Tales and Tips from a Poker Addict

Phil Ivey in the November Nine!

2009-07-21T06:04:00.001-07:00

My faith in the skill of poker has been restored!

It is awesome to see that the great one has made the Final Table of the WSOP Main Event.

Each year since 2003 I have hoped to see Phil at the final table and with the numbers being so high now I never though I would see it.

There was 6494 starters and he has made good to all pros that luck while a factor isn't everything.

If Ivey wins he will be held as the greatest player to ever sit at the felt. Yes Phil Hellmuth has more bracelets and is a Legend like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan but Ivey is such a well rounded player that he deserves this win more than anyone. Put it this way, Hellmuth wouldn't want to play Ivey heads up but Ivey would want to play Hellmuth.

He has the guts to play megabuck limits and win on a regular basis, I have got Phil's signature a few times and each time I'm just in awe of the man. Nobody wants to sit at the final table of the World series main event with Phil Ivey.

I can't wait for November!

*PKR ADK*

The phenomenon that is Facebook poker

2009-05-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

Ok so the last few days I have been quite bored and thought I would try facebook poker.

It has to be the weirdest experience I have ever had playing poker.

The problem is it isn't really even poker, in 4 sessions I have turned $2000 play chips into $1.2million.

There is no regard for cards, chips or anything. It is like the "lord of the flys" land of poker.

It is like an oasis for solid players to bask in the glory of a continuous winning streak.

For those who wish to play I have the following tips:

Play reasonable cards only. If every 10-15 hands you play will be all in it is best to only choose good hands to start with. Suited connectors work a treat.

Don't assume if people raise lots they have the nuts. If you have good cards play them wisely as you would normally do but if you have top pair good kicker stick with it unless there is good reason to doubt your hand, like 4 cards on the board to a flush or a straight.

Don't bluff, you will be called with any two cards. If you have to bluff only bluff 2-3 times the blinds as these seem to be the most effective. This way traditionally aggressive types are completely ineffective.

When you have it, bet high bet often. An undeniable thing about facebook poker is that they love action. It is the steel caged match of poker. Players seem to respond the best to astronomical raises like all in for 20,000 when the blinds are 200/400, its like they don't know the rules but want a ticket in that lottery.

Go on tables of players with lots of chips. You can't take what they don't have. It is ok with about half short stacks but you want at least a couple of whales. The truth is that at least one of the short stacks will be come a whale soon anyway :)

Don't use feeler or value bets. They are completely ineffective in this environment. Either bet heaps (when you have something) or not at all.

You don't need to go up blind levels to profit. I have been on the same blind level for the whole experiment. 200/400 with a buyin of 20,000 each time. Taking money out when I reach about 80,000 to limit my risk.

If you feel you are on a table of good players, move! there is always a group of players with heaps of chips that don't know what they are doing (it sounds arrogant to say, but it is so true).

There will be bad beats, just think of these as a community service, you need to give back to your community after taking so much. After all most of the time you are happy that a player called your AA all in with Q3 except for the time when the flop comes 245 and the turn comes a 6. :)

On the river many players greatly undervalue their hands, that is, they bet little or not at all when they have the nuts. You would not think that this would be the case in such an aggressive environment, but it is true for about 50% 0f players. This is really just a sign of new or weak players.

That aside the game has some things you should be aware of.

You get to see cards without playing an initial blind so theoretically you could move from table to table getting free cards with never having to play a blind (although there is no need for this).

The random number generator is not very realistic (in my opinion). It is amazing the amount of times you flop trips when holding a pocket pair. It is like 1 in 3-4 hands instead 1 in 7.5 hands. It is also amazing the amount of times you get the cards you need like a gutshot card for a straight or a suit for a flush. It is also amazing the amount of times you flop two pair or get AA and KK (although I'm not complaining).

You can't act early like call if you are small blind, you can only check, fold or call any.

There is a lot more opportunity for collusion. "poker buddys" (a facebook poker term) and the chat feature of facebook make this possible. Although it really doesn't matter unless you were playing high stakes.

You can simply remove some money and buy back in on the same table for a smaller amount. Real sites don't let you do this as it is seen as bad ettiquette "going south". That being said it can limit your risk, so I like it.

The action is ultra fast, you have 20 seconds to act and if you don't act you are ejected from the table. So be on the ball!

If this is the future of poker and how new players think the game is played, then I can't wait. It will smash the theory that players are learning more and more good strategy about the game.

When I move to the upper echelons of the facebook poker scene (when I get bored enough) I will post again about what I find.

*PKR ADK*

Successful Aggressive play

2009-05-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

Many players are aggressive but are not successful.

In this post I will cover the keys to making the best use of aggressive play.

Successful aggression is really based on 3 things.

1.Insurance: Making people fold when you have the best cards at that point in the hand. Say you have JJ and the flop comes A of hearts J of hearts and 9 of spades. There is a possible flush draw and a possible straight draw. What you have to do is use your aggression to stop the hand at that point or make it prohibitively expensive for someone to play a draw.

The same can be said for high pockets cards like AA KK QQ JJ you need to make a significant raise pre flop (say 6 times the blinds so that you "insure" that people make the wrong decision in calling.

2. Making your good cards count when you have the best hand. There is nothing worse than when a new player has a monster hand checking or calling when they should bet. If you have the best cards make it expensive to see your winning hand. It is a science of how much you should bet, but it should not be cheap (like 1-2 times the blinds).

3.Correctly reading the situation. If you are last to act (say the dealer) and there are two limpers (people who just call) to the flop and you think they haven't hit, place a bet, ensure that your aggression is within limits and usually double blinds to pot size.

Correctly reading the situation comes from reading the board for draws and knowing the player that are still in the hand and what they could have and how they play.

The problem with TV poker is that they don't show the hundreds of hands in which Phil Ivey folded, they only show the interesting hands. What pros do for the most part is highly calculated and if you are only just starting out in poker, only bluff when there is a very high chance that you will win.

Also only try to bluff small numbers of people don't try to bluff 4 people, it just won't won't work as "someone has something".

Aggression has many facets these are only a few.

*PKR ADK*

Top 5 poker tips (now with a bonus Tip!)

2009-04-17T04:08:00.001-07:00

In a departure of the regular Intermediate Tips I thought I would go through by top quick and basic tips for playing better poker.

In this post we delve into some top tips for solid play particularly for newer players. They may be basic but they still very important.

1.Be Patient.

That is play good cards only AA KK QQ JJ 10 10 AK AQ AJ A10, Patient people go further, if you are new at the game the best strategy is only to play good cards then you can learn over time and loosen your starting hand requirements. One of the most common mistakes is new players playing cards they can't handle, like Ace 5 and thinking they have the best hand with a pair of Aces, unfortunately there is a good chance that someone else has a better hand.

2. Be Observant.

Watching players how they play and what they play will make you a better player and help you make better decisions. If you play online being aware how long players take to act and the amounts they bet can give an insight into their hands.

3. Be Brave.

If you have a good hand and you are being bullied by a loose player at some point you need to make a stand. It is most likely that it will do one of two things, you will lose (bad luck) or Win (usually doubling your stack) it is rare to have the guaranteed chance of doubling your money but if you don't take the chance (when you get good cards of course) you will go broke anyway.

4. Know your Outs.

Know how many cards available to make the best hand such as the there are 9 cards left in the deck (theoretically) if you have four of a suit and want a fifth (to make a flush), 8 cards if you have an open ended straight possibility (one of two cards) and 4 if you have a gutshot (single card) straight possibility. This will let you know the probability of you making the best hand.

5. Know the Board Texture.

Know what other players could have in relation to the cards on the board. 3 of a suit could mean a flush possibility 3 connectable cards (say 89J) could mean a straight possibility and a pair on the board means that someone could have a full house.

6. Just play.

The world's best player (in my opinion) Phil Ivey once said that the best tip is just to play lots and build up your experience and you will hopefully become a better player. If you play seriously you will become better. Whether you are playing for free or money it doesn't really matter although when the risk is greater the players are usually better.

The "Hollywood Fold"

2009-04-11T03:26:00.000-07:00

So you have made a bluff and you have been reraised.

It is normal when trapping to "go hollywood", to grimace or pause at the fact you have to put in more money, but it isn't really applied to when people are caught bluffing.

In this post I will cover the importance of selling your bluff when you are reraised and must fold.

In most cases when players bluff and are reraised they fold their hand quickly.

The problem is that if you do this then others then can learn the situations and betting patterns in which you bluff, it is best to grimace (live)/ pause (online) at the fold and then fold.

That way it may be believed that you bet a mediocre hand that just isn't strong enough to call the reraise.

Another factor if you don't pause is that people assume that you were either bluffing or are a timid player, neither of these things is a good image to represent.

There are some reasons why you may wish to fold quickly.

If you are going to create a fake tell that you can reuse when you actually have a strong hand.

For example if you bet two times the blind and are reraised by an aggressive and loose player you can fold quickly so that you can recreate the situation later to get the same response. I use a minimum bet alot online over and over which may win you some hands but they will learn and then reraise you. So if you bluff little amounts over and over it will ellicit a raise when you repeat your bet.

When you are caught with your hand in the cookie jar just pretend that you were counting the cookies.

*PKR ADK*

The "Identibet"

2009-03-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

One thing I have noticed if you bet the same amount all the time it can do several positive things for your game.

In this post I will cover the enigma I call the "Identibet"

If you haven't gathered yet, I play alot of poker more than most people should. I have noticed a really weird thing. If you bet the same amount (above minimum raise) over and over a range of things will happen.

People will get mad. It is freaky to watch, I have been at tables where it makes like half the table go on tilt and have a brain explosion because the same amount over and over is like saying, last hand is the same as this hand and if they bluffed the last hand they must be bluffing this hand.
You will get callers. If you do it over and over you will get callers or re raised. Especially if the amount is slightly odd like 450 instead of 500 when blinds are 50 100. People are creatures of habit and if they think they were bluffed in the last hand or even if they weren't they are more likely to call because they think that the same weird bet is not appropriate in this hand.
People will go all in (well maybe not but it is more likely in the presence of an identibet).
People will worry more about your betting amount than the cards you may hold.

The identibet is most effective where you are getting good cards and hitting and want callers, and it is absolute gold if it is used over and over and over when you are on a run of good cards.

I once won seven hands in a row in a live tournament and made every hand count because of this play. People called when they shouldn't have simply because I was "representing" my last hand with the bet amount. I had gold every hand but got callers because of the betting amount.

Normally perceptive players could work out that you are getting continually good cards if you bet strong but differing amounts but if you bet the same amount every betting round and every good hand there is always doubt.

Just to clarify this is not a good bluffing strategy and only to be used when you have good hands. One interesting facet that I have found with the identibet is that you are caught in a bluff and bet the same amount when you have a good hand this "instinctive" (fake) tell ignites within some players and they call when they can only beat a bluff.

Alas this high profit 'identibet' is only fleeting in tournament play, as the blinds go up you must change and increase your bet.

But be sure, it was great while it lasted.

*PKR ADK*

Be a Donkey

2009-02-13T22:33:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you need to shake your tight image or just play some devious poker.

In this post I will look why playing terrible cards once in a while is good poker.

There are several reasons why you should play one bad hand in 50:

People can't be sure that you are playing a certain range of hands.
If you hit ( and I mean getting two pair or better including both your cards) you can felt (break) a player
It sends a message (albeit a false one) that you sometimes play bad cards.
It can put players on tilt especially if you call a raise and hit. In this case you need to be aware that 9/10 times after the flop you need to fold
If you can't beat the donkeys you can join them for one hand in 50
Its fun and can broaden your game by being able to not rely on good cards for your gameplay i.e. being able to fold low or middle pair when you know you are beat.

One thing to note is that these are just gambling hands and you should be prepared to fold all of them if raised and you should not play them when short stacked.

*PKR ADK*

Avoiding boredom in dry spells

2009-02-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

So you haven't got a good hand all day, do you just start playing any two cards for the fun of it?

Short answer: no.

In this post I will look at the strategy for overcoming boredom and making you become a better player at the same time.

I have had many tournaments and cash games where I have played 50 hands without getting anything even remotely playable.

Many players simply start playing bad cards in order to play and stop their boredom. It ultimately results in bad play or getting drawn by holding bad kickers, low/middle pairs etc.

What you should do is pick a player that is still in the hand and guess what they have. You may wildly wrong at first but if you try it enough you will become better and end up being able to read players well. Just because you aren't in the hand does not mean that you can't continue to collect information and hopefully read your opponent.

It is quite uplifting to correctly read your opponent even if you aren't in the hand. For most intermediate players it is quite difficult to multitask by reading other players while making the correct decisions on their hand at the same time.

See a folded hand as an opportunity to hone your reading abilities. Look for betting patterns, starting hands and agression levels.

If a player is on tilt from a previous hand and you aren't paying attention you may lose a valuable opportunity to double up by their weak play.

Some players listen to music or try to learn chip tricks. While these are perfectly ok and are good for a break from the action, it is also great to try to read people...

Always remember, no luck is always better than bad luck.

*PKR ADK*

Why did they show?

2009-02-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons why people show their cards after they have won a hand.

In this post I will cover the importance of showing cards, what it can mean, and what it can do to a table.

The main reasons players show their won cards are as follows:

Showing good cards (cards that were most likely the winning hand):

They are new/poor players and don't know the importance of not showing
They are tight players and want to let people know that they don't bluff
It was an important hand and it shows respect to other players

Showing bad cards (bluffs or semi bluffs)

They were bluffing and want to show players how "good" they are (ego based)
They want to adversely affect the mood of other players (particularly if they win many pots and don't get many callers)
They want to slow down aggressive players (by showing bluffers they won't be bluffed)
They are just about to change gears (change their style of play from aggressive to tight)

In addition to people showing their hands there are those players who goad others into showing. It is the oldest trick in the book, this is normally achieved by stating that they think the winning player was bluffing (in most cases they don't think that they just want information). Tight players seem( in a warped way) to want to defend their honour, when in reality they are hurting their chances of winning hands.

As a rule unless you have to show, don't. The only exception is if you wish to slow down players that raise at every opportunity (maniac types). In most cases this is actually the wrong thing to do as reliability of play is the holy grail of poker. You actually want players that raise every hand because you may have to fold twenty hands but when you look down at gold (AA,KK,QQ) you will most likely double up.

*PKR ADK*

"The read"

2009-01-20T04:52:00.000-08:00

This post isn't really a tip more of a homage to the phenom that is Phil Ivey.

The unwritten rule of reading is that if your read is correct at the start of the hand and the board doesn't change their situation then you should rely on your original read.

This is 100% true for the following video, the only tip for this video is "don't try this at home" :)

*PKR ADK*

Small Blind - the best position of all

2008-12-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

Ok so your saying to yourself, thats crazy small blind is the worst position, but in reality small blind can open a new world to the tight player and really broaden their game.

This post is about the value of small blind in allowing solid players to change their table image.

I once was under the impression (as a solid player), that you should fold small blind if you don't have good cards. I have found after playing alot that small blind is actually an opportunity to come out of your skin and have a gamble.

The strategy is simple, call any small blind when it is not raised

Calculating Outs and Pot Odds

2008-08-20T01:55:00.000-07:00

In this post I thought I would move away from the norm and show a video as Phil Gordon has a great short video on Pot Odds. You may need to see the video a few times for it to sink in, but it is well worth it.

The video covers a bunch of easy to calculate stats that can be really useful when making difficult decisions.

One thing I will note is that in my strategy I do not believe in using pot odds as your only reason for being all in or becoming pot committed. Use pot odds as just another information source.

It is a reliable piece of information but it doesn't mean that you should rate pot odds higher than your own common sense.

Some people (even pros) put all there eggs in pot odds and simply go all in because they had great pot odds.

It is crazy as pot odds can't win the hand, good cards and hitting outs win you the hand.

You need to see having many outs as the core reason for a difficult pot committed call, not pot odds.

the best use of pot odds is when you have a good draw or see a weak bluff and when it doesn't threaten your stack.

*PKR ADK*

Use bad bluffs to your advantage

2008-08-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

So you made a bluff and was called. All is not lost it could have been the most profitable decision of the Tournament.

In this post I will cover using failed bluffs to profit in future hands.

If you remember the situations in which you fail at a bluff, try to replicate these situations when you have 'the nuts' to elicit a loose call.

I was once playing in a fairly significant tournament and I bluffed, it wasn't a particularly good bluff as I was called and was beat. In this situation I felt the other guy was weak and placed a minimum raise ($200). He was weak but called anyway with King high.

Later in the tournament I was in a hand where I flopped trip Kings and felt the same guy was weak, so I played the hand identically to before, the only difference was that instead of betting $200 the bet was $2000 (the blinds were much higher at this point).

I believe that if I had bet $1500 or $2500 the guy would not have called. He had nothing, like a low pair when there are multiple higher cards on the board, but he believed that the "bluff" situation had reoccurred and he could catch me in a bluff again.

People are creatures of habit and most players are trying to continually read people, so let them (incorrectly) read you. This is why most bluffs work, they are simply representations.

I would not advise trying to lose small bluffs (particularly when you play the same people regularly) but it can be quite profitable in the long run.

*PKR ADK*

Silence is golden

2008-08-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

Todays post is about conversations in poker.

A few key points to talking while playing poker.

Don't tell people what you had, unless there is a reason to do so.

Information is power and people ask so they know what cards you play and how you act in different situations.

You may however want to put people off how you play. You are tight and you bluff one hand and you tell them that you bluffed or you had strong cards when you normally play loosely.

Be aware that experienced player will sometimes lie (which i don't believe in) and use this strategy to disguise their play through deceit.

Newer players will usually just tell the truth which is a good insight to how they play, this is why people ask.

When people ask what I had, I just say two cards. If you don't respond, people think you are rude which can be a problem when playing live, particularly against shady characters.

Don't talk loudly while somebody is making is making a difficult decision.

It is a matter of respect, you would hope that people would respect you enough to give you some time to think. You can talk, just keep it to a minimum and not about the players or the hand.

Don't under any circumstances reveal you hand during the hand.

I don't mean showing your hand, I mean talking or making any gesture that shows what you had after folding.

The most popular example of this that I see is when they would have hit two pair or three of a kind and they snarl or groan. Players need to understand that after they have folded they have no right to be any part of the hand.

By doing so, (even rolling their eyes) a hand can be completely compromised, bluffers rely on doubt for their ability to win.

The rule is 'act like you would, if you were still in the hand'.

In an extreme example of this, I have won a tournament because somebody sighed. The flop came two kings and a loose player went all in, and the player to my left sighed as though he folded a king.

Normally I would have folded as I didn't have a particularly strong hand, in this case however, I was sure that the raiser did not have the king and I took the chip lead after winning that hand. Ironically I went heads up against and beat 'the sigher'. It is simply bad etiquette.

"Be an enigma!"

*PKR ADK*

The land of possibilities

2008-08-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

So you have the nuts and are unbeatable, but are you really?

In this post I will look at texture of the board and how it affects your hand.

Picture this, you look down at AcAh. you raise and four players see the flop.

The flop comes As Ks Qd. How do you feel.

Well you may feel great, you have just flopped trip Aces.

The problem is, there is many possibilities that this flop brings for other players.

They have made a straight.
They have a flush draw.
They have a straight draw.

It is highly likely that if you made a significant raise pre flop, at least one player has something or can draw something that will beat you.

I have been in this position many times. Flopping trip aces with a straight draw is bad enough without adding other possibilities such as flush draws.

Most times when I have seen this type flop to the river I lose to a straight or a flush. The difference is I limit my losses by not going all in if I can avoid it. This doesn't mean being soft in raising but being somewaht conservative relative to my stack.

In this scenario depending on your opponents you need to play it by ear, most likely raising if it hasn't been raised by a solid player. If it is raised don't be afraid to fold as you probably don't have the best of it.

Board texture is down to four main factors.

Flush draws (board containing two of a suit) or flush possibilities (three of a suit)
Connected Straight draws/possibilities (two or three connected cards)
Gutshot Straight draws/possibilities (two or three semi connected cards)
Full house possibilities (where there is a pair on the board)

I have been on tables where you have players with straights, flushes and full houses, all in the one hand (all thinking they had the best hand).

One thing to be aware of is the Gutshot straight draws, they aren't apparent to most players and you normally can't put people on a gutshot straight draw nor should you unless a solid player is particularly aggressive.

Always be aware of board texture and bet accordingly, if you have a straight and there is a possible flush draw, raise. When players are trying to trap with 'made' hands such as straights they are playing with fire. You need to make players gamble to hit their drawing hands.

*Amazingly while writing this post and playing a cash game online, I won a very large hand to a low straight and a high straight when I had the flush.

In this hand, the player who flopped a straight, raised all in on the turn as they should have done on the flop as there was a flush draw (which I would have folded). Instead I 'gambled' on the river as I had the straight draw (on the turn) as well as the flush draw and was pot invested.

The moral for today is always be aware of what other players may have and don't go blind to your hand.

*PKR ADK*

Effective play against Aggression, GRRR! :)

2008-08-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

So you are sitting there with Aces and some maniac puts you all in. This is what poker dreams are made of.

This post is about using the aggression of others to your advantage.

One regular situation when playing poker is that you have aggressors and you have meek players. These aggressors seek to steal blinds and incrementally build their stack using cards that most players wouldn't hesitate to fold.

The thing with playing aggressive players is only call with premium hands and try not to get bullied when you have these types of hands. By premium cards I mean high pockets and an Ace and a picture card.

One great thing with these players is that you normally always get action.

If you tighten your starting hands and simply call when you these players act you can usually trap them and use their aggression against them.

In many instances you could lose 2 or 3 blinds to an aggressor and double up easily when you hit a hand.

Be subordinate to aggressive players and it is much easier to win a hand. I was once playing heads up in a live tournament against a hyper aggressive player that went all in every hand. I was first to act looked down at AA, I simply called and he put me all in. Great result. The player then berated me for only calling (instead of raising), showed Q6 and got lucky hitting a full house knocking me out of the tournament, however if I had of raised pre flop he would have been suspicious and might of folded.

One important part to playing great cards against aggressors is playing them the same as any hands.

People are creatures are habit and they become weary if you raise when you have never raised before (you may want that when bluffing). If you know for sure that there is an aggressive player that will raise and thin the field for you, simply call and let them knock themselves out.

There are situations however, where you are short stacked and there is a player that will put you all in regularly, logic will tell you that you cannot simply call and you need to tighten you starting hand requirements further.

Most players I know get frustrated with raisers, I like playing against these players mainly because they are consistent, regardless of their cards and when you win, you win big.

You do however lose cheap flops so you need to remove marginal cards from you game. The other concern is that you can't put them on good cards.

If you are playing these consistent raisers and you have a decent stack and want them to stop, reraise them with nothing occasionally. If you beat them show the bluff, and they will usually stop, if they don't would will usually put them on tilt.

One thing I have also found with raisers that if they are raised or reraised they will nearly always call through pride. If you try to tango with the raiser type be prepared to factor in raises at all stages of the hand. It seems as though these players will call preflop with anything but when their raise doesn't work they will rarely reraise on the flop (unless they have something) it seems as though they have a set play and if that doesn't work they call, see the flop and then fold if they don't hit.

Most of the time I don't try to slow down raisers at all, I simply sit and wait for a great hand and double up. The good thing about these players is that when the whole table is gunning for one player and the table is less aware of the hand or any other players if the aggressor folds. It is like a sporting team playing without there captain, they don't know what to do.

The most important thing about aggressors is identifying the type of aggressor, what effect they have on the table and adjusting your play accordingly.

For example there is guy I play against regularly and he will be all in with any two cards virtually every hand. Inevitably (if he doesn't get knocked out) he overpowers the stacks of the whole table and people are scared to play. If you call, your all in. If the aggressor does his standard raise and a solid player calls you need to be aware that he probably has a great hand. In a normal situation where you would call the raiser you need to reevaluate your hand because you not just against the raiser but a solid player with a hand he is happy to go all in with.

I have seen a couple of times where the people forget there are other people in the hand thinking the same thing you are, and call with marginal hands which are ok against one other player but not multiple players.

Aggressors try to put fear into a table and sometimes if they are lucky, they can force loose players to play good cards or die trying.

"Check to the Raiser"

*PKR ADK*

Pre Flop Raising with High Pockets

2008-08-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

In this post I will look at pre flop raising and raising technique when you have high pockets.

Raising, well everyone does it, but 'timing' is the most important part of raising, that and the amount you raise.

One of my golden rules is "raise when you have something to lose", that is, you have the best hand and not raising would allow someone else to get the best hand. This does not apply to low pairs, read the related post for playing low pocket pairs.

If you have JJ QQ KK or AA you must raise. The amount you raise is usually a sliding scale, Jacks should have the biggest bet whereas Aces need a signifigant raise, this is because you need to try to ensure that you have the best hand on the flop with fewer callers, with aces this isn't such a problem.

With many loose players I may go all in with AA, KK or QQ wanting callers. If you have JJ or QQ and you are pushed all in by very tight players (before you can raise) consider folding. I think that one of the most important parts of playing good poker is knowing when you are beat and having the guts to fold good cards that have a high likelyhood of being beat either pre flop or on the flop.

The amount you raise should be directly dictated by whether or not you want callers. You should get a sense for the correct amount to retain or lose players (through calling or folding) and use these amounts in you raise.

I see many players raising too little with aces or kings, virtually nobody puts you on these hands (coming only one in 221 hands) so you may as well keep people guessing about what you have. Many people raise large amounts with AJ or similar hands, so they may think that you have a drawing hand when you are actually sitting on gold.

Once thing I find profitable is if somebody raises a large amount that reduces the amount of callers, when you have AA or KK, simply call and allow the player to be the aggressor.

Essentially when I raise I am being the aggressor because nobody else has or the amount they have raised isn't enough to ensure the number of players I want to see the flop. That is, a few loose players when I have aces and 0 or 1 caller when I have JJ.

One of the worst feelings in poker is having high pockets (KK, QQ or JJ) lots of callers and the flop comes an ace. You need to architect a situation where this does not happen (often).

One thing you would have noticed if you have read my other post on pocket pairs is that I haven't mentioned pocket tens. Since I think you shouldn't raise with pocket nines or below pocket tens is in limbo.

I find pocket tens an uneasy hand that waivers between being a help and a hinderance.

50% of the time you should raise with tens however you need to properly read your situation and be comfortable that the raise amount will limit callers to one or two callers. With 10s you should be happy with no callers. If any picture card hits the flop you need to correctly read your opponent for whether they hit and bet or check accordingly.

View high pockets as an opportunity and not a guarantee and you should go well.

*PKR ADK*

Low Pocket Pairs

2008-08-08T02:29:00.000-07:00

Well, In this post will look the correct way to play low pocket pairs.

I consider low pocket pairs as anything under pocket tens.

Its really quite simple, only play pocket pairs when it is advantageous to do so.

A good strategy is to call when there is no raise or minimum raise when it does not cost you too much, say when it is 10% of your stack or less, anything over is simply not worth the risk.

So once you've called, you are hoping to do one of three things,

Flop trips (three of a kind, which happens once in every 8 hands) or
Have the flop be under your pair.
Have the flop be trips meaning that you have a full house.

In all cases there is a good chance that you will win the hand and you have not outlayed very much to do so. One thing to watch for however, is that in case 3 beware that others may have a higher pocket pair (leaving you next to dead) or high cards (that might hit). In all three cases people will rarely think that you have what you have, which can be profitable.

If any of the three cases above occur you should raise about a pot size raise. As people will not usually put you on these hands you can profit from loose calls from high cards thinking you are bluffing.

If one of those three scenarios does not happen on the flop, fold to any raise. Think of it as a lottery ticket, small outlay for big returns. If you don't win the lottery, you don't go risking lots of money next week try to recoup you losses, do you?

Never raise with low pockets unless you are bluffing, because it is really a bluff, I have seen too many people massively over value their pairs and when the flop comes all higher cards they continue to bluff, it is simply to risky to do. At least bluff with over cards, not under pairs.

In the words of 'The Professor' Howard Lederer "Flop em Dead"

*PKR ADK*

The value of Luck (and Skill)

2008-08-05T01:36:00.001-07:00

So I finally got around to submitting my first post.

In this Blog I hope to shed light on some principles I use to be semi successful at poker.

That is being successful but not necessarily beating Phil Ivey.

My perspective is from playing no limit Texas Holdem in about 200 live tournaments and a couple of hundred hours of online play predominantly in low limit cash games.

This blog will be aimed at the intermediate player.

Someone who knows how the game is played but might not understand a whole lot about being successful.

I hope to include some game theory, some psychology, some new ideas.

If you have burning questions you want answered I may be able to help.

Now onto Luck. Anyone who says that poker is all luck or all skill hasn't played enough poker. Either that or they have a limited view of the game. There is (for me) about 70% luck 30% skill. Skill can get you out of bad situations luck can do both. It would be a very boring game without an element of luck.

In the movie Rounders Matt Damon's character says It isn't luck that the world series main event final table is made up of the same players every year.

The truth is that the world series final table IS made of different people every year, precisely because of luck.

There are anomalies such as Dan Harrington (which I have had the pleasure of meeting) chewing through massive fields to make the World Series Final table twice, but this is only because of large amounts of luck coupled with large amounts of skill. I have seen many situations when the worst hand has won, it is a necessary evil.

There will be times when the correct decision (using skill) is to go broke and making a different decision while useful in that hand would be incorrect in 9 out of ten hands.

The sooner you concede that luck forms a large part of poker the better.

The goal is to reduce the luck of other players by using skill. For example raising when there is a possible flush draw so that other players don't get lucky (cheaply).

The other goal is use your skill to put yourself in situations to get lucky.

Be aware, that this does not mean chasing most draws in order to hit. This is devoid of skill and easy pickings for most players.

If this is all gibberish to you ask questions and I will clarify.

Good Luck!

*PKR ADK*