Pot Limit Omaha: pantin007

PLO ( Pot Limit Omaha )

Author : pantin007

Pot Limit Omaha

Simple Introduction To The Game Of PLO
In PLO u are dealt 4 hole cards and like in holdem there are 5 community cards dealt out onto the board but in PLO u can only use 2 out of ur 4 hole cards and 3 out of the 5 community cards on the board and obviously the best 5 card hand wins.

Some differences between HE and PLO
Now there are big differences between Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha.

1) The strength of big pocket pairs. AA in holdem is the strongest starting hand in the game and even if ur unimproved after the 5 community cards, there is still a a good/great chance that u have the best hand. in PLO AAxx is a good starting hand but if unimproved after the flop/turn/river, it is very unlikely that ur still holding the best hand.

2)combinations. In PLO combination hands can be golden. a lot of players in holdem would overlook the capabilities of big combination hands like 10-9s but for example: 4-5-6-7 double suited has 49.3% to win against A-A-9-2 {4 suited} if the money is put in preflop. Also in PLO out of ur 4 hole cards, u have 6 possible 2 card hands.The more of these 2-card combinations that you have working for you – particularly with the potential to hit the nuts – the better your hand

3)another difference in PLO and holdem is the fact that ur never going to be an overwhelming favourite preflop in plo, while in holdem u can be a huge favourite..A made hand in holdem on the flop is usually a huge favourite against most draws but in PLO it is possible and occurs quite often that the draw is the favourite against a made hand, even if ur up against a set. for example : ur opponent has AAxx 4 suits, u have 9-10-J-Q double suited, the flop comes:A-7-8 with 2 hearts. what do u think the percentages are? in this situation, ur hand{monster draw} is a 55% favourite compared to the villains set which is only a 45% favourite.

PREFLOP PLO PLAY

1)starting hand selection
The key to good Omaha High starting hand selection is to play cards that work together for the maximum chance of hitting the flop. Suited cards and connected cards are both desirable, combinations of high pairs with other cards working with them are also strong.While Aces are the strongest hand before the flop in Omaha these are rarely more than a 3-2 favorite over small connected cards. Hands such as 7-8-9-10 (particularly when double suited) are known as ‘rundown hands’. The strength of these hands lies in their drawing capabilities.One of the peculiarities of Pot-Limit Omaha is that, no matter what you hold, preflop, your opponent's hand will almost always have a decent chance of beating your hand.

2)betting consideration
The nature of pot-limit betting is that the bets are very small before the flop compared to the size of the pot by the end of the hand. This means that the implied odds in PLO are huge.Now again, ur never really going to be a big favourite in any hand preflop thus u dont want to be committing too much chips into the pot preflop.

3)Balancing ur raises
now u dont want to be at a table where everyone else knows what u are doing. u dont want to be too limpy as you will always giving ur opponents the oppertunity to see cheap flops. this is the reason that a balanced raising strategy is need.A way to balance ur raises is to raise when u feel u have the best hand. simple, yes.Basically, u cant just be raising when u got big pairs in the whole, u need to also raise with big combo draws (eg-J-J-10-9 {double suited}), this helps to ensure that ur opponents will be guessing as to what hand combination u actually have.

4)position. most of ur profits in PLO come from when u are in late position/last to act post flop. because of this u should try and avoid making raises preflop from early positions and from the blinds. acting first is a huge disadvantage as again, there are no real favourites preflop.When first to act, especially against several opponents, you could spend many chips to get the information that your hand is beaten. Last to act you may see a pot sized bet and a re-raise ahead of you, your decision is now easy – either you commit to the hand or exit cheaply.

5)last thing to touch on about preflop play is the image of the players on the table, applies to PLO and NLHE, if u are raised by someone who is nitty and extremely tight, hesitate before going into the pot with some sub-par holding, fold hands that u may have otherwise called with, the opposite can be done for loose/ maniac players. u must also be aware of raises and reraises infront of you, u dont want to get too attached to a hand preflop and u dont want to put too much money in preflop.

POST FLOP PLO PLAY {flop/turn/river}

for this we will look at 3 things
1) the texture of the flop
2)ur opponents
3)assesment of outs

1)texture of the flop
lets compare 2 flops, ur hand is AAxx 4 suited
flop a- 9-10-J 2 suits-----in the unlikely event that none of your opponents already have a straight then there are likely to be many combination draws against you. In fact with 2 or more opponents you might as well fold those bare aces right now. Here almost every card in the deck has the opportunity to make a nut hand against you
flop b-3-8-K rainbow---- rag flop,no flush or straight possibilities for the turn, the most likely circumstances that ur up against is a set or 2 pair. it is even unlikely that someone has a set of 3's or 8's if it was raised preflop. it is MUCH safer for u,holding AAxx, to bet out at this flop.
Of course, most flops will be in between these extremes. The general point is that some flops will help the likely holdings of opponents more than others. The betting before the flop can often give you information about the kind of hands you are up against.
fopr example, if there is a lot of action preflop, this indicates that ur opponents are most likely holding big pairs or big ppicture card combinations, so if there is a low flop on the board it is very unlikely that they hit anything. Also in multiway pot after the flop, almost every flop that has straight and flush possiblities is a dangerous flop. Another thing to focus on is when there are pairs on the board, when there is a pair on the board, there is a high chance that someone has a full house and trips. u dont want to be chasing flushes and straights when there is a pair on board, the reason for this is that ur mostly only going to be called if ur beat and get no action if ur ahead of ur opponent.

2) ur opponent/villain
There are multiple factors to consider when looking at the role that your opponents play in PLO post flop play.

a)how much players have seen the flop, OK 1 PLO starting hand has 6 possible holdem hands(2 card hands), now say that 4 ppl have seen the flop, that means that ur potentially facing 24!! 2 card combination, this is 1 of the reasons why u should always only draw to the nutz in PLO.

b)tendencies, obviously when u sit at a table there are going to be some maniacs and some nits. Watching your opponents is key in PLO and will help you make good decisions. For example if you face a raise from a tight player you may fold a hand that would have made a good re-raising candidate against a wild and loose opponent.Your chances of being paid-off should you make a nut hand also need to be factored in. If you see a player calling a very large bet with a questionable holding then make a note – this could be a source of profit at some point in the future. u must also look at the player who took the lead preflop, this person is the most likely candidate to raise post flop.

c)position.Where you sit in the betting order after the flop will have a big impact on how you play a hand. The dealer button is the best position as you will see the actions of all your opponents before you need to make a decision

3) assesment of outs
this is extremely crucial in PLO.In Omaha it is common for a strong draw with many outs to straights and flushes to be a favorite over an already made hand. It is therefore important to quickly assess the ‘outs’ you have using the 2 from your hand / 3 from the board combinations. A good practice is to divide the cards that might come on the turn or river into categories

a) nut outs, these are the cards/outs that will make u a nut hand (ie nut straight, nut flush, etc)

b)outs, these are the cards/outs that will not give u the nutz but they will make u a very strong hand

c)helping cards,cards which might come on the turn which give you a number of further outs on the river

When facing big bets after the flop it is important that you assess your likelihood of winning the hand if you do make the draw you are chasing. Drawing to a non-nut hand is one of the most expensive errors in PLO, and should only be considered against a single opponent who is known to be aggressive. Betting your draw may in fact be a better option – this gives you extra chances to win the pot if your opponent should fold.



what do u think? If u would like to add anything to this go ahead

These Are Real Poker Tells

I'd like to share with you the REAL poker tells that take
place in Texas Holdem.

I'm not talking about when your opponent scratches his
eyebrow... or when he shuffles his chips... or when he chews
his gum aggressively.

I'm talking about BETTING PATTERNS.

It's been my experience that approximately 80% of the
betting action at a poker table fits within PREDICTABLE and
RELIABLE patterns.

Here's what I mean:

The other day I was playing at a $2-5 no limit cash game
with my buddies. I focused all of my energies just on
keeping track of PRE-FLOP RAISES and POST-FLOP BETS.

Here are some examples of the patterns I discovered...

First off, this older guy named Elroy would throw out the
occasional pre-flop raise. By the end of the night, it was
almost TOO EASY to figure out what he was holding... just
based on his bets.

His first pre-flop raise was $15. The hand played out and he
turned over 10-9 suited.

Later he made it $40 pre-flop to play. Again, I was
fortunate to see his hand... this time it was pocket Queens.

Later he made it $25 pre-flop to play. That one ended up
being pocket Kings.

And he made it $15 to play on the button again later... with
an A-4 of diamonds.

As the night progressed, I "cracked the code" to Elroy's
betting patterns. When he had a monster like K-K or A-A,
he'd bet $25 pre-flop. It was a bet that usually gets one or
two callers.

If he had pocket 10s, Jacks, or Queens, he bet $40-$50
pre-flop. This makes sense. He didn't want to see a flop
with these hands... he just wanted to steal the blinds. Or
if he saw the flop, he only wanted one caller.

And his $10-$15 raises were simply "pot builders" when he
had hidden hands or something decent... like K-Q, 10-9, or
A-4.

Of course... it was NOT just Elroy that fell into these
predictable patterns...

Another guy at the table, let's call him Jeff, would throw
out a $10 bet on the flop every time he was on a draw.

Of the fourteen times he bet $10 on the flop, I saw his hand
turned over eight times (it was an 8-hour game). AND EVERY
SINGLE TIME HE SHOWED, he was on some type of draw...
whether it was for the flush or straight.

So of course, every time the "make" card came out of the
deck, I knew Jeff had the goods... and I folded my hand.

I even busted him once when he tried to BLUFF his busted
draw on the river and I won a major pot because of this
read.

The last great example from the night was with my buddy
Jack. He made several $40 pre-flop raises with early
positioning. He'd normally get a caller or two for the flop.

AFTER the flop, it was always obvious if he had hit or
missed his hand.

Let's say the flop came out:

Q-9-7

All different suits.

If Jack came out firing $80 after his $40 pre-flop raise, he
had the goods. This is when he was holding a monster like
Kings or Aces and wasn't scared of anything on the board.

But let's say he threw out a $40 bet... which was the same
as his pre-flop raise. That means he was holding a hand like
Jacks, Tens, or A-K.

He was scared of the flop but still wanted to throw out a
bet to represent the board and try to win the pot.

It was a simple pattern. Plain to see.

But the sad thing was, no one else at the table read into
these patterns...

If I were in the hand with Jack when he followed his $40
pre-flop raise with a $40 post-flop bet, I would go back
over the top of him. I got to do this a few times... and
each time I won a lot of money.

Overall for the night, I walked out of that poker room a BIG
WINNER. And the primary reason was because I tracked betting
patterns and took the time to get a read on my opponents.

OK, so let's talk about how to immediately apply this new
information for your next poker game.

There are THREE MAIN PATTERNS you want to pay attention to:

1. Pre-flop raises

Watch carefully when someone raises before the flop. PAY
ATTENTION TO THEIR POSITIONING. A common pattern is that a
lot of players will raise from the button no matter what
they have... and this can be "free chips" for you when
you've got a read.

Often times the HUGE pre-flop raises aren't the ones to be
scared of. Like in my example earlier, Elroy bet $25 with
monsters and $40 or more with pocket 10s, Jacks, or Queens.

Find out what someone does when they pick up low pocket
pairs, suited connectors, and two high cards.

2. Post-flop bets

The next pattern is what a player does AFTER the flop. How
much does he bet?

You'll discover players who "represent the flop"
consistently with the same bet size over and over again.

You'll also discover other players who check-raise every
time they have a big hand.

And so on...

3. Post-flop bets AFTER pre-flop raises

This is important. This is perhaps the EASIEST pattern to
pick up.

After someone raises before the flop, watch what they do
AFTER the flop (this works best when they have early
positioning).

A lot of your opponents will "back down" from their pre-flop
raises if they didn't catch anything on the flop.

This is because they're afraid of losing too many chips on
this one single hand...

If they DID catch something great, they'll show it with a
huge bet on the flop. The pot is big enough to take down
now, so they won't be afraid of everyone folding.

And last but not least, watch out for post-flop bets that
are SMALLER than the pre-flop raises... or that equal the
MINIMUM bet allowed.

Sometimes this is a MONSTER in disguise... someone who's
INVITING you to go back over the top of him. Be careful.

OK, so those are the three main patterns to look for. The
next step is to remember that a lot of this "betting
behavior" is COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS.

In fact, you want to SEEK OUT players who seem to get into
their "zone" and make bets unconsciously.

When you find a player like this, it's like taking candy
from a baby. Seriously.

You DON'T want to try to "figure out" an opponent who's
always CONSCIOUSLY trying to think of ways to change their
betting patterns... that will just give you a headache and
waste your time.

When tracking bets, categorize them by RANGES.

Most players don't bet the IDENTICAL amounts again and again
and again... but they bet the IDENTICAL RANGES over and
over.

For instance, Elroy bet between $40 and $50 when he was
holding a medium pocket pair. He bet between $10 and $15 for
his "pot builder" hands like suited connectors.

OK, so now that you know the POWER behind betting behavior
and patterns, you must realize these THREE crucial things:

1. MIX UP YOUR BETTING.

Don't fall into betting patterns yourself. Watch your bets
closely and track your OWN bets to make sure you aren't
getting into predictable patterns.

2. WATCH WHEN A PLAYER'S CARDS ARE TURNED OVER.

The only way to successfully discover betting patterns is by
watching when someone WINS the hand and turns over his
cards.

When this occurs, immediately review the hand in your mind
and the player's bets pre-flop andvpost-flop.

3. DON'T TELL ANYONE YOU'RE TRACKING THEIR BETS.

If you tell your opponents (who may be your friends) that
you're tracking bets, you've just shot yourself in the foot.

Because now THEY will start paying attention to their bets
and will mix them up accordingly.

If you're tracking bets with a pen and pad, tell everyone
the notes are for something else... don't reveal your true
intentions.

This concept of betting behavior is EXTREMELY POWERFUL. If
you use it, you'll win a lot of money. Period.

When you first start off, the actual TRACKING will be
challenging in real-life games. If you're playing ONLINE,
tracking will be easy.

But don't get discouraged. The great (and amazing) thing is,
a lot of players fall into the SAME BASIC patterns. You'll
even start categorizing PLAYERS THEMSELVES... not only their
bet sizes.

Your game will jump to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

Betting behavior is the ULTIMATE "poker tell", because it
offers the fastest and easiest way to put your opponent on a
hand.

If you'd like to take this skill to the "mastery" level,
then it's time you invested in my course, "No Limit Holdem
Secrets".

I'll teach you step-by-step the in-depth strategies and
techniques that will transform you into a POKER GENIUS.

And you'll be able to read your opponents almost as if you
were a PSYCHIC. You'll know what someone will bet BEFORE
they even reach for their chips...

You'll INSTANTLY know what a player is holding when they bet
after the flop...

You'll know EXACTLY when to bluff, when to bet, and when to
fold...

Honestly, it will almost seem TOO EASY to win ridiculous
sums of money at the poker tables.

Double_Reppuken

Since no one has done this yet, I'll go ahead and give it a go. Im not too good on writing strategies, so I'll just post random tidbits and stuff that I keep in mind whenever I play. Please keep in mind this is based on how I play, so others opinions may differ.

-During the early rounds of an SNG or MTT, Tight is Right is the correct play. The blinds compared to stack sizes are so low that there is really no reason for you to get involved in pot with less than a premium hand. Dont be so quick to try and double up or triple. The object of a tournament is to survive, not to get a big stack early on. Unless you're holding AA, there is no reason to get involved in a mulit-way pot. I'll even fold KK if its against multiple all-ins. And there is absolutely no reason for someone to risk their tournament life on a race situation. Survive the early rounds, take your chances in the later rounds. Also, the blinds are so low, that blind stealing is not worth it since you'll be risking a lot more to pick up such small pots.

-The 1/3rd rule: If you raise or call a raise that is equal to or more than 1/3rd of your stack, you should be prepared and willing to go/call an all in with your hand. The reason being is that you're committing yourself to the pot and you'll be getting good odds to call any bet by your opponent if you're holding a strong hand or a hand with a strong draw.

Also, if your opponent is raising or calling a raise that is equal to or more than 1/3rd their stack, its very likely they'll be willing to go all in or call an all in.

So, in both situations, if you're calling or raising 1/3rd of your stack, you should be willing and ready to go all in with your hand. If not willing to, then you're better off folding.

-The 1/2 rule: If you are calling or raising equal to or more than half your stack, then you are better off just shoving all in because you will be getting to great of odds to fold any hand after the flop. Any hand your are willing to bet or call half your stack with should be a hand you'd be willing to go all in with.

-The 10:1 rule: If you're planning on calling a raise with a small pair, but you arent getting the right odds to go set mining with, look to see if you are getting the correct implied odds. If your opponent stack has 10x or more of their initial raise, then calling the raise could be profitable pay. Since the odds of flopping a set is 9:1, if you do hit it there is a good chance you'll be taking most of your opponents stack. And since you're opponent stack is giving you the right implied odds to call, the play is profitable. However, if the opponent stack doesnt reach the 10:1 rule, the implied odds arent there and the play isnt profitable.

-Dont worry about the chip leader and the average stacks. For the most part, hey should not mean anything to you. Being below average in chipstack does not mean you are trailing behind. As long as you have an Mzone of 20+ or 24+ BBs, you have a healthy stack size, regardless of what the average stack is. A lot of players worry if they dont meet the average stack and start to play reckless just to catch up. Instead of worrying, keep your focus on your own table. Pay attention to you and your opponents' stack compared to the blind.

The only time I pay attention to average chip stack is during 'pulse' of an MTT. Which, IIRC, is the point of a tournament where the blinds vs the average stack is 10BBs or less, or short stack. At this point a lot of average and smaller stacks will be going all in. So, if blinds were at 300/600 and average stack was 6K, expect a lot of action. You'll usually notice it when there is a huge drop in players during an MTT.

...I have more that I'll post later.
Double_Reppuken

ePassporte Shutting Down According to Online Poker Community

Throughout the day and night Friday, the online poker community feared the worst as a popular payment solution, and one of the few still catering to US customers, went down for much of the day. ePassporte had been telling some merchants they were having "technical issues".

Cake Poker and a few other online poker merchants advised their clients, however, that ePassporte would no longer be servicing US customers.

To all Cake Poker Customers:

We have received notice from ePassporte today that they are unable to continue to provide CakePoker with merchant e-wallet services. We have since confirmed that this situation is not unique to CakePoker and is, in fact, industry wide.

Other reports have indicated that the ePassporte issue may be "worldwide" and not just isolated to the US market. The payment solutions company is based out of the United States.

By Saturday morning, some customers on the TwoPlusTwo Poker Forum posted that they could now withdraw monies using their ePassporte ATM. How long that lasts remains to be seen.

In a letter obtained by Gambling911.com, the payment solutions company advised other merchants that "a widespread investigation of Internet gambling, including poker" by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Southern New York and customer issues would be dealt with by ePassporte.

A number of online poker rooms have relied heavily on ePassporte over the last year after the industry's largest payment solutions firm, Neteller, was forced to exit the US online poker market.

"The issues surrounding ePassporte have long been addressed by sites like Gambling911.com," expressed Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of G911. "It really was only a matter of time before something would happen." (read more here)

Over the past year, online gambling websites have been hurt internally by processors who have shut down without warning. These solutions were used mostly for issuing checks whereby ePassporte - like Neteller - acts as an eWallet that can be accessed directly by the gambling public.

The good news for online poker players is that major i-gaming operators have had some time implement "more reliable" solutions.

Sizing Up Your Opening Bet

Chris Ferguson

August 1, 2005

I never get tired of saying it: If you're the first to enter the pot in a No-Limit Hold 'em game, never call. If you aren't prepared to raise, throw your hand away.

Why, you ask? Simple. By raising, you put pressure on the blinds and the other players at the table, making them consider just how strong their hands really are. Chances are that by raising, you'll force marginal hands to fold before you even see the flop, limiting the number of players you have to beat through the rest of the hand.

OK, with that out of the way, the next obvious question becomes: How much should I raise?

To that, I say; it depends. First off, you shouldn't allow the strength of your hand affect the size of your raise. A tough poker game is like real estate. The three most important factors in deciding how much to raise are: Location, location, location.

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

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

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

One of the most common mistakes in No-Limit Hold 'em is coming in for a raise that's too big. In early position, you want to keep your raises at about two times the big blind. With four to six players to act behind you when you're in middle position, raise to about two and a half big blinds, and raise to about three times the big blind from late position.

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

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

These numbers need to be modified if there are antes. You should generally add about half the total antes to any raise. Your early position raise should be two big blinds plus half the total antes, and three big blinds plus half the antes for your late-position raises.

There are many loose live games these days. If you find yourself in one of these games and you can't steal the blinds with a normal raise, tighten up your starting requirements slightly and make larger raises. If this raise still can't take the blinds, don't tighten up anymore, but choose to raise an amount that you expect to get called once or twice behind you. Since your opponents are playing too loose, take advantage of it by building bigger pots when you think you're getting the best of it.

The last exception is when you're short-stacked. If making your typical raise means putting over a quarter of your stack in the pot, just go ahead and move all in instead. Betting a quarter of your stack before the flop commits you to calling just about any re-raise or, at the very least, it gives you a very tough decision. Moving all in here instead of raising less forces the tough decision on your opponents and eliminates one of your tough calling decisions. All of which brings us back to my first principle: Avoid being the one to just call.

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Each of the eight planet divisions are split into two individual Leader Boards. The first is the Low Orbit Leader Board, which is tailored towards casual and recreational players. The second is the High Orbit Leader Board, which is more suited to high volume players.

Each planet division has its own weekly prize pool, distributed evenly between the two Leader Boards. This gives all players a chance to win some serious cash prizes, no matter what their level of experience or the size of their bankroll.

Sit & Go Buy-in	Division Name	Low Orbit Leader Board Prize Pool	High Orbit Leader Board Prize Pool	Total Division Prize Pool
$1-$2.99	Mercury	$1500	$1500	$3,000.00
$3-$4.99	Mars	$2000	$2000	$4,000.00
$5-$9.99	Venus	$2500	$2500	$5,000.00
$10-$19.99	Earth	$3000	$3000	$6,000.00
$20-$49.99	Neptune	$3500	$3500	$7,000.00
$50-$99.99	Uranus	$4000	$4000	$8,000.00
$100-$299.99	Saturn	$4500	$4500	$9,000.00
$300+	Jupiter	$5000	$5000	$10,000.00

Click on the planet name in the above table for a detailed payout structure and other division information.

But that’s not all. Every player that finishes in the top 10 of any weekly Sit & Go Leader Board will receive an exclusive ticket to a monthly tournament. This “Battle of the Planets” will see the highest ranking players from each division come together to fight it out in a triple shootout, for a monthly prize pool of $50,000!

Here’s how it works:

Every time you cash in a regular multi-player Sit & Go with fewer than 40 players, you will receive Leader Board points. You have a set number of games to accumulate as many points as you can in a given week, starting at 12:00:00 am Sunday and finishing at 11:59:59 pm Saturday.

Points are awarded every time you cash in an eligible Sit & Go tournament. The points are awarded as follows:

	Number of players
Place	6	8	9	10	12	16	18	27
1st	39	40	45	50	54	55	61	80
2nd	21	24	27	30	32	41	46	58
3rd	0	16	18	20	22	26	30	38
4th	0	0	0	0	0	14	16	22
5th	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18

Low Orbit Leader Board:

For the Low Orbit Leader Board, your points total is recorded in blocks of 20 tournaments. You may play up to five 20-tournament blocks per division in any given week.

The 20-tournament blocks will be recorded in sequence, i.e. 1 to 20, 21 to 40, 41 to 60, 61 to 80 and 81 to 100. Only your best block score will count towards the Leader Board, and only completed blocks of games will be eligible for the leader board.

Example 1:

You play 42 tournaments in a given week, and they were all 9-handed $5 tournaments. You therefore have completed two 20-tournament blocks for the Venus Division: Low Orbit Leader Board. The completed blocks were games 1 to 20 and 21 to 40. The block in which you scored the most points will be the one that gets ranked on the Leader Board.

The final two tournaments were not part of a complete block, so they do not count towards the Leader Board.

High Orbit Leader Board:

For the High Orbit Leader Board, your points total is recorded in blocks of 100 tournaments. There is no limit to the number of high volume blocks you can play in a given week, and no limit on the number of divisions in which you can participate.

The 100 tournament blocks will be recorded in sequence, i.e. 1 to 100, 101 to 200, 201 to 300 and so on. Only your best block score will count towards the Leader Board.

Example 2:

You play 106 tournaments in a given week. They were a mixture of 9-man and 18-man tournaments, but all of them had a $25 buy-in. The first 100 tournaments comprise a complete block for the Neptune Division: High Orbit Leader Board.

The final six tournaments were not part of a complete block, so they do not count towards the Leader Board.

* Maximum 5 blocks.
** No limit on High Orbit blocks.

Roy Rounder Tips

There is one KEY PRINCIPLE to keep in mind when deciding if
someone is BLUFFING or has a GREAT HAND...

Here it is:

If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK.

If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG.

It's simple human nature.

This is NOT an original idea... Mike Caro was the first to
put this amazing insight into words many years ago.

And after I had heard this wisdom, my poker winnings soared
to a NEW LEVEL.

Because every poker TELL boils down to this fundamental
principle.

Now, the UNFORTUNATE thing about this advice is that even
though it is SO SIMPLE, most card players just don't "get
it", or don't apply it properly.

So let's discuss how you can use this concept to spot bluffs
QUICKLY, EASILY, and CONSISTENTLY...

First off, it's important to remember that in order to spot
BLUFFS, you must be tuned into signs of STRENGTH as well.

For example... if you only look for "tells" that suggest a
player is BLUFFING, you're only getting half the picture...

When trying to get an accurate read on an opponent, you must
be looking for both signs of strength AND weakness.

Let's go back to our main "rule" again and look at the first
part:

"If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK."

This means that when a player does something that makes it
LOOK like he's got a monster hand, he's probably bluffing.

The CRUCIAL point to keep in mind is that most players don't
TRY to act strong. They just do it unconsciously...

I know that sounds strange, but think about it.

Let's say you've got 9d-2s and you decide to make a bold
bluff by going all-in pre-flop (which I don't recommend, by
the way!).

Anyway... in your mind, you're thinking, "Damn I sure hope
no one calls!"... but when someone starts contemplating a
decision, you REALLY start to get worried.

So what do you do?

Well, the NATURAL thing to do... the thing that MOST players
do... is to act like you're NOT afraid.

Obviously you don't want someone to know that you're SCARED
of getting called, right?

So you sit up straight, your hands don't tremble, your voice
has a little "arrogance" to it...

And ultimately, all of those things are signs that you're
BLUFFING.

But you didn't MEAN to act that way... it just kind of came
naturally. You didn't think, "Oh, I don't want him to know
that I'm scared, so I'm going to sit up straight and act
smooth and talk with arrogance."

It just kind of HAPPENS...

Still with me?

Ultimately, a BLUFF is a LIE.

That's right... just a plain old lie.

So when someone is bluffing by betting, they're simply LYING
about what they have in their hand.

Which means technically, the real skill is not the ability
to spot a bluff... it's the ability to spot a LIE.

But anyway... back to my point...

When the player acts strong, he's probably weak. But he
didn't really CHOOSE to act strong... this is just a
"mechanism" inside of him that turns on, simply because he's
LYING to you about his hand.

Let me show you a few practical examples. Here are THREE
valuable "tells" to look for:

1. When a player "flicks" his chips in the middle with extra
OOMPH or tosses them in aggressively...

What's going on there?

I'll tell you what:

The player is ACTING strong... which means he probably
doesn't have a very good hand.

2. When a player speaks aggressively and talks a lot...

Once again, this is usually a sign of weakness, since the
player is "covering up" his bad hand by acting like he's got
something.

BUT... this poker tell is very easy to confuse and get
COMPLETELY WRONG, and here's why:

There is a major difference between SPEAKING AGGRESSIVELY
and DEMONSTRATING CONFIDENCE.

Here's what I mean...

If a player talks a lot in a manner that's NOT normal for
him, it's usually a sign of WEAKNESS.

The way to sense this is to look for any signs of
DESPERATION with his voice...

But if the player is chatting along, having a good time, and
seems quite CONFIDENT in general, it usually means he has a
strong hand.

It's a very subtle difference, and takes time to learn.

3. When a player looks you dead in the eye...

This usually means the player does not have a strong hand.

The "death stare" is simply an ACT of strength, but what it
really means is WEAKNESS.

Now...

Let's flip this over and look at poker tells that will show
you when a player is sitting on a monster hand...

Because knowing when to FOLD is often times MORE IMPORTANT
than just knowing when someone's bluffing you.

So, repeating the second part of our mantra:

"If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG."

ACTING WEAK is usually more subtle than acting strong...
it's usually demonstrated in a way that is more like
DISINTEREST.

And once again, the player doesn't usually MEAN to act
weak... it's simply a NATURAL MECHANISM. Of course,
sometimes a player will INTENTIONALLY ACT WEAK, but the
meaning behind it is still the same:

He's got a strong hand.

Here are three poker tells when a player is acting WEAK, but
has a really great hand:

1. Looking AWAY and acting disinterested... and NOT making
eye contact with you...

This is the opposite of STARING YOU DOWN, which is a sign of
weakness.

This poker tell is ESPECIALLY apparent when the flop hits...
if the flop REALLY helped a player, he'll usually just
glance at it for a brief moment and then look away.

(On the other hand, if a player stares at the cards on the
flop for a long period of time, that usually means the flop
did NOT help him.)

2. Being very quiet...

When a player is PRAYING to himself that you're going to
call his bet, he usually stays very quiet and to himself...

If everyone at the table is laughing at something and a
player suddenly gets QUIET... or kind of "forces" his
laugh... then that's a sign he just picked up a monster
hand.

Beware!

3. Getting shaky...

When a player's hands get very shaky, watch out.

Some people think it's a sign of BLUFFING, but I sure hope
you're not one of those people. Shaky hands is almost always
a sign of a MONSTER HAND.

Also... I might add here... that after someone WINS a really
big pot, sometimes they get shaky as an "after effect".

Honestly, I have no idea why. But I do know that it happens.
So if someone just won a huge pot and is looking kind of
shaky, that's probably why.

Knowing about poker tells like these... both signs of
WEAKNESS and signs of STRENGTH... is a very important part
of WINNING POKER.

Sit & Gos Made Easy

Howard Lederer

March 14, 2005

The Sit & Go (SNG) is online poker's great gift to the aspiring tournament player. Prior to the SNG, final table experience was hard to come by. You could enter a dozen multi-table tournaments and never find yourself at a final table. Or you could make one or two, only to get knocked out in 8th or 9th place. Adapting to an ever-diminishing number of players at a single table is a crucial skill in tournament poker, and it's a hard experience to find offline without investing a lot of time and money. Online, this experience is a mouse-click away. The SNG's advantages are many. For starters, it's low-cost, or even free. It's also fun, and convenient: You don't need to schedule it -- a SNG starts every time the table fills up -- and it's usually over in less than an hour. It's the flight simulator of final table play, and mastering it should be considered mandatory homework for the serious student.

Now that you know why you should play, let's look at how:

The most obvious difference between a SNG and a multi-table tournament is that when someone goes broke in a SNG, there isn't someone waiting to fill their spot. Multi-table play consists mostly of full-table, ring game poker. But as players get eliminated from a SNG, the table gets shorter- and shorter-handed. This reduction in players basically serves to artificially raise the antes. For instance, say you're playing five-handed and the blinds are 100-200: You're paying 300 in blinds for every five hands, or 60 per hand. As soon as someone gets knocked out, you're four-handed. Now you're paying 75 per hand -- a 25% increase -- despite the fact that the blinds have remained the same. Accordingly, you're forced to gamble more, or risk getting blinded out.

Since the size of the blinds relative to your stack size should always play a major role in your hand selection, I recommend starting out with pretty conservative starting hand requirements. This serves two functions: First, the blinds dictate that you play fairly tight early; the blinds are small and you are nine-handed, so they don't come around as often. Second, this helps you establish a tight image, which you hope will pay off later when the blinds are high and you might really need a timely ante steal.

But there's another not-so-obvious reason to play tighter earlier and looser later: The payout structure rewards tight play. Most SNG's pay 50% to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. This payout structure dictates that you play for third. Why? Looking at the payout structure another way might help. Basically, the payout means that 60% gets awarded once you're down to three players, 20% gets awarded when you get down to two players, and the final 20% gets awarded to the winner. If you can just get to third, you get at least one-third of 60% of the prize pool, or 20%. You've locked up a profit, and you have a chance to win up to 30% more. It's only now that you're in the top three that your strategy should take an abrupt turn. Now it pays to gamble for the win. Let's look at the numbers again: 60% of the prize pool is off the table, and moving up one spot is worth only another 10%. But move up just one more spot and it's worth a whopping 30% extra -- that's three times more for first than it is for second. And with the blinds going up, gambling for the win is even more clearly the correct play.

I see many players employ a nearly opposite strategy. They figure they have nothing to lose, so they go for the quick double-up early. They take chances too soon when, in their view, there's "nothing on the line". Then, once they're in the money, they tighten up, thinking about that extra payout for moving up a spot. If you start to rethink your SNG approach and adopt a "slow early, fast late" strategy, you'll see an almost immediate improvement in your results.

Best of luck and see you at the tables,

Lesson From A Pro

In my last tip, I talked about the necessity of loosening up your pre-flop game, especially in the late stages of a tournament. This week, I’m going to provide you with some more specific examples of the kinds of hands you may want to play when you’re under the gun or on the button, and the ways you may want to play them as you get closer to the money.

For each example, I want you to assume that antes have come into play, which makes stealing the blinds not only more profitable, but also more of a necessity if you want to maintain a playable stack. If you're not willing to raise with anything but “premium” hands at this point in a tournament, you’ll find your stack becoming noticeably shorter with each hand and orbit of the table.

With that in mind, let's say I'm under the gun; I’m going to be raising pre-flop with almost every pair, depending on how aggressive I think my opponents are. I’ll also play suited Aces all the way down to A-8 and unsuited Aces all the way down to A-10. I’m also likely to play any two suited cards that are 8-9 or better. As far as off-suit hands go, K-Q or K-J are probably the worst hands I’ll consider; I’ll play both of these hands from under the gun when there are antes, but I won’t play K-J from this position when there are no antes.

By the same token, I’ll play a lot looser when I’m on the button and it’s folded to me: any Ace, any King, any suited Queen, basically any two suited cards 4 or higher, and usually any two unsuited cards that are 8 or higher. This puts 59% of the hands into play, which are just about how many you should play in that spot.

Of course, you’ll need to adjust your starting hands based on the make-up of the table. If you’re seated with a loose-aggressive player, you’re going to play fewer hands because they’ll call or re-raise you a lot more often than more passive opponents. On the other hand, if the table’s playing tight, the player in the Big Blind is playing tight, or you’re on the bubble, it’s a great opportunity to open up your game and steal more often. This is especially true if you’ve got a huge stack and everyone else is just looking to survive.

Remember, this is a baseline strategy - deviate from it based on your opponents, the stage of the tournament, who is in each blind, and your position. What do you do when you’re facing a pre-flop raise? Think about how you would play in your opponent’s spot and that should give you an idea of what cards they might be holding. If you don’t know anything about your opponent, assume that he’s varying his strategy based on his position; playing tight under the gun and raising with less than 10 percent of his hands (tighter than I recommend) and looser on the button, raising with about half of his hands.

For example, say your opponent raises under the gun and you’re next to act, holding A-10o. You’ve got to respect the raise from under the gun because your opponent is probably only playing about a third of the hands he’d play from the button. Not only that, but the rest of the table is still left to act and any one of these players could easily have a big hand with which they’ll call or re-raise. Since you’re clearly out of position here, you need to lay your hand down and look for a better spot.

If you do call with A-10o in this situation and everyone else folds, you’re probably going to be a 45 percent underdog to any of the hands that your opponent should have been raising with from under the gun. Even in this “ideal” situation, you’re still risking chips when you don’t have to.

If you’re holding A-10o in the Big Blind when someone raises from under the gun, that’s a different story altogether. You’ve already got money in the pot and you’ve seen who’s still in the hand. Similarly, if your opponent raises on the button and you’re in one of the blinds with A-10o, your hand is actually the favorite because he’s likely raising with any Ace in that spot.

There are also some players who don’t take their position into account before they decide to play a hand – they just play with Aces through Jacks and AK no matter where they are at the table. You need to tighten up against these players as you know they’re only putting their chips in the pot with big hands.

All of this is just a framework for playing on the button and from under the gun. Use it to help figure out which hands you should play in these spots and which hands you should be playing when your opponents are in these spots.

Roy Rounder TIPS

Implied Odds, Hitting Trips, And Being Chip Leader


*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***

Roy,

Great article.

I had one question to you. Wouldn't you advise calling with
all pairs even with when facing a raise?

I play 25 NL on Party and I will call a raise with any pair
as long as the raise is less than 10% of the opposing
players stack. My thinking, with a monster hand like AA or
KK that he is raising; when I do hit my set I am taking his
whole stack.

So I hit my set statistically 1 in 8 times and call any
raise with any pair as long as its 10% or less of a players
stack. I make most of my money on the no limit tables doing
this.

My basic strategy is to raise the same with every hand as to
not giveaway my hand.

AA, KK - raise 8 times the big blind (which is $2 on a 25NL
table) and if someone has raised before me I usually put
them to the test and reraise 3 times the amount they have
put in or go all in.

AK, AQ - I raise 8 times the big blind if no one has raised
in front of me. If someone has limped or no one has entered
the pot I will raise 8 times the big blind. If the pot has
been raised before me, I will only call if I have a decent
read on the player.

QQ, JJ - I raise 8 times the big blind if no one has raised
in front of me. If someone has limped or no one has entered
the pot I will raise 8 times the big blind. If the pot has
been raised before me, I will call and play cautiously post
flop if I don't flop trips or my pocket pair is not the
higher than the board.

AJ - This hand has gotten me in trouble. I usually limp in
or call the big blind. I throw away to any raise before me
and usually fold it if a raise comes behind me.

1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22 - call the big blind.
maybe raise 1010 and 99 in late position if no one has
entered the pot. I will call a raise up 10% of the raising
players stack. Post flop I know where I stand if I hit my
set or not, or my pocket pair is above what the board shows.

I usually move tables quickly after I double my stack up,
because most players will learn how you play and its hard to
get action on raises after they learn you play real hands
and push with them.

- S.


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Wow. What great insights.

You've hit on some KILLER strategies here that can be
instantly implemented to win more money at online poker.

First of all, I noticed that you said, "My basic strategy is
to raise the same with every hand as to not giveaway my
hand."

This is brilliant. I often employ this technique myself,
because it keeps your opponents COMPLETELY off-balance...
guessing at what you're holding.

You also brought up a great point about the value of hitting
trips when you wrote, "When I do hit my set I am taking his
whole stack."

This concept can be taken FURTHER...

In online poker, IMPLIED ODDS are a more important
consideration than in offline poker. The reason is because
of the common LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE style of play...

When you make a significant bet, your chances of getting
action are much higher than in your average home game or
casino.

That's why I like to limp-in with suited connectors...
because if I hit my flush or straight I'm CONFIDENT that I'm
going to win a huge pot from someone.

The key is to NOT "chase" your outs. Don't stay in a hand
and call all way down to the river with your draws... it's
not worth it. Bet the draw upfront, and if you get raised
just muck it.

As for your question regarding pairs...

It sounds to me like you're playing RING GAMES and not Sit
and Go's. When I play a low-stakes ring game, my strategy is
about the same as yours.

The biggest difference for me is that I hate getting up and
moving tables so frequently. I've found that when players
begin losing money to you, they often WON'T STOP. They'll
just keep losing money... DETERMINED to beat you.

And of course, that's when you get the WINDFALL of profits
from them... since they're on tilt and OUTRAGED that they
can't seem to break you.

What I'll do is show an occasional bluff... or even get
busted on a bluff... that way they remain confused about my
style of play.

Remember: No limit Texas Holdem is PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE. As
soon as you find a "fish" you can consistently beat, don't
leave! Just keep playing until THEY decide enough is enough.

OK, back to pairs. When I'm in a ring game, I will call
small raises with pocket pairs, in hopes of busting my
opponents.

But in Sit and Go's I'm more cautious. And the reason is
simple...

In RING GAMES, I'll often play the "odds". Yes, there's a 1
in 8 chance that I'll make my trips. And so I'll play my
pairs and take down huge pots when I hit.

But in SIT And GO'S I can't always afford to put my chips
into the middle. Remember, there's only ONE MAIN STRATEGY
for Sit and Go's:

SURVIVAL.

If you don't make it to the top three players in a 10-man
Sit and Go, you're not in the money, which means you've
FAILED.

And in your average Sit and Go, you'll probably only get a
pocket pair once or twice (or maybe a few times if you're
lucky) before the field gets down to three players.

So what I've found is that it's often better for me to
LIMP-IN with my pocket pair and hope for trips. If someone
makes a decent raise, I'll usually muck it unless I'm the
chip leader.

Thanks for your comments man... and keep up the good work.


*** SUCCESS STORY ***

Hi Roy...

I had been receiving e-tips from you after visiting your
website, but was reluctant to buy your book because I had
never heard of you. I bought some books by Sklansky and Ed
Miller... they gave me some good foundations, but Sklansky's
book is very complicated and rigid.

I decided to buy your book after reading of your offer
regarding Tournament Tactics as those are the games that I
play and was looking for some help in the Multi-table
tournaments.

I purchased your book tonight and am glad that I did, many
of the questions that had been dangling in my mind were
answered in your book, especially regarding pocket pairs and
playing the Group 1 hands, Ace and under hands and "Watching
the Gun".

Great insights!

There are so many areas that you touched on that helped
clarify situations for me, that had been troubling me and I
am anxiously ready to play in some tournaments tonight.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and thoughts, it
was a great help to me. I look forward to reading your
Tournament Tactics book.

- T.R.
Louisville, Ky


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Thanks for your feedback man, I appreciate it.

Good luck in those multi-table games...


*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***

First of all.....the tips that you send are very
informational, very helpful, and enjoyable to read. But
here's my question....assuming that you send these free tips
to probably a vast majority of players who currently hold an
account at any given online poker site......how beneficial
is it to follow these tips provided that nearly 75-80% of
the people I am playing against on the computer have read
the same damn e-mail that I just read??? 

Help me understand that.

I mean, how can I gain an advantage if 7-8 out of the 10
players that I am against at a sit n go are trying to employ
the same betting styles as I am due to a "mass email" that
they also received in their inbox.....how do you play
against that?

- M.R.


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Hahaha... Well, GOOD QUESTION!

The truth is, there are MILLIONS Of people who play online
poker...

I recently heard a statistic that for any given day, more
people in the United States play online poker than play
GOLF!

That's insane.

All I can say is that I WISH 70-80% of the players you face
were reading my emails... because if that were the case, I'd
be a very rich man.

My newsletters aren't "mass emails". They're only sent to
those people who subscribed at my website and gave me their
email addresses. A more likely statistic is that .0001% of
the players you're up against have read my newsletters...

...Which puts you at a HUGE ADVANTAGE.

But I'll tell you what... don't take my word for it.

Go out and implement my tactics and strategies in YOUR NEXT
POKER GAME.

If they help you win more money, great. I've done my job.

If not, then just go to the very end of this email and click
the "unsubscribe" link... and you'll never hear from me
again. Ever.

Of course, your opponents will be glad you did!

Lol.


*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***

Hi Roy - Thanks very much for your new guide "Tournament
Tactics". I put your tactics in to practice that very
evening, entering my first "Sit & Go". Guess what - I came
Second!

At my second Sit & Go tournament I also finished second.
Thank you so much. I really can't praise your books highly
enough.

Thanks again.

Also, a question for you.

In a Sit & Go tournament, having made it to the final 3, I
find I'm usually bullied over the blinds. Maybe I'm too
conservative with the hands I'm prepared to play. Can you
make any suggestions on how I might make it to first place?
Thanks.

Thanks very much.

- Lisa D.
Sandhurst, UK


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Lisa, congratulations on your money finishes for YOUR VERY
FIRST Sit and Go's...

That's fantastic.

To answer your question about getting bullied:

The key for Sit and Go's is to PLAY FOR FIRST after you get
to the top three.

If you've used my strategies for MAKING it into the final
three, chances are your opponents will view you as a
relatively tight player...

You must immediately "shift" into super-aggressive mode.
Your goal should be to win the blinds as much as possible by
PLAYING YOUR POSITIONING and READING YOUR OPPONENTS.

Don't let your opponents see a cheap flop. Make them pay for
it.

If you get a pocket pair, two face cards, or an Ace, you can
pretty much assume you have the best hand. It won't always
be the case, of course, but with the blinds so high, you
must assume.

Don't patiently wait for good hands once you've made the
money...

Instead...

Come out of the gates like a RAGING BULL and make your
opponents PAY.

You'll steal some quick pots early, your opponents will go
on tilt, and then you'll get all-in action for your real
hands.

Try that out and keep up the good work.


*** SUCCESS STORY ***

Roy, just wanted to let you know that I've been reading your
letters for about 4 months, and bought your online book
about 6 weeks ago. I put all the principles into play, and
slowly began building my winnings with online 25/50 cent no
limit games. I actually started improving so fast that I
jumped up to the 2/4 games in a matter of weeks and made
enough to cover a trip out to Vegas while the WSOP was going
on.

I never made over to the Rio to watch because i was too busy
raking it in where we were staying at the Mirage. Since I've
been back, I've been having a hard time getting any of my
friends to actually invite me over (as the first time I did
I walked with EVERYONE's money).

That's it, just wanted to say thanks, keep up the good work,
and good luck to you too.   

- S.


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Yes... The side cash games in Vegas WERE pretty nice,
weren't they?

Glad to hear about your success. Keep it up.


*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***

Hi Roy

Many thanks for your book, one of the best buys I have ever
made, doing great in STT's and low limit NL/TH. (Will be
moving up soon)

But could you give some advice on tournament play, would
appreciate some advice.

I do ok, often hitting the money but have always managed to
fall short of winning a tournament:

- 2nd 8 times.

- 3rd 15 times

- placed about 60 times

Would like some advice on Starting hands early mid and late
play. Any help and thoughts would be greatly appreciated...

Many thanks in advance

By the way congratulations on that good finish in the WSOP
well done

- J.W.


>>> MY COMMENTS:

You wrote that you need help on STARTING HANDS... but what
it sounds like to me is that you need to re-adjust your
FINAL TABLE strategies.

Getting second and third place so often means it would be a
good idea to go practice some heads-up and short-handed
games.

Call up a buddy and play heads-up poker with him for five or
ten bucks a game... and play OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER
again.

Try out different blinds structures, change tempos, and get
comfortable with heads-up action.

If you find yourself short-stacked every time you make it to
the money, try out different strategies for your
MIDDLE-STAGE play...

In a tournament, right before players make it to the money,
everyone TIGHTENS UP.

So here's what you should do:

THE OPPOSITE.

Push the action and take control. Try to steal some pots and
get some momentum going... that way you have chips to play
with later.

Keep working at it. You're getting close.


*** QUESTION FROM A READER ***

Roy... you wrote:

"Like I said, you've got to risk ALL your chips.

Now if you go all-in and one of those players makes a CALL,
you'll win four out of five times.

So if you get five big hands a game, you only lose ONCE. Of
course, that one you lose USUALLY won't wipe you out,
because you'll have more chips from the OTHER big hands."

But whenever you go " All In " you are risking all your
chips at that point. in other words..if you win 4 All In
bets....and then lose that FIFTH All In bet, are you then
Busted.. No money??

even though, you won 4 out of 5

thanks for your insight

- J.B.


>>> MY COMMENTS:

Let me clarify what I meant...

When you go all-in early in a tournament and WIN, you
double-up.

And after winning a few of these "all-in" matches, you'll
have a nice-sized stack in front of you.

So let's say you started with 1,000 in chips...

Then doubled-up to 2,000...

Then took out a player who only had 500, which put you at
2,500...

Then LOST to a player who had 1,000...

Now you're left with 1,500 in chips.

My advice is to TAKE ADVANTAGE of the loose-aggressive
nature of online poker and push your stack in when the odds
are way in your favor.

When that happens, you will STILL lose some matches due to
"unlucky" cards.

There's nothing you can do about that.

But the chances are you'll have a BIGGER STACK than your
opponents... and the occasional lost match won't break you.

Remember, if you want to win at poker, you need both the
high-level "big picture" strategies... AND the
detail-oriented "techniques" for specific pots and players.

You need a GAME PLAN... like how to shift gears for
different stages of the game, how to manage your chip stack,
and how to control your table image.

But you also need the DETAILS... stuff like how to calculate
the pot odds, how to spot a bluff, and how to set up a trap
play at the right time.

Think of it like a puzzle...

Bankroll Management

This is from a site called sitandgotraining.com.

• Problem 1: Playing beyond your means.
• Problem 2: Moving up too quickly.
• Problem 3: Going on Tilt / Bad Luck.

Now I will outline the bankroll rules that I strictly follow to address these problems.

THE BANKROLL RULES

Rule 1: Deposit a maximum of $50 per month.

To start building your bankroll you must first develop respect for your money. The best way to create respect for your money is to apply a penalty for losing your initial deposit. Do this by limiting the frequency of your deposits. Start with a deposit of $50 and only allow yourself to redeposit once per month. If you lose your deposit, move to the play money tables until the next month. However, by applying Solution 2 in addition to the playing strategies I will teach you in the lessons to come, you might never need to deposit money again!

Rule 2: Apply the 5% and 25x rules.

The 5% rule is simply this: do not commit more than 5% of your bankroll to any one sit 'n go buy-in. By limiting your buy-in to 5% of your bankroll, you will limit your losses for any one event. In addition, as you build your bankroll, this rule will allow you to move up in stakes. However, if you begin to lose money at the higher stakes, the 5% rule will also "force" you to move back down. The one exception to this rule--you can always play at the $2 level, regardless of your bankroll. In addition, do not move up to the next level until your bankroll is at least 25x the buy-in. By using the 25x guideline you will give yourself a few shots at winning at the next level before the 5% rule forces you to move back down.

For example, if your initial deposit is $50, you should start by playing the $2 sit 'n go tournaments. Stay at the $2 level until you grow your bankroll to 25x the next level buy-in. So if the next buy-in is $5, do not move to the $5 level until you have grown your bankroll to $125. I realize that 5% of $125 is more than the $5 entry fee; you want to give yourself a little buffer to start winning at the next level. However, if you have problems winning at the new level, you must apply the 5% rule and drop down to a lower level if your bankroll drops below $100. By applying the 5% and 25x rules you will ensure you are always playing at a level appropriate for your bankroll.

Important Note: The 25x rule works great when you are starting out at the lower limits. However, once you build you bankroll and start playing at higher limits, say $20 and above, or start playing multiple tables, I recommend a larger bankroll to protect against downswings. Consider staying at the $20 level until you have 50x the next buy-in.

Rule 3: If you lose 3 times, quite for the day.

To avoid going on tilt due to bad beats or a run of bad cards, the solution is simple--stop playing! If you lose 3 times in a row, quit for the day. By quitting, you will stop the trend (at least for that day!). The next day when you start playing again, your frustration will have lifted and you can approach the game with a clear mind. By applying the strategies outlined in the following lessons, it will be unusual that you will experience this issue two days in a row. But if that does happen, you might want to take a few days away from the game. Going on tilt can destroy your bankroll. It is better to sit out for a few days than to give back the profit that you have so carefully earned.

Rule 4: Withdraw 10% Per Week

Once you build your bankroll go over $1500, it is time to start rewarding yourself for your efforts. I strongly recommend that you withdraw 10% of your total bankroll every week. That might seem like a lot but it only represents two buy-ins (if you are following the rules above!). Withdrawing money does two things. First, it protects the money (you can't lose what isn't in your online account). But more importantly, it rewards you for your hard work.

CONCLUSION

As I mentioned in my introduction, I went broke numerous times trying to learn the game. As I look back on my failures, each time can be attributed to breaking one or more of the rules outlined above. However, I have not gone broke since I adopted the rules. Obviously I can not force you to apply these rules--I can only encourage you to adopt and apply them to your bankroll. Here they are again:

• Deposit a maximum of $50 per month.
• Apply the 5% and 25x rules (50x at higher stakes).
• If you lose 3 times, quit for the day.
• Withdraw 10% per week.

Although critical, there is more to building a successful bankroll than effective bankroll management. You must also learn and apply the strategies that will set you up to WIN. I will begin outlining the strategies in the next lesson.

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.

Cant cash in MTTS, Tryin the SNGS

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MTT Action: Day 2

First MTT of the day $11:


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MTT Action: Day 2

First MTT of the day $11:


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After A 6 Hour Break

Took a 6 hour break since i could not win being a 95% favorite...lets see how it goes!!




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MTT'S All Day

Cant cash if this keeps happening.


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I HAVE NOT CASHED BECAUSE OF STUPID BAD BEATS!!!

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I CANT WIN TODAY I AM DONE!!!