouble.

Any two suited cards won’t do. One thing I am consistently amazed with is the number of players who play two suited cards. (Warning: bad beat story ahead.) The other night I was in a low stakes game on PokerStars. The poker gods blessed me with pocket aces. Of course, I raised pre-flop. The player to my right called my raise from middle position. The flop came 5-7-8, with two suited cards. I bet again and he called. The turn brought a blank; again I bet and he called. The river brought a possible flush to the board with a third diamond. I checked, he bet, and I called. Of course he held T7 suited, and he made his flush. Frustrating, most certainly -– but I’ll welcome any such individual at my table anytime, because if we played the same hand again and again, he would be crushed.

Hopefully you aren’t the guy who will play T7 suited against a raise. You should not even be the guy who plays T7 for one bet (although a call if you are the little blind is justifiable). But so many play that way because they saw the hand on TV come through. Just because you have two suited cards does not mean you can toss in a couple of chips to limp and see the flop Two suited cards happen frequently -– about 24% of the time you will hold them pre-flop. But you are only going to make a flush with two suited cards about 5.7% of the time (or about 1 in 16 times) were you to see the hand to the river. Therefore, you have to use caution when playing suited cards pre-flop.

Here are situations in which you can play two suited cards:

Suited Connectors. Suited connectors are cards giving you two to a flush and straight, like TJ suited. These are my favorite hands, because they are sneaky. The beauty of such hands is you can often limp with them in low-stakes games, and they have the potential for a huge payoff if you hit your hand. You can also get away from them if they do not hit (assuming you are disciplined enough to know when to dump them -– more on that to follow). When playing them, though, you cannot automatically play any two suited connectors, but must keep in mind how big they are, how aggressive the game is, and your position.

The bigger the cards are, the better situation you are in. Obviously, TJ suited is much better than 34 suited. This is because you will often back-in to hands you were not originally going for -– such as flopping top pair with jacks but no flush or straight draw. Flopping a pair of fours won’t do much for you.

Concerning position, you would rather be in late position than early when playing suited connectors. “Big” suited connectors (9T or better) can be played from any position for one bet. With smaller ones, like 56 suited, you have to be more careful. Tend to play them from later position because the threat of a raise is greater the earlier you are to act.

Finally, how aggressive is the game? Many games at the low stakes are passive, but sometimes you get people who love to gamble hard and raise. In a very aggressive game, be more careful with suited connectors, staying away from the small ones which can be quite costly. Limping with 67 suited for $2 is fine in a passive game. But limping with the hand in early position when a raise or two is almost certain will cost you a bundle over the course of your session.

In general, from early and middle position, limp with 67 suited or better. From late position, you can play 45 suited or better. In the little blind, call with any suited connector as long as it has not been raised.

Bigger is Better. The bigger your two suited cards are, the better. Again, this is because with big cards, like KT suited, you can hit hands giving you top pair. Usually I will always play an Ace and a suited card in a passive game, only folding hands like A6 suited or smaller in early position if very aggressive players are acting after me. Very often Aces will be good enough to win a hand (though you must be careful if you flop a pair of Aces with a small kicker because you may very well be out-kicked; if you do flop top pair bet if first to act or raise for information and fold if it is re-raised).

Kings are a different story. Limp with a king and a suited card from late position in a passive game. In early and middle position, limp with K8 suited or better. Hands like K3 suited can get you in trouble, because you may end up stuck if you flop a king and run into an ace that comes on the turn or river or be out-kicked. Many low-stakes players play any ace, so don’t give them more opportunities to get more of your money.

As far as queens are concerned, play Q9 suited or better if you can limp.

For other hands, you can limp with some “one-gaps” such as QT and J9 suited, but unless you are on the button or one off the button, do not limp with anything lower than J9 suited. Hands like T8 suited can be tempting to play, but they are not worth the trouble. On the button or one off the button when holding a “one-gap” suited connector, limp with 97 suited or better.

Bigger pot = more calling. One final word before looking at how to play your two suited cards on the flop: Keep in mind the size of the pot! As the size of the pot grows, you can be more liberal in your calls, playing hands in late position like 64 suited. This is because the threat of a raise is minimal and there is the potential for a huge payoff if the flop helps you. (Of course, if it is raised, you will not be calling with hands like 64 suited!)

When the Flop Comes. How you play your flush draw on and after the flop is crucial, and the place where many Texas holdem players drop the ball, because they have no knowledge of odds, just the vision in their heads of a big pot.

First and foremost, if you catch only one of your cards on the flop, most of the time you are going to fold. Catching two running cards to get your flush may look common on TV, but the chances of this happening are not good: 55-to-1. That does not mean, though, when you have to catch two running cards to make the flush you will always fold –- but the times you call (or raise) will be the exception and not the norm.

You can call if you have one of the following:

Overcards. An overcard means you have a card higher than anything on the flop. You want two of them when considering a call. For instance, say you have big slick, AK of clubs. The flop comes 7-5-2 with one club. This is a relatively safe flop. You could be up against a set or big pocket pair, and if that is the case a player will (probably) raise in which case you can fold. But if it is just one bet to see the turn, go ahead and call, especially if it is a family pot with many callers. Any Ace or King will likely give you the best hand, and you still might catch your flush, even though you are a big dog.

Back-door straight draws. If you have a hand like 89 of hearts, and the flop comes 5-6-K with one heart, this is again a situation in which you can call one bet. Here, you have four outs for a straight along with the chance for your two running cards for the flush. Limp and see the turn, and fold if you do not catch another heart.

Picking up a pair. If you flop a pair to go with your flush draw, this is again a situation where you can limp. Obviously, if you flop top pair, you will bet or raise to try to win the pot right there. But if you flop middle pair, go ahead and call one bet. Back to the example of 89 suited, suppose you are in middle position and the flop is 8-T-2. The player to your right bets, gets two callers, and the action is to you. As long as the game is not too aggressive and you believe you can see the turn for one bet, call, hoping to get one of the other two eights, a nine, or another heart.

The pot is large. The size of the pot is one of the most neglected aspects for low-stakes holdem players. Remember, it’s not about how many pots you win –- it’s about how big the pots are that you win. Maximize your money. Remember pot odds, and compare them to the drawing odds. As the pot gets larger, you can be more liberal in seeing the turn. Your odds may not be that good to hit the hand, but if you have the chance of backing into a hand you think will be good, be more apt to call, as the payoff will be huge.

bobf111 · #33 08-01-2008

Poker is played on a variety of levels. Beginning players play poker based on their hand values. They learn what the odds are of their hands being the best and they bet, check and fold based on these odds. This is the foundation of poker and essential to learning the basics of the game. Indeed, players can often beat low limit games just by playing well at this level.

The next level of poker involves adjusting your bet, check and fold decisions by trying to ascertain what your opponent is holding. This allows the player to increase their profits per hand by folding good hands that they would normally bet or call (based on odds alone) when they think their opponent(s) have a better hand or by betting or calling hands that they would normally fold if they determine that their opponents have a worse hand.

One effective way of determining what your opponent is holding is by looking for poker “tells”. Poker tells are actions by your opponents that give away the value of their hands. Tells are most often associated with live play. Indeed, many critics of online poker claim that it is not possible to pick up any poker tells online. This is not true. Although it is indeed more difficult to pick up poker tells online, an observant player can find them. What follows is a listing of three common live play poker tells and three common online poker tells.

Live Play Tells
Looking at Chips: If you are involved in a hand on the flop, do not look at it as soon as it is dealt. Instead, take a look at your opponent’s reaction to the flop. Many players will instinctively look down at their chips if the flop has helped them. Be less likely to bluff or play a marginal hand if you spot this type of tell.

Table Talk: Pay attention to what your opponents are saying. If a player says that they are only in the hand because they want to go home (often used in tournaments) or that they feel like gambling, they often have a monster hand. Similarly, talkative players that all of a sudden go silent also often have very strong hands. Don’t bluff and fold all marginal hands if you spot these types of tells.

Eye Contact: Players are more likely to make eye contact with you if they are weak (hoping to represent strength) and more likely to avoid eye contact if they are strong (hoping to represent weakness). If you find yourself in a marginal situation, take a look at your opponent. If they are staring right at you, be more likely to call. If they are looking away, be more likely to fold.

Online Play Tells
Table Talk: Most online poker rooms have chat boxes that allow players to talk to each other. You can make use of the chat boxes to determine the strength of your opponent’s hands. You can do this in the same way you would in a live casinos. Online opponents who hold strong hands will often try to coax you into calling. Don’t fall for it. Be less likely to call an opponent who is challenging you online.

Action Buttons: Many online poker rooms have action buttons that will allow players to state their intentions on a hand before the action actually gets to them. The computer will execute this decision as soon as it is the player’s turn. You can tell that a player has used an action button because there will be absolutely no pause between that players action and the previous players. Your opponents will most likely use the “call any” action button if they are on a draw and the “raise any” button if they have a solid hand. They will seldom use these buttons on a bluff, since a bluff is situation dependant. As a result, be more likely to respect these types of bets.

Pauses: Pay attention to how long your opponent takes to call or raise you. If a player intentionally stalls and then raises you, they often have a very strong hand and are trying to lure you in. If they stall and then just call, they often have weak, marginal hands, or drawing hands.

Word of caution: While poker tells are a very powerful tool that will take your game to the next level, they should be viewed as a supplement to (not a replacement of) the solid fundamental game that you learned as a beginning player. Do not, for example, call an opponent all the way down with a queen high just because you know he is bluffing. Do, however, use the information you learned to make tough and marginal decisions easier and more profitable.