Poker Strategy

Seat Selection

2010-03-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

Most players will spend time selecting the most profitable tables to play at, but do not take into consideration there seat position. Obviously online you can not pick the seat you would like to sit at, but you can choose to stay or leave a table if your seat selection is not profitable for you.

You look for tables with a high amount of players seeing the flop and where the average pot is fairly high. This tells you the table is very loose and willing to play for big profits, but what happens when you sit down and find that the players around you make it very difficult to play any hand at all.

If you find that the player who has position on you is a perpetual 3 bettor, or a player that never gives up and forces you to make a hand, it might be better to move onto another table. Ideally you would like to have position on the weaker players at the table and hopefully no players in position on you that know how to use that position.

If you find yourself at a table with a few weak players, but with a couple very strong or difficult to play against players who have position on you, there is no shame in moving to another table with more profitable overall conditions.

Just because you find yourself at a table with a couple weak players does not mean the table is most suitable for you to make a profit. Find tables that allow you to have the most profitable seat selection to maximize profit. For each player this will be different depending on your playing style and ability to adapt to the table conditions.

Making Big Laydowns

2010-03-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

In order to be a big winner you have to be capable of making the big laydown when you know you are beat.

We have all been in that situtation on the river when your opponent suddenly bets into you after calling on the other streets. There really is nothing that we beat that he would be doing this with, but we call anyways just to prove to ourselves that we are right.

In order to be a successful player we have to learn to trust our reads. If your read is telling you that you are beat, even with a really big hand, then fold. Calling to prove that your read is correct or being stubborn and not wanting to believe that you got sucked out on will eat into your profits.

The Squeeze Play

2010-03-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

A loose opponent raises from early position and gets called by another player. The caller probably has a marginal hand or they would have re-raised the initial loose player.

The play is now on you and you re-raise knowing that the initial raiser is loose and could have a wide range of hands and that the caller must have a marginal hand or he would have re-raised himself. A large amount of the time both players will fold and you will win a large pot without seeing the flop.

The move is most effective when you are in position on both players, making it even more difficult for either of them to call your raise.

Table Selection

2010-03-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Almost all poker site have made table selection a lot easier with lobby stats. They display the percentage of players seeing the flop and the average pot size among other stats.

What you want to look for is tables where the players per flop is at least 30% and have an average pot size of 10 big blinds or more. These will be the most profitable tables to play at. Many sites will also allow you to color code players. You can then see these color codes from the lobby allowing you to identify players that you have marked as being profitable to play against. It is good practice to always mark players, wether it is regulars or the fish for quick identification from the lobby.

When you do find the right tables to play at and sit down don't be afraid to continually re-assess and change tables when you feel the table conditions have changed. You could end up with a loose aggressive player who has position on you, making it very difficult to play any hands, or being sitting with a bunch of rocks that aren't going to part with their money easily.

There are plenty of tables out there, so find the ones that have the most profitable conditions for you and your playing style.

Dealing With 3 Bets

2010-01-31T22:10:00.001-08:00

Poker has become increasingly more aggressive with more players raising, 3 betting and even 4 betting. Dealing with 3 betting can very difficult, particularly with players who will relentlessly 3 bet you when they are in position. This article will cover how to deal with 3 bettors, things you can do to combat their aggression.

The first thing to consider is the position you are in and the position of the 3 bettor. If you are in the first position and the 3 bettor is in the second or third seat, his 3 bet shows a lot more strength then if he 3 bets your cut off raise from the button. Players tend to give respect to position. A raise from the first position indicates to the table that you have a strong hand. A raise from the cut off could just be you trying to steal the blinds. It’s very common for players to 3 bet from the blinds against a button raise as their is a high likely hood that you are just trying to steal the blinds with a marginal hand.

The second thing you will want to look at is how often the player is 3 betting. If you have played with them for a couple hundred hands and this is the first time they have 3 bet, they most likely have a very strong hand and you can safely throw away all but the very best hands. If they player is continually 3 betting you the situation becomes more difficult.

Always take into consideration how deep both of you are. If your opponent is short stacked you will not have the odds to call the 3 bet with suited connectors of small pocket pairs hoping to flop a set. If you are both very deep, especially if you are in position, it might be profitable to call with these types of hands. If you hit the flop your hand will be disguised and you could potentially win a very large pot. Playing deepstacked poker out of position will allow your opponent to put a lot of pressure on you post flop. Calling with hands like AJs can be very difficult to play in this situation. What will you do if you flop and A or a J and face going all in for 200 big blinds?

Finally take into consideration how often you are rasing. Players are less likely to 3 bet a player who has been playing very tight and raising very few hands, then a player who has been rasing constantly. If you have been very active running over the table expect your opponents to play back at you at some point.

Now that we have covered what to take into consideration when being 3 bet it is time to look at how to combat habitual 3 bettors. The first and most obvious solution is tighten up your rasing range. Play stronger hands that can safely call or re-raise a 3 bet. This is the best solution of newer players and when you are out of position.

You can often slow down 3 bettors by 4 betting them. If they are 3 betting frequently, they often will not have a strong hand that can stand a 4 bet. This will allow you to 4 bet with much weaker hands as a bluff. Once they realize that you will not easily give up when you are 3 bet, they will slow down. This can be a very high variance play, especially when you are out of position.

Another option is calling their 3 bet and taking the pot away from them on the flop. We know they can not always have a strong hand if they are 3 betting that often, by calling the 3 bet then rasing the flop, or even calling the flop then betting the turn you will be able to win the pot on most occasions. Calling a 3 bet is a better option of you are in position. Out of position it can be very difficult to play after the flop.

Although these general guidelines will help with 3 bettors it is always best to look at each opponent individually. Watch them and see what kinds of hands they are 3 betting and from what positions. Some players will call raises with hands like AQ and JJ and 3 bet their really strong and weak hands. Some players like to call with small pocket pairs while others always 3 bet them. Watch every hand closely especially those that go to showdown to learn more about your opponents 3 betting habits and you will be better equipped to make correct decisions when they 3 bet you.

Tilt Control

2009-12-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

Tilt is when a poker player allows their emotions to cloud their decisions at the poker table. Tilt is usually brought on by a bad beats and can dramatically cut into your profits. Keeping tilt under control is vital for all poker players to increase profits. Over the years I have had a lot of problems with tilt, but with a few strategies have been able to better keep it under control and found ways to decrease the consequences of tilt on my bankroll.

Stop Loss

Setting a stop loss is very effective in combating tilt. Every player has a different tolerance for losses. What has always worked for me is if I lose more then 4 buy-ins I will quit regardless of how I feel I am playing. I found that for me after 4 buy-ins my decisions start to be more about the money rather then making the correct poker decision for that situation. Regardless of where you set your limit, the secret is to stick to it. Only you can know when you are starting to be influenced by how much money you have lost.

Dealing with Bad Beats

One bad beat can send people over the edge, starting a series of emotional plays that cause you to spew money to everyone at the table. If you are the type of person that is affected by bad beats it is best to come up with ways to calm down before heading back to the tables. This may be simply walking away from poker for a few hours or even for the day. Do something else to get it off your mind, then return to the tables when you are thinking clearly and capable of making correct poker decision.

Many people find listening to music can help them avoid tilt when playing. Find the music that works best for keeping you relaxed and try listening to it when at the tables.

Bankroll Management

This may not seem as obvious to many players, but making sure you are properly rolled for the stakes you are playing can have a huge impact on tilt control. If you lose more money then your bankroll can take it will begin to affect your decisions. Losing $200 when you only have $500 can have a much bigger impact then if your bankroll is $10,000. Bankroll management is a much larger topic then can be covered in this article. I would highly recommend reading more about bankroll management.

Bank Your Winnings

A topic that is far less discussed is the concept of “reverse” tilt. Many players will begin to play differently during a large winning session. For different people this can be cause by several reasons. Some people begin to think luck is on their side and start chasing draws when they don’t have the odds or feeling every bluff will work regardless of the situation. For others they begin to play more conservatively in order to protect their winnings. Whatever the case is for you, if you find you are not making correct decisions it may be time to take a break.

One thing to always remember with tilt control is that you can only control the way you play. If you continue to make correct decisions every time, regardless of the outcome, you will be a winning player in the long run. With time you will learn to deal with bad beats and big losses, which will have a dramatic affect on your bankroll.

Build Your Bankroll

2009-12-06T23:47:00.001-08:00

Everyone has high hopes of winning big money playing online poker. In order to do so you'll need to build your bankroll to get into the bigger games. Building your bankroll can be a lot easier then you may think. Even by playing break even poker you can make good money if you follow a few strategies.

Poker Bonuses

The first way to quickly build your bankroll is to play on sites that offer bonuses. All the major sites offers great deposit bonuses, in some cases up to $2,500. It is possible to make thousands of dollars simply by going from room to room clearing the deposit bonus. When you first start out and are playing at lower limits this is a great way to quickly build up your roll. For exclusive bonuses and bonus information check out Bonus-Hunting.com.

Rakeback

Poker sites make money by taking a percentage of each pot played, this is called the rake. If you sign up to poker sites through affiliates you can get up to 40% of your rake back. This can quickly add up to $100s that is deposited directly into your poker account every week. For many players the amount of rakeback they collect each week could be higher then their actual poker winnings.

Multi-table

Multi-tabling is a great way to build your bankroll quickly. Playing more hands per hour will allow your hourly earnings to increase, make clearing bonuses quicker, and lead to more rakeback. The trick with multi-tabling is to start playing two tables until you feel comfortable then slowly keep adding tables until you get to the point where you can play enough tables and still be able to focus on what you are doing. Almost all lower to mid stakes poker players will play at least 4 tables. Work on mulit-tabling and watch your bankroll grow.

Bankroll Management

It is always a good idea to play at stakes you feel comfortable at and are bankrolled for. There can be big swings in poker, you need to make sure your bankroll can handle the downswings when they come. A general rule of thumb is to make sure you have between 20 to 30 buy-ins depending on the game you are playing. If you are playing No Limit Hold'em with a $100 buy-in, you would need a bankroll of $2000 to $3000. As your bankroll grows you can move up stakes staying between 20 to 30 buy-ins. If your bankroll drops, move down stakes to build it back up. If you follow this strategy you can safely build your bankroll moving up stakes without the risk of going broke.

Table Selection

Table selection becomes increasingly more important as you move up stakes and find tougher competition. Always being looking for tables with loose players. These types of players are much easier to win money off. Almost every poker site as table information in the main lobby. Look for tables with see flop percentage of at least 30% with an average pot size of 10 big blinds minimum.

Follow these bankroll building tips and in no time you should be climbing up the stakes watching your bankroll grow.