Texas Holdem Poker

With Dwan ending the season on a winning note, it is only appropriate to discuss how to handle a maniac at the table. They play just about every hand and fire at every pot. Their cards mean nothing to them and when they spot weakness, they are relentless. This type of player can win a lot or get felted, but they could care less. To them, it is all about scooping the chips and getting you off of your game.

This style of play has become very popular over the last few years. The young, internet generation of poker player has no fear and no respect for anyone else at the table. They are going to fire at any pot and if they hit, they will come right at you regardless of their kicker. You are going to have to learn how to deal with this type of play if you are going to be successful in today’s game.

If you show weakness, you are going to get run over. On the other hand, you don’t want to continue to dump good money after bad just to prove a point. You are going to have to catch them in a hand and make them pay. It is the only way to slow them down and reverse the way that they approach the game. It will only take once before you can slow them down and then it is your time to play their game.

If you sit down at a table and are out of position, change tables. You do not want to be in front of a maniac as you have to be ready to push your chips every time you are in a hand. To play with someone like this successfully, you must have position.

One thing that you are going to have to keep in mind is that this person is capable of playing any two cards in any position. You are going to have to watch their betting patterns and see how aggressive they are when they catch something and when they are just making a move on the pot. This attention to detail will pay off when you finally get your hand.

The maniac feeds off of weakness. In order to get them to fall into your trap, you are going to have to donate some hands to the cause. Look at is as an investment as you will get all of this back and more when they bite on the trap. Make some weak bets or raises and when he comes over the top, give up your hand after some thought. Do this a couple of times and the trap is set.

Now when that big hand hits, make your bet and wait for him to come right back over the top. If you are in a good situation, he may be pot committed and call you regardless of what he has. If he doesn’t call, you take the chips and you wait to catch him again. If you can catch him again, he will more than likely start to slow down when you are in a hand. Maniac’s are not stupid, they are just very aggressive. Once you get him slowed down, you can start to take over the table. You can get a maniac under control, it just takes some time and patience to do it.

If you have any time at all on the tables, be it online or live, you have had to deal with bad players that we lovingly refer to as calling stations. If you don’t think that you have, you are probably one of them. A calling station is someone that will not make a raise pre-flop unless they are sitting on a monster, will probably rarely raise post flop and will call you down if they hit any portion of the flop, including bottom pair with a weak kicker.

You can make a lot of money off of these players, but you can also cost yourself a lot if you don’t know how to react to them. Online is easy as you can take notes and when you sit down at a table you will already know their style. If you are playing live, you are going to have to pay attention to every hand and make sure you pick up on their play. Once you have them identified, you can adjust your play accordingly when they are in a hand.

Calling stations are notorious for passive play. They will usually only raise pre-flop with hands like AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, 1010. Anything else, they will tend to call down any raise prior to the flop and pray to the poker gods that they hit something. If they did raise pre-flop with a hand and do not hit, they will more than likely check. However, keep in mind that if they raised with a hand like 1010 and the flop comes out K72, they are going to check, but if you bet, they are going to call you all the way down to the river in the hopes that somehow their 1010 will hold up.

A perfect example of a calling station hand would be you are dealt AQ and the station has A3. You pre-flop raise and are called. Flop comes out K-10-3. You fire and the station calls. Turn card comes out as a 7. You bet and the station calls. River card is an 8. You now have 4 over cards and a possible straight on board. You fire a river bet and are called and lose the hand because the station made one of his cards and cannot let it go. Does it make sense? Absolutely not, but it happens time and again.

How you change your play is going to be dictated after the flop and what happens on that first bet. If a calling station makes a pre-flop raise and then fires again on the flop, you can be pretty certain that they have either hit their hand or are sitting on a pocket over pair. They do not comprehend continuation bet so you are all but guaranteed that they are alive and well in the hand. If you haven’t hit, just dump the hand and wait to catch them later.

If you pre-flop raise and then fire a continuation bet on a missed flop, they will call you if they have anything working off of that flop. You have to fire that continuation bet, but from that point you are going to have to play very cautiously. You can still fire on the turn just in case they are on a draw, but if you miss the river, you are going to want to show them a hand. The amount of money you will save by doing this on the river will more than justify the play.

The bottom line is that you cannot bluff a calling station out of a hand. If they are in after the flop, they have more than likely hit the flop in some way or have some type of draw working. Your river bet is the biggest bet you are going to make in the hand and when you miss and fire, you are dumping chips. If you have a hand, you can absolutely bet as they may be sitting there with bottom pair. However, firing on the river with nothing is just going to decrease your stack against this type of player. Adjust your play and you crush this type of player and avoid losing unnecessary money.

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!

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.

Well, your just going to have to trust me with this one. No Limit Texas Holdem Poker is an easy game, with no perfect solution to becoming a winning player. Playing in a cash game or in a tournament are two very different things, but you can play similar games when approaching either. So I am going to try and walk some of you new players, or some old ones who are struggling through the easiest way to be a winner. Now this is important, this knowledge doesn’t guarantee you will win, but it should help you become more consistent. The irony of the whole thing is that you need to play a more boring, calculated game in order to help you get the success you are looking for. I am going to give you some basic knowledge on how to play out of the blinds, in early position, it late position and what might be the right times to make a bluff.

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.