Texas Holdem Poker

I am sure we have all enjoyed the amusement provided by the “Matusow Blowup” and Phil Hellmuth’s endless rants. I always get a kick out of watching someone lose their mind after a sick beat or an unbelievable call. But what about when the explosion is from you? Is it all part of the game or is it a serious leak in many peoples games?

I have never understood what good can come from an explosion of emotions, in any direction, let alone negative. If you play this game to win money, there really is no room for emotion in your game. I have watched hundred of players blow through their bankrolls because their emotions got the better of them. Now, most people understand that going on tilt can have a very adverse affect on your game, but let’s look at how the flood of other emotions can affect your play.

One common scenario that is evident online, in live play and in some of the top games is the berating of opposition players. Whether the victim of the tirade has just delivered a huge suckout or was just out played for a massive pot, our berating poker player is hurting his game. What good comes from insulting a player for playing badly? I guess the opposing player could begin to play better poker, but why would we want that?

Not only does this tirade force our opposition to play better, as no one wants to be the subject of poor play, but our opponents will begin to tighten up their calling restrictions in many situations. As we discussed earlier in the week in “Table Image,” we want our competitors to call us down lightly. We want them chasing draws and calling down with middle pair. Sometimes we are going to catch a bad beat, but we will make up for it in the action received.

Psychologically poker players want to be accepted, they do not want to be singled out for bad play or berated at the table. This argument has taken place amongst many of the great poker minds as to why online games are often most looser and aggressive, as players do not have to face their peers face to face and be held accountable for their play. But that’s a debate for a different day.

I have always loved the demeanor of poker players such as Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius. These players have the ability to control their emotions, along with their game and to a large extent their opponents. They understand that luck plays a role in this game in the short term. Most players know the percentages and the fact that 2 out of 10 times, AA will lose to a smaller pair, but these players seem to take it in stride, just as they do when they win.

For the large part, pros seem to handle the swings of the game in stride compared to the average player. I believe this comes from the mentality and understanding of the long-term goals in poker. They know that if they keep making the right play, that over time the luck will even out and they will be long-term winners.

Poker is a series of decisions that add up to a long-term profit or loss. If you are making profitable decisions each day then over time you will be a winning player. You may go days, even weeks, when luck goes against you, but in the long-term the statistics don’t lie. You will win or lose based on your skill and decisions.

With all the decisions that take place in each hand at the table, emotion just doesn’t have a place at the poker table. Next time you find yourself itching to go on a tirade and fuming from a bad beat, remind yourself that this is part of the game and the statistics will even out in the long-term. Separate your emotions from the table and you are on your way to becoming a much stronger player. Until next time, get your money in with the best of it!

In my last blog, I touched on the importance of manipulating your table in a manner that makes the poker game profitable for you. In today’s game the importance of table image can not be over looked. Long gone are the day’s of six years ago, when you could sit at a table as still as a rock and still expect to get paid off when you open for the first time with AA. The modern, average poker players have grown and flourished so much through the resources available in books, on TV, and on the web. Simply playing super-tight poker is not enough to be a big winner.

Don’t get me wrong, you can definitely still grind out a profit, especially in the micro-stakes games by playing tight, smart poker. However, at the higher levels the average player has realized if you don’t raise or call any bets for 30 minutes, then fire out a raise that you have the goods. Granted this can set you up for some good steal opportunities, but let’s look at the difference between two images and you can choose for yourself which one is more effective.

Player X sits down at the $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em tables on Virgin Poker. He buys in for $400 and waits to get in the game till the big blind comes around. During the few rounds he is sitting out he notices a few things about his competitors: The player to his immediate left has over $1,000 in chips and has raised consecutive hands in position. Since the maximum buy-in is $400, Player X believes this opponent to be a winning, aggressive player. Player X also noticed that two other players have over $600 in chips as well, so they are winning also. The dealer button orbits around the table 3 times before Player X plays a hand, other than from the blinds. After 30 hands and about 20 minutes, Player X raises from Early Position to 4xBB. The table folds around to the Big Blind, who defends. The flop hits the felt and the Big Blind checks, Player X fires out a continuation bet and takes down the pot. Another 30 hands and 15 minutes later, Player X opens with a bet again. This time everyone folds to the bet. Now let’s look at Player Y in a similar scenario.

Imagine Player Y sits down at the exact same $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em tables on Ultimate Bet and buys in for $400 as well. This player makes the same observations of his opponents that Player X made. Instead of waiting for the Big Blind, Player Y immediately posts from the cutoff position. The action comes to him with one limper and he fires out a bet, making it 4xBB to play. The Big Blind and the limper both call, the flop hits the felt and two checks later the action is on Player Y. Y fires out a continuation bet and gets two folds, he shows a bluff to take down the pot. Two hands later, Player Y opens again for 4xBB. The big stack to his left and the Big Blind both call. The Big Blind checks the flop and Y fires out another continuation bet and the big stack to the left re-raises. Player Y shows another bluff with rags and mucks his cards. Now, 10 minutes later when Player Y picks up the same premium hand that Player X opened with, you can bet he’s going to get some action?

Which player do you think is going to make more in this session if they were to receive the same exact cards? Would Player X more conservative style be more efficient? What about Player Y decision to mix up his play a bit?

Quickly let’s look at the numbers; granted this is a fabricated set-up, but this near exact scenario happens everyday online. Player X lost $3 per orbit, assuming he didn’t complete the small blind. After 3 orbits, Player X was down $9 before winning $9 total from the first hand he played. Now even overall, Player X loses $9 again from the orbits before winning $3 from his next raise. After 60 hands and 2 premium hands, Player X is down -$6.

Using the same numbers, let’s look at Player Y. On his first hand played he picks up $17 in profit. The second hand he plays he loses $8. So after these two hands and the blinds for the 3 orbits till our premium hand we are exactly even, before we open with the premium hand. Therefore, even if Player Y only gets the same action as Player X, which is most likely not going to be the case, Player Y is still up $9 from where Player X was in the same spot. Through the use of some advertising, Player Y is able to pick up a free pot, as well as much more importantly mold his image into someone who is willing to raise and continuation bet with any two cards. This image will help Player Y to get paid off big when he finally receives the nuts.

My suggestion is to find a balance between these two players. However, if you feel much more comfortable playing either an aggressive, loose style or an aggressive, tight style than spend the time doing a little advertising to get your opponents thinking that your image is the reverse. After convincing them you are a maniac and they call you down with middle pair, continue to enhance your image with a comment such as, “I got so lucky there to catch those cards. My luck is hot today.” Whatever you do, DO NOT LET YOUR OPPONENTS REALIZE YOU ARE OUTSMARTING THEM!

By implementing this image into your game you are on your way to becoming a more successful player. Until next time, keep trying to get your money in with the best of it!

In the early stages of the tournament, we were able to avoid losing any chips in marginal situations, as well as doubling up our stack with a premium hand. The blinds are now becoming large enough that merely winning a few blinds, will help to increase our stack significantly. As a result, it is time to change gears from our early stage style, to a stealing style of play.

Our strategy is now to win as many blinds and antes as possible, as well as playing our premium hands strong and trying to double up if possible. The main difference in our change of gears, is that we are now going to be opening with raises with a large range of hands and rarely limping. With the suited connectors and small pocket pairs that we limped with in late position in the early stage, we are now going to be attacking the blinds.

A few things to remember and be aware of when attacking the blinds. You have a much better chance of stealing blinds without contention, when raising from late position. We must also take into account the stack sizes and playing styles of the players we are attacking. It is not ideal to attack a large stack poker player, who is loose and aggressive. These players will almost always defend their blinds, which is exactly what you do not want. Also, be sure that the players in the small blind or the big blind are not so small stacked, that they will be looking to move all-in in order to try and double up and survive in the tournament.

The ideal candidates for stealing blinds from are players with average chip stacks and are tight players. Also, if a player has just doubled up or won a big pot to get back to a good size stack, it is a good time to attack their blinds. They will not feel they need to defend with weak hands, as they have just increased their stack. The opposite goes for players who have just lost a big pot, they will be more willing to gamble and defend their blinds in order to increase their chip stack, so we want to avoid them.

The single most important aspect of our stealing strategy, is knowing when to slow down and change gears again. If you have just stolen three consecutive uncontested blinds, be aware that the players may be willing to make a stand against you. If you start getting played back at frequently and called with weak hands, it may be time to tighten up for a few rounds. Remember, we want to avoid playing pots with marginal hands, we just want to win the blinds.

As you develop your instincts in this strategy, you will begin to pick up on additional situations, where you can steal pots from the Big Blind and Small Blind positions as well. As the tournament progresses, many players will tighten up and some players will attempt to steal more and more blinds. This will give us situations, to re-steal from the blind positions, as well as from late positions. I must clarify, that this is a highly advanced strategy and should not be used until you are experienced in this gear and have developed a very good sense of reading situations in poker tournaments.

Stealing the blinds and antes helps us to continually increase our chip stack, without having any premium hands. It is essential that we continue to build our stack throughout the tournament and by using the strategy in this stage of the tournament we can put ourselves in position to make a deep run in the tournament. Remember, you want to steal as many blinds as possible without making it look like you are getting out of line. Make sure you come back tomorrow, as I will take us through our third gear and the tricky Bubble play section of tournaments.

Is there a great divide amongst poker players today? Are we subconsciously or consciously dividing our opponents into two distinct categories? This is the debate that took place last night through a war of words and chips.

On a whim I decided to head to the Seminole Indian Casino last night. As I signed up for the .50/1.00 No Limit Hold’em, I mentally prepared myself and switched on the ‘Maniac’ act. I was basically going to spend the first ten minutes at the table convincing everyone that I was an absolute lunatic with no regard for winning or money.

Within minutes I was seated with $100 in front of me and I made sure everyone knew I was there. I went with a blend of a rich, drunk, gambler who just came to have fun. After I broke the ice with back to back jokes aimed at my expense, I picked up my first hand in the big blind, 8h 4d. With two limpers and the small blind completing, I made it 4 times more the big blind. Everyone folded and I quickly flipped over the 8-4 offsuit with a huge laugh.

Sure enough the next hand I picked up two rags again, Js 3d. I made it 4 times the big blind and got only one caller, I guess they weren’t convinced of my act yet. The board fell Kh 9d 2s. I bet out six dollars into the pot of about nine. My opponent quickly mucked and almost before his cards hit the muck, I slapped over the J-3 offsuit exclaiming “I love GAMBLING!”

As I looked around the table I could see a mix of disbelief, anger, and one particular player who looked like he really wanted to hit me. As the cards hit the felt for the next hand, I noticed that the player who I had just bluffed, who ironically was the player who looked like he wanted to hit me, sat up in his seat and was ready for his turn to act. Thinking he must have a big pair, I peeked down to find the 7h 8s. After taking a second to think, I figured this was a great spot to put in my last maniac play before switching gears. I fired out a bet of four times the big blind, knowing if I hit the flop hard I could probably double through him and if I missed, I could still show my maniac play for advertisement.

When the action came to our opponent, he immediately raised it the minimum to 8 dollars. The rest of the table folded to me; I am calling with any hand I have here, as it’s only costing me 4 to win 13.50, that means the pots laying me about 3.37 to 1. I am only about a 2.7 to 1 underdog to AK offsuit and even if he has AA or KK I am only about a 5 to 1 underdog. Figuring the implied odds of the times I hit my hand, I can easily call here. One smooth call later and luck strikes the felt in the form of a board reading, 3d 7s 8c.

I paused and finally decide to bet out like I had the previous hand. I fired out a bet of 12 into the pot of about 17.50. Leaving me with about $80 behind, give or take a bit. My opponent took the bait and ran with it, instantly re-raising to $30. There’s now about $60 in the pot, my opponent has about $60 left and I have about $80, facing a call of $18. I decided my opponent wouldn’t be able to get away from his big hand and exclaimed, “All-In BABY!” He insta-called and I flipped over my cards after he showed his Ad Ac. The turn and river brought two blanks and I doubled my stack. My opponent was visibly furious and yelled, “I HATE gamblers, don’t they know this is a skill game.” I thought about putting him in his place with the statistics he laid me by raising the minimum, including the implied odds, but for the sake of my session I held off.

This session and encounter has had me thinking all night about the prospect of two separate players, gamblers and skill players. Is there a divide? Are gamblers players that chase draws against all the odds and call gutshot straight draws over and over? Do skill players always make the ’smart’ decision? Are they the type of player that can lay down the big pair when the gambler sucks out on them?

I spent my early years as a poker player believing I was a skill player. I made the calculated decision at every opportunity, I was able to make big lay-downs and stay alive till I was in a better spot. I was killing micro-stakes games and steadily moving up the ladder of poker. Then I ran into players who were able to play all sorts of hands ranging from Q-3suited to AA in the same manner. They always seemed to get paid off when they had the nuts and were able to pick spots when to make moves with the 7-8 offsuit. Weren’t these in fact the players that are more skillful then myself?

This is an interesting debate that takes place on the tables through action at all levels, from the ‘bullies’ at the .5/.10 No Limit holdem Poker tables, to the Sammy Farha’s and the Dan Harrington’s of the elite levels. In my eyes the ultimate player and the player we should all strive to become is a mix of the two players. We have to be able to make other players believe that we are loose, wild players, therefore paying us off when we switch gears and tighten up.

I am not suggesting you should start re-raising and raising Under The Gun with any rags, I am simply giving you a glimpse into the game plan of some of the elite players. If you can achieve some “cheap” advertising, too go along with a wild table image, you will be paid off much more handsomely. I was able to walk away from the .50/1.00 table up over $300 because of advertising my image, luck, and intelligent play. The three key ingredients to combining the gambler and skill player. I hope you can gradually add these moves into your game.