Why We Lose at Poker (2)

Here are more reasons why we lose at poker. As I always say, these are all rather obvious yet we seem to break our own rules and guidelines rather easily. Let’s try to make a new start by being as sensible as possible at the tables…

Position

Position, position, position. Position. This is certainly one of the aspects of the game we know about but with which we take terrible liberties.

Good position, clearly, means late position. As one of the last players to act after the flop we see how the opposition plays first and can use this vital information accordingly when it’s our turn; ideally we want to be the dealer/button so that we are last of all to act.

It follows that the better position we have the better reads we get and, in turn, the more flexibility in terms of starting hands. Being armed with the information afforded us by having position allows us to play more hands, with more aggression, than when in early position.

DO NOT carelessly play based only on the cards, with no consideration for position. Position is everything.

Too Loose, You Lose

Yet another poker sin we all knowingly commit. Premium starting hands are thus called for a reason – they are the ones we should limit ourselves to playing, rather than finding something magical in hands like K4 suited or T7. Getting into the habit of automatically limping in with poor hands and then having to let go when the poor pre-flop hand is still awful post-flop (or – worse – stubbornly refusing to give up) will cost a lot of money in the long-run.

Limiting yourself to playing a range along the lines of, for example, pocket pairs (how small should depend on the situation), AK, AQ, AJ/T suited, KQ in late position and suited connectors, while folding everything else pre-flop, should keep you sufficiently entertained as well as considerably reduce unnecessary cumulative losses.

Odds

Poker might be gambling, but at least we are able to make decisions armed with true numbers in the form of odds. This knowledge, and using it optimally, is imperative to success in poker. If you haven’t yet acquainted yourself with both card odds and pot odds (weighing up the odds of making a hand with the potential reward) you are not doing yourself justice and are undoubtedly wasting money! Fortunately, 32Red Poker is at hand – visit Pot Odds + Card Odds = Winners to improve your game.

Bluffing

While bluffing seems so exciting on television, this poker art has the nasty habit of backfiring. Note also that with the arrival of Anonymous tables we will see quite a bit more bluffing, so be careful not to get carried away. One good reason to think twice before bluffing at the lower levels is that your opponents probably won’t appreciate odds enough to know when they are ‘beaten’ and will therefore not back down. Folding isn’t fun, so they prefer to stay in with a chance of winning even with mediocre hands. Bluffing in good position is obviously better than in early position because there is much more information with which to make decisions.

Remember not to bluff too much as this will be exploited by observant players.

Money Management

Simply play within the limits of your bankroll if you want to avoid disaster. Never sit down with more than 5% of your bankroll, for instance (or be even more prudent if you prefer). Start at low levels or tournament buy-ins while building up experience, otherwise by the time you’re really beginning to appreciate more about various aspects of the game you won’t be able to put your knowledge into practice!

Patience and prudence.
Good luck!

Angus Dunnington (AngusD at the 32Red tables)
32Red Poker Ambassador

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Related Articles

• Why we lose at poker (Part 1)
• Why we lose at poker (Part 2)

No Limit: Recognising bluffs

No Limit: Recognising bluffs

How many times do we get aggressive with an overpair on a paired board only to run into a hefty (re)raise that scares us off the hand? Too often, presumably, and the annoying thing is we never know if we were being prudent or too passive and, typically with online play, subsequently fail to give the episode any more thought. Even when the same thing happens again an hour or so later we tend to be believers rather than entertain the possibility that we are getting bluffed. But of course if these players are indeed bluffing, then we’re missing out on opportunities to potentially win big. Moreover, we should be actively seeking out those aggressive players prone to bluffing so that we are better prepared to induce bluffs when promising situations arise.

For example, let’s consider this typical scenario above. We are on the big blind with 88 and it’s folded to the button, who raises. We call and the flop brings 622 rainbow, giving us a useful looking overpair. We obediently check and the button duly bets, which we answer with a check-raise. This is where the hand can get interesting and it is worth analysing the significance of what might happen next. If our opponent has either a 2 or 66, then rather than three-betting it would make much more sense to simply call our check-raise with a view to exploiting (in position, remember) our future aggression whether we are bluffing or are betting a weaker hand. If the roles were reversed we would be afraid that three-betting our full house, for instance, would raise the alarm and thus prematurely end the hand, yet when faced with such a reraise we too easily assume the worst. This might be human nature, but the psychology is really quite easy to appreciate in the cold light of day, which is why it is worth addressing these situations away from the table so that we have already weighed up the implications of certain actions in this and other pretty common scenarios. Putting in the donkey work before we sit down means freeing up time during a hand to analyse other complex issues.

If we look at the same hand, but this time we called an early position pre-flop raise on the button and were also joined by the big blind, then it is not unusual for play to develop as follows: the BB checks, the original raiser opens, we call and the BB wakes up with a check-raise. Again it would have made sense, were the BB holding 66, to call and let the aggressor (and possibly us on the button) continue building the pot. Now, when the middle player decides to give up we can call and, in position, address the turn and river accordingly. Moreover the BB’s check-raise is more indicative of 44, 55 or even a drawing hand like 45 than it is of 66 or 62. Consequently, if the turn is a 7, for example, and checked, then we should be willing to call rather than be scared off if the river brings an ace, which in fact serves to further induce a bluff from the BB as the bet then looks even stronger.

Of course it is quite possible that people simply check-raise big hands but, as we gain experience, we increasingly notice that aggressive players are often trying it on.

Good luck at the tables!

Angus Dunnington (AngusD)
32Red Poker Ambassador

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No Limit Hold’em: Bluffing

No Limit Hold’em: Bluffing

Bluffing is a key ingredient of No Limit Holdem and absolutely must be integrated as part of our game. If we never bluff, then opponents will soon notice that our bets simply mean we have at least a decent hand, in which case we might as well be playing with our cards on display. Bluffing too frequently is equally transparent, and even more costly.

Bluffs take numerous forms and, while some are more complicated than others, even apparently simple bluffs must be executed properly in order to guarantee that we are indeed representing the hand that is supposed to scare off the opposition. Rather than bluffing on a whim, it is important to establish the foundations of a believable narrative. For example we might be the sole caller, in the BB, of a modest raise and see a ragged flop containing two diamonds. We check and call the inevitable continuation bet (also a bluff, remember), and a third diamond arrives on the turn. A decent bet here should induce a fold from a range of made hands thanks to the betting thus far.

Note that the size of our bet is key, as betting too little simply invites a genuine flush draw (indeed anything with potential) to make a value call – the whole point of engineering the bluff is to represent a made flush on the turn, in which case the logic is to bet big enough to make calling too expensive. We must act the part, and get used to ‘seeing’ the perfect cards instead of those we actually hold (once we’ve convinced ourselves we’ve just turned a flush it will be easier to fool the opponent).

In fact bet sizing is a key factor when bluffing because, apart from the size of the bet having to be in line with the hand we‘re representing, we generally need to find a way of achieving our aim for as little as possible. For example if we bluff on the flop with a pot bet, for such a strategy to be successful our opponent would have to fold half of the time, but if we bet instead just half of the pot, then one fold in three is enough.

Good luck at the tables!

Angus Dunnington
32Red Poker Ambassador

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No Limit Multi-table Tournaments: Early Stage Strategy

Bluffing in NL cash games is one thing, bluffing in NL multi-table tournaments is quite another – particularly in the early stages of a tournament. This is because during the earlier levels players’ stacks are simply too small in relation to the size of the pot to justify bluffing what is a significant chunk of our stack – with such a long journey ahead the gains have much less value than the potential losses.

Let’s say we have roughly our 1000 chip starting stack in a multi-table freezeout tournament and, only a couple of levels in, consider bluffing 500 at a 500 pot. Even if we rate our chances of stealing the pot, the gain would be far less significant than finding ourselves down to 500 chips in the event we are called. The main aim at this stage is to stay alive with a workable stack in order to be sufficiently armed when big hands crop up, rather than jeopardise this with risky bluffs with limited potential reward. It’s also worth keeping in mind that some people enter a multi-table tournament with the intention of either progressing very quickly or accepting early elimination so they can do something else with their time. These players are not satisfied with plodding along and may well call our bluff with a small pair or even A-high because they are losing the same amount of money whether they leave after two minutes or 20 minutes. All things considered, losing half our average sized stack through a bluff unnecessarily does more damage than increasing our stack by half helps us on the way to victory – if we start a 150-player tournament with 1000 chips we will need to have amassed around 16000 to have an average stack on the final table.

Of course accumulating chips isn’t easy, and we can’t sit idly by during earlier levels waiting for enormous hands (and then hoping to win big with them), so next week we’ll take another look at multi-table tournament strategy.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

NL Cash Games: Bluffing

Here are a couple of ways to successfully incorporate more bluffing strategy into your game. While shoving all-in on the river is the more obvious ploy which, unless executed sensibly, will see your money disappear, there are more subtle methods, too.

Exploiting Late Position Thieves

Button raising (as well as aggression in the cut-off) has become such a popular play nowadays that habitually surrendering the blinds is simply passing up on opportunities to exploit what is often just a pre-flop steal attempt. Obviously you must observe the play closely (as always), but be prepared when in the blinds to 3-bet light against those players who are stealing in these late positions. Given that most players ordinarily raise in late position with a considerably wider range, your post-flop continuation bet should be enough to take the pot. Note that the very reason this works is your willingness to assume the role of aggressor when out of position, so it is important not to make a habit of this play. The trick is to do it enough so that, when used properly, picking up pots uncontested in this way has the potentially lucrative benefit of seeing your hands being paid off when you later 3-bet light in the same circumstances with big hands against increasingly non-believing and frustrated opponents.

Check-raising against Serial Continuation-bets

This is another out of position bluff aimed at punishing those players who invariably follow up a pre-flop raise with a continuation bet. Again the danger is that your strategy becomes as predictable as the play you are trying to exploit. But once again, by picking up pots (this time including your opponent’s post-flop c-bet) with this out of position check-raise bluff (when the flop looks like it missed your opponent), you are more likely to have your monster hands paid off. And with this in mind, whenever you subsequently check it is by no means an indication that you don’t have a strong hand, which in turn makes the opposition‘s decision making more awkward.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

Why we lose at poker (Part 2)

Here are more reasons why we lose at poker. As I always say, these are all rather obvious yet we seem to break our own rules and guidelines rather easily. Let’s try to make a new start by being as sensible as possible at the tables…  

Position

Position, position, position. Position. This is certainly one of the aspects of the game we know about but with which we take terrible liberties. 

Good position, clearly, means late position. As one of the last players to act after the flop we see how the opposition plays first and can use this vital information accordingly when it’s our turn; ideally we want to be the dealer/button so that we are last of all to act. 

It follows that the better position we have the better reads we get and, in turn, the more flexibility in terms of starting hands. Being armed with the information afforded us by having position allows us to play more hands, with more aggression, than when in early position. 

DO NOT carelessly play based only on the cards, with no consideration for position. Position is everything. 

Too Loose, You Lose

Yet another poker sin we all knowingly commit. Premium starting hands are thus called for a reason – they are the ones we should limit ourselves to playing, rather than finding something magical in hands like K4 suited or T7. Getting into the habit of automatically limping in with poor hands and then having to let go when the poor pre-flop hand is still awful post-flop (or – worse – stubbornly refusing to give up) will cost a lot of money in the long-run. 

Limiting yourself to playing a range along the lines of, for example, pocket pairs (how small should depend on the situation), AK, AQ, AJ/T suited, KQ in late position and suited connectors, while folding everything else pre-flop, should keep you sufficiently entertained as well as considerably reduce unnecessary cumulative losses. 

Odds

Poker might be gambling, but at least we are able to make decisions armed with true numbers in the form of odds. This knowledge, and using it optimally, is imperative to success in poker. If you haven’t yet acquainted yourself with both card odds and pot odds (weighing up the odds of making a hand with the potential reward) you are not doing yourself justice and are undoubtedly wasting money! Fortunately, 32Red Poker is at hand – visit this link to improve your game. 

Bluffing

While bluffing seems so exciting on television, this poker art has the nasty habit of backfiring. Note also that with the arrival of Anonymous tables we will see quite a bit more bluffing, so be careful not to get carried away. One good reason to think twice before bluffing at the lower levels is that your opponents probably won’t appreciate odds enough to know when they are ‘beaten’ and will therefore not back down. Folding isn’t fun, so they prefer to stay in with a chance of winning even with mediocre hands. Bluffing in good position is obviously better than in early position because there is much more information with which to make decisions. 

Remember not to bluff too much as this will be exploited by observant players. 

Money Management

Simply play within the limits of your bankroll if you want to avoid disaster. Never sit down with more than 5% of your bankroll, for instance (or be even more prudent if you prefer). Start at low levels or tournament buy-ins while building up experience, otherwise by the time you’re really beginning to appreciate more about various aspects of the game you won’t be able to put your knowledge into practice! 

Patience and prudence. 

Angus Dunnington (AngusD at 32Red Poker) 

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Bluffing the Continuation Bet – Part 1

Bluffing the Continuation Bet – Part 1

A player has raised in mid position, and you make the call from the small blind with . The flop misses you completely, coming . You check, and your opponent bets two thirds of the pot. You have no idea what he has, but you do know that he tends to make a continuation bet on the flop with a massive range of hands. Read more