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Loosening up your game can help you thrive in the later stages of tournaments. In this week's tip, Andy Bloch advises on how to fine-tune your pre-flop hand selection, particularly as the blinds get bigger and antes come into play.

143

Loosening Up Before the Flop – Part 1

Andy Bloch

March 20th, 2008

Knowing what to do and when to do it is what separates those who just play in tournaments from those who make final tables. This is especially true in No-Limit Hold ‘em, where the first decisions you’re faced with are what hands you should play and when you should play them. As the blinds get bigger and antes come in to play, these decisions become even more crucial. In these situations, one of the most critical errors that people make is not varying their pre-flop strategy enough.

While many pros advocate playing a tight, aggressive game and the importance of choosing “premium” starting hands, I find that there are many newer players who take this advice too far and simply don’t play enough hands. I recently talked with a newer pro who told me he was playing less than 10 percent of his hands pre-flop. This just isn’t enough – I don’t even play this tight under the gun. If you’re playing this tight, you’ve got to loosen up considerably, especially in late position and in the later stages of a tournament.

Let me give you an idea of what I’m talking about. As a general strategy, I want to play about 40 percent to 45 percent of my hands from the button before antes come into play. Under the gun with eight players left to act behind me, I’ll play about 14% of my hands. This percentage goes up gradually as my position advances around the table until I’m playing about 31 percent of my hands from the cut-off.

When antes come into play, I’ll raise about 59% of the time I’m on the button. On the other hand, I’m only going to raise about 18% of the time when I’m under the gun. With or without antes, it’s important to note that I’m raising about three times as often from the button as I do from under the gun. That may seem like a lot, but that’s how much you need to vary your play before the flop.

To give a specific example, let’s say you’re at the 100/200 level, and you raise three big blinds from the button. You’re risking 600 to win 300, which isn’t ideal. But if you’re making the same raise when there’s a 25 ante per person, then the same pot’s up to 500, which means you stand to pickup another 200. Those extra chips make it worthwhile for you to loosen up and raise more often with a wider range of hands, especially when you’re in the cut-off or on the button. If you’re successful with this play even a little over half the time, you’ve got an edge raising with almost anything.

You may have noticed that I’m giving some very specific percentages in this article. These are based on thousands of hands that I’ve played and tracked over the years, and a ranking system that I’ve been able to create that helps me determine which hands I should play and raise from different positions. You can create a similar chart for yourself or find a copy of mine in the Full Tilt Poker Tournament Strategy Guide. Use this information to help fine-tune your pre-flop hand selection and see how loosening up your game can help you thrive in the later stages of a tournament.

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Play More Hands in Small Pots in Tournaments

Play More Hands in Small Pots in Tournaments

There are a couple of methods to amass a big stack in tournament poker. One way is to try pushing small edges before the flop by playing coin flip situations, like a pair versus two overcards, or vice versa. The problem is that this approach is far too inconsistent. You’ll need lots of luck to get your side of the coin to repeatedly flip in your favor.

A better approach to build a sizable chip stack is to play more hands in smaller pots. This method is based on mathematical theory, not just random luck or pure aggression. Here’s an extreme example to illustrate my point.

The blinds are 400-800 with a 100 ante. With nine players at the table, 2,100 chips are in the pot before the cards are dealt.

Now, let’s assume that you and one other opponent play wildly; one of you will raise to 2,000 before the flop on every single hand. The other players are very tight and will enter the pot about 10% of the time. The only time you or the other maniac will fold pre-flop is when one of the tight players also raises before the flop.

Furthermore, assume that when only you and the other crazy player are in the pot, neither of you will bet after the flop, turn, or river. Theoretically, each of you should win 50% of the pots. However, when any tight player enters the pot, you would each play your normal game, playing hands that have value, and betting as you normally would.

This situation isn’t actually that far fetched and commonly plays out in some of the bigger buy-in events on the professional tour. Just watch when Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey are seated at the same table. You’ll notice that most of the hands played are contested between these two poker greats. They won’t necessarily play big pots but they’ll definitely get involved in most of the smaller ones -- unless a tight player shows aggression before the flop.

Let’s get back to the example.

Say you put in 2,000 chips ten times during a session, or 20,000 chips in total. Before factoring in the tight players at the table, you’ll win about half of these pots against the other loose player and earn about 20,500 chips. Of course, you’ll lose the other five pots for a total of 10,000 chips but will still net 10,500 in profit overall. That’s not bad but it’s not the whole story, either.

Every so often, a tight player will find a hand that he wants to play. He might reraise before the flop causing you to fold, and that’s okay. Hey, you might pick up a premium hand like pocket aces or kings and get some unexpected action from one of the tight players, too!

There are two keys to making this strategy work. First, avoid traps being set by tight players. Second, show respect to aggressive players by trying to keep the pots small. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, maybe easy in theory but it’s a bit tougher when you’re sitting at the table.

Playing more hands in smaller pots is how many top professionals consistently build large stacks in tournament poker. They just won’t gamble for large sums before the flop. Instead, they’ll simply enter more pots than the average player, and play more carefully when they do.

In tournament poker, don’t be afraid to gamble a little bit; there’s nothing wrong about being an active player. But make certain to maintain discipline and only play bigger pots on your own terms.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

124

Establishing a Tight Table Image

Allen Cunningham

November 1st 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 Rules of Eight

Never underestimate the importance of preparation for any single poker session or tournament. Similarly, never dismiss certain scientific facts regarding the human brain’s ability to function optimally. I’ve learned plenty of valuable lessons as a 15-year professional poker veteran and none is more critical than the importance of preparation. It’s a lesson I call The Rules of Eight.

Get eight hours of sleep. It’s essential. In the world of poker, it’s not heroic to try to function on a couple hours of sleep. Scientific studies suggest that the human body, and more important, the human brain, requires a full eight hours of sleep to function at peak performance. A good night’s sleep improves memory function and physical heath. Missing even one night of shuteye will impact your ability to concentrate the next day. And it only gets worse if you deprive yourself of sleep night after night.

You see, to play your best and make solid decisions at the poker table, you need to focus on everything that is going on around you. If you didn’t get a good night of uninterrupted sleep, you simply can’t play your best. Keep this in mind too: Fatigue increases a player’s propensity to gamble more recklessly, and that is not a good thing.

Try to limit your time at the tables to no more than eight hours. In some tournaments, that just won’t be possible. If that is the case, it’s especially important to stockpile plenty of sleep. In a cash game, however, make sure you keep your sessions on the shorter side.

We’ve all heard stories about poker players grinding it out for two days straight. Believe me; I’ve got stories like that of my own. But the bottom line is that these stories usually don’t have great endings. That’s because the mind starts playing tricks after a marathon poker session, especially after a losing session. The evil voice in your head tells you, “This game is full of suckers. You’re playing great. Don’t quit as a loser. Focus and you’ll turn it around.”

The fact is after eight hours of play your ability to focus deteriorates. Unfortunately, too many players are simply unaware that it’s happening to them. So decide how long you plan to play before you’re even dealt the very first hand. Remember, your best decisions are made with a fresh mind.

Eight consecutive losing sessions is rarely the result of bad luck alone. In fact, the same can be said of even five losers in a row (but I’d have to change the title of this column!)

Some players will blame anything but themselves for their extended losing streaks. It’s the dealer, or a string of bad beats, or that the cards weren’t properly shuffled -- whatever. The truth is that consecutive losses at the poker table will eat away at your confidence and affect your play for the worse. If you’ve put together a string of losses, don’t pin it on bad luck. Instead, take an extended break from the game and examine your play. When you do return, you’ll feel refreshed and will play with renewed confidence.

Look, I know that poker players aren’t athletes and poker isn’t a sport. Although you may not have to hit the gym like real athletes, there is one “muscle” that you’ll still need to exercise on a regular basis – your brain. Make sure you give it ample time to relax and don’t push it past its breaking point.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

184

Hand Coordination

Brandon Adams

6th April 2009

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.

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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Earn double Full Tilt Points by playing two tables simultaneously during Take 2. Get a $5 cash bonus by playing in Take 2 for at least five days - and up to $25 for playing every day.

FTOPS XII and MiniFTOPS XII satellites are running now. Take the Satellite Challenge and get closer to $18 million in prize money.

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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Sit & Go Madness returns this weekend. Win your share of $75,000 in additional cash and prizes playing your regular single-table Sit & Gos.

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Medium stack decisions are tricky but learning how to play a medium stack is vital to tournament success. In this week's tip, Allen Cunningham focuses on playing a medium stack from early position.

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182

Playing a Medium Stack in Early Position

Allen Cunningham

March 23rd, 2009

For obvious reasons, we’d all rather have a medium stack than a short stack. But there is one advantage to being short-stacked: your decisions are easy. With a medium stack, almost every decision you make is complicated and almost every move is awkward.

A medium stack is defined as when you have about 30-40 big blinds, and learning how to play it is absolutely vital to tournament success. In most tournaments, you’ll have a stack that size from about the time half of the field has been eliminated all the way to the final table.

This means you’ll potentially spend up to half of your tournament in a position where every pot you play is pivotal and every decision is tricky. You have far too many chips just to open-shove, like you would with a smaller stack, and if you open for a standard raise, that’s already close to 10 percent of your stack that you’re putting at risk. So you can’t play too loose.

That said, you have to keep things in perspective: if you play too tight, you’ll quickly find yourself a short stack because of the rising antes and blinds. This can get even more complicated if you’re at a table with a lot of aggressive players; the temptation will be to play extra tight so you don’t waste chips raising and then folding. Always keep in mind that there will be times when you’ll have to take risks because the blinds and antes you can win by open-raising will help keep you afloat.

Focusing purely on the challenge of playing a medium stack in early position, my advice is that you should mostly be playing hands that you’re willing to play for your entire stack: if you’ve got pocket Tens or higher or even A-K, you want to try to get it all in. While you can expand this range to include pocket 8s and 9s, A-Q, A-Js or K-Qs, these are hands that you might want to get away from if you’re re-raised by a solid player.

Let’s say blinds are 250/500, I have 15,000 in my stack, and I’m dealt pocket Jacks. If I make a standard raise to 1,500, and a player in late position re-raises to 4,500, I’m just going to go ahead and shove all of my money in and hope for the best. I really can’t afford to be throwing those hands away with that sized stack.

If the situation is identical but I get smooth-called and the flop doesn’t scare me – something like 9-7-4 rainbow – I’m going to bet the flop and continue betting, raising or check-raising until I’m all in no matter what my opponent does. Without a scare card on board, you really can’t get away from the hand. You also don’t want to give free cards when the pot is already sizeable and any Ace or King could freeze you.

An exception to following through like that comes if I’m up against an aggressive player. Say I have pocket Jacks and make a standard pre-flop raise, an opponent in late position calls, and the flop comes Q-7-4 rainbow. Odds are that my Jacks are still the best hand, so I have to take my chances and proceed as if they are. But since my opponent is aggressive, I’ll check to him, and if he bets, I’ll check-raise him all-in. I’m giving him a chance to bluff, then protecting my hand with a big all-in bet if he does bluff. That will often work better than throwing out a continuation bet, which could make him fold any hand worse than mine. It’s also reasonable to make this play with A-A, A-Q or as a bluff with A-K.

Playing a medium stack in later positions is a different proposition. You’ll often have to deal with a raise from an early-position player, and if you don’t, the hand range you can open with is considerably wider.

But in early position, a tight-aggressive approach is definitely your best bet. Be careful about which hands you play, but once you decide to play a hand, be prepared to push with it.

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Join us for Friday Night Fights on March 20th at 21:00 ET, when Gus Hansen squares off with Andy Bloch. You can play in Knockout and Sweat tournaments while railing the Main Event.

Sit & Go Madness is back. Between Friday March 27th and 29th, you can win over $75,000 in additional cash and prizes by playing in regular Sit & Go tournaments.

Information about opponents can be picked up by an observant player before even sitting down at a table. In this week's tip, Taylor Caby outlines how these pre-game tells can increase your chances of playing a winning session.

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181

Pre-Game Online Tells

Taylor Caby

March 19th, 2008

When most poker players think about tells, they visualize physical actions that occur at the table. For example, the way an opponent’s hands start shaking whenever he has the nuts or the way he handles his chips in certain situations. Online players don’t have this sort of information to work with, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t tells in online play. There’s actually a great deal of information that an observant player can pick up on, and much of it can be discovered before you even sit down at a table. I call these important first impressions “pre-game tells.”

One of the most important pre-game tells is the size of your opponent’s buy-in. Whenever I sit down at a table, the first thing I look at is how much my opponents have bought in for in relation to the maximum amount allowed at that table. Most advanced players tend to buy in for as close to the table maximum as possible. They prefer to have as many chips on the table as they can, which gives them plenty of ammunition for bullying their opponents, bluffing, and semi-bluffing.

Weaker and inexperienced players are more inclined to buy in for a much smaller amount, often closer to the table minimum. By buying in short, weaker players are hoping to protect themselves from suffering a huge loss. What they don’t realize is that the more experienced players at the table are going to pick up on this sign of weakness. When I’m selecting a table, these are the types of players I’m looking to sit next to because they generally play scared. Be careful, though, because there are players who buy in for less than the table maximum that are actually winning players.

When you’re playing on Full Tilt Poker, you can also gauge how experienced your opponents are by simply looking around the table and observing if any of the players possess an Iron Man chip. This chip is awarded to players who play a certain amount of hands each day, in effect rewarding them for being grinders. Because these players play so often, they have spent many hours working on their games and they tend to be some of the better players on the site. If you are able to earn an Iron Man chip yourself, you may consider removing the icon so you don’t advertise that you are a serious player.

Another way to find more information about the players sitting at your table is to use Full Tilt Poker’s “Find a Player” feature. Simply click on the “Requests” tab in the lobby, select “Find a Player” and then type in your opponents’ screen names. By doing this, you can find out how many tables each of your opponents is sitting at, which can be an extremely telling bit of information. If one of your opponents is multi-tabling, playing at four or more tables at once, he will generally be a solid player, and quite often you will find that players who play this many tables at once are professionals.

When you add all this information together, it can tell you a great deal about a certain player’s level of experience. If the player you’re interested in bought in for the maximum amount, is sporting an Iron Man chip next to his avatar and is playing at eight tables at once, all signs point towards him being a very solid player, which is something you should keep in mind when you are playing a pot against this player. If most of the table fits this description, you might even consider selecting a different table to play at. On the other hand, if a player bought in for half of the maximum buy-in, doesn’t have an Iron Man Chip, and is only playing at one table, chances are he’s an inexperienced player and you’ll probably want to play as many pots with him as you can.

Because all of this information can be gleaned before you even play a single hand, you would be wise to use it when deciding which table you want to play at. Doing this will greatly increase your chances of having a winning session.

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Limit VS NL Hold Em

Limit vs. No Limit Texas Hold'em

Until the start of the current poker boom that dates back to 2003, you couldn’t find a No Limit Texas Hold’em cash game if you tried. Limit Hold’em ruled. But that all changed once No Limit tournaments started to air on television.

Back before the boom started, poker professionals played Limit games to pay the bills. And Hold’em wasn’t the only game they played. Stud, Omaha, Stud Hi-Lo, and Omaha Hi-Lo were also played – all of them Limit games.

Like these pro players, you can become a better overall player by investing the time and effort to learn both disciplines of the game. Playing Limit Hold’em will certainly improve your No Limit game. There are subtleties to the Limit game that will enhance your technique at the No Limit tables. Mastering these uniquely aggressive Limit tactics will enable you to steal more pots when you sit down to play No Limit Hold’em.

So, if you’re trying to make a living playing Hold’em, which is the better game to play, Limit or No Limit? Here are some factors to consider.

Go Fishing

Inexperienced players generally flock toward the No Limit tables because it’s clearly the most popular form of the game. Having said that, where the fish go, so go the sharks! As a result, you’ll often find that Limit games are even softer because the pros are concentrating on the No Limit games, baiting their hooks and reeling in their catch.

Playing the Percentages

Your winning percentage by session will likely be higher in No Limit games than in Limit games. Winning 65% of your sessions in Limit Hold’em is excellent. In No Limit, however, it’s not uncommon to log winning sessions 80% of the time.

That’s due to the natural differences between the two games. Less control can be exerted in Limit games because it’s more difficult to force players out of pots with structured betting. In No Limit, though, hands can be protected from being outdrawn by making large bets that force opponents to fold weak draws.

Bankroll Protection

Despite the fact that you’ll likely win a higher percentage of sessions in No Limit Hold’em, choosing to play Limit Hold’em is a safer decision to protect your bankroll. You won’t win as often, but you also won’t risk losing everything you have on any single hand.

Your results in Limit Hold’em will be more consistent over time, and that’s especially important if you plan to grind it out at the tables for 40 hours every week. No Limit Hold’em is simply a much more volatile game.

Level of Aggression

Contrary to popular belief, Limit Hold’em is the more aggressive form of the game. It’s characterized by constant raising and re-raising before the flop. On the other hand, No Limit Hold’em is played more carefully since any hand could cost you your entire stack.

If, for example, you flop top pair in Limit Hold’em, it’s usually correct to raise and re-raise on the flop. No Limit Hold’em should be played more cautiously. You need to be concerned about over pairs and flopped sets.

Pace of Play

Limit Hold’em is the game for you if you bore easily and crave fast action. Conversely, in No Limit, the game will often slow to a halt when someone is faced with a big decision. That’s uncommon in Limit games because all-in bets are rare.

Whatever game suits you best, learn to play both Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em. Your overall game will definitely improve.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

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How to find the right game

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When your losses and wins have the same meaning to you, Ben Roberts believes that you have the chance to become a great player as opposed to just a good one. In this week's tip, Ben discusses the importance of finding the right game for you... and playing it in the right frame of mind.

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180

Finding the Right Game and the Right Mindset

Ben Roberts

March, 2009

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.

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Pokerstars Upcoming Events 03-13-09

For any serious poker player, the European Poker Tour represents one of the most important tournament series on the poker calendar. EPT Season 5 has travelled to some of Europe’s finest cities, awarding millions of dollars in winnings along the way. Yet, as with all good things in life, it must unfortunately come to an end. That end to EPT Season 5 is now in sight, as the Grand Final at EPT Monte Carlo, beginning on April 27, is on the horizon - but what an end it will be!

Last year’s EPT Grand Final saw the poker elite gather in Monte Carlo, all hoping to claim victory and millions of Euros in prize money. A record 842 players produced an €8.4 million prize pool to make it the richest poker tournament in Europe. This year, the schedule is expanding as we introduce a number of new side events in addition to the Main Event.

The ‘European High Roller Championship’, ‘European Pot Limit Omaha Championship’ and daily Battleship tournaments will all debut this year. Add to this the introduction of a 2 day EPT Monte Carlo Poker Camp, and the new schedule will make EPT Monte Carlo a true festival of poker.

EPT Monte Carlo will get underway on April 27, and we’re giving you the chance to be a part of the action. Satellites are now under way for an $18,800 package which awards entry into the EPT Grand Final! The main event package will comprise your tournament buy-in, luxury accommodation, and $1,000 towards expenses. Qualifiers are running now starting from $2.22 or 111 FPP, and you can find them under the Events > EPT tab in the PokerStars.com lobby. For more information, visit the EPT Monte Carlo events page.

In addition, we will also be offering satellites to win an exclusive package for the ‘European Pot Limit Omaha Championship’. Satellites to win an $8,570 package are running now located under the Events > EPT tab in your PokerStars.com lobby.

This year you will also be able to buy-in directly to side events online through your PokerStars.com account, up until 3 hours before the event begins. Starting on April 20, you will be able to buy-in to your chosen side event by locating it under the Events > EPT tab in your PokerStars.com lobby. Onsite registration for all side events will not open until two hours before each event begins.

EPT SAN REMO
Before the Grand Final, there is still time for the EPT to make its highly anticipated return to Italy for EPT San Remo. At the debut events last season, 701 players anted up to compete for a share of the €3.1 million prize pool. The eventual champion was PokerStars qualifier Jason Mercier, who took home €869,000. The action is set to return to Casino San Remo from April 18-23, and you could be there by qualifying through our satellites, which are running NOW. Cash and FPP qualifiers are available from $2.22 or 111 FPP, and you can find them under the Events > EPT tab in your PokerStars.com lobby.

See you at the tables!

Regards,



Daniel Negreanu
World Champion
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Bet Sizing is proportional to skill level

Bet Sizing is Proportional to Skill Level

In No Limit Hold’em, much like video games and karate lessons, you need to master one level before you can move on to the next. In karate, as your skill level increases, your instructor presents you with the next belt. But in poker, only you can decide when it’s time to graduate to the next level. That’s a tricky proposition for some players because it’s difficult to assess your own progress.

In poker, you’ve got to start at the bottom level and work your way up. This advice applies to the limits that you play and the sizing of the bets that you make.

All beginners should start out with a No Limit betting strategy based on making large-sized bets. Then, as skills increase, bet sizing should decrease. Here’s why.

When you make small raises before the flop, other players will simply be more likely to call those bets. That means you’ll end up facing difficult decisions after the flop. More post-flop decisions mean more variables to consider with more money at stake. Advanced players excel in these situations; beginners suffer the consequences.

Fortunately, there is a betting system that can help shift the advantage back to the novice player. By making excessively large pre-flop bets, novices can force better players to lay down their marginal hands.

But the question still remains: What’s the correct amount to bet? Well, bet sizing should be proportional to your skill level.

A rank beginner playing at skill Level 1 needs to make very large raises -- five times the big blind. With blinds at 50/100, a novice who decides to play should bet 500. This size bet will protect you against a looser and tougher opponent whose goal is to outplay you after the flop. If you do make it to the flop, keep betting large with a pot-sized bet.

As you improve to skill Level 2, slightly reduce your pre-flop bet size. With blinds at 50/100, bet out 450 pre-flop, and 90% of the pot size after the flop.

The trend continues as you improve to the third skill level. Now, lower your pre-flop bet to 400, and bet out 80% of the pot after the flop.

When you reach Level 4, try betting 3 ½ times the big blind, and then follow it up with a post-flop bet equal to 75% of the pot.

Congratulations if you’ve made it to Level 5! You’re now an experienced and accomplished player. Your bets and raises should adhere to the industry standards: three times the big blind pre-flop and 65% of the pot after the flop.

Note: Too many beginners make the mistake of starting at this level’s betting scheme. If you’re a beginner, start with Level 1 betting!

Okay, once you feel that you’ve mastered the game – you’d be wrong, by the way, poker is a game that can never be mastered – it’s time for an aggressive style of betting. At Level 6, bet 2 ½ times the big blind, and follow up with a bet of 50-60% of the pot after the flop. At this advanced level, you’ll need to rely on a set of multi-dimensional poker skills which includes the ability to read people.

Quite frankly, the Level 6 betting scheme is inappropriate for most players. There will be far too many tough post-flop decisions and the risk of making costly errors in post-flop play increases significantly.

Without a doubt, the toughest part about selecting the proper bet size is that you must be your own harshest critic. Swallow your pride and be completely objective about your own poker skill level. Only then can you implement an effective betting strategy.

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