Ask Stuart “TrickyRock” Rutter

Hi guys,

Welcome to our poker blog! I’m really excited about this new venture, and think that it could become a really big hit across the growing world of online poker, and online poker forums.

Remember that the blog is completely for you- the players. What makes it exciting is all the opportunities for interaction. You can reply to polls, ask questions, but most importantly of all, offer criticism. Yes, being able to offer and take criticism is the key step to becoming a better poker player. Admitting that you were wrong can hurt; most players prefer to put their misplayed hands to the back of their mind, and dwell instead on the hands where they got unlucky. Read more

Escaping the Marginal Hand

Escaping the marginal hand

You hold in the small blind, and call a raise from the button to see the flop four-way. The board comes , and you lead out with a bet. It is passed round to the player on the button, who puts in a big re-raise to put you all in. What do you do Read more

Bluffing the Continuation Bet – Part 2

Bluffing the Continuation Bet – Part 2

In the part one, we began to look at the valuable move of playing back at a continuation bettor. We have looked at how best to bluff, at the best type of flops to choose, and will now look at the right type of bluffing hands to play with:

It is the late stages of a poker tournament, you have the biggest stack at the table, and are looking to put other players under pressure. A mid position player raises, and bets 4,000 on a  flop. This leaves him with 12,000 behind, and the pot stands at 9,000. You have a marginal hand, and are planning to pull the all-in move to put your opponent to a decision. What type of marginal hand would you like to have? Read more

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

The Value Bet

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.  Read more

Master Slow Play

The most overused play in poker: the slow play

Slow playing a big hand in poker is often seen as being the height of cunning. It can be a very effective play, but the slow play is a strategy often overused. Failure to play certain hands more actively routinely costs players a lot of chips.

There are two types of hands to consider here. Firstly, you will sometimes flop a hand so strong that you can give your opponents a free card without risk of them outdrawing you. Read more

Flop Texture

The Texture of The Flop – The all-Important Piece of Information

“I had , the flop came , and I bet the pot. My opponent went all in. I was stuck, I had no idea what he had…”

It should come as no great surprise that our opponent went all-in here. Why?
The texture of the flop is so good. There are so many hands that our opponent could have which have hit a good piece of this flop, and with which he could go all-in. Read more

The Fold Equity

Fold Equity

Online Poker has hit a real boom, and the new wave of poker players has brought with it a deeper understanding of poker strategy.

No longer is it enough to play a solid game and wait for a good hand, nor is it enough simply to be aggressive and bluff with reckless abandon. The ability to combine courage, patience and insight does remain integral to the game, but with it now must come a fine-tuned understanding of the cogs that make the game work. Read more

The Weak Call

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…

Read more

Post the Oak Bluff

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.  Read more

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