Why different Chip Stacks should Cause you To Play Differently

Time and time again, I’ve seen too many players
misplay their cards in situations that call for it.
And they pay for it; they lose their chip strength or
in the worst case, get kicked out of the tournament.
Chip management is the single most important skill one
must learn in poker. Bluffing pales in comparison to
this important skill, and now, I’ll teach you how to
manage it well.

Conservative at the Start

Early in the tournament, when the blinds are low and
with a good number of weak poker players around, it is
important that you stay tight rather than jeopardizing
your tournament dream. The antes are low, so there is
no rush to be the chip leader. Relax and take it slow,
only playing the best-looking hands. Don’t be a rock
though, because no one will call your bets when you
finally have a hand. In a nutshell, mix up your play
but be conservative around 80% of the time.

Faster at the Middle

In the middle of the tournament, where a third or half
of the competition is gone, and the tables are
becoming smaller, with only five to seven people
around, it’s time to speed up your play. From here,
you should start putting up continuation bets and eat
up small pots. This is important because the blinds
are now chasing you and will substantially take a part
of your stack if you become the big or small blind.
Your poker instincts become more important this time
around, because you will have to read your opponents
plays if they are retaining their conservative nature
or beginning to show some courage.

A Freak at the End

Nothing’s more important in the end-game than your
feel for the table and your aggressive technique. You
should learn how to play cards like 9-4 and take it to
the top. Top players like Doyle Brunson have won the
World Series of Poker with cards like 10-2. And in
fact, he has done it with the same card twice.

Since this has confused many, I’ll give you an
example. If you are dealt 10-4 and at the small blind,
just limp in and see if he/she calls. If your opponent
puts up a reasonable raise, just call it because you
have a high card in 10 and it is unlikely that he/she
has an AJ given that there are only two players. Also,
there are lesser combinations for the card deck to
work with. If the flop shows 2-4-9, bet around half of
the pot and it’s likely that your opponent will fold
it. That’s the nature of heads-up play. A low pair is
equivalent to a high pair in a full table and in my
example, getting nines is a premium holding card. Keep
that basic rules in mind and you’ll have an idea how
play in a short table and more importantly, heads-up.

Conclusion

From what you may have noticed, the style you should
follow early in the tournament is a conservative one
and as the game marches on, you should adopt a more
aggressive approach. That’s why one should be familiar
to both styles as it will aid you in tournament play
where millions are at stake. Poker’s reach has
extended through farther regions of the globe and is
gaining popularity in places like The Philippine
Islands and in New Zealand. So to speak, a No Limit
Hold ‘Em game may be ongoing a few blocks away. If you
keep these rules in mind and you may win a tourney in
those local casinos one day.

Playing Before the Flop and What Your Position means

Grabbing information is one of the most important
skills that you need in poker. From your opponent’s
betting patterns and the “tells” that they make simply
define your hand and are simply integral on your next
decision. But you can’t do that without proper
positioning, which is on the button or somewhere near
it.

But that doesn’t mean that you should fold every hand
if you’re not in the proper position, each has its
pros and cons, and it should also determine how you
should play your hand.

In this article, I’ll tell you how to utilize
perfectly your position in pre-flop play.

Early Position

This position is from under the gun to the third turn
in a ring table, which has around eight people seated.
In this seat, you have to be choosy in raising your
hand or simply limping into the pot because there are
about five to seven people yet to act, thus there are
more chances for them to raise the bets and given that
you don’t have a hand that’s good enough, you just
lost money the size of the blind.

So it’s important that you only raise premium hands in
this position like AK, AQ and AJ suited. When someone
re-raises after you, you have a good idea that he/she
has jacks or queens. So not only is raising pre-flop a
good way to drive out people who have small cards that
may get lucky after the flop, it also gives you
information on who probably has a hand better than
yours.

Middle Position

In this position, you have to be looser, but not to
the extent that you’re virtually throwing your chips
away. A9, K10 and QJ may be raised here, given that no
one has raised and indicated that he/she has an
excellent hand.

Again, the reason why that you should raise pre-flop
is to mine important information about your opponents,
if they have good to great cards.

Late Position

In late position, you can practically raise any hand
you want, depending on the circumstances. If everyone
just limps in to the pot, and a raise is nowhere in
sight, then you stick your foot right in and raise
around four to five times the big blind, even with
cards like 24. It may win you the pot right there.

But be wary when everyone calls when you do raise,
because they may sense that you’re trying to steal the
pot. Don’t cringe if your technique fails and if the
flop shows high cards like A-J-4, raise outright and
try to steal the pot again. They may rethink that you
tried to steal the pot before the flop and give you
credit for hitting aces or jacks.

As you may observe, one may get looser in choosing
his/her cards when nearing late position and also
presents you the opportunity to steal the pot. Late
position also entails you to play more aggressively
and show some muscle, enabling you to hammer on pots,
do isolation plays and basically eat up the blinds. So
to speak, position should guide you on how to play
your hands because it opens the option of instilling
fear into your opponent, bluffing your way into the
pot or does the complete opposite of the previous two.

What is the Importance of your Pre Flop Position?

Grabbing information is one of the most important
skills that you need in poker. From your opponent’s
betting patterns and the “tells” that they make simply
define your hand and are simply integral on your next
decision. But you can’t do that without proper
positioning, which is on the button or somewhere near
it.

But that doesn’t mean that you should fold every hand
if you’re not in the proper position, each has its
pros and cons, and it should also determine how you
should play your hand.

In this article, I’ll teach you how to utilize your
position after the flop.

Early Position

This poses a lot of difficulties if you are a
conservative kind of player. You will get bullied and
they will bet relentlessly when they know you are in
the pot and are sure that you didn’t hit the flop.
This is also the case for even the aggressive player
when he/she just checks after the flop. So the thing
is, make sure you have a hand before even trying to
check, in an attempt in showing them signs of
weakness.

So, a profit-maximizing play in early position is
check-raising and slow-playing. Don’t even think of
betting unless you have hit a hand. If you check-raise
in an attempt to scoop up the pot, make sure that your
opponent is just doing his/her customary continuation
bet. Glean this from his/her playing style and how
your opponent played the hand before the flop.

Be wary when the game comes to 4th or 5th street.
People can get lucky at these circumstances, so you
must bet hard before these two events so that your
opponent will be discouraged in calling and seeing the
subsequent cards. If you did a mistake by betting to
little, make a probe bet of around half the pot on 4th
street to see if your opponent is still serious in
pursuing the hand. So to say, not only do you stomp
down your opponent’s motivation of hitting his/her
drawing hand, it isn’t too substantial a bet.

Late Position

Of course, late position is a wonderful thing to have
in poker. And when the round goes on to the flop and
subsequently, 4th and 5th street, you can bluff your
way to the pot and give the impression that you have
the best hand. Of course, your betting patterns before
the flop and during it should be in line with your
sophisticated bluffs. In a nutshell, you shouldn’t
slow-play in late position; rather, you have to stomp
down on the pot regardless of your hand’s texture. Not
only does this conceal your real hands perfectly, it
scares your opponent into folding the hand if he/she
just checked.

Your strategy after the flop should be entirely
different from your pre-flop play. It all depends on
the texture of the cards, if it is favorable for your
hand or not. And with that decided, you now have to
look at your position to get a glimpse of how to play
your hand. It is a good time to check-raise or to
bluff your way to the end? That can be answered by
these variables. Keep those in mind and you’ll be
munching away the chips in no time.

No Limit Texas Hold‘Em and Why Aggression can win You Chips!

No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em is a game that moves by the
rules of psychology. Players try to read their
opponents if it is the right moment to bluff or to
fold. They also seem to know their opponents hands by
their betting patterns. And if they trail in the chip
count, they try to make the opponent fear them into
folding good hands so they can catch up.

The main rule in winning consistently in poker is to
give an impression that you’re the top dog. You must
drill the notion that no one will scare you into
folding and stop you from hammering into that pot. But
one shouldn’t do that haphazardly. One should get a
feel of the table, knowing how others play specific
cards so that one will know if it is the perfect time
to stomp your foot down and scoop the chips on the
table.

Read the Table First

Don’t just try to put your hand into that pot, read
your opponents’ betting frequency and patterns first.
If most people simply limp into the pot and fold if
the flop doesn’t hit them, then what you have is a
rather loose and weak table. After the flop, if
everyone checks to you, make sure that you throw in a
bet around a third of the pot to get an idea if anyone
is serious in playing their hand. When you do that, it
seems as if you’re making a serious bet when in fact,
you’re just checking out the field. Remember that you
shouldn’t treat your chips as money, but rather a tool
to pick on your opponents. With that done, you’ll be
eating up small pots like crazy.

Aggression Conceals Your Hands Perfectly

With you chomping on pots, it will give off an image
that you’re a freak who bets on marginal hand or
worse, nothing at all. When they finally call your
probe bets that is the time to change gears and play a
tight-aggressive game. Just limp in your good hands
like AA and AJ to keep that image and make your
customary bet of one-third of the pot after the flop
(if you hit something or it is favorable). When you do
this, they will sense that you’re trying to eat the
pot again and call when in fact, they’re drawing dead.

If all the betting that ensued will put you and your
opponent(s) into a hand showdown, he/she will freak
out when you showed a legitimate hand. When people see
this, they will respect your bets more and fold once
again when you throw your chips around like in the
first instance.

Conclusion

It is integral to your game that you know how to
utilize both conservative and aggressive techniques.
But your main style should be the latter since it will
help you win larger pots when you do shift into the
conservative approach.

But given this advice, it can’t be done without
feeling the table and being aware of how people think
of you as a poker player. If the table’s very tight
and they fold immediately when their hand doesn’t fit
the flop, throw in some bets. If they randomly call
any bet, meaning that they have no idea how the game
of poker is played, then be wary of using bluffs and
instead, make straightforward bets to insure a win.

Surviving Smaller Tables During No Limit Texas Hold'em

In the last, adrenaline-filled, days of a Texas No
Limit Hold ‘Em Tournament, when the blinds are slowly
eating up your stack and your fingers are about to
fall off into poker oblivion, it is understandable why
a lot of players cringe when crunch time finally
comes.

Don’t let that happen to you. Remember that your
emotions can totally shatter your hopes of winning and
sticking to rather mechanical yet logical approaches
to the game will get you the top.

Be a Pot-Eating Freak

Aggression should start to show up here. Waiting for
premium or good cards like A-10 and K-Q will munch up
your stack. And once you do get them, you’ll probably
only have about three to eight rounds left to play!
That’s why you should be bold and keep on hammering
those chips on the table!

With only four to six players in the table, it is
highly unlikely that someone will have good hole
cards, so it is necessary that you call the high blind
and lead out with a probe bet of around a third of the
pot if the flop is favorable. For example, you get
J-5. It’s an average hand, but you should call the
high blind here, hoping for a good looking flop. It
shows down 2-5-9. Since you have middle pair with a
rather good kicker, you should make a value bet of
around the size of the pot. It drives out most
opponents and wins the pot immediately. That is the
flow of plays most of the time in small tables, so
it’s integral that you squeeze into pots, jostle for
it and muscle them out, winning the pot.

Have Lower Raising Standards Pre-Flop

Since plays tend to go fast and rounds end quickly in
a snap, it’s important that you drive out small cards
held by opponents in order to avoid them getting lucky
in the flop. So raise cards like A-5 and Q-9 like they
were Big Slick, so small suited connectors like 5-6
will be less likely to call your raise given the
current pot odds and the outs for the hand.

But lower raising standards mean more difficult
decisions when the flop comes. Suppose you have Q-3
and the flop presents J-7-8. It is a very scary flop
because there is a possibility of an inside-straight
draw if anyone is has 9-5 or 10-5. But then, he may
also don’t have them. This paves way for my argument
of posting down a probe bet or a continuation bet (if
you raised pre-flop). Hit it up with a bet of around
half the pot. If your opponent calls, be wary because
he has a drawing hand, so check only if 9 or 10 shows
on the turn card but bet if it doesn’t. If he/she
still calls, it’s sure that your opponent has a pair
of jacks or eights. And when he/she does bet, throw
away your hand.

With all the tension that resonates from adrenaline
pumping short-tables poker, it is necessary that you
go with the flow. Once again, you can’t be
conservative in this time, given that only around ten
cards will be dealt from 52, lessening the chances of
getting good hole cards. Thus it is important to stomp
your way and be aggressive in the waning moments of
the competition.

Using Proper Bluffs can Keep your Chip Stack Very High

From what have you probably seen in television, you
might have noticed some great bluffs that made many
doubt if their hands are strong enough (when it truly
is), then throw it away out of fear. It is a skill
that serious poker players have to incorporate into
their game to be successful in poker and stack up the
chip count in the long run.

There are basic bluffs that one really has to do
especially in short-tables and ones that you only do
sparingly that pave the way to the pot.

A Basic Bluff

Technically, this technique is a semi-bluff, but it is
deceptive nonetheless. It makes your opponents believe
that you have the top pair but in reality, you merely
have a drawing hand. Let’s look an example:

You have J-6, both hearts, with four people in the
table. The flop shows A-5-8 with the last two having
hearts as suits. It’s an ugly flop for those holding
face cards except ace and this is an opportunity to
make a good-sized flop of around 2/3 of the pot. You
seem to represent that you have a pair of eights or
aces but you only have the flush draw. In the case
that a suit other than a heart shows up on the turn
card, don’t fold immediately to a bet. See first if
you get sufficient pot odds for calling it. A good
size is 3/5 or below as compared to the size of the
pot. This way, not only do you have an opportunity to
hit a flush, you make sure that it won’t eat up your
stack substantially that it renders you soft and
defenseless.

Advanced Bluffs

These kinds of bluffs usually appear in the latter
stages of the betting round, done when the turn and/or
the river card shows up. It may be a panicked all-in
when you have the nuts or a soft-looking bet in the
river that scares advanced players out their wits
(I’ll explain why later).

First is the jumpy all-in bet. There is a specific
sequence of circumstances that makes this bluff work.
First is that you must raise pre-flop with medium to
low suited connectors like 3-4 diamonds or 6-7 hearts.
The raise, of course, represents something else like
Queens or Jacks. When you hold 6-7 hearts and the flop
shows 4-5-9, with the first two having hearts for a
suit, put down the automatic continuation bet of
around half the pot, showing that you have high face
cards and you seem to believe that the flop didn’t hit
your opponents either. Of course, they will call that
bet. When 8-of-hearts is shown on the turn, then you
have the nut straight flush, beating anyone who holds
a straight. When this happens, don’t just shove your
chips right there. Think for a long while and then go
all-in. This gives off the impression that you have a
set. If anyone has a straight, which is likely because
he/she called a good-sized bet, he/she will call it
given the seeming desperation of your bet.

The second bluff I’ll teach you is the Post-Oak Bluff.
It is very simple; both are bold enough to bet until
the river card shows up, when you make a smallish bet
of around 1/3 of the pot. It seems as if you are
begging him to call you, in an attempt to maximize
your gain. But in truth you only have a weak hand,
trying to outplay your opponent. This bluff only works
for top players, who know the science behind poker
betting.

There is an old adage that says large bets scare the
beginner while small ones frighten the strong ones.
Keep that in mind and you’ll have a good base for your
bluffs, and you’ll win more pots in the long run.

Texas Hold'em and the History Behind it

Even though not much is known about beginnings of the
game of Hold ‘Em, or poker in general, it is said that
it started at around 1900s. It has spread throughout
the state of Texas and was embraced by many as their
prime poker game for gambling. And it has been
introduced to the bright lights of Las Vegas on 1967
by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, notably
Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim.

Early Years

Its magic has enthralled many, with players ranging
from crack-heads to more sophisticated players. But in
the 50s, only a few casinos offered the game of Hold
‘Em, and they had shabby poker rooms for it. With
that, many professional players tried valiantly to
find a better location for their cash games, and they
finally found it in the now-defunct Dunes Casino on
the Las Vegas Strip and with its prominent location,
Hold ‘Em’s popularity simply took off.

In the late 60s, poker tournaments for Hold ‘Em were
now being held, notably by the Gambling Fraternity
Convention and it helped the game gain more
recognition. The Convention was then bought by
Binion’s Horseshoe Casino and has taken up Hold ‘Em as
the main event due its leanings on psychology rather
than pure odds. The game simply rose to the top after
that, with merely eight entrants in its nascent stages
to 100 in 1982 and that has doubled a decade later.

With the surging popularity in place, one of the top
No Limit players, Doyle Brunson, started the advent of
Poker Literature with his book, Super System, which
has revolutionized how people played poker. Also, it
has brought the game to a wider audience and had put
it into the mainstream. It even influenced more poker
books to be published, notably by David Sklansky and
his Theory of Poker and Dan Harrington’s Harrington on
Hold ‘Em. This made the game’s learning curve a lot
shorter and made every tournament more exciting and
challenging.

Explosion in the Nineties

This has carried on until the late 90s and the first
decade of the 21st century, when the popularity of the
game went into another level and went worldwide. It
started with the film Rounders (1998), which starred
Matt Damon and gave the Hold ‘Em a romantic feel.

One also has to take into account the influence of the
internet and gave everyone on what was years of
experience in a short amount of time. Online poker
rooms like Partypoker.com and Pacificpoker.com paved
the way for that. It is said that current stars like
Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen fined tuned their game in the
internet.

And from there, what was only 200+ 1991 WSOP grew to
800 in 2003 and an unbelievable 5000 in 2005.

Conclusion

Texas Hold ‘Em is definitely here to stay, given that
it leans more on strategy and psychology rather than
strict mathematical analysis and probability, which
has been the case of other games like Blackjack. Its
appeal stretches to far reaches, not only in terms of
regions but also of social class. It has hit popular
culture, with it being considered more and more as a
sport rather than gambling. It has even changed how
people think of the game, with works like the The
Poker MBA sitting in bookshelves. Truly, Texas Hold
‘Em has grown to a new level.