Finding The Right Game And The Right Mindset

Ben Roberts


For me, poker is a game that is meant to be played joyfully, and the path to playing the game joyfully begins with finding the game that’s right for you and entering it in the right frame of mind.

If you’re going to be an emotional prisoner when it comes to your wins and losses, you won’t play at your best. You need to play with patience, joy and a certain amount of indifference towards winning and losing. You need to be cool, calm, collected and happy. It’s not about your skill level – that’s something you can improve on continuously. It’s about how you feel, as this affects the moves you make more than your skill or playing style.

Once you’ve attained the right mindset, you can proceed to finding the right game. I believe in watching a game for a while before you enter it. This gives you an advantage over your opponents because you can pick up on their tendencies. If you observe the way they play, you can adjust accordingly before they’ve had a chance to adjust to you.

This ties in directly to the concept of playing with joy, because experiencing different games and different opponents is what I think makes the game of poker so wonderful. Every time I wake up in my hotel room, ready to start a new day at the World Series of Poker, I’m excited. I know it is going to be different from the game I had yesterday—and different from every game I’ve ever had, really.

Another beautiful element of the game that I really appreciate is the way it provides me with fresh stimulation. Many people are under the mistaken impression that once you get used to playing the game, it becomes monotonous. This kind of attitude comes from people who are not true poker players. True poker players appreciate the diversity, the changes and the differences from day to day.

Ultimately, finding the right game comes down to finding the highest stakes at which you will be consistently successful. If you’re a beginning player who’s becoming a winning player, you’ll want to step outside your comfort zone and move up in stakes since that’s the only way to increase your earnings. It’s fairly self-explanatory that the higher the games you play, the more you will win; but that’s only if the players you are up against are worse than you. Remember, there’s not much point in being the 9th best player in the world if you only play against the top eight.

Once you’ve found your game, just remember that whenever you’re feeling good, you should go with the flow and play on, and whenever you’re not, you should stop. Either way, you must keep an even temper. When things go right for you, it’s great. When things don’t go right for you, as long as you did your best and you made your best decisions, you can still feel happy about your game. Take your losses gracefully. When you can take your losses well – when your losses and wins have the same meaning to you – then you have the chance to become a great player as opposed to just a good one. Poker is supposed to be a journey of joy, and anything that is a departure from that, is off your path.

Hand Coordination

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, slowplaying 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.

Playing Fifth Street In Seven-Card Stud

by Keith Sexton


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 7 of diamonds up and a 6 and 7 of spades in the hole, giving you a pair of 7s. 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 9 of spades. You have a pretty nice hand at this point. Not only do you have a pair of 7s, 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 6 so now he has an Ace, Jack, and 6 showing. You catch the deuce of spades, which is a very interesting card. You now have a pair of 7s and four spades to a flush, but your opponent is unaware of how strong you are because one of your 7s 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 7s 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 7s. 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.

Adjusting Strategy Mid-Hand

Most of the time when you’re engaged in a poker hand, you’ll be thinking about what decisions you will make before you have to make them. For example, if you call a raise with K-Q, you’ll think to yourself: Okay, if I hit top pair, I’m going to play this hand. If I have a gut-shot and two over-cards, I’m going to play this hand. If I have an open-ender and two over-cards, I’m going to play this hand. Otherwise, I’m going to let it go.

However, there will often be times when something happens that causes you to change your strategy mid-hand. Maybe your opponent makes a weak bet that gives you information worth using to your advantage. Or maybe he makes a bet on the river that looks like a value bet and convinces you to fold a hand you were planning on calling with.

It’s always good to enter a hand with a plan, but it’s essential that you be willing to deviate from the plan if the situation calls for it. Every hand requires that you react to your cards and the cards on the board, but it’s equally important that you factor in your opponent and his tendencies.

Here’s a hand that I played recently at the 2009 EPT German Open in Dortmund, where I went on to finish in fourth place. It was late in Day Two, I had been fairly short-stacked for a while and occasionally shoving with decent hands, but I hadn’t yet made a serious bluff in the tournament. We were eight-handed, the player in second position made a very small raise to 8,500 with blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 500-chip ante, and it folded around to me in the small blind with pocket fives. I had about 70,000 in chips, and all I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to fold a pocket pair in this situation.

I decided to call rather than raise, knowing the big blind would certainly be priced in to call as well, and he did. The flop came A-8-3. I was obviously looking to flop a set, or maybe something like 2-3-4 or 3-4-6, and this flop was not at all good for my hand, so I checked. The big blind also checked. And the initial raiser made what looked to me like a very weak bet, 12,000 into a 29,500 pot.

I was quite sure from the bet that he didn’t have an Ace, and probably he didn’t have a pair of any kind. It seemed to me that he had a hand like K-J, something in that range. So when he bet 12,000, I considered all of the factors – my read on him, my tight image, and my stack size. I decided to raise 21,000 more, representing that I had perhaps a weak Ace and had committed myself to the pot (even though, in reality, I wasn’t committed and would be willing to fold to a re-raise, leaving myself with about 30,000 in chips).

The big blind folded, and after thinking for a long time, the initial raiser folded also. He simply had to give me credit for a real hand that I wasn’t going to lay down to a re-raise.

This was a situation where I didn’t really intend to commit many chips if I didn’t hit a favorable flop, but I adjusted my decision making based on my opponent’s post-flop action, believing the stage had been set for me to make a move. Always be willing to adjust your plan, and every once in a while you’ll find yourself winning chips that otherwise would have been pushed toward someone else.

Establishing A Tight Table Image

by Allen Cunningham

2007
In poker, image matters.

Throughout a tournament, your table image will help determine how much action you'll get and, ultimately, how you can manipulate your opponents into making big calls or big laydowns at the wrong times.

While establishing a loose, aggressive image early on can help build your initial chip stack, I believe it's important to develop a tight table image in the later stages of a tournament because it gives you the ability to maneuver at the times when the chips matter most.

When the action is folded around, some players will always raise from the cutoff and the button. The problem with this play is that's its predictable and can be easily exploited. If you always raise from the button, the players in the blinds catch on sooner or later and will put in a big re-raise with any two cards. You will also find players just calling you with a much wider range of hands from the blinds before putting in a big check-raise on the flop.

Why do they do this? Because you have been presenting a loose table image by raising any time the action is passed to you. During late-stage play, this image hampers your ability to maneuver because any time you try to make a move, it's likely that someone will play back at you.

It doesn't take long before your loose table image will make you a target for the experienced players at the table (or even the inexperienced players who get tired of being pushed around). The amount of chips you risk by being loose in these situations is usually not worth the reward of just picking up the blinds. Be careful, though, because when you play too tight you end up missing many opportunities to slowly accumulate chips or even just stay afloat. Ideally, you want to project a very tight image while actually being somewhere in between the standard perceptions of "loose" and "tight."

I have one very simple piece of advice to help you with this part of your game. It may sound so simple you would wonder why I bother mentioning it but, in fact, this is one of my most important rules: Always fold junk.

By always folding junk hands, you accomplish a number of goals:

You resist the temptation to attempt a blind-steal just because action was passed to you. With the level of aggressiveness that characterizes today's play, it's better to pass on bad hands even in position.
You avoid pot-committing yourself with a hand that will usually be dominated in a race with a short-stack. For example, if you raise from the cutoff for 3x the big blind with J-3 attempting to steal the blinds and a stack with 8x the big blind moves in behind you, you are in a bad spot. It's better to just avoid these situations altogether.
Most importantly, you further cement your image as a tight player. Now when you raise with a hand like A-8, you can feel confident that your tight image will allow you to steal the blinds although you're actually playing a bit looser.
Another temptation players face is to pick on someone's blind just because they view that player as "weak." I rarely pick on someone's blinds without a decent opening hand. Opening from the cut-off with a hand like K-9 suited is about as low as I'm willing to go in attempt to just pick up the blinds.

Using my tight table image enabled me to maneuver through a very tough field in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold 'em event at the 2007 WSOP*. After I doubled up early in Day 2, I used my table image in the late stages to steal blinds and to pick up a number of pots in key situations. I was able to carry this momentum to the final table, where I was fortunate enough to win the bracelet.

Remember, it takes more than good cards to be a winning player. By creating a solid table image in the late stages of a tournament, you may actually be able to play a wider variety of hands than your opponents expect and take down key pots at critical times.

The Pros And Cons Of Being Active Early

by Aaron Bartley

Deciding how active you want to be at the beginning of a tournament depends heavily on what type of tournament you’re playing in. If it’s a standard Sit & Go, I always recommend playing tight and conserving chips early. If it’s a Multi-Table Tournament or a Shootout Tournament then you should consider a more active style in the early phase.

Part of the goal in doing this is to accumulate chips. But another part of the goal is to establish an image that will help get you chips later. It can be a rewarding way to play, but you need to understand that there’s also a downside to the image this type of play will create.

When you put constant pressure on other players, it’s eventually going to make them fight back. You don’t have to raise large amounts and you don’t have to get involved in huge pots, but by raising with a lot of hands, your opponents are going to play back at you with a wider and wider range of hands. They’re going to start calling and three-betting with more marginal hands, and that’s going to open them up and make them susceptible to giving you their chips more often.

If you’re looking to accumulate chips, you don’t want your table locked down in super-tight mode. You don’t want to have to grind out a few chips every orbit – you want to get into your opponents’ heads and provoke them into spewing chips. You’ll find that once one player at the table does it, it tends to have a domino effect and lead other people to start making mistakes.

The downside, however, is that your bluffs won’t work very often, and that’s something you have to be aware of. For example, let’s say I’ve been playing a lot of pots and developed a loose image in a six-handed table, and I’m dealt A-Q suited under the gun. That’s a good hand at a full table, and it’s even better six-handed. So I make a pot-sized raise, and the big blind calls. The flop is J-10-6, which isn’t exactly a hit for me, but it isn’t a total miss; I have a straight draw and two over cards. I’m going to make a normal continuation bet and I figure my opponent can’t call me without a decent hand. In this case, I bet, he calls and the turn is a three, so I decide to give it one more shot and raise my bet a little bit because I want him to fold. Instead, he calls.

A four now falls on the river. I didn’t hit anything and he’s clearly shown that he’s ready to call anything; I can’t expect to bet him off the hand. In my mind, I’m putting him on a hand possibly as weak as 10-2, but I don’t think I can get him to lay that down, so I check, give up the pot and he wins with 6-7.

Of course I’m going to be a little frustrated to learn that he called twice with third pair. He had to have put me on A-K or A-Q or thought I was raising under the gun with rags and, the truth is, people will begin to think that way because I’ve raised a lot of pots. Because of this, people are going to start calling me extremely light.

In the short-term, that can be a bad thing; but in the long-term, it should be good. If the same hand happens later but I have A-J or Aces or Kings, or even some trash hand that connects, I’m going to get paid off.

This is why the positives of playing an active style early ultimately outweigh the negatives. Even if you lose a pot because your image keeps people hanging around, it can set you up to win an even bigger pot later on.

Interpreting Three-Bets

by Jordan 'IMsoLucky0' 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 9s or 10s in the right spot against the right opponent, but hands like 8s or 7s 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.

Pot-Limit Omaha

by Barny Boatman

If you don’t have much experience playing Pot-Limit Omaha, a good rule of thumb is to play hands that can make the nuts because at a full table the pot will usually 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 never going to be that far behind any other starting hand. The 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 need to have a redraw that gives you plenty of outs.

More than anything, Pot-Limit Omaha is about straights and straight possibilities. You should always be looking to play starting hands that have a 10 or a 5 in them because many straights contain one or the other. Tens are particularly important because they’re more likely to make the nut straight for you. 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 5s or 7s. 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 J-10-3-2 and the flop comes 9-8-7. You’ve flopped the nut straight, but you can’t celebrate too much because if a Jack or a 10 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’re probably going to lose to a Full House. If another spade comes, you’re going to get beaten by a flush. 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 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 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.

Betting Out To Control Pot Size

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.

TILLY IS 50 YEARS OLD

Jennifer Tilly may have surprised alot of people when she won a bracelet in the 2005 World Series of Poker Ladies No-Limit Hold’em event, but she would prove later that year that she was no one-hit-wonder with her first place victory at the World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational.

On June 27, 2005, Tilly won a World Series of Poker bracelet (and $158,625) in the Ladies’ No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em event, outlasting 600 other players. She followed up this accomplishment on September 1, 2005 by also winning the third World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament held at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Tilly has appeared in the GSN Poker Royale series. She appeared in the third season of Poker Superstars but was eliminated in the preliminary round.

Tilly has stated that at this point in her career she is more interested in pursuing poker than acting. As of 2008 her live tournament winnings exceed $450,000. Tilly also appears in the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition video game (along with current boyfriend, Phil Laak) that was released in 2007 by Activision.

I’m not sure where I want to go with this...I'd like to believe that it’s because she’s makes good reads and is a heck of a poker player, but let’s be honest, if you were a guy in sunglasses with that pictured above sitting across from you, I’d imagine you’d probably be a little distracted. I don't think that type of outfit, or those type of distractions belong in poker.

She is currently dating poker professional Phil “Unabomber” Laak and is nicknamed “The Unabombshell” within the poker circuit. Laak is 14 years younger than Tilly, and personally I think he's an annoying guy to watch.

But she’s FIFTY. I honestly can't believe it. She could easily pass for 35, poker keeps you young baby.

ADD FERN TO THE SHORT LIST OF POKER CHAMPS

Rich Southard 3 times
Rick Turner 2007
and now add Jay Fern


Thursday evening, or actually early Friday morning, after just about everyone went home, in their 3rd time meeting for a Poker Championship, Jay Fern finally defeated Rich Southard to take the 2008 FA Final Event Championship.

In a year where we've live through "auction rate preferreds", corporate failures, retentionless job changes, and a 143% decline in the equity markets, we had another first: Jay Fern took down Rich Southard to win the FA league title. It was a well played night, complete with way too much chicken.

The first casualty was Johnny "I gotta get up to drive vroom vroom" Busco who gave away his chips chasing a flush. Rick Turner, our defending champion, went down next. Appropriately, both satellite finishers hit the showers 1-2.

Luke, playing what seemed his one and only hand, bowed out in 6th place. "I'm Pete Costello" who made as many incredible lay downs (pocket kings) as he did calls (A-10), couldn't survive his battles with Rich, and at approximately Pete O'clock he headed home.

Rich Southard had about 55,000 of the 80,000 chips heading into the final 4. As the money bubble was popped, play got less conservative, and Jay's pocket 10's held over Triola's, all-in, pocket 8's. Neil's A-J was then taking out by Rich's 7-8, and it was heads up time, with Rich having a 60k-20k chip advantage. The battle went on for almost an hour and Jay's pocket Jd 9d, chased and hit a flush over Rich's paired A 5, it was over.

Here is the the finished results of the final table:

Fern
Southard
Martucci
Triola
Costello
Lucash
Turner
Busco

A great year, another great group of guys, and another memorable championship, and a new member to the POKER HALL OF CHAMPIONS.

Continuation Betting And Your Position At The Table

by Jon 'Pearljammed' Turner

When deciding whether or not to make a continuation bet on the flop, a critical factor is your position at the table.

Let's say you raise before the flop from under the gun and get called by the big blind. You should make a continuation bet the vast majority of the time, whether the flop helped you or not, because your preflop raise from the worst position at the table suggests you have a very big hand. By the same token, your opponent's call before the flop doesn't signify nearly as much strength because he was getting a big discount to call from the big blind. If he checks to you on the flop, you should make a continuation bet at least 90 percent of the time, mixing in a few checks when you have a hand like A-J or A-Q and flop top pair with your ace.

Now let's say you make a preflop raise on the button and get called by the big blind. You still have position on your opponent, but he's probably not going to give you any credit for having a strong hand because stealing from this position is so common. There's a chance he might check-raise you with absolutely nothing, so you should be much more inclined to check after your opponent checks, especially if you actually have a decent hand like pocket eights on a J-7-3 flop or A-K on a Q-J-5 flop.

In the latter situation, you would be better off checking and taking a free card with A-K because you're likely drawing to ten outs and, even if you don't improve, your hand is still strong enough to have showdown value on the river. If you do decide to make a continuation bet and get called, you can be sure your opponent has a better hand than yours. You should then take a free card on the turn, which will give you another shot at hitting one of your outs on the river.

Because most players view continuation bets as steal attempts in this situation, you should be prepared to go all the way with your hand whenever you're short-stacked and connect with the flop. For example, if you only have 20 big blinds in your stack, you raise from the button with Q-10 suited and the flop comes Q-J-5, you need to be willing to get all your chips into the middle of the table. You should make a continuation bet most of the time, but occasionally you're going to want to check behind in this spot in order to disguise the strength of your hand.

Now if you had 30 big blinds in your stack in the same situation, you might want to check behind because you're a little too deep to entice an opponent who has a jack to want to put you all in. If you check, most of the cards that fall on the turn won't hurt you. Only an ace, king, or jack would give you much concern. Having disguised the strength of your hand, you can then bet for value on the turn and the river. Your turn bet will get called by many hands worse than yours, including most small pocket pairs. If your opponent checks to you again on the river, you should continue to bet for value, but if he leads out with a bet you should just call. If you raise, you're only going to get called by a better hand than yours.

Now let's turn it around and say you're out of position. You raise before the flop from middle position and get called by the button. Now you're in much more of a bind if you make a continuation bet because, if your opponent calls, you're going to have to act first on the turn and if you check the turn your opponent will often pounce on that perceived weakness and make a large bet.

However, there's a great way to take advantage of this situation. If you actually have a strong hand on the flop, top pair or better, and make a continuation bet and get called, this is a great spot for you to check the turn. By doing this it will appear to your opponent that you're conceding the pot, and oftentimes it will trick him into believing he has the better hand. If the flop is J-7-3 and you have Q-J and check on the turn, your opponent could try to put you all in with a hand like pocket nines, whereas if you bet the turn he would probably fold that hand.

If you want to succeed in tournaments, you should always consider your position at the table when deciding whether or not you should make a continuation bet on the flop.

WSOP BROOKTOWN EVENT OCT 3RD -

We are 1 week away from our penultimate event. NL Texas Hold ‘Em.

Due to a last minute change of plans, the event will be held at my house in Middletown, and as usual we’d like to start by 8pm. Please let me know who will be attending, I’m a little tight on space so FOUNDERS only this month. Below is the blind structure and starting chip counts.

Be sure to visit our websites for additional information.

www.BrooktownLeague.com



Event Overview – NO LIMIT TEXAS HOLD ‘EM

THE GAME

The game is No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Maximum number of players - 14.
• Minimum number of players - 3.
• Chip Value:
o White 25
o Red 50
o Green 100
o Blue 250
o Black 500

BUYIN/REBUY/ADD-ON

• The initial buy-in is $40. This will purchase 3,500 in tournament chips. These chips have no monetary value.
• A player may add-on at any point in the tournament prior to the first hand of round 5. Each player is allowed up to 1 (one) add-on in this tournament.
• Add-on are $20 and will purchase 1,750 in tournament chips.



SEATING

• Table assignment and seating will be determined prior to the start of the tournament by random drawing. (However, the tournament director reserves the right to redraw the tables).
• Button position will be determined by the random assignment of seat #1. Seat #1 will be the first to deal.
• If we have in excess of 10 players at the start of this event we will use two tables.
• If the tournament began with two tables, as soon as the remaining players equal 8, we will combine the two tables and have one table of 8 players.
• When the difference in the number of players at the two tables is greater than 1 then a player must move from the bigger table to the smaller table. When a player is eliminated and a move must be made, the player ‘playing a hand’ in the same position (seat), relative to the left of the button (on the subsequent hand at each table) at the highest populated table must move to the eliminated player’s seat. The move must occur before the next hand is dealt at any table. For the purposes of this rule, a player is ‘playing a hand’ once all the blinds/antes have been posted and the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).A moved player will be dealt a hand at the start of the next deal and assume any obligation of the new seat including the posting of a blind or dealing.


BLINDS

• The two players to the left of the dealer are required to post “blind” bets before seeing their cards. The 1st is the SB and the 2nd is the BB.
• If the SB is knocked out, the button essentially goes into his empty seat.
• If the BB is knocked out, then the BB moves on to the player who would have had it next and there isn’t a SB on this hand (SB moves into the empty seat). On the following hand, the button would wind up in the empty seat. The player who just had the BB would have SB, and the BB moves on normally to the next player.
• When play is down to two players, figure out who would get the BB next if nothing had happened. He will be the BB on the next hand. The SB is always on the button and the other player is the BB.

SCHEDULE FOR BLINDS
Level Time Limit Little Blind Big Blind
1 40 25 50
2 40 50 75
3 40 50 100
4 30 75 150
5 30 100 200
6 30 150 300
7 20 200 400
8 20 300 600
9 20 500 1000
10 20 800 1600
11 15 1000 2000
12 15 1500 3000
13 10 2000 4000
14 10 3000 6000
15 10 5000 10000

The above schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the tournament director, in an effort to complete the tournament by 2am.






TIMER USE AND BREAKS

A timer will be used to time the blind progression. When the timer expires, it should be immediately restarted. The next hand will be dealt at the new blind level. For the purposes of this rule, a hand is considered currently in play once the all blinds are posted AND the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).
The timer is stopped during breaks. No additional hands at any table should be started during such a break although hands already in progress should be completed.


THE DEAL

The player to the right of the dealer may be given the right to cut the deck before the cards are dealt.
The dealer is responsible for making sure that all bets have been called before dealing each round of card(s).
Order of the deal:

1. Dealer deals two cards (one at a time) face down to each player.
2. Betting round 1 occurs.
3. Dealer burns one card and deals 3 cards (flop) in the middle of the table face up.
4. Betting round 2 occurs.
5. Dealer burns one card and deals one card (turn/4th Street) in the middle.
6. Betting round 3 occurs.
7. Dealer burns one card and deals the final card (river/5th Street).
8. Betting round 4 occurs.


BETTING

• Check and raise is allowed.
• The minimum bet is equal to the size of the BB.
• The raise must always be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
• Any player can bet all of their chips at anytime (ALL-IN).
• Betting round 1 begins with the player to the left of the BB.
• Betting rounds 2-4 begin with the player to the left of the button.
• When only two players are left sitting at the table, the BB is dealt to first, the button acts first before the flop, and the BB acts first after the flop.
• Do not splash the pot. Stack your bets in front of you the dealer will rake the bets into the pot after the betting round is complete.
• Do not bet, check, call, fold, or raise out of turn.


WINNING THE TOURNAMENT

The final player remaining, in the championship round, with all the chips will be the first prize winner. The last player eliminated will be the second prize winner; the second last player eliminated will be the third prize winner, etc... If two players get eliminated in the same hand, the person who started the hand with the most chips gets the higher finish and awarded the corresponding prize pool for that placement.

Coin Flips

by Ben Roberts

Whether or not you decide to get into a coin flip situation in poker really depends upon what type of game you're playing. I'm far more likely to take on one of these challenges when I'm playing in a cash game than when I'm playing in a tournament, and I'm also more likely to do so when I'm playing in a live game as opposed to online.

If you're playing in a cash game, getting into a 50-50 race can occasionally produce greater results beyond simply winning the hand. If you win a race, you can often expect your opponent to become a worse player almost immediately after the hand is over. This will give you the opportunity to take even more money from him over the course of the next several hours. Therefore, I'm more willing to get into a coin flip situation with players who have less control over their emotions after losing a big hand this way.

Conversely, if my opponent wins the hand, he's not going to get rewarded as much since I'm not going to play any differently after losing a big hand in this manner. Although winning is extremely important to me, I believe people put too high a premium on winning in the short-term, for example, over the course of a session or two. When they fail to win, they become possessed with a sense of shame and depression, but I believe poker is supposed to be a journey of joy and fun.

Beyond my opponent's demeanor, one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not I'm willing to get into a race is the amount of money I've invested in the hand. If I've already put some money into the pot and I'm sure it's a 50-50 situation, then no matter how much my opponent raises he won't be able to get rid of me. If I folded, I would be literally throwing away the money I already put in there, and I'm not in the habit of doing that.

Here's an example of a coin flip situation after the flop. Let's say you have A-K of clubs, and the flop comes 9-8-2 with two clubs. Because you have two overcards and a flush draw, this is a nice spot to go on the offensive if somebody makes a bet. If your opponent has made top pair with a hand like 10-9, it's about a 50-50 situation, but you have plenty of outs to justify your aggression.

However, if you raise and your opponent comes over the top of you, you have to suspect that he has a set and you can no longer depend on a king or an ace being an out. At this point, all you have is flush draw and it's no longer a coin flip situation. Unless you're both deep-stacked and think your opponent will pay you off if you do hit your flush, you should back off and wait for a better situation. But don't lose your initiative and remember to keep playing aggressively.

Now let's turn it around. The flop is the same, but now you have pocket jacks and your opponent is the one who has two overcards and a flush draw. You bet, and your opponent raises. How you proceed really depends upon what sort of player you're up against.

Because of situations like this one, I prefer live games to online games. I tend to make more accurate decisions in live games. Most of the time I can get a read on my opponent, and I can capitalize on that. If I feel like he only has two overcards because he just called my raise before the flop, I'll call and see what the turn brings. But if I raised before the flop and he reraised me, then I'll throw my jacks away because he could very well have a bigger pair than mine.

My rationale completely changes in a tournament. In the latter stages of a tournament your chips are worth more than they were at the beginning so your first concern should be protecting them, which often means avoiding coin flip situations. After the money bubble bursts, you get financially rewarded whenever a player gets knocked out so quite often the smartest move is to avoid getting into coin flip situations and waiting for a better spot.

Like many aspects of poker, the decision of whether or not to get into a coin flip situation depends on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the type of game you're playing and the demeanor of the opponent you're playing against.

Playing Aces in PLO

by Andy Black

Players who are new to Pot-Limit Omaha tend to make more mistakes with Aces than with any other hand. They get themselves into really tough situations - ones where they can lose a lot of money. Avoiding these spots is one of the keys to playing PLO profitably.

Here's the kind of situation that newer PLO players sometimes find themselves in. Say it's a $2/$5 game where all the players have about $500 in front of them. There's an early position raise to $15 and a player in middle position with A-A-x-x re-raises to $50. Four players call the $50. Now the flop comes down J-7-2, rainbow.

The Aces might be good here, or they might not. It's very hard to know. This is the kind of spot where it's very easy to make a big mistake - either by putting in a lot of money while a huge underdog, or by folding the best hand.

Novice PLO players get in this sort of trouble because they don't really understand how Omaha differs from Hold 'em. In Hold 'em, if you start with a big pair like Kings or Aces, you know you're a big favorite before the flop. But this isn't the case with Omaha. For example, pre-flop, Ac-Ad-4s-7h will win only 51 percent of the time when heads up against Js-Ts-9h-8h. Throw a couple of other hands in the mix, and Aces become extremely vulnerable.

Because so many hands are so evenly matched, Omaha is a game where what you catch with the community cards is usually more important than what you start with. You're looking to make big hands - nut straights, nut flushes, and big sets.

Still, hands that contain Aces are usually a decent favorite when played heads up. And, with Aces, you always have the opportunity to make top set or, if you're suited, a nut flush. So you're going to want to play these hands, but you often want to be more cautious pre-flop.

If there's a raise in early position, you don't have to re-raise with A-A-x-x, especially if that re-raise would commit you for only a small portion of your stack. When all the players have deep stacks, a few will be happy to call your bet and see a flop. Then you're likely to find yourself in the sort of situation described at the beginning of this tip. You won't know if your hand has held up on most flops. And when you do hit your set of Aces, you're not likely to get a lot of action, as your opponents won't have much difficulty putting you on a hand.

However, there are some occasions when you want to play Aces aggressively pre-flop. When there's been a lot of action and a raise will allow you to get about three-quarters of your stack in before the flop, go ahead and make that big bet. At that point, you're looking to force some folds and, hopefully, play heads up. With that much money committed, you know the rest of your stack will be going in on the flop no matter what comes.

Of course, once you're in the hand, your Aces can lead to some very profitable post-flop situations. You might catch top set while an opponent makes a lower one or your nut flush might take a big pot from someone who made a lower flush.

So slow down with your Aces pre-flop in PLO. Your deceptive play will win you some big pots when you make a big hand. Plus, you'll avoid losing a lot when the board doesn't fall your way.

Saving Chips by Chip Jett

The $50,000 HORSE tournament at the World Series of Poker is one of the most prestigious events in all of poker, but the structure does not allow room for mistakes. Typically, over 80 percent of the field is still alive halfway through the second day, but none of those players have enough chips to play more than two big hands. Everyone is in danger of going broke. In fact, it’s the same in nearly every HORSE tournament I’ve ever played in, which means it’s crucial that you never waste a single bet.

In no-limit tournaments a few players usually break out from the pack and acquire huge chip leads early on. The blinds and antes only become an issue for them towards the very end of the tournament, but that almost never happens in HORSE tournaments because you’re playing limit poker. The blinds and antes are an issue the entire time so saving chips whenever you can is vital.

In a HORSE tournament it’s particularly important to hold on to your chips in the Stud games because there’s an extra round of betting compared to the flop games, Hold ’em and Omaha. That’s why I think it’s best to play conservatively on Third Street in the Stud games.

For example, let’s say you have A-2 in the hole and a 5 up in Razz. This is one of the best starting hands you can have in Razz so you should definitely open for a raise. But a player showing a 6 re-raises you. For him to reraise you, it’s almost 99 percent certain he has two wheel cards in the hole. He has a very good starting hand, but, of course, your hand is still better.

If this were a cash game, you would want to re-raise him. However, in a HORSE tournament you should just call because you’re only a small favorite at this point in the hand. Not re-raising here is kind of like staying away from coin flip situations in No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments. You’re avoiding a situation where you’re not a huge favorite. In a HORSE tournament you don’t want to push too hard when you only have a slight advantage.

If you put in three bets on Third Street and get two or more callers, pots odds are going to force you to stay in the hand no matter what you catch on Fourth Street. Playing this way, you might win a big pot, but you might also lose one. You simply can’t afford to play this way in a HORSE tournament because losing one or two such hands can cost you your entire stack.

I’d recommend seeing what falls on Fourth Street before committing any more of your chips because you will have a much better idea where you are at in the hand. If you and your opponent both catch good cards on Fourth Street, you become a much bigger favorite to win the hand than you were on Third Street. Now instead of being just a 52 percent favorite you might be as much as a 65 percent favorite, and you can start raising and re-raising to protect that advantage.

If you catch a bad card on Fourth Street, it will be much easier to muck your cards if you didn’t put in three or four bets on Third Street. For example, if you catch a jack and your opponent catches a 4, you’re going to be happy you didn’t cap the betting on Third Street because now you’re behind in the hand.

Another advantage to just calling a reraise on Third Street with the best hand is deception. If you and your opponent both catch good cards on Fourth Street your opponent is going to think he still has the better hand. You are in effect slowplaying your hand, and it could pay off handsomely because the size of the bets has now doubled.

Because every player in a HORSE tournament is just one or two hands away from going broke, it’s extremely important to save your chips whenever you can. Playing more conservatively on Third Street during the Stud games is a great way to accomplish this.

How to Win at Tournament Poker, Part 2

by Chris Ferguson

Last week I talked about not adjusting for tournament play, answered three specific tournament questions, and stressed that there is little difference between tournament strategy and ring game strategy. This week, I would like to expand on that by answering a fourth question, and address the two situations where it's right to deviate from simply playing your best game.

The fourth question: Surely the different payout structure between ring games and tournaments means something, doesn't it?

Yes, tournaments differ from live action in that you are rewarded for how long you last, rather than for how many chips you accumulate.

In ring game poker, the chips you save by folding are just as valuable as the chips you win by playing. In tournament play, the chips you save are actually more valuable.

Consider a typical $1,000 buy-in tournament with 100 players, where first place is worth $40,000 out of a total prize pool of $100,000.

At the beginning of the tournament everyone has 1,000 in chips with a value of $1,000. The eventual winner will have 100,000 in chips and, in live action, would be entitled to a prize of $100,000. In a tournament, that same $100,000 is worth only $40,000, meaning that, at the end, each 1,000 in chips is only worth $400. As your stack grows, the value of each additional chip decreases, which means you want to be slightly more averse to taking unnecessary risks in tournaments than you might be in live action. (And if you are at all averse to taking risks in live action, you're probably playing over your bankroll.) Don't overcompensate for tournament play. Most people would be better off making no changes at all, rather than the changes that they do make.

Having said all this, there are two cases where adjusting will help:

1. When you are just out of the money.

If you are short stacked, you need to be very careful when committing your chips, especially with a call.

If you have a large stack, look for opportunities to push the short and medium stacks around - especially the medium stacks. These players will be a lot less likely to want a confrontation with you, and it should be open season on their blinds and antes.

If you have a medium or small stack, you need to be a bit more careful. Remember, though, that the other players - even the larger stacks - don't want to tangle with you. They just want to steal from you without a fight. Be prepared to push them around a little, and even to push back occasionally when they try to bully you. This often turns into a game of Chicken between the bigger stacks to determine which large stack will let the other steal most of the blinds.

2. At the final table.

Very little adjustment is necessary until you are one player away from the final table. Here, again, you should tighten up slightly because this is the next point where the payout structure handsomely rewards outlasting other players.

Look for opportunities to push around the other players, and the smaller stacks in particular. This is good advice throughout the final table.

What about heads up?

There are no more tournament adjustments necessary. You are essentially playing a winner take all freeze-out for the difference between first and second place.

Remember: Tournament adjustments should be subtle. It is rare that your play would be dramatically different in a tournament. When in doubt, just play your best game. And if you never adjust from that, you've got a great shot of winning, no matter what game you're playing.

How To Win At Tournament Poker

by Chris Ferguson

People often ask very specific questions about how to be a winning tournament player:

How many chips am I supposed to have after the first two levels?
Should I play a lot of hands early while the blinds are small, then tighten up later as the blinds increase?
I seem to always finish on the bubble. Should I tighten up more as I get close to the money, or try to accumulate more chips early on?
Surprisingly, all three questions have the same answer:

Stop trying to force things to happen. Just concentrate on playing solid poker, and let the chips fall where they may.

In fact, that's the best answer for almost any specific tournament question. Here is a more useful question:

How much of a difference is there between ring game strategy and tournament strategy?

The answer: Not as much as you think.

Before you worry about adjusting for tournaments, concentrate on adjusting for the other players. The most important skill in poker is the ability to react to a wide range of opponents playing a wide range of styles. Players who can do this will thrive in both ring games and tournaments alike.

Many of the most costly tournament mistakes are the result of players over-adjusting for tournament play. Let's look at these questions again:

How many chips am I supposed to have after the first two levels?

The short answer is: As many as you can get.

Play your cards. Play your opponents. Do not try to force action simply because you think you "need" to have a certain number of chips to have a chance of winning. You should be thinking about accumulating more chips, while trying to conserve the chips you already have. The more chips you have, the better your chances of winning. The fewer chips you have, the worse your chances.

Forget about reaching some magical number. There is no amount below which you have no shot, nor is there any amount above which you can be guaranteed a victory. A chip and a chair is enough to win, and enough to beat you. Getting fixated on a specific number is a good way to ensure failure. Next question:

Should I play a lot of hands early while the blinds are small, and then tighten up later as the blinds increase?

Your play shouldn't change much as the tournament progresses. Gear your play to take maximum advantage of your opponents, irrespective of how far along the tournament is. Most players are too loose in the early stages of a tournament. Rather than become one of these players, adjust for their play instead:

Attempt to steal the blinds less often
Call more raises
Re-raise more frequently
Likewise, when opponents typically tighten up later on, you should steal more often and be less inclined to get involved in opened pots. Again, this should be a reaction to the way your opponents are playing, not an action based on any particular stage of the tournament.

Last question: I seem to always finish on the bubble. Should I tighten up more as I get close to the money to avoid this, or try to accumulate more chips early on?

Usually the people asking this question are already tightening up too soon before reaching the money. In other words, they are over-adjusting to tournament play. Not only is it incorrect to tighten up considerably before you are two or three players from the money, doing so is the surest way to finish on or near the bubble. Just play your best, most aggressive game, and try not to let your stack dwindle to a point where you can't protect your hand with a pre-flop all-in raise. If you do, your opponents will be getting the right pot odds to call, even with weak hands. Look for opportunities to make a move before you let this happen, even if it means raising with less than desirable holdings.

Erick Lindgren thinks very little of my style of play

If you read the following article by Erick Lindgren you’ll see him disagree with me and my 34% style of seeing the flop.


In tournaments, I play lots of hands. I'll put my money in with all kinds of connected cards, especially when in position. I might limp, I might min-raise or raise a little more than the minimum, depending on the circumstances. I'm looking to keep my table off balance so they don't know where I'm coming from.


My overall goal is to pick up a lot of small pots without a lot of resistance. I might raise in position and hope for a call from one of the blinds. If I raise pre-flop with something like 6-7, I might miss the flop entirely, but the raise puts me in control of the hand. On the flop, I'll likely bet if checked to, even if I miss. That small bet on the flop will usually win me a small, but helpful pot.


Of course, sometimes it won't work out. I'll bet and get check-raised on occasions. But that's okay, because I actually don't lose much in the hands that I have to surrender. Overall, I get to gradually add to my chip stack by chopping at small pot after small pot.


The other major advantage to my style is that, occasionally, I will hit a flop hard. If I do happen to flop a straight, it's difficult for other players to put me on something like 5-7 or 6-8. If one of my opponents also gets a piece of the flop, I'll get paid off in a big way.


By adding to my stack early, I have a real advantage over players who play a cautious, tight game. The extra chips that I accumulate allow me to survive some tough spots. So, if I happen to get involved in a race with A-K or a pair of Tens, I can withstand a loss. An opponent who's playing tight will likely be on the rail after losing a single race.


New players often ask me how they can learn to play more pots. I always suggest that they drop down significantly in stakes and practice. If you're playing $2-$4 no-limit, drop down to $.50-$1 - a level where some losses won't hurt you.


Once you're at that table, try to play eight hands out of 10. Play everything but 2-8 or 3-9 - hands that are entirely unconnected. When you get yourself involved with this kind of frequency, you'll have to concentrate more on your opponents than on your own cards. You'll have to be on the lookout for opportunities to take down pots with well-timed stabs. You'll also learn how to proceed in situations where you flop a good, but dangerous hand.


By dropping down and playing a lot of hands, you're going to learn a lot about poker. You're also going to have a lot of fun. Lord knows, playing 50% of the hands is a whole lot more entertaining than sitting around waiting for Aces.


If you look at the success that Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu and myself have had over the last couple of years, you'll see that being active can be an excellent way to score big in tournaments. It takes practice to play this style, but it can lead to great results and be a lot of fun.

NO LIMIT HOLD 'EM POKER THOUGHTS

As we embark on an interesting night of non-league, multi tournament (hopefully) poker this week, I want to share some thoughts I have, as well as some quotes from an article I read last week from Chris Ferguson.

I don’t know if anyone has ever noticed, but I don’t play a lot of hands (in No Limit Hold ‘Em, I rarely see more than 34% of the flops), and when it’s time to play, it’s time to play. Now keep in mind, by no means am I saying what you are about to read is the CORRECT way to play no limit Texas Hold ‘Em. What I’m saying is, it’s the way I feel most comfortable playing.

I watch players limp into pots, and call other people’s bets all night long, hoping to get lucky, catch a card or two and take back some chips. The way I see it, these players are just dying a slow death and eventually they will run into a trap and be gone. Usually this style, unless they just catch a great run of cards, doesn’t yield enough big pots to get them into the final group.

If it’s your turn to act, and no one has raised the pot in a No Limit game, raise. If you’re not willing to raise, you probably should fold. Why give the big blind a free look? Why give other marginal hands the chance to catch cards and take chips away from you? By raising, generally the middle of the pact hands will fold and you reduce the number of players in the hand that you have to beat.

Now I know we all see on TV how sneaky and tricky the pros try to be on TV, setting their traps and looking like they are so slick and so smart, and while I acknowledge that at certain times it’s possible to set someone up, and they never see it coming and you can win a monster pot, that is the exception rather than the rule. You do need to vary your play, and sometimes you can limp in with a pair of Kings, but if that flop comes out A-9-8 suited, and two players bet, you are going to have to have enough discipline to fold and get out of the way.

The question then becomes, how much do I raise. I try to almost always raise the same amount, so as not to give any insight to my hand, but there are other factors that some into play as well. Depending on what type of player still has to act, I may want some action thinking I can out play (or out draw them), and therefore not make a huge raise, or I may simply just want the hand over right there and then and make a larger bet. You need to be aware of the stack sizes still left to act, a large stack may take a flyer on your raise regardless of what he has if there is a chance you can be bullied out of a hand, and also know where the tournament is round wise and blind wise. As we get closer and closer to the final 5 or 6, players generally get more conservative and take fewer risks hoping to just hang on and let other people knock players out and move up on the point list and the money list. Be aware of everything.

Know your opponents, be aware of position, be aware of stack size, and know your odds.

According to Chris Ferguson;


“You always want to make your opponents' decisions as difficult as possible. In choosing the size of your raise, you want to give the big blind a tough decision between calling or folding if the rest of the table folds around to him.

Raising from early position is to advertise a very strong hand - one that can beat the seven or more other players who still have to act. Since you are representing such strength, it doesn't take much of a raise to convince the big blind to fold. Also, since your hand is so strong, you actually don't mind a call from the big blind anyway. The real reason for a small raise is that you have so many players acting after you, any of whom might wake up with a monster and re-raise you.

When you raise in late position, you're representing a hand that can beat the two or three remaining hands. This gives you a lot more freedom to raise with marginal hands, but your raise must be bigger or the big blind can call too easily. Another reason to raise more from late position is that you're trying to put pressure on the big blind to fold, not call and, more importantly, you don't have as many remaining opponents who can re-raise you.

If you're representing a big hand by raising from early position, it stands to reason that you'll only get played with by huge hands. Why risk four, five or more bets to win only one and a half bets in the blinds when you're often going to be running into monsters along the way? If you're holding A-Q rather than A-A and a player comes over the top, you can lay it down without having risked much.

Some beginners raise more with their strongest hands to build a bigger pot or raise less with these monsters to get more action. Instead, I recommend that you play your starting hands the same way no matter what you have. With A-A or A-J, raise the same amount so you're not telegraphing the strength of your hand to watchful opponents. An exception would be if you know your opponents aren't paying attention and you feel sure that you can manipulate them.

Again, I’m no expert, and I know I have plenty of weaknesses, especially when it comes to playing to conservative post flop, and trying to avoid showdowns, and generally not maximizing the value of a pot when I have a winning hand. That’s probably an article better written by Rich or Jay, who have no fear and have had more success than I have. But when it comes to pre-flop play, and making strong reads and strong lay downs, and avoiding potential traps and bad beats, I think myself and Neil do a terrific job at minimizing risk, and accumulating chips.