201

Let the Maniac Hang Himself

Greg Mueller

30th September 2009

We’ve all played poker against those guys who are relentlessly aggressive, who’ll make moves with any two cards. The fact of the matter is that you have to make a stand against those guys sooner or later. The key is picking the right time to do it. There’s nothing more painful than being the sucker who pays him off when he finally has a monster. But it’s a gamble you have to take on occasion in order to be the guy who gets all of the maniac’s chips when he runs an ill-advised bluff.

At the 2008 Aussie Millions, I had one of those aggressive players at my table on Day One. He was an 18-year-old online guru, I think he was from Norway. It didn’t take long for me to realize that he was playing loose: involved in a lot of hands, making some big calls and making some big re-raises. He was seated two positions to my left, so I had to be careful about entering pots and prepared to make a stand against one of his re-raises eventually.

That opportunity came with blinds at 150/300. I had roughly an average stack, about 19,500, and the Norwegian was the big stack at the table with about 44,000. I was two off the button, and he was on the button. The under-the-gun player raised to 800, the next player called, I looked down at Kc-Jc and called, the cutoff called, and then it came around to the aggressive kid on the button. I’d noted that almost every time there had been five or six callers, or a raise and several callers, he had put the squeeze play on. Something in my mind was telling me he didn’t have anything most of the time and had just been making this move to pick up some dead money.

So of course he did it again on this hand, raising another 4,000 to 4,800 total. Everybody folded around to me, and I had to consider how much it was going to hurt my stack to call. I didn’t have a lot of chips and would be committing about a quarter of my stack. But something just told me that this guy had NOTHING. So I made the call.

We were heads-up, and the flop came Q-J-8, rainbow. I checked, and I made my mind up that I was calling a flop bet no matter what. But he checked behind, and the turn came another Jack, putting two spades on the board. I checked again, and he bet 4,000 chips. I tanked for a little while, making it seem like a difficult call with a marginal hand, but eventually I called. I didn’t think he had anything at all, so raising would have made absolutely no sense.

Then a King came on the river, giving me a full house. Again, I checked, and he put me all in for about 10,000 chips, and I insta-called. He didn’t even want to show his hand, but eventually he did and turned over 10-7 off-suit.

I was proud of the way I played the hand on two fronts. First, my read was dead-on that he was wanting to make a move with absolutely nothing, and I trusted that read and made a tough pre-flop call. Then, when I turned a big hand and rivered a monster, I continued to trust my read and fed him rope to hang himself. If I had bet out on any of those streets, I might have lost him. But these aggressive players often think they can bully you off of pots with all-in bets, so when I made my full house, I let him use his aggression to my advantage and I doubled up through him.

Navigating a Huge Field

By Brandon Cantu

I have had a lot of success in my career in tournaments with enormous fields; from my first bracelet victory in 2006 which had over 2,000 entrants, to my second bracelet and my recent runner-up finish at this past years WSOP, and of course my deep run in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. While it’s important to approach these events just as you would any other tournament, you need to be able to dissect the various stages of the tournament, and how to optimize your play for each of them.

Shuffle up and Deal

In the early stages of a tournament with large field sizes I like to get involved in a ton of pots. I tend to play somewhere in the range of 80% of the hands dealt to me as I am trying to win every pot. In tournaments where there are relatively small stacks to begin, it is of the utmost importance for me to get my stack above average as quickly as I possibly can. I achieve this by manipulating my weaker opponents from the beginning and force them into making mistakes for their tournament lives. I’ll often find weak players are willing to commit their stacks with just over-cards or a weak top pair on the flop. You can certainly take advantage of these plays with your speculative hands. Sure there will be times when you get knocked out rather early using this strategy, but with UltimateBet running tournaments non-stop, you’ll be able to jump right into the next one.

Many players will throttle back after doubling up, but that’s not my style. I think it’s important to keep pounding the table, and playing the role of table captain, if all the conditions are ripe, that is (See previous article). Since many players, especially in WSOP events will be doing their best to sneak into the money, it is beneficial to exploit these players and continue to accumulate all the chips your opponents are leaving on the table.

The Bubble

Though it’s been said hundreds of times, I can’t express enough the need to capitalize on the players looking to min-cash. Online, players have become much more aware of this strategy and it has become harder than ever to utilize. You need to be careful before raising every hand, as you’ll often find yourself on the rail. If the table is playing particularly tight, or you have enough chips to take some hits, by all means keep firing away on the bubble. However, if you begin seeing some pressure coming back your way, it’s ok to slow down.

In live events, the money bubble is often much greater, so a min-cash becomes more appealing for inexperienced players. This allows you to continue to turn the aggression levels up, and steal as many blinds, and antes as possible.

When the bubble bursts, players typically begin their move towards the final table, trying to double up their smaller stacks now that they have at least a small cash locked up. It’s important to mentally take note of this, and maybe slide the aggression down a notch, as players will be looking to gamble more. Once the majority of the short stacks have busted, you can go back to taking the lead and putting the pressure back on.

Approaching the Final Table

When play gets down to two to three tables, the number of opponents at each table is often approaching. During the WSOP this past year, I had a significant amount of chips in this spot, and was more than happy to stay at two short-handed tables, as opposed to converging on to one final table. Many players are not as experienced in end-game play, and are looking to just get to that final table, again allowing for you to put pressure on them capitalize on their desire to just survive.

As with any poker situation, you need to gauge the players; if there are experienced players still in the field, you may be limited to the amount you can raise, but if it’s an inexperienced field, take full advantage of that by raising with any two cards. You’ll find you will often be left alone and able to accumulate chips little by little. If there is pressure put back on you, don’t be afraid to let it go, as there will be plenty more opportunities down the line.

The Final Table

When you get to the final table, you should have a good read on the players that you have been playing with the final two, or three tables. If you happen to find yourself sitting on a shorter stack, let the game come to you and wait for a hand if you can. If you have an above average chip stack, you may also want to utilize that same strategy and back off a little, letting the game come to you. Your opponents will be expecting you to continue your aggressive strategy you’ve been using, and it will definitely confuse them. Remember the real money is in the top three spots, so you definitely want to either win it outright, or at least end up in the top three.

Getting three handed, and heads-up play can be pretty exciting. You need to start opening up your game even more than you previously have been. Looking at the payouts can be detrimental, so do your best to avoid knowing, as it will help you focus on your game, and not the money. I have a pretty simple strategy in these spots, if you feel like you are the more experienced player then play small ball, keeping pots small, further enhancing your edge, and allowing your opponent to make mistakes that will cost them the tournament. If you feel as if you are the weaker of the group, then you should be in there trying to get all-in with small edges; don’t be scared to push your weak Ace heads-up or get involved in bigger pots with not as strong a hand. Let lady luck become more of a factor.

Poker tournaments are a marathon; it’s important that although playing solid poker is obviously the number one priority, you also need to be constantly aware of each stage the tournament is in, and how to properly optimize your play to enhance your shot at winning.

200

Winning by Checking and Calling

Nick Schulman

September 22nd, 2009

It’s been said many times that the weakest play in poker is calling – that it’s better to be raising or folding. In my opinion, there are situations where that statement simply isn’t true. I recently played a hand online at Full Tilt Poker that served as a perfect example of how checking and calling can win you a hand that you would have lost by folding (obviously) or raising.

The key to the situation is that I recognized I was up against an aggressive opponent and I had a marginal hand. I was playing $10/$20 6-max No-Limit Hold ’em, and the action folded around to me on the button with two red nines. I was pretty deep-stacked with $2,447 in front of me, and I made a standard raise to $60. The player in the small blind, who was even deeper with $3,356 in his stack, raised it to $210. The big blind folded.

It was an interesting spot. I obviously wasn’t going to fold there, but I feel pocket nines is the type of hand where calling is preferable to raising. Consider: If I raise there and get re-raised, I really don’t like my hand anymore. So I prefer the call.

The flop came 5d-8d-Qh, and although it wasn’t a great flop, with only one over-card to my nines, I figured I would call just about any bet. There was $437 in the pot and my opponent bet $280. I figured his range of hands could be pretty loose. He was a good player and an aggressive player, and while the Queen might have hit him, he could just as easily have a hand like A-J, J-10 suited or K-J suited. In that spot, I don’t really think you can fold nines, but I don’t recommend raising with them either. So I called, bringing the pot to $997.

The turn was the Jd, giving me a diamond draw and a gut-shot to go with my pair. My opponent checked, and I very strongly considered betting. But then I thought about it more carefully: What hand better than mine can I convince to fold? If he has pocket tens without the 10d, he probably folds that. But that’s about it. If he has Aces or Kings, he probably won’t fold. Other than pocket tens, the only hands I’ll get called by are hands that are ahead of me. And I could get check-raised and have to fold my hand without seeing the river. So I checked behind.

The river was the 8c, which paired the board, but was pretty much a blank. I hoped he’d check again and just let me check behind with what’s probably the best hand. Indeed, he checked, turned over Ad-Kh, and I won the pot.

Looking back at the hand, I think I was right to just check or call all the way. Pre-flop, who knows, if I’d re-raised, anything could have happened, including him shoving all in and me having to fold. On the flop, a raise probably would have worked, but that’s a really risky play. If I had bet the turn, that could have been disastrous. He had me covered, he’s shown himself to be an aggressive player, and he had the nut flush draw plus a gut-shot and two over-cards. There’s a very good chance he would have check-raised all in, which would have been an excellent play. I would’ve had to fold the best hand if he’d done that.

In that spot, I didn’t want to open myself up to getting outplayed, and I still had a lot of showdown value with my hand. Sometimes, against an aggressive player in a marginal situation, it’s best not to be aggressive back. Sometimes, aggression can cost you a pot that would have been yours if you’d been a little more cautious.

Betting A Flush Draw On The Flop In Hold'em

Betting A Flush Draw On The Flop In Hold'em

Here's one of my favorite hold 'em plays that you can use quite often without opponents adapting.

You have a flush draw on the flop -- two of your suit in your hand, two on the board. You're last to act. Everyone checks to you. Bet. Sometimes you'll win the pot immediately without a struggle, but even if you don't, you'll frequently have helped your cause.

Now, everyone is apt to check to you on the 4th board card (the turn). If you make your flush, you just keep betting, natural as natural can be. If you miss, you check along. And the great thing is that you get a free card which could have costs double in common limit games where the size of bets increase after the flop. The final (river) card is also effectively free, because if you miss, you'll usually fold.

There's another twist to this tactic. You don't want to overuse it, because astute players may catch on and adapt, but one of the built-in tools of deception comes from mostly betting these flush draws when you have at least one card higher than the board. That way, you have additional chances of making top pair and continuing to bet on the turn.

When this happens, many opponents won't notice at the showdown that you were originally betting the flush draw. They sometimes just see the top pair and forget when you made it or how. This psychologically camouflages the fact that you're often betting flush draws "on the come," hoping to get a free card.

199

A Big Hand Early in a Tournament

Erick Lindgren

September 16th 2009

In the late stages of a tournament, big pairs are generally pretty easy to play. When you have 20, 30 or 40 big blinds in your stack, and you find a pair of Queens or Kings, you usually just want to play aggressively, force a fold, or play a big all-in pot and hope things work out in the end.

But early on in a tournament, when the stacks can be very deep relative to the blinds, I don’t think it’s always a great idea to play big pairs quite as aggressively. A hand I played this year at the WSOP Main Event demonstrates the point pretty well.

At the start of the hand, the blinds were 100/200 and most of the stacks at the table were right around the starting amount of 20,000 chips. One player raised and another called from late position. I looked down and saw two Queens.

The instinct for many in this situation is to re-raise. But I didn’t like that option. What would happen if one of the other players in the hand re-popped me? I’d hate to fold the Queens, but I wasn’t ready to risk going broke with Queens so early in the tournament.

My re-raise could have also prompted one or both players to just call. In that case, I would have been playing out of position without having a great idea of what my opponents held. After the calls, the pot would be quite large. It could have cost me most or even all of my stack before I figured out whether I was ahead or behind.

I decided to play a smaller pot and put fewer of my chips at risk, so I just called.

The flop came Jack-high. I checked, the original raiser bet and it was folded to me. I called – again trying to keep the pot relatively small. The turn was a blank, and I checked. My opponent checked behind. This check made me pretty confident that I was ahead. When the river paired the board, I was happy to put out a value bet, hoping that I could get paid off by, perhaps, a medium pocket pair.

As it turned out, my opponent didn’t have enough to call me and I took down the pot right there.

All-in-all, I was happy with the way I played the hand. I put myself in a position to win a moderate sized pot without incurring any risk of going broke. Next time you see a big pair early in a tournament, consider trying to control the size of the pot rather than playing as aggressively as you can.

Assuming Command of the Ship

How to effectively become the table captain
By Brandon Cantu

In 2008 when I won the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship at one point I won 17 hands in a row. I had a pretty dominant cheep lead at the time and was in position to raise or be involved in just about every hand. I had control of the table, and would certainly have been considered the table captain that day, and it was an integral part of me taking down that title.

What exactly is the table captain though? Well, the table captain is the player at the table who is setting the pace for the rest of the group; very often raising more hands than the other players each orbit, leading the way post flop, and in general making the first move in most to all situations they are involved with. It’s a position of great strength, as often you are putting your opponents at a great disadvantage, because they’ll very often being forced to make tough decisions, and tough decisions usually lead to mistakes. The more mistakes you can provoke from your opponents the better chance you’ll have at scoring a big win.

Before you jump right into the next Ultimate Bet tournament and start cramming raises down peoples throats, trying to assume the role of table captain there are certain things that need to be considered. As with most poker strategy, there are a number of factors to take in to account before deciding the right course of action.

The first check mark I like to make before jumping into command of a table is making sure I have an adequate chip stack. I like to have an above average stack, somewhere in the range of the top twenty percent of the tournament field. The next significant factor is your table draw, in fact, it may be the most important factor of all. There are just some tables that do not allow for this type of play, they’ll do anything to stop you and in these situations its best to just back off, and wait for hands. I go around and I read every single player at the table, and what I’m looking for is players that are OK with you stealing their blind just about every single time. Keep an eye on all the opponents’ style, and if you feel like you can outplay most of them, than the conditions are ripe.

Once the conditions are set its time to start raising. It doesn’t matter what your hand is, but once you see one of your marks in the big blind it’s a perfect time to raise it up, or get involved. If you see a semi-competent player to your left, you may want to limit the hands to a more playable category, such as suited connectors, pocket pairs, and weak paint like Q-J, J-T, Q-T, etc… Ideally you’ll be first into the pot and will take the pot down, but it’s also OK to flat call weaker opponents who are in the pot prior to you, if you have position and again the players on your left are weak enough to fold, or give up easily on the flop. Even though I like to be table captain, I am not a big fan of three-betting in many spots, because it often leads the pot to get out of control, therefore diminishing your edge as weak players will often be willing to commit themselves more in three-bet pots.

On the flop is when it’s time to make the decision to either retain control of the hand, or check out. Instead of looking for flops that are connecting with your hand, you should more be keeping an eye out on flops you don’t think connected with your opponent’s hands. If I’m in there with a 6-7 of spades and see a flop of say Q-J-10, I’m ok with just checking, and possibly giving up a chance at a continuation bet since it’s most likely hit my opponen. When you are raising so many hands, its fine to give up one, or two if you are winning the rest. You can’t be leading every pot.

Now more often than not though a flop will be prime for the taking. Something with a lot of low cards, or something like an A-3-5 flop, or a K-2-6; these flops are relatively dry and I’m leading at that flop the majority of the time. As table captain you need to be more looking at your opponents range than your own, and boards like this are prime as even if your opponent thinks you may be weak, its very difficult for them to make a move without a significant holding, leading to a lot of small pots going your way. While they may not seem to be worth much, winning four or five small pots is essentially the same as winning one big pot, and you are doing so with considerably less risk.

Now in the situation that you do hit your hand, now you still want to lead out because anything else looks suspicious. If you are leading at the majority of the flops, and then start checking your opponent may be smart enough to pick up on this. You’ll get far more value betting out, and forcing your opponent into making that mistake of raising you with a small piece, draw, or over cards thinking “He can’t have it every time, can he?

As table captain, though it’s important to have the ability to lay down hands. Since you’re winning so many, players will be waiting to take their stabs at you, so if they do show significant pressure, be ready to back down and release waiting for a better spot to battle.

Learning when to step up as the table captain is a very important aspect of tournament poker. You’ll need to rely on your table reading abilities, and board reading skills to identify the right and wrong time to take the wheel, but when you do take control and get comfortable with it you’ll see an instant boost to both your confidence and hopefully your bottom line.

198

The Power of Position

Bill Edler

8th September 2009

When beginning poker players are describing a hand they’ve played, they usually start by saying what their hole cards were before moving on to talk about the betting. A professional player, however, would never describe the dynamics of a hand without first talking about his position at the table because in games like Hold ’em and Omaha, position can be even more important than the cards in your hand.

Simply put, you want to play more hands in late position than you do in early position. By doing so, you’re going to make more money over the long haul. Why? Because in late position you will have much more information to work with than you would if you were in early position. You will be able to see who folds and who raises, and if someone raises you will have a much better sense of how much it’s going to cost you to play your hand. When you have to act first, you have none of this information to work with.

There are three simple reasons why playing a hand in late position will be more profitable in the long run than playing the same hand in early position. First, you will end up folding some winning hands in early position that you wouldn’t have folded in late position. Secondly, when you have a winning hand in late position you’re going to make more money from it than you would with the same hand in early position. Finally, when you have a losing hand in late position you will lose significantly less than you would with the same hand in early position.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. You pick up pocket Jacks in middle position and raise four times the size of the big blind. The button calls, and the flop comes Q-7-2. You make a continuation bet two-thirds the size of the pot. Your opponent calls. A blank comes on the turn. Now what are you going to do?

Because you don’t have position over your opponent, you’re now in a very difficult situation. If you check and your opponent bets and you call, you could end up losing a big pot on the river. If you opt to fold, you could be folding the best hand. Even if you call the turn bet and you and your opponent check it down on the river and you win the hand, you’re going to make far less than you would have if you had been last to act. Whenever you play a hand out of position, there is a much greater chance that you will have your profits minimized or your losses maximized or that you will get bluffed out of a pot.

Having poor position is such a disadvantage that if I’m sitting under the gun at a full table I will often fold a hand as strong as A-Q before the flop. With so many players yet to act behind me, one of them could easily pick up a hand that has me dominated, like A-K, Aces, Kings, or Queens. Even if my A-Q is the best hand at the table I won’t make very much money off it in this position, and if it is second best I could end up losing a very big pot.

It’s the exact opposite when you’re in late position. Now you’re going to want to play as many hands as possible because getting to act last on all the betting rounds is such a huge advantage. If everyone folds to you on the button, you should often raise with any two cards. If the blinds fold, you win the hand. If they call, you still have two ways to beat them after the flop, by continuing to show strength if they show weakness or by showing down the best hand. Team Full Tilt member Andy Bloch says you might play fewer than 10 percent of all the hands dealt to you under the gun, but you should play more than 50 percent of the hands dealt to you on the button.

Having favorable position is just as important after the flop. Not only can you take pots away from players who show weakness, you can also control the size of the pot. Smart poker players want to play big pots when they have big hands and small pots when they have small hands, and having position on your opponents allows you to do that. If you flop top pair with a weak kicker, bet, and get called, it’s often a good idea to check the turn in order to keep the pot small.

The power of position in poker cannot be overstated. Whenever you’re dealt a hand, you should take into account your position at the table even before you evaluate the strength of your cards. Even in the most basic limit games, you’re going to make far more money when you have position over your opponents than when you don’t.

Misplaying Small Pairs Before the Flop

Misplaying Small Pairs Before the Flop

Some time ago, I spent two weeks doing commentary for the new Asian Pacific Poker Tour. The quality of play was surprisingly good but I did notice that many players tended to misplay small pairs before the flop.

There are few steadfast rules in poker but general rules abound. Here’s one general rule that applies to No Limit Hold’em tournaments: Avoid playing coin flip situations for all of your chips.

An example of a coin flip situation is when one player has a pocket pair while the other has two overcards, like pocket sixes against 10-J, or the classic confrontation between pocket queens and A-K. Even though the pair would typically be a small favorite in these races, it would be a mistake to overstate their value. And while pocket sixes would be a favorite over the seemingly more powerful A-K, that same hand would be a huge underdog to any higher pair.

You can never be certain whether your opponent has a hand like A-K or pocket jacks before the flop, so take the cautious route and avoid playing big pots with small pocket pairs. It doesn’t make sense to risk all of your chips when the most likely best case scenario is a 50/50-ish coin flip against two overcards, and the worst case is competing as a 4-to-1 underdog.

Despite the fact that pocket sixes are a heads-up favorite against Big Slick, I’d feel more comfortable playing big pots with the A-K. That’s because in the best case, A-K would be a substantial favorite over an opponent who didn’t start with a pair. In the absolute worst case, an opponent might have pocket aces or kings. That, however, would be very unlikely since I already hold one of each card. In all other situations, my A-K would only be a small underdog against other pairs.

So, you can play a bit more aggressively with a hand like A-K before the flop. If another player comes in for a raise, consider reraising all-in. It’s unlikely that you’ll be up against pocket aces or kings, you’ll be a big favorite against A-Q, and even if your opponent calls the reraise, there’s still a reasonable chance that you’ll be in a winnable race against a smaller pair. That’s not all that bad.

Keep in mind, though, playing small pocket pairs can be dangerous. Yes, you might occasionally decide to reraise all-in before the flop, especially if you sense that your opponent is bluffing. Your overall prospects to win, however, just aren’t very good. The only time to consider that play is when there’s a reasonable chance that your opponent would fold before the flop. That probably won’t happen, though, if he’s already committed a large percentage of his chips. Similarly, if your all-in reraise would only cost him a few extra chips, you can be pretty certain that he’ll make the call.

Here’s the bottom line: Avoid confrontations when playing small pocket pairs. Don’t call large bets or all-in bets. The only time to consider calling an all-in bet with a small pocket pair is when your opponent is severely short-stacked and the call won’t do too much damage to your stack.

Now, if you’re the one playing on a short stack and another player has raised the pot in front of you, it’s reasonable to fold your small pocket pair. However, if you’re the first player to enter the pot, don’t hesitate to move all-in. Be aggressive in this situation because you’ll have a chance to win the blinds and antes without having to see a flop. Even if you do get called, you’ll often find yourself in a winnable race to the finish.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

#MiniFTops Event #1

197

Finding Your Poker Focus

Joe Beevers

1st September 2009

Have you ever found that you start some tournaments well, but in others you just can’t get “tuned in”? What should you do about it?

Let us consider a trained athlete just before he/she runs in the 100-meter final at the Olympics. What do they do? Are they in the bar having a beer or chatting with their friends in the crowd? Not usually. They’re typically going out of their way to block out all outside interferences. They may be sitting with their heads in their hands or standing with their heads bowed.

What do they think about? Winning. Having that gold medal placed around their necks.

How do they achieve the focus that everyone talks about? They probably mentally go through races that they’ve won. They pump themselves up by recalling past victories in their minds.

Let’s apply this to poker.

First though, go through all the hands that you’ve played badly (this will take some people longer than others). Think about hands that you’ve played that have knocked you out of tournaments at crucial stages. The time that you played A-Q (or even that lousy A-J) against a good player’s pre-flop raise, hit the Ace on the flop and then decimated your chip stack. The time that you called a raise for all your chips with pocket sevens or the time that you made an early position raise with pocket nines, fell in love with them and refused to pass for a re-raise on your left.

Now that that’s out of the way, think about hands you’ve played well: The perfect reads that you’ve put on opponents because everything seemed so transparent, the final tables that you’ve made and the tournaments that you’ve won. Can you remember the way you played through those victories, how quickly the time seemed to pass, and how confident you felt? This is how you can gain the “poker focus” that you need and slip straight into your “A” game at the start of the next tournament that you play.

Mike Caro once said that when you join a poker game, you should say to yourself, “I am a great poker player; a powerful winning force surrounds me.” I believe it’s a technique worth trying.

In the Great British Poker Tour Grand Final in Bristol back in December 2007, I found myself up against several really good players at the TV final table. Roland de Wolfe and Barny Boatman were both there, as well as Neil Channing and “Bambos” Xanthos. It was a while since I had won an event and I wanted that feeling back.

I tried to remember which victories had felt the best, and the one that came to mind was winning the Irish Open. I took myself back to that table in Dublin and before long found that I was playing with renewed confidence and using all my strengths to my best advantage. You know what’s kind of funny as well: When you get into that zone, you kind of seem luckier. That’s what players mean when they talk about making your own luck!

Learning to Multi-Table

Learning to Multi-Table

Many players new to online poker find multi-tabling – playing more than one table at once – intimidating. While it might seem this way at first, there are several things that you can do to get the most out of your experience right from the start.

One of the first things to consider is how to arrange your tables. Tiling your tables so that they're beside each other without overlap lets you see the action at every table at all times. A second option is cascading your tables. This is particularly useful if you have a smaller monitor and are playing lots of tables. Personally, I prefer to tile my tables so that I've got a better view of all of the action at once – I find that I time out a bit more and miss out on some good opportunities when I've got them cascaded and can't see everything at once. Try both formats and decide which works best for you.

Take advantage of the FTP Hand Replayer to learn from big pots. This gives you the chance to review how your opponents played their hands and then make player notes for future reference. You can make notes by right-clicking on the player and entering information about their play, like “bluffs too much” or “very aggressive player”. Save your notes and use them to identify players to avoid or players you're willing to get into pots with.

When you play multiple tables and catch big hands at more than one table at a time, you need to make sure you get maximum value out of each one. To begin, you should be aware of how you got into the hand – experience will help with this. Occasionally, if I'm playing too many tables, I'll be in the middle of a hand and wonder how I got there. That's what you want to avoid. Play a comfortable number of tables so you don't limit your capabilities. Over time, you'll be able to handle more tables.

It's also important to keep track of how many tables your opponents are playing. If a player is at more than one table, it's likely that he's a regular Multi-Table player. This is important because it affects the way your opponents play. Most Multi-Tablers will play fairly straightforward and won't make elaborate bluffs. When I'm only playing one table, I'm more likely to make an aggressive move than when I'm playing four tables or more.

I'd also recommend that you buy in for the maximum amount on each table and keep it topped up so you can capitalize on the power of a full stack. Generally, I think it's a good idea to top up when you lose a pot – I like to stay as deep as possible. When I get into a big pot for full stacks, I'll usually have the best hand and I want to be able to get as much value as I can – I'd rather have a full stack than 90% of a stack so that I get maximum value from that situation.

Keep these things in mind as you start multi-tabling and you'll find it's not as intimidating as it initially seemed.

Varying Your Pre-Flop Raise Amounts Paul Wasicka

194

Varying Your Pre-Flop Raise Amounts

Paul Wasicka

August 12th, 2009

A lot of outstanding poker players will tell you the cornerstone of pre-flop play is consistency. That approach works for many top players, but I don’t necessarily subscribe to that theory.

Particularly in short-handed play, I believe in mixing up my raise amounts. When playing at a 6-max table, sometimes I’ll min-raise, sometimes I’ll make it four times the big blind and sometimes I’ll limp. It all depends on who’s behind me and who’s already in the pot.

Here are a few examples from a recent $10/$20 No-Limit Hold ’em 6-max ring game that will illustrate what I’m talking about:

Hand 1: I was sitting in the cutoff with about $2,000 in chips and holding A-J. The under-the-gun player had only $539 in front of him and limped in for $20. I’d normally raise the size of the pot there, but the thing about short-stackers is that they don’t usually put money in with the intention of folding. I didn’t want to raise to $90 and have him go all-in. So this was a situation that called for a limp. I limped in, the small blind folded and the big blind checked. The flop came Q-10-2, giving me a gut-shot straight draw and an over-card. The big blind checked, while the short-stack weakly bet $25 into a $67 pot. I raised to $75, and both the big blind and short-stacker folded.

Hand 2: I had A-10 off-suit in the small blind. The same short-stacker, now down to $464, raised to $70 on the button. He could easily have been making a button steal, so I figured I was likely ahead of his hand range. I decided to re-raise him and go with the hand. The big blind had about $1,600 in front of him, and that was a crucial factor in my raise amount. After the short-stacker made it $70, I raised to $230, and both the big blind and the short-stacker folded, giving me the pot.

I see a lot of people making huge raises in that situation, making it $400 or so to isolate against the short-stacker. There’s really no reason to do that – if the big blind wakes up with a premium hand and re-raises me, I don’t want to play that A-10 for $1,600. I’m fine betting half the size of the short-stacker’s stack, which mathematically commits me against him, but still gives me the leeway to fold if the big blind puts in another raise. You don’t really need to throw in $400 in that spot, because betting $230 accomplishes the same thing and can save you $170.

Hand 3: There was a new player at the table two seats to my left who was somewhat reckless and unpredictable. He’d already doubled up once and built his stack to more than $4,000. I had pocket eights on the button, but with this potentially frisky player in the big blind I had to be careful. I made my open-raise smaller than usual, only $50, for a very specific reason: if the big blind re-raised me, he would only make it $175 or so instead of $240. This $65 savings definitely adds up over time. As it turned out, both blinds called, a King and a Queen hit on the flop, and I didn’t win the pot. And that’s okay. Even though my reduced pre-flop open may have invited the blinds to call, had I hit my set I could have potentially won a large pot off of the big blind.

Hand 4: Again, I was on the button against the same reckless player in the big blind, and it folded around to me with A-5 off-suit. I chose to min-raise to $40 because I didn’t feel like an extra $10 or $20 was going to change the big blind’s mind about whether to play the hand or not. Also, making this smaller open allows me to 4 bet without pot committing myself. The small blind called for $30 more, and then the big blind raised to $160. I wasn’t convinced he was raising with a big hand, but I decided to give him that one. The player in the small blind called, allowing me to watch the hand play out.

The flop came 2-5-6 rainbow, the small blind checked, and the big blind moved all-in. The small blind called and tabled 9-9, while the big blind showed 6-3 suited, good for top pair and a gut-shot. As it turned out, the big blind hit another six on the river and won the hand.

Depending on your opponents’ styles of play and the stack sizes at the table, there are times to raise big, there are times to raise small, and there are times to limp. Next time you’re at the table, consider mixing up your raises. Consistency has its place, but sometimes, consistency can cost you money.

The call is the weapon

193

The Call is a Weapon

Jay Greenspan

August 4th, 2009

As a Producer at Full Tilt Poker Academy, one of the great benefits of my job is being expected to keep a hand in the game and actually play some poker now and then. I need to apply the ideas and techniques that I learn every day while working with some of the best players in the world. At-the-table research is essential; that’s what I tell my wife and my boss, and so far they’re buying it.

This summer, the “research” went well. I won a $500 buy-in tournament at the Venetian and had a couple of other cashes. All-in-all, I think I played well. I’m happy to have successfully implemented some of what Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson and others taught me.

But that’s not to say my play was flawless. I was especially displeased with a crucial hand I played late in Day 1 of the tournament I won. I played it badly, but I think I learned from the mistake.

I was sitting with around 200,000 in my stack, and the blinds were 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante. At the time the hand took place, I was on a downward trajectory. Two short-stacks to my left had moved in on me after a couple of steal attempts and, after 13 hours of play, I was getting tired.

Then, in early position, I saw Ah-Qs. I opened for a raise to 9,000 and was ready to call an all-in from either of the short stacks. But they folded, as did everyone else until the action reached the blinds.

The small blind had been on a heater, tripling his stack in the previous three orbits. My read on the big blind was that he was a quality player: tight, but smart and not weak. Both blinds called.

The flop was brutal: Ac-Jc-Th. I connected – no doubt about that. But it could have easily hit one of my opponents a whole lot harder. The small blind checked, and then the big blind bet out 18,000.

I tried to interpret the action: what would he bet with? I came up with a vast range. A big draw was a possibility—maybe even Kc-9c for an open-ended straight flush draw. Bottom set and two pair also seemed possible. I also thought there was a chance that he had flopped the nuts. It would be a great time bet out with the Broadway straight. That bet might force me to raise if I had two-pair or a set. I’d be committed to the pot quickly.

If I’d been thinking really clearly at the time, here’s the thought process that I might have come up with: Jay, you could be ahead here, but there are way more hands you’re losing to than beating. And even those that you are beating you’re not that far ahead of. Just fold. It’s okay to get semi-bluffed now and then.

A slightly worse, but still reasonable, way of thinking would have been something like this: Define your hand, Jay. You can raise, and then see what happens. Make a decision once you see how everyone reacts to your aggression, and use that information to make the best choice.

Sadly, however, my thinking had devolved, and this was the best I could do: Shoot. I dunno. Folding doesn’t feel right. I could be ahead. Raising sounds really dangerous, though. Hmm. Errr. “Call.”

And that’s pretty bad. All the systematic thinking I’d been employing for hours went out the window at a crucial moment. I called because I couldn’t think of anything better. Not surprisingly, the hand didn’t work out well, and I lost a lot of chips. I was lucky to rebound from an error of this magnitude.

As I looked back on the tournament in the days that followed, I realized that this wasn’t a unique misstep for me. I have the tendency to fall back on a call because I’m out of ideas. I can’t come up with a plan that I really like, so I settle on a call. In these cases, the call isn’t a strategic choice; it’s a sort of compromise between raise and fold that has none of the advantages of the more extreme actions.

The call, like every other action at the table, should be a weapon. Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren are masters of purposeful calls – Gavin wrote a great tip on the subject.

Since that tournament, I’ve been more cognizant of my reasons for calling. If there’s a sound strategic advantage for calling, fine. But if not, I’ll look to other options.

Playing Trips from the Small Blind

Playing Trips from the Small Blind

I recently played in a $25-50 No Limit Hold’em game online. The hand discussed in this column was interesting because it taught a valuable lesson regarding position, the board cards, and reading betting patterns.

At a full table, the first player decided to limp in (call the big blind rather than raise) from under the gun. The button also called. I was in the small blind holding Qh-8d. I called, too, since I already had half the bet in the pot. The big blind checked.

Four of us took the flop: Qh-Qd-4c. Bingo!

Hoping to pick off a bluff, I tried to disguise my trips by checking. The next two players also checked but the button bet $150. I didn’t raise. Instead, I just called so that I could gauge the interest of the other players.

The player under the gun also called and that had me worried. Yes, I flopped trips but my kicker wasn’t very good.

My thinking was that the original bettor could have had a wide range of hands and might have been trying to steal the pot. Also, the other player probably had a strong hand because he called the first bet even after I had called.

The turn card was the 10s.

I checked again. The players after me also checked so I felt like there was a decent chance that I had the best hand. I’d know soon enough if the limper was planning to check-raise the turn with a better hand than mine. He didn’t.

The river brought the Js. That card filled the straight for anyone with A-K.

The good news, though, was that the jack nullified my kicker. My hand was now Q-Q-Q-J-10 rather than Q-Q-Q-10-8. Still, I took the cautious route and checked.

The first limper bet $400 and the button folded. With $650 already in the pot, I was getting pretty decent odds on my money, about 2.6-to-1.

What’s the right play?

Well, most players in this situation see only the strength of their own hand and think, “I have trips; I have to call.” They act on impulse.

That’s not the right way to act in this situation. It’s much better to break down the hand in a way that allows you to make an educated decision. Take the time to ask yourself two key questions.

Could my opponent have the same hand as me?

Not likely. Remember, he called from first position. Most players under the gun act conservatively. If he had a queen, he’d likely have a ten, jack, king, or ace to go with it. So, a split pot is extremely unlikely.

What hands would my opponent play in this manner that I can beat?

First, try to determine the premium hands that you can beat. Maybe he was slow playing pocket aces or pocket kings before the flop. Those would be the only two big hands that you can beat. On the other hand, if he limped in with big slick, the river card made his straight.

Next, try to figure out how likely it is that your opponent has one of the hands you can beat. If, for example, you think you’ll have the best hand about 40 percent of the time, then the pot would definitely be laying the right price for you to call.

But that wasn’t the case in this hand. In fact, based on the information available, I thought my chances of winning were closer to 10 percent. So, I folded my trips.

The other player, incidentally, had A-Q and would have had the winning hand, but that’s irrelevant.

The important lesson is to slow down, and collect and analyze the available information before you make critical poker decisions. There’s just no need to act impulsively.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.

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Invite friends to join you at Full Tilt Poker and when they play for real money, we’ll pay over $100 to both you and your friend in the New Refer-A-Friend program.

It’s time to satellite into FTOPS XIII – our biggest online poker series with a guaranteed prize pool of $16 million running from August 5th-16th.

There is no stopping Phil Ivey. At the 2009 WSOP*, Phil showed why he is considered the greatest poker player of all time, by winning a seat at the Main Event final table, 2 bracelets and more than $1.5 million in prize money.

Check out this classic tip from Phil. Ignore the title: this tip should be required reading for all poker players.

125

Don't Read This Tip

Phil Ivey

November 7th 2007

When it comes to advice about poker, my attitude is very simple: seek it out, absorb it, but while you're at the table, forget it.

I'm a firm believer in learning the game by playing the game. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of great resources around to help players improve their games or that poker books and tutorials don't have their place. They do. However, the problem I see with people who rely on these kinds of aids is that they end up playing poker like someone else or - even worse - like everyone else.

One of the things that makes poker great is that it's a game where there's really no right or wrong way to play. Every player has their own approach to the game and the key, in my opinion, is to take the things you learn from other players and incorporate them into a style of play that works for you.

There are some players who take a very mathematical approach to the game, and for them, it works. They study the odds and make decisions based on whether they think they're getting the right price to commit their chips to a pot. It's a solid way to play, but the fact is, it's not the right approach for everyone. What's more, even the best of these players will tell you that math only takes you so far.

Calculating the odds can certainly help you decide whether you're making a smart move, but it doesn't take into account who you're playing against. There are many times when you can do all of the math you want and your decision still comes down to intangibles and a feeling about your opponent or the situation you're facing. Does this guy have a hand? Can I push him off the pot? Am I getting myself into trouble here? Even if the odds say you should play, your gut may be telling you something else, and that's something you can only develop by playing.

Relying too much on other peoples' advice can actually make it harder to develop this kind of reading ability because it tends to clutter up your head. You get so focused on thinking about odds, probabilities and strategies that you forget that you're playing against someone else and that you have to try and figure out what he or she is doing. Are they scared? Will they fold to pressure? Are they a maniac? In my opinion, these are the important things to keep in mind during a hand.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating. Poker isn't about the cards; it's about the players and the situations. Winning players understand that sometimes you have to take chances. Sometimes they work and other times they don't. Whether you win the hand or not, you have to make the play that you believe is best.

At the end of a hand or a session, go back and study the things you did well and be honest with yourself about where you made mistakes. Don't, however, overanalyze how you could have played a hand differently because this can negatively impact how you approach your next hand or session. Identify your mistakes, learn from them, and move on. Just because some play or move didn't work the way you wanted doesn't mean you were wrong to try it. As I said before, there are just some things that you have to learn by playing.

So here's my advice. Read this tip. Read other tips and poker books. Talk to your friends. Absorb as much information as you can. But at the end of the day you have to trust your instincts and play your own game - not someone else's.

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Americas Cup of Poker - Your country needs you

We’re bringing together the 16 finest poker playing nations from The Americas for the ultimate battle in the inaugural Americas Cup of Poker (ACP), playing for $250,000 in prize money!

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How to qualify
The 16 nations are divided into four groups of four who will play head to head in daily freeroll, $0.20 and $5.50 qualifying tournaments. Round 1 matches begin on July 27, and you can find them all under the ‘Tourney’ > ‘Regional’ tab in your PokerStars lobby. Click here to see the full details.

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See you in Argentina!

New Guinness World Record

This is your chance to play in the largest online poker tournament in history, and be part of a Guinness World Record. We’re aiming to beat our previous World Record of 35,000 players, set in December 2008. And with a buy-in of just $1, it’s easy for everyone to take part.

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• Sunday, July 19 at 14:10 ET
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To find the tournament, go to the PokerStars Lobby and select ‘Tourney’ and ‘All’ or ‘Special’. You can also use the Tourney Filter in the Lobby to search for the tournament name. To use the Filter, open the PokerStars Lobby and enter a word or words from the tournament title. The Filter will then search all tournaments and provide you with the relevant results.

If you have any questions about the New Guinness World Record, contact support@pokerstars.com.

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Phil Ivey Makes the WSOP Main Event Final Table

- Poker Superstar Reinforces His Status as the Greatest Player of All Time
Team Full Tilt's Phil Ivey has made the final table of the most prestigious live poker tournament in the world, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
Battling through eight days of play and a field of 6,494 players, Ivey earned a spot at his first-ever Main Event final table and a shot at the US$8.55 million top prize.
The final table will play out starting on November 7th, with the final nine players, nicknamed the "November Nine," returning to duke it out for the most esteemed title in poker - WSOP Main Event Champion. A Main Event victory is the only accolade missing from Ivey's illustrious career.
The growing popularity of poker and the WSOP in recent years has made it a tall order for professional players to "go deep" in the Main Event, making a final table finish more significant than ever for the soft-spoken, 33-year-old New Jersey native. Other high-profile pros who have made the Main Event final table in recent years include Team Full Tilt's Allen Cunningham and Mike Matusow, along with Full Tilt Poker pro Lee Watkinson.
Ivey honed his poker skills at the casinos in Atlantic City, perfecting the aggressive yet calculated style that he uses to dismantle his opponents any time he sits down at a table.
Making the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table has sealed Ivey's status as the greatest poker player of all time. Known as "The Tiger Woods of Poker," Ivey has dominated the game since he began playing at 21. He has more than US$12 million in career tournament earnings, seven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour championship and a reputation as the most feared cash-game player in the world.
Ivey dominated this year at the 2009 WSOP, winning Events #8 and #25 of the 57 event series. Ivey is now one of only seven players in the world to have earned at least seven World Series of Poker bracelets.
If Ivey finishes in the top seven at the final table, he will become the highest grossing tournament player in the history of poker.
Phil Ivey will not be alone at the final table. Full Tilt Poker pros represent four of the nine remaining players. Joining Ivey in the 2009 "November Nine" are fellow Full Tilt Poker pro James Akenhead, along with Full Tilt Poker sponsored players Steven Begleiter and Eric Buchman.
All final table players will take home at least US$1.25 million for reaching the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table.

Defend Your Big Blind . . . When You Know How

Defend Your Big Blind . . . When You Know How

Playing hands when seated in the big blind -- the second position to the left of the dealer button -- can be tricky. On the one hand, you’re in bad position because you’ll have to act early in all future betting rounds. On the other, you’ve already invested money in the pot.

Let's look at a $10-$20 Limit Texas Hold'em game scenario.

In the big blind, you hold 7-8 offsuit. A player in middle position raises the pot and now it’s just you and he left in the hand. Sure, 7-8 isn't a very strong hand, and you wouldn't play it from an early position outside the blinds, but should you call with this hand if you've already invested a bet?

Take a look at the math.

Your opponent has thrown $20 in the pot. In addition, there’s also $5 from the small blind, plus the $10 you've already put in. That adds up to $35. It only costs you $10 to call. You’re getting odds of 3.5:1, and you only have one player to beat.

It’s clear that 7-8 offsuit isn't going to be a favorite over most of the hands your opponent will raise with, but since you’re getting such favorable odds, it doesn't have to be. Consider that if your opponent raised with A-K, your 7-8 still has a thirty-eight percent chance to win the pot.

Making the call is a reasonable play.

In a No Limit Hold'em tournament, it really gets interesting, especially when antes are added to the mix. Once again, you’re in the big blind. This time your hand is 6-4 offsuit. There are nine players at the table who have anted 100 each, and the blinds are 400-800. Right off the bat, there’s 2,100 in the pot.

A tight player, representing a strong hand, raises the minimum under the gun (the position that must act first). Everyone folds to you, and you’re faced with the prospect of putting 800 in to call. With his 1,600 raise, the pot now totals 3,700.

You only have to call 800 more to win 3,700, giving you close to 5:1 odds. Even if your opponent shows you that he has pocket aces you'd still want to call this bet; pocket rockets are only slightly better than a 4:1 favorite against 6-4 offsuit.

There are some drawbacks, however, to defending your blind with trash hands.

When you start with garbage out of position, you might find yourself forced to make very difficult decisions. For example, if the flop comes 9-6-2, should you bet with your 6-4? Should you check and then fold to a bet? What about a check-raise?

Playing optimal poker isn't easy. The very best players in the world -- those that consistently make correct decisions in sticky situations -- are generally known as tough blind defenders. Without doubt, they do the math, but they’re also very confident in their ability to read opponents and to strategically bluff them out.

Ideally, that should be your goal as well.

You need to learn to defend your big blind, but it's not a strategy a beginner can master immediately. As a novice, you'd be better off folding some of your big blind garbage so you won't make costly mistakes later in the hand. Even the best professionals won't defend a big blind with 7-2 offsuit (with the exception of Gus Hansen who's known to be an extremely loose player).

By defending your big blind more often, and contesting more pots, you'll send a message to the rest of the table that your big blind "is not for sale". That's a table presence that really works.

Incidentally, if you know that a certain player in the big blind will only call a raise with a very strong hand, never give him a break. Apply maximum pressure on him.

However, if a big blind player sometimes re-raises, or calls most of the time, give him a little respect. Instead of raising his big blind at will, be more selective against him, and go after easier targets.

© 2009 Card Shark Media. All rights reserved.