Betting the Nutz.

It is not that often that you flop (or turn) a great hand and also get paid off. I am talking flopping a full house or quads for the most part, maybe even a straight flush. By the turn you know if you have the absolute nuts with these hands. Hands like a set, the top of a straight, or a flush are great, but can be cracked on the river, you can never say for sure they are safe on the turn.

Betting the absolute nutz, before the river, takes some skill. You can not do this on a very tight table. You need to have a player or two in the hand that see value in chasing, that you know live to chase. Also helps to have someone that is either trying to get even with you and/or that thinks you over bet your hands.

The objective is to bet your high winning percentage hand on the flop the same way you would a very good but beatable hand. Like protecting your set or straight from a flush draw. This is similar to the river shove to induce a call, but works much better as you tend to get players willing to risk more on a chase then on a weak connection after the river.

For example: I had pocket 9's, bet them preflop 3x BB with one caller. The flop was Q 9 9 with 2 clubs. I bet the pot from UTG, the other player tanked then reraised 3x my bet. A this point I have more than I can ask for. If I just smooth call they may come to their senses so I shove back (which is pretty much 2x their raise), of course they call. To my surprise they did not even have a Queen, held Ace something with one club. If I had checked this down to the river, the traditional approach, they would have possibly made one small probe bet then mucked to any pressure on any street.

Always try and figure out, based on the other players in the hand, how can you make the most money every hand you are betting. If someone thinks I am bluffing, I'd rather push with the nutz then with a bluff.

Nothing up my sleeves.

Poker is all about people being mislead, in one way or another. Sometimes you are not doing this on purpose, others just force themselves to not believe the truth. Sometimes you are the one that refuses to belive the obvious.

The net result is what it is, regardless of how it was performed. Some people focus too much on the path to the result, rather than how they ended up there. It really does not matter if you read the other person's cards right, you also have to read the other person. If you know someone will call any bet to see the river, then you are the one that can control your loses.

Do not mislead yourself, stop allowing other players to be in control. Control your game, if you are out of control then stop and regroup. Keep in mind that if you risk your stack several times a game, the odds are that you will eventually lose your stack no matter how tight you play.

Do not allow others to trap you into risking your stack. Laying down good cards is not a bad thing to do when someone attacks the pot after the flop. So what if they called your big preflop bet and the flop was all low cards. If they attack back, they can have anything from 2 pair to who knows how many outs. Protecting lets say $5 invested against a $50 shove is many times the wrong thing to do. Now if your pocket cards improved on the flop, then go for it. Just do not put yourself into the mindset that you can not lay down your hand, because, that is when you are no longer in control.

Some players know I play a semi-tight agressive game, most think I am very tight agressive. A few think I am a fish, a chaser, a donkey. There are some players, sharks, that target tight players. They prefer the weak tight players, but will take on the agressive ones as well. They will for example call your 10x Bb preflop bet with any 2 cards. Nothing up their sleeves! They pretty much know though when they are ahead of a tight player. They will risk a bit up front, and just muck when they need to. They do not care about playing pocket Aces, anyone can do that. They care about breaking pocket Aces, Kings, etc...

Next time you win a big hand, or lose one, take a step back and make sure you were in control. If you were out of control, ask yourself how you got there. If you can get others out of control, make sure you protect yourself from being mislead the same way.

Staying In Control.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

My worst opponent is myself. I have a great game plan, it works when I stick to it. Yet I find the fast pace of online play a challenge. The challenge is taking time to think. My cash game is fine at the fast pace, it is my MTT and SNG play that suffers.

I have to come to an understanding with myself. In tournaments, if I am going to play certain hands, I have to be willing to muck them as well. I trap myself with hands like AK suited, pocket Jacks and pocket Queens. My game plan is to play those hands like any other pair, to not risk my tournament life on them if the flop does not help me or is against me. Yet I find myself making quick decisions rather than thinking my post-flop actions out.

Another problem area I have in tournaments is protecting a big chip lead. I can battle my way to the money from mid stack or worse. When I get an early chip lead I lose control, even though I know better. I take shots I should not be even thinking about. One can argue that to win you have to use your chips, I agree. But early on there is no reason to be reckless, no matter how large an early chip lead one has. I still forget this, one more area in my tournament play that I need to get a handle on.

What areas of your game do you not have control over? What are you doing to fix this? If you can not think of any areas, you are lying to yourself. If you know them but do not work on them, you are hurting yourself. You are playing to win, short and long term. Can you adjust your styles and strategy to the game at hand? Can you maintain control?

When you are weak!

Some days you will appear weak to other players at the table. At that point, you will be forced to play TIER I hands and also improve on the flop. Many players will take a loose aggressive (LAG) stance when they think someone at the table is playing scared. You may have made a great lay down or were just playing very LAG yourself and knew you were beat. Whatever caused you to appear weak doesn’t matter now.

If several players are calling most or all of your pre-flop raises, then ask yourself why. What did you do, even if in the past, to make them want to take you on when you raise? Now use that against them. Muck your AK when the flop misses and they attack, they probably called you with any 2 suited or connected cards.

They will attack you when you have the best hand, so why not wait until you flop a big set or better? Then bet like you do when you were preceived to be weak, whatever pattern that was. If the flop is dangerous be aggressive when you can be. It is NOT the best flop when your AK is just TPTK. But when you see a 10 J Q off, with your AK, bet like you would with a under pair. If they just call, watch for a flush draw. Of course they could have a set as well, so they will play back at you. They will attack back though, to try and take the pot down if they think you will fold like you did before or if they think they are protecting their hand. You may lose a few of these hands, that will happen sometimes. But the only way to get their respect, and their money, is to show them you are much smarter than they are.

Can you fold pocket Aces post flop? Can you fold a flopped straight when the board is yelling flush? Do you refrain from chasing a flush against a paired board, especially against TAG players? If you answered NO to these 3 questions, you probably run into a lot of big loses, plus I am sure you have handed out your share of bad beats.

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If you can't read your opponents, find some you can.

The great thing about online poker is you can pick up and move when you want, as often as you want. Some players will attack weakness, representing hands very well. Once you let them in your mind, you are probably not going to out play them.

For example, I flopped a FH with pocket Jacks in a board of J,Q,Q rainbow. I was very sure the only person that would stay in the hand would have to have a Queen so I value bet with one caller. Then another Queen hits the board. I am pretty much dead to Kings, Aces and of course a Queen. I checked the turn, the river gives the board an 8. The other player in the hand reraised my value bet 2.5x and I mucked.

Later a few players took advantage of this by attacking me when they were connected, but maybe not the best hand. Do I dare call and see they had a set to my TPTK, or do I wait for the right flops to move on with. Case in point. I see a flop of 10, 7, 7 sith 2 spades. I have A 10 off and check. One other player bets the pot of $1.30, so I reraise to $2.60. He comes back over the top for $7.80. I want to call, but if he has 2 spades I do not like the race. He shows his K,10 off letting me know he has my number.

Now I have to decide to find another table, or to wait it out and set these guys up. I decided to wait it out, I have done this before. I am still showing reluctance to call a big raise, at the same time representing hands while putting very little money in the pot. This keeps them secure in attacking me to steal my money, while I am actually slowly earning my money back when they do not attack my good hands.

The times I do not start winning my money back, I will move on and find another table. No use staying at a table chasing your money. At a new table you can start with a new perspective, a new image as well. And if the cards there are dead, or you just cannot get good reads, then there is always another table open somewhere.

Freerolling it

While looking for ways to win free money, I decided to check all the freerolls listed on several sites. The private freeroll section(s) are full of freerolls being offered by sponsors. One that is working well is through www.railbirds.com. After signing up, all you have to do is use the site. Post a few times on the forum for example. Then I started a blog there. I also check for interesting blog postings there and post comments.

After a while, can take a day or two, you will receive messages there on the site in your inbox. These will be invites to the freerolls they are running. The also have some low buy-in ranking tournaments. The freerolls are $200 guaranteed, first place is about $50 on average. There tends to be about 1,000 players, sometimes less, sometimes more. This means your odds are a lot better at making some decent money, compared to the small payouts most of the sites offer on fields of 2x or more players.

There are many other sponsored freerolls on the various sites. A little research will let you know how each one works.

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9/11 Remembered

I remember September 11, 2001 very well. I remember the night before. I was up all night, could not fall asleep. I called in sick to work that morning. Later that day, the attack that hit the Pentagon would have been visable to me from my office, if I had been there.

I find it very hard to watch any of the news footage of the incident, even now. I know someone that was in the Pentagon where it was hit. He lost a number of co-workers, somehow escaping physical injury himelf. Knowing myself, and my past US Navy experience, I would have tried to find a way over to help with the rescue efforst ahd I been there. Maybe that is why I wasn't? God didn't want me there that day.

It was very somber passing by the crash site every day I went in to work. Then seeing the armed soldiers all around the Pentagon parking and areas and roads.

I lost my job not too long after that, the first week of January 2002. To learn later that the most wealthy people in the company were stealing so much money that people like me were being laid off..... well, that really hurt. I (we - I have a wife and 2 kids) lost my/our home that year. If not for something God put inside me, I could have made it as far as I have so far. How can people like Bernie Ebbers steal so much and ruin so many lives? And to hope that the other big events going on(Enron, 9/11) would distract from their thievry.

By 2003, the housing market started a huge growth surge. The home I had had for over 10 years, that never went up in value, today has a market value over 2x what it sold for when I lost it in 2002. I am not sure if I can ever afford to get back into a home. I am fortunate to have a job, and parents that moved to Florida that were willing to rent their home to us. All this takes me back to that day in September.

Lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans alone were negatively affected by the events of September, 11, 2001. Many jobs were lost, legitamely, during the later part of 2001 and early 2002. It was a domino effect. I am not sure how the values of homes grew so much, so fast, while so many people were losing their jobs and/or taking pay cuts. It makes you wonder how our government handles things to protect the people. They have created a huge lower-middle class while somehow supporting a upper class system that keeps just enough rich people richer and happier.

As a Jew I understand many of the reasons behind the current war in Iraq. I wish the US got involved against Germany years before they did. As a person I have a lot of trouble with how this war is going on and on, lives being lost while we are not being fully agressive in our efforts. War is, well ... war. If we used the same plan of action(s) in WW II we might have never won.

The world has changed, has evolved. Remembering 9/11 is very personal to me. I guess now I can appreciate some of the things my parents and their parents had to deal with during the recessions and wars of their times.

Quitting while you are ahead, or behind.

With online poker, sometimes it is best to move on after you have reached your goal at a table. Even if the table is full of ATM's, why give them a shot at winning all their losses back? Sometimes I have reached my goal quickly, thus in my mind I tell myself to stay and keep taking advantage of the ATM's. Then before I know it I have lost 1/2 my winnings back. If I had listened to my goal, I would have moved on to a new table and banked my winnings.

When the flop just makes you flinch, learn to not trap yourself. Listen to your instincts. I will not chase a straight into a flush chase for example, or the bottom end of a straight into the top (like holding 9 10 on a J Q x flop). Why hit the straight (or bottom of the straight) and have someone either push all in or bet 1/2 the pot? You are calling 1/2 the pot, and most bad players are calling the all in hoping it was a bluff or bad bet.

I just ran through a streak that all but crippled the few dollars I had left online. For example, I turned a Ace high flush then the river pairs the board, yep the other player had 2 pair and hit their FH. Within 10 hands I run into another FH, and within 2 more rounds quads. The day before, on a different site, I ran into trips about 4 times in an hour. Each time I had a high pair and the other player called my preflop raises. One time the other player called with something like 6 10 suited and the board flopped a pair of sixes. The other times my monsters were cracked by low pairs. In cash games I love to see the flop with a pocket pair. And I guess I ctach a set the usual 12% or so of the time. So to see other players hitting their sets left and right, against me, was a real let down.

Playing online can be real frustrating. The game is fast, and so easy to participate in.

I plan to lay low for a while and play some live poker in September.

What are the Odds!?!

Slow playing a great flop is not always the right move. I used to think it was for certain hands. Like flopping a flush holding the Ace/x suited for example. Problem is, someone with two-pair or a set may be lurking. They will call a value bet, may even attack the pot hoping no one has the flush yet, trying to get rid of any chasers. Then comes flopping a straight, just to see an outer outer flush or FH take over, maybe even someone connect to a higher straight.

The odds of something happening are not affected by previous results. Just like flipping coins, just because a coin lands on tails does not mean the odds it lands on tails the next time have changed. If someone cracks your pocket Aces, that does not mean the next 9 times you hold them they can not lose.

Start looking at the odds that the quality of the players affect. For example, at a loose table the odds are several players are calling raised pots pre-flop. This means the odds are your pocket cards need to improve to stay ahead. The odds are that someone is going to ride the pot. The odds are someone is going to bluff the river and represent. On a tight table, the odds are you have to mask your strong hands to make a profit. The odds are you will have to fold more often with just TPTK and wait for a better hand to make a profit.

In either case, the odds I am looking at have to do with the players, not just my cards. For example, on a tight table you may be able to represent an Ace on the flop and get players with botom or middle pairs to fold. On a loose table, someone with any flopped pair is going to call you down to the river, and even a river bet if the pot is big enough. You cannot bluff bad players, so play the players and not your cards all the time.

The reverse is simple, make those bad players pay off. I flopped quads and knew a bad player, on the button, would bet the pot if everyone checked. They bet, and I called in late position with 2 other callers. The turn was great, someone had to have hit a straight and possibly a flush. I checked and the button checked. I bet 1/2 the pot on the river, the button raised, the other 2 players folded. I re-raised back, and amazingly he pushes all in. He had a weak flush, two middle cards, never even had a straight flush draw to fall back on. Nine out of ten times hands like that do not pay off.

Adjust or be adjusted.

Poker is a game that is constantly evolving. Unless you constantly adjust your game, you can not remain profitable. The easiest thing to do is have a nice win streak and convince yourself you are now a great player. Then you can blaim your eventual losing streak to just bad luck.

Some people, on various forums, do not appreciate some of the comments I make when I see them post a bad beat story. For example, someone will play something like J8 off from middle position and flop two pair. They will then go all in if someone atacks the pot, all because they feel the player is married to an overpair or TPTK. Then this other player ends up with the best hand by the river. Playing the J8 off from middle position was the problem to start with, but they will never admit it. And they never post when they misread the other hand, and lost to a flopped set or straight, and so on.

Getting all your money in on the flop, just because you think you have the best hand, is not a profitable way to play. What happend to starting with quality cards from early and middle positions, for the most part? What about building a pot, then reading your opponents. If you cannot fold an overpair, 2 pair, a set, no matter what, then you are not a good oker player. And once people see you cannot fold those hands, they will adjust your bank roll down to nothing just waiting to trap in your bad readable habits.

Adjust your game constantly, with the goal to protect your money. You have to always be trying to maintain minimum loses and/or make the maximum profit possible every hand.

A Little Birdie Told Me.

If you cannot trust your inner voice, then you need to be very careful about playing poker for money. As you grow in skill, your inner voice should become more and more a part of your game.

That's the little voice that tells you someone has a small straight though you haven't caught on to it yet. The same voice that tells you someone has trips, so your over pair or second pair has no chance right now. It is also the same voice that tells you someone just bet a chase so maybe calling for 20x the pot is just not worth it with top pair right now.

My little voice helps me stick to the few rules I know work for me. Listening to it I can triple up on a cash table. Then I can turn the voice off, decide to ignore it a little bit, and blow 1/2 my winnings before I let it back in.

Learning to be cautious is not a bad thing. Recognizing the benefits of listening to your self is priceless :)

Expected Value and Implied Odds

A lot of people throw around terms like Expected Value (EV) and Implied Odds. I think this is great when it comes to playing high stakes poker. Poker is more than odds and EV. The lower the stakes you are playing, the less likely odds or EV are even considered part of the game.

This article applies to playing No Limit HoldEm (NLHE). On a table with a $4 buy-in, you will see players with hands like AK-off push $3 all-in post flop. Or against a 50-cent pot, after they missed the flop, also make the same push. You might sit there with a pocket pair or top pair weak kicker. If you used implied odds you would have to fold all day long. EV may be a better way to justify your call, if you look at calling $3 is getting you even money.

This is why I feel all the supposed odds calculators are meaningless. It comes down to what you feel and/or think the other player has. I can see where implied odds may tell me if is it worth investing in chasing down a hand. Yet, on a $4 table, I see no problem calling a few extra dollars just to see what happens.

I see no problem calling a 50-cent preflop raise even if it is 5x the BB, so what. That is the logic you are going against on most of the tables all the way up to $1 BB ($100 max buy-in) and maybe even higher.

Tournament play is a totally different monster. But again, implied odds just have to be thrown out the door most of the time. I do love when someone bets the flop weakly and lets you chase your winning hand down on the cheap, then they attack the river after they let you hit the better hand. That's when they let implied odds work against them. Compared to the opposite situation where you may flop a set and you bet aggressively yet someone calls or worse, goes all-in with a chase. Implied odds tell you to fold here, are you going to fold the best hand every time someone over bets the pot?

My main reason for this post is all the complaints I see in forums about bad beats. The complainer cries about how bad the call was that beat them. They never analyze how potentially bad their play was though. Top pair top kicker (TPTK) falls all day long to flopped sets, straights, and so on. Yet there they are posting their bad beat stories instead of analyzing all the times they misplayed their hands. Bad players know nothing of implied odds or EV that is why it is best to play the players, not the cards.

Playing Over Your Head.

I am learning to appreciate the term "play the players, not the cards." Most of my big loses come from playing the cards. My biggest wins have come from playing the players.

For me, playing over my head seems to come down to reading the players at the table badly. If you know a bad player will call your bluffs, don't bluff them. Use that knowledge to your advantage, make them pay you off when you do have them dominated. Wait to get good reads on the players before making any moves. Start with tests, like will someone fold one pair even if the board shows an obvious possible flush.

Another area to be careful, about playing over your head, is the stakes. If you are protecting your money, other players will read that in your play. I am not talking about smart poker, I am talking about fearful poker. Afraid to call a big bet just in case you were wrong, the bets you would normally call or attack. Afraid to protect your hand, hands you would normally protect.

If you are uncomfortable at a table, go find another one.

Walking a Mile in Their Shoes.

Sometimes you sit there with a great hand and wonder why other players are so connected to their hands. For example, you flop a set and someone with AK off has TPTK (top pair top kicker). They wont fold and 8 out of 10 times you take them for a big pot. Insert your example.

The there are those days that there you sit with TPTK and totally read the hand incorrectly. You feel connected, and pay them off. Usually you know to just fold, you understand they are betting to protect their big flop. But sometimes you convince yourself they are betting a chase, or a weak connection, and pay them off.

It is hard to consistently be the one on the winning side of these situation's. The more risks you take, the tighter you play, the easier it is sometimes to fall into your own trap.

When you are in for 8x the BB post flop, it doesn't actually hurt to fold to a big post flop bet if all you have is top pair. An agressive bluffer just gains confidence when they get you to lay your hand down. With patience they will pay you off, a lot more than they took from you. On the other hand, a good tight player will bet the same way to protect their lead against dangerous flops.

Playing quality cards helps you to make better decisions though. Like flopping a weak flush, this can leave you just calling big bets and you end up allowing someone to hit a FH. Where if you have the nut flush you can battle back post flop, maybe stop them from chasing - if nothing else, get your money in before they crack you and not end up making a bad call after the river.

It's all about the money.

Poker is all about the money. I can guarantee you that Phil Hellmuth would not be playing if it was just for a title. All the articles about how the 11th bracelet was more important that the winnings seem to be a little over the top. Money is what makes the game what it is. The titles are very nice, of course an added benefit that is worth playing for. If the money was not so important, then the prize structure would not be as agressive. First place would pay closer to second place, and so on.

The best of the best in each sport are eventually judged by the titles they won. The driving factor though behind their playing is the pay off, the mula, the money. There are many successfull players based on the money they won. Coming in first is the big payoff in a tournament. Winning the big pot is the payoff in cash games. Having the best hand does not mean much if you cannot cash it in. That is why there is an art to getting the most out of made hands.

Bottom line though, our objective is to make money playing poker. This is a combination of limiting your loses while maximizing your wins. I have yet to see someone win a major tournament while at the same time be known as an overall losing player. Winning money and winning titles are a marriage.

Isolation - expanding your mindset!

Recently I decided to try and be more aware of my hidden bad habits. It is hard to read over hand histories, pretty boring matter of fact. It is much easier to for me to learn from current activity.

One thing that I picked up on is most of the time I just am donating to the pot. On top of that, very few big hands result in big wins. On some days, on cash tables, I can win about 20% of the hands I am dealt. The winnings though are not consistent. Long term I had a few good runs, but over all I was not consistently profitable.

I decided to apply some of what I have been learning. Stop calling blinds from early position with speculative pocket cards. Stop calling big post flop bets just because I have top pair. Do not chase straights into flush chases, weak flushes into trong ones, or even flushes into paired boards. I am winning about 10% of the hands dealt. At the same time I am seeing less flops, limiting my small and larger loses, and getting the most out of my wins. If you think about it, on a 10-player table, the odds are you should win 10% of the hands. The problem is only a few of those wins are big enough to make your session profitable.

By isolating my game, I have trippled up my bank roll over the past week. My SNG and MTT play has been stagnant, my cash game is where I have vastly improved. My SNG game is where I fell apart at the beginning of the year. Looking over sharkscope, I went from over $250 positive to over $200 negative in a short period of time. I was playing over my head obviously. When I first moved up in stakes I was winning big, for the stakes I play. The better players just figured me out and took shots at me as I would go all-in a lot.

Another way I have isolated my game is to be much more aware of what others think of me. I am on a table right now where one player figure's if I raise, or call any raise, I have a top 25 hand. Another thinks I will raise or call with anything from suited connectors to two overcards. Table presence is great when playing for larger stakes but can hurt you at lower stakes. Having everyone fold to your pre-flop raises is not very profitable on a 10 cent ante table. Sometimes I isolate my game by taking risks slow playing a big hand. I have enough discipline now to muck even pocket Aces when it appears someone caught a better hand. For the most part though, I play big pocket cards from 5x to 8s the BB, whatever the magic number is that session to isolate or get everyone to just fold.

Take some time and look over where your game is weak and where it is strong. Avoid the weak areas and maximize the strong ones.

Flushtered!

There are several styles of play that never seem to work for me. As well as they seem to work against me, I never seem to be able to win with them.

The one that frustrates me the most is the pre-flop flush chase. I am not talking about suited connectors, suited Ace's or suited over cards. I'm talking about players that will see the flop with any two suited cards, even attack the pot pre-flop to build it. They figure if they do hit a flush, the odds are that no one else has one. These player's also tend to flop lots of un-readable hands, like: open end if not nut straights, trips, 2 pair. Those hands can become dangerous, but profitable: bottom ends of straights, under pairs, low kicker sets, weak full house. The best players bet their chases creatively, their catches deceptively. If you out-flopped them, make sure you force them to pay you off, as they rarely will fold their weak flushes, straights, etc..

The other flush chasers that frustrate me are the ones that bluff the flop 'all-in' with their flush draw. There you are with top-top (which is foldable), a set, maybe even a flopped straight, and you have to call their bet. It just takes a few of them to hit their draw to really hurt your chip stack. I have seen big chip leaders in tournaments bet their flush chases aggressively, late into the game. It is probably what got them there, so they just keep doing it. It may double you up, but when they crack your big pockets it is really frustrating. On cash tables, you can only fold so many hands against their pushes...

The flip side: I cannot make this work for me. I have tried, it just does not work consistently. That is, I cannot make it profitable. If I hit a flush, in most cases no one calls my bets or someone out kicks me. If I hit trips, I get out kicked or out drawn. Against me, I will hit the top end of a straight and their weak flush takes my money. When my weak flush hits, no one gets a hand good enough to pay me off, or they river me. I get my few pay-offs, but it is a net loss. Yet day after day I watch players leave tables with 2x to 3x the buy-in using these strategies.

Just insert the type of strategy that frustrates you: the player that sees the flop with any weak Ace offsuit; the one that thinks a low pair is unbeatable; and so on...

Now, what can be done to both avoid paying these players off and also take the most from them? How do you slow them down or just avoid them? When do you take them on, and how do you set them up to pay you off? There are no set answers here, it is all situational and takes daily adjustments. Hopefully a few of you can comment with your advice or examples.

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Cash Play versus Tournament Play.

It appears to me that many online players cannot differentiate cash play versus tournament play. This is a problem both offensively, and defensively. The first of two major losing strategies I usually see are the tournament players that play very loose yet without the discipline to get away from a flop. The other major impact affects very tight cash players that cannot lay down hands when loose players take them on.

A selectively loose call on a cash table is nothing more than speculating. If the flop misses, a disciplined Loose Aggressive (LAG) player knows when to muck. Day after day I see very tight players lose huge pots on cash tables, just because they cannot adjust to LAG players. In general, LAG players enjoy taking on Tight Passive players. Tight Aggressive players are more of a challenge but still much more predictable than loose players. This style in tournament play is very risky for the LAG player, but has great advantages when they hit a few flops early on.

In tournament play, LAG players tend to be their own worst enemies. Their goal of course is to build up an early chip leads. The problem, if they do not catch a hand early, they are way behind in early. This forces them to just go for it and move on if they have to. You can spot these players on cash tables. They risk all their chips a lot; so tend to buy in short. They have no problem paying to see the river with any pair or any 2 high cards. This of course is frustrating for tight players, as it is sometimes hard to figure out if the LAG player is disciplined or not. That is, as they playing a chase or playing a made hand.

To add to this confusion, try reading any poker book or online article. Most players do not separate the different levels of advice. A guide on limit poker for example does not apply no-limit play, yet many people just take any strategy they read and try to make it work for them.

First and always, never be predictable. Short term you may find some success if you just play by the book. Long term, you just set yourself up this way. Mix your game up, the loose you play the more disciplined you have to be. If there is $2 in the pot and someone bets $8, just give him or her credit for having a better hand when you have any doubts. That same player, or someone that plays the same style, will eventually pay you off when you do have the best hand. In tournaments, you have to win a few races to make the money. Just try and not force things without premium hands, or without catching a great flop.

What are you Chasing?

Most players know what chasing is, but many overlook the game outside the game. I am talking about chasing your bankroll. You are on a bad roll, so instead of just taking a break you try to get back even. The best way to get even is to just stay even, that is be patient and protect what you have.

Looking back over my history, I have very few long term winning streaks. For the most part, I only have a few good growth sessions each week. I also tend to lose almost as much back in little bits. Lately, I have been able to minimize my loses, thus protecting the increases as best as I can.

Many people move up in stakes too fast. I probably did that, yet did pretty good for a while. Eventually it caught up with me and forced me to slow down. It does not really make sense to risk 1/3 your bankroll everytime you sit down at a cash game. This is not a one time trip to AC or Vegas, where maybe you do bring a set amount and put it all down for your one sesion.

Beware of the online players that do not care about their money. I guarantee that someone, on a $1 or higher BB NL table, calling big bets with suited connectors is playing with a deep bankroll. The players with limited funds wait for a big hand before making a big raise, or calling one. Think about this: the standard player waits for big hands, the rich player knows that he is up against when he calls them. This either gives the standard player a small win, or a major loss. Like when my Kings were up against 9 2 suited!! I still have no idea why they called my huge pre-flop bet - but they did and they flopped a flush. If the missed the flop, I won a decent pot, but they hit a flush and I lost my buy-in.

This is the hand that slowed me down, a whole lot. I decided I am willing to lose $10 to that kind of player, but not $75. I was chasing my bankroll too fast.

So, what are you chasing?

CarbonPoker.com

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Donkeys - Feed Them or Break Them.

Most bad beat stories are the result of donkey play. Can be the teller was the donkey, or they ran into one. In most stories, the teller never considers themselves to be the donkey. On the other hand, the readers of these stories usually can see that the author's were the donkeys in most cases.

I just ran into a bad beat that I could have avoided. I could have bet more preflop to isolate better, but that was out of my control after the flop. First hand into a small MTT and I have pocket Aces. I bet 8x BB from early position and end up with 2 callers, one next to act after me and the SB. Flop is 775 rainbow: I bet, next to act calls, BB folds. The turn is a 9: I bet, opponent re-raises 2x my bet. My mind screams FOLD NOW - so I go over the top and he flips over 6 7 off. This was NOT a bad beat; it was a bad play by me after the flop.

I can appreciate a very good player setting me up. I can live with shark attacks, even watching a fish catch something. But I hate to feed donkeys. A small bite is fine, that is the best way to lure them in for the kill. But giving them a chunk of my money really irks me.

A good donkey is the player that is real happy, hits a few wins playing bad cards, so becomes full of them self. They are very easy to set up for a kill, as long as you are very patient with them. It does take a good hand to cripple them, thus the need to be patient. They just hate to fold TPTK, 2 pair, even a straight when it is obvious you may have a flush or better. A shark will only go so far, and if a fish misses you have to get them to bluff at the pot to milk them. But a donkey will typically call you down, even raise, holding nothing more than low pair or Ace high.

You want to have connected well before getting into a big pot with them. This way you minimize their chances to improve to a hand better than yours. Case in point: I just called a 5x Bb raise out of position with 9 10 suited. Flop is 10 10 8 with 2 clubs. I check, donkey bets small so I call. Turn is a small club, I bet 1/2 the pot, donkey pushes all in and I call. He flips over AK off, with Ace of clubs. So he is on a flush draw. He gets his flush, problem is it is the 8 of clubs and I hit a full house. Now this could have been a donkey play by me, but I was 99% sure that I was ahead. I never once thought that he turned a flush, and I was right. Unlike my earlier example with pocket rockets, where my mind told me the opponent had a 7 in hand.

My point here is I feed this player a few times and picked up on his style. I was able to isolate against him. I know calling with higher suited connectors is not a bad idea. What if they had player A 10, then I was not in good shape. But had they, they would have bet large on the flop to stop a flush chase. They would have had to call my raise on the turn in fear of the flush having hit. Yet they moved all in, against a player they have seen fold to pressure. They bet their chase; fortunately my hand remained better than theirs.

Feeding Sharks versus Milking Them.

There are all types of players at the tables. The only way to make money is to take advantage of their playing styles. Your style doesn't matter; well it does because if you have one then guess what, everyone with any poker sense has it figured out.

Regardless of how you go about this, you still have to play premium cards from most positions. You just have to adjust how you go about engaging your opponents. I happen to think that the majority of winnings come from taking on shark style players. These players are the ones that play the players, not the cards. If they know you are a tight player, they know what range of hands to put you on when you raise. They can call you safely, and just fold if they did not catch the right flop. They pay you off when you make them feel they are in control, they fold when they know they cannot beat yur hand or successfully buy the pot.

The overall key here is they have to feel in control. Your one concern at this point would be if there were other players in the hand. It is usually best to isolate against sharks so you can let them be your focus. Sometimes a donkey or fish joins in, or even a good player trying to hide a great hand behind the action. This works against your plans to milk the shark, thus why you need to wait on premium hands to take them on regardless.

I do not consider fish and donkeys the players that pay me off the best. I say this as they win their fair share of hands by just playing bad poker. Like playing 8 6 suited and chasing outer outer draws. The shark will only play aggressively here if they hit a hand, like 2 pair, a straight, low card flush. But a fish or donkey just needs hope of completing one of these hands.

This is why you cannot check certain flops. Let your bet tell you what your opponent has when a dangerous flop hits. The shark will still get premium hands, just like you will. The shark will still spike a great flop, just figure out how they bet post flop and you will know how to milk them and also how to avoid feeding them.

Stop Being So Predictable!

Most players do not realize how predictable they are. Next time you want to call someone a fish or donkey, why not first analyze your play? Wouldn't it be great to see their notes on you? Have you ever thought of using the notes you keep on other players to track the play you have shown them? I am mostly known as a TAG player. There are times after I made a bad play that I see some players type chat comments wondering why I played the way I did.

I have to figure out why some players fold consistently every time I raise, while some others call or even raise back with almost anything. Which player do they think they I am? The usual TAG player, the sometimes LAG player, or something else? Then I have to find the best way to take their money, with them thinking they are still in control.

I love to trap someone that thinks they have me figured out. My best strategy, against all types of players; I check almost any flop. This sometimes forces me to fold a marginal hand, that may have been the best hand, but overall it sets up so many possibilities. It not only allows me to get better reads, but allows me to control my loses. For example, it can allow me to fold TPTK, rather than get stuck defending it. It also seems to slow down some players that like to bet their chases. They may just value bet to build the pot, where if I had bet first they would have pushed back and forced me to call.

Here is something I keep learning the hard way. If you keep ending up all in, then someone is going to out draw you. No matter how hard you work to build up a nice stack, the odds will work against you eventually. That is why the fish and donkeys play the way they do. It just takes one of them to break you, or worse a shark comes along and lets you tie your own noose. Why sit down with lets say $50, build it up to $150, then lose most of it back because you flopped a straight and someone that flopped a set improves to a full house or quads? How many people will fold a flopped set? So unless they force the issue, why not wait to push until you see the river and are still sure that you have the best hand? This plays into your being predictable when a donkey/fish wants to get a call in case their draw hits. They know you cannot lay down your hand when the push or raise. They do not mind the chase, because that's just the way they play.

One day I flopped a set, holding pocket Aces. This was one of those players that love to call my pre-flop raises. Rainbow flop, no harm so I bet the flop, my opponent raised, I wait then smooth call. Turn was harmless, so I waited a while then checked. This player I have tagged as a shark, and he has seen me fold to over bets. He pushes all in, just what the doctor ordered. We are talking a $1 big blind table, pot well over $150. Now, 99% of the time I check that flop and hope someone hits a small set or 2 pair; that’s the predictable part. I bet as if I had an under pair, maybe a weak Ace, and got paid off because I not only knew my opponent, I knew what they thought of me. I used what I hoped he had noted about me, against him. He was predictable, and he didn't think I was good enough to play him that way.

Who's game are you playing?

Some days when I review my game, usually in the middle of it, I come to the realization that I am no longer playing my game. What I will discover is that I am playing someone else’s game. I may even be winning, but I am usually losing before I stop and think things out.

Who's game might I be playing? I am sure you have already come up with your own answer. If not, then maybe you need to go figure this out for yourself real soon. Maybe there is a very LAG player attacking every pot, and I get tired of waiting for a TIER I hand to take them on. Then worse, I get a big pocket pair and no one calls my raise. The LAG player folds because they really have nothing and no one else because they don't want to battle both of us. The opposite happens when I slow play my big pocket cards. If no one raises pre-flop so I can re-pop them, 1/2 the players see the flop. Now my big pockets are going to go down!

What about the fish that sees every flop and calls every bet? They will probably suck out a nice pot against you, but you took that risk into consideration. What is worse; you focus on them and someone else tags along for the real kill.

I guess the first step to recovery here is of course to recognize the problem. Even when you are winning, analyze what you are doing. I have ended up winning some big pots but also lost almost as much by playing all-in too much. If I had stuck to my game plan consistently I would stay ahead. Maybe not have as many real big wins, but would definitely have a lot less big loses.

Losing Weight (discipline)

I was in a 'biggest loser' weight loss challenge at work. Fourteen of us put $50 each into the pot at the first of the year. Rules were simple, biggest loser by percentage of weight lost, we all weighed in on the same scale. The contest lasted three months, and yesterday I weighed in with a 40-pound loss, started at 231 pounds. I ended up in third place. The winner lost 46 pounds, started at 204. Second place beat me by less than 1% difference.

I hit my goal, losing 40 pounds is a win in itself. The $700 would have been nice though. Now to continue the discipline I learned, at a different level. I need to eat more calories and maintain weight while adding healthy muscle and continuing to drop off bad fat.

I think this applies to poker discipline. Why? Because I can win in spurts playing aggressively, but also will lose in spurts just as big. Just like one can cut calories and lose pounds in spurts, but also have a big meal and put a lot back on. Playing big and not having enough discipline to control big loses is not smart poker. I want to learn to be consistent, win lots of the small to medium pots, take my big ones then I can, but keep my loses small.

So, my way of eating will change. I will consume more calories, but under the same controlled balance that let me lose weight. My weight loss will slow down, but be more manageable and I will workout much more so be healthier. I hope to parallel this in my poker discipline. Stay within my comfort zone; limit my risks while maximizing my gains. Play consistently, while keeping up a healthy image.

Why do you play on the site(s) you play on?

When I started playing online, several years ago, I played on partypoker for the most part. Back then it was much easier to deposit money, and very easy to withdraw. After a while though, the site for the most part became one big "lottery" draw. So did pokerstars. On eBay there were thousands of auctions for "systems" that claimed to expose how to beat partypoker's and pokerstars card generation. This information could also be found for free on several websites. This of course lead to what many of us see now on most of the sites, players that cannot wait to call a big raise and refuse to fold once connected.

I'd love to rant about the donkeys, and fish but will save that for another day. Bottom line, it is very difficult to play winning poker when you always have 5 or more players see every flop. I made my first $100 deposit back then and increased my bankroll to over $800. After that, I ran into a string of losses than pretty much made me believe that those "systems" were correct. Now I know a little better, but back then I did not have enough skill to protect my money.

I joined Poker.com to get away from the crowd and the "lottery" players. With the shut down to US players by sites like party, poker.com saw an influx of the "lottery" style players. Fortunately, for the most part, you can always find a table with only one or two of them. That is manageable, more like live poker. For MTT tournament play, poker.com may not offer the deepest fields or largest top money, but the quality of the play is as good as anywhere else. In addition, the cash and single table SNG's play are perfect for most players.

I must also let you know, no site can beat poker.com's freeroll structure. It start's $50 freerolls every 3 hours that any member can play, even if you never made a deposit. But it gets even better for real money players. Their point system is one of the easiest out there. Daily $1,000 freerolls, big $10,000 Sunday freerolls, and a monthly $50,000 freeroll are all easy to qualify for. Win some freeroll money, there is no play (point/rake) requirement to release your money. Just wait 7 days if you want to cash it out, otherwise you can use it right away. In addition, their bonus money is not hard to release. They actually are now called carbonpoker.com, but the original poker.com players still have their interface so did not have to change over.

I'd say that Poker.com has allowed me to properly work on my game. I still make my share of bad plays, but a lot less than I used to. The suck outs still ... well ... suck, but are within reason over time.

I have signed up for a few of those free money offers, most are for Absolute and Ultimate. I have accounts on many sites though most are empty and inactive. The one thing I noticed, with all that free money you can expect a lot of loose play. Maybe with my current skill level I could have made that free money work. I suggest that if you take advantage of any of those offers, play within your limits. Most of the sites make it hard to release bonus or freeroll money. You cannot just sit there trying to release funds, you will see too many flops and get stuck. Better to just work the money and worry about the other stuff if you can build up a decent bankroll.

As for the other sites,
FullTiltPoker.com seems to be pretty well balanced. Definitely has deep MTT's with good payouts. The cash tables have their share of "lottery" players, so do the SNG's. VIPpoker.com seems to have good action, and a good player can do well there. Problem is their software is not that great. They support browser play, and also have a download. The software is very resource intensive, so reacts slowly. If you multitable it may not be the right choice.

Read

I am learning a lot about what it means to read the flop as well as how to read players. A lot of this 'learning' has come from reading books and various advice and articles available online. Do you see the theme here?

Let's start with why reading the books and online sites helped my game. It amazes me at the number of people that "play by the book." As I read the advice given out by various experts and wanna-be experts, I picked up when opponents were trying to emulate said advice. For example, I read a few articles that promoted a 'short buy-in' style of play on cash NL tables. I have seen players on tables donate a lot of money using this advice. Or, should I say, bad advice?

There are also the players that read one or more of the popular books, Super System II for example. The problem is they take what they want from the book and strictly, or primarly, play that way. It is like someone that is very tight, yet too passive. If all one does is play when they have a TIER I hand, then any good player knows how to take them down. The key here is the passive play, which allows players to chase against them for value. Anyone that sticks to one style can be read, and thus eventually taken down. Think about this the next time you run into a bunch of bad beats.

The speed of online poker makes it very difficult to read the family cards. Just because you have pocket Ace's (Kings, AK) does not mean you cannot be beat. If you do not have time to think about your next move, you need to find a way to limit your loses with those hands. My largest wins have come from playing less obvious hands: Suited connectors, middle pairs, seeing the flop cheap from the blinds. Some of my biggest loses have come from pocket Aces (Kings, AK). They blind you to the real situation. It is easier to fold pocket 89 suited or pocket 8's, when there are over cards on the flop, than TIER I hands.

The conclusion: I know I have to keep reading!

Pocketfives.com

If you are reading this blog, you probably either play poker or have some interest in it. When it comes down to great resources, I believe that pocketfives.com should be near the top of everyone’s list. Though their forum is fantastic, their archives are where the real wealth of information can be found.

On pocketfives.com I have found many articles, in their archives, that helped improve my developing style of play. I believe a key to being better, is also being different.

The worse thing anyone can do is play using a known pattern. For example, not too long ago a pocketfives article was posted which gave advice on going all in on the river when you have the best hand in cash games. This opposes what I consider more productive, which would be making a bet you are sure will be called. The idea is any donkey player will call. Well, what if there are no donkeys? Worse, what if you did not really have the absolute nuts?

Oh, my point here. I saw a huge change on my site, poker.com, with players going all in when they felt they had the nutz. Not just on the river, could have been the turn. This is different than going all in to stop a chase or as a bluff in position. This worked for a short period of time, but the better players just adjusted to this new pattern. Sometimes it is hard to fold to this type of bet, especially with the limited amount of time you have to make a decision when playing online. But overall, this play is just a money loser over time. The few calls one gets will not replace the amount of money that could have been extracted with well-placed value bets. Add in the few split pots and the few bad reads on top of this.

So, as a regular on pocketfives.com I immediately picked up on what was going on. I also learned a lot from the forum and archives to turn from a constant loser (long term) to a decent winner (long term). From reading books and other online articles I recognize a number of styles and am able to adjust properly. I also try to make sure to adjust my game, from hand to hand, hour to hour, day to day.

Let me introduce myself

I have been playing online poker for well over 2 years now. My first year was not so great, but last year I was pretty much on the winning side each month. I am far from considering this supplimental income, but working on it. If you want to read about my progress, check out my BC's Poker Blog on MySpace.

My s/n on poker.com, and most other sites I play, is icecoldkillr. The name has to do with the following question:

Can you guess by my blog title whom my favorite poker author is?

My favorite site is poker.com. If you have a poker blog please check them out using the Poker Blogger Tour link on my page here. They have a free tournament schedule just for poker bloggers, with good prizes. Just read the simple instructions to see if you qualify.