Killer Poker

Play Positon, then your cards!

2010-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

There are many useful resources to improve your poker play. Full Tilt has a Poker Academy for example. The related challenges tie into your live play. By accepting a challenge you have goals to reach, this pretty much forces you to play based on the goals. There are a lot of challenges, so it would be hard for someone to know you are working on one of them, if anyone else you are playing against has even looked at them.

Sites like pocketfives.com and cardplayer.com have great content. There are many online articles, lessons and forums full of resources. Since online play is so fast paced, having some type of guideline in place can help you avoid getting into bad situations. Changing your strategy, to improve your game, is critical to surviving. It allows you to keep your opponents confused, as if you are like me you face the same people over and over. Eventually your arsenal of offensive and defensive weapons will become more and more instinctive. Money saved is money earned. Money exploited is more money earned.

I advise you to avoid any scheme that claims it is based on a sites card generation. Or anything that has to do with pushing all-in as your main means of winning. The best advice always has to do with position, then your cards.

The All-In Shuffle

2010-05-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

In general, be it early in a tournament or playing cash tables, there are a lot of players online that feel shoving all their chips in the pot pre flop is a good strategy. Can even be a post flop shove, though in some cases that makes more sense. The way I see it, these players can't really play poker so they eliminate their need to think a hand out. Their money is all in, now watch the cards fall and see what happens, like the lottery numbers or bingo balls.

The math here is that eventually, no matter how strong ones hold cards are when employing this method, the odds will go against you. This means the odds are that the all-in player is eventually going to lose most, if not all, of their chip stack (money) using this strategy. They may build some chips up, but the good players will chip away at them. The all-in player is easier to read, they will not limp or even 3-bet when they have a monster hand. They will not call or raise aggressive bets based on position or value to call, only based on their hold card strength.

Post flop play is not their strength, so when they wait to attack post flop they are easy to trap plus also easy to get away from. They think their play is brilliant, not realizing how much money they are actually losing or leaving on the table this way. In their mind, anyone that calls them is a bad player. Every time they win they are mad at whom ever called them. And when they lose, they seethe in-side and can not believe how bad other players are that call them.

This is not to be confused with calling an all-in shove when you know you have the current best hand. Unfortunately the same results apply at this point. Regardless of the quality of the hold cards one chooses to play, when you are all-in then the odds are what you are up against. Unless you have the absolute nuts already, consider protecting a good flop versus finding a way to induce a bet which the other player feels pot commits them afterwords. I just made this error, hit my straight on the turn but the other player had 2 pair and would not muck to my over bet. There was so much in the pot, that when the board paired on the river, I was pot committed so called their all-in river bet with the last of my chips and saw they caught a full house. Had I bet enough to put them all-in on the turn they would have called me anyways. I will just update my notes and make sure I eventually get them to commit when they do not have a way out.

A Bullet or Bullets - firing and dodging them on the tables

2010-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

If you like action, then you have to usually generate it yourself. Next thing you know it is like a magnet, action comes to you. If you can not generate it, or stimulate it, then move on to another table as it is there somewhere.

When the action is going strong, never forget your purpose. You are playing poker to win, to win as much as the other players are willing to lose to you. Sometimes you have to loose a little to win a lot. Never lose a lot to win a little. Sometimes you just lay down your monsters after the flop, or in the right context preflop. Let people think you over played a weak hand and that they out played you, that is always to your advantage.

My reference to "bullets" here is to action at the tables. Know when you can buy a pot, know when someone is too stupid to lay down against a bluff. Using a bullet to test the waters is fine, just save most of your ammo for generating big payoffs. Regardless, never leave money behind. If someone is going to call their weak connection, then shoot a rubber band at them if that is all they can call.

Sometimes you have to induce the other player(s) to come out firing first. They have to feel they have the best hand. You want them to get caught up in their false read(s). Let them think they are slow playing you or that they can get you to call their shove. Let them think they can bluff you off your hand.

Make sure though that you are not walking into a better hand yourself, that you are the one with the false sense of security. Odds are that your best laid plans will sometimes backfire on you. If you can walk away a winner most of the time, your bank roll will keep growing. Whatever your average winnings are, try and keep the maximum you can lose at a table under that.

Here is a decent plan. Play at a table to triple up. Lets say you buy in for $10 and leave with $30. If you lose your buy-in on another table, you are still doubled up for the session. Avoid things like tripling up at a table then losing everything to someone else that also tripled up. Move to another table if you can not control your betting when you are ahead but otherwise play well when you are still working on your goal.

Full Tilt Poker

2010-04-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

The number of players on Carbonpoker.com, part of the mere network, had been weak lately. This can be a good thing, but not when there are only a couple of NLHE cash tables running in the $10 to $50 buy-ins. This forces one to either move down in stakes with the lottery style players or up in stakes outside of ones bankroll parameters. The SNG tables are filling slowly. The regular tournaments are ok, just not that many so if you miss a time slot you are again forced to play below or above your preferences.

Full Tilt is a site I chose to avoid a few years ago. Mostly because of all the bad advice out there that poor players follow. The advice tells you to find someone that is Tight Agressive and call their raises with any connected cards (like 6 7 for example) or small pairs or any 2 suited cards even. Then see it to the river and you will win. You get several callers every time you raise and you will go broke. You can not isolate against a table full of lottery players so big hands get broken a lot.

Things changed over the years so it is much easier to play on Full Tilt now. Not easier for just anyone to win, but easier to play sound poker. Lots of action and tables to choose from. It can actually be hard to get into a SNG as the tables fill fast. Lots of tournaments starting up constantly. And with 45, 90 and even 180-player SNG's constantly staging you can pretty much pick something that works with the time frame you want to play in.

Low Chip Stack: Priced In

2009-09-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

To be successful in tournament play, one has to make certain moves when their chips are running low. Once you are chip dead, even lucking out and doubling up once is not going to do much for you.

Think of the number of times you would have trippled up or better if you had taken a risk preflop with any late position ranked hand, regardless of your position. Better to take your shot while you have enough chips to make a difference, than seeing your monsters cracked because your chip dead.

I just won a SNG using this strategy. I was forced to make a loose push with K 10 off because I was down to 5 BB. I cracked Aces that someone with 3x my chips min raised with, I pushed back and lucked out. Shortly after that a good player pushed all in preflop with Aces. I called because I had the big stack by then and their bullets went down to my KJ. I was able to take full control and won the tournament, after being in 5th postion with 5 left to play.

By the way, being agressive from early position on a table full of passive players is also worth doing when your chips are dwindling. The same objective is in play here, buliding up enough chips to make a run to the real money. In most cases this means a top 3 finish, or at least making the top 10 of any large tournament, where the real money starts to be paid out.

Play to win. Never play just to make it in the money or mentally you may make some bad choices when the big stacks take advantage of the bubble drawing near.

You're in Trouble!

2009-07-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

As soon as you become comfortable with your game you are in trouble!

Think about this. Being uncomfortable is what keeps you alert, paying proper attention, seeking out information. If you catch yourself being comfortable, then equate that to being predictable.

Try some changes to spice up the atmosphere and improve your game play. You can play a turbo tournament at lower stakes if you never tried one before. Or try a "bounty" tournament, also at lower stakes. This forces you to be more aggressive with your game. I find this pays off back on the regular tables. Same with cash games, maybe try a limit table if you have trouble getting caught up chasing hands. You may find you do better in these tables. This is better strategy than moving up in stakes too early.

Depending on what games you play, make your adjustments accordingly. Never be afraid to take steps backwards if you are on a bad down streak. Better to find safe ground than force yourself to stay somewhere you are struggling.

Playing Bonuses

2009-04-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of playing online poker is that most sites offer bonuses of one type or another. These can range from deposit bonuses to various ways to earn (comp) points that can be redeemed. Nothing can replace winning on the tables. These bonuses need to be considered icing on the cake.

A deposit bonus is easy to manipulate, if you play often. I have a 3rd party e-wallet that does not charge me anything. All I have to do is transfer money back to the wallet from the poker site. A few days later I make a deposit using a reload bonus code, then go back to playing. As I earn points for playing I slowly release the deposit bonus.

The site I play on also allows the bonus points to be used towards merchandise and to buy into freerolls. The overall accumulation of points will also earn credit towards other perks. Most sites make it very hard to release points, plus they have limited ways to use them. I have found that the Merge network has one of the best overall point programs out there. I have links on the right to Carbon Poker and Poker Nordica, both are part of the Merge Network.

One of the things, about playing on a site where members are working on releasing bonuses and/or earning points for any reason, is you have to generate rake to earn those points. This means cash table players tend to play as many hands as they can, so they can earn those points. Many of my blogs here discuss strategy related to playing on these types of tables.

I will end where I started - Nothing can replace winning on the tables!! Base all of your strategy, plans, actions, and research with winning as your main goal. Finding nice bonuses that work into your play is always a good thing though.

CarbonPoker.com Bad Beat Jackpot Breaks $1mil Mark to Become Biggest Ever

2009-01-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

I blog a lot about playing on CarbonPoker.com, the most popular portal to the Merge Network. If you decide to join, please use my link to the right. Carbon started their own Bad Beat Jackpot last year and it has reached a record payout. There are many table formats available, from limit to the most popular and heavily played No Limit.

Please read their rules, but I will explain them. On a qualifying table, easy to identify, there must be at least 5 players that are dealt cards preflop. Someone must lose with quad 7's or better. Both the losing and winning hands must use both of their hold cards. The hand must go to the river. Everyone dealt cards wins something, with the losing hand winning the most from the jackpot.

If you are already a member, but just playing freerolls, this is the time to become a real money player by making a deposit and finding a table that works for you under their structure. The limit tables are a great way to participate with smaller bankrolls so everyone can play.

Good luck!

Avoid being complacent.

2008-11-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

It is so easy to be complacent. A good way to avoid this is to find different ways to measure and ultimately stick to your rules and goals.

For example, some days you need to just set a goal of placing in the money if you play tournaments, or doubling up if you are playing cash tables. Then adjust that goal to how much you want to win per day or per week. Next forecast what that would mean monthly.

What you will discover is that your gut instincts are going to be working for you. Your general approach to the game will not change. What will change is your focus on why you are playing.

The idea here is to improve your game by finding additional ways to stimulate your mind. The game can become boring at times. In those cases players tend to try and make things happen. Unfortunately this tends to end up as a negative impact on your chipstack as well as your mental condition. Better to find new ways to measure your goals than to discover a new bad habit.

Time Management

2008-10-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Unless you play poker online full time, or do not have any responsibility, you will often be forced to choose tables based on things going on in your life. For example, you can not start a Multi Table Tournament, which will take several or more hours, if you have a commitment to take care of before the tournament would potentially be over.

Maybe you have an hour to play. Do you play some cash games? If so, to make the time worth it, do you find a loose or tight table and what stakes do you play? Maybe you play a few Heads Up Sit-N-Go's?

I do not have the answers. It all depends on your style, and what is currently working for you. With just a hour or so to play I prefer an aggressive table, with no more than one very good TAG or LAG player already building a stack. Possibly one of each will work. I will also keep my buy-in something toward the lower end of my current playing range. Right now my minimum is $25 buy-in on NLHE 10-player tables, up to $100. I learned to not play $100 tables for short sessions so $25 or $50 works for me here. Also $5 to $20 HU SNG's work for me for short sessions.

Two other areas to make sure you are working on is the amount of time you play, as well as the number of tables you play (multi-tabling). Do not push your limits. If you are making bad decisions, time to adjust.

Chasing your game.

2008-09-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

I recently found my comfort zone in small tournaments and sit-n-go's. At first I kept grinding at my cash game, limiting the number of small tournaments I played. I was not playing into my strength, at the time. I made the adjustment and comiited more time to small tournaments, while still working on my cash game. Over 3 days I won over $300 playing small tournaments and about $50 on the cash tables.

Do not force yourself to play good, instead recognize your current strengths and work with them. Chase your game, do not chase cards.

Leaving Money on the Table

2008-09-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

Prefessional poker players know how to make the most money possible every hand. They bet based on their opponent, not their cards. This is why with strong hands you will see them value bet against the best players to induce calls, while they may overbet the pot against bad players that can't help calling.

Online, I often see bad players assume everyone else is a bad player and bet accordingly. They overbet regardless of the other players in the hand when they flop/turn/river a great hand. They rely on the few callng stations paying them off. They can not read other players, so they mix it up some and maybe show a few bluffs early, otherwise they only overbet when they consider themselves to have the best hand at the time.

Our objective should be to take as much money as we can from our opponents, while also protecting our money as well as possible. Overbetting is a skill. For example lets say you flopped a FH and know a calling station at the table just showed a pattern that thay have a draw they like. If you know they will call anything to chase their draw, then bet away. If you know they will only call small bets, bet small. Do not bet big and hope they call, bet what you have determined they are likely to call and nothing more.

Do not confuse this with protecting your hand. This is also an art. Again, if a calling station will call any bet you make then you mave have to bet small amounts, then based on the river extract a little more or admit they hit their draw. I chase a lot sometimes, which in a case like this makes it worse for someone betting small amounts - because when the flush hits on the river I act like I hit it even when I was not chasing a flush. That is I represented a flush chase versus really having one. So bet based on your hand strength and the read you have on your opponent(s).

Betting to maximize profit.

2008-07-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

You have to be at a table for a while to maximize profit. Notes are helpful, but not always reliable. That fish you tagged a few days before may have just been on tilt, having a bad day, or sharing an account. Today they may be the most agressive tight player you have ever faced. Give the table a few orbits to get some good reads.

Next, play at a table you can afford to be playing it. The worst thing you can do is move up in stakes for example and sit there afraid to bet the usual increments that work for you just because they are 2x the amount you are used to betting.

Play your game. For example, if you checked to induce a bet then be ready to call or rerasie. I'll call when I feel someone is continuation betting because they tend to bet again on the turn. If i think someone is betting a weak connection or a chase then I bet/raise agressively back at them. I also bet out of position to protect my hand very agressively. Do not get cute and then get a scare card.

Also know your opponents well enough as to when to bet or when to check to induce them to bet. It is nice to get paid off when you flop a big hand. If you flop a FH but the board has a flush or straight draw, make someone pay to hit their draw if you feel a fish is on one. Then when they hit they can not lay it down. On the other hand, slow play your big hand against tight players that will not chase into certain boards. For example, I do not chase a straight into a flush draw in most cases.

I also do not see the value of chasing a flush into a paired board. On the other hand, someone with 2 pair or a set may not have enough discipline to muck if you are protecting your flush. if they are going to call any bet you make then you have to decide will they also call any river bet. If they will, value bet till the river hits and you are sure you are still ahead (ie board has not paired for example). Then find out how much they still value their hand. What is amazing is if you have the right read you can sometimes value bet and they push all-in where there times they will just call so you have to push as they will not muck either. And if it is a good player, they will still find it hard to not call a value bet.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS if you expect to maximize profit!

FEAR II

2008-07-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Over and over again I see players pushing all-in pre-flop because they know they lack discipline. They may not admit this, but that is the main reason. It can be because they know they will not muck pocket Aces so they might as well get it over with. In this case, better to get your money in up front then to be a calling station later.

Many others will shove all in pre-flop with almost any 2 suited cards I have noticed. For some reason they want to see the river so they pay in advance. This also applies to playing any pair for a group of players, as well as any combination of Ace through 10, plus any Ace/paint suited for the tighter suited lovers.

The next level of playing these hands in fear is waiting to make a move post flop. These players may just min bet, call, min raise, and/or raise call agressively pre-flop. Then they attack the flop consistently regardless of the flop. Many times they hit a great flop and overbet right away, but most of the time they are an underdog to the flop but go ahead and continuation bet or become a calling station. Finally, some wait until the river to make thier move even though they are a big underdog to the table cards.

In previous posts I have discussed passive tight players. They also play in fear, min betting TIER I hands and losing more then they win over time because they refuse to either value bet when they hit big or bet properly to protect their hand(s).

Fear

2008-07-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Deep down there is a good fear, related to respect. Fear of fire for example and knowing to not just stick your hand in it is fine. As we move up in stakes we can find our mind focusing on the wrong things. That 5x BB $1.25 raise on a 25 cent table is not any different then a $2.50 raise on the next table up or a $5 raise on a $1 table.

If you can not afford to lose your buy-in, for example when calling an all-in pre-flop bet while holding pocket Aces, then you should not be playing those stakes. You will eventually find yourself under attack when your opponents smell your fear. You will not protect your hands properly and also start second guessing your play. Do not allow the stakes to affect your game.

By the way, lack of fear is also not a great thing. Calling someone's big bet just because they have a small stack can cost more over the long run than is obvious at the time. You still need quality hands in these situations. When someone shoves their $5 on a 25 cent BB table, consider would you make the same call if the player had another $20 to continue with? I know the betting is capped with the short stack, some hands make sense to call here, stick to those hands based on your knowledge of the player.

Same thing goes for moving down in stakes. It can help you work on being more agressive, as long as you play with respect. Showing no fear will lead to a break down of discipline.

Find a comfort zone where you are playing winning poker and have goals to work towards.

Playing Styles, they can all help you.

2008-06-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

My favorite site, carbonpoker.com, has been running a series of bounty tournaments with related promotions. The basic concept is 1/2 the buy-in is a bounty, the other 1/2 goes to the prize pool. This covers both SNG's and occasional MTT's.

For example: A $20 10-player SNG would allocate $10 towards ones individual bounty and the other $10 to the prize pool. Bounites are paid as someone is taken out, to the player responsible for taking them out. If you win, you get your bounty back.

These games require a different approach then most players apply to SNG or MTT play. The final prize pool is cut in 1/2, it makes no sense to play these games just for the final prize(s). Loose Agressive (LAG) play dominates here. A good TAG player can capitalize if they catch premium hold cards early and they hold up. Players here can attack with any Ace, sometimes any pair or any two paint cards. With bounties the prize, no short stack is allowed to die quietly. Better the short stacks win and stay in to be available later, then too allow someone else to take thier their bounty by checking to the river.

These games are helping, dare I say forcing, me to become a good LAG player. My proof is on sharkscope. I went from being down almost $200 about a month ago to being down just about $70. And sharkscope is not even accounting for the bounties the tournaments pay, just the final prizes. I recently placed well in some traditional games, a large freeroll as well as a 50 plus player MTT. I also won a weekly small private game I rarely made it past the bubble on before.

So go out and experiment, within reason, to find what works for you. The experience helps no matter what.

Swimming with the fishies

2008-05-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Winning a big pot is very exciting. Chasing to win a big pot is even more exciting. Having someone chase to take a big pot from you is also exciting. It is where you are mentally after a hand though that is very important. Win or lose, do not get chip happy. It makes no sense on a cash table to be patient for 2 hours, triple your stack, to just donk off all of your winnings (if not your entire stack) playing superman.

Same if you take a bad beat. It took someone a while to crack a big hand (unfortunatly it was your hand) and it will take you a while to get your money back. Do not become a big fish trying to win back your money the way someone took it from you. Control is always important. As I have said many times, if you lost so much that you lose control then you are playing over your head. If you buy-in for $100 and on a $1 NL BB table and lose your $100, then you are done. But if you lost $10 on a 10 cent table, you can buy back in and keep playing in control.

BTW, check my new link on the right hand side for the upcoming Monday Night Poker Leage - Summer Classic. Low buy MTT which will have nice overlay prizes.

Personalizing Bank Roll Management

2008-03-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have always tried to find a way to personalize bank roll management. Since I play lower stakes tables, online, I finally found a good way to work this out. This may not work for you, if it doesn't then keep wating for whatever makes sense to you to happen.

I will focuse on the hardest hand to play, which I think is pocket Aces. If you have pocket Aces, are in the big blind, and every player at the table shoves all-in, would you muck? Ok, lets make this a little easier. You have pocket Aces and one other player has gone all in pre-flop, you are the only player left to act, you are going to call. At this point, about 15% of the time you are heads up you will loose the hand. And since many times at lower stakes you will end up with more then one other player in the hand, your odds of losing your money keep going up.

So, ask yourself, are you prepared to lose all the money you have on the table and still have enough left in your bank roll to keep playing your game confidently? If not, you are playing over your head, that is outside your bank roll.

Thus, my version of bank roll management is simple. If I were to lose my entire buy-in, plus potentially any winnings I had built up, will that cause me to freak out? Will it put me on tilt? Will it force me to have to move down in stakes? Will it basicly be more of a negative experience then is acceptable? If so, then I am not using good bank roll management.

Refresher Course.

2008-03-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Getting back to basics can be a good thing. As we move up in stakes, sometimes we need to take a step back to maintain discipline. Pride is not a good thing when playing poker. You do not have to prove yourself to anyone. What you do have to do is maintain control.

One way to refocus is to drop back down a level or two. On cash tables, I also recommend restricting your buy-in as well. Force yourself to stick to your game plan. This should help you admit and/or discover what was going wrong with your game.

Sometimes the only problem is the fear of losing. Stepping up from a $5 buy-in to $10 is not a big step. But the next level of $20 or $25 is going to have a mental impact. When you get to a $100 game, well you better be prepared. It is very easy to play $5 games with a $200 or less BR and show no fear. You will be playing $50 and $100 games with a $500 BR, or maybe just risking your $200 or less you have. Now the pressure is on, even if you won't admit it. One big hand and you lose 25%, 50%, or most of your BR.

Lets put this into perspective. At the lower levels, you took risks and enough paid off. For a lot of players, the risks do not pay off enough and they are forced to play better poker. But for you, they are paying off. So up you go in stakes, you think you are playing good poker. Then you hit a level where those risks are not paying off. You realize that the style you are playing is against the odds many times, so now you have to make some changes. Step down a level or two and learn to play better.

As weird as it seems, you will actually win more at the lower levels as you improve your game. I feel that buying in short at this point forces you to make better decisions. If you can learn to play your large pile of chips, as if you are short stacked, you will force yourself to play better poker. Yuor chip stack will not stop someone from calling you with what they think (or know) is a better hand. When your pocket Kings miss the flop, betting into a Ace on the board would be not make sense if you are a short stack, so why would it make sense if you have a large stack? If you will not chase when short stacked, learn to stop doing it when you have a big stack.

One more train of thought here. Since we play poker to win, never assume higher stakes mean larger winnings. You can move up to a $100 table and after several hours walk away with $125. But back on the $25 table you may have been walking away with $75 after a few hours. I'd rather make $50 on the lower table then $25 on the higher one. And if you run into a cooler, the lower stakes still have an advantage when it comes to protecting your BR. Eventually you want to tripple up on the $100 table, if you can do that on a $25 table. Move up in stakes to make more money. if that is not working, find where you make the most money and work on your game there.

Self Accountability (Your to Blaim)

2008-02-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

DONKEY! CALLING STATION! FISH!

Online poker is a very hard game to play. In NL live poker you see about 20 hands an hour. To sit at a $1/$2 live table your max buy-in is from $200 - $300. Online, you can see 60 to 100 hands a hour. Depending on the stakes you play, I'll assume you play $1 BB or less if you are reading this, then yu are buying in from $5 to $100 max. A live Tournament at a casino will cost you somewhere close to $100 to play. Online you can play for about $2, some sites for pennies, all day long.

On top of this, the majority bad of online players do not risk losing a lot at any one time, thus their tendancy to take huge risks. This constant barrage of low quality players are quite a challenge to protect your money from. There are players that win playing online. It is not the software that makes someone a losing player, it is not the bad players either. The bad players may take down some big pots playing bad cards, but they give it all away, plus some, playing those same bad cards against the winning players.

Argue as much as you want about this. The winning players will suffer their bad beats against the bad players, but the winning players learn to also control their loses. They adjust constantly to those bad players. Losing players have trouble adjusting. Winning players know when to muck over pairs, 2 pairs, and wait to risk all their money. Losing players keep putting money in the pot, even though thy played good cards.

The more you refuse to admit you may not have the best hand, the more you will lose. The more you put all your money in the pot, agianst small pots specially, the more you will lose big pots. Drawing hands sometimes are atually the odds on favorites to win, learn that. Stop losing $10 when you called a $9 bet into a $1 pot, jjst because you have TPTK at the time. Or if you make the call, have the better outs.

IMHO, if you can win consistently online then you should do even better live. Unless you have some uncontrollable twitches or noises you make. If you can not win online, do not expect to do any better live. A losing player online will lose just as much live, proportional to the amount of hands they play. Since playing live they will probably have more money on the line at any on time, they will just end up losing more money then they would have online anyways, and in less time.

Playing on multiple sites.

2008-02-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Would you go to the same casino and sit with the same players all the time? Hopefully not. So why play on just one online site, where over a period of days you tend to just play the same core players over and over? I do think there is a general advantage to knowing your competition, but there is also a benefit in playing different players.

Your objective is to keep developing your game, to win more and more. A different site can help you with this. Not just with different opponents, but different structures. Also, different numbers of players in their tournamants. A site like carbonpoker.com allows you to play in tournaments against a reasonable number of other players. Smaller payouts, easier to make it into the money if you are a good enough player. Large sites like FullTiltPoker.com force you to play tournaments a lot differently, because of the number of players in them. The reward though is going to be much greater, plsu their tournaments will pay out to more places.

You may discover that some sites offer additional or different tables (buy-in, structure, players) that you end up doing better on. For example, some sites have cash tables that cap how much one can bet total per hand. Some sites have Heads Up SNG's that have buy-ins that you like better. And some will offer tournaments in your buy-in range at better times during the day then others do. And there is always some type of promotion going on, you may find one sites promotions that month are better for you then the other ones available.

If you have a limited bank roll, and start winning, look into investing some of those winnings into trying out other sites.

Variance and Odds.

2008-01-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

I do not believe that you can realistically measure variance in your poker play. You can track it, but can you really measure it? Tracking systems do not take emotional factors into place. They also do not distinguish between your bad decisions verus good ones, bad beats you put on others versus being put on you.

A good example is pocket Aces. Let's say you find it hard to fold them post flop. A tight passive (TP) player loses a lot with pocket Aces, or does not maximize thier winnings. A good tight agressive (TAG) player will lose less with them, and maximize their winnings. The TP player will not protect their hand post flop and end up in many situations with multiple players seeing the flop and cracking Aces. The TAG player will isolate and defend their Aces, possibly going all-in preflop based on their read of the table.

Either style of play, when the flop hits, some players will know when to muck their Aces while most will play them no matter what is going on. This is where variance can not tell you much. Since most players mix their game up, a tracker can not compensate for an individual's variance in play.

Another factor is the environment. Someone playing at online micro levels may have developed a style of play that at live cash levels is nothing but losing play. You get caught up in the fact that online you can limit your loses to $10, $25, $50 etc.. Then you move up online or live and there you sit with $300 in front of you. Or a live $1/$2 player moves up to $3/$6 and has 3x their normal buy-in to deal with.

This brings me to odds. On micro tables odds are meaningless. Let's be realistic here, you have $25 in front of you. You bet or call $2 to see a flop with pocket Queens and you hit a set on the flop. There s a flush chase out there, a possible straight as well could already have hit. But you hit a set, and you value bet it. Someone raises, heck a player in the middle smooth calls. At this point, do you muck when on the turn someone pushes all in for 3x the pot? Probably not, you do not have a lot to risk. But lets go to a $300 buy-in and you put $15 into the pot pre-flop. Next thing you know someone on the turn is forcing you all in to protect $40 out of your pocket so far. What do you do now? (In my one live game last year I was in this situation. I flopped a King high flush and felt a player UTG was betting a flopped set. I reraised their pot sized bet, they came back all in. The board never paired, I won. Odds were not favorable for them to call my bet, so they shoved back. Odds were slightly in my favor to stay ahead. How do you measure variance here copared to the next time they flop a set and win or lose?

Do not get caught up using tools to replace your gut. Do not call just beacuse of the odds, someone may be milking the pot, you are already drawing dead. If you feel that, then let them have the pot. If you flopped a flush and someone pushed all-in for 5x the pot, know they probably have a set or 2 pair. Regardless of the odds you can not muck here, just because you do not have the right pots odds, correct?

If you are maximum your winnings and limiting your loses, and you can see that you are, then avoid looking at variance - something that is not really that trackable IMHO.

Betting the Nutz.

2007-12-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-12-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

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.

Earn 30% Rakeback

2007-11-02T16:58:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: If you choose this program you can take advantage of any offered sign-up bonus, but you can NOT take advantage of future reload bonuses. If you play a lot, you will make much more off of rakeback. If you do not play much, and like to bonus whore, then try the carbonpoker.com link to take advantage future reload bonus offers.

I found one of the members of the Merge Network has a promotion where you can earn your own rakeback. If you already play on poker.com or carbonpoker.com, then pokernordica.com is part of your network. You can start a new account there, just never log on to one of your other accounts at the same time.

You have to use the link on my page here for this to work, you can not get this on your own. If you do not care about rake, you can just use the link for carbonpoker.com. Either way, both sites offer great deposit bonuses. Their freerolls are also very good.

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

2007-10-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

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.

By the way, many people wonder how these sponsors can afford this. It is very simple. They are affiliates, and have links on their site to sign up for the poker sites. Eventually some people do make real money deposits, which results in the affiliate getting some money. Same for my affiliate links here. If you want to join carbonpoker or fulltilt for example, even to just play freerolls, please use my links here.

9/11 Remembered

2007-09-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-08-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

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!?!

2007-08-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-07-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-07-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-06-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-06-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-06-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

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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2007-05-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

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Cash Play versus Tournament Play.

2007-05-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

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?

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2007-05-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

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Donkeys - Feed Them or Break Them.

2007-05-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-04-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-04-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-04-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-04-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-03-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

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.