Fixed Limit: Fold your way to profit

Fixed Limit: Fold your way to profit

After a few recent adventures in Fixed Limit poker (which is where most people who discovered poker during the early days of the global online explosion had their first experience), I think it’s worth mentioning the importance of folding as a key winning tool.

There is a danger in FL – especially at the lower limits, and even more so for those used to NL – to let the capped betting structure lull you into a false sense of value for money. The price to see more flops, turns and rivers seems so cheap compared to what we might have to pay in NL, so there is a tendency to take marginal and even poor hands further than perhaps we should (in NL, of course, the potential rewards in the shape of effectively ‘limitless’ pots can justify perseverance but, nevertheless, we should probably fold more in NL too).

So chasing long shots, or consciously paying to stay in the hunt with what is unlikely to be the best hand, is generally a poor strategy (this sounds so obvious when you read it out loud). Note that this problem is compounded in a short-handed game. This is why we see sensible players perform way over expectation at the lower levels, as they appreciate that much of the opposition is playing way too loosely – plus the fact that some see this particular format as simply a ‘cheap’ way to learn, have fun and possibly win money, too. There’s just no fun in folding hand after hand, apparently…

Folding is both a fundamental and essential part of good poker. But if we’re looking for fun with insufficient regard to the cost, then this option, which is the first we are given as soon as we see our hole cards, will be a party-pooping unwelcome one. Changing this mindset is imperative. If we follow any reasonable advice regarding starting hands, then folding pre-flop should be a regular ‘decision’ we should find ourselves making. The sooner we interpret folding as a necessary ‘sacrifice’ on the way to having entertainment (in the form of profit) with our stronger hands, the sooner we get used to playing better poker and, in turn, progress kicks in.

Good hands and good opportunities are inevitable and, in time, the combination of patient, improved play and the money saved by avoiding the cumulative losses caused by an indisciplined reluctance to fold poor hands will reap rewards.

Note that I am not advocating folding all but the very best starting hands, rather getting out of the habit of almost automatically limping in with almost anything which, unfortunately, can lead to more trouble on subsequent streets. Fold, follow the game to see who doesn’t, and have fun punishing them.

Good luck (folding) at the tables!

AngusD

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Wise Guys Results (18th – 24th Apr)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

It’s great being a 32Red player!

Unless for the last few days you’ve been living in a cave (or at least one that doesn’t have internet) you’ll be aware of certain online poker rooms with customers from the US having massive problems, which in turn has proved very bad news for the players on those sites.

Fortunately, 32Red has for years not accepted US players and thus has avoided any such catastrophe for themselves or their players, and I must say, as a 32Red veteran, it is the excellent security provided by 32Red that I try to emphasise to new players when recommending they join. It’s not for nothing that 32Red has such a solid and reliable reputation in this regard. The recent blowouts of hitherto big name online poker rooms should serve as a reminder that the guarantee of playing on a secure, well-grounded site – as opposed to those that fly, in reckless Icarus fashion, too close to the sun – is an imperative when choosing where to enjoy your poker time.

So it’s not all bad news for poker players. In fact for some (us) it’s very good. To reward its loyal players 32Red has introduced a whole smorgasbord of generous promotions. These will appeal to all sorts of players, but the most outstanding is the new and exclusive Rakeback Boost promotion which has just started and will run until 31st July. This gives players the opportunity to earn up to 50% rakeback thanks to a weekly bonus on top of the juicy 30% already available. Every week, rake between €250 and €499 from Monday to Sunday to earn an additional 10% rakeback, added to your account on Monday! And if you rake €500+ from Monday to Sunday there’ll be an additional 20% rakeback added.

As well as this bonus rakeback 32Red is also rolling out the following promotions:

• $200,000 added to the Bad Beat Jackpot (currently over $270,000 and rising…).
• Main event of the Easter Festival increased to €750K.
• Magic Hands promotion now runs until end of April.
• €2,500 ‘New Player’ Freerolls (weekly, no deposit required), click here.
• €2,500 Added ‘New Player’ Turbo Tournaments (weekly, €1 buy-in), click here.

I hope you continue to enjoy poker in 32Red’s safe hands.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

POKER QUIZ

Congratulations to POWER28 for winning our previous Poker Quiz (click here for details).

Welcome to 32Red’s regularly updated Poker Quiz section where we ask you all sorts of poker questions and all you have to do is answer them correctly to enter our draw for free cash prizes & tournament tickets!

Are you ready?

 

What would you need to do on our JACKPOT SIT & GO’S for a €500 BONUS?

A: Win 5 of them consecutively ?
B: Finish in 1st or 2nd place in 5 consecutive games?
C: Hit a Royal Flush ?

Click here for a clue!

Post your answers below and if we pick your name out of the hat and you’ve posted the correct answer, you’ll receive a FREE WSOP Qualifying Ticket (worth €9 + €1) to play at 32Red Poker!

JACKPOT SIT & GO: Can you win 5 in a row?

Sit & Go Tournaments are fun.  Even people who don’t play STTs give them a try from time to time for a change of scene or purely for entertainment.  With this in mind, 32Red Poker’s latest promotion revolves around a simple challenge: Can you win 5 in a row? (Don’t worry – there’s also a bonus for near misses!).

If you can indeed manage this magic winning streak in 32Red’s new 6-Seat Jackpot Sit & Go tournaments, then you’ll be rewarded with a tasty bonus of €5,000 plus a chance to win the Progressive Jackpot seeded at €20,000!

Of course success ultimately depends on a certain level of skill and a dose of luck and, fortunately, there is an additional incentive that will keep players smiling even when finishing runner-up. This is in the shape of a €500 bonus prize for anyone placing 1st or 2nd in five consecutive STTs.  These new tournaments, in Normal and Super Turbo formats, have buy-ins of €12 + €1 (including the Progressive Jackpot fee), payouts of €30, €18 & €12, and can be found in the Jackpot area of the Sit & Go section.

Note that a qualifying winning streak must be completed within 21 consecutive days of the first win (see Terms and Conditions).

As for adopting a special jackpot STT strategy, it wouldn’t be a good idea to allow the potentially very high rewards to distract you from the usual sensible approach of starting reasonably tight and loosening up as the blinds increase and players are eliminated. With three prizes on offer it is reasonable to concentrate on making the top three and, once in the money, mix up your game further, being willing to get jiggy with hands such as 99, for example.

But remember also to be on the lookout for those players who have made significant and exploitable adjustments, meaning observing the opposition’s tendencies (who is scared, who is stealing too much etc.) is even more critical to success than usual.

Click here to visit 32Red’s Jackpot Sit & Go promotion.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

Wise Guys Results (4th – 10th Apr)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

More on Multi-Tabling

We’ve featured multi-tabling before, and while it isn’t for everyone, we all nevertheless try this hectic looking approach at some time. Unfortunately, there’s more to it than most players believe. Indeed the understandable attraction of making more money is about as far as the vast majority get when deciding to drastically change their game. But of course it doesn’t necessarily follow that eight-tabling will result in earning eight times as much money as sitting at only one table (in fact it’s a difficult enough task succeeding in following the action at all on so many tables without actually managing a profit; remember that opening just one additional table is multi-tabling).

While a winning player should definitely try to progress by increasing the number of tables, initially the focus should not be on profit but rather how you feel in different situations. It pays to make notes detailing how this or that aspect of your play is affected by the almost constant requirement to make multiple decisions. For example, when a big hand appears do you feel distracted by your ‘duties’ on the other tables? Do you feel guilty keeping others waiting by timing out here and there in order to give critical situations maximum attention? And with this in mind, are there any players on this ‘critical’ table who are also there at the others to notice this tell? Is it possible – as is the case when playing just the one table – to use the timing of your actions to represent certain types of play? Do you have enough time when trying to follow the action to observe other players?

Money is money, but concentrating on these and other important parts of the game is the key to determining to what extent, if any, multi-tabling is worth the effort, as appreciating the cumulative implications of each individual situation is imperative in the quest to find the most optimal playing conditions.

Good luck at the tables!

AngusD

Poker Fundamental: Losing is part of the game

Poker being a game, it requires us all to experience losing as well as winning but, not surprisingly, such an unpleasant subject isn’t one we look forward to addressing. We tend to dismiss this ‘irrelevance’ (do we ever put time aside to exclusively ponder losing?) at the risk of failing to address its potentially seriously damaging implications.

And there is always bad luck on which to pin the blame. But luck in the context of a genuine problem of chronic losing is essentially negligible, serving only to ‘inspire’ the kind of weak play with which someone on tilt endeavours to right the wrongs so unfairly inflicted upon him by the poker gods (who then conjure up a wicked bad beat – like AK v AK – to punish such a futile strategy).

It is a costly habit to blame bad luck for what amounts to cumulative losses. The danger is we allow luck to put us off our stride to such an extent that not only are we continually losing money by no longer playing our best game (which, overall, has been fine thus far), but we carry on down the same treacherous path while perfectly aware of the fact.

Key factors that contribute to serious losing streaks are poor play, poor judgement and poor attitude – bad luck does play a part, but often as a catalyst that brings the worst out in us if our chief weakness is the third of these factors.

Alas we all find ourselves going down this road at some point; the trick is to recognise the change in direction as early as possible and do whatever it takes to get back on track before too much damage is done, learning something from the experience along the way. And we must also remember that another bad run is inevitable, taking precautions to cope effectively with the situation when it does arrive.

Taking a break is an obvious healthy remedy, but playing at lower limits or with a smaller buy-in, perhaps while relaxing to music (or whatever gets you in the poker ‘fun’ mood), is another way to recharge the batteries.

I’ve covered this subject before and will do so again in future as it’s something we must all face from time to time, and I know from experience that revisiting what we know to be pretty obvious can be quite reassuring for most players.

Good luck at the tables (and don’t let the bad luck get you down…)

AngusD

Wise Guys Results (28th Mar – 3rd Apr)

Win at the 32Red Poker cash tables and you may qualify for even more cash rewards with our Wise Guys weekly leaderboards. Yes, we reward our biggest winners at 32Red Poker and we reward them well, with over $1,000 in prizes every week!

Congratulations to last week’s prize winners…

32Red’s Wise Guys

32Red Poker rewards loyalty, and winners – so if you’re a winning player, don’t be shy and try out our Wise Guys weekly competition. Have fun at the tables and good luck this week!

32Red’s New Tables & New Loyalty Plan

With the virtual and real worlds increasingly overlapping it is fitting that 32Red Poker have introduced an alternative format in the shape of ‘arcade’ tables which, no doubt, will prove very popular with the generation of players used to seeing the world through a monitor. As the classic Simon & Garfunkel song At the Zoo goes: “Orangutans are sceptical of changes in their cages” but, as it happens, online poker players are way ahead of their entertaining cousins when it comes to change, and I must say that it is well worth trying out the arcade feature. This is done by clicking on Menu, then Views followed by Arcade View.

The first thing you will notice is that the important features on the table are considerably larger, namely the hole cards, board cards and the player boxes (even the other players’ cards). Not surprisingly this makes following the action during a hand easier on the eye, requiring less effort. Indeed, while the colours for the various actions remain the same – yellow for Fold, green for Call and orange for Raise – the distinct blocks of yellow of the players who have folded, for example, better help highlight which players are still in the hand. Of course I really like the traditional set-up, too, so I’ll probably switch between formats depending on what mood I’m in. Try the Arcade tables out for yourselves and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Meanwhile, by now you will have noticed 32Red Poker‘s new and exclusive 30% Loyalty Bonus. Basically, this is an excellent and very fair ‘everyman’ system as everyone receives a 30% deal regardless of how much they rake. But the best feature is that there is no need to wait until the end of the month, and no inconvenient hoops to jump through to receive your cash – simply log in, click on the Redbacks icon and redeem however many of your Redbacks you prefer for cash, your poker account being updated instantly. Alternatively, use your Redbacks for excellent value tournament buy-ins!

Good luck at the tables.

AngusD

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