Playing out of the Blinds

When in a blind it is very easy to make mistakes, and commonly the worst position for all players at the table. Before you start calling pre flop bets from the big or small blind you need to realize that you will be the first to act after the flop. Therefore if you have a hand that will be tough to play post flop you might want to fold to aggressive raises pre flop. Some examples of tough hands to play are ace rag (ace with a low second card), small connecters and small pairs. Here is the deal with playing out of the blinds, sometimes you will be getting laid a good price to call a hand pre flop, this will happen when a lot players are in the hand maybe to a min raise or small raise, this will be the time for you to try and hit a big hand with your suited connectors or small pairs. As an example your playing $1/$2 and the person in first position makes a minimum raise to $4 and gets five callers before its your turn to act, the pot is $26 and you are in the big blind. It costs you $2 to makes the call and you have a pair of deuces, you are being laid a price of 13 – 1 (26 -2) to make the call, this is a perfect time to try and spike a set with the two’s. Basically pay close attention when you in the blinds, don’t let aggressive players in late position push around for to long and monitor the pot sizes to know when it is time to take a shot.

Playing in Early Position

Early position play is easy, you have nothing in the pot and there is no reason to step out and make big plays with mediocre cards when there are so many people to act behind you. No the range of cards you should playing, I will not give you that range, it varies from player to player. But you should be playing big pairs and high suited cards (AK or AQ), everything else should be an easy fold. If you like to get into pots well then I suggest you raise when playing less then stellar hands in early spots at the table and by this I mean a real raise not just a small min raise. When you do pick up a hand you want to play feel free to make a raise, in fact it is suggested. When rasing you need to put the pressure on all the players left to act behind you so raise a good amount, 4 – 5 or even 6 times the big blind. By doing this you will not allow other players, especially the blinds to sneak into the hand with lesser cards and beat you. So rule of thumb play tight in early position, make sizeable raises if you are going to play and don’t make unnecessary mistakes like big bluffs. The more you play the game the more creative you can get when playing in these positions.

Playing in Late Position

When playing this basic style, this is where you can make a lot of your money. When playing on the button (dealer) or in the cutoff (right of dealer), feel free to open up your game and take more chances. If the hand gets folded to you, feel free to raise with any two cards, the object might be to steal the blinds and quickly move on to the next hand. The stealing of blinds can be the difference between winning and losing especially if you are playing in a tournament. Here is where things can get a little more advanced, by raising often out of late positions, the players at the table will stop respecting the moves you make. By making these blind steals you can frustrate your opponent and when you do pick up a big starter, you have a better chance of getting action then if you don’t raise. When playing on the button you need to remember that you will be the last to act after every street, which can make it easier to pick up loose pots.

Bluffing

It’s a common thought, that you can not win at Texas Holdem Poker without bluffing. So here are a few basic pointers. It is a lot easier to bluff from late position, but always be aware of the slow players, and do what ever you can to not fall into there traps. The easiest boards (flops) to bluff are ones with high pairs, straight and flush possibilities. As an example your on the button and the flop comes A – A – 4, you have nothing, but the action gets checked to you. Feel free to make a bluff, your opponent will have no choice but to think there’s a chance you have that ace and might even fold the four thinking they might be drawing dead. If you make a sizeable bluff and get called, you will have to make the choice to bluff again after the turn or shut it down and give control back to your competitor.

This is not fool proof, but it is a basic strategy you can try out, have fun at the tables.

First, many beginning players play too many hands. This sounds worn and cliché but many players don’t get what this means. Always playing two face cards or any ace is a sign of someone playing too many hands. You should be sticking to a tight aggressive strategy when you begin as a new player. Otherwise, your bankroll will take massive downswings.

Next, many poker players will overvalue their hand in Holdem. A great example would be someone that has pocket aces and the board has three spades on it. The player bets their hand big because they have aces and continues to push the hand when their opponent raises back at them. In this case, they are behind to a flush and will lose the hand. Another example is someone that commits a good sized stack with A-K. A-K is a good hand, but it is still a drawing hand. Sometimes a player will push and get called by an inferior hand. Most times they will be in a race situation.

The most common leak that you will see in new beginning players is tilting. The player picks up pocket kings and then gets outdrawn by A-5 or some other marginal hand. They then out of frustration or anger start playing any garbage hand. This spells disaster and devastates more beginner bankrolls that players would like to admit.

Another leak that is seen way too often is known as “playing TV poker.” This partially goes along with playing too many hands, but it involves a little more. There are players that will watch TV and then try to imitate the same moves or play the same types of hands they see players such as Gus Hansen play. They don’t understand the strategy behind the moves that they have seen or even the hands that led up to the play.

Sometimes players will be hyper-aggressive with their betting because they see other players bully players around. They then get a rude awakening when someone wakes up with a hand or someone with a decent hand decides to look them up. These same players will also make ill-timed bluffs or will frequently bluff just for the sake of bluffing.

While some of the above leaks seem elementary in nature, so many players make them that it bear mentioning. If you are a new player, take note and try to keep from making these mistakes when you sit down to play your next game of Holdem.

Recently a friend of mine was having this problem and one solution that I suggested to him to help to keep losses down is to institute a stop loss. A stop loss is a system that a poker player sets up to limit the amount of money the player loses in a day. The way it works is simple. If you reach the limit that you set, you leave the game or quit for the day.

Stop losses come in two types. The first is a session stop loss. This sets a limit for the player for each individual session. Let’s say you play No Limit and you set a stop loss at 3 buy-ins per session. If you lose, you leave the game. This is a simple plan but it does come with a potential pitfall. Let’s say that you play a session and go on a bad streak and leave the session. You could just as easily buy-in to another table or at a later time in the day.

The type of stop loss that I personally recommend is a daily stop loss. This type of stop loss sets a limit relative to the limits that you are playing. If you reach your stop loss for the day, you are done for the day. For example, many players will set their stop loss at 30 big bets. If you are playing $5-$10 Limit Holdem, 30 big bets is $300. If you lose $300 in a day, you leave the game and come back another day. The main reason that most stop losses are 30 big bets is that it is very hard to win more than 30 big bets in a day in a typical Limit game. Five buy-ins to a NL game is about the equivalent.

Stop losses are great tools, but a player must have the discipline to follow their stop loss regardless of the game. There are some players that will stay in a “good game” and lose more money just because the game is good. Seldom will you be able to recover 30 big bets or 5 buy-ins in a single session once it is lost. What you risk is putting yourself further in the red.

A big key to managing ones bankroll is to keep loses at a minimum. Tools such as the stop loss will allow you to get away from a game when you are running bad. This in turn will help to preserve your bankroll and allow you to come back and fight another day. Good luck to you at the tables.

Slow Role - Slow rolling your opponents will serve only one purpose and that is make them upset. Slow rolling is when you delay flipping over your winning hand, forcing your competitor to role there hand over thinking they have a chance to win the pot. At the showdown, show your winning hands and do not embarrass your opponents. This will only make players angry and serve to make your experience at the table less fun. Slow rolling is a problem because it is eliminated in online games, when you make a transition to live games, just treat people the way you hope you are treated.

String Betting - A string bet is when you make more then one motion at the pot, and is another thing you cannot do when playing online. You will not be able to make one of these bets at a casino and I suggest you don’t allow them in your home games. String betting can force reads from your opponents and is against the rules in all poker games. To avoid string betting use verbal declarations of your bet sizes or simply count your chips out before you make a motion toward the pot. Enforcing string betting at home games will make it second nature to you and help you in more structured games.

Hit and Run – More of a home game rule, you should never show up at a game win money and leave immediately. This is not a good way to get yourself invited to play in games. Doing this in a casino or online is one thing, but when playing in home games this will upset your hosts. Poker is more then just winning and losing, it is a social game. I am not saying you have to sit and play as long as the rest of the table, but if you can only play for a short period of time you should tell the other players ahead of time. If you hit and run a game you can be assured, you won’t be on the top of the invite list the next time.

Soft Play - Soft play can ruin a Texas Holdem game faster then anything else. Soft play is when you take it easy on another player at the table usually because of a previous relationship. Whether you are at a table with a friend or spouse or whatever, poker is not a team game and each player should be looked at as equals at the table. We have all seen this before, but might not have noticed, friends who never seem to play pots against one another. Trust me there no better feeling then beating someone you are close to in a Texas Holdem hand, you will have bragging rights for the time being. If this is a problem for you maybe you should play at opposite tables, soft play makes the game less legit and more importantly less fun.

Teach – Made popular by World Series legend Phil Hellmuth, never berate your opponents for making mistakes. Telling people what they did wrong, when they did it wrong and how they should improve will not help you make money. Put there mistakes in your memory bank and use it against them at a later date, don’t let them use one of your tirades to figure out your style. If you want to help someone that’s fine, but do it when you are not at the table. Why would you ever want to give someone the tools and knowledge of how to beat you? You are going to run into bad players and they will beat you. Play your game and have a long memory and never help another player beat you.

Drinking - This ones up to you and it depends on the kind of game you are playing in. Drinking impairs your judgement and will not make your Holdem game better. It depends if you are playing in a big money game ( don’t drink ) or in a social nickle and dime game with friends. My suggestion is, if making money is your top priority you shouldn’t be drunk at the table.

Show Off - This applies to online poker as well, showing off your skills is a sure fire way to lose your money. The best way to prove you’re the best player at the table is to win, not to show off your skills with big plays. As a poker player you need to the right times to slow play, bluff ro move all in, but if you a looking to prove a point you will make mistakes. Confidence is fine, but don’t allow it to change your game.

Texas Holdem is an easy game, but if you follow some of these ethical do’s and don’ts is will be more fun and profitable to you. I suggest you enforce these things in home games, so that they become second nature to you. The last thing you want is to increase your stakes and play with new people or at a casino and to have these simple things be on your mind. Every players goals should be to win money and have fun at the tables.

Pick on Them - If you are at a table with a player who isn’t playing pots, a player who is just waiting for aces you need to force them to make decisions pre flop. Steal this players blinds, your cards don’t matter get in there, if they are super tight they will lay down. If you are playing with tight players you need to pick up all the loose money, in tight games you might be able to win pots with limited risk. Basically what your doing is forcing the tight player to play back at you, you are trying to get them off there game. Don’t fool yourself a experienced solid player will know you are just stabbing at pots, but if you don’t they will take the pot from you eventually.

If you have been picking on a tight Poker player, raising there blinds and stabbing at loose pots you need to be careful. Watch out for the slow play, don’t get carried away or be to confident. You can win all those small pots you want, one big pot you loose will make all that effort wasted. To become a good Texas Holdem player you need to manage your risk, don’t commit to much money into pots, make value bets and force players off there hands.

Play Against the Grain - If you are at a whole table of super tight solid players, you could always just do the opposite. Especially in cash games, playing against the grain can be a good way to win session to session. Basically what I am saying is if you are at a table full of extremely tight players, you can play extremely loose. Make the tight players pay to play, raise a lot, raise big and put the pressure on. By doing this you will frustrate your opponents and force them to change there games. Its important to remember that all good No Limit Holdem players hate being run over, and hate losing money without putting up a fight.

If you are going to play this way, you need to pay close attention to the table. Watch for players, who might flip and change styles to combat your aggressiveness. As I said before you can win all the small pots you want, but one big pot loss can make it all a waste of time. If you want to beat tight players, this can be the most fun way to do it. Poker players can get a lot of satisfaction from completely running over there opponents. Only play this style if you are comfortable with it, if you are uneasy playing this way the other players will notice and exploit you.

Don’t Play - I am not saying don’t play in the game, I am saying don’t get into pots with a player you know has a stellar hands. Basically a tight player wants to play very few pots, but when they do they want to play big ones. To combat this is easy, don’t get involved. A tight player who cannot extract money, becomes extremely easy to play against, its as if there is just a guy sitting there who has no effect on you. So fold to any raise from the tight player, unless you have a really big hand. If you are facing a raise from the tight player and you look down at that really big hand, say pocket aces, play back at them immediately. If they have raised you there is a good chance they have a big hand as well and you might get a chance to put all your money in with the best hand.

If you want to become a good Texas Holdem player, you need to know how to beat the tight player. If you are that tight player, you need realize the ways people are going to try and beat you. When playing Texas Holdem the main goal is to make money, and the easiest way to this is to frustrate you opponents. Take away your fellow players strengths, and force them to change there game. My suggestion is be a flexible player, tight one session and loose the next. Your game should be ever evolving, every time you play you will learn something new, a new way to extract money or better ways to bluff. If you have been leaking money to tight players try some of these tactics and I know your game will improve. One more time I will mention that if you win ten $5 pots ($50) and loose one $75 pot, stealing all those small pots will have been a waste. There is no perfect science to winning at Holdem, find a style and have fun playing the game

Working a short stack is part luck and part well timed aggression. First, you must know the opponents at your table. Which are the players that you may be able to steal from? Who are the players that will call your bet with any two cards? Are there any chip leaders at your table? You want to try and pick on the players with middle to lower stacks if you can. A chip leader will take a chance to knock you out but someone middle or lower in chips may not risk hurting their stack.

First, when you are the short stack and you pick up a big hand, there is only one move, and that is all-in. Don’t set yourself up with a difficult decision after the flop. Put your opponent to the test now. Make them risk doubling you up. You are getting to the point where you almost have to move in with any two cards, so if you pick up a hand, get as much value for it as you can.

Next, if you are short and nearing desperation mode, if you are near the end of a level, sometimes it is wise to wait until the level change, especially if the antes go up. This will put more money into the pot pre-flop. Don’t do this if waiting will make your shove meaningless. I was in an event once where I had a reasonable hand to move in with on the last hand of the level but with the action, I chose to wait until the next level since the blinds and ante’s would be up. Since I was nowhere near the blinds, I could afford a few hands since the antes were not too bad. The first hand of the next level, I picked up a suited ace and moved in. I was called and actually doubled up, but because I waited a level, I picked up an additional 525 that I wouldn’t have had if I did not wait.

Also, you need to be the aggressor in the Pot Limit holdem. The example above I actually had a better ace the prior hand before I moved in, but there was multiple players in the pot. With this much action, it would be hard to guarantee a heads-up match for all my chips. You want to be the first person into the Pot Limit Texas Holdem or the first raiser. This allows you to at least apply some pressure.

When short stacked you need to make some moves in order to get some chips in the Poker Games. You will not always be successful and will be knocked out, but the times that you are successful will pay off and also help to build your image as a survivor.

First, evaluate your Online Poker game. Look at different aspect and determine if there are any holes in your game that may be helping to prolong your losing streak. Are you bluffing in spots that you shouldn’t? Are you chasing hands without the proper odds? Start asking questions about every aspect of your game. You may even want to bring in the help of another player to talk about your game. If you are a regular online player, you may want to have them watch you play a session online and give you some feedback on what they see.

Next, tighten up your play at the tables. I know that it is usually bad to become a total rock, but sometimes that is what is needed in order to get back on track. Many Texas Holdem players don’t want to go to this approach because playing tight poker is very boring. Poker players want action. Action for the sake of action will prolong a losing streak. Show some discipline and rock up a bit.

Consider dropping a level. Ego is usually the big hindrance in most players taking this step. People are embarrassed to have to move down. They feel they are not as competent of a poker player or are worried what people will think. I would rather have people gossip about the fact that I had to move down a level as opposed to being the guy on the rail hoping someone will buy him into Poker Games.

Finally, when all else fails, sometime you have to walk away for a while. A poker buddy of mine that is a regular player on the poker circuit was having a bad run in 2006 and went for over 6 months without cashing in a single poker tournaments. Normally this would not be so bad except for the fact that he played in at least one tournament set a month. He was losing money hand over fist at the tables. Finally, he decided that he was going to leave. Not only did he leave the poker tables, he left the country. He took his family on vacation to Mexico. When my friend returned, the first two events he played in he won. The next event he played in he made the final table and finished third. In the span of 3 days, he made over $100,000.

Losing streaks happen to us all. While riding out the streak works many times, sometime further measures need to be taken in order to right the ship. Look at things objectively and you will eventually come up with the proper course of action to get back to the win column. Good luck to you at the tables.

What does it mean to play above your bankroll? To play above your bankroll means that the limits you are playing do not allow for normal swings that you see in all poker games. For example, a person that decides to go to a casino with a $500 bankroll and play in $5-$10 Limit Texas Holdem, is playing way above his bankroll.

This fault isn’t exclusive to amateur poker players. I have a friend that I worked with this past summer at the World Series of Poker that decided that he was going to turn professional with a $10,000 bankroll. He started out playing levels that were reasonable to his bankroll, but then decided that he would sit in on games as high as $50-$100. He mostly hung around the $30-$60 range. Sadly, his bankroll was not big enough to take any losing streaks, and as a result, when the streak came, his bankroll was eliminated. This player is not an amateur player, but he made a poor decision with his bankroll and ended up paying the price for it.

Many poker players get it in their head that just because they have a few winning sessions at one level that they can move up and stay at a higher level. If your bankroll cannot support this, then you are committing professional suicide. A healthy bankroll for any level in Limit Poker is 200 to 300 big bets. If you are playing $5-$10 Limit Holdem, then you need $2,000 to $3,000 to be able to successfully handle swings in most cases.

I am not saying not to play at a higher limit if you do not have 200 to 300 big bets. Sometimes, a game is so good that it is worth taking a shot. About a year ago, there was a $5-$10 Limit Holdem game where I play. I knew several of the players at the table. The only decent players were rocks. I technically did not have the bankroll at the time to play $5-$10, but I decided that I would take the equivalent of a couple buy-ins at a lower level and take a shot. The game only lasted a couple of hours after I sat down, but I finished up $150. That’s about 7 ½ big bets an hour.

Another mistake I see made quite often are folks that take a shot at the next level and refuse to move back down. Some players will take the proper approach to build up their bankroll to play at the next level and when they don’t do well at that level, refuse to move back down. Sometimes it is a lack of overall skill, while at other times they have ran into a bad run of luck.

Managing a bankroll is a key ingredient in being able to play poker long term. Those that fail to do so risk being stuck on the rail or having to find other sources to fund their poker career.

The Cards – If you are a tight or solid player, the cards you are dealt can put you on tilt. If you sit back and wait for big hands, but they don’t come all players will get frustrated. When the cards effect you, the game begins to get one dimensional. Two things can happen you never get that big hand and end up pushing with lesser cards or you get a good hand and over play it. If you are a tight player the best thing you can do is be patient, don’t change your strategy and stay with the game plan. If you have been sitting at a table for along time picking up no cards and then you get an Ace – 10 unsuited, it might look very good to you, but be careful. Don’t over play the hand, just because it is the best hand you have seen in awhile. If you do eventually get the hand you have been waiting for pocket aces, remember that they can lose. You have your aces, but the community cards are 9h – 10d – 8h – 6h – Kc, there is a good chance they got busted and if you make a dumb play you will go on serious tilt. If you are “card dead” the best thing to do is stay patient and stick with your game plan. If this becomes a problem and you can’t control your emotions in a cash game, call it a day and go home.

The Player - Well this one is common and all good players have come across it, probably often. Your at a table with a player who is not very good and they seem to catch on you every time, and they are counting your money. Its important to remember that the best player doesn’t always win. The worst thing you can do when playing Texas Holdem is chase your money. Chasing your money is when you are down and change your game plan to get that money back. You will run into people that you don’t like at poker tables, people who will play bad, break rules and run there mouth. Do not let these people get under your skin, that is exactly what they want. Annoyance or irritations can force you into making bad decisions and lose money. In tournaments you will have no choice who you play with, but in side action don’t play with people who you don’t like. The best thing to do is ignore a player and never ever chase your money.

The Draw - We have all had these nights, when you get a good draw on every hand and can’t hit. You get suited cards and connectors and have 12 – 13 outs every hand, but can’t make anything, and consistently lose to second or third pair. For me this is the worst, you will lose money with out seemingly putting up a fight. Money will disappear from in front of you and you won’t even realize where it all went. When you feel “draw tilt”, once again be patient, probabilities say you will hit your draws sooner or later. If you play a lot of hands pre flop, you will run into this problem, you play small connecters to pick up draws and if your not making the hands you will lose money. If you continue to lose money on draws change your style raise more pre flop to set up bluffs or fold some of those connectors. If you start folding and tightening up I bet you will see draws hit the cards you would have been playing, and that will make the tilt worse.

Rules of tilt, never chase your money, never let another Online Poker player get in your head and control your emotions. Yes I know this is easier said then done, but remember it is just a game and there will be better days. If you can’t get your emotions under control, stop playing. If you are in a tournament, take a break get away from the table, go get a drink or something to eat and take your mind off the game. You need to realize the symptoms of tilt and they are unique to every player. Another thing you need to know is the signs that your competitors are going on tilt. Take advantage of players on tilt and control your own emotions and you will be a successful Texas Holdem player. Texas Holdem is an easy game, its all about control and momentum. Controlling your emotions is key and if you master it your game will go to the next level.

First, what type of hand do you want to slow play?  Nut hands clearly are hands you would want to slow play, but there are others that are a little trickier.  What about top two pair?  Do you want to slow play this hand?  How about a set when there is a straight or flush draw potential?

If there is a chance that your hand can be outdrawn, this is a time where you do not want to slow play.  You want to go ahead and start getting value and push out any potential draws.  For example, you limp in with pocket deuces and the flop comes 2-J-10.  You have a set of deuces.  How do you want to play this hand now?  If someone bets into me, I am going to raise, and usually a strong raise.  If I am first to act, I am going to make around a pot sized bet.  This may seem counter-intuitive for those of you that want to disguise your hand strength, but if you don’t bet your hand to push out the draws, then your may end up wasting your set.

Next, you are in a hand against a Poker player that is a rock.  This person will only raise with a big pair and A-K suited.  He will bet on the flop when he hits the flop hard.  You hold K-Q in your hand in late position.  The rock has raised preflop and you decide to speculate with this hand.  The flop falls K-K-Q.  You have hit the current nuts against the rock.  Now you must decide if you will slow play this hand.  If the rock bets into you, what will you do?  First, the rock bet into you which means that he probably hit this flop hard, probably with Q-Q.  Some people would try and raise him here.

Personally, if the rock feels comfortable enough to bet into me, then I am going to let him bet.  Granted, there is a chance he has A-K or Aces and could outdraw me, but if he had A-A, I don’t think he would bet here.  I’m going to put him on A-K or Q-Q’s and let him bet into me.  Also, if the rock decides to check to me, then I am going to probably put him on an under pair.  At this point, a lot of this depends on what you have seen him do with big hands.  If he is someone that will call a bet with an underpair, then bet.  Otherwise, you will want to slow play and hope he improves his underpair.

Now, let’s take the same scenario we just went over and instead of a rock, insert a calling station.  This would be a time where I think slow playing would be wrong.  Calling stations will likely call down your bets to the river, so you should put some money into the pot.  If you don’t bet, you risk losing out on money earned as most calling stations will check the flop unless they hit it.  Of course if they do bet into you, then raise them.

Aggressive Online Poker players are usually the easiest to slow play against.  They will bet into you and as a result, you can usually just call them down until the river.  At the river, it is time to raise your opponent and hopefully extract more money if they have hit a hand.

As you can probably guess, some of these concepts relate to No Limit Holdem.  For you Limit Holdem players, I will modify this a little.  First, when you are in a hand where you can be outdraw to a potential flush or straight, you usually will not be able to force anyone out with a single bet.  At this point, your decision to bet or slow play will rely entirely on your opponent.  If you think that you opponent will bet into you, then slow play.  If not, then go ahead and bet out.  A set is a hand that you are going to try and get the most amount of money in the pot that you can unless you have a serious reason not to, such as four of one suit on the board and you don’t have one of that suit in your hand.  Also, in Limit Holdem, even if you think that your opponent has outdrawn you, it is usually wrong to fold on the river to a bet because the pot is laying such a huge price.

In Limit Holdem, I am going to usually check call a bet on the flop against most players when I have a nut hand.  Calling stations I will bet into regardless as in Limit Holdem, calling stations will call down most every bet.  There is no need to wait for them to make a hand here.  If they raise you, three bet them etc.  Rocks I am going to probably bet into as many times rocks become calling stations when they have a decent but non nut hand on the flop.  Aggressive players I am going to bet into and hope they raise me.  The exception is if I have a tight image.  Otherwise, I will revert to check-calling the flop.

As you can see, a lot of the decision on whether you slow play depends on the board texture.  The rest depends on your opponent.  As always, poker is situational and the “recommended” moves sometimes don’t hold true.  Hopefully this article will help you in your future decisions to slow play a big hand or not.  Good luck to you at the tables.