A Response to Steven

A while back Steven asked me about position and the meaning of ABC poker.
Here is my response to his comment:

I haven't been tending the poker blog very well at all, and I just saw your comment.

As far as position goes, keep in mind that you should play a bit looser in late position than in early position.  In early position if you don't have at least QQ, fold.  In middle position, fold with anything worse than TT but in late position, you can play many more cards.  If you are in a hand with a limper or two and you are seated just before the blinds, make a small raise.  Many times you will be able to get everyone to fold and you will easily collect the blinds and the limped calls by the other players. In this position it is advantageous to play with any pocket pairs if all you have to do is call, or even with suited connectors if you feel like you have a good idea of how the table plays and aren't facing too much aggression.  As a general rule of thumb, do not do what you would do in early position when you are in late position.

ABC poker is merely doing exactly what you should do, based on the odds.  You will never bluff or make questionable calls and don't play hands unless you will probably win.  While this can be good, it is easily exploited by other players who can make big bets to move you off of your hand and with a reduced tendency to gamble, your winnings will also not be as high.

PurePlay is the freesite that I use sometimes, although I do love the freerolls on FullTilt and PokerStars.

Again, I am very sorry for being so late in contacting you!

If you need advice in the future, coaching, or anything related to poker, don't hesitate to let me know.

(This goes for anyone.  I am more than happy to share poker advice and tips with anyone who needs it.  Contact me on here or at jake.cartier3@gmail.com)

Coaching

I have decided that poker is a game that needs to be shared with more people so I have decided that I will coach people in low and micro limit cash games, SNGs and MTTs.
I will not ask for any fee up front, only a negotiable cut of the profits.  If you don't make money with me, I don't make money!
If this sounds interesting or if you would like more information, leave a comment below.

I'm Back

After a hiatus of a few months, I have decided that I should get back into poker.  I am going to do it without depositing any money, though I will accept stakes and sponsorships.  I'll see how far I can get trying this out!

Raise or Call by Roy Winston

Unless you have a monster draw or are slow playing a big hand, calling is often the wrong play at the table. In fact, it often times takes a stronger hand to make a call than it does to make a raise.

"You raised with that?" is a question I hear a lot after showing down a hand. You can make a raise with any two cards (sometimes less than that), but it takes a real hand to make a call.

When I’m in late position in an unopened pot and someone in front of me puts in a raise, I’ll always say to myself, "Hey, I was going to do that!" The fact is opening a pot with a raise is a good idea because it puts you in control, while cold-calling a raise is not a great option for a variety of reasons.

First of all is the realization that I am probably behind. I have lost the ability to take the lead and be the aggressor, and perhaps represent a wide range of hands. Re-raising in position is always an option. However, if the initial raiser was pretty strong, I could wind up facing a re-raise, which could mean a decision for a lot of chips. I have now put myself in a bad position and made the first of perhaps many mistakes in the hand.

Now, I’m not saying there aren’t hands I like to call with pre-flop. For instance, I’ll limp with hands like ace-rag suited (because you can make the nuts), small pocket pairs (looking to flop a set), sometimes big pocket pairs (to camouflage the strength of my hand) and suited connectors in position. But, making a bad call is almost always worse than making a bad fold.

When in doubt, listen to that little voice in your head saying "fold, fold, fold." Even if it turns out you were ahead in the hand when you folded, it’s still better than making a bad call and losing even more chips.

It takes a great player to make great lay-downs; you have to occasionally fold a winning hand. If you’re not sure what to do with a hand, ask yourself whether or not this is a good place to get your chips in the pot.

A combination of smart and aggressive play will help you to improve your results. And personally, I’d rather be a raiser than a caller...

Tight Aggressive by Stephan Kalhamer

If a poker player wants an edge, he must move with the times. Today, a style which was successful only a year ago can already be outdated; tomorrow, he could be the sucker.

However, in the poker world (as in the fashion world), there are timeless classics: the little black dress for a woman; the pinstripe suit on a man; tight/aggressive play at the table. Admittedly, this type of player is less likely to knock somebody’s socks off, but he is also far less likely to be knocked out of the tournament himself.

Dan Harrington described this style in his tremendous book, “ Harrington On Hold ’em” and, as a result, it quickly became the worldwide standard. Today’s truly smart tournament players, however, were soon tearing up the rule book and, as a result, modern poker has no dominant strategy. Loose/aggressive is currently in fashion and playing out of position has become the Holy Grail. But again and again the strategies turn back to what poker is all about: bet on a good hand and give up a bad or hard-to-rate one.

As soon as one reflects on it, by focusing his own bets solely on “value” instead of bluffing, a good player wins again and again with safe, tight/aggressive play. Why ever not?

Good players do not make plays simply because they want to or to show that they can. They make plays because they represent the optimal decisions. Poker is ultimately a contest of decision-making; he who consistently makes the best decisions, wins - all the same in which outfit he enters the party.

Riskers gamble, experts calculate.

Bluffing Big by Brandon Adams

The ability to bluff big pots effectively is one of the key skills that separate good players from great players. It is no accident that the games played at the highest stakes feature some of the most daring bluffs: big bluffs are a central part of the game.

Most players mix up their play well for small bets – they’ll bet out or raise with nothing on the flop with about the right frequency – but most players don’t mix up their play well on big bets. Some players never mess around when they put in really big money on the turn or river. Other players can never resist the big bluff when they see a lot of money in the middle. Striking the right balance between value bets and bluffs when you are putting big money in the pot is crucial to playing top-level poker.

When you are playing against world-class competition, bluffing too often is a bigger mistake than not bluffing enough. You will get called very often and you will look to everyone like you are spewing chips. You will wonder why they are calling you so often, but the reason will be somewhat simple: your opponents will be getting 2:1 odds on a call (if you are betting the size of the pot) and they will infer based on your betting frequency that you’re bluffing more often than that.

How can they infer that you are bluffing too often? Roughly speaking, if you are balancing your big bluffs properly, you will be betting for value about two-thirds of the time and you will be betting as a bluff about one-third of the time. Hands that you will bet big for value on the turn or river come up quite rarely. It’s not often that you make a straight, a flush, a set, or some other huge hand that merits a big bet on the river for value. If you’re betting big on the turn and river very often, your opponents will correctly guess that you’re bluffing too often.

Bluffing too often can be a huge mistake, but I think that not bluffing often enough in the truly big spots is one thing that prevents great players from becoming world-class. You’ll never hear someone say of Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan or Patrik Antonius "he’s never messing around in that spot." They can be bluffing in any spot. As the pot gets very big, their bluffs will be less frequent, as they will be trying to represent very thin ranges, but their bluffing frequency will never be zero in any spot (other than some trivial ones where it’s only appropriate to raise with the nuts).

Most of your big bluffs will occur when you have position on an opponent. This is especially true for big moves on the river. If an opponent checks to you on the river, it’s likely not a check of strength. With one pair hands, people will often call on the flop and turn, but not on the river. Their "check-call, check-call, check" line often tells you that they have a big pair but no better. Some inexperienced players will fold to a pot-sized bluff way too often in this spot, and will not adjust their behavior even when they begin to suspect that you are bluffing them often. Against these players, you are obligated to keep stealing until they adjust.

Once again, the ability to pull off a big bluff is a crucial element in poker. Do so with the correct frequency, and you’ll raise your game to the next level.

Making The Connection By Isaac Baron

When you’re playing ABC poker, you always want to start with premium hole cards. Hands such as pocket Aces or A-K suited are solid, no-nonsense cards and it’s reasonably easy to figure out whether or not you have the best hand. Once you’ve mastered these basic starting hands, it’s time to widen your range. This means learning to obtain maximum value from hands such as 9-8s or 6-5s, otherwise known as ‘medium suited connectors’.

When holding medium suited connectors, most beginners are either scared or overconfident. Both attitudes lead to leaks in their game. To play these cards correctly, approach them with a balance of caution and confidence.

The first thing I consider is position. I like to play suited connectors as often as possible (assuming my opponent isn’t severely short-stacked and looking to get all-in versus anything) but it’s a better play in position. You won’t make many huge hands with these cards – expect to make second or third pair often – so position gives you more information, enabling you to make better decisions.

I want to see a cheap flop with as many players involved as possible – the more the merrier. This is a key factor in my decision to play or fold. 8-7s doesn’t hold up in a battle against K-K – you’re a roughly 4 to 1 underdog and you won’t take the pot down often enough to justify calling. However, when there are more people in the hand, there is more money in the pot. If you can cheaply see a flop in a multi-way hand, your potential payback outweighs your odds of not winning the hand.

Moreover, the possibility of hitting the nuts and getting a huge payout from a weaker hand increases with more players in the hand. You’ll also increase the chances of facing a weak player. This is an edge you should always look for, especially when you’re holding medium suited connectors. Weak or novice players often find it difficult to lay down their cards when they make a hand. So, when you’ve got the nuts, they will pay you off big time.

Playing medium suited connectors properly requires a level of sophistication and the ability to make good reads. When you’re comfortable putting your opponent on a narrow range of hands, and good enough to be right most of the time, then you’re ready to start playing these cards more aggressively and more often. I play suited connectors a lot, especially against opponents who put in too much money with hands like top pair or over-pairs.

As I said before: play with a mixture of caution and confidence. If you have position, use the information to decide whether or not you have a strong hand. The worst case scenario is hitting a small to medium flush and losing to a bigger flush. I see a lot of people losing value because they’re scared of this. Don’t be scared – if you’re just playing medium suited connectors in the hope of flopping the nuts, never making plays or making light call-downs, you’re not going to show very much profit.

Variance is a Biatch...

I have had a stretch of no cashes that has been going on for a few weeks that I finally broke tonight.  It was a small cash in a SNG on stars, but I don't care, my perseverance has beaten variance.
In the career of every poker player, variance will happen.  You will have pocket aces cracked by 62o and a straight busted by a one outer royal flush on the river.  These things happen, but I hope to be able to minimize your losses during these stages.  The first thing is, don't stop playing!  This is something that happens, you can't avoid it.  The more you play, the faster you will get over it, statistically speaking.  The second thing to do is to move down in limits.  Start playing at lower blinds in cash games and lower stakes MTTs and SNGs.  Finally, stay patient!  To get over my stretch of variance, I tried to just stay patient and just play ABC poker.  A good way to do this is to play only a few tables at once and watch a movie or read something at the same time.  Play simple poker and everything will fall into place.  When I was on my variance stretch I got out of it by not being tricky with my game at all and just playing, like I said, ABC poker.
Hopefully you don't ever have an experience like I did but if you do, heed my advice!
Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables!

More Free Money

This entry is going to be short because I am on the go.
I found this website that gives out free bankrolls, rakeback etc along with having forums and a great community. Here is the link:  Copy and paste that, complete offers, get FREE money!!
http://www.pokerspace.com/?u=jakecartier3
Copy and paste that, complete offers, get FREE money!!


I hope to see you at the tables sometime soon!!

Cash Games or SNGs?

Recently I started playing cash games again and I am finding that I like them more than SNGs for a few reasons.
1) They are time-friendly:  I don't have to commit 2-3 hours to playing in them.  If I only have an hour to play, that is not an issue with cash games.
2) They give me control over bad beats:  I can leave a table if the cards aren't coming or if I am being outplayed.  I don't lose a guaranteed amount of money in an entry fee.
3) They maximize winnings:  Each chip that I win in a cash game represents real money.  This means that I am actually getting value for each chip that I win.
4) The strategy:  I love the way these are played!  With unchanging blinds, I have to develop one solid strategy, not the 4 that I would in an sng or mtt.
What do you think?
Leave a comment!!

Bad Beat Story

We all have bad beats, but some are definitely worse than others.  I was sitting in 5th place or so in a 90man SNG on stars and everything is going well, then I get dealt AA and everything is going REALLY well.  3 of us are in the pot with one guy all in and the pot value somewhere around 23k.
The flop comes T 3 8, the most harmless looking flop you will ever see while holding pocket Aces.  The guy to my right shoves, putting me all in and I insta-call to see that he has pocket tens.  The turn and river come as blanks and his set beats my aces, knocking me out of a tournament that should have been a very easy cash.
The hand is here: http://www.pokerhand.org/?5167396 and it is sooooo ridiculous...
I'm sure there will be more to come, especially when I lose with pocket As.
Post your bad beat stories/hand histories in a comment; let's see who has the worst luck!  :P

Oddly Enough, The Strongest Online Hands

I have come to the decision that pocket Qs and 8s are two of the best hands for online play, at least on PokerStars.  For some reason, it seems as if these 2 hands will dominate pretty much anything, including pocket As.  I cannot for the life of me explain this, but it just seems to be the case in my experience.  Thoughts?

Stack Size...How important is it?

A problem that many players face early on in the tournament is the worry that their chip stack is becoming too small because of blinds that have been lost for whatever reason.  For example, if you are sitting at a table and have lost 30 chips of your stack of 1500, you may look at the tournament lobby and see that you are falling behind the average and thus must start making something happen.  This is the WRONG response!!
If you try to force chips your way, you can stop thinking about hands rationally and make some very bad plays which will cost you your tournament life.  You must keep playing tight in these stages, as the blinds won't actually do you any damage and can be made up with a marginal hand later on in the tournament.
It is absolutely critical to play tight but aggressive poker, only playing premium hands.  It is very easy to get to the top 50% of most tournaments even if you never play in a pot.  When the blinds go up, the risk of playing less than premium hands is outweighed by the potential reward.  The opposite is true early on, to raise 200 with Q9o in an attempt to steal 30 chips in blinds is a ridiculous plan!
To give a personal example of this, last night I was in a 90man SNG on PokerStars and I wasn't doing that well but I was still there in the top 45 or so.  Sitting in the big blind, I was dealt AT of spades and checked to a flop.  The flop came 2, 4, J, all of spades.  I checked, the player to the left raised 800, the next raised all in, another called, I called, as did the guy to my left, and I won over 6000 chips with the nut flush, moving myself into 7th.
A key virtue in poker is patience; early on you can wait until you are holding the nuts, then make a nice move to double or triple up.  Patience will pay off and when the premium hand comes, you can be ready.  Once you are in the money, however, new rules apply to how to play your hands and that will be the subject of a later post!  For now, I hope to see you at the final table!!

I'm Back

After a few days where other commitments kept me from poker, I am back to blogging and playing again!  This weekend I only played in 15 or so games or tournaments total so I am feeling a little out of the poker world.  This marks my return, however, and I'm sure you will see me at the tables under jakecartier3!!
Drop a comment!

Building A Bankroll From Scratch

There are many ways out there to build a bankroll while not investing any of your own money AT ALL.  We live in an age where money changes hands very easily and with the internet, it is often possible to make a little bit of money for minimal work.  Before getting into the poker specific part of this entry, there a couple links I have to post and discuss.
http://OpinionOutpost.com/join/7236766
The first is a link to Opinion Outpost, a survey website that I personally have made around $225 in the past 9 months or so.  This might not sound like much, but when sitting down and watching TV, it doesn't hurt to do a survey and make $5 in 20 minutes, or $50 in 5 minutes, which is my personal record.
The second is called mysurvey, but a link cannot be posted to it.  If you want to build a bankroll with this site, leave a comment with your email and I'll send you a referral to get you started.
Now, this may seem like it has nothing to do with poker but these are both good ways to make money if you are interested in playing on a real money site.
Another--but much more difficult--way of bankroll building is through freerolls.  These are tournaments with no entry fee that often offer cash or entries into more tournaments as prizes.  The best freerolls are, in my opinion, found on Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker.  If you decide to play for money, the $0.10 36 man tournaments on PokerStars are probably your best bet as they are easy to cash in, if not win.
Remember, however, this is a long and drawn out process.  The variance at low stakes/freerolls is huge, and you can end up losing up all your chips very quickly to an amateur who has no idea what she is doing.  It is very rewarding to see an account grow from $0 to a positive number without risking any money and it is feasible to get the bankroll into the thousands if you are good!
No matter how you decide to start a bankroll, even if you deposit your own money, never overlook the benefits of a low stakes/freeroll game or even websites that will allow you to build up a bankroll.
Good luck and hope to see you in a freeroll building your bankroll soon!!

The Importance of Folding

Folding is incredibly important to the game of poker yet it is also a tactical move often underused by amateurs.  There will always be hands that you're beaten, and you need to leave those down.  For example, I was playing in a 90 man tournament and on the first hand I was dealt AA.  Naturally, I was excited so I started raising.  I got called by two people and the flop came 9,9,2.  Both of the others checked so I raised the size of the pot.  I got re-raised and instead of laying my hand down--which would have been smart--I couldn't bring myself to lay down the bullets.  Instead, I went all in, both called, both had a 9 in their hand, and I was on my way out in 86th place.  This play is similar to a lot that I have seen other players make.  When the board looks dangerous, get out of the hand!!  As Doyle Brunson says, "There's no use throwing in good money after bad."  Remember that when you put that money in the pot, it is no longer yours and any claim that you had to it when it was in your stack is gone.  If your stack is 1000 and you raise 200, your stack is now 800.  There is no use throwing more money in when your opponent holds the nuts, as they WILL NOT FOLD IT!!!
Laying down hands also bolsters your table image in 2 ways.  First, it means that you're playing in more hands and getting in there gambling.  This makes the table much more exciting and also entices others to play a bit looser than they normally would.  Also, it makes you seem like a smarter player--which you are--as opponents see you laying down hands and ensuring that the money that they get from the pot is minimal, still garnering you respect even if you lost.
Remember, as soon as the money goes in, it's not yours anymore so don't be afraid to fold a bad hand.

The Math Of Poker

Although it may not be good to be known as a math player, you have to know math to be a good player.
There are 2 key formulas to use in Texas Hold 'em to help determine your odds.
The first is known as the Rule Of 4.  After the flop is down, you can calculate the number of outs you have by multiplying the amount of outs by 4%, or 0.04.  For example, lets say you hold JcJs, with $100 in the pot, then the flop comes Qd, 6s, 7c.  If your opponent checks, should you raise?  That is a question that you must determine based on his playing style and other factors.  But lets say your opponent raises $50, half the pot..  For this pot to be worth calling, you need to do some math.  In this case it is simple, as your only real outs are at least one of the 2 remaining Jacks.  Your opponent could have pocket Qs, Ks, Q7, 67, As, a small pocket pair, rags, or even Jacks like you, but there is really nothing to go off of.  Hence the math:  You must multiply the number of outs (outs are the cards that can bring you a better hand such as a set, straight, flush, etc; in this case, 2) by 4%.  This means that you have an 8% chance of hitting another J on either the turn or the river, so the pot needs to be paying odds of about 10 to 1 for it to be a smart call.  In this case, the odds are 3 to 1, so it is wise to fold, all other things equal.
Now under the same circumstances, lets say that the turn comes and it is a 5d so the board is looking like Qd, 6s, 7c, 5d.  In this same scenario, to calculate the chances of making a Jack on the Turn (assuming that the flop was either checked or the odds were good) you must multiply the number of outs (still 2) by 2%, meaning that there is a 4% chance of hitting a J on the river.  The pot must now be paying 20 to 1 odds, so if the pot is currently at $100, the biggest bet you can call is $5.
Hopefully that clears up some questions of math in poker, but if not, drop a comment!!

Early Stages (In Middle Position)

In tournament and SNG play, the prevailing wisdom is to play tight and aggressively in the early stages.  For the most part, I would agree, although a loose table image can contribute to a huge chipstack.  Note that I say 'table image' and that I don't recommend loose play in the early stages.  Early in the tournament, most people are too worried about being that first guy out to call any sort of raise (or even the big blind) with anything less than pocket jacks or maybe suited AT.  This means that in this stage of play, a few small raises can be very advantageous.
Lets say you're sitting in middle position and the big blind is $20, with each player starting with $1500, and there has been one call to the BB so far.  This can be an optimal time to minraise and start bullying players around if you have anything that remotely represents a playable hand.  In all likelihood, most (if not all) other players will fold, but you need to know what it means in the scenarios that they don't.
1)  If a player after you calls:  They could have something, so check the flop unless you make top pair or better and see how they play it.  If they raise, you should probably get out unless you have some sort of over-pair or are on a straight/flush draw.  In the latter 2 circumstances, only call bets that won't kill your stack should you fold later on or lose on the showdown.  Going for a reraise is risky, unless your overpair is excellent or you're on the nut draw.  If you do see the turn or river just play standard poker.
2) A player reraises the minraise after you: In this case you can either shove or fold.  This early in the tournament, it is probably smarter to fold and lose the $40 than it is to lose more, unless your poclet cards are very good.  If the pocket cards are strong, come back at him with a small raise, value betting the most money into the pot.  They tend to fold.  Your other option is to shove all in, which is to be exercised at your own discretion.
3) A player shoves all in:  Fold unless you have queens or better.  Your opponents move has taught you something that is very important, they are not afraid to shove it in.  If you were to fold and another player calls, you will know how this player bets depending on the strength of their hand, if they remain in the game, that is.
These are just a few things that can happen in the early phases of tournament play while sitting in early position.  I am going to try to dedicate a decent amount of posts to how to play in different positions in different stages, but I decided that I would just start with middle position, where your bets have to be a bit more cautious which often causes consternation for a player in this situation.
Good luck and I hope to see you at the tables!!

Welcome!

This is my new blog dedicated solely to poker.  It will mainly focus on Texas Hold'em poker but I may get into more variants of the game if I get more familiar with them.  This will have on a mix of strategy and coverage, and also special bonuses for poker sites and poker products that will only be available to followers.
Drop a comment if you would like to see something specific!!