This is some notes I have made about playing Limit Holdem 3 handed.
It is very basic but works quite well.
Your the Button - open raise almost every hand
Follow up flop most of time. Lay down to resistance
Your the Sb - a bit tighter raise half or less hands.. when folded to.
Re-raise A9+ and any pair from to a button raise. Call with JTs and QJ+ to a button raise
After 3 betting follow up 100% of time
After he reacts decide how to proceed
Your the BB - Just call button raises with moderate and monster hands (mixes it up). Check raise after flop when you had a monster or you hit your moderate hand.
3bet the SB with KQ and A7 + any pair. Call with other moderate hands.
A tell is any habit that a player has that gives other players information on the card’s they are holding.
I’m not going to debate over whether or not online tells exist in this article, as it is obvious. Lets just say that, YES, it is possible to derive information by observing your opponents online.
How you ask ? By paying attention to everything that happens.
Timing Tells
Lets first discuss timing tells. This is gaining information about the possible range of your opponents by observing the time it takes them to act.
The most reliable timing tells are as follows.
The insta-call of your c-bet - When a player calls your c-bet immediately it is likely that they have a weak calling hand. A stronger hand would need time to think about whether to raise or call.
What you do - When your c-bet gets insta-called, if your hand is weak and behind the callers range you should fire close to a pot sized bet on the turn, and the 2nd barrel should be enough to get your opponent to fold the better hand. Any less of a bet might get your opponent to call the turn as well. If your hand is strong and ahead of your opponents range you should value bet on the turn for a small bet that your opponent will be tempted to call with his marginal holding.
The delayed check: When a player takes a long time to check they could be attempting to hide weakness. They already know they are going to check, but they are afraid that checking too fast will look weak and induce the opponent to bet any two cards. So the player pretends to be thinking about whether to bet before checking. They don’t want you to bet, they want to see the next card for free.
What you do - You should usually bet ¾ of pot to full pot against a player who pauses long before checking, if they are otherwise playing fast. If your hand is weak then you should take the opportunity to bet and take down the pot.. If your hand is marginal or even strong but susceptible to being drawn out you should also bet the pot to give unfavorable odds to any type of weak draw. The only exception is when a player does the delayed check when your holding a made hand, you should then also do a delayed check back to them, and more often then not they will bet the next street (if there is one). The process there is that the player who just did the first delayed check will see your reciprocal delayed check as the same thing theirs was, weak. A reciprocal delayed check can have the effect of making it look like you were thinking about bluffing after your opponents check but then decided not to. They think that their original delayed check worked by getting you not to bet, so they take the opportunity to bluff the next street and you get the chips.
The delayed bet: When an opponent who is otherwise playing regular speed, takes a long time to think and then makes a bet it can be a tell that they have a strong hand. They are taking time to figure out what bet sizing will get the most value out of their strong hand. They also want you to believe that the hesitation in making the bet is due to it being a tough decision on whether to bet.
What you do - FOLD unless you are very strong. Warning – good players also use this as a reverse tell so be aware of who your opponent is when using this tell. If he is an online regular then it might not be the best time to use this tell. This tell works best against random unknowns.
The insta-check from the big blind:
A player sitting in the big blinds who uses the check/fold in turn option button obviously has a week hand. They are often multi-tabling and are trying to save time.
What you do - If you limped in and the BB insta-checks you should bet at the pot, a half pot bet will work and you’ll take it down the majority of the time. If there is another limper in the hand and you have position you should bet if he checks, and raise if he bets. You raise when he bets because he will be betting light. No strength has been shown, you limped after him and the BB insta-checked, so he will be betting often. You bet when he checks because duh you have position that’s why you limped after him in position so you can bet any flop he checks to you on. Your ignoring the BB because you know he is super weak and was ready to fold preflop, if he hits huge he will likely make it very clear by c-raising and you can get away. If you open limped (in a cash game, don’t open limp it mtts) and there is another limper in the hand as well as the BB, you should bet any flop and re-assess after that.
The insta preflop 3-bet
When you open raise and an opponent 3-bets automatically when its his turn, they will often have a very strong hand. It means QQ – AA and AK. If your opponent had JJ or worse then he would need to pause to think for at least a couple seconds on how to play the hand.
What you do - If you or your opponent has less then 20M or you are out of position then you should fold which will be the majority of the time. If you and your opponent are over 20M deep and he is 3betting from the blinds, putting you in position after the flop, then you should call with any underpair to set-mine and suited connectors and gappers to try to flop huge. This is implied odds coming into play. If you hit a set or other big hand on the flop then you are fairly certain you are going to get paid off well.
The insta c-bet
When your opponent opens pre-flop and you call, then he instantly fires at the flop. He was already planning to bet any flop. If he hit the flop at all he would have pauses to determine the best bet sizing for value.
What you do - If your hand is weak you should raise and try to re-steal the c-bet. If your hand is strong you should smooth call and try to get him to 2nd barrel you. If your hand is marginal should also raise because you will be in a tough spot if she 2nd barrels you. Notice you never fold to the insta-cbet. * There is certain flop textures you might want to call with the marginal hand instead of raising but that is beyond the scope of this article.
The insta river bet
Your opponent insta bets the river, when a strong hand would take the time to get value and a marginal hand would need to take some time to decide whether to bet for value or to check-call.. The insta river bet is very often a bluff because they don’t need time to think, they decided they were bluffing before the river card hit.
What you do - If you have any hand capable of beating a complete bluff then call. There is not value in raising a total bluff, because its never calling. You win the same pot by calling without risking any more chips in the event your read was wrong. If you have something like king high and you cannot beat a complete bluff, then you can consider raising and taking the pot.
WARNING ABOUT TIMING TELLS
Timing tells are not as reliable as they once used to be, due to the amount of players multi-tabling but they still have relevance. Players playing slow and habitually delaying checks and bets is standard and not a tell for players who are multi-tabling several tournaments. The key is to target randoms and unknowns who are less likely to be playing several tournaments when using the “delayed” timing tells.
The value in observing timing tells against regulars (or anyone) occurs when an opponent deviates from their usual patterns. For example, if a player has been playing fast for several orbits, but then suddenly delays, this will almost always be a tell. Conversely, if a player who has been playing slow insta-bets you , this also is a tell. Its not always going to mean the same thing, but you need to be aware of when your opponents behavior is out of character.
Pattern Tells
Pattern tells are identifiable and exploitable betting patterns that many players use. There are two types of pattern tells, common pattern tells that you can use on randoms and specific pattern tells that you should develop against regulars with note taking. In this article we will discuss a common pattern tell and a specific pattern tell in the same scenario.
The out of position bet from the blinds.
When the SB or BB call your initial opening raise from the blinds, and then bet into you on the flop, it much more often then not means a marginal holding like 2nd pair. This is usually a bet intended to “see where they are at” with a hand that’s not strong but has some value. This is the common pattern tell.
What you do - Tell them where they are at by re-raising the bet and they will usually determine that their hand is behind and fold. If your not already raising these bets, I consider that a huge leak. Give it a try and be pleasantly surprised how much it works. While many other “moves” become obsolete as the field catches up to how to counter them, this move has proven to have longevity and survived the knowledge explosion in online poker. Not enough players are using the move, for the counter-move to be very effective, which is to make the bet from the blinds with a strong hand to induce the move. The counter move does work great against specific players that you have determined are using the move. This is a specific pattern tell. If your in a pot with a player who you know will raise the “out of position blind bet” and you flop a monster in the BB then go ahead and try the counter move, just don’t use it against randoms. Use the common pattern tell move itself of raising the out of position blind bet in your regular play against random unknowns, and the counter-move specific pattern tell of betting out of position from the blinds into the flop when you flop big against specific opponents you have a note on that they do the first move.
Bet sizing tells
Bet sizing tells are gaining information on what your opponent holds based on the size of his bets.
Min or small pre-flop 3-bet
When an unknown random player min or small 3-bets you then he usually has AA.. This is a common bet sizing tell. The player wants to raise but they want to keep you in the pot so they raise a small amount that they think you are sure to call.
What you do - See the above timing tells section on insta 3-betting. The rules are the same here.
Weak flop bet
When an unknown or random player bets less then half the size of the pot it is usually weak. They are doing one of two things usually. They could be betting to “see where they are at” with a marginal holding so they can fold easily if they are raised. They also could be employing a post oak type of bluff, making a small bet that looks like its for value and wants a call. These bluffs don’t need to succeed very often to be profitable so don’t let them succeed against you.
What you do - Raise or check-raise. If he is betting a marginal hand to see where hes at he will fold and the other times he is bluffing he will also fold. If you had a specific read and could narrow down when hes bluffing and when hes betting marginally I would say to just call on the times hes bluffing if you have a decent hand but you won’t be able to make that distinction the vast majority of the time so raising is the safer play.
The 999 bet
When your opponent bets a funny amount like 24,999, a mountain of chips appears on the table. Sometimes your opponent is doing this to make the bet look more then it is. It usually won’t want a call.
What you do - They usually don’t want you to raise or call so you should disappoint them when you can. I would be careful with this tell, don’t just raise any 2 over someone because they bet an amount like that, just use it to sway an otherwise close decision towards raising or calling but don’t get too out of line.
The post-flop overshove
When your opponent re-raises you on the flop all-in for a significant amount. This is often a semi-bluff with a draw. The fold equity they gain and the outs they have when they are called make this a correct play for your opponents to make.
What you do - Call with top pair and hold 1 time. Fold if you don’t have at least top pair, as you wont have enough equity to make calling profitable with less.
WARNING ABOUT BET SIZING TELLS
These bet sizing tells are well-known by regulars and they often give reverse fake tells to deceive you. Be aware who you are playing against. Unless otherwise indicated, these tells work best against random unknown players and not so much against regulars.
Chat tells
Chat tells are when a player gives you information on his play by what he says in the chat box.
Comments that indicate how clueless a player is will give you solid information to exploit.
The tilt monkey mega ranter
These are players who think they are far better than they are, and play much worse when losing.
When they start going off at people at the table and freaking out, its just a bad player telling you that they are about to play even worse than normal
What you do - Prey on their fears by betting scare cards, they’ll think they’ve just been ‘screwed again’ and give you the pot while typing “nice catch donkey”. Play as many pots as you can with these players, they are usually dead money and will make all around spewy plays.
The Gloater
Players who like to gloat after winning a pot by typing “ty fish” or something similar are normally long-term weak-tight losers. Someone who regularly wins doesn’t need to talk smack about it. Someone who rarely wins a pot and needs to draw attention to that fact will be insecure with their game and weak-tight.
What you do – They are weak-tight so respect their raises and re-raises. Bluff them often when they show weakness.
The “why do you raise every hand” whiner
A player who doesn’t know how to handle your constant pressure might say a thing like, “you really got it every time”, or “keep raising every hand buddy”.
What you do – Run them over. They can’t handle you so keep doing what your doing. If they finally reshove you, it could be that they got dealt a hand good enough to finally play back at you, or they could be blowing up from tilt. Err on the side of caution when they play back at you.
The “you raised UTG with 86, what a donkey” whiner
If an opponent comments on your starting hand selection being loose, it can be because he thinks he plays ‘the right way’, which is ABC, tight/passive.
What you do – Exploit him by betting when he checks. He is straightforward so his plays usually mean what they look like. When he enters the pot he has a good starting hand so narrow the range you put him on accordingly.
The “professor”
Your opponent is the type who says things in the chatbox like “why would you raise in that spot ever” or “ I am never showing down anything less then a set there, what a bad call”. Sometimes he is a good player and sometimes he is a bad player, you will be able to tell by the things he says.
What you do -
Agree with him whether he is right or wrong, engage him and he will keep telling you how he would of played every hand, and you can adjust your strategies against him accordingly. After you play a standard hand and show down, ask him how he would of played it, ask him if you played it “right”.
Reverse tells
Like I indicated earlier, good players give off reverse tells to induce you to make mistakes. Be aware of who is capable of this and do not rely on these standard tells against them but develop specific tells for them pertaining to their game. Employ Reverse Tells into your own game to induce your opponent to make mistakes by doing these things I have listed as tells when you are against a knowledgeable opponent who is capable of reading the tell and acting on it. Now if your opponent knows that you are also knowledgeable he could realize your employing a reverse tell and adjust accordingly, and it can become a leveling game of rock,paper,scissors. If that’s the case you should probably mix things up and not try to use obvious reverse tells against someone who knows what your doing. Many players might not know who you are though, and if that’s the case, they won’t think your capable of doing reverse tells, that’s who you use them. To summarize, use reverse tells against good players who don’t know your capable of using reverse tells. Be aware of other players who are capable of using reverse tells and avoid getting trapped by them.
Implement these exploits into your game and you will see an improvement in your results.
Against unknown random players you should exploit them in the proven, tried and tested methods. Exploit their standard habits and patterns over and over.
Many online players are regulars. Their standard habits are still exploitable, but when they deviate from their normal patterns is what you should focus on.
This article first appeared in Bluff Magazine.
Tournament management :
knowing when to gamble it up vs. understanding when you can fold QQ/AK.
Rhythm and pace, knowing when to speed up and slow down.
Knowing when to practice avoidance vs. looking for a showdown.
Understanding your hands equity vs. a players hand range.
It is strange how I remember laying down big hands more than I recall making straight flushes.
How many times do you remember laying down AK pre?
Have you ever laid down Kings or Aces pre?
I am sure you have laid down Queens preflop, right?
The reason I am mentioning this is the number of mistakes I see deep in tournaments. I have been at many a table with hundreds of hands on multiple players and one of these players will go crazy versus a total nit’s three bet. I wonder how could this guy not realize the nit hasn’t seen a flop in over 100 hands? I think that at the lower stakes there are a high percentage of players who just have no idea of how there hands play versus a particular hand range.
Tournament management is definitely style dependent and I am not going to get into the specifics as I see them. I think it is important for players to develop a sense of game theory that will be dependent to their play and logic style.
A great exercise for any player is to imagine scenarios where they could fold Aces, Kings or Queens pre flop.
When is it profitable to call with any two?
When is the best times to check call with top pair top kicker?
Rebuys with 6 players all in, what are you gonna do?
Imagine extreme situations and what you would do if you encountered that situation.
When you find yourself sitting right in the middle of the very spot you imagined you will confidently make your play.
Q: Why do we bet in poker?
A: We bet to build a pot, buy a pot, or to get information.
How do we bet:
Bet two thirds the pot.
Bet half the pot.
Bet the pot.
Over bet the pot.
Under bet the pot.
Minimum bet.
All In bet.
Those are a few examples of common ways to bet.
How do we interpret bets?
A solid steady player has consistently bet two thirds pot on the flop, then seemingly out of the blue he comes in for a minimum bet. How do we interpret his bet? Weakness? Strength?
A loose aggressive player calls out of the blinds and then leads out. Weakness? Strength?
There are no right or wrong answers here. Bets are player dependent. I’ve called a guy 100bb deep when he shoved all in on the flop after flopping the nut flush. Was his play brilliance or lunacy?
The purpose of this article is not hand reading. The purpose of this article is to make you think about bet sizing and why you size the way you do.
If you think your opponent might actually be capable of drawing conclusions about your bet sizing, then you want to try and make sure he reads the signals you are sending (but not seeing through them.)
One way to lock into the efficacy of different plays is to actually try them. Before you make a bet think about why you are betting that size and why. Think about the ways your opponents might react if you cut your bet in half or if you doubled it. Will they see weakness? Strength? What might seem like an obvious move to one player might look like second level play to another.
So mix it up, get into your opponents heads, and have fun.
GG GL
Full Tilt Poker Game #13026962254: $8 + $0.80 Tournament (96683914), Table 14 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold’em - 16:46:51 ET - 2009/06/25
Seat 2: asico (7,195)
Seat 3: thaifyta2gzz (3,505)
Seat 4: 6-4 NO GOOOOOD (1,360)
Seat 5: jalaman (770)
Seat 6: Monti060685 (8,367)
Seat 7: hokumfool (2,095)
Seat 9: daddyo47 (7,205)
6-4 NO GOOOOOD posts the small blind of 50
jalaman posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Qh Qd]
Monti060685 folds
masterscruffy sits down
masterscruffy has been disconnected
masterscruffy adds 2,125
skoby78 sits down
skoby78 adds 7,883
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
masterscruffy has reconnected
hokumfool raises to 300
daddyo47 folds
asico calls 300
thaifyta2gzz has 15 seconds left to act
thaifyta2gzz folds
6-4 NO GOOOOOD folds
jalaman folds
——- I make a standard raise with my QQ———
*** FLOP *** [Td 5s 7h]
hokumfool bets 100
——–I min donk bet , what doe smy opponent think? —————
asico raises to 6,895, and is all in
hokumfool calls 1,695, and is all in
asico shows [6h 6s]
hokumfool shows [Qh Qd]
*** TURN *** [Td 5s 7h] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [Td 5s 7h 9d] [7c]
asico shows two pair, Sevens and Sixes
hokumfool shows two pair, Queens and Sevens
hokumfool wins the pot (4,340) with two pair, Queens and Sevens
*** SUMMARY ***
Easy game
Poker is a game of incomplete information. As a player you want to gather as much information as possible to help define were you stand in a hand. As a player you also want to send as much information as possible so your opponents think they know where they stand in a hand. To send information you have to know that the villain is capable of reading and interpreting information.
As players become more advanced in their reading and interpreting skills they begin to communicate in deeper levels of thought processes. The overwhelming majority of players in the micro levels are thinking at a base level, if they are thinking at all. One of the things I have noticed as I have moved up to the low levels is that I have gotten trapped a few times, wow, there are players that are actually thinking. Of course thinking players actually allow me to bluff more, so at the low levels I run into a higher percentage of players that can hand read and therefore can fold to a bluff.
Here is a hand where I am against a competent villain, his stats were TAGish for the sample size and I had not seen him get out of line.
Full Tilt Poker Game #12791640618: $21,000 KO Guarantee (95008692), Table 127 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold’em - 15:22:16 ET - 2009/06/13
Seat 1: diera (4,370)
Seat 2: hokumfool (3,383)
Seat 3: Norm682 (1,672)
Seat 4: garamond10pt (2,355)
Seat 5: DirkBravo (3,790)
Seat 6: TKROCKET (2,615)
Seat 7: du_duaraujo (3,455)
Seat 8: alexisonilt (5,930)
Seat 9: zulek (3,515)
DirkBravo posts the small blind of 20
TKROCKET posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Kd Ks]
du_duaraujo folds
alexisonilt has 15 seconds left to act
alexisonilt folds
zulek folds
diera calls 40
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
hokumfool raises to 180
Norm682 folds
garamond10pt folds
DirkBravo folds
TKROCKET folds
diera calls 140
He limped in, there was 100 in the pot and I raise it to 180 with position. I put him on a pocket pair, obviously.
*** FLOP *** [8c Th 2h]
diera checks
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
hokumfool bets 275
diera calls 275
The pot size was 420 so I make a standard C-bet of two thirds the pot. As a thinking player I can expect him to call this most of the time. He probably has AK,AQ as a huge percentage of my range. Something I notice a lot is guys with an overpair to the board JJ-QQ will frequently bet pot here. So I like my bet size which screams AK, AQ.
*** TURN *** [8c Th 2h] [Ts]
diera checks
hokumfool bets 300
diera calls 300
This is where I get tricky. The pot size is 970 and I bet 300. I make it really hard for him to get away from the hand here. Even if he is capable of seeing this as a pure value bet, he is getting great odds to call.
*** RIVER *** [8c Th 2h Ts] [9s]
diera checks
hokumfool bets 888
diera calls 888
My read on him still stands as a pocket pair. Yes, perhaps he limped a suit-connector but most players open raise the connectors preflop. I also think if he was anywhere near the board with a connector, 76 or JQ, I think there is a great chance he would have check raised me on the flop. So I have him firmly on a pocket pair and I bet just over half the pot and I get paid.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hokumfool shows [Kd Ks] two pair, Kings and Tens
diera mucks
hokumfool wins the pot (3,346) with two pair, Kings and Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,346 | Rake 0
Board: [8c Th 2h Ts 9s]
Seat 1: diera mucked [4d 4s] - two pair, Tens and Fours
I could have played this hand faster but I think he would have folded. I think the key to getting some chips out of this guy was the small turn bet. A good hand reader might have known he was on a ride to value town but probably would have called with the great odds he was getting. This is an example of getting some value out of a hand that typically folds out on the turn versus a standard turn continuation bet.
Of course he might have called me down the whole way with standard bets and I could have lost some value here but I obviously do not think that is the case. The floor is open for discussion.
GG GL
http://realpokertraining.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5447#5447
Poker beats, what’s a player to do? You get it in as a huge favorite and boom!, you’re busted. How you handle your bad beats is a huge part of your overall poker game. If you go on life/poker tilt because of an unlucky turn of the cards, you are going to spew in every aspect of you life/poker game. So why am I rambling on about handling the suck-outs? It’s all a prelude, a set up, an introduction for a couple of my bad beat stories.
Beat #1
3 handed, 1st pays $11,193, 2nd pays $7223, 3rd pays $5,349.
KK is a 82% to 18% favorite
Full Tilt Poker Game #12206156211: MiniFTOPS Event #16 (84243348), Table 212 - 80K/160K - Pot Limit Hold’em - 22:37:42 ET - 2009/05/13
Seat 3: OH for SURE (1,133,580)
Seat 6: GoldRivr (10,465,596)
Seat 9: hokumfool (2,185,824)
GoldRivr posts the small blind of 80,000
hokumfool posts the big blind of 160,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Ks Kc]
OH for SURE folds
hokumfool raises to 1,440,000
GoldRivr raises to 4,320,000
hokumfool calls 745,824, and is all in
GoldRivr shows [Qs Qd]
hokumfool shows [Ks Kc]
Uncalled bet of 2,134,176 returned to GoldRivr
*** FLOP *** [Ts Qh Td]
*** TURN *** [Ts Qh Td] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [Ts Qh Td Ad] [6d]
GoldRivr shows a full house, Queens full of Tens
hokumfool shows two pair, Kings and Tens
GoldRivr wins the pot (4,371,648) with a full house, Queens full of Tens
GoldRivr: im sorry
Beat #2
In this hand I am a 91% to 9% favorite. Everyone was fairly short stacked with M’s of around 5 except for the chip leader whose M was closer to 20. The payout for 5th place was $1183. The payout for 1st place was $4247.
Full Tilt Poker Game #12741865532: MSOP Event #22 Overflow (93981311), Table 47 - 20000/40000 Ante 5000 - No Limit Hold’em - 22:15:17 ET - 2009/06/10
Seat 1: zdarko54 (580,973)
Seat 3: hokumfool (409,570)
Seat 5: mlowery (407,466)
Seat 6: MOD36 (579,698)
Seat 7: amarillion (1,883,293)
zdarko54 antes 5,000
hokumfool antes 5,000
mlowery antes 5,000
MOD36 antes 5,000
amarillion antes 5,000
mlowery posts the small blind of 20,000
MOD36 posts the big blind of 40,000
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Kc Kd]
amarillion raises to 82,999
zdarko54 folds
hokumfool raises to 404,570, and is all in
mlowery folds
MOD36 folds
amarillion calls 321,571
hokumfool shows [Kc Kd]
amarillion shows [Kh Qs]
*** FLOP *** [As Jc Td]
*** TURN *** [As Jc Td] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [As Jc Td 3d] [3h]
hokumfool shows two pair, Kings and Threes
amarillion shows a straight, Ace high
amarillion wins the pot (894,140) with a straight, Ace high
hokumfool throws up
All I have to say is yes these beats cost me thousands of dollars but I am so glad they didn’t happen an hour earlier. I am so glad they happened deep at the final table and not in the first twenty minutes of the tournament. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
GG GL
“Limp, check, flop, check, bet,fold” welcome to the micro/low limits of online poker. I have seen this scene play out ad nauseam amongst the weaker players online. Common remedies for limpers on your big blind include:
1. Raising preflop with any two - chase those limpers out before the flop hits and if they stick around, lead out any flop. I have a limp/fold statistic for my HUD, because it is a great stat to know.
2. Check raise any flop - keep the buggers honest. A strange phenomena of the micro limits is many players can not fold to a check raise, but they will lay down to a turn lead out after a check raise (a little something something to keep in mind.)
3. Lead out any flop - push those monkeys off your pot.
4. Fold - This is the most commonly used play against a limper who raises the flop (very effective.)
5. Float the flop - Call the flop with any two and see how the player reacts on the turn. See example below.
Always keep in mind that there are players in these levels that will not fold Jack high so beware the calling station when bluffing with air. Personally, I like to have some outs or at least an Ace for some kind of showdown value when bluffing.
The play in the example below is a basic poker move, a float with an Ace high. I could check the river but I think a bet folds out smaller pocket pairs enough to be profitable. Obviously most of you have this move in your repertoire, and for those of you who don’t, add it today.
GG GL
Example -
PokerStars Game #28913542941: Tournament #168050134, $3.00+$0.30 Hold’em No Limit - Level X (100/200) - 2009/06/02 15:59:34 ET
Table ‘168050134 535′ 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: charterbus (8095 in chips)
Seat 2: MAKKZ (23910 in chips)
Seat 3: hokumfool (9673 in chips)
Seat 4: PokerPete04 (11235 in chips)
Seat 5: veippa (25169 in chips)
Seat 6: THEKIDS2007 (9110 in chips)
Seat 7: Aces_jjAcKs (8720 in chips)
Seat 8: Albert47 (4175 in chips)
Seat 9: El_PoRTu_KK (8400 in chips)
charterbus: posts the ante 25
MAKKZ: posts the ante 25
hokumfool: posts the ante 25
PokerPete04: posts the ante 25
veippa: posts the ante 25
THEKIDS2007: posts the ante 25
Aces_jjAcKs: posts the ante 25
Albert47: posts the ante 25
El_PoRTu_KK: posts the ante 25
MAKKZ: posts small blind 100
hokumfool: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [7c Ac]
PokerPete04: folds
veippa: folds
THEKIDS2007: calls 200
Aces_jjAcKs: folds
Albert47: folds
El_PoRTu_KK: folds
charterbus: folds
MAKKZ: folds
hokumfool: checks
*** FLOP *** [8h 3s 9c]
hokumfool: checks
THEKIDS2007: bets 550
hokumfool: calls 550
*** TURN *** [8h 3s 9c] [Ts]
hokumfool: checks
THEKIDS2007: checks
*** RIVER *** [8h 3s 9c Ts] [9s]
hokumfool: bets 1200
THEKIDS2007: folds
Uncalled bet (1200) returned to hokumfool
hokumfool collected 1825 from pot
hokumfool: doesn’t show hand
Abusing the bubble is a great way to chip up for the long haul to the final table. Pay special attention to your table as the bubble draws near.
If the table seems to be playing tight, get active.
If there are certain players playing tight, attack their blinds.
If you notice a player using his timebank, he is only going to be playing his top 3-5%, raisy-daisy.
If a big stack is obviously abusing the bubble and you have some fold equity, three bet that monkey (with position.)
Obviously stay away from tight players who call or four bet you.
Stay away from the big stacks with whom you have no fold equity.
Here is an example of me gambling it up 5 players from the bubble:
Full Tilt Poker Game #12240231088: $10 + $1 Tournament (91334346), Table 7 - 300/600 Ante 75 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 19:19:24 ET - 2009/05/15
Seat 1: COMEBACKID1 (17,314)
Seat 2: iwntmymummy (31,137)
Seat 4: fleegreen (12,787)
Seat 5: BobbyRutts (43,127)
Seat 7: eric_the_actor1 (22,296)
Seat 8: hokumfool (17,320)
Seat 9: NativeAK (30,959)
COMEBACKID1 antes 75
iwntmymummy antes 75
fleegreen antes 75
BobbyRutts antes 75
eric_the_actor1 antes 75
hokumfool antes 75
NativeAK antes 75
BobbyRutts posts the small blind of 300
eric_the_actor1 posts the big blind of 600
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Ad 6h 4d 2d]
hokumfool raises to 2,625
NativeAK folds
COMEBACKID1 calls 2,625
iwntmymummy folds
fleegreen folds
BobbyRutts folds
eric_the_actor1 folds
*** FLOP *** [5c Tc Th]
hokumfool bets 5,000
COMEBACKID1 has 15 seconds left to act
COMEBACKID1 folds
Uncalled bet of 5,000 returned to hokumfool
hokumfool mucks
hokumfool wins the pot (6,675)
The table was playing really tight, I had a better than average hand, so I popped it up and took it down with a strong continuation bet.
I would have still cashed no problem if he had raised me, and if he just called, I was done with the hand.
It was a really great flop for me. Only a few specific hands could make a call or raise, especially considering our stack sizes.
There is nothing particularly note worthy about this hand. It is a standard play. A standard play all of you should be making.
GG GL
The power of the raise can not be denied. A raise will turn your opponents imagination on, like opening the refrigerator will turn on a light (well maybe not quite as consistent but you get my point.)
A raise will give you momentum in the hand. A raise will give you the initiative.
Initiative :
1.The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination.
2.A beginning or introductory step; an opening move: took the initiative in trying to solve the problem.
You are on the button with 57s. You have 15,000 chips and the blinds are 200/400 with an ante of 50. There is a one limper from cutoff+2 who has a stack of 13,500.
You could easily fold here and wait for a better spot but you could use your position and take the initiative and raise the pot. There is 1450 chips in the pot, so I like to raise somewhere around 1400-1600. Let us say that you raise it to 1600.
The blinds fold and it is back on the the limper. He is getting great odds to call and he should call, but very often a limper will fold her and you will take down the pot.
Let us say he calls. There is 4250 in the pot and the flop is AQ6 rainbow.
The most likely scenario is he checks, you bet, he folds. This is your bread and butter play. I use it in cash games all the time and in MTT’s after the antes kick in. Your opponent will most likely have no problem laying down a Q or a pocket pair, and you pick up a nice pot with 7 high.
But if you had limped, it might be a hard sell to get him to lay down a QJ or a pair of 8’s.
No move is 100% but like all good moves it will be highly profitable in the long run. So raise!!!
GG GL
Inducing bets from your opponents can be a profitable skill to have but it can lead to trouble. In my last article I discussed different ways to get the villain to put money in the pot. A couple of days after writing that article I had a curious hand come up. Here is how it played out:
Full Tilt Poker Game #12071070984: MiniFTOPS Event #1 (84239296), Table 2499 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold’em - 21:34:35 ET - 2009/05/06
Seat 1: DDubya97 (5,835)
Seat 2: hokumfool (4,440)
Seat 3: Batman Wins (4,555)
Seat 4: UnFckinReal (5,630)
Seat 5: Sir MafioSo94 (3,455)
Seat 6: scags23 (6,085)
Sir MafioSo94 posts the small blind of 20
scags23 posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [Qs Ac]
DDubya97 folds
hokumfool raises to 120
Batman Wins calls 120
UnFckinReal folds
Sir MafioSo94 folds
scags23 folds
—–Notice how deep we are. I make a standard raise. I feel his range here can be very wide – AA, any two broadway cards, any suited connectors, any pocket pair. I feel like he would 3-Bet KK, QQ, JJ and perhaps AA or AK. I have no reads on him.
*** FLOP *** [4h Qc 9d]
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
hokumfool bets 225
Batman Wins has 15 seconds left to act
Batman Wins calls 225
—–I make a a standard continuation bet and he calls. The range I put him on preflop holds, I can see a player not wanting to run me out of the pot with overs or a set. I can also see him floating with any suited connector, pocket pair, or even KQ-10 type hands.
*** TURN *** [4h Qc 9d] [7d]
hokumfool checks
Batman Wins has 15 seconds left to act
Batman Wins bets 320
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
hokumfool calls 320
—–I check the turn because he has position and I don’t want him to fold to my turn continuation bet. He bets around half the pot. I consider a raise here, but I think the only hands that would call me are hands that have me beat or perhaps KQ. I think it is too likely he will fold, so I just call the raise to try and get more value on the river.
*** RIVER *** [4h Qc 9d 7d] [Kh]
hokumfool checks
Batman Wins bets 3,890, and is all in
hokumfool has 15 seconds left to act
hokumfool folds
Uncalled bet of 3,890 returned to Batman Wins
Batman Wins mucks
Batman Wins wins the pot (1,390)
—– The river was an ugly card but I was not that concerned. I did check for pot control and because the king did hit a large part of his range. I was perfectly willing to call a pot sized bet but he shoves. The shove actually made me think he had missed everything and I was very tempted to call. I felt my implied skill odds of recouping my loss in this hand was actually greater than the chance that he had air so I made the fold.
If I would have continued betting on the turn I would have had a tighter grasp of his range, but I was gambling to get more value. I use this move many times a day and it is very effective, but sometimes an attempt to reap value does nothing but induce trouble.
GG GL
A powerful move in your poker arsonal should be inducing bluffs. An aggressive villian can easily stack off if you are showing weakness but you could lose value if your oppenent does not bite, and you can lose money if you give them a free or cheap card while they are on the draw. Use this move thoughtfully.
Typical spots and way to induce are:
Cbet the flop then check the turn. I get a truck load of action this way and it protects your missed AK type hands.
Underbet. Say the pot is $210 on the flop and you bet $75, this will frequently induce just the action you desire.
Overbet. Frequently, an oppenent will see this as weakness but of course you might just push your oppentent out of the hand.
Just checking the flop will frequently have aggesive oppents building the pot for you where many times they would be folding.
A minimum raise from late position will often induce.
Just calling raises versus an aggressive villian. Use a timing tell to feign weakness for optimal results. In the example below I took just an extra second or two before calling.
GG GL
PokerStars Game #27860270505: Tournament #160529379, $8.00+$0.80 Hold’em No Limit - Level XI (125/250) - 2009/05/05 17:52:31 ET
Table ‘160529379 147′ 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Trap_Door04 (14480 in chips)
Seat 2: hokumfool (11775 in chips)
Seat 3: superjokke (4920 in chips)
Seat 4: jackthuca (9890 in chips)
Seat 5: Goggen_S (3732 in chips)
Seat 6: Zeifod (19430 in chips)
Seat 7: bullets911 (19502 in chips)
Seat 8: JackTheRipa (17962 in chips)
Seat 9: funtas1 (7974 in chips)
Trap_Door04: posts the ante 30
hokumfool: posts the ante 30
superjokke: posts the ante 30
jackthuca: posts the ante 30
Goggen_S: posts the ante 30
Zeifod: posts the ante 30
bullets911: posts the ante 30
JackTheRipa: posts the ante 30
funtas1: posts the ante 30
bullets911: posts small blind 125
JackTheRipa: posts big blind 250
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hokumfool [As Ad]
funtas1: folds
Trap_Door04: calls 250
hokumfool: raises 500 to 750
superjokke: folds
jackthuca: folds
Goggen_S: folds
Zeifod: folds
bullets911: folds
JackTheRipa: folds
Trap_Door04: calls 500
*** FLOP *** [6d Ah 4c]
Trap_Door04: bets 1000
hokumfool: calls 1000
*** TURN *** [6d Ah 4c] [Js]
Trap_Door04: bets 1000
hokumfool: calls 1000
*** RIVER *** [6d Ah 4c Js] [8d]
Trap_Door04: bets 11700 and is all-in
hokumfool: calls 8995 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (2705) returned to Trap_Door04
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Trap_Door04: shows [Qh Kc] (high card Ace)
hokumfool: shows [As Ad] (three of a kind, Aces)
hokumfool collected 24135 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 24135 | Rake 0
Board [6d Ah 4c Js 8d]
Seat 1: Trap_Door04 showed [Qh Kc] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 2: hokumfool showed [As Ad] and won (24135) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 3: superjokke folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: jackthuca folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 5: Goggen_S folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 6: Zeifod (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 7: bullets911 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: JackTheRipa (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: funtas1 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
tough game…
How has the inflationary spiral affected the WSOP? The first WSOP was in 1970, the first that featured the $5000 no limit hold’em main event was in 1971, and the first that featured the $10,000 no limit hold’em main event was in 1973. The entry fee doubled after two years, but has remained static ever since. However, the economy has changed a great deal over the last 40 years.
The Price of a Cadillac
In its initial conception, the entry fee for the main event was worth about the price of a new Cadillac (Cadillacs actually ran from about $3000-$5000 in 1971 depending on the model), and in fact, Doyle Brunson coined the phrase “the Cadillac of poker games,” to refer to no limit Texas hold’em. Today’s Cadillacs can go for as much as $100,000, but the price of the World Series of Poker main event remains the same.
The Effect of the Inflationary Spiral on the WSOP
While the large majority of people still cannot afford to plunk down $10,000 on a poker tournament, the number who could do it back then was no more than a handful. The first few WSOP main events had less than 20 players. Today, there are thousands. The creation of satellite tournaments and particularly online satellites, has been a great contributing factor as well, but the fact remains that $10,000 isn’t what it used to be. Nowadays a vast majority of Americans can afford to enter super-satellites or at least any cheap sub-satellite via us poker rooms such as PokerStars or Full Tilt.
Response to the Effect of the Inflationary Spiral on the WSOP
The $10,000 event is not likely to be changed anytime soon. Tournament organizers feel that the 10K is an immutable part of the tradition of the WSOP and they like the fact that more people are able to participate. Furthermore, with the current recession counteracting some of the effects of the inflationary spiral, $10,000 has gained in value a little bit in recent years. However, the WSOP has responded by adding more $10,000 events, and adding events that have a greater than $10,000 buy in, most notably the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event but also in 2009 a special $40,000 no limit hold’em event in honor of the WSOP’s 40th anniversary.
In my last article, Comfort Zone, I discussed why you should deconstruct your poker game into its essential elements. In this article I will go over some exercises that will help.
Do you use your position?
Are you aware of position?
Exercise – Play blind. Sit in the far left seat and drag your table to the the left until you can not see your cards. This will teach you how to play position and situation. Whether it is the OOP stop-n-go move, the squeeze play, the three betting a late position raiser, attacking limpers, or just continuation betting, this exercise will help you learn the fundamentals of position and it’s power.
Are you comfortable heads up?
Exercise – play heads up.
How is your post flop play?
How “on” are your reads?
Do you bet the river for value?
Do you have the odds to make that call?
Exercise - Play short handed cash games. Make sure you get plenty of Limit Holdem in the mix, not just No Limit. Make sure you think about position.
Are you confident in your bet sizing?
When you reach the final table do you feel like the tournament is yours or are you hoping to get lucky?
Exercises – Sit and Goes, Sit and Goes, Sit and Goes. They will teach you final table play and they will teach you bet sizing.
How “on” are your reads?
Are you aware of your opponents playing styles?
Do you know he is going to check raise you before you raise?
Exercise – Pay attention.
Three hands ago your opponent checked super fast when he was first to act, did he three bet when he was raised or did he fold? That is a tell you want to know. Does he snap call a flop raise and fold to a turn raise or does he stay with the hand.
Watch for out of the ordinary timing and use that extra information.
Does your opponent limp fold to a raise?
Does your opponent fold to three bets? Check raises? Ect….
Here are a few random exercises I really like:
Play a whole day just calling, no raising.
Play a whole day just raising, it’s either raise or fold.
Play a whole day super tight: AQ+ JJ+ to open and AK,QQ,KK,AA to call/raise.
Play a whole day super laggy: 3bet any pocket pair, suited connector, connector, suited, ect.
Go nuts and have fun.
When doing poker exercises I recommend playing at a level where you can afford to lose, but remember, you don’t have to lose. Play smart, play aware and learn. These drills will make you a better player.
GG GL
In my last few articles I have talked about putting your opponent(s) on hand ranges and hand reading. In my last video I talked about what to do with that information. Now I thought I would talk about how to use this information and how to get comfortable with your new skill sets.
“Practice” is the punch line/truism from the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall.
Billiards, golf, baseball, basketball, volleyball, football, swimming, music, painting, skateboarding, juggling, writing, cooking, sewing, or running it does not matter what you want to do, if you want to get better at it you have to practice. Poker is no different.
You could just pick up your guitar and play along with your favorite song day after day and you will eventually pick out the different parts. Perhaps, in time, if it is not to technically challenging you might be able to play the song. But what if you actually broke the song down, deconstructed it and learned it inside out. If you studied the techniques used for the fills or the solos so you could pull them off flawlessly, effortlessly.
If you are a baseball player, what if you worked on your bunting skills so often that when the time comes for you to lay down a suicide squeeze and the pitcher throws a 97mph pitch at your ear you are able to drop the bunt, effortlessly, thanks to all the time you put in practicing. You are not going to be able to drop that bunt a 95% of the time if you are just passively playing baseball everyday.
So what is my point?
I am talking about actively finding areas where you can improve your game and working on those areas.
Do you use your position?
Are you aware of position?
Are you comfortable heads-up?
How is your post flop play?
Are you confident in your bet sizing?
When you reach the final table, do you feel like the tournament is yours or are you hoping to get lucky?
How “on” are your reads?
Are you aware of your opponents playing styles?
Do you know he is going to check raise you before you raise?
Do you bet the river for value?
Do you have the odds to make that call?
There are ways to deconstruct your poker game and focus on your weaknesses. Just playing poker is great and you will improve but it is a passive way to learn. Actually getting down and dirty and micromanaging your games strengths and weaknesses will turn you into a beast. Tuff plays will become second nature and you will find your sweet spot, your comfort zone.
GG GL
Follow our articles and updates now with twitter!
http://www.twitter.com/RPTpoker
I’ve been with RPT a long time now. When I started here, Todd was the only one making NLHE vids, Ryan barely played any holdem at all and was only making draw vids, and nobody was writing any articles. Now we still have Todd making NLHE vids, but Ryan has made the TV table of a major WPT event, we have vids in all the major types of poker from such diverse guests as BodogAri and LilHoldem, there are vids and articles from David Williams, and there are so many articles here that we could start our own library.
Over the years I have also written for other websites and print magazines, but my favorite place to contribute has always been right here at RPT. Ryan and the staff here have always been honest and fair, the other instructors are insightful and responsive, and the members full of curiosity and eager to participate in thoughtful discussions.
So, why then is this going to be my final article here?
For starters I am getting more and more old and tired with each passing year. There was a time when I was making three vids and writing ten articles every month and all this work has taken its toll on me. I’m not sure I even have anything fresh and relevant to say anymore.
Also there is the fact that, after thirty years of playing, at least for a while, poker is not that big a part of my life anymore. I am writing for a few scholastic publications now and I like having the focus on other areas of my life. I am also more than a few chapters into writing a novel and I’d really love to be able to finish it before my brain turns to mush. I have given up teaching poker completely as well so I am down to just a few games a week.
For a while I worried about those members who only play low limit games. Most of the instructors here at RPT are players with a capital P and play some of the biggest games in the world. But the recent addition of Hokumfool now has that area covered. He has been doing a great job making vids and now writing about that end of the game, and our members are in good hands.
And it’s not as if I am dying or anything. It’s not even as if I am giving up the game forever. I like to think of this more as an extended version of me going on a break from the game. Should my priorities change in the future, and RPT still be interested, there is always the possibility that you will hear from me again.
But for now, I would like to say a warm farewell to everyone here at RPT. I wish everyone here all the happiness and success you all deserve. This place is the best. I’d like to leave you all with something to think about, a short piece that I wrote many years ago:
George Colon was a proud and spiritual man. Even though losing his job had cost him his home and his family, he still struggled to get by each day with quiet dignity. Sometimes that struggle led him to search through a dumpster as he was doing now.
The cold and wet Seattle morning air tore right through the worn out old coat he had gotten from the Goodwill. His hands felt like two icicles as he rummaged through the dirty garbage in search of anything useful. He cut his finger on some broken glass and instinctively grabbed some rough fabric nearby to use as a makeshift bandage. As he pulled the cloth up out of the bin his mouth fell open in surprise. In his hands he was holding a heavy winter coat in fairly decent condition.
He quickly wrapped the coat around his shivering frame. “Thank you God,” he said softly. “Now I will be warm outside.”
As he turned around to get the feel of his new coat he noticed an old homeless lady he had seen before standing in the next dumpster. She was wrapped in rags against the cold and had no coat on at all.
George sighed and took off his new coat and put his old one back on. He got out of his dumpster, walked over to the woman and gave her the new coat. She smiled a toothless grin and thanked him as he walked off.
As he walked, George said softly, “Thank you God, now I will be warm inside.”
For those of you who are not already putting your opponents on hand ranges, wtf? Welcome to the world. The first thing you do when a player puts money into a pot is put him on a hand range. The under the gun limper, what could he have? Yes he could be limping AA being tricky, he could have A2s, Jqs, or K9o. Who is this player? What do you know about him? Have you ever seen him limp fold? Have you ever seen him limp then re-raise a raiser? How about the guy on the button who raises ever unopened hand? What does his range consist of? As a poker player, you want to gather as much information as possible
Put a player on a hand range every time they put money in the pot. If he is a chronic late position raiser who could literally be raising any 2 cards. Define his range as such, and act accordingly. What do you do to a guy that has a range of any two? I re raise him every time. It does not matter what my cards are if I put a player on any two. What about a tight passive player who only continues with a made hand post flop. Call with any two and try and take it from him post. If the passive player comes out barreling it is easy enough to fold, if he is checking, it doesn’t matter what your cards are, raisy-daisy.
Narrow your reads on later streets and act accordingly. Don’t bet if you are positive the guy has air with position on you. Let him bluff. Bet if you think they have a draw, bet big. If you have no idea, get one. Raising helps narrow a range. Does he three bet, just call or fold. I bet he doesn’t fold if he has a set, but does he just call or does he re raise. Things to think about are board texture. If it is a rainbow flop and you lead into a player and they just call. They could have a monster and are not afraid of the board. If the board has two of any one suit, players tend to play their monsters faster. Use this information. Think.
In the micro limits, I will c-bet and then check the turn out of position. I am no longer shocked by the number of players that shove any two after I check. I sometimes wonder why I ever bet, but I know why I bet. Because there are different types of players. Some see a c-bet as weak, some as the nuts. If you see a guy folding to every c-bet, raise and c-bet every time, obviously, but when he finally calls, proceed with caution. If a player floats every flop raise, check your made hand, and watch him make his move. Know your enemy.
Are you beginning to see the value of putting a player on a hand range? The more defined a players range is the more chips you can take from the player or conversely, the more chip you will not just hand over to an obvious monster. I am obviously just scratching the surface here and will discuss narrowing ranges in future articles and videos.
GG GL
Know your enemy:
Take notes on these attributes and frequency they occur:
Taking notes and paying attention will help you define your opponent, his style and his hand ranges. I will talk about how to use your reads in follow up articles. And as always in my articles I am speaking from my knowledge base at the micro buy-in levels. This is ABC, 123 level one stuff.
GG GL
ps- I am just scratching the surface of note taking and reads. Post your favorite notes/reads on players and I can add them to the list. Things like - “he likes to represent the Ace” or “will fold whenever an Ace is on the board”, ect…
So you put hundred bucks on a poker site and you want to build a bank roll. There are a number of roads you could take:
1. Cash Games - you’re looking at .5/.10 games with your bankroll and you should be fine. These games are very easy but easy doesn’t mean you are gonna double or triple your money every hour. Be patient and play more for stacks. Your AK is great but do you want to play for your whole stack with top pair top kicker? The old adage “big hand big pot” should be your mantra. The Limit games are super soft. Nobody folds in the Limit games so don’t get too bluff happy.
2. Sit and Go - Sng’s are a great way to build your roll and to practice for MTT’s. There are so many videos and articles out on Sng’s that I don’t need to go into it. Do a little studying and you’re off to the races. Start low and move up. You can play the dollar tables until you are comfortable and have won 20 or 30 bucks and that will give you some dough to move up to the five dollar level. There are also multi-table SNG’s these get to be more like tournaments but the same basic rules apply. You will want to study up on the concept of “M” (M= your stack / blinds plus antes). Patience should be your mantra in SNG’s.
3. Multi Table Tournaments - the fastest and/or the slowest way to build your bankroll. For 50cents you can play for a couple of hours and make a $1 profit or perhaps you get crazy lucky and take down the tournament and you win $250. It is hard for a player of any level to beat a tournament with 2500 players in it. You have to get lucky and by lucky I mean you have to hope you don’t get sucked out on too often. The great thing about micro limit tournaments is all the dead money out there. More than half the field will be gone in the first hour of a standard tournament often almost two thirds will be gone. So be cool, play your big hands fast and reap the benefits. I will look up my opponents stats for quick reads when necessary, you will find some players have ITM (in the money) less than 10% and some more than 20%. This is great info to have, use it wisely. Straight forward TAG is the way to own these games. That doesn’t mean you don’t bluff or play tricky, you still have a full arsenal of moves, just pick your moments wisely. Like SNG’s, patience should be your mantra.
4. Games besides hold’em - There are many games out there to play and if you thought there was dead money in the hold’em tournaments play any other game and wow, so many of the players are dead in the water. Learn the game and the hand ranges. If you are new to the game play it extra tight until you learn the moves and where you are at in the hand. Some games have AA is a great hand and in others if that is all you have you are probably gonna lose.
5. Create exercises to improve your game. Play heads up, play single table sng’s, play TAG, play LAG, play passive, play maniacal. Try it all, work all your muscles, experiment.
Use standard bankroll guidlines, get used to the suckouts, and have fun. Use the micro limits to study and learn the game and make a few bucks.
GG GL
It was a gray dismal November day. The chill in the wind was nothing compared to the chill I received at the prospect of having to, once again, drain my poker roll for beans, bread, beer and bills. I left a paltry $40 on PokerStars. There was no coincidence in choosing that number, I had turned $40 into over $8k earlier in the year. Could lightning strike twice?
I was going over my options: $1.10 SNGs, $3 and under MTTs, and/or .5/.10 cash. I can play TAG in those arenas and normally not go broke. Then I received the fateful call, it was my buddy Zac with info on a hyper-aggressive short handed .10/.25 live lag game. When I told him of my financial woes he staked me for the evening, $40. At the end of the night I had over $340, $150ish for me with a juicy cheeseburger on Zac.
I returned home buzzing from excitement and such and I remembered a poker staking site I had signed up for earlier in the year. I found the info, did some light reading up on the rules, applied for a stake, and almost instantly (boom!!!) manna from heaven had been transfered to my account to play a tournament. Nikbritain, that cheeky bastard, shipped me $3.30 (I think he just had a big score and was probably drunk.) The tournament did not go so great, I got in in AQ vs. KQ preflop in level IV and of course lost to a flopped straight. I was a nervous wreck, I had just lost $3.30 of someone else’s money. Nik said “GG Sir” and I felt better and of course I owed Nikbritain cake.
The aforementioned site was www.parttimepoker.com, known to its members as PTP. Part Time Poker is a poker portal that is best known for it’s poker staking forums. The staking occurs in two different ways:
1. BAPs - Buy a Piece. A player will sell shares of his action for a MTT, multiple MTT’s, cash games, and/or SNGs.
2. Applying for a Stake - Backers will post stakes in the Make a deal Forum and horses can apply for the stakes, if qualified.
I received my first stake but I was having a hard time getting another one, so I posted a question asking how new members can get staked. The answer was unanimous, “place a couple of stakes yourself”. So I did and with-in a couple of hours I had a solid horse running a $4.40 180man and I began to get accepted for stakes. Backers do not want to throw their money away. They are looking for people who have winning stats and people they can trust. A player that backs other players shows a level of commitment.
I made enough dough on PTP to start backing my favorite player, me. My bankroll was over $250 with-in a couple weeks of my first stake, not so great but not so bad. I then received a private stake from an RPT member who saw me on PTP. I more than doubled his $250 with my Full Tilt action and I had my bankroll up over $1200 by the end of December.
Going from $40 to $1200 is no huge feat obviously but it opened my eyes to another revenue stream for poker. I still look for stakes above my average buy-in (good luck with that Hokum) and I still invest in players. One of the players I invest in is a PTP member named Shlune. Shlune is a great example of how beneficial PTP can be for a players bankroll. Here are a few examples of how this cat runs:
1. One his BAPs
2. One of his investments (how to turn $10 into $1500)
I will continue to invest in Shlune. He runs a tight ship and is a solid consistent player, exactly what I am looking for in a horse.
The major concern on the site is rolling. While it is no fun if a horse loses at the tables, it is expected. What is not expected is if a horse has a big win and the backer never hears from the horse again. Or if the horse just takes the money and vanishes. Because of this, the site has very strict guidelines and does not hesitate to ship members gear or to ban members. There is no begging and if someone is acting shady they are gone. The site tracks IP addresses and multi-accounting is not allowed. The site instills a confidence in it’s members because of it’s strict rule enforcement. Common sense is key when investing, there are plenty of established players who would love to make you and themselves some money.
From .10c to $10k, there are stakes for every buy-in on PTP. There are micro stakes for SNGs where the backer is willing to train you and there are BAPs for the WSOP. PTP regulars love the site for good reason: traffic is high, the site runs great, the site is well maintained, and the moderators take care of business professionally. I poked around on a handful of other staking sites but they all seemed to pale in comparison to PTP. I will continue my relationship with PTP and since I am heading to Europe, once again draining my bankroll, I see a BAP on the horizon.
GG GL
WP-Design: Vlad -- Powered by WordPress -- XHTML 1.0 -- Real Poker Training