Straight Draw Poker

My online poker blog

Evolving as a poker player part 4

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Continuing on from part 3 and my raise has taken control of the pot and put me into a great position to take it down post flop. What they are thinking is that if they call and flop something big that they can end up taking my entire stack by sucking me in……never going to happen baby!

Let them think that because the mathematics of the situation dictate that they will miss this flop. So their 5-5 will end up NOT making trips and their 8-7 suited won’t make a draw so they just let it go. Because I have shown aggression pre-flop, players without a hand are less likely to want to mess with me post flop because of how much it could potentially cost them.

If they flop a monster, they will get one half to two thirds pot size bet out of me maybe two but that is it. There is just no way that I am going to go for my entire stack on a silly bluff but they don’t know that.

The real coup de grace with this type of “against the crowd” play is that let’s say my raise with a 5-4 suited gets called by a guy with AQ. Do you know that my hand of 5-4 suited is only a 7-5 dog. On good days the flop comes A-J-3, my opponent checks and I bet and he calls hoping that I bet again so that he can suck me in. The turn card is a 2 giving me a very nasty concealed straight. He checks and I check it back to feign fear. River card is a Q which seals his death warrant and the rest as they say is history.

Evolving as a poker player part 3

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You already know my thoughts on this from part 2 but it is worth repeating here in full. Deviating from book play does not mean getting aggressive with anything from anywhere or playing anything for that matter. It means that too many players are aware of just what a good or very good starting hand is in hold’em these days. Television, books, websites and magazines are responsible for increasing the average persons poker knowledge.

Because of this, you MUST respond by changing strategy somewhat to allow for that. When I raise in NL hold’em, most of the time I am likely to have anything and I mean that literally. Let me give you a brief example of a hand that I played. It was six handed and at £2-£5, the player under the gun limped in and I was in the cut-off with 7-5 offsuit.

I raised to £20 and it was folded around to the limper who thought for a while before calling. The flop came A-K-4 and my opponent checked. I fired £30 into a £47 pot and took it without a fight. A very unremarkable pot but then most of my pots are pretty unremarkable. It is surprising just how “unremarkable” can end up making you a lot of money in poker.

Let us look at the dynamics of what I have just done for a minute. The majority of players will not expect someone to raise with a 75 period. This gives my hand tremendous deception. It means that even if I am called, my raise can represent a lot of flops when aces, kings and queens flop. What you tend to find happens is that the limper is trying their luck with something speculative like a small/medium pocket pair or a suited connector and is attempting to flop something big on the cheap.

Evolving as a poker player part 2

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When I play NL cash games, I am continually looking to be aggressive because that is really how you get the money. But I am never foolishly aggressive, there is always a method to my madness. I am constantly betting and probing when I am in pots but I am never risking my entire stack. This is called Leverage and is something that is very important in poker. Many players play poker by the book and with fear, it is this that I set out to exploit and my aggression exploits this and is the secret as to how I win.

If all my money goes in the middle then I either have AA or KK pre-flop or the nuts or close to it post flop. I don’t get involved in silly coin flip type situations. I know full well just how many coin flips on the bounce that you can lose…..and it is a lot believe me. I have stood on the end of a Roulette table for hour after hour and seen just how many reds can come over black and high numbers versus low numbers etc.

pre-flop

Whenever I sit down in any poker game, I know that there is a fair amount of dead money that will be coming my way. If I let my opponents get me into marginal situations pre-flop then they have dragged me down to their level and it is this that is the essence of “Kill Phil”. The book teaches players how to drag the pro’s into situations they don’t like, namely getting them all in as early as possible.

No top pro will put his entire tournament on the line (if it is early and they have a healthy stack that is) with a hand like QQ or AK (suited or not). Why should they when countless opportunities will present themselves for them to take your chips. Even if they go in as favourite, when they are all in they are vulnerable to the poker gods and anything can and does happen. This same principle I apply to cash games, I won’t put my entire buy in on the line unless I have a substantial overlay unless it is a certain specific situation (more on that later).

Evolving as a poker player part 1

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When I say “my philosophy”, what I don’t mean is that everything that you are about to read is my idea. I slowly formulated the way that I play over many months of reading and studying not just NL poker but poker in general. This is something that I used to ignore when I first started to study poker, I failed to make the game theory connection.

Whenever I wanted to study a certain form of poker, I would only ever read material on that poker form. This is OK to a degree but there is an awful lot to be learned from reading about other poker forms. It took me an awful long time to realise that I needed to use different strategies depending on what game I was playing in because the opponents were different.

What I am about to divulge to you is the culmination of what I have learned about NL hold’em over the years.

Avoiding BIG confrontations

NL hold’em is not a game for big confrontations and especially cash games where the blinds never increase. Yet this is precisely the opposite of what many players do. They end up calling someone in an all in pot with AQ against their KK and think that they played well just because they happened to spike an ace. There is a book out there at this moment in time called “Kill Phil”.

poker-player

It is a book that is designed for levelling the playing field for novice tournament players when they come up against big players. The title of the book is based around the four famous poker “Phils”. Namely Hellmuth, Ivey, Gordon and Laak and is their catchy name for a top tournament player. In a word, the book tells you how to eliminate a good tournament player’s advantage over you.

The way that the book goes about doing this is to teach the novice what is basically a very aggressive “all in” type strategy at various stages of the tournament. What it does is to effectively take most if not all of the post flop skill out of the game. It is after the flop where the great players excel over the novices.

Good players know that they have a big advantage over novices so why would they want to be dragged down to their level by getting involved in coin flips. They will gladly fold hands like AK, QQ and even KK pre-flop if the action gets too heavy. I look for situations in poker and NOT hands. I don’t need a certain hand to win a pot and I don’t get excited when I get dealt any particular hand either.

Controlling your Image at the Poker Table

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Knowing yourself can be considered one of the most crucial elements in winning in poker. Although you battle it out with your opponents, it is the mastery of oneself which is key to exploiting your opponents.

Every individual will have different psychological factors to consider when playing the game and each has his own style of play. If you are not familiar with your style of play at a poker table, read on and we will give you an idea.

Tight-passive

If you believe you are a tight and passive player, you will notice that you get into the action a lot but most of the time you are outdrawn. Instead of raising or re-raising you opt for calling or just checking. Loose players can eat their way into your chips since you will allow them to play their suited connectors so they will get their draw without too much of a fight. They might also win big when you are a bit too tight to fight for a bigger pair that you have.

poker-style

Tight-aggressive

If you think you are this kind of player then most likely you only get little action on the poker table and rarely do you win big when you have a monster. People know that you only act when you have big hands, and why will they go full speed against a wall? Tight players sometimes forget to loosen up a bit to play not so premium a starting hand as thing get shorthanded. This style of play though remains profitable.

Loose-passive

Other players will love to have you at their table. The poker table will be full when you play. You get a lot of action, but you also lose a lot. This can be the worst style that you can keep. You rarely fold your cards. When you have strong cards, you play them not so aggressive so you don’t make the most of it. If you think you are this kind of player, do something about it. Now.

Loose-aggressive

If you are this kind of player, you are a tough opponent. You tend to raise or do re-raise even when you don’t have the best of cards. Most likely you can get into the action with any two cards that you are dealt with. It is a very difficult style to master and use on the poker table. You have to be very familiar with the game to adapt this style of play or else you will be going home early every session.

How to play your cards when you are out of position

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Over and over again, you will hear that position is a very important factor in playing no limit hold’em poker. This is especially true when the stacks are deep where the betting rounds during the turn and the river can result to large pots. Good players will often not hesitate to fold cards, which lesser skilled players will risk, when they are in a a bad position rather than throwing away their money.

Here is how you should play poker when you are not in a good position:

Avoid risking it with connectors

When you have a good hand, it might be easier to adjust with your bad position. Let us say you have a pair of sixes and you are out there to get a set but no set is revealed upon the flop, then goodbye. Another choice of play is keep on firing when you get a set on the flop. This may not be the case with connectors which usually flops about 4/5 of the hand. The pot odds to in order to have a flush or a straight is not favorable.

Overbet the size of the pot before the flop

It is a good reason to celebrate when you are out of position and you still win what is in the pot when you have only a big pair. Some action is nice when you have a big pair but you should not allow your opponent to get in cheap since he still has a chance in case he outflops your hand. Make the other player play for the opportunity to grab away your chips.

Awkward situation on the blinds

When you are holding pocket 10s or maybe A-Q and you are on either the BB or the SB, things can get pretty awkward when the player on the button is quite aggressive and open-raises. So what should you do? Do you fold? Of course not. Do you call or re-raise? If you have cards like A-Q it might be wise to just call with chances of hitting the cards about 33% of the time while the pair of 10s might be more challenging since they only get better one of eight ties. In anyway, give your opponent a chance to fold when you are out of position.

Keeping your poker ego in check

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Poker is an exciting game for those who play it since you will not be against the house but other players. Of course, in the long run, there is the big possibility of winning big.

As you improve your game and win some money, always keep you ego in check. Looking at the statistics, only a small number of people really succeed or make it big time in poker and majority lose. It is the reality of the game, one wins, and other people will lose chips or money. Of course, the house takes some of the earnings.

Around the poker table of players with equal skills, each player expects to lose some because of the money that goes in rake. If you want to win in poker, you need to have a better set of skills than the other players and also be good enough to beat whats been raked.

poker ego

You cannot be a winner overnight. It is a tough game. There are players who have been playing the game for months and years but still cannot be considered as winning players. You cannot win in poker by just reading books and articles. To be a real winner, you need to practice, develop your poker skills, and have some patience.

If you are doing in one kind of poker, it does not follow that you will also be doing good in other forms of poker. If you dominate your friends on your Saturday night home poker sessions, it does not mean that you will do the same in a more competitive setting of a casino. There are also ring game poker players who do not do good in tournaments or vice versa.

It will be a good practice to know and monitor your poker statistics. This way you can analyze which kind of poker you play well. You need to accept the numbers if they tell you that you consistently lose in certain poker games.

Poker can be fun and profitable. You just need to develop the right mindset and skills and be true enough to admit if you are losing.

Learning about position advantages

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When you talk about position in poker, this refers to your relationship with the other poker players in terms of placing a bet during a given hand.

Ideally, you want to see how your opponents will decide before you make any decision in Texas Hold’em. While a better position does not necessarily make you some money automatically, it gives you the opportunity to make better bets.

Being the last is the best position in Texas Hold’em. This is so true when you are going head to head against another player. Being a position or two behind or in front of a maniac can also give you some advantages. Good players will most likely play more of their cards when in a late position and play less of the cards when in the early position. As you can see, the basics in Texas Holdem position is very simple.

position advantages

In a game of Stud High Low or Seven Card Stud the picture is very different. The position differs a lot in every situation. It is pretty complicated. There will be hands where you should play more hands even when you do not have the high cards  while it is important to go first when you have representing hands. You can also play some cards more aggressively to force someone to act first like when they have an ace or a king.

When it comes to putting Omaha side by side with Holdem, playing last comes with some advantages and disadvantages. Bluffing can be suicidal when you play last against good poker players. Most players do not dare to bluff when playing last. In Texas Holdem, the middle position is a good position to play some bluffs from your trick books.

Manipulating how you can play your position to gain some edge against the competition needs focus and a great deal of exposure to the game.

What’s the line between winners and losers in Poker

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There is a clear cut line and that is when a poker player knows when to play his cards and when to fold them. You can determine if someone is a winner or a loser with that dictum. You will know by experience how things should go. You will get a better feel of the game the more you play poker.

Betting and Calling

The game of poker is actually all about betting. Betting will be the determining factor if someone will win or someone will lose. Again, you should know when to bet and when no to bet.

We see winners as those who bet, and losers as those who call. In a game of No Limit Hold’em, you can not afford to be very passive and just call all the time. You need to be aggressive to be successful. You can play a bit on the tight side of the game at times but you need to bring out your solid game and be aggressive when you get into the action. You need to make your opponents make the harder decisions in the game and make them commit mistakes.

poker winners

Get other players on the hand

Great poker players can get people involve on a hand. They can make those guesses as to what cards their opponents are holding. That makes them successful.

You will improve on this skill as you go along. You need to ask questions when you or your opponents make the move. You need to understand why the other guy is betting, why is he pushing all of his chips in, or why did the opponent raise, why did she check, is she waiting for a draw, and things like that.

When things get into the river, you have things all figured out and planned out. You have read what your opponent has just by looking at all of his actions.

Handling Downswings in Poker

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You can’t win every game of poker. There will be times that you stand up with more chips and there will be times when you leave the table with less money.

Poker involves a lot of skills but there is still a big portion where luck plays its influences if you can with a pot. Luck will always be there. Luck will most of the time can get the better of us.

How to Face a big downswing

There will be times when we need to do 2 or 3 buy ins in a tournament or sometimes losing more than that can stretch more than we can imagine. Bad cards and unlucky draws will be there.

You can not do anything even when you flip the coin and go all in and you still lose all your chips because you miss the flops you need or the right draws just don’t come. There will be times when you can’t make things happen even for your Ace and King.

Bankroll Management

You need to understand that there are downswings in poker that you cannot do anything about. No matter how much you read, the downswing will still be there.

You really don’t have to change your style o play but you need to remember that every poker player will have a big downswing one time or another. These will be a big, monstrous variance slapping you for several poker sessions.

What do you need to do? Take a break. Don’t play poker for about a week so you can snap out of your negative thoughts because of the downswing. This can help you get back on track. Poker is ups and downs and you will learn to adjust as you gain more experience.