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Becoming a Complete Poker Player

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:38:19 +0100

By Steve Zolotow If you want to become a complete poker player, you need to learn how to play all the variations of the game.

You should do this because it's no good being the world's best Hold 'em player when the biggest sucker in town only wants to play Seven-Card Stud. Ideally, you want to be able to play whatever game looks to be the most profitable on any given day.

When I first started playing poker, Five-Card Stud and Five-Card Draw were two of the most popular games, but now they're both almost completely dead. They got replaced by Seven-Card Stud, which has also decreased in popularity.

For a while No-Limit Hold'em looked like it might be dying out because in the high-stakes cash games the tightest players always won, but it proved to be the perfect game for television so now it's the most popular game.

Because of how prevalent Hold'em has become, I would advise beginning poker players to start out by learning its many variations, including Limit, No-Limit, cash games, and tournaments.

After Hold'em, you should learn how to play Omaha, particularly Pot-Limit.

Limit Omaha doesn't work very well because deciding whether or not to call a bet on the river when a third flush card hits and you make a Queen-high flush isn't a very big decision if you only have to call one bet and there are twelve in the pot.

But if you're playing Pot-Limit and your opponent bets the size of the pot on the river, whether you should call with your Queen-high flush or not becomes a much more difficult decision.

In general, Pot-Limit games require a bit more skill than No-Limit games. Because you don't have the all-in move to fall back on, you have to be equally capable of playing before the flop and after the flop.

Next you should learn the Hi/Lo games, particularly Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo.

Another good game is 2-7 Triple Draw, a tremendous action game that's catching on very quickly. Like the best card games, it has a lot of mathematical elements to it, but there's also a lot of card reading and bluffing involved.

In 2-7, a drawing hand with one card to come is almost always an underdog to a hand that stands pat, so if you have a 9 and you can force your opponent to break his 9 you've gained a big advantage.

Beginning poker players are lucky nowadays because they can learn and practice all these games online.

When I was starting out, most poker games were private games and you had to pay your dues just to get invited to play. If you were a winning player and you wanted to get invited back, you needed to show up on time, be nice to the suckers, and you couldn't quit when you were winning a little bit.

Even then, there might not be a place at the table for you the following week.

Contrast that with today's world where you can play on your computer at home any time you want. Playing online offers an unprecedented level of convenience.

Let's say you're about to go the movies and your girlfriend's just gotten out of the shower but she's taking forever to dry her hair. You can actually play an entire Sit & Go while you're waiting for her.

Sit & Gos can be very profitable. They're also an ideal way to test out new strategies.

By studying your hand history afterwards, you can see what worked and what didn't. You can make notes about how you fared with a big stack and how you did with a short stack, and you can develop new ideas to try out in the future.

I still enjoy playing live because one of my skills is the ability to read people, but there are little tricks you can pick up that will help you gather information about your opponents when you're playing online.

If you're playing at a single table and one of your opponents is multi-tabling, you can bring up all the tables he's sitting at and watch how he plays. If he suffers a bad beat on another table, it could affect the way he plays a hand at your table, and you can take advantage of it.

For beginning players, online poker offers a convenient way of gaining a ton of experience in a very short period of time.

If you choose to go this route, I suggest you take the time to learn all the games available to you so you'll never have to pass up an opportunity to play against a big sucker just because he wants to play a game you're unfamiliar with.

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Hand Coordination with Brandon Adams

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:06:09 +0100

Hand coordination is the relative strength of your hand compared to your opponents' hand, and it's probably the single biggest factor determining whether you have a good or bad session playing poker.

If it's working in your favor, whenever you flop a monster, one of your opponents will also make a big hand, just not quite as big as yours.

In this situation, playing your hand as fast as possible usually gives you the best chance to make the most money.

Say you're playing Hold 'em and you're in a four-way pot, the board comes 9-9-4, and you have pocket fours. You want to play this hand fast for two reasons. The first is that you're hoping one of your opponents has a 9.

If so, he might raise you, allowing you to reraise him. Ideally, he'll call, then call you again on the turn and the river, and you'll make a lot of money.

The other reason you want to play this hand fast is that, if you check, it's quite possible your opponents will also check. Then, if the turn brings a 6 and one of your opponents has pocket sixes and makes a bigger full house, you're going to lose a huge amount of money.

Giving a free card and losing an enormous pot when you could have won a small pot (if only you'd bet) is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in poker.

Now let's say the flop comes K-J-J, and you have pocket kings. You're not as likely to cost yourself your entire stack by slowplaying in this situation.

It's extremely unlikely that your opponent is going to be behind on the flop and yet make a hand on the turn that beats you, but I still think you should play it fast.

You'll win more money by betting the whole way because any player holding a jack is, at the very least, going to call you down, and he might even raise you. On the flop you just have to put out the line and hope that one of your opponents has a jack, or better yet, K-J.

If you play it slow in this situation, you're giving away the strength of your hand. If you check on the flop with the idea of check-raising, then when you do put in the raise you're telling your opponent you've made a huge hand and are giving him the opportunity to lay down a jack.

You'll make far more money by simply betting the whole way.

However, slow-playing a monster is occasionally the better play. Suppose you raise from middle position with A-Q of hearts, the button and the big blind both call, and the flop comes 6-7-2, all hearts.

If the big blind checks, you should check too.

If the button bets, you can then raise because he's either buffing, in which case you're not going to win any more money from him, or he's also flopped a flush, in which case you want to get your money into the pot as quickly as possible in hopes of winning his entire stack, or he's flopped a set, in which case he'll call your check-raise on the flop and he'll call a big bet on the turn and he might even call a big bet on the river.

If the board pairs on the turn, you should still bet. It's such a draw heavy board that your opponent might think you only have the ace of hearts in your hand, or the ace of hearts and a pair, or the ace of hearts and another ace.

There are a lot of hands he could put you on in this spot besides the nut flush so, even if the board pairs, you should keep betting for value, hoping to get called by a worse hand.

If you bet the turn and your opponent puts in a stiff raise, then you should reevaluate. If you bet the turn and he calls and you bet the river and he raises, then you should fold because you can credibly put him on a full house.

Because hand coordination plays such an important role in determining your long-term success, you need to make as much money as you possibly can when it's working in your favor, and one of the best ways of doing that is playing fast after you flop a big hand.

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The Sneaky Check by Jon Turner

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:20:03 +0100

At every stage of a Multi-Table Tournament, your stack size relative to the blinds should be crucial to how you approach different hands and situations.

You may start a tournament with anywhere from 50 to 500 big blinds, but by the final table, the average stack is often between 25 and 40 big blinds. When deep-stacked, you can afford to make a lot of speculative raises, see a lot of flops, and make plays at pots without risking going broke.

However, when you have about 20 big blinds or less, you should be looking primarily for favorable situations to get your money in pre-flop, oftentimes shoving all-in over the top of a raiser you suspect to be stealing.

Stack size also plays a large role in how you play hands post-flop. Unless you are extremely confident that you can get your opponent off of his hand, you should be careful not to invest too much of your stack in a pot post-flop if you do not intend to go all the way with the hand. Most players are well aware of this concept, but sometimes your stack size can create a perfect opportunity to use this concept against them.

Take a look at the following hand from the book I co-wrote, Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand At a Time: Volume 1, where I can safely assume that my opponent will perceive me as weak if I pretend to give up on the hand and check on the turn.

My stack size is such on the turn that most opponents would expect me to move all in if I like my hand but check if I do not. If I were to bet again or move all in, my opponent would likely give up on anything less than top pair with a good kicker, as I would clearly be committed to the pot.

By checking, I allow my opponent to make a mistake. If he checks behind, I can move all in on the river, as I have approximately one pot-sized bet left anyway.

Seat 1: Small Blind (14,120)
Seat 2: Big Blind (18,910)
Seat 3: Under-The-Gun (4,300)
Seat 4: UTG+1 (16,205)
Seat 5: UTG+2 (7,842)
Seat 6: Middle Position (12,360)
Seat 7: Jon Turner (6,562)
Seat 8: Cutoff (3,775)
Seat 9: Button (12,853)

Setup: I am well below average, but not short-stacked, in a $100 rebuy tournament a few levels after the rebuy period has ended. The blinds are 150/300 with a 25 ante.

Pre-Flop: A K (Pot: 675): The action is folded to me, and I raise my standard 2½ times the big blind to 750. Seat 9 on the button and Seat 2 in the big blind both make the call.

Flop: A 8 5 (Pot 2,625): I flop top pair, top kicker on a very safe board. Seat 2 checks, and the action is on me. I should bet approximately one-third to one-half of the pot, my standard continuation bet. Because my opponents expect me to make this bet now with any two cards, it will not give away the strength of my hand. I bet 1,150 into the 2,625 pot. Seat 9 calls, and Seat 2 folds.

6d (Pot: 4,925): I am very confident that I have the best hand. If my opponent has me beaten, my stack size and the pot size dictate that I am willing to go broke. The only concern now is how to get my opponent's money in the pot on the next two streets.

If I were certain that my opponent was as strong as A-Q or A-J, I would bet out now and easily get his money in. However, I cannot give him credit for a hand that strong. In position, he merely called my bet on the flop.

He might have perceived this bet as weak since I would probably make a continuation bet with any two cards. Thus he might have called with anything from a weak ace to an unimproved pocket pair. He might have even floated with air, hoping to take the pot away on the turn if I show weakness with a check.

If I bet the turn, my opponent will in all likelihood give up on his unimproved pocket pairs or weaker hands, as my bet clearly commits me to the pot. However, if I check the turn, he will likely try to take the pot away no matter what he holds. If he has an ace, I will get his money in either way.

I check, and my opponent moves all in. This is precisely what I wanted him to do. I make the call, and my opponent shows 9 9. The 2 hits the river, and I win the pot with aces and a king kicker.

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Playing Fifth Street in Seven-Stud with Keith Sexton

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:56:58 +0100

Fifth Street is the big decision point in Seven-Card Stud because that's the critical juncture in the hand when you have to put in your first big bet.

While it's nice to have a made hand at this point, you don't always need one to put in a raise on Fifth Street. If you have a big draw, that can be enough to warrant raising your opponent. Some players don't think like this, and I believe that's a costly mistake.

Here's an example of a situation where I believe raising with a draw is the correct play. Let's say your opponent is showing an Ace, and you have a seven of diamonds up and a six and seven of spades in the hole, giving you a pair of sevens. You and your opponent are the only players involved in the hand, and he opens with a raise. You call.

On the turn your opponent catches an offsuit jack and bets. You catch the nine of spades. You have a pretty nice hand at this point. Not only do you have a pair of sevens, but you also have three cards to a flush and three cards to a straight so there are a lot of cards you can catch that will give you a big draw. You definitely want to call in this spot.

On Fifth Street your opponent catches a six so now he has an ace, jack, and six showing. You catch the deuce of spades, which is a very interesting card. You now have a pair of sevens and four spades to a flush, but your opponent is unaware of how strong you are because one of your sevens and two of your spades are hidden.

Your opponent leads out with a bet once again. Now here's the question. Should you simply call or should you raise?

Even if your opponent has two aces, I would prefer to have two sevens and four spades in this situation so you should be aggressive and put in a raise. You should do this for a couple of reasons. First, even if he does have a pair of Aces, you're still the favorite. You are about a 58 percent favorite to win the hand so you're getting the best of it right now.

The other reason you should raise is that it will get you a free card if you fail to hit your draw.

Let's say you go ahead and raise on Fifth Street, and your opponent calls. Since he called your raise, you can be pretty certain he has a pair that can beat your sevens. Then on Sixth Street he catches a 4 and you catch the 3 of diamonds, a card that doesn't help your hand at all.

If your opponent is a weak player, he is probably going to check it to you because he's going to be scared of that raise you put in on Fifth Street. If he does in fact check, then you succeeded in accomplishing exactly what you set out to do.

You got extra money into the pot on Fifth Street when you had the best of it, and now that you missed your draw and don't have the best of it anymore you're happy to get a free card. Now you have one more shot at drawing out on him.

This is a clear example of why it pays to be aggressive on Fifth Street in Seven-Card Stud. Some players would just call in this situation, but I think that's a big mistake. Being aggressive and sticking in a raise has two clear advantages over simply calling.

It will get more money into the pot those times you do make your hand, and it will get you a free card those times you don't. The bottom line is that you need to be aggressive when playing Seven-Card Stud because it's the aggressive player who usually wins.

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Semi-Bluffing with Andy Bloch

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:39:50 +0100

The semi-bluff is one of the most powerful weapons in any poker player's arsenal. If there's a decent chance you can steal a pot by semi-bluffing, you should usually take it.

But, as with any play you make at the table, the semi-bluff is always most effective when you use it at the correct time in the correct situation. Semi-bluff too much and your opponents will know when you're on the draw; semi-bluff too little and your opponents will know to fold whenever you bet.

The key to semi-bluffing is to always mix things up and never become too predictable with your betting patterns.

Let's say that you've flopped the nut flush draw and are pretty certain your opponent has connected with the flop in some way, be it top pair or maybe even a set. A lot of players like to check-raise as a semi-bluff in this spot.

There are a couple of problems with this play: first, if you always check-raise in this spot then your opponent will be able to put you on a draw very easily. Second, if your opponent really does have a hand, there's no need to check-raise here because there's no way he's folding and there's a good chance he'll pay you off anyway if you hit your hand.

A better move in this spot might be not semi-bluffing and just calling instead. This way, if you hit your flush on the turn, your options are wide open - checking, calling or raising are all viable plays - and your opponent won't be able to put you on a hand quite as easily.

By not semi-bluffing, you increase your chances of winning a bigger pot when your opponent actually has a strong hand. There are players out there who'll assume you're not on the draw if you don't semi-bluff, so use that to your advantage.

Now, if you don't think that your opponent has a strong hand or your draw isn't that strong (say a low flush draw), this is the perfect time for a semi-bluff. The semi-bluff should be used as a tool to steal pots when the opportunity arises, not as a means of building big pots.

Another good way to mix up your semi-bluffing game plan is to wait until the turn to semi-bluff rather than always doing it on the flop. This can be a dangerous play because you've only got one card to come on the turn and you're not getting the same odds.

But it also means that your opponent is less likely to think that you're semi-bluffing and put you on the draw. It looks pretty strong if you call on the flop and then raise on the turn; your opponent might think you've flopped the nuts and throw away a pretty strong hand.

Another advantage to semi-bluffing on the turn rather than the flop is that you could pick up additional outs on the turn. Say you have a gut-shot straight draw on the flop and then pick up a flush draw on the turn. You've just gone from four outs to about 12, which might be worth a shot at taking down the pot right then and there.

A lot of players will also have trouble putting you on the flush draw in this spot; it's just harder to see that flush draw on the turn than it is on the flop.

Once again, the key to a good semi-bluff is picking the right spot to pull it off. Choose poorly and you could stand to lose a good portion of your stack; choose well and you could throw your opponents off balance and hit them where it hurts when you make your hand.

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The Rebuy Tournament Game Plan

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:37:56 +0100

By Michael Gracz -- Going into any rebuy tournament, you should know before the first cards are dealt how much money you're willing to invest.

Whether you're playing with a single bullet (not planning to rebuy at all), enough money to rebuy 50 times, or somewhere in between, you should have a number in your mind. You need to know from the start how many risks you can afford to take, and play accordingly.

For me personally, I don't believe in playing with a single bullet or with unlimited ammo. If you're only planning on making one buy-in, then why not play a regular No-Limit Hold'em tournament?

Playing a rebuy tournament with only one bullet, you have no safety net and you're giving the other players a significant edge over you because they're able to exploit your reluctance to gamble.

If you're pushing your stack in over and over, looking to accumulate chips and willing to go broke repeatedly, there's a certain amount of upside to that, but I don't believe it's the best expected value play.

Yes, that maniacal approach can sometimes get you into the post-rebuy period with a large chip stack, which of course provides an edge for the rest of the tournament. The problem is that if you've spent something like $25,000 in a $1,000 buy-in tournament, you have to finish that much higher in the money to come out ahead.

A lot of times when you're rebuying that many times, just making the money doesn't cover how much you've invested into the tournament.

My personal rule of thumb is that I like to be willing to invest in the tournament in accordance to the payout amounts. I don't ever want to get to the point where I'm investing significantly more money than the lowest money place pays.

So in a $1,000 rebuy tournament, I'm willing to put about $8,000 into it. Some days, it's just not your day, the cards aren't falling your way and you have to leave and come back and play another day. It's foolish to sit there and keep putting your stack in the middle when you have no edge and often times you're up against a better hand.

When you're playing this middle-of-the-road strategy, it's important to identify the maniacal players from the outset because they're going to be very dangerous, but they're also going to provide you with your best opportunities to chip up.

These players are actually the prime reason to play in a rebuy tournament, because you can feast on them. They're going to open with all types of hands from all different positions, so you can call with marginal hands in position such as 10-9 suited, 8-7 suited, 3-4 suited, even one-gappers such as 6-8 suited.

I also want to put a lot of pressure on this type of player before the flop if I have a big hand like aces, kings, or queens, simply because this is the type of player who's really willing to gamble and might just go ahead and ship the rest of his stack in right there.

In the last 10 to 15 minutes of the rebuy period, if you've been able to acquire a stack, this is a critical time in the tournament to play smart. If the hyper-aggressive players don't have a lot of chips, they're going to be pushing it all in almost every hand to give themselves a shot at a big stack heading into the post-rebuy period.

If you have an edge in a given hand against these guys, use it, but you don't want to gamble too much. Remember that you've acquired a stack now and it's your goal to maintain that stack in and after the rebuy period.

-- Michael Gracz

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Taking Online Notes on Opponents

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:37:07 +0100

By Paul Wasicka -- When you're at the table playing live poker, the only notes you can take - at least inconspicuously - are mental ones. Online, however, you're granted a tremendous opportunity that doesn't exist in live play.

It's important to take advantage of this and keep notes on your opponents. If you're going to do this, you need to do it right. This means including key details to give the notes relevance when you find yourself calling upon them later.

One thing that many poker players overlook is the importance of including the date. I always type the date alongside my note on a player so that if I come across that note when playing against him six months later, I'll know to follow it with caution because a player's style can change greatly in that time span.

On the other hand, if I were to play him again a few days later, chances are he hasn't overhauled his game too drastically in that time period.

The first time that I observe a specific trait about someone, I'll follow it with a question mark. So if I saw someone try to bluff with King-high after being checked to twice, I could make a note like: "Feed this player some rope and they won't be able to resist?"

Since I'm basing the note on a sample set of only one hand, I use the question mark. If I see the player bluff like that two or three more times, I'll delete the question mark. Just because you see something one time, it doesn't mean it's a staple of that person's game.

It's also important to make your notes as detailed as possible. Something like "has no clue how to handle short-stacks" is a decent starting point, but you want to follow it up with specifics so the note resonates in the future.

You'll want to add more information, such as: "Called a shortstack's $70 open out of position with pocket fours and check-raised all in with three overcards and no draw." A note like that says it all.

One thing that I always make a note of is any player who posts blinds the instant they sit down at a cash game instead of being patient enough to wait for it. Are they really that desperate to play a hand? Posting out of position is terrible play, especially under the gun. It demonstrates impatience.

I prefer to write a note and include their stack size, something like: "second position post with a 20 BB stack." That tells me a lot about how impatient this person is.

Of course, there are two sides to every aspect of poker; always remember that other people may be taking notes on you. This serves as an excellent reason to constantly mix up your play. It's crucial to adapt your game, especially online, because people are looking for patterns much more than in live play.

If you get caught bluffing and lose some money, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you think your opponents paid attention to that and might have taken a note on it, use that knowledge against them. Let them think you're aggressive and then get them to pay off your value bets when you make a hand.

You can go so far as to take notes on how you think your opponents view your play; that's how comprehensive and advanced they can be. Start by simply taking notes on your opponents' tendencies. If you include the right details, you'll be rewarded in future pots with those players.

-- Paul Wasicka

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Keep Your Toolbox Well Stocked

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:17:09 +0100

By Chris "Jesus" Ferguson -- I often get asked about my playing style. Rather than answer the question myself, I'm more interested in what my opponents say. And I've heard it all: "You're too tight." "You're too loose." "You're tight aggressive." "You're too passive."

Actually, I never hear that last one, but I've heard all the others, which makes me believe I must be doing something right. Loose, tight, aggressive - my style is that I'm all of the above, depending upon the circumstances.

One essential element of playing winning poker is forcing your opponents to make difficult decisions. That's why raising is almost always better than calling - because it forces an extra decision on your opponents. To take this a step further - you'll win more money by forcing your opponents to make decisions when they are out of their comfort zones.

Here are some examples:

Your opponent is on your left, playing too tight before the flop. You want to punish him for this. The best way to do that is to raise more often, and be more aggressive. Either you end up stealing a lot of blinds, or he adjusts his play.

If you get the blinds? Great! If he adjusts? Better! It's the best outcome you can hope for. If he starts playing more hands pre-flop, you now have a real edge. Anytime your opponent changes his pre-flop playing style, he's going to run into trouble later in the hand. A guy who usually plays nothing but very strong hands isn't going to know what to do with weaker holdings on the turn and river.

If a tight opponent raises in front of you, wait for a stronger hand to call. By playing tight when you are acting behind your opponent, you avoid losing money to his stronger hands. Again, if your opponent catches on, you're forcing him to play more hands up front, and you can outplay him after the flop.

What about the guy who plays too many hands? If you're acting first, you want better starting hands than normal. Most of the value of a marginal hand comes from the chance that your opponent will fold immediately.

If your opponent has never seen suited cards he doesn't like, the value of your marginal hand decreases because it's unlikely he's going to lay his hand down. He may win more pots pre-flop, but this is more than offset by the extra money you're going to make when you do see a flop with your stronger hands.

If a loose opponent raises you, you can call, or even raise, with weaker hands, and raise with hands you'd ordinarily just call with. By taking control of the hand, you can pick up more pots later. Again, you are daring him to change his style. If he doesn't, you're getting the best of it. If he does, he's a fish out of water, prone to making mistakes later in the hand.

It's important to have a lot of tools in your arsenal. First, it's helpful in being able to adjust to your opponents and force them out of their comfort zones. Additionally, it will enable you to take advantage of your own table image when you have already been labeled as a tight or loose player, and to adjust accordingly.

For example, Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey are known as extremely aggressive players. The only way they have been able to survive with that image is by being able to adjust to different opponents and to slow down occasionally, when appropriate.

I have seen this happen sometimes just before an opponent starts reacting to their aggression. They are somehow able to sense what is happening, and change their games accordingly. Other times, they won't adjust much, and force their opponents to try and beat them at an unfamiliar game.

To best take advantage of this, pay attention! To everything. All the time. Not just when you're in the hand, but especially when you're not in the hand. Every hand your opponent plays gives you valuable information about how he thinks, and how he's likely to play hands in the future.

If there's an expert at your table, watch how he plays. See what hands he expects to work, think about how he plays them, and then try incorporating it yourself. See how he pushes weaker players out of their comfort zone. Paying attention is one of the best ways to learn, and a great way to move up the poker food chain.

-- Chris "Jesus" Ferguson

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How to Play the Early Stages of Turbo MTT's

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:12:27 +0100

By Michael Craig -- When playing a turbo Multi-Table Tournament online, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is overcompensating for the fact that it's a turbo by playing too fast and loose during the first several rounds.

Because the levels are shorter and the starting stacks smaller, you'll see players rushing to get all their chips into the pot with a hand like A-9 or pocket 5s. Since these tournaments actually play like normal tournaments during the first few levels, it's important to remain patient and wait for big hands.

In the first 15 or 20 minutes of a turbo tournament you should play the same way you would in the first hour or hour and a half of a regular tournament. You should be looking to play quality hands aggressively from late position, but if you meet any resistance you need to pull back.

At this point in the tournament it's not worth losing all your chips with A-J offsuit or pocket fives if an opponent comes over the top of your raise.

There's also very little point in trying to steal the blinds in the early stages because they're so small relative to the size of the starting chip stacks. Stealing the blinds becomes much more important in the later rounds after the antes have kicked in.

The other argument against trying to steal the blinds early on is that you're more likely than usual to get called because players tend to play faster in turbos. The big blind will be looking for a reason to call your raise from late position, and he might even make a move, pushing all-in with a marginal hand. As a result, trying to steal the blinds becomes much less profitable than usual.

What you should be looking for in the early stages are opportunities to play small hands that could become big hands. When you're in good position, you should be looking to see as many flops as possible with small pocket pairs and suited connectors because these are the types of hands that can win big pots.

If I have a hand like pocket sixes, I'll rarely fold to a raise before the flop because I know that one time in eight I'll catch a six on the flop and double up off a player who can't let go of his big pair.

If you do choose to call a raise before the flop with a small pocket pair, it's important that you make sure your opponent has a large enough chip stack to justify the eight-to-one odds of you hitting a set. Ideally, you should be looking to make this call against a player who has at least twenty times the size of the preflop raise. If your opponent only has five times the size of the raise in his chip stack, you can't win enough to make the call mathematically correct.

Another important difference between turbo and regular tournaments is that in a regular tournament I'll be a little more aggressive in the early stages, trying to project a certain image.

I'll often raise with hands like J-9 suited or Q-8 suited in late position, but that tactic doesn't work as well in turbo tournaments. In turbos I'll often pass up opportunities to make an opening raise with these sorts of hands because I don't want to put myself in the difficult position of having to play a big pot with such a weak hand.

Let your opponents be the ones to overplay their weak hands early on because they almost certainly will. They'll raise or call raises before the flop with hands like pocket fours, and even if the flop comes Q-J-7 they'll keep on pushing.

Such players also tend to overplay strong hands like A-K. After raising before the flop with that hand, many players will refuse to let it go after getting check-raised on a flop like J-7-4. Even though they're obviously behind, they'll call a big bet, hoping to catch an Ace or King on the turn.

Some players will even push all their chips into the middle in this situation. All they have are two overcards, but I guess they figure that after raising before the flop and betting on the flop they've already invested a healthy chunk of their chip stack and they might as well go all the way with the hand.

They're impatient because of the nature of turbo tournaments - starting with smaller chip stacks and playing quicker levels - but this is obviously a huge mistake.

The most important thing to remember in the early stages of an online turbo tournament is stay patient and wait for big hands. Too many players overcompensate for the fact that it's a turbo and make foolish moves that cost them half their stacks. Don't be one of those players.

-- Michael Craig

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Interpreting Three-Bets

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:44:25 +0100

By Jordan Morgan -- We all know that a three-bet is supposed to mean strength. When a player three-bets before the flop, he's saying that he believes he has the best hand.

One of the keys to making money at the poker table, however, is being able to interpret when the three-bet means what it's supposed to mean, and when a player is only representing a big hand and making a move.

The fact of the matter is that you're not getting the right odds in most situations to call a three-bet with a small pocket pair. When there's been a raise and a re-raise in front of you and you look down at a hand like pocket 6s, you normally want to fold it and move on.

You can sometimes get away with making the call with a very deep stack, but you really have to have a strong read that you're going to get paid if you make your hand. I might call with pocket nines or tenss in the right spot against the right opponent, but hands like eights or sevens just don't play well enough, especially out of position.

One exception, of course, is if a particular player three-bets repeatedly. This suggests he isn't always doing it with strong hands and it might be worth playing back at him. However, when I say "repeatedly," I don't just mean a couple of times early in a session.

If a guy three-bets you twice early on, you might be inclined to think that he's picking on you and doesn't have a hand. But it could also be that the guy got dealt big hands twice. Until he has three-bet you relentlessly or shown down a weak holding after three-betting, you don't want to try to make a play at him.

Once he has done it several times, then it's worth making a play at the pot if he puts in another three-bet, because he's not going to have the premium hand that he's representing that often.

Another thing to watch out for is the tiny three-bet. Say it's a $1/$2 game, I raise to $6, and another player raises to $10 or $12 instead of something more standard like $15 or $18. When people make a tiny three-bet, I'll usually call that. I don't give a lot of respect to those plays. Sometimes they will be huge hands, but more often they'll be very weak hands that you can take the pot from out of position.

A very small three-bet is not a tactic that I'll use very often - there isn't much reason for it. If you're trying to steal a pot, you want to make it more difficult for your opponent to call. If you actually have a big hand, you want to get value for it when your opponent calls, so a bigger three-bet is a better idea.

Facing a three-bet can be a daunting prospect at times - be certain you have a good read on your opponent before making your next move.

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-- Jordan 'iMsoLucky0' Morgan

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Redraws in Pot-Limit Omaha

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:39:13 +0100

Barny Boatman --In Pot-Limit Omaha, the best hand on the flop may not be the best hand at all. It's all about the "outs" - the cards that will improve your hand as the board develops.

If you have the nut straight and there is a flush draw on board, then any flush draw will hugely improve your hand, but, particularly when playing deep stacked, a good rule of thumb when drawing is to try to be the one who is drawing to the nuts.

If you improve and there is still betting, you want to know where you stand or you'll face some hard decisions. At a full table, the pot will very often end up going to the player holding the best possible hand.

If there are three flush cards on the board, the winning player will often show an Ace-high flush, and if the board pairs, the winner will usually have a full house. While flopping the nuts is nice, it's even more important that you have redraws to make the nuts when the board changes on later streets.

Because you have four cards in your hand instead of just two, the starting hands in Omaha are much closer together in value than they are in Texas Hold'em. Any four random cards not containing a pair are rarely going to be that far behind any other starting hand. However, unless you are getting most of your chips in pre-flop, this fact is deceptive.

Hands where all cards work together have much better potential for a strong fit with the flop and most players would improve their game by playing fewer hands. Hand values start to diverge on the flop and at that point they change dramatically.

In Omaha, the best hand changes from street to street. The nuts almost never stay the same and the best hand on the flop will rarely be good on the river; if you're going to continue on in a hand, you'd prefer to have a redraw that gives you plenty of outs.

More than anything, Pot-Limit Omaha is about straights and straight possibilities. It is worth remembering that every single straight contains either a five or a ten. Providing they fit in your hand, these are key cards in Omaha, particularly tens, which appear in more nut straights than any other card. If there's a lot of action on the flop and the board hasn't paired, you really want to have a redraw to make the nut straight. If your hand's got flush potential as well, all the better.

Unless you have some sort of redraw, one of the worst hands you can have on the flop in Pot-Limit Omaha is a small set because chances are good that you'll end up losing to a bigger set, a straight, or a flush. For this reason, beginning players should avoid starting hands that feature small pairs like fives or sevens. It's more likely that these hands will get you in trouble than make you money - you'd be smart to fold them before the flop.

Having a redraw to make the nuts is so important in Pot-Limit Omaha that folding the nuts on the flop is often the best play if the board is scary and your hand has no chance of improving. This might sound crazy to Texas Hold'em players, but this situation occurs all the time in Omaha.

The best way to combat this is to play starting hands that have all four cards working together so that if you do make a hand on the flop you can play it aggressively, knowing that your hand has a chance to improve on the turn or the river.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Let's say you've got A-9-8-7 and the flop comes 6-9-10. You've flopped the nut straight, but you can't celebrate too much because if a 7, 8 or any face card falls on the turn or the river you won't have the nut straight anymore. If there are two flush cards on the flop, you're in even worse shape.

This is a very difficult situation to be in because any change that occurs on the board can ruin your hand. If the board pairs, you may well lose to a full house and if a flush comes, you're probably going to lose. Even if the straight you flopped somehow remains the nuts on the river, there's a good chance you're going to have to split the pot.

When you pick up a starting hand that has the potential to make a straight, it's fine if the hand has a gap in it. Just remember that it's far better to have a gap at the bottom of the hand than at the top. For example, J-10-9-7 is a better hand than J-9-8-7 because the first one allows for more upward development. If the flop comes 8-6-5, you've made the nut straight with both hands, but if a 9 falls on the turn, only the first hand allows you to make a higher straight.

Ignorant of this concept, many players who are new to the game tend to overvalue a hand like 6-5-4-3. Even though the cards are perfectly connected, this hand is not as pretty as it looks because it doesn't allow for much upward development.

As you can see, it's not always enough to flop the nuts in this game. You also need to have a redraw to make the nuts when the board changes; because in Pot-Limit Omaha, it always does.

-- Barny Boatman

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Bubble Play in Nine-Handed Sit-and-Gos

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:55:09 +0100

By Howard Lederer -- In a typical nine-handed, one-table Sit & Go that pays out three places, the most critical juncture of the tournament comes when four players remain. Three of those players will turn a profit, and one of them will go home empty-handed. It goes without saying that there's no more disappointing place to finish in a nine-handed Sit & Go than fourth.

It's a volatile time when your stack is getting short, the blinds are getting high and everyone's looking to cash. To get the most out of Sit & Gos, you're going to have to learn how to master the bubble.

On Full Tilt Poker, first place gets 50% of the prize pool, second place gets 30% and third place pockets 20%. But don't let that 20% fool you. It's not really 20% for third, because once you get down to three players, 60% of the prize money has been locked up and actually already paid out.

Essentially, the last three players are only fighting over 40% of the prize pool as the other 60% has already been paid out. That's why it's so important to make sure you get into the money. You're going to have to make some tough decisions and tight lay-downs to make sure that you get a piece of that 60%.

Here's an example of a hand you would play very differently on the money bubble in a Sit & Go than in most other instances. You're second in chips with 3,000, the blinds are 100/200, and you're dealt Ad-7d in the big blind. The chip leader is on the button and raises to 600; the small blind folds and you call the extra 400.

The flop comes Q-8-3 with two diamonds, which is a pretty attractive flop for your hand. You check, and your opponent does exactly what you didn't want him to do: put you all in for about double the size of the pot. You're getting slightly better than 3-to-2 pot odds on a call for your tournament life.

This is a situation in most tournaments where, if it was early in the Sit & Go or if the money bubble had already burst, you would call. But this is a special situation. You are on the bubble and 60% of the prize pool is about to be awarded.

If you call here, you're probably about 50/50 to be the player that finishes on the bubble and gets none of that 60%. This is one situation where you need to really let the structure of the Sit & Go influence your decision.

Once the bubble bursts, your approach should change dramatically. Look again at the payout structure: the last three players are fighting over the remaining 40% of the prize pool. If you move up from third to second, you get another 10%, but if you move up from third to first, that gets you an extra 30%.

That's three times more reward for winning than for just moving up a spot. So your goal now becomes to do what's necessary to finish in first place and not be too concerned about going broke and finishing in third.

You should be willing to put your chips at risk to give yourself a stack that can lead to a win. If you pick up a hand like J-9 or Ace-rag and it looks like someone might be pushing you around, take a stand. Put your chips in the middle. You don't want to be anteing off your chips, limping up into second and then not winning.

In these structures, the initial goal is always to cash. Once you've cashed, the goal is to go for the win.

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Recharging for Better Results

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:25:14 +0100

By Matt Vengrin -- One of the great things about poker, especially online poker, is that the game is always there when you're ready to play.

It's not like being a baseball player, where you're at the mercy of your team's schedule, or like being a doctor, where you have to respond to emergency calls. With poker, you can walk away from the game for a little while, and it will be there when you get back. That's why I strongly advocate taking breaks occasionally, especially if you pick up on signs that your play isn't as sharp as it should be.

The main sign to look for is that your desire to play is waning. You should play poker when you want to play. It sounds obvious, but too many of us inexplicably keep playing even when we don't want to.

I also find that when I'm experiencing a lot of negative feelings, that's a good time for a break. If I'm feeling negative, not just from poker, but maybe from something else going on in my life, that's going to affect my play, usually for the worse.

The other thing I keep an eye out for is when I'm gambling more than usual. If I'm playing tournaments and I'm finding that I'm too willing to get all my chips in on a coin flip, that's a sign that I'm not playing my best and I need to walk away rather than let myself burn out.

Whatever your particular signs may be, the fact is that if you're consistently losing, chances are there's a reason for it. A lot of players will say, "Oh, I'm just running bad," but it's rare that that's all there is to it.

And when I take a break, I really take a break - I totally distance myself from the game. I don't play at all for a few days. That allows me to take a step back, get a different perspective, and come back hungry to play well.

At the 2008 World Series of Poker, a situation arose where I called upon my discipline to take a break even though a part of me really didn't want to. My favorite event was coming up - Half Omaha/Half Hold 'Em - but I could feel myself getting burned out. I hadn't cashed yet and I'd finished on the bubble three times, so I was really demoralized.

Half Omaha/Half Hold 'Em is my favorite tournament and even though I was really looking forward to it, I knew if I played, I wasn't likely to do well and I would make myself tired for other upcoming events.

So instead of playing, I headed to Malibu for a couple of days and visited a friend; I went to the beach and totally distanced myself from poker. And the first event I played when I got back was Event #29, $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'Em, and I placed third for a payday of more than $165,000, my biggest live tournament cash to date.

Basically, I liken a poker player's mental processing to a battery: when a battery's life runs low, you need to recharge it. And the best way to recharge is to take a little break from the game. You'll find that some of your best results come when your mind is fresh and when you're playing because you truly want to be playing.

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Playing Ace-King Out of Position

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:49:48 +0100

By Jon "Pearljammed" Turner -- Ace-king may be one of the strongest starting hands in poker, but you've got to play it right in each position to make it pay - especially in the early stages of a tournament.

Being in early position adds another challenge to the situation. But if you're betting consistently and keeping an eye on your opponents, you should be able to take more than a few pots when you're holding Big Slick.

To start, let's look at the early stages of tournament play. Suppose I have $3,000 chips, the blinds are $20/$40, and I'm under the gun with A-K.

I'll raise to $120 and assume that there are a couple of callers. Regardless of my position, this is a good situation. With just two callers, I've likely got the best hand.

Let's say the flop comes A- or K-x-x. I've got to be careful not to overplay my hand. If I start out check-raising here it will be obvious that I've connected with the flop and I'll likely drive out some of the weaker hands that I can probably get action from if I just check-call.

A better move here, however, is to avoid slow-playing this hand at all and to lead out at the pot with a continuation bet like I would at any other time. This not only helps to build the pot, but it also prevents my opponents from catching a free card that could somehow cost me more later on.

If I do get action from an opponent after I lead out, I'll probably check on the turn. By doing this, I can control the pot size and induce my opponent to bluff into me with a weaker hand

If my opponent checks behind me, I can value bet on the river and try to induce a call if he's holding a pocket pair like Js or Ts and he thinks his two-pair may be ahead.

If my opponent is holding a weaker ace, checking the turn and value betting the river is also a good way to keep them in the hand and to extract an extra call at the end of the hand.

If my opponent leads out and bets after I check the turn with my A-K, I'll usually just call his bet and head to the river. Again, check-raising here isn't a good play because it's likely to drive a weaker hand out of the pot or cost me more chips if I'm facing a stronger hand.

If I lead out after the flop and get raised by my opponent, I'll usually just flat-call and see the turn. I'll seldom re-raise here because all that will do is drive out weaker hands than mine that still might put money in the pot.

One situation where I will re-raise, however, is when I've got an opponent who's consistently overplayed his hands - especially when he's holding an ace. If I'm facing an opponent like this, I may re-raise all-in to induce a call when he's way behind.

Assuming I've just flat-called a re-raise on the flop, I'll check the turn just like I did in the earlier example. If my opponent checks behind me, I'll value bet my A-K on the river and hope for a call.

If my opponent bets out after I check the turn, then I've got a tough decision. If he's firing a second bet, I can be pretty sure he's holding a strong hand like a set and that he has a good idea about what I'm holding.

This is especially true if I'm up against an experienced opponent. I may lay down my A-K here in order to save my chips for a better spot or I may call depending on the size of the bet and any history I have with this opponent.

If I call and he bets strong again on the river, I'll almost always fold as I have to assume that he'd very rarely bet here with a worse kicker or as a third bluff.

One situation where I won't check the turn is if the flop comes K-x-x with two suited cards on the board. In this spot, I'm going to lead out if the flush card doesn't hit on the turn in order to protect my hand from the potential flush coming on the river.

If my opponent has a set or a hand that already has me beat, he's probably going to re-raise to protect his hand as well. This complicates things even more, and I'm going to have to rely on my read of him at that point to determine what I should do

If I really think he has a hand or he's proven to be a solid player, I'll probably fold and look for a better spot.

A-K is a very powerful hand, but it can also be dangerous - especially when you're playing it from early position. By continuation betting after the flop, you can get a pretty good idea of how strong or weak your opponents may be, and plot your next moves accordingly.

Depending on whether your opponent calls or raises, checking the turn can either set you up to pick up some extra chips by value betting the river, or save you some precious chips if you're forced to lay down to a bigger a hand.

Either way, you're retaining control of the hand and giving yourself the best chance to make it to the money.

-- Jon "Pearljammed" Turner

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Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:30:45 +0100

By John Juanda -- I'm at Foxwoods playing the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. We all started with $3,000 and now I've got $15,000.

At my table is Richard Tatalovitch, a player whom I've competed against many times. I raise pre-flop from middle position with K-J offsuit and Richard calls from the big blind.

The flop comes 9-6-4 with two diamonds on the board.

Richard hesitates for a moment before checking, and I put in a pot-sized bet. Richard thinks for a while and calls. All of a sudden, I don't like my hand so much.

Imagine my relief when a non-diamond J hits the turn. Now I have top pair and a pretty good kicker. Then Richard comes out betting. Uh-oh.

Now, let me back up a moment and mention that when someone hesitates before checking, it's usually a huge tell. But Richard is the king of delayed action, so I ignored his tell and bet the flop anyway.

And his bet on the turn just screams, "Raise me! I dare you!" I go into the tank and my thoughts go something like this:

1. He flopped a set. That explains the smooth call on the flop - he's trying to trap me into staying, hoping I'll bet the turn, too.

2. No. If he had a set, he'd have checked the turn and waited for me to hang myself right then and there, or let me catch something on the river. He can't have a set.

3. The jack helped him. I don't have the jack of diamonds. Maybe he does, and he called the flop with a jack-high flush draw. If so, I like my kicker and my hand.

4. He's betting on the come with a flush or straight draw and is hoping to buy the pot right there.

I run through these possibilities and reach no conclusion.

Normally, I would just call here. We both have a lot of chips, and I don't want to put them all in with nothing but top pair. Then, I have the misfortune to remember a hand from a month earlier at Bellagio:

Richard had been running bad and was complaining about a string of horrific beats. I saw him check and call with top boat because he was afraid of quads! A guy that afraid of monsters under the bed isn't going to check-call top set on the flop with a flush draw out there.

"All-in!" I declared.

Oops. This is now a Big Pot. And rest assured, top pair doesn't even resemble a Big Hand.

In the four years I've been playing with him, I've never seen him call so fast. I am drawing dead to his perfectly played 9-9.

Sometimes, we all forget that big cards don't always equal a big hand and that the smart move can be to play conservatively instead of going for the quick kill.

As for Richard - he had the good sense to be in a Big Pot with a Big Hand, and the patience to make it pay off.

-- John Juanda

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The Benefits of an Aggressive Image

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:02:02 +0100

By Scott Montgomery -- One of the most important aspects of poker is establishing an individual image and using it to your advantage.

By playing an extremely aggressive game, you're likely to get paid off when you make a big hand because your opponents assume you have nothing; by consistently playing tight, you'll get away with bluffs because they assume you're strong.

Either approach is fine, but it's tremendously important to be aware of your table image so you can profit by playing against it.

Most of the time, players fall between these two extremes and that's not a formula for success. One of the keys to succeeding in poker is consistently playing a different game than everyone else at the table.

Developing a unique style and then varying your game allows you take advantage of opponents who don't adjust their game. Personally, I feel the style that works best is all-out aggression.

One important reason for this is that it gives me a shot at becoming the chip leader and running away with the tournament. On the other hand, it can also lead to busting out early.

For me, this is a risk worth taking; in the long run, I'm more interested in finishing tournaments in 1st place once in a while than just making the money most of the time.

Keep in mind that this type of aggression isn't just a matter of bluffing to steal pots; my ultimate goal is to get paid off when I have a big hand.

By getting involved in a lot of pots with mediocre hands while still keeping my stack close to even, I put myself in a position to profit from opponents who are convinced that I'm completely loose and taking shots with any two cards.

I don't have to be successful every time I bluff, just enough to stay alive and reinforce that wild image so that when I catch that hand, I'll be sure to win a big pot.

Here's a perfect illustration from Day Seven of the World Series of Poker Main Event - the day that determined who would reach the final table.

I came into the day with about $4.5 million in chips, which was a little below the average. I knew that to make it to the final table and have a real shot at taking it down, I'd need about $15 million in chips.

I had no intention of sneaking in short-stacked, so I knew I'd have to triple up over the course of the day.

I stayed pretty even throughout the whole day, except for two massive pots that were directly related. The first pot came early in the day, when I tried to bluff a player off a pot on the flop with nothing but ace-high.

I made this all-in move because I thought I could get the guy to fold. He ended up calling with top pair, but I spiked the ace on the river to double up through him.

I certainly got lucky there, but one other very important thing came out of it: I made the table aware that I wasn't afraid to make a move for most or all of my stack.

Later in the day I was involved in a hand where I had the nuts - there were four spades on the board and I had the ace of spades. My opponent had a smaller flush - with the nine of spades, I believe - but my image was so crazy that he called because he put me on another bluff.

The earlier hand, when I pushed with the ace-high, had to have been in the back of his mind. Poker players always want to call. They think: what hands can I possibly beat?

This is magnified when you're at a TV table, because no one wants to be that guy who laid down a good hand and lost a huge pot to a stone-cold bluff, especially when the whole nation is watching. Because of my loose image, I ended up winning an $18-million-chip pot.

In a sense, it isn't easy to play poker this aggressively. You have to be equipped to handle the emotional swings; you have to understand, deep down, that sometimes you're going to lose huge pots - maybe even your whole stack - on a bluff.

When it happens, you can't collapse. You have to walk into the next tournament willing to make that same play again, because most of the time it will work. You can never be afraid at the table or preoccupied with the past.

To play this aggressively, you have to believe that it's the right way. If you can manage this, you're going to be successful in the long run.

-- Scott Montgomery

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Betting Out to Control Pot Size

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:21:35 +0100

By Kelly Kim -- Intuitively, it would seem that checking and calling is the best way to keep a pot small when you're uncertain as to whether or not you have the best hand.

And often, that's the case. But believe it or not, betting out can sometimes allow you to get to the showdown cheaper than checking.

If your goal is to control the size of the pot, sometimes voluntarily putting chips in will actually keep the pot smaller than passively putting chips in only after your opponent does.

Here's an example from a hand that I played during this year's World Series of Poker Main Event that will illustrate this tactic.

The blinds were $12,000/$24,000 and I opened for $60,000 on the button. Usually when you open for 2 1/2 big blinds like that, especially on the button, it portrays some strength.

In this case, I only had Q-J of hearts. The small blind called and the big blind folded.

The flop came A-10-rag; he checked, I bet $65,000 and he called. The turn card was a queen - making me second pair - and he checked.

This was the key moment in the hand. I decided to bet $100,000. I did this for pot control: I didn't want to call a bet of $150,000 or $200,000 on the river, so I made a smaller bet at that point expecting it to freeze him on the river with most hands.

Let's say my opponent had A-3. My small bet on the turn made it look like I had a strong hand and was milking him, wanting him to call. There was no way he could bet on the river with an ace and no kicker; he was just as happy as I was to see a free showdown at that point.

It's also important to note our stack sizes. I started the hand with about $600,000 in chips and he was deep, with about $1.5 million.

By betting $100,000 on the turn, meaning I had committed more than one-third of my stack, he couldn't try a bluff raise because it was too likely that I was pot-committed.

On top of this, I had established a tight image and he had to respect the likelihood that I had a real hand. If he had come over the top, I would have found out that I was beat for a relatively cheap price.

The main goal of the turn bet was to get me to the showdown for $100,000 instead of a larger amount. If I'd checked there, with about $280,000 in the pot, he could very well have had ace-baby, and my check would have told him that I didn't have an ace.

He then could have easily bet about $150,000-$200,000 on the river to extract value from me. He was looking for an amount that I might have paid off with a queen or what looked like a bluff.

If he had ace-baby and opted for the $200,000-chip bet, I would have saved $100,000 by betting out on the turn. Obviously, he could have thrown a wrinkle into the plan by moving all-in on the river.

Again, this is a situation where you have to incorporate image, and I'd been playing real tight to that point - he was just as scared of me as I was of him.

What if I did have him beat with the queen? Let's say he had J-10 or K-10; he would have been priced in to call, and I wanted him to - I needed to pick up the extra $100,000 for my stack. I was willing to take the risk of seeing the river because he only had five or six outs.

Against other players who are capable of seeing the river card and just moving in, I might have tried a different strategy, like playing real small ball and checking the turn while being prepared to pay off $175,000 on the river.

But against this guy, I knew for sure he was going to check the river unless he made trips or a straight.

As it turned out, I never saw his hand. He checked the river, I checked behind. He was disgusted when I showed him the queen, so it was obvious that he had a 10 and I turned him.

But he couldn't have just had a 10. For him to have called with a 10 on the turn he needed to have a straight card there - he either had to be holding J-10 or K-10. And that was exactly the hand I wanted to be up against on the turn.

This situation was very circumstantial because it was based on stack size and image, which are very important in live tournaments. Because of the size of my chip stack, I was playing really tight and couldn't afford to get out of line. I couldn't see many flops.

I played with this opponent for a while to set up this play, and I knew it was the perfect situation for it. I wanted to get to a showdown because I thought queens could have been the best hand, but didn't want to pay $200,000 in the end to find out.

-- Kelly Kim

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Bankroll Management

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:09:18 +0100

By Craig Marquis -- When I first started playing poker, I had no idea what bankroll management was.

I just sat in whichever games were open at the stakes I wanted to play, even if I barely had enough money in my bankroll to cover the buy-in.

I worked my way up the ranks by jumping to the next level as soon as I had enough money to pay for a single buy-in. This strategy worked amazingly well for a while, but once I reached stakes where the quality of play was much higher than I was used to, my lack of bankroll management almost proved disastrous.

After playing thousands of hands and building a bankroll large enough to play in almost any game I wanted, I managed to lose almost all of it in the span of a few days.

Many professional poker players end up going broke multiple times in their careers, and this is almost always due to a lack of bankroll management. The players who will be around forever are the ones who have learned this lesson.

Although painful, some good did come from these experiences: I learned the importance of bankroll management. Now instead of playing at the highest limits that my bankroll allows, I play in lower-stakes games where I still feel like I'm playing for a significant amount of money

Playing as low as $2/$4, $3/$6, and $5/$10 No-Limit, I'm able to play a completely objective game. Because I'm not afraid to lose a $1,000 in a single hand, I can make a lot of moves that I probably wouldn't make at higher stakes and if I fail, the loss hardly affects me.

This gives me an enormous advantage over opponents who would be devastated by a $1,000 loss.

There's an old saying that goes "scared money is dead money," and it's true. You simply can't consistently win at poker if you're playing with money you're afraid to lose.

To combat this, I like to play in games with buy-ins 40 to 50 times smaller than the size of my bankroll. Ten buy-in downswings are common in poker, and it's comforting to be prepared for such variance.

By observing proper bankroll management and playing at stakes your bankroll can handle, you'll be able to limit the impact variance has on your game. You'll be able to endure a ten buy-in downswing without going on tilt and you won't be crushed when you hit the cashier button and see that your balance has dropped dramatically.

One of the biggest problems with playing at stakes that are too high for your bankroll is not being able to minimize the impact of variance. If you choose to play in a game that could wipe out your entire bankroll by losing four buy-ins, you're not going to be able to get involved in many situations where you only have a slight edge.

Playing with this sort of restraint isn't good for a poker player.

In an attempt to lower variance, poker players who are under rolled for the game they're in give up a lot of their EV because they're playing scared. If you happen to spot one of these players, you can easily exploit their fear.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. I recently played heads-up against a player who was obviously playing with scared money. He was one of those players looking for an excuse to fold unless he could show the nuts.

Taking advantage of his tendency to fold all but the very best hands, I picked every marginal situation I could find and attacked. Any time I found a spot where I believed he thought I couldn't possibly be bluffing, I would do just that.

In one such hand he bet $150 on the river when the board showed a pair and three cards to a flush. There was $300 in the pot, and I moved all in for my last $300.

It was only $150 more for him to call, but he folded because it was a spot where he must have thought there was no possible way I could be bluffing.

Discovering this weakness in his game made for a very profitable session for me, but I wouldn't have discovered it if I hadn't been willing to shove all my chips into the middle in marginal situations - I never would have done that if the stakes had been higher or I had a smaller bankroll.

If you are properly bankrolled for whichever game you choose to play, you'll be able to make the optimal play in any situation that might occur without having to decide if it's a high-variance move or not.

By playing in games where the loss of ten buy-ins in a row would hardly put a dent in your bankroll, you'll be able to maximize your EV, enjoy less dramatic swings in your bankroll, and celebrate an increase in your win rate, which in poker is a recipe for success.

-- Craig Marquis

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How to Bluff Against a Solid Player

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:30:20 +0100

By Ross Boatman -- When trying to steal pots in No-Limit Hold'em, you have to ask yourself questions like: "How likely is it that my opponent has a hand?" and "Does my bet (bluff) make sense in the context of the way the hand played out?

Asking these questions is important. Answering them accurately is critical.

A recent example of a bluff and counter-bluff came up at the $5K No-Limit Hold'em event at the World Series of Poker. I was down to the final two tables and had 6-2 off-suit in the big blind. The small blind called and I checked.

The flop came down J-T-6 with two diamonds. My opponent checked and I thought, "I'll take one shot at this." I had a pair and position, and I was going to try to take the pot right there. When my opponent called, I pretty much gave up on the pot.

The next card came a diamond, making a possible flush, and my opponent checked again. I also checked, giving him a pretty good idea that I didn't have the flush. The river card was a blank and he came out betting.

I knew I didn't have a hand, but my read made me pretty sure he didn't have one either. I didn't think he'd hit a flush, and I knew I could make it look like I was trapping on the turn with a flush myself so, after he bet $16,000, I raised to $50,000. After about a minute, he let go of the hand.

Now, let's take another look at the action here. When my opponent checked the flop, I saw the opportunity to make a play and tried to steal the pot.

He obviously called with some kind of hand. We both checked the turn when the possible flush came and he led out after the river brought no obvious help to either of us. He could have been trying to trap me with the flush, but I just didn't read it that way.

When he tried to steal the pot, I couldn't just call even though he almost surely had my 6 beat. Still, I was pretty sure I could make him lay down his hand with a raise.

For these types of plays to be successful, you have to think ahead of the bet you're making and ask yourself how likely it is that the player has a made hand. He had to have a flush to call my raise on the river unless he thought I was making a play.

Any bluff or counter-bluff you make has to be calculated. Any play should be based on some information from the betting, the player, or from some any reads that you're able to make.

This one wasn't so much a read on the player, but a read on the situation. Even though it was possible he had made his flush, I wasn't convinced. That's why I thought I could make him believe I had connected by raising on the river.

To him, the action made sense. It looked like I'd made a semi-bluff on the flop, betting with a draw. I'd checked on the turn in order for him to bet on the river so I could raise him with a made hand. He was an intelligent player and I think that's the way he read it back to himself.

You always have to try and gather as much information as you can before you make those kinds of plays. You need to know that the player you're up against is intelligent enough to read the situation.

You don't want to be making an advanced play like that on somebody who's not going to be able to make sense of it.

By making smart reads and taking advantage of these opportunities over the course of a tournament, you can help build your chip stack and put yourself in contention for the final table.

-- Ross Boatman

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Playing Heads-Up

info@www.Pokerlistings.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:29:59 +0100

By Paul Wasicka -- Heads-up play is one of the most important aspects of poker, and many players could benefit from strengthening this part of their game.

Position is crucial in heads-up play. So is aggression and reading your opponent. In fact, playing aggressively in position can often be the deciding factor in whether or not you win the pot.

You can have a much worse hand, but if you trust your reads, you can often take the pot with the right board.

Playing Position

I don't recommend playing that many raised pots out of position - in other words, don't call a lot of raises from the big blind. Hands like two face cards, A-8 and up, and pairs are worth reraising with.

Hands like 8-7 suited are fairly worthless because suited connectors like these can be easily dominated by larger hands and lose a lot of their value heads-up.

In general, I'm looking for big cards like K-10. Even though these cards are easily dominated in ring games, they play much stronger heads-up. If I hit a big pair with cards like these I can feel comfortable going with it, which is something that's hard to do with middle cards like 6-5.

I'm usually going to do one of two things in the big blind when I'm heads-up; fold or reraise. My standard reraise is between three and four times my opponent's bet, and by pumping up the pot pre-flop, I'm making it difficult for my opponent to call me with marginal hands.

If he does call, I can always make a post-flop continuation bet or lay down my hand if I've missed and my opponent leads out at the pot. The only time I call out of position is when my opponent plays back at me by moving in a lot.

My decision here comes back to paying attention to my opponent's tendencies and going with my reads.

Reading is Fundamental

Reading your opponent becomes even more important in heads-up play. Because your opponent is likely to raise with a much larger range of hands heads-up, making reads is much more difficult.

Learning to gauge your opponent's hand requires paying close attention to their patterns. Do they always raise the button? How often do they call your button raises? Do they ever re-raise from the big blind?

Asking questions like these helps to narrow down their possibilities. You have to trust your reads enough to act on them. If you sense strength, are you willing to lay down the second-best hand? If you sense weakness, will you apply the pressure it takes to win the pot?

In my experience in both ring games and heads-up, many players try to accumulate chips too quickly. If you just sit back and wait for your opponents to make mistakes, you'll end up with all of the chips in the end.

For instance, you should avoid making pot-sized bets when smaller bets will usually accomplish the same goals with less risk. Sometimes half-pot bets are even too high and betting the minimum is enough to gather the information you need about your opponent's hand.

This becomes especially true when your opponent becomes short-stacked. In these cases, I will usually limp on the button once they are around the 10-big-blind range. If I do raise, I must have a hand I'm willing to go with because my opponent's only options are folding or pushing

Some people think it's weak to limp on the button, but I don't want to keep folding semi-decent hands in this situation. By limping when my opponent is short, they have to decide if they want to gamble with a high-risk/low-reward all-in move to win one of my blinds.

In heads-up tournaments you want to play in position, trust your reads, and play small pots to build a lead. Once you have a 3-1 lead, then you're looking for hands to gamble with against your opponent's short stack.

I've had a lot of success using these principles in heads-up play; they were instrumental in helping me win the 2007 National Heads-Up Championship.

Put these ideas into practice and you may find the extra edge you need the next time you're playing heads-up.

--Paul Wasicka

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