32Red Poker Blog

The Weak Call in Position

You’re playing in a ring game, and call a raise to $10 with  on the button. The flop comes , and your opponent makes a pot-sized $20 bet. What do you do?

“This is a standard pass, right?” I hear you say. You have nine high and just a gutshot. Yes, it is a standard pass, and it is not great to get into the habit of calling too much here. However, there are some situations where a call in position with a weak hand like this can turn into a very strong play…

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The post-the-oak bluff

A bluff is usually thought to be a big move at the pot, designed to put your opponent under so much pressure that he will have to pass.

A post the oak bluff is a tricky attempt to sneak the pot with no hand by betting a small amount. Here, we’ll talk about post the oak bluffs as being very small, 25% or less of the pot.

These kind of bets are so small that they will often be called by your opponent if he holds any type of hand. You may well persuade him that he is probably beat, but any element of doubt will be enough for him to call.  (more…)

Stack Size

Stack Size in Poker, and how it is even more important than you think…

Example #1

You hold , call a raise from the small blind, and hit a great flop of , which gives you a straight flush draw. You decide to play aggressively with a semi-bluff, to give yourself two chances of winning the pot. What is the best way to do this? Is it

a) Moving all-in straight away, b) Check-raising all-in c) Check raising, and moving all-in on the turn

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The Final, Bristol

The schedule of big buy-in poker tournaments in England has expanded exponentially in the last year, and the Gala Great British Poker Tour stands out as one of the most brave and successful additions. A tour of events held around the country during the last few months culminated in a £2500 Grand Final at Bristol’s Harbourside casino last week. (more…)

The Art of a Value Bet

As a good player, you know that it is crucial to try to squeeze the most out of your value bets when you hold the winning hand. Chips are lost not only every time you lose a pot, but every time you win a pot and do not get the maximum value out of your hand. (more…)