How to Improve Your Poker Decisions

How to Improve Your Poker Decisions

In poker, you want to make the best decision on each hand you are dealt.
There are many var

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iables to take into account that influence your decision. Perhaps the last variable to take into account is the strength of your hand.

While I was flying back from the East Coast, I started to list these variables as I wanted to find a way to improve poker decisions. Here is what I listed.

Three Main Buckets

There are three buckets to consider before deciding what to do in each hand of poker. I call them the Status, Option and Decision buckets.

1. Status: "What is your situation at this point in the game?"

The variables I listed in this Status bucket are:

What stage of the event are you in?
What percentage of time is remaining in this round?
What is your chipstack compared to the big blind?
What is your position relative to the big blind?
Are the players at your table tight or loose, passive or aggressive?
Are the players in the blinds tend to protect their blinds?

You have not received your cards yet, but you should be leaning toward an action. While you may already being doing this early in the event when you have lots of chips relative to the blinds and later in the event when you have few chips relative to the big blind, why not consider all the variables in the bucket before you receive your cards.

2. Options: "What action is best, based on the action that happens before you?"

Your Status indicates what action you should be leaning toward, and your Options bucket forces you to take into account the actions of the players in front of you.

The variables I listed here include the following:

a) Pre-flop
What is the action in front of you?
What position is the player who took that action?
What is the chipstack of that player relative to the big blind?
What is that player's table image?
What is that player's betting pattern?
What is the mood of that player?
Do you have any tells on that player?
What are the pot odds and implied odds you are getting?

b) On the flop, turn and river, you also need to add in more variables like:

How many opponents are in the hand?
What is your relative position to the lead bettor and other players at the table?
What are the possible community cards that can help or hurt your hand?
What are the possible community scare card or cards that can help or hurt your hand?
Does your opponent make c-bets on the flop?
How big are these c-bets relative to the size of the pot and what do they tend to mean?
What are the pot odds you are getting?
What are the implied odds?

Once you've gone through all the variable in the second bucket, you are more focused as to what to do but there is still something else to consider: Your cards. Now you are ready to look at your cards pre-flop and evaluate your card strength post-flop.

3. Decision: "What is your final decision as to the action you will take?"

The decision you make should be much clearer now. But wait, before you do make that final decision, I have added a few more variables that often get overlooked:

What are the pot odds you are giving with your bet? Do you need to adjust the size of the bet to to get your opponents to call or fold?
If you are calling, have you taken the time to think about the power to raising, re-raising or moving all-in?
Especially on the river: If you fold your hand, and you would have won that pot, how much would that win increase your chipstack? If you call that bet and you are wrong, how much would that hurt your chipstack?

I am sure I have left things out in these lists, so please add in your thoughts. If nothing else, this post may help to remind you the importance of all the other variables to take into account before your cards.

Tournament Poker: The Final Table

Tournament Poker: The Final Table

This is part 5--the final part of the series. The other parts you can read in the prior posts. 250 players entered this tournament, with a $1,000 buy-in. First place is $80,000.


It is down to the final table.

We are now down to the final table. And it seems that the pros TJ Cloutier and David Pham have made it to the final 9. Also, Tony Lee the local pro, is at the table as well. The other players I really don't know and I don't pay much attention to them. I am worried about the pros.

My final table strategy is to play tight at first and wait till we get down to 7 players. It is going to cost me chips to play tight, but the money is in the first 3 spots.

To my surprise and relief David Pham and TJ Cloutier get knocked out!

We get down to 6 players, but I am the lowest with chips. I was not really concerned since I had played a lot of final tables at the local card rooms, and a couple of wins with these big blinds gets me back in the game. Also, I am creating an image of one, real tight poker player which will make it easier for me to steal.

I pick my spots to add chips by raising pre-flop. It works. We get down to 5 players and now I am in 4th place in chips.

We take a 5 minute break. The player who just got knocked out in 6th place tells me that I'm the best player left and I should win the tournament. He says to me that he hasn't seen me make one mistake. I reply that I have made plenty of mistakes--in fact, one time it was against him. I start to tell him the hand, when he recalls and smiles big. He says he remembers the hand, but I should win the tournament.

I sit back down and the player to my right is the weakest player. I raise, he calls. I check the flop every time, and if he checks..I bet the turn no matter what. He folds and folds and folds. I add chips thanks to him.

Yeah, he is the next player out. We are down to 4 players. Tony Lee is in 4th place and he moves all-in. I have A-Q and call. He has K-J. The J hits the flop but the Q hits the river.

It is down to 3 players.

It is down to 3 players. The other players have about $160,000 each and I have about $35,000. One of these players, the player with the sunglasses, I can't get a read on. The other player, the the one without sunglasses, I have an excellent read on his play.

So, even though I am low on chips, I figure I can add to my stack by going after the no-sunglasses guy.

The next hand makes it easy for me. I move all-in with A-10. He calls with A-5. The cards on board are A-8-8-Q-2. No!!! We chop.

Key hand. I have A-2 and move all-in. This opponent is now the one with A-10 and he calls me. The flop is J-7-4. The turn is a 3. The river is a 2! I double up! I am at $75,000.

I get A-Q and move all-in. Yep, that same player calls me with A-7. I double up to around $150,000.

The tournament director tells us that it is break time. My two opponents leave the table. I ask the director if he can do a chip count. He tells me to wait.

My opponents come back to the table. The tournament director tells them that I want to chop. I didn't say that at all. But the other two players agreed right away.

I am thinking, "what is going on here?"

I am exhausted. I look at my watch. It is 2:30am! I had no clue. I was so absorbed in the game that I thought it was 11 pm or maybe midnight. And, the WPT main event is going to start in a few hours....at noon.

Suddenly I feel tired, um, exhausted. The smoke in this place is awful and my eyes are red. My clothes reek of smoke. I've been drinking Coke's non-stop to keep me alert. A chop is sounding like a good idea.

I agree. We chop based on the computer chips counts. I end up with more than 2nd place money...not bad for 14.5 hours of poker.

Conclusion

As I was posting what happened to me , I forgot how much I used to play the game by reading the tendencies of my opponents rather than my cards. It's something you should work on, since it allows you to pick up pots by knowing when your opponent is weak and to play recognizing their betting patterns.

I was also surprised how I used that knowledge to change how I played pocket Kings and pocket Queens. Knowing that a tight card player is going to raise or call a raise with a big hand, I was very careful not to lose a lot of chips. In fact, I believe I got these hands 5 times. 4 of those times I had to fold on the flop when an Ace hit. Is it weak poker? Would it work today?

Finally, it was interesting how I didn't force the action when I got to the final table. I waited and waited to look for the right opportunities. I think I was a more patient player back then.

I hope you learned at least one thing from these 5 posts that can help your tournament game. As you can tell, online poker can't compete to a live tournament.

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Thanks.

Tournament Poker: Only 3 Tables left...

Tournament Poker: Only 3 Tables left...
(photo of David Pham)

This is part 4...the prior posts are parts 1-3. I am playing for a possible first place win of $80,000.

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It is now down to 3 tables and I get moved. I end up at a new table sitting to the left of Layne Flack. Frankly, I'm not happy about this at all. Layne is a better player than me.

Layne and one other pro at this table start to beat up on us amateurs by raising and betting and raising and betting. My stack is starting to dwindle because they are so aggressive and I've been dealt zip.

Finally, it comes to a point where my chips are getting lower than I want and I decide to make a play in the next few hands before the blinds go up again.

I get 5-5 under the gun. I raise 4x's the big blind wanting everyone to fold. Everyone folds except for Layne Flack. He calls. The flop comes K-7-4. Layne checks and I move all-in. Layne insta-calls. He trapped me! He has K-5! He calls my raise with K freaking 5!

I am about to go out in 27th place and win $200. I push back my chair to leave. The turn card is a spade which puts three spades on the board. A few players make some noise which I don't really discern. I am too busy readying myself to be eliminated.

I get up as the river card hits--another spade. Everyone at the table does that sound when a player has sucked out. I quickly glance down and realize that I have a spade and Layne does not! I end up doubling up!

8 hands later everyone folds to Layne on the small blind. He raises big, but this time I decide I may be able to trap him since I have K-J. The flop comes K-5-3. Layne moves all-in! Oh no! If I call that bet and I am wrong, I will be out. So I think and think..and it hits me that Layne is a pro. Pros don't move all-in on the flop unless it is to get you out. If he had A-K or a set, there is no way he moves all-in. He might have second pair. I call.

Layne is bummed. He shows 7-7 and I double up again!

Sure enough, the next time around, it is the same situation. Layne is in the small blind and I'm in the big blind. Everyone folds to Layne and he moves all-in. It won't cost me much to call as Layne only has 1.5 times my big blind. I turn over J-9 believing that Layne probably has nothing. Wrong! Layne shows A-Q.

Neither one of us get any help on the flop or turn. On the river, a J hits and I knock out Layne Flack.

Layne leaves the table and I could hear the sigh of relief from all the players at the table. The guy to my left actually reaches out with his right hand to shake my hand. He says, "Good job." It's not a good job, really. I just got lucky.

I walk over to Layne and admit to him I got lucky. Layne smiles back at me and says, "No, you're playing good." It was really classy of him.

It is down to 2 tables.

And now another pro to deal with...it is David Pham. If you don't know David Pham you should. I'd read his book if he wrote one. He won the Cardplayer player of the year award once and he often gets close to winning many times. David is sitting to the seat next to me--yeah, on my right.

David is similar to Layne in that he is super aggressive. He raises me three times in a row when it gets folded to him pre-flop. I fold each time. Here we go again!

These pros are like flies that keep buzzing you and won't go away. Time to swat them away, right?

I decide I have to stop this the 4th time or it will go on forever. Sure enough, everyone folds to David and he raises me again. I couldn't help myself. I just started laughing. I ask him, "do you always have a hand?"

Of course, he is stoic. I look at my hole cards. A-10. It's a monster. Okay, good enough. All-in. David doesn't fold right away. He thinks and thinks and thinks some more. I have a big chip stack and he has a slightly bigger one. No way do I think he will call, right? He folds. Phew!

The next time around, everyone folds to him. He just calls on the button. Huh? Now a limp from him is very suspicious to me. I look down and find A-Q. I raise 3x's my big blind. Pham calls.
When he calls, I am done with this hand. I am not going to bet this hand since I don't want to walk into a trap.

The flop is K-4-2. We both check. The turn is a 9. We both check. The river is J. I check and he bets. I fold. He shows pocket 2's--he flopped a set. I chuckle.

The tournament director stops the action to even out the final two tables. I get up to stretch my legs nearby. David Pham calls me over and asks for my name. I tell him. I don't know why I did this, except maybe to amuse myself, I ask him his name. He tells me.

It is down to 14 players.

I get moved to the other table to even the number of players at each table. This table is so much easier--there are no pros at the table. If anyone checks, I bet and win. My chips grow at this table.

We are now down to 1 table. And it seems that the pros TJ Cloutier and David Pham have made it to the final 9. Also, Tony Lee, the local pro is at the table as well. The other players I really don't know and don't pay much attention to them.

To be continued...next is the finale!

Tournament Poker: The Game Continues

Tournament Poker: The Game Continues
(photo of Layne Flack)

This is part 3 in reviewing the Reno Hilton $1,000 event. Part 1 and 2 are the prior posts.

It is down to 6 tables...

Image by larrykang via Flickr

We are down to 6 tables and TJ Cloutier sits down at my table. TJ is a pro and an incredibly nice guy. He teaches the game of poker and he wrote what many people considered, at the time, the bible for No Limit Tournaments.

There is another pro at the table and I focus on him by using my tight image and his aggressive image into my play/decisions. I beat him over and over when he tries to steal my big blinds by moving all-in or re-raising him back. I don't do it every time or it looks suspicious.

I get dealt A-Q suited under the gun and raise 3x's the big blind. TJ re-raises me 3x's my bet. It's folded back to me. I think to myself that I have to fold since TJ's book is about playing real tight pre-flop. I say to TJ, "I read this poker book that says in this situation I have to fold." He smiles. I fold. He asks me, "What do you think of that book?" I reply to TJ, "It's great but it has your picture all throughout the book."

And then TJ says something that surprises me. He says, "I haven't played against you for a long time."

Wow! The only other time we played against each other was in a WSOP event almost two years ago! Does he really recall playing against me?

It is down to 5 tables

We are now down to 5 tables and I get moved to a new table with the pro, Layne Flack. At the time, Layne was considered one of the top 10 no limit players as he recently won back-to-back bracelets in the WSOP. That became his nickname for a while, "back-to-back" Flack.

I watch Layne play and he is the most aggressive player I've ever seen. He is super aggressive and bets and bets and bets. He keeps coming at you. As interesting as Layne is to watch playing poker, it is even more interesting to see how the other players are so intimidated by him. I am, too.

I play against Layne three times at that table and it is very challenging. The first time I check the flop, he bets and I fold. The next time I bet into him on the flop and he folds. Frankly, I was still intimidated by his game. Because the third time when I missed the flop, he bet and yeah, I just mucked. No way I wanted to get trapped by him by doing something stupid.

I decide to focus my play against the weaker players. I'll let Layne's aggressive come into play later on, if needed, and trap him! Ha! That thought did indeed come into play later--but not quite in the way I expected.

Key hand...I raise with A-K and get called by the guy to my left. This player thinks he is as good as Layne Flack by being real aggressive. But he's not close. He will be easy to trap with the right flop. The flop comes A high and I figure he will bet whether he did or did not have an Ace--to be like Layne.

He bets and I raise. He re-raises me all-in. Easy call for me. He shows A-10 and loses. How did he get this far in the event playing this way?

Fortunately, I get moved away from Layne's table so I can play against other weaker opponents. I am able to make a few moves, but overall I am now card dead. At these times, though, I decide to attack the blinds of the players who never defend their big blind. It works almost every time..often enough, to keep me in good chip shape.

It is now down to 3 tables and I get moved. I end up at a new table sitting to the left of Layne Flack. Frankly, I'm not happy about this at all. Layne is a better player than me and is going to bullying me.

To be continued...

More learning for Tournament Poker players

More learning for Tournament Poker players

This is Part 2 at the $1,000 buy-in at the Reno (part 1 is the previous post)

Now I go on a cold streak. I have a local pro sit down to my right. This player, Tony, plays solid poker except you can scare him when you re-raise him. So, when he raised on the button and I had almost anything I would either re-raise him 2x's or 3x's the amount of his raise, or move all-in..figuring he was trying to steal. One time he called my 2x re-raise. In this hand, on the flop I checked, let him bet, and then check raised him--I had nothing. He folded. He helped to build my chip stack.

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The Flop

The flop is a very interesting part of the game. Besides knowing who you are playing against, that is their style of play, you need to understand the nature of the flop. Most people play bingo or fish when they play flops--"oh, the card matches the one I have, so I'll bet." Or, "Oh, it doesn't match, so I wont bet." Wrong! The game on the flop has almost nothing to do with your hand.

Play the nature of the flop. Is the flop scary looking, or is there one high card and 2 rags and no flush draws? If your opponent is a pro, and you check and he bets the flop with a small sized bet, I don't care what you have, check-raise the guy. He will probably fold!

I played 15 hours of poker at this event and I think the only player who check-raised the flop a lot was me! Why? Because if my opponent bets weak, I take him at his word that he is weak! Especially if the flop is Jack or lower..I figure he would defend his hand with a bigger or pot sized bet since a card higher than a Jack could make him lose the pot on the turn.

Premium Hands

Back to the game...As aggressive as I was against the playing style of my opponents, I played pocket Kings and pocket Queens with just a call or a pre-flop raise. Why? It was early in the event, and I knew that if the card players have a hand with a pre-flop raise they will call. If I re-raise here, I will win a little or if the flop hits his A-Q and I have Kings, I lose big. Of course...this is exactly what happens. I get pocket Kings and pocket Queens once each, call a raise, and the flop shows up with Ace.

I fold each time when my opponent bets the flop. Am I annoyed? Not really...my thinking is that my re-raise could have me losing big money when I got called with and they hit their Ace...or maybe they move in with their Ace-King--and I have to risk my entire stack all-in. I didn't want to move all-in unless it was to intimidate a player into folding.

Why go out of an event with no control of the outcome? Especially since I liked the how I was approaching this no limit event.

I finally get pocket Aces--and a player raised in front of me. In this situation I re-raise but just 1.5x times his original raise. Why? I don't want to scare him out and this small bet will sucker the player in. The flop comes King high. He checks and I bet an amount which puts the question to him--do you want to go all in on this hand or not? My opponent decides to play--which means he will be all in. He has K-Q and loses.

Down to 8 Tables

It was interesting, but we are now down to 8 tables, and I still had not seen one bad beat!

I am in good chip shape with the 70+ players remaining. I get moved to a new table and Barry Shulman--the owner and publisher of Card Player magazine--has a huge chip stack. He is very aggressive and I study him to get a read, in case I need to make a tough decision later. Barry has been dominating this table.

Two hands later I am in the big blind and get pocket Queen. Everyone folds to the small blind who calls. I just call--again, I want to set a trap. The flop is A-A-8. I check-call. The turn is a 2. I check-call. On the river comes another 8. I bet out with a small bet, my thinking I have the best hand or my bet will slow him down. Wrong! He moves all-in! Bummer...I fold and take a hit.

The next hand I am on the small blind and I get 10-8 offsuit. The player under the gun limps, Barry Shulman limps, and I call the 1/2 bet. I actually like 10-8 as a starting hand if I can get in cheap or free. For some reason, I had won some big pots with it or lost the initial bet.

The flop comes 10-8-5 with 2 hearts. With 3 opponents, I check, thinking I will check raise the flop. But no one bets. The turn card is a 10. I have a boat. I check. Barry makes a small bet, which to me means he has very little. I only call. The river is a 4. I lead out with a small bet and Barry moves all-in! I insta-call. He has a boat with pocket 4's. I open my cards showing that I have a bigger boat.

The dealer only sees Barry's full house, and starts to push the pot to Barry. I say, "wait!" The dealer now notices my bigger full house. Of course, Barry knew right away he got burned and was already matching his stacks to my chips.

That hand gave me a great boost in chips.

We are now down to 6 tables.

To be continued...

My Biggest Tournament Poker Win: Learning...

My Biggest Tournament Poker Win: Recap and Learning

I thought I would share with you my notes that are a recap from my biggest cash at a poker tournament. My objective is that it may help you improve your game. (As I have suggested, it is important to write down your learning from playing--and I do practice what I preach.) This recap is rather long, so I will break it up to make it easier to read.

It was the the day before the WPT main event at the Reno Hilton many years ago. It was a $1,000 No limit buy-in. First place was $80,000. To get into this event, I chopped a one table satellite the night before.

It began on a Monday at noon. There were about 250 players. A number of the pros were in town early and played in this event as well.

Part 1

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"The first 2 hours, I don't recall playing a hand. But that was okay since the rounds were 50 minutes long, and I had $1,500 in chips to start.

Key hand... I am on the big blind, and Hon Lee--a pro--and another player called my big blind. I had K-8. The flop came 8-6-5 with 2 spades. I bet $100. Hon Lee raised to $400 and the other player called. I thought for a while and decided the best play was to move in...and gamble here.

Why?

1. Both player knew I was a tight card player and wouldn't make this move unless I had a big hand.
2. I needed some chips--I was down to $1,100.
3. Hon Lee had about $1,000 chips..and would not want to go out of the event on a hand like this.
4. Hon Lee is a pro and will be aggressive when a flop looks scary.
5. The other player I thought was on a flush draw--and had lots of chips.
6. On an unraised hand, the big blind (me) could have anything---even the nut straight.
7. It is almost always better to raise or fold, and not call in poker.

Anyway, Hon Lee took a lot of time, and decided to fold. The other player says, "well if he called, I would have called." Yes, he was on the draw. Big win for me.

So, I start to get a few hands and play the players and not my cards. How?

There were three general types of players at this event:

1. Pros--who are aggressive and take chances. They will almost always raise on the button or small blind if first in the hand. But, they don't want to be taken out of the event and will lay down their hand if you re-raise them...why? Because they understand table image and saw or thought I was a card player--tight and only play my cards.

(Actually, in the entire event, if I raised pre-flop and a player re-raised me, I folded...there will always be another hand.)

Also, there are some variations on a theme among the Pros:
-Some pros defend their blinds with zeal/
-Some pros like TJ Cloutier play like his book before the flop--but changes from the flop on.
-Some pros like Layne Flack will look to play almost any 2 cards--even calling a raise with bad cards--hoping to hit his flop...or if his opponent checks (a sign of weakness) he will bet and win.
-All pros try to intimidate you with their bets--if you show any weakness on the flop--and they've never seen you check raise on the flop--they will bet.
-All pros will attack your blinds--so, attack back once in a while and they will behave. Again, raise or fold.

A general rule with Pros--they don't like moving all-in on the flop, unless they are trying to get you out of a pot thru intimidation..it is not that they don't have a hand, but they know they probably don't have the best hand at the moment and prefer you would fold.

2. Card players who are solid, smart players and are aware of what is happening to them--they are slowly losing because they are not getting cards, but they don't adjust their game to this fact.

When these players raise before the flop, fold. They have a hand..they play by the book. If it cost more than 5% of your chips or you are out of position, don't even bother calling then with a pair.

They like to think they are smart by mimicking the pros and raising on the button as a steal--if you think he/she is doing this--just re-raise them and they will fold. Or call, and see what happens on the flop...but when someone else bets into them on the flop, and they missed, they fold.

3. Card players--these guys not only play by the book, but you know where they are based on how they bet. If they bet on the flop, they hit their hand. If not, you bet...they fold.

I used the above knowledge to win pots when I am in a hand. In fact, I notice that I almost win every pot I enter...by playing the players and not my cards. Of course, I don't need to enter a lot of pots since if I play only a few hands, I get lots of respect whether I raise 2x's or 3x's the big blind. How much respect? I get 5-6 suited under the gun--and raise 2x's the big blind--everyone folds!

In fact, it was funny, but later in the event when I was building my chips, one player turns to the player to his left and says, "I wish I had his seat, he is getting all the card." Funny thing was that most of the time, no one even saw my starting hands...I just made them think that I had a big hand, because I was always betting the flops as if they were hitting my hand.

To be continued...

9 Online Poker Tips for Your Next Tournament

Image by DerrickT via Flickr

9 Online Poker Tips for Your Next Tournament

Here are some tips when you play in your next online event. Some of these may make you uncomfortable--so try them out! Even if you lose the pot, you will learn something.

Here are some tips--there pertain to situations where you are heads-up on the flop:

1. Look for a reason to play a hand.

One of the things players do way too much is fold. I know you are suppose to be patient, so how many tournaments have you won being patient. Time to open up the range of your starting hands.

Example: Let's say you are on the button early in the event. A player raises pre-flop 3x's the big blind. What should you do with these hand 3-4 suited, 7-5 suited, and Q-8 suited? Call.

2. Defend your big blind when getting the right odds.

This is an extension of the first tip. If you are getting 2-1 or better, just call.

Example: Blinds are $100-$200. Your opponent raises to $500. There is $800 in the pot and it will cost you $300--better than 2-1. You don't care about your cards, call the bet.

3. Play the players to determine your action--it's okay to make crying calls to try to win big.

If your opponent checks on the flop, always bet. If he bets, how much is it. A pot sized bet is a fold. If a player bets less than the pot, and you have even a backdoor flush draw, call. You want to see what he does on the turn.

4. Play the players and not your cards.

If you flop a pair, bet out. If you flop a straight or flush draw, bet out. Seize the action.

5. Steal from late position with almost any hand.--just don't always do it.

Hands like J-9 or 7-5 suited are good enough hands to raise pre-flop in late position (from the button, cutoff, hijack). Early in the event, make these steals only from the button and cutoff.

6. Early positions are where you want to keep your downside low, and upside high.

If you have a good hand, raise coming in first. If you have a medium or small pair, just call--you are looking to keep the pot small and hit a set on the flop.

7. Vary your pre-flop raise sizes based on your opponents and your position.

In early position, you want to raise 3 times or less the big blind. In late position, raise 3x's the big blind. In the small blind, raise 4x's the big blind.

8. Chip stacks sizes versus the big blind--when to move all-in.

Online poker requires you to make bigger than normal all-in moves. Ideally, if you decline to about 8x's the big blind, it's time to push with a range of hands. You can also do the all-in sooner with a bigger stack--just realize that you are taking a big risk.

9. If you are a chip leader, don't push all in with hands like A-K or J-J.

You don't want to risk all your chips in a lucki, heads-up drawing hand situation. Don't risk it all--unless you feel it's the only way to get chips into your next online tournament.

Tournament Poker: What happened with that 6-4 hand

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Tournament Poker: Did I make a mistake here?


A long time ago, I entered a deep stack tournament in Vegas where I started with $10,000. (The photo is this crazy woman who kept flirting at me while I was playing poker at The Venetian. It may explain my poor play below...lol)

For the first round or 30 minutes, I did not get a playable hand. I was getting a little impatient, when this hand came up.

Blinds are $100-$200 with a $25 ante.

I am in the cutoff.

Everyone folds to me. I have 6d-4h offsuit. A big hand! I raise to $650.

The big blind calls. Such respect.

The pot is $1,625.

The flop is Kc-8h-4d.

My opponent checks. I check without thinking. I mean, I was just trying to steal the blinds. However, after I checked, I wished I had bet. Oh well...

The turn is a 2s.

My opponent bets $1,500. Did that 2s really help him? Or did he hit his King on the flop? Or is he just bluffing.

This time I think about the hand. My read is that he is trying to steal. But, it is going to cost me some chips. Oh well, sounds crazy but I called.

There is $4,625 in the pot.

The river is a 7d.

My opponent bets $1,500 again.

What should I do?

What happened....

My opponent bet $1,500 on the river which is less than one-third of the pot. I thought he had a hand like A-9, A-10 or A-J because I didn't think he would have called my pre-flop bet with a weaker hand.

While I regretted not making a flop bet, I still thought I had the better hand on the river. His bet was what I would call a weak c-bet on the river. But, did I want to jeopardize more chips with such a weak hand?

Frankly, I was going to fold when I remembered to look at the pot in the middle. It was a decent sized pot and if he was bluffing, my fold could be a disaster.

I called.

He said, "you got me."

I revealed my pair of 4's and he mucked.

One positive that came out of that hand was that the next round when I was in late position, I was dealt pocket Kings, and made a pre-flop raise first in the pot. The small blind, thinking I was stealing, moved all in with A-J. I insta-called, won the hand, and my stack got a big boost.

Later on, when it got down to 4 tables I was running low on chips and had to push all-in with pocket Jacks. The big blind found pocket Kings. I was pushing my chair back when the Jack hit the flop.

It ended up being a good event for me.

Tournament Poker: Did I make a mistake here?

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Tournament Poker: Did I make a mistake here?


A long time ago, I entered a deep stack tournament in Vegas where I started with $10,000. (The photo is this crazy woman who kept flirting at me while I was playing poker at The Venetian. It may explain my poor play below...lol)

For the first round or 30 minutes, I did not get a playable hand. I was getting a little impatient, when this hand came up.

Blinds are $100-$200 with a $25 ante.

I am in the cutoff.

Everyone folds to me. I have 6d-4h offsuit. A big hand! I raise to $650.

The big blind calls. Such respect.

The pot is $1,625.

The flop is Kc-8h-4d.

My opponent checks. I check without thinking. I mean, I was just trying to steal the blinds. However, after I checked, I wished I had bet. Oh well...

The turn is a 2s.

My opponent bets $1,500. Did that 2s really help him? Or did he hit his King on the flop? Or is he just bluffing.

This time I think about the hand. My read is that he is trying to steal. But, it is going to cost me some chips. Oh well, sounds crazy but I called.

There is $4,625 in the pot.

The river is a 7d.

My opponent bets $1,500 again.

What should I do?

The Not So-Secret Fact About Poker Tournaments on TV

TV Poker Tournaments

Every so often I receive questions from people who watch poker on TV. One common question goes something like this:

"When it gets to the final two players, I don't understand why players push all-in with a lot of hands even though they have so many chips in front of them. Why be so reckless and risk everything?"

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My Answer

If you notice that the remaining two players start playing all-in on almost every hand, there is a very good reason. They have agreed to chop the purse since the difference between first and second is hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I know in the past the WPT has allowed deal-making, and they probably allow it now. I don't know if the WSOP allows deal-making although I don't know how they can really stop it.

(I've been told that chopping the purse used to be very common in golf.)

If you know more about chopping at these major events, please let me know. I haven't been in that situation...yet=)

Thanks!

Answer to "What Would You Do With Pocket Aces Here?"

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Tournament Poker--Playing Pocket Aces

It is the WPT $25,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio. Everyone has $50,000. The blinds are $50-$100.

Only a few hands have been dealt at your table, when this hand is dealt:

A player in early position limps. You are sitting next to this player and you find pocket Aces--Ad-Ac (an Ace of diamonds and an Ace of clubs).

You raise to $300. The button, the big blind call, and the limper calls.

There is now $1,250 in the pot.

The flop is Ks-6d-5h.

The big blind and the limper check. That looks like a safe flop so you bet $800. Only the big calls.

There is now $2,850 in the pot.

The turn is a 9c.

You like your hand but you want to keep the pot small. You bet $1,800.

Your opponent raises to $5,800.

What should you do?

The pot is $10,450 and it will cost you $4,000 to call the raise. Can this guy have hit a set or two pair? Can he be trying to muscle you out of the pot, especially since your turn bet was small?

You decide to call. There is now $14,450 in the pot.

The river is the 8h.

You check and your opponent bets $7,500. What should you do?

Answer--Call. Your opponent has Kh-10h. However, here is the actual thinking of your opponent in this hand:

Pre-flop, he is thinking you have a big hand like pocket Aces because the raise is to only $300.

On the flop, with an $800 bet, he is thinking you an have aces, kings or queens. He does not raise you since he doesn't want a big pot.

On the turn, the $1,800 bet signals that you either have three kings or two aces. However, he is thinking that his check raise with the 9c on the flop, will make it look like he has a straight or two pair. He feels it is a good bluffing situation. (My comment: If you think your opponent has a set, do not try to bluff him off his hand because it's not going to happen!!!) When his opponent called, he knew his opponent only had aces. (My comment: What was he going to do if he got re-raised? Fold, of course. Good grief...sometimes I don't get what these pros are thinking.)

On the river, with an 8s, he feels that the board looks dangerous and that the $7,500 would look like he wanted to get paid off with a value bet.

But to this player's dismay, his opponent called and he lost the pot. He comments that against a weaker player you need to make a bigger bet so they get the message.

Did you call the river bet or did you fold? I would have made my decision on the turn. That is, if I called on the turn I really have to call on the river...especially with a bet that could be a value bet or a bluff....and that big of a pot. In fact, one of the mistakes I try not to make in these situations, is to always consider the size of the pot at the river. If I fold on the river with a big pot and I get bluffed out, it is a disaster.

What Would You Do With Pocket Aces here?

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Tournament Poker--Playing Pocket Aces

It is the WPT $25,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio. Everyone has $50,000. The blinds are $50-$100.

Only a few hands have been dealt at your table, when this hand is dealt:

A player in early position limps. You are sitting next to this player and you find pocket Aces--Ad-Ac (an Ace of diamonds and an Ace of clubs).

You raise to $300. The button, the big blind call, and the limper calls.

There is now $1,250 in the pot.

The flop is Ks-6d-5h.

The big blind and the limper check. That looks like a safe flop so you bet $800. Only the big calls.

There is now $2,850 in the pot.

The turn is a 9c.

You like your hand but you want to keep the pot small. You bet $1,800.

Your opponent raises to $5,800.

What should you do?

The pot is $10,450 and it will cost you $4,000 to call the raise. Can this guy have hit a set or two pair? Can he be trying to muscle you out of the pot, especially since your turn bet was small?

You decide to call. There is now $14,450 in the pot.

The river is the 8h.

You check and your opponent bets $7,500. What should you do?

Analyze the situation and make your decision. What do you think?

Answer on Monday.

Poker Answers to Quiz: Inside the Mind of Greg Raymer

How to approach a poker hand the Greg Raymer way: Questions and Answers

See if you can you figure out why Greg does what he is does each step of the way in th

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is hand:

It's a major event and the blinds are $300-$600 with a $75 ante. Greg is in on the button with $55,000. The cutoff has $50,000. The blinds have $80,000 each.

It's folded to the player in the cutoff who raises to $1,600. Greg finds Ah-10s. Greg calls.

Question 1: Why does he just call?

a. He identifies the player as being loose.
b. The blinds are deep stacked.
c. He doesn't want to be re-raised.
d. He wants to see a flop in position.
e. All of the above.

Answer: e. All of the above. He identified the player as loose, but he calls since he is concerned with one of the the deep stacked blinds or the original player re-raising which would force him to fold. He wants to see the flop in position.

After Greg calls, so does the big blind. There is $5,775 in the pot.

The flop is Ad-10c-9h.

The pre-flop raiser bets $4,000 and Greg re-raises to $13,000.

Question 2. Why does Greg re-raise here?

a. The board is coordinated and he wants to eliminate players.
b. He flopped 2 pair.
c. He wants to see where he stands in this situation.
d. He wants to have the lead on the turn.
e. All of the above.

Answer e. All of the above. Greg did not mention c and, so I added them in so answer e was best.

After Greg re-raises, the big blind folds but the initial raiser calls. There is now $31,775 in the pot.

The turn is the Jc.

After the cutoff checks, Greg pushes all-in for his remaining $40,000+.

Question 3. Why does he push all-in here?

a. He puts his opponent on a hand like A-K or A-Q
b. There are so many river cards that can beat him.
c. He believes he is in the lead at this point.
d. If he makes a big bet that is not all-in, he will have few chips left.
e. All of the above.

Answer e. All of the above. He does not put his opponent on A-J. He puts him on A-K or A-Q. Again, he doesn't want to get rivered.

After Greg moves all-in, his opponent calls.

His opponent actually thought there was only $20,000 in the pot, and that Greg made a huge overbet as a bluff. He turned over A-5. The river was a rag, and Greg won a big pot.

Congratulations to Johnathan Gelling for getting all the right answers

Poker Quiz: Inside the Mind of Greg Raymer

How to approach a poker hand the Greg Raymer way

I have never played against Raymer but every time I see him on TV, he is making the right decision. I am impressed.

Image via Wikipedia

See if you can you figure out why Greg does what he is does each step of the way in this hand:

It's a major event and the blinds are $300-$600 with a $75 ante. Greg is in on the button with $55,000. The cutoff has $50,000. The blinds have $80,000 each.

It's folded to the player in the cutoff who raises to $1,600. Greg finds Ah-10s. Greg calls.

Question 1: Why does he just call?

a. He identifies the player as being loose.
b. The blinds are deep stacked.
c. He doesn't want to be re-raised.
d. He wants to see a flop in position.
e. All of the above.

After Greg calls, so does the big blind. There is $5,775 in the pot.

The flop is Ad-10c-9h.

The pre-flop raiser bets $4,000 and Greg re-raises to $13,000.

Question 2. Why does Greg re-raise here?

a. The board is coordinated and he wants to eliminate players.
b. He flopped 2 pair.
c. He wants to see where he stands in this situation.
d. He wants to have the lead on the turn.
e. All of the above.

After Greg re-raises, the big blind folds but the initial raiser calls. There is now $31,775 in the pot.

The turn is the Jc.

After the cutoff checks, Greg pushes all-in for his remaining $40,000+.

Question 3. Why does he push all-in here?

a. He puts his opponent on a hand like A-K or A-Q
b. There are so many river cards that can beat him.
c. He believes he is in the lead at this point.
d. If he makes a big bet that is not all-in, he will have few chips left.
e. All of the above.

After Greg moves all-in, his opponent calls.

Tomorrow: The answers and the outcome to this hand.

Online Poker: Here Are 5 Losing Plays

5 Losing Plays in Online Poker Tournaments

1. Pushing all-in with pocket Queens, Kings, and Aces pre-flop in the fi

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rst round.

In the first round, pushing all-in pre-flop with pocket Aces, Kings and Queens is a losing play. You don't get these hands often, and you want to get the most value out of premium pairs. Not just win the blinds, right?

I don't get it.

2. Never defending on the big blind

Players in the big blind play way too tight to pre-flop raises. If the blinds are $50-$100 and a player raises to $250, there is $400 in the pot. It is going to cost $150 to win $400--more than 2-1. Hands like A-10 unsuited, A-5 suited, 10-8 suited or 2-2 should be calling these raises. Insta-folding on the big blind will also invite other players to attack, but it happens all the time.

I don't get it.

3. Playing poker like it's bingo.

If a player doesn't improve on the flop, he just insta-folds to the pre-flop raiser. It's like all he see's is a bingo card in front of him. No hit on the flop, no further play. This makes no sense to me since an opponent's c-bets often indicates a player's strength or weakness. Attack weakness, don't fold to it.

I don't get it.

4. Never firing a second bullet when an opponent has done nothing but call.

A player will raise pre-flop and get one caller. The flop is dealt and the pre-flop raiser makes a c-bet. His lone opponent calls. The turn card hits and the pre-flop raiser checks. Oh my! This player is either trying to keep the pot small or telling his opponent that neither the flop or turn helped his hand. But not firing that second bullet is an invitation to a bet which forces a fold. It's not good online poker.

I don't get it.

5. Not eliminating opponents at the final table.

At the final table, there will often be one or two players who have a lot of chips and a few players who are desperate to survive. When one of these desperate players moves all-in, a chip leader who is risking less than 10% of his chips on the big blind should be calling with a wide range of cards--perhaps any two cards. For example, the chip leader on the big blind has $100,000, the blinds are $1,000-$2,000, and a player under the gun moves in for $10,000. It's an insta-call not an insta-fold.

I don't get it.

I believe these are 5 losing plays in online poker MTT's. Agree or disagree?

Online Poker: 9 More Winning Moves For 9/9/09

9 More Moves For Playing Online Poker Tournaments

Here are 9 more moves for playing online poker MTT's. I find these plays work often enough to make them profitable. Of course, I make no promises...

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1. Round 1--Establish an image as a tight passive player and assess the table image of your opponents.

Usually in MTT's the table you are seated at first is the one you will be playing at for a long time. Look to NOT play a hand in the first round, unless it a premium hand. And don't play these premium hands overly-aggressive--just play them by the book.

You want your opponents to think you are passive and tight. You'll find that players get an image of how you play early on, and it's the one they stick with for a very long time.

Spend your time, assessing the table image of your opponents. Frankly, here is what I am looking for:

a. Tight players who only come in a pot with big hands--these guys are predictable
b. Funny players--these are the players who make plays that just look off. They tend to be the ones who think they are being clever or trying to get you to be fearful of their hand. They may make bet sizes that end in crooked numbers. They may always call a player and try to steal with a bet on the flop. They may always be raising pre-flop on the button. It could be a lot of things. These players are an opportunity to win big pots.
c. Flop bets--you want to know what size bets your opponents make on the flop. It helps to figure out when they are strong or weak. Do they always make 1/3 of the pot c-bets, 1/2 size pot c-bets, etc. and what does it mean when the bet size changes?

Spend your time watching, and not playing in round 1. I've never seen a player win a tournament in Round 1, so don't worry too much if you don't accumulate chips in this round.

2. Pre-flop: Back position

You want to look to raise the limpers when you are in the hijack, cutoff and on the button with a calling hand--and make the raises big ones. It's the old saying, "If your hand is good enough to call, it's good enough to raise with." For example, let's say there are three limpers, and you are on the button with A-9 suited. The "right" play is to limp. Don't do the right play. Raise big<--this is key. Usually everyone folds. Even if you get called, make a good sized c-bet on the flop. This play works especially when your table image is that of a passive, tight player. 3. Pre-flop: Back position

You want to raise with any 2 cards from the hijack, cut-off and button if you have a passive, tight image and the opponents to your left are tight players. It's just a steal. The key is don't do it every time, and if you get re-raised just fold.

4. Pre-flop: In need of chips.

When you need chips, and there is a raiser in front of you, and you find small and medium pocket pairs, re-raise. Re-raise 4+ times your opponents raise. You are looking for a fold in this situation because the pot is a nice size.

5. Pre-flop: Size of pre-flop raises

I know that Daniel Negreanu's small ball is about pre-flop raises of 2.5x's the big blind. However, when it comes to online poker, I don't think players care about the difference between a min-bet and a 2.5x's blind bet. So, my advice is to go with the min raise in online poker MTT's. Heck, my guess is that most players will already select the fold button before you complete your min-raise.

6. Pre-flop: Playing pocket aces and kings

With aggressive opponents who have already raised pre-flop, I often like to call and trap my opponent.

With passive tight players, I like to push all-in when it is a much bigger overbet so it looks like Ace-King. The reason is that these players usually have at least a pair and will be thinking along the lines of "I almost never play a hand and this guy is trying to get me to laydown my pair with his Ace-King. No way, I'm in the lead so...."

7. Flop: Drawing Hand and Scare cards

In position and heads-up (or against 2 opponents), look to raise with a drawing hand. The idea is to get your opponent to fold, so you can get a free card. Also, you should know what scare cards can hit on the turn that will allow you to steal the pot. The more scare cards, the better the opportunity to steal the pot with a turn bet.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of evaluating the flop and your assessment of your opponent's hand, as it relates to scare cards that can come on the turn. If you are right, you will win the pot with any two cards. The only warning is that players don't like to laydown big hands--in fact, online it is almost impossible to get players to fold these hands since they don't like to be bluffed. There used to be poker saying "A good laydown is a good thing." Not true with online poker players.

8. Flop: Bet sizing

While it is difficult to know what a player's "unseen" hand is in poker, you can see the size of his flop bet relative to the pot. And that often tells you what you need to know.

Play against your opponent's bet size. If you've been watching closely, you'll know how much your opponent's bet size means on the flop. Often that 1/3rd size bet means weakness, so attack it. A player who always makes a pot size bet on the flop, can't always have the goods--if you have a draw or third pair, attack it.

The size of a bet relative to the pot, often tells you if your opponent is strong or weak. If he is weak, attack! Look, the fact is that it is difficult to get a big hand on the flop (a set or two pair is usually the best possible hand on the flop). Go on the attack. If you get re-re-raised, just fold.

9. Flop: The double your bet raise

Let's say you raise pre-flop and get one caller. You flop top pair, top kicker. You bet almost the size of the pot to protect your hand. Your opponent raises you by doubling your bet. What should you do?

Fold.

Too many players do the auto-call, thinking their hand is good or improve to a winner. It is not going to happen. Your opponent probably has a set.

The only exception is if you are playing against one of those "funny" players who is trying to get you to fold. Against this player, you can call or if you really think he is a joker, re-raise.

In general, those double your bet sized raises on the flop usually mean you are in trouble and it's time to fold.

That's your 9 moves for 9/9/09. I hope it gives you something to think about and helps to improve your game.

Top 3 Most Read Poker Posts in August

August-Top 3 posts

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If you haven't read 'em yet, just click on the headline.

#1. The Hands That Phil Ivey Played to Get to the Final Table at the Main Event

#2. The Simple Secret to Winning at Online Poker

#3. Ka-Ching! 2 Online Poker Tells That Work

Here are Two Funny Poker Stories

Funny Poker Stories

I was wondering if anyone wanted to share their funniest poker stories.



Here is a funny poker story which happened while I was playing:

I was playing at Garden City Casino in San Jose, CA. in one of their night time tournaments.

The event started with about 12 tables, and we were down to the final 5 tables. We were coming back from one of the 5 minute breaks. As you know, during these breaks the dealer checks the cards and makes sure everything is ready to go for the next hour of play.

The third hand after the break... an older guy to my left, let's call him Bob, raised 4 times the blinds. He was called by one player. I had never seen Bob play at the tournament before, so he must have been fairly new.

The flop came down Jack of diamonds, Jack of spades, 8 of diamonds.

Bob checks and his opponent bets. Bob calls.

The river is another diamond. Bob checks and his opponent moves all-in. Bob hesitates before he calls the all-in bet.

The dealer tells these two players to, "turn over your cards." Bob doesn't do anything. Meanwhile his opponent reveals that he has a diamond flush.

The dealer asks Bob nicely, "sir, please turn over your cards."

Bob calmly answers, "I have four jacks."

Now, almost everyone at the table is telling him to turn over his hand.

Reluctantly, Bob turns over his hand and shows two Jacks...the Jack of hearts and...the Jack of diamonds.

For a half-second everyone is impressed with the quads, until I think we all realized at the same moment that there was already a Jack of diamonds on the board. We had been playing with two Jack of diamonds!

Of course, the dealer calls over the tournament director who rules that the hand is a do-over. It's like it never happened.

Bob is not happy with the ruling. He argues that his hand was best, and it doesn't matter since the card is in play. The players laugh at him. As the dealer shuffles, another players asks Bob, "What were you thinking when you saw that there was a second Jack of diamonds."

Bob answers, "that I had four jacks."

It was really funny.

Here is another funny story that I read in a book:

I think this story is from TJ Cloutier about a big high-stakes cash game in Texas. I don't recall the players names at the table but one of them was a real character. I'll call him Jim.

Anyway, I think it went something like this:

Pre-flop an early position limped in and Jim raised. The limper called. The flop came and Jim bet again, and he was called again. The turn card hit and Jim bet and his opponent called. On the river, Jim moves all-in. His opponent thinks for a while and finally folds.

The dealer pushes Jim the pot, and waits for Jim to give back his cards. When no cards are coming, the dealers says "your cards."

Jim replies, "Oh, you forgot to deal me in that hand."

I don't recall what happened next, but I'm sure there must have been one hell of a fight brewing in Texas that night.

If you have a funny story, please share.

Thanks!

News! A New Online Poker Site I Recommend!

New! Full Rush Poker

I have been playing at a new online poker site Full Rush poker. (It has nothing to do with Full Tilt poker.)

Update: I am planning a "Trick or Treat" Tournament on FullRush Poker on Wednesday October 28 at 9pm ET. $50 Freeroll + $10 Bounty to knock me out. It is only open to those players who sign up using my links, banners or bonus code.

There is no password needed since only qualified players will see the event listed.

Select the tournament tab and then select the private tab and you will see Mitchell's Trick or Treat tournament. I selected Wednesday night to make sure it did not compete against the Twitter Poker Tour events.

You will start with 3,000 in chips and the rounds will be 10 minutes.

I think this is a great site for you to check out for three reasons:

1. Freerolls and tournaments which don't take forever to play--as they cap the number of entrants!

As much as I like playing poker, I really don't like playing online poker events for 6 hours or more. At Full Rush poker they actually cap the number of players. If you want to play in a $25 freeroll, you have to only beat a handful of players (I think it was like 27 players). And many of their guarantees are also capped. For example, I believe there were under 50 players for their $400 guarantee. It will save you a lot of time.

2. The players are not that good.

The players are just not the best. 75% of the players are from overseas--and very tight and passive. I like tight players who are also passive. If they raise pre-flop, I know they have a big hand.

3. They agreed to allow players who sign up using my link both their new player sign up bonus of 100% and 30% rakeback.

I decided to become an affiliate of the site after playing on it, talking with their owner, and negotiating a special deal for sign-up through me.

I believe I made a good deal for you at Full Rush poker where you get their 100% sign up bonus and a 30% rakeback.

Full Rush poker also has some added features that I like as well:

1. A countdown clock on the table you are playing, so you know how much time is left in a round.

2. An options button that is on the table so you can change the way the game is presented to you. When I play, I change the size of the cards, eliminate the sound of their dealer, and also get rid of their ads for upcoming events which pop up while you play.

3. When you deposit, they highlight the ways you can deposit based on where you live. US players are welcome. It may take a day to deposit the first time. For me, it took about 12 hours to get my credit card deposit approved.

Recommendation:

Sign up with Full Rush poker using my link and test out a freeroll that costs $0 to enter. See how it plays. If you like it, give this site a shot. Heck, when you don't have 6+ hours to play poker or get knocked out early from one of those other sites, test it out.

Here is the link for Full Rush poker (all of the highlighted text is the correct link:) It takes you directly to the sign up page.

Important: If you decide you just want to check out the site and sign up without depositing, put in the "Homerb" bonus code to make sure you get the rakeback deal. If you come back to deposit later, don't use the "Homerb" code again--use their FullRush50, 100 or 200 bonus codes and you will get both the bonus and the rakeback.

If you decide to sign up with depositing, don't use the "Homerb" code--use their FullRush50, 100 or 200 bonus codes and you will get both the bonus and the rakeback.

Best of luck! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Is There a System to Win a Poker Tournament?

Is there a system to winning MTT's?

This post was going to be about the system I am currently following when I play online poker tournaments. However, I realized that it is rather arrogant of me to suggest I know a system that works, so I just deleted it.

But, I do think you should consider developing your own poker tournament system. Let me explain why it is a good idea.

The Good Old Days

When I started playing tournaments I would write down my learning and come up with systems to test. I would take these pages (usually 5 to 12 pages long) to the local card rooms and review them at the breaks.

I started with a limit tournament system since that was the game I was usually playing.

There used to be a great limit tournament every Wednesday night at the Oaks in Emeryville, CA. (Frankly, limit events may require more skill than no limit events.)

My goal was to win back-to-back Wednesdays. For some reason I thought that if I win back to back events, it would mean I was really, really good. Anyway, for the limit events I started by using a system I read in a book by a player who had won back-to-back events. It didn't work for me, but it was the foundation for all my revisions.

Eventually, I had a 9 page limit poker system. It worked one Wednesday night. I won!

The next Wednesday night, I used it again, and I won again! It was amazing. I had set out to win back-to-back and I did.

After those wins, though, I lost a few more times before I decided to focus on the hottest game around--no limit tournaments.

No Limit Poker Tournament System

I wrote up a system to play that was based on Super System. It didn't work. I read a lot of articles in Cardplayer, and bought books on poker. My no limit poker system, started at 5 pages, then 7 pages, and eventually it was 12 pages long.

Yes, at the breaks, I would take out these pages and read them to remind me how to play.

Back in those days, Sundays were the best day of the week for poker tournaments in the Bay Area. There were two events on Sunday. A no limit event at the Oaks in the late morning, and another one at Lucky Chances in Colma, CA in the evening.

My system kept changing as I learned more and read more.

Finally, I set a goal: to win back-to-back Sunday events. It was a ridiculous goal since no one had ever won the event at the Oaks and Lucky Chances on the same day.

I don't know why, but I told Frank, a poker player at these same events, of my goal. His reaction. He laughed at me. When he stopped laughing, he told me I was good but not that good. And he laughed some more.

The Oaks game started at 11 am, and the Lucky Chances game started at 6 pm.

The next week, I finally won that first event at the Oaks. What was strange about that game was what happened early on. It was only the 5th hand, and I won my first pot of the day. Another player, who was not even in the hand, says to me, "I feel you're going to win. You look very serious." Weird. He was right.

After you win an event, you have to wait to get paid. I didn't think about it before, but there was no way I was going to get to Lucky Chances on time. I had to go from Emeryville to Colma on a Sunday night over the Bay Bridge. The key was to get to Lucky Chances before the first break or it would be too late to enter.

The game would start in 20 minutes, and you never know about Bay Bridge traffic. Fortunately, I knew a short-cut to bypass traffic at the other side of the bridge. It worked and I arrived in plenty of time. (By the way, you should check out what is going on at the Bay Bridge right now. They are taking out an old piece about the size of a football field and replacing it with a new one.)

I know it seems silly but at the breaks I would review my poker system and how to play at the different stages of the event.

Yes, Frank came by and he was still laughing. He actually says to me, "There's no way you are going to win this one." Unreal.

I guess the poker gods had a different plan. I made it to the final table! Frank was watching me like a hawk. Maybe he thought I had cards up my sleeves or something. He wasn't laughing any more. In fact, he was rooting for me!

Players seem to knock themselves out a final table. And sure enough, it got down to 6 players in a hurry. Then it was 5, 4, 3, and yes, I was heads-up.

My opponent and I were fairly even in chips. The players watching were all talking about how I had won at the Oaks.

We took a break. I got out my system for heads-up play. I admit it. I did not have anything on how to play heads-up. It didn't matter. I won earlier. I can win again.



And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout. But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

So did I.

I never got close to that goal again.

The moral of my story: Consider writing up your own poker system and keep working it. You will learn more and maybe you will win back-to-back WSOP bracelets.

The 10 Deadliest Poker Sins

Note: See the 9th Deadliest Poker Sin to Understand the Reason for this Movie Clip



The 10 Deadliest Poker Sins

1. Playing with money you can't afford to lose.

The reality is that the current economic situation has hurt everyone. Don't start risking money you can't afford to lose in hopes of winning a big tournament. And don't start bleeding out money in a series of small games. If you can't play with real money, stick to free rolls or points.

2. Keep playing poker even though you keep losing.

Reality check: 95% of players lose money playing poker. Enough said.

3. Think you know it all when it comes to poker.

This is the attitude I run into all the time online. Players abuse other players as if they are poker pros. The fact is that if you think you don't need to learn more about the game, you will certainly lose. The only poker player who abuses other players and still wins is Phil Hellmuth. The rest of them are losers.

4. You know you don't know it all when it comes to poker, but you do nothing to improve your game except play more poker.

I have heard players proudly state something like, "I never read a book, an article or did anything to improve my game." Good grief. That guy has just announced he to everyone in earshot that he is a sucker. It's truly sad. They are the railbirds of tomorrow. There is not one pro player that does not work at their game away from the poker table. Not a single one.

5. You don't track your results and your learning after each time you play.

It is critical to write down what you learn after playing not just one time, but every time you play. Win or lose. You will get better because you will think about your game and how you can improve. Writing down the results may even open your eyes about which games you are best and which ones you are not so good. You will even find out how much money you are winning or losing.

6. Expect to beat the luck in a poker tournament.

I don't care if you make the right play 100% of the time in a poker tournament. That is not a guarantee you are going to win. Heck, your play may have tricked that player to move all-in with a 7-2 offsuit against your pocket Aces on the very first hand. Great play! Oh, that is until the flop comes 7-6-2 and you get no help. 18% of the time your Aces will get busted by the worst hand in poker. (Correction--that is 12% of the time.)

How often have you watched the top pros at the WSOP declare "I know I have you beat" and move all-in on an opponent. The opponent calls. The pro has a small pocket pair, and his opponent has pocket Queens. See, the pro is wrong! How bad is this pro?!

Well, he is a genius, because he hit a set on the flop and wins a huge pot by making the wrong play at the right time. This is poker. Luck is a big part of the game.

7. You play predictable poker.

Beginner's are told to play the "right way" when it comes to learning the game. This is such bad advice because they become predictable and so easy to beat. Even if you are just starting out in poker, recognize what is considered the right way to play a hand in a particular situation. That is important to know. But it does not mean you must make that play now.

Ask yourself, in this particular hand, given what I know about my opponents, my chip stack, the blinds, the table image, what my opponent is thinking, etc., what is the best play in order for me to win the most chips. If it means limping with pocket Aces, then limp with pocket Aces.

8. You go on tilt.

Everyone experiences a bad beat. If you only get it all-in with the best hand, you will lose to someone sucking out on you with some stupid runner-runner. If you play online poker, you will feel that pain more often than is normal. It's part of the live game and it's integral to the online game. Get used to it.

Most importantly, don't let that bad beat affect your play on the following hands. If you think it will, just walk away from the table. You are on tilt. Come back when you have put those negative feelings behind.

9. You take losing a pot to a player personally and seek revenge.

If I could hear what players are thinking after losing a big hand, I believe I sometimes would hear these thoughts, "That guy sucked out on me and won that big pot. What a lucky sob. I'm not going to get angry or go on tilt. I'm just going to take him down!" Don't target other players because it will just take your eye off the ball--which is to have a winning session.

It was the 11th Commandment handed down to Moses: Thou shalt not seek revenge at the player who beat you in a hand of poker.

(FYI: The 12th-15th Commandments were also about poker but Moses dropped them on the way down from the mountain. I know this to be true because I saw it in a movie.)

10. You don't consciously and consistently work at improving your poker game.

People like to play and not work. Poker allows you to play poker and have a shot at winning money. That's nice, but unless you don't care about your money, why aren't you putting the effort in to get better?

I believe 80% of poker players think they are in the top 20%. It's not possible, of course. 95% of poker players lose money.

The good news is that just because you are a losing player today, does not mean you can not turn into a winning player. You must work at it--read, watch, converse with other players, etc--and you have to play as well--to gain actual experience. The more work you put into it and the more experience you get, the better your results.

Tournament Poker Answer: Let's Try Something Different To Improve Your Game

Tournament Poker Answer: Let's Try Something Different To Improve Your Game

And now for something completely different..

Let's see what you would do with this hand. There are going to be two different tracks on this hand to help you to learn more about your game.

Image by Dominic's pics via Flickr

It is the $25,000 buy-in event at the WPT Championship in Ls Vegas. Since it is only $25,000,
you overslept and arrived late to the event.

It is still early on, and you have $49,100 in chips...lots of chips. You take a seat.

Hand #1. Now don't get yourself knocked out on your first hand!

The blinds are $100-$200.

You are in the hi-jack position--which is the position to the right of the cut-off. I also have seen it called the power position.

Hijack Flyer (back)Image by Soul Safari via Flickr

Since you are late, you don't know anything about your opponents.

A middle position player raises to $600. He has $50,000

You have J-8 suited with spades and call. It is heads-up, with $1,500 in the pot.

The flop is 10c-9c-3s.

Question 1: Your opponent bets out for $800. What should you do?

a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise and to what amount?

If you selected a. Bad choice. You have an open ended draw and a chance to win a big pot.
If you selected b. Go to Question 2.
If you selected c. Go to Question 3.

Question 2: You called your opponent's bet. Why was this the right move? If you call the bet, I think that is because you have a draw and you believe you could win a big pot if you hit your hand. That is the typical play. It is not wrong, but it is not aggressive enough.

What if you raised here? What can happen?

1. Your opponent re-raises you and you would have to fold your hand.
2. Your opponent could fold and that would be a good thing.
3. You take control of the hand. Are you a bold enough player to make this move?

While b is not an incorrect answer. The result of the call is that your opponent is still in control of the hand. And the pot is now $3,100.

The turn is the Kh. Your opponent bets $2,400. What should you do?
a) Fold
b) Call
c) Raise, and to what amount?

See what happened here. Now you missed your straight, and you can't control the pot size. That call may have been a typical play by most players, but it may have been the wrong play. That call resulted in putting yourself in a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Question 3: You raised your opponent. Why? Did you make that raise because you thought your opponent was weak? Did you make that raise for another reason?

Raising here to get a free card is the reason the Pro player gave when asked. Or, he said if a scare card hits on the turn, he could win with a bet on the turn.

He raised to $2,200. He was called. The pot is now $5,900.

This is a bold play, and one you should consider adding into your game.

Question 4:

The turn card is the Kh. Your opponent checks and you decide to check. It's a scare card, but the Pro said he didn't think his opponent would fold to a bet here.

The river card is the Ac. That completes a potential flush. Your opponent checks.
What should you do?

a) Check
b) Bet and how much?

Answer

With his opponent checking, and you having Jack high, you can't check. The pot is $5,900 and you want your opponent to fold. The Pro overbet the pot to $7,000 and his opponent folded. The Pro stated that the raise on the flop was the key to winning the hand.

I think the learning from this quiz is that the call on the flop resulted in a lot of "wishing and hoping" on the turn. While the raise on the flop allows you to take the lead and control the pot size and the action. In this hand, here are many scare cards that can come on the turn. Frankly, I think the Kh on the turn was one of them. Although the Ace of clubs is a lot easier for your opponent to figure out your flop raise was a flush draw to get a free card.

If the club doesn't come on the river, I wonder if the Pro gets his bet called. Also, I don't know if over betting the pot on the river is the right sized bet. When making a bet that is larger than the pot it signals to me either a big hand or a bluff. A pot size bet or even a slighly less than pot sized bet signals to me "I want a call." Of course, a real small bet on the river will often get called given the odds.

Overall, the next time you have just a straight draw on the flop and your opponent bets into you, see how many scare cards can hit the board which can win you the pot. In this example, there are the flush cards (9), straight cards you really need (8-2 clubs), and cards that look like you hit a straight (8-2 clubs), or more...so maybe 23+ cards to give you a win.

In fact, with this line of thinking you can forget about your cards! Just learn to look at flops and see what you can do to take the pot away from your opponent based on scare cards alone. Always put your opponent on a range of hands, and see if he indicates strength or weakness to your play. In this example, his opponent did not show any strength, so he was ripe for a bluff. Of course, there are times your opponent will slow play you into a bigger loss--but that does not happen often.

Things to think about and try at your next tournament. For me, this hand got me to think about raising on the flop because of a potential scare card on the turn or river AND a reminder of getting a free card in no limit. Usually, I will think about calling the flop and deciding if the turn card is a scare card I can use to get my opponent to fold. The reason is to control the size of the pot. Now, I need to test this play out. If you do the same, please let me know how it turned out.

Thanks!