To Win at Poker Take Off Your Handcuffs!

What you can do to win more often at poker.

Image by mskogly via Flickr

I have been playing mostly limit poker cash games and a few no limit poker tournament the past two weeks. The one thing I've learned is that my opponents seem to limit their pre-flop raises and re-raises to big premium starting hands like AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ. If this is the way you play, my advice is take off your handcuffs!

Let me explain it this way: Raise and Re-raise preflop with a much wider range of starting hands.

1. Limit Poker:
When I am playing online poker at a nine-handed table, I find that players are tighter than at a poker club. When a late position player raises pre-flop, I will re-raise with dicey hands like K-J or J-10. What happens when I make this re-raise is that I tend to have position and the lead. On the flop, I hold my nose and I make that continuation bet. It works a lot more than you'd think.

Example:
A late position player raises with pocket Jacks. I re-raise with K-J. He calls.

The flop comes A-8-4. I bet and he calls or folds.

Let's say he calls. I don't like the call, but if he doesn't have an Ace, he will have to fold to my bet on the turn.

Let me make this clearer. You are on the cutoff and raise with pocket Jacks. I re-raise from the button. You call. The flop is A-8-4. You check. I bet and you call. The turn is a 2. I bet...now what are you going to do? Let's say the turn is a Q. I bet...now what?

Another example is when I do hit the flop; let's say it is J-4-2. My opponent calls me down with those pocket 10's. Now, any opponent paying attention is going to think I'm a poor player to re-raise with K-J or J-10.

And my table image results in my good hands getting paid off with bigger pots. The other advantage is that tend to have control of the hand, so I can even check the turn and see the river for free.

Give it a shot if you play limit cash poker online.

By the way, a lot of players like to make this re-raise with small and middle pairs. Frankly, I am not a fan of this play. I mean if you re-raise with pocket 6's and end up heads-up what are you going to do when your opponent calls your flop bet, and the flop has cards like 10-J-4. If the turn is a 9, now what? Are you really going to keep firing away hoping to hit a two-outer. A lot of players do just that.

2. Poker Tournaments:

In poker tournaments, players are not raising often enough to accumulate chips. You can't just sit there hoping to move all-in with AA against KK.

My suggestion is to widen the hands you raise with pre-flop. First, widen it a little and then keep widening the hands. Learn from these situations. Personally, I like to randomize between a 2 and 3x raise pre-flop. And, I try to find situations to steal with little risk with my raises.

In addition, just like in limit poker, widen the hands you will re-raise with pre-flop. The re-raise pre-flop will get your opponent to fold. If not, make that continuation bet on the flop and it will work more than you'd expect.

Yes, you may end up being trapped. But, that's okay, because you are going to improve your game. You will find that your ability to read your opponents will get better.

When you play aggressively like this, you will find that when you get deep in a tournament you won't worry about the bubble because you will have enough chips to have a shot at winning!

The fact is that Daniel Negreanu's small ball is all about making a lot of those small pre-flop raises. And, if you watch the new breed of poker tournament winner, you will see these guys making a lot of pre-flop re-raises.

Learn from them and try it yourself. It will improve your play and eventually, your results.

How to Triple Your Chip Stack in a Poker Tournament

On Day 1 of the Aussie Millions, Gus Hansen went from $20k to $66.7k. How did he triple his chip stack?

It is interesting to find that he increased his stack primarily on 4 hands. Would you play them the same way?

Hand 11: From 10.22k to 15.23k
Blinds: 100/200
Position: BB
Hand: Jc-9c

2 players limp and another player raises to 800. There is 1500 in the pot, and it will cost 600 more for Gus to call. He has suited connectors and is getting over 2 to 1. He calls. The limpers fold.

Flop: Jh-6s-3h. Gus check calls, the 1200 bet into the 2100 pot.

Turn: Js. Gus check raises all-in. His opponent folds.

Conclusion: Standard play.

Hand 14: From 12.6k to 28.85k
Blinds: 100/200
Position: 1st
Hand: Kd-9d

Gus raises to 600 and gets two callers.

Flop: 8d-6s-3d. Gus bets, one player calls, and another check raises to 3200. He calls as does the other player.

Turn: 6d. The chec-raiser checks, and Gus moves all-in. The BB calls with Jc-8s!

River: 2s.

Conclusion: A loose pre-flop raise under the gun by Gus. The BB made a very strange call on the turn--thinking Gus was bluffing.

Hand 17: From 26.6k to 53.2k
Blinds: 100/200/25
Position: 2 off button
Hand: Jc-5c

Gus raises to 600 and the button makes it 1200. Gus calls--since this is a min raise which looks like he wants a call.

Flop: Kc-9s-3c.

Gus and the min raiser checks.

Turn: 8c.

Gus bets 2000, his opponent raises to 6000, and Gus moves all with his flush. His opponent calls with a set of 9's.

River is 4h. Gus wins.

Conclusion: A loose pre-flop raise leads to a big win. I've been in the position of the player with the set, and I called even though I was 99.9% sure my opponent had the flush. I lost as well.

Hand 31: From 54k to 68.8k
Blinds: 300/600/75
Position: 2 off button
Hand: Ac-Td

Gus opens for 1800. The button and BB call.

Fop 10s-8d-3s. Gus bets 4800 into the 6450 pot and the button calls.

Turn 8s. Both players check.

River: 6c. Gus bets 6300 and gets called. He wins as his opponent mucks after seeing Gus' hand.

Conclusion: Pretty standard play. His opponent could have tried to bluff a flush by betting the turn and the river.

Overall, it is interesting to see that Gus won big pots twice by playing hands that most players would not play, and of course, entering the pot with a raise.