Be a complete poker player

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187

Becoming a Complete Poker Player

Steve Zolotow

28th April 2009

If you want to become a complete poker player, you need to learn how to play all the variations of the game. You should do this because it’s no good being the world’s best Hold ’em player when the biggest sucker in town only wants to play Seven-Card Stud. Ideally, you want to be able to play whatever game looks to be the most profitable on any given day.

When I first started playing poker, Five-Card Stud and Five-Card Draw were two of the most popular games, but now they’re both almost completely dead. They got replaced by Seven-Card Stud, which has also decreased in popularity. For a while No-Limit Hold ’em looked like it might be dying out because in the high-stakes cash games the tightest players always won, but it proved to be the perfect game for television so now it’s the most popular game. Because of how prevalent Hold ’em has become, I would advise beginning poker players to start out by learning its many variations, including Limit, No-Limit, cash games, and tournaments.

After Hold ’em, you should learn how to play Omaha, particularly Pot-Limit. Limit Omaha doesn’t work very well because deciding whether or not to call a bet on the river when a third flush card hits and you make a Queen-high flush isn’t a very big decision if you only have to call one bet and there are twelve in the pot. But if you’re playing Pot-Limit and your opponent bets the size of the pot on the river, whether you should call with your Queen-high flush or not becomes a much more difficult decision. In general, Pot-Limit games require a bit more skill than No-Limit games. Because you don’t have the all-in move to fall back on, you have to be equally capable of playing before the flop and after the flop.

Next you should learn the Hi/Lo games, particularly Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo. Another good game is 2-7 Triple Draw, a tremendous action game that’s catching on very quickly. Like the best card games, it has a lot of mathematical elements to it, but there’s also a lot of card reading and bluffing involved. In 2-7, a drawing hand with one card to come is almost always an underdog to a hand that stands pat, so if you have a 9 and you can force your opponent to break his 9 you’ve gained a big advantage.

Beginning poker players are lucky nowadays because they can learn and practice all these games online. When I was starting out, most poker games were private games and you had to pay your dues just to get invited to play. If you were a winning player and you wanted to get invited back, you needed to show up on time, be nice to the suckers, and you couldn’t quit when you were winning a little bit. Even then, there might not be a place at the table for you the following week.

Contrast that with today’s world where you can play on your computer at home any time you want. Playing online offers an unprecedented level of convenience. Let’s say you’re about to go the movies and your girlfriend’s just gotten out of the shower but she’s taking forever to dry her hair. You can actually play an entire Sit & Go while you’re waiting for her. Sit & Gos can be very profitable. They’re also an ideal way to test out new strategies. By studying your hand history afterwards, you can see what worked and what didn’t. You can make notes about how you fared with a big stack and how you did with a short stack, and you can develop new ideas to try out in the future.

I still enjoy playing live because one of my skills is the ability to read people, but there are little tricks you can pick up that will help you gather information about your opponents when you’re playing online. If you’re playing at a single table and one of your opponents is multi-tabling, you can bring up all the tables he’s sitting at and watch how he plays. If he suffers a bad beat on another table, it could affect the way he plays a hand at your table, and you can take advantage of it.

For beginning players, online poker offers a convenient way of gaining a ton of experience in a very short period of time. If you choose to go this route, I suggest you take the time to learn all the games available to you so you’ll never have to pass up an opportunity to play against a big sucker just because he wants to play a game you’re unfamiliar with

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186

Adjusting strategy mid-hand

Johan Storakers

22nd April 2009

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.

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Overplaying From The Small

Overplaying From the Small Blind

Playing from the small blind against the big blind when everyone else has folded can be very tricky, especially if your strategy is flawed. There are two schools of thought regarding how to play this situation.

Beginning players too often overplay their hands from that position. They will raise from the small blind, thinking that it's very unlikely that the big blind has a strong hand, and that there's only one player left to steal the pot from.

While there's some merit in this approach, I'm more inclined to follow the more conservative school of thought and just call. Since you'll have to act out of position on every street after the flop, the last thing you want to do is put more money in the pot, especially with marginal hands.

You see, most skilled players and professionals will limp in from the small blind with a wide variety of hands because they’re thinking in terms of minimizing losses from that position. When out of position, they’ll play cautiously unless they’re dealt a very strong hand and are looking to set a trap. They’ll wait to be more aggressive until they actually do have position.

Let's look at an example of how this situation might play out if you decide to raise with a hand like A-4 offsuit from the small blind.

One of the problems with this hand, of course, is that your A-4 simply won’t hit a lot of flops. You'll only be happy with that hand if you get really lucky and make a straight or flop aces and fours. If the flop comes with one ace, you’ll still worry about your kicker. If the flop comes 9-10-J or Q-K-8, you’ll find yourself in no man’s land after the flop.

Now, you can always attempt a bluff after the flop and hope that your opponent folds. If he doesn’t, however, and calls your bet, you’ll face another difficult dilemma -- whether to continue the bluff after the turn. Of course, if he raises you, well, you’ll obviously have to fold.

Always remember this: A strong player in position might very well raise you on virtually any flop because he knows that he has position. Position equals power. Unless you have a strong hand on the flop (and that’s unlikely), he’ll simply be able to bluff you out of the pot.

Limping in from the small blind is a play that shows a deep amount of respect to your positional disadvantage. Having said that, there are situations where it would be correct to raise from the small blind. It’s important that you consider the type of opponent you’re playing against.

For example, if the player on your left is an extremely conservative player, don’t let them get a breath of air. Go ahead and raise from the small blind a high percentage of the time, regardless of the cards your holding.

As long as you’re committed to leaning towards a more conservative style of play from the small blind, you’ll be one step ahead of the game. Once the other players pick up on the fact that you’re entirely capable of limping in from the small blind with strong hands, they’ll no longer see your cautious play as a sign of weakness. That will just make it easier for you to see cheaper flops with a wider range of speculative hands.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

Two keys to winning poker tournaments

Two Keys to Winning Poker Tournaments

To be a winner in tournament poker, you'll have to focus on two key factors: survival and aggressive domination.

In the early stages of tournament poker, it’s survival that counts most.

You can't win a tournament in the first few rounds, but you certainly can get knocked out if you’re careless. In most tournaments, the early stages allow for more deep-stack play. That is, you’ll start off with plenty of chips and the blinds will usually be small in comparison.

In a typical $10,000 buy-in tournament, you’ll probably start with 20,000 in chips and 50-100 blinds or 10,000 in chips and 25-50 blinds. Either way, the starting structure is identical as you'll begin with 200 bets in both cases.

The number of bets you have available will become especially important later in tournament play so it's important to know how to calculate the number of bets you have. You can simply figure the number of bets available by dividing the value of chips you have by the size of the big blind.

At the beginning of a tournament when you have many bets available, there’s no real pressure to play. In these early stages, you shouldn't risk all of your chips in marginal situations, particularly when you have a decent, but not a great hand. Instead, shift your mindset to think in terms of survival.

While in the survival mode, try looking at cheap flops and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Don’t take unnecessary risks unless you’re actually holding the goods. Even pocket kings can be an iffy hand to go all-in with.

Say, for example, you have 10,000 in chips and a player raises to 150. You decide to reraise with your K-K to 600, and your opponent fires back with another reraise to 2,500. You now have to be extremely worried that he has the one hand you can't beat: A-A. So, the question is: Are you willing to risk your tournament life at this juncture with an all-in bet?

The bottom line is well worth repeating: Early on, employ your survival skills. Then, as the blinds escalate and the number of bets you have in front of you gets smaller, pick up the pace of your game. That’s when you’ll have to attack more often and aim for aggressive domination of your table.

You see, as the tournament progresses, chip stacks become ever more precious. The blinds escalate to a point where the average stack in the event may only have thirty big bets remaining. Many of the surviving players are going to feel pressured to play and their style of play will change accordingly.

When you go from playing deep-stack poker to short-stack poker, you have to be that much more conscious of the number of available bets in front of you.

Remember that Kenny Rogers song about poker? Well, aside from being a little outdated, as far as poker advice is concerned, it’s just plain wrong when Kenny sings, "You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table."

Great song, Kenny, bad advice!

Once you’ve built up your stack to a healthy size, start attacking the weaker players who haven't made the necessary adjustments to their game. Players still stuck in the survival mode at this stage of the tournament are your primary targets.

It's at these precise times when great players take their games to another level. They dominate the action by aggressively attacking pots. If successful, they’ll jump out to a big chip lead and set themselves up nicely for the finish. If not, well, there’s always another tournament right around the corner.

Sooner or later, the combination of early round survival and late stage aggressive domination will prevail resulting in more tournament success.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

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Becoming a winning HORSE player means becoming proficient at both stud and flop games. In this week's tip, Ali Nejad offers a quick tip on each of the five games to help players who are beginning to explore this challenging format.

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185

Climbing on the HORSE

Ali Nejad

April 15th 2009

I'm aware that most poker players know me primarily as a poker commentator on shows like NBC's "Poker After Dark" and "National Heads-Up Poker Championship", but I also happen to be a pretty serious Limit Hold ‘em and mixed game player. I particularly enjoy HORSE, so I thought I'd give one quick tip on each of the five games to help players who are beginning to explore this challenging format.

Hold 'em: Because HORSE involves three Stud games and only two flop games, most HORSE players have solid Stud backgrounds as opposed to flop-game backgrounds. As such, they tend not to play the Hold 'em round as well. When you've identified who the softer flop-game players are, try to attack their blinds more than the average player and with a wider range of hands. They'll often either lay down preflop, or check-fold if they call and miss the flop - something more experienced Hold 'em players are much less likely to do. Playing aggressively against these opponents and exploiting their weak-tight play is profitable.

Omaha Hi/Lo: What you want in split-pot games are situations involving three or more players (this applies to Stud Hi/Lo as well). If you're going to split the pot, you don't want to split just your money and what the guy you played against put in; you want to split someone else's money. That's the only way you're going to make a real profit without scooping. Try limping in as opposed to raising with A-2-X-X in ring games when the Ace is unsuited and/or your other two cards are disconnected (e.g. A-2-7-K offsuit). In short-handed games or in late position it's a different story, but mixing up the way you play A-2 preflop can help to conceal your hand, and allow for easy folds on high-card flops. Also, avoid mid-range pairs. They play awful, and even when you hit a set you'll often be outdrawn by straight and flush draws or just hanging on for only half the pot.

I'll give you an example from a HORSE game on Full Tilt Poker where I had a potentially huge hand and wanted to invite more people into the pot. I had Ah-4h-7d-6c. I limped from middle position, there was a raise from the small blind, I called, and we saw the flop four-handed. The flop came 2h-3h-Kc, a huge flop that gave me the nut low-draw, a nut flush-draw, and a gut-shot nut straight draw. The small blind bet and the guy to my right folded. This flop was too big to raise, so I called, hoping the player on the button would come along. If I hit my hand, I wanted more players in the pot. As it turned out the button raised, the small blind called, and being 3 handed, it made sense for me to re-raise such a big draw, so I did and both of my opponents called.

The turn was a blank high card and we checked around, (something the 3rd bet I put in on the flop likely allowed to happen), but the river was my dream card, the 6h, giving me the nut low and the nut flush which, with no pair on board, was the nut high as well. I got all sorts of action from both players and we eventually capped the pot. The button held a weaker flush, and the small blind just had A-4 to halve the low, so I won three-quarters of a large pot. As a beginner in Omaha Hi/Lo, in a multi-way pot you should have at least a reasonable shot at winning both the high and low if you're going to do any raising on the river. Otherwise even with the nut Hi or Lo, just bet and then call if raised to prevent being quartered.

Razz: My key Razz advice is not to overplay any hand initially and not chase. Even when you have A-2-3 to start, the best possible hand, I favor raising and only calling if someone does any re-raising (which also helps conceal your starting hand). Being a favorite on 3rd street doesn't mean too much in Razz because what's most important is hitting a better 4th street card than your opponent and playing the strength of your board. Don't be afraid to check-fold marginal low draws on 4th street if you hit a brick and your opponent is showing two cards lower than your highest card. (e.g. your hole cards are 2-8 and your board is 6-K while your opponent shows 7-6) You'll generally be playing catch-up for at least 2 streets in these spots, and that's only if your opponent doesn't improve.

Stud Hi: Don't chase in Stud when you see an open pair that's bigger than your pair unless you've got some sort of strong draw to go with the pair (e.g. 89TJJ vs open KK). Without the draw there are simply too many times where if you can't beat the open pair, you make two pair and end up paying your opponent off because you're up against a better two pair or of course trips. Pay attention to your opponent's "door" or 3rd street up card as well, as this will help you read his hole cards based on possible starting hands - generally a split pair, a three-card straight or a three-card flush - and the action as the hand develops.

Stud Hi/Lo: This is the game that beginners play worse than any other. And the biggest mistake they can make is playing split pairs between 9s and Kings in ring games (short-handed is a bit more flexible), because in these situations they already have at least two cards that aren't going to contribute to making a low (8 or better qualifier), and will likely be drawing only to the high side of the pot. When you're drawing to the low end, you're freerolling towards backing into a high. If you have A-2-4-7, you can miss the low and turn into 2 pair, trips, a flush or - ideally - make a low and have a straight or one of the aforementioned high hands to go with it. Try to avoid hands that only have the potential to take the high side of the pot.

On the whole, I've found that HORSE games tend to be pretty profitable because there aren't too many people out there who can play all the games well. So if you practice and become proficient at all five games, you'll be a big favorite.

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Which hands should you look for in an opening hand in Omaha Hi/Lo? Chip Jett outlines his thoughts on how tight you need to play - and when it's OK to loosen your hand requirements - to give you the edge in Omaha Hi/Lo.

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183

Selecting Starting Hands in Omaha Hi/Lo

Chip Jett

1st April 2009

I firmly believe that it's impossible to play too tight in Omaha Hi/Lo, especially in a ring game. I'll be the first to admit that it's not especially fun to play the game that tight, but if you have the patience for it, it's as good a game as any to make money in.

Here's an idea of how tight I play Omaha Hi/Lo: if I'm playing HORSE and get dealt 10 Omaha Hi/Lo hands before we move on to the next game, there's a good chance I won't play a single hand. On average, I'll probably only play one hand per round. It's a tight strategy, but in a game like Omaha Hi/Lo where so many players don't understand the strength of their hand and will make mistakes, it's a winning strategy.

When it comes to starting hands, I never voluntarily put money into the pot with a hand that doesn't have an Ace in it, under any circumstances. Usually, I need A-2. That's the ideal, A-2 with a couple of other low cards. I'll also play A-3, provided the Ace is suited.

When you start loosening your hand requirements, that's when you get into trouble. Say I had a hand like A-4-7-9 with the Ace suited. That hand is very much on the fence. I know that a lot of people play that hand, but it's actually a hand that's easy to get into trouble with. If I fold that hand and then I see a flop come out that would have been good for me, I don't get upset about it. That's because against other hands that my opponents might be playing, my A-4-7-9 could be very vulnerable.

What you should really be looking for is a hand where all of your cards work together. Here's a classic example of a horrible Omaha Hi/Lo hand where your cards do not work together well: K-10-3-4. Some people see that hand and say, "That hand has a little high potential and a little low potential." Indeed it does have a little potential - very little. Those are two bad high cards and two bad low cards.

Any time that your four cards aren't working together in some way, it's a good indication that you shouldn't be playing the hand in Omaha Hi/Lo. When people who are used to playing Hold 'em look at an Omaha Hi/Lo hand, they see all of these combinations and say, "I had a pair" or "I had a flush draw" or "I had a low draw." But you need those things in combination.

If all of your cards work together, you're playing 16 hands, whereas if your opponent's cards are split, he's playing about four hands. Needless to say, if all of your cards work together, that gives you a big edge in Omaha Hi/Lo.

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