There are three possible outcomes for the professional poker player.
Winning, losing, or breaking even.
Your play is either EV+, EV-, or EV=. (Expected Value)
Even breaking even is preferable to losing.
You are going to lose some hands. Some games you will come away hurt.
But if you can significantly reduce the # of hands you lose, the amount you lose on lose on those hands, the # of losing sessions....you're going to do a lot better, even if you don't win anymore hands than you do right now.
I have told every single one of my poker students, "Poker isn't so much about winning as it is about NOT losing."
You have a lot more control over capping, or containing your losses than you do over increasing the number, or size of your wins.
There are also huge psychological benefits to minimizing your losses, and losing sessions. Your self-image as a winning is invaluable. Every loss, every losing session robs you of a bit of that confidence that is so important in this game.
Just as you can't play with "scared money" you also can't play with a negative self-image of yourself as a poker player.
Over six years of playing poker, both for real money and for play chips, that I could look at every single one of my losing hands and point to a rule I had broken.
Not hard and fast rules, never to be broken, but guidelines I created specifically to avoid unnecessary losses. Stupid losses. Getting stacked. The losses that made me hate myself, or say "I knew it, I just knew it."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Getting Someone to Fold
You bet with something less than the nuts. Like middle pair. And they called. Or they bet weakly, and you decided to call.
How are you going to get them to fold?
Remember, they can't see your cards. They can only see the board, and the size of your bets. Along with any hesitation on your part, or, the opposite, aggression, such as slamming down an all-in bet instantly when the turn or river hits the board.
First thing is to evaluate. What do they likely have? Top Pair, Top Kicker (TPTK)?
Or do they have two pair and were slowplaying you. If they merely called rather than raised, that's unlikely. Most players are too greedy to slowplay a strong hand once they've got a caller; after all your hand might improve.
Most players know better than to slowplay anything but a very strong hand, at the least 2pr or better.
Are they on a draw perhaps? What does the board show. A strong draw is a good reason to call a low or medium sized bet.
What if they have the same cards you do.
Often I'll use a progression bet, 200, 400, 600 to drive out a player who I suspect doesn't have a lot better cards than I do.
Another trick is the "I just hit two pair" sudden increase in my bet. I bet $200 on the flop, and $1000 on the turn.
This doesn't work real well if they have a stronger hand than you do.
A check-raise is another powerful tool. Problem is, they're already heavily invested in the pot. They're more likely to call.
And what if they're in position to bet first. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply to lay down a mediocre hand. You probably only bet it because you were in late position or there'd been a check around anyway.
But the best strategy is to look for scare cards. A third spade or possible straight now appears on the board. Ask yourself HOW VISIBLE IS IT? 456 is a lot more visible than 4-78.
When scare cards hit the board, if they bet first and don't bet big, this is your golden chance.
If you ahve to bet first, you take a huge risk that they actually WERE on a draw, and called your wimpy bet hoping to hit it. Might be better to lay down.
What all of this suggests is not to place wimpy bets on medium or low pair. Either bluff strong enough that nobody calls, or fold and wait for a stronger hand. Unless your hand actually improves on the turn or river you're fighting an uphill battle against a player who's just as invested in the pot as you are, and convinced YOUR hand isn't very strong.
How are you going to get them to fold?
Remember, they can't see your cards. They can only see the board, and the size of your bets. Along with any hesitation on your part, or, the opposite, aggression, such as slamming down an all-in bet instantly when the turn or river hits the board.
First thing is to evaluate. What do they likely have? Top Pair, Top Kicker (TPTK)?
Or do they have two pair and were slowplaying you. If they merely called rather than raised, that's unlikely. Most players are too greedy to slowplay a strong hand once they've got a caller; after all your hand might improve.
Most players know better than to slowplay anything but a very strong hand, at the least 2pr or better.
Are they on a draw perhaps? What does the board show. A strong draw is a good reason to call a low or medium sized bet.
What if they have the same cards you do.
Often I'll use a progression bet, 200, 400, 600 to drive out a player who I suspect doesn't have a lot better cards than I do.
Another trick is the "I just hit two pair" sudden increase in my bet. I bet $200 on the flop, and $1000 on the turn.
This doesn't work real well if they have a stronger hand than you do.
A check-raise is another powerful tool. Problem is, they're already heavily invested in the pot. They're more likely to call.
And what if they're in position to bet first. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply to lay down a mediocre hand. You probably only bet it because you were in late position or there'd been a check around anyway.
But the best strategy is to look for scare cards. A third spade or possible straight now appears on the board. Ask yourself HOW VISIBLE IS IT? 456 is a lot more visible than 4-78.
When scare cards hit the board, if they bet first and don't bet big, this is your golden chance.
If you ahve to bet first, you take a huge risk that they actually WERE on a draw, and called your wimpy bet hoping to hit it. Might be better to lay down.
What all of this suggests is not to place wimpy bets on medium or low pair. Either bluff strong enough that nobody calls, or fold and wait for a stronger hand. Unless your hand actually improves on the turn or river you're fighting an uphill battle against a player who's just as invested in the pot as you are, and convinced YOUR hand isn't very strong.
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