In this situation it helps to read hands. You should analyze your opponent’s actions throughout the preflop to the river, and try to figure out what his hand is.
If someone who played very aggressively until the river, and checks even though the river card was a trash card, it could be a trap. If he played very passively and suddenly bets with no river card that can explain it, it could be a bluff.
Just remember, the better your opponent, the harder it will be to read his hand.
Don’t bet with a mediocre hand. These hands are usually paid or raised by better hands, and are not called by worse hands. Taking this into consideration, you should understand that if a good player bets after the river, his hand is either great or trash. Try to figure out which one by analyzing his previous moves. If you are given the opportunity to go for a showdown without putting extra money in the pot, take this opportunity gladly.
Apr 19, 2007
Apr 17, 2007
No Limit – After the Turn
Many of the turn cards in No Limit Texas Holdem are the last card you are going to see. By this time you usually have a good feel about your status. If you think you have the best hand you should play aggressively and make it expensive for others to draw on you. As your good hand gets more vulnerable, the bet should be more aggressive.
For example, if you have As, Kh and the board is Ac, Qc, 9d, 3d, you could be up against a straight or flush draw. If you don’t have the best hand, there are a few possibilities:
1. If you have a drawable hand, check and call only if the pot odds are good (a rare situation when playing against good players).
2. If a scary card came (a pair or the third card of the same suit), it’s possible to bluff, especially if you have shown strength before the turn related to the scary card, or if the other player is unlikely to improve by this card. Otherwise, I would give up that hand.
3. Semi-bluffing – A semi-bluff is when your hand is not the best hand but has the potential to become the best hand. You should use a semi-bluff in order to make it harder for your opponents to read your hand. Sometimes, against a passive player who is hesitant about raising, you can bet and slow him down even though he has a better hand, thus making it profitable for you to see the river.
For example, if you have As, Kh and the board is Ac, Qc, 9d, 3d, you could be up against a straight or flush draw. If you don’t have the best hand, there are a few possibilities:
1. If you have a drawable hand, check and call only if the pot odds are good (a rare situation when playing against good players).
2. If a scary card came (a pair or the third card of the same suit), it’s possible to bluff, especially if you have shown strength before the turn related to the scary card, or if the other player is unlikely to improve by this card. Otherwise, I would give up that hand.
3. Semi-bluffing – A semi-bluff is when your hand is not the best hand but has the potential to become the best hand. You should use a semi-bluff in order to make it harder for your opponents to read your hand. Sometimes, against a passive player who is hesitant about raising, you can bet and slow him down even though he has a better hand, thus making it profitable for you to see the river.
Apr 14, 2007
No Limit – After the Flop Specific Hands
When you flop a draw – When you have a straight or a flush draw in No Limit Texas Holdem, it’s very important to know who you are playing against. Good players make it unworthy to chase for a draw. Therefore if you have a drawable hand, calculating the pot odds is very important.
You should consider the following:
1. If you are getting good pot odds up to your entire bankroll, try to be the bettor and not the caller.
2. If you are in an early position you should usually check and call only if the pot odds are worth it.
Remember that even though a flush has more outs than an open ended straight, 9 compared to 8, you are more likely to get called once you catch your straight than after you make the flush.
When you flop top pair – You should bet your strong hands but remember that many of the big loses occur when a player falls in love with his top pair and won’t let go. If a good player calls your bet or raised it, you should consider folding your top pair, especialy with a low kicker.
When you flop two pairs – Because you probably have the best hand, you should carefully consider what the odds are that the next card will make someone else’s hand better, before deciding how much to bet. If you have the bottom two pairs, bet aggressively because a lot of cards can make your hand worthless. On the other hand, if you have the top two pairs and no flush or straight are possible, you can be less aggressive letting another player get the second best hand.
When you flop a set – If you have a pocket pair, the odds of getting a set or better are about 12%. If you do get your set, your primary goal will be to make the other players put their money into the pot. Sometimes the best timing is right after the flop and sometimes you should slow-play till the river. This depends on the board and the players you are up against. You should bet against tight players and slow-play against loose aggressive players. You should bet when there is a flush or straight draw no matter who you are up against.
When flopping a straight – It’s very important to recognize the different kinds of straights. You could flop the best straight possible, if you have King Queen and the board is Jack, Ten and a 9. You can have the worst straight possible, if you have 75 and the board is 986 which is pretty vulnerable. And you can have other kinds of straights. The things you should consider are:
1. How likely are the next cards going to hurt your hand? For example if the board has two or three of the same suit you should bet more aggressively.
2. How big is the pot and what are your opponents pot odds? For example, if you have T8 and the flop is Qh, Jh, 9s. if someone is going for a flush draw than he is getting about 36% to win by the river, therefore you should bet at least half of the pot size to make his call not worthy.
3. How many players are you up against – as the number gets higher, bet more aggressively.
When you flop a flush – If you have the nuts (the best flush possible), you can slow-play and let other players get the second best hand or induce a bluff. When you don’t have the nuts, you should bet at least half of the pot, so if someone is going for the nut flush he would have to overpay in order to get it.
When flopping a monster – A full house, four of a kind, or a straight flush – On these rare occasions slow-play and let others make second best hands.
You should consider the following:
1. If you are getting good pot odds up to your entire bankroll, try to be the bettor and not the caller.
2. If you are in an early position you should usually check and call only if the pot odds are worth it.
Remember that even though a flush has more outs than an open ended straight, 9 compared to 8, you are more likely to get called once you catch your straight than after you make the flush.
When you flop top pair – You should bet your strong hands but remember that many of the big loses occur when a player falls in love with his top pair and won’t let go. If a good player calls your bet or raised it, you should consider folding your top pair, especialy with a low kicker.
When you flop two pairs – Because you probably have the best hand, you should carefully consider what the odds are that the next card will make someone else’s hand better, before deciding how much to bet. If you have the bottom two pairs, bet aggressively because a lot of cards can make your hand worthless. On the other hand, if you have the top two pairs and no flush or straight are possible, you can be less aggressive letting another player get the second best hand.
When you flop a set – If you have a pocket pair, the odds of getting a set or better are about 12%. If you do get your set, your primary goal will be to make the other players put their money into the pot. Sometimes the best timing is right after the flop and sometimes you should slow-play till the river. This depends on the board and the players you are up against. You should bet against tight players and slow-play against loose aggressive players. You should bet when there is a flush or straight draw no matter who you are up against.
When flopping a straight – It’s very important to recognize the different kinds of straights. You could flop the best straight possible, if you have King Queen and the board is Jack, Ten and a 9. You can have the worst straight possible, if you have 75 and the board is 986 which is pretty vulnerable. And you can have other kinds of straights. The things you should consider are:
1. How likely are the next cards going to hurt your hand? For example if the board has two or three of the same suit you should bet more aggressively.
2. How big is the pot and what are your opponents pot odds? For example, if you have T8 and the flop is Qh, Jh, 9s. if someone is going for a flush draw than he is getting about 36% to win by the river, therefore you should bet at least half of the pot size to make his call not worthy.
3. How many players are you up against – as the number gets higher, bet more aggressively.
When you flop a flush – If you have the nuts (the best flush possible), you can slow-play and let other players get the second best hand or induce a bluff. When you don’t have the nuts, you should bet at least half of the pot, so if someone is going for the nut flush he would have to overpay in order to get it.
When flopping a monster – A full house, four of a kind, or a straight flush – On these rare occasions slow-play and let others make second best hands.
Apr 11, 2007
No Limit – After the Flop Concepts
After you’ve seen the flop, you have seen 5 out of seven cards of your possible hand - 71% of the cards! At this point, many of your decisions will be automatic; if you don’t hit your cards, you should usually fold. For example if you have JT suited and the flop is A72 rainbow get out of the pot.
Since you should pick your starting hands carefully, you will raise many of your hands. In a tight game, this will make the pot heads up or close to heads up. This is usually your goal because playing against multiple players in No Limit can be very difficult.
A few hints for playing after the flop:
1. Heads up – If you were the one that raised the bet pre-flop, you should bet most of the rounds after the flop since it is not likely that your opponent has hit his cards. This is called the continuation bet.
If you just called pre-flop from a late position and your opponent checked, you should usually bet no matter what your cards are - except in two situations:
your opponent likes to ‘check raise’ and slow-playing or
you have a drawable hand and want to take the free card.
2. Multi-way pots – These hands are harder to play because more people are involved. There is a good chance that someone has a good hand, and even that the pot odds seem better, a good player will use the No Limit option in order to make it not worth chasing for a draw. Therefore you should:
A. rarely bluff
B. rarely slow-play
C. calculate other players' pot odds
D. watch carefully for tells
3. Hands to go all in – You should be willing to go broke with some hands. If you flop a set and the only thing that can beat you is a higher set, you shouldn’t be afraid of it.
The chances of this happening are so small and the amount of money you will not gain by playing less aggressively is bigger than what you'd lose if your opponent has a better set. A second example is when you have the right pot odds to do it: meaning, if you have a straight flush draw and thus more than a 50% chance of hitting your card by the river. An important rule is that you’d better be the bettor rather than the caller because by being the bettor you have two ways to win: by making your opponent fold or by hitting your card.
4. When the board is paired – The first one to bet, usually wins the pot when the number of competitors is low. Therefore, you should bet in about half of these situations regardless of whether you have a set or not. The most important thing in this situation is knowing your opponents. A good player may know you are bluffing and raise you with almost nothing.
Since you should pick your starting hands carefully, you will raise many of your hands. In a tight game, this will make the pot heads up or close to heads up. This is usually your goal because playing against multiple players in No Limit can be very difficult.
A few hints for playing after the flop:
1. Heads up – If you were the one that raised the bet pre-flop, you should bet most of the rounds after the flop since it is not likely that your opponent has hit his cards. This is called the continuation bet.
If you just called pre-flop from a late position and your opponent checked, you should usually bet no matter what your cards are - except in two situations:
your opponent likes to ‘check raise’ and slow-playing or
you have a drawable hand and want to take the free card.
2. Multi-way pots – These hands are harder to play because more people are involved. There is a good chance that someone has a good hand, and even that the pot odds seem better, a good player will use the No Limit option in order to make it not worth chasing for a draw. Therefore you should:
A. rarely bluff
B. rarely slow-play
C. calculate other players' pot odds
D. watch carefully for tells
3. Hands to go all in – You should be willing to go broke with some hands. If you flop a set and the only thing that can beat you is a higher set, you shouldn’t be afraid of it.
The chances of this happening are so small and the amount of money you will not gain by playing less aggressively is bigger than what you'd lose if your opponent has a better set. A second example is when you have the right pot odds to do it: meaning, if you have a straight flush draw and thus more than a 50% chance of hitting your card by the river. An important rule is that you’d better be the bettor rather than the caller because by being the bettor you have two ways to win: by making your opponent fold or by hitting your card.
4. When the board is paired – The first one to bet, usually wins the pot when the number of competitors is low. Therefore, you should bet in about half of these situations regardless of whether you have a set or not. The most important thing in this situation is knowing your opponents. A good player may know you are bluffing and raise you with almost nothing.
Apr 7, 2007
No Limit – Playing Before the Flop
When to call a bet – you usually shouldn’t just call a bet. You give too much information to a good player in a better position when you just call. However, in some cases you could call:
1. When you have a hand that is not easily dominated, hands like a medium or small pair or suited connectors - these hands like a lot of opponents. For example: Queen Jack suited or a pair of 66.
2. When you’re very strong and believe that one of the players will raise.
3. When you have good pot odds for example: six players called and you have 98 suited.
When to raise – As I said before, in No Limit Texas Holdem you should carefully consider which hands you are going to play. Therefore, once you've decided to play, the hand is probably worth raising.
How much to raise – I usually recommend raising between 2 to 6 times the big blind. When you’re in an early position, tend to go for 2 to 3 times the big blind and from late position 5 to 6 times, raise the same amount whether you have a reasonable hand or when you have a great hand in order not to expose your game.
When you’re in late position and no one has yet called the big blind, almost any hand is worth raising.
When you’re in the small blind and no one has called the big blind, you should usually fold against a good player because you’re in a bad position. Against a weak player you can call or try to steal the blind by raising if you think he might fold.
Big raise - If one player raised, some of the other players called, and you have a good hand, go for a big raise - if you think the first raiser might fold, he will make it difficult for the rest of the players, who hadn’t reraised him, to call your big raise.
Stealing the dealer's button – As I said before, position is one of the most important factors in No Limit Texas Holdem. Therefore, sometimes try to steal the best position even if you’re sitting to the right to the dealer's button. You do that by raising. Then if the player to your left folds, you’ll have the best position for the whole hand. sometimes do the same thing when sitting two places to the right to the dealer with the appropriate players sitting to your left.
Going all in – This move is one of the most exciting moves in poker. go all in when:
you think you have the best hand and one of your opponents will call
you don’t have the best hand, but think the other players will fold
you are getting good pot odds no matter what the other player do
Examples for going all in:
If you hold a pair of Aces, one player raised the big blind and 3 more players called his raise
If you have a pair of 77, one loose player has raised and no one has yet called
Or if you have Ace Jack suited, the pot is big and you’re short stacked.
1. When you have a hand that is not easily dominated, hands like a medium or small pair or suited connectors - these hands like a lot of opponents. For example: Queen Jack suited or a pair of 66.
2. When you’re very strong and believe that one of the players will raise.
3. When you have good pot odds for example: six players called and you have 98 suited.
When to raise – As I said before, in No Limit Texas Holdem you should carefully consider which hands you are going to play. Therefore, once you've decided to play, the hand is probably worth raising.
How much to raise – I usually recommend raising between 2 to 6 times the big blind. When you’re in an early position, tend to go for 2 to 3 times the big blind and from late position 5 to 6 times, raise the same amount whether you have a reasonable hand or when you have a great hand in order not to expose your game.
When you’re in late position and no one has yet called the big blind, almost any hand is worth raising.
When you’re in the small blind and no one has called the big blind, you should usually fold against a good player because you’re in a bad position. Against a weak player you can call or try to steal the blind by raising if you think he might fold.
Big raise - If one player raised, some of the other players called, and you have a good hand, go for a big raise - if you think the first raiser might fold, he will make it difficult for the rest of the players, who hadn’t reraised him, to call your big raise.
Stealing the dealer's button – As I said before, position is one of the most important factors in No Limit Texas Holdem. Therefore, sometimes try to steal the best position even if you’re sitting to the right to the dealer's button. You do that by raising. Then if the player to your left folds, you’ll have the best position for the whole hand. sometimes do the same thing when sitting two places to the right to the dealer with the appropriate players sitting to your left.
Going all in – This move is one of the most exciting moves in poker. go all in when:
you think you have the best hand and one of your opponents will call
you don’t have the best hand, but think the other players will fold
you are getting good pot odds no matter what the other player do
Examples for going all in:
If you hold a pair of Aces, one player raised the big blind and 3 more players called his raise
If you have a pair of 77, one loose player has raised and no one has yet called
Or if you have Ace Jack suited, the pot is big and you’re short stacked.
Apr 3, 2007
No Limit – General Tips
Remember that in No Limit Texas Holdem, making the wrong decision about seeing the flop can cause you to lose a lot of money; be sure to pick your starting hands very carefully.
Many books will tell you what hand you should or shouldn’t play preflop. I don’t believe in these guidelines; you should act according to the specific game and situation you are in. But here are some hints:
1. Position is even more important than in limit Texas Holdem – Play only a very good hand from an early position unless the game is very passive and there is usually no raising before the flop.
2. Your image at the table – Unless you have a tight image (which you should have), don’t bluff.
3. The other player’s style – If you’re playing against a maniac who raises frequently, wait patiently until you have a good hand. You can slow-play against this player. Against a tight passive player, try to steal the blinds as much as you can.
4. Your stack size – If you have short stack play tight. If you are the chip leader at the table, you can bully the other players by aggressive play, but don’t go overboard.
5. Your opponent stack size – Be careful when playing against someone who has more money than you. Don’t play a marginal hand with them. Be selective about the hands you are playing against short stack players because they tend to play only their best hands. This is not the case against very short stacked players, who would probably go all in with even a marginal hand.
Many books will tell you what hand you should or shouldn’t play preflop. I don’t believe in these guidelines; you should act according to the specific game and situation you are in. But here are some hints:
1. Position is even more important than in limit Texas Holdem – Play only a very good hand from an early position unless the game is very passive and there is usually no raising before the flop.
2. Your image at the table – Unless you have a tight image (which you should have), don’t bluff.
3. The other player’s style – If you’re playing against a maniac who raises frequently, wait patiently until you have a good hand. You can slow-play against this player. Against a tight passive player, try to steal the blinds as much as you can.
4. Your stack size – If you have short stack play tight. If you are the chip leader at the table, you can bully the other players by aggressive play, but don’t go overboard.
5. Your opponent stack size – Be careful when playing against someone who has more money than you. Don’t play a marginal hand with them. Be selective about the hands you are playing against short stack players because they tend to play only their best hands. This is not the case against very short stacked players, who would probably go all in with even a marginal hand.
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