Book Review:
Cowboys Full,
By James McManus
2009, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
In Positively Fifth Street, James McManus did a three-part juggling act in relating his first-hand adventure at the World Series of Poker's main event with the trial of the accused killers of Ted Binion, while also injecting a healthy dose of poker history. Of the three themes, the poker history came off as dry in comparison to the more immediate drama found in the other threads. It comes as a very pleasant surprise then that Cowboys Full, an ambitiously large study of poker, should be such a fascinating book.
As a history, Cowboys Full is impressive. McManus goes back beyond the game -back beyond the invention of cards itself- and methodically brings us up to the game we recognize today. But as interesting as the history is, the book is most fascinating when it shows how the skills various historical figures developed at the poker table influenced their success in the business and political world. The chapters covering the Civil War are brilliant.
Unfortunately Cowboys Full weakens somewhat in its later chapters where McManus repeats much of what he wrote in Fifth Street and regurgitates what appears in other books. Two full chapters are devoted to Texas banker Andy Beal's attempts to better the best of the Vegas pros, and while interesting, this story has already been covered in great detail in Michael Craig's The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King. Yet, overall, it is the most complete book on poker I have yet read. Those who do not understand poker's appeal, or view it merely as a form of gambling, would do well to read it.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The problem with advice
The problem with giving poker advice is that what may work generally, often doesn't work in specific situations.
In an earlier post I stated rather definitively that you should not limp in with strong hands, like big pairs. This is pretty sound advice, however there are times when even this law should be broken. If you have a maniac at the table who is raising every hand pre-flop, then go ahead and limp. Let the maniac raise you and then you can re-raise or just call depending on your read of the situation.
This is the beautiful and frustrating thing about poker - it is situational. You could be holding the exact same hole cards in the exact same position at two different tables, and the right thing to do at one table is to fold, and the right thing to do at the other table is to go all-in. So much depends on the way your opponents are playing, how confident you feel you read them, what you think they think of you...The list of things that can sway your decision at a specific moment are nearly infinite. It is dangerous to follow advice you have read on a poker blog when there is strong evidence you should do something else.
The problem is advice is always based on assumptions like your opponent is behaving somewhat rationally, and therefore her behaviour is somewhat predictable. If you raise pre-flop 10 times the big blind and some one calls you, you can assume that unless this person is an absolute nut, they have a great hand. The funny thing is that people do nutty things all the time.
Ironically, as I am writing this blog I am also playing a freeroll. A guy just went all in from early position with 10c 4d. I rest my case.
Does this mean that one should not bother reading poker books and blogs? No. Just bear in mind that all the good advice you get should be applied unless you have a strong reason to do differently in a certain situation. Ultimately your success or failure at the poker table will have to do with your read of each situation and each situation is different. However, your ability to read situation correctly will be enhanced by the studies you have done.
Still, you can read about poker all you want, but you will learn the most by playing the game. A lot. If you are not comfortable playing for money then don't, but try to find a game where your opponents are not complete screwballs. Play on-line tournaments; the "all-in-with-anything" fools usually get knocked out in the first hour, and after that you can get a taste of what real poker is like.
I hope this blog will not just be me spewing advice to you. I hope you will converse and challenge me. I hope you will share your own experiences with me. I would like to learn from you as much as I would like to help you.
In an earlier post I stated rather definitively that you should not limp in with strong hands, like big pairs. This is pretty sound advice, however there are times when even this law should be broken. If you have a maniac at the table who is raising every hand pre-flop, then go ahead and limp. Let the maniac raise you and then you can re-raise or just call depending on your read of the situation.
This is the beautiful and frustrating thing about poker - it is situational. You could be holding the exact same hole cards in the exact same position at two different tables, and the right thing to do at one table is to fold, and the right thing to do at the other table is to go all-in. So much depends on the way your opponents are playing, how confident you feel you read them, what you think they think of you...The list of things that can sway your decision at a specific moment are nearly infinite. It is dangerous to follow advice you have read on a poker blog when there is strong evidence you should do something else.
The problem is advice is always based on assumptions like your opponent is behaving somewhat rationally, and therefore her behaviour is somewhat predictable. If you raise pre-flop 10 times the big blind and some one calls you, you can assume that unless this person is an absolute nut, they have a great hand. The funny thing is that people do nutty things all the time.
Ironically, as I am writing this blog I am also playing a freeroll. A guy just went all in from early position with 10c 4d. I rest my case.
Does this mean that one should not bother reading poker books and blogs? No. Just bear in mind that all the good advice you get should be applied unless you have a strong reason to do differently in a certain situation. Ultimately your success or failure at the poker table will have to do with your read of each situation and each situation is different. However, your ability to read situation correctly will be enhanced by the studies you have done.
Still, you can read about poker all you want, but you will learn the most by playing the game. A lot. If you are not comfortable playing for money then don't, but try to find a game where your opponents are not complete screwballs. Play on-line tournaments; the "all-in-with-anything" fools usually get knocked out in the first hour, and after that you can get a taste of what real poker is like.
I hope this blog will not just be me spewing advice to you. I hope you will converse and challenge me. I hope you will share your own experiences with me. I would like to learn from you as much as I would like to help you.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Two Suited on the Flop: Scenario #2
Let's review another "possible flush draw" scenario, this one taken from my personal experience.
I am in late position with pocket fives. There is one limper and one caller before me. I call. The small blind calls and the big blind checks, so there are five of us to see the following flop:
I am in late position with pocket fives. There is one limper and one caller before me. I call. The small blind calls and the big blind checks, so there are five of us to see the following flop:
5c Ac 8d
Sweet puffs of wheat. Not only did I hit my trips, but if one of my opponents has an ace, he will be reluctant to fold. There is a chance someone is going for a flush in clubs as well, so I might get some money from them too. Of course it is possible that someone out there might have pocket aces or pocket eights, but I feel pretty confident I have the best hand.
The original limper bets half the pot. Nice. The next guy calls, which is even better. I suspect neither have great hands, otherwise they might be betting more to protect themselves from the flush draw. I want to raise enough to build the pot but I don't want them both to fold, so I double the bet required of me to call. Both my opponents call. Now the pot is four times what it was before the flop.
The turn is a 9s, so the board looks like this:
5c Ac 8d 9s
5c Ac 8d 9s
I'm glad to see that no club hit. The original better seems hesitant, then checks. The next guy bets half the pot. What does he have? Two pair? I have no idea. Only pocket aces or pocket eights beat me, and he is more likely to be holding A8, AK, or AQ all hands he might bet this aggressively. What ever he has, I sense he likes it a lot. I decide to go all-in on the theory that trip 5's will beat a majority of hands he is likely to be holding. The first player folds. The second player calls instantly. I show my trips and he shows: 6d 7d.
It takes a second for it to sink in that my opponent is holding a straight. I didn't even notice there was a straight draw on the board.
How could I have been so stupid?
My attention was drawn away from the straight draw by a number of things. First and foremost, I got too excited by my own hand. When you hit what you are hoping for on the flop, part of your brain goes "Jackpot!" and you stop thinking about everything your opponents could be holding. You just get greedy and think about how much you are going to win. I thought about the ace and I thought about the flush draw, but I was too lazy to look for the straight draw.
I made a very common mistake. Straights tend to catch people by surprise. I think it has something to do with how the human mind works. The brain has a little more difficulty recognizing what straight draws might be on the board.
I have a feeling today's lesson is one you will just have to learn for yourself. Mostly by making the same kind of mistakes I did.
The profitable part of the lesson is that you can reverse the situation. By playing straight draws, particularly against multiple opponents, you put yourself in the position of hitting a straight that is over-looked by an excited opponent holding something like three of a kind.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Two Suited on the Flop: Scenario #1
So here is a very common situation - you are playing no-limit hold 'em and the flop comes with two cards of a particular suit. How common is this? By my calculations it happens more often than not, so figuring out the best way to play all sides of this flop must be crucial to playing winning poker. So lets examine some of the ways a "possible flush draw flop" should be played.
Scenario #1:
You are holding Ah 8h. You call an earlier limp and the button and both blinds call behind you. So five players see the following flop: Kh 9s 6h. Nice! You just flopped a nut flush draw, and the fact the pot is being contested by multiple players increases the chances of someone paying you off, right? You, measure the size of your opponents stacks and see the all have more chips than you do, so you could double-up though any of them. This is good right?
Well, maybe. One of the cruel ironies of poker is that hitting a good flop always doesn't translate into big pots. Your hand is only good if you can hit the flush and if the three suited cards on the board don't scare your opponents away. In my experience these are to very big ifs.
Let's get back to this example hand and I'll show you what I mean:
Chances are very good one or more of your opponents is holding a king. Why? Because people like to play aces and kings. The original limper and the button are the two most likely to be holding either a king or an ace (remember, you have one of the aces, so that makes the odds kings are being held a little better), because they liked their hand enough to at least put in the amount of the big blind. The two playing out of the blinds could have anything. So, someone at the table probably hit at least top pair, and what is this guy thinking? He or she is thinking "I think I'm ahead but I should worry about those hearts! I can't let some fool suck out a flush on me."
Small blind is the first to act and he checks. The big blind and the original limper also check. Well this really is good news! Unless one of those three are setting a trap (possible, but unlikely), they don't have a king. Why do I say that? Remember what the guy with the king is thinking. Someone with a pair of kings or better at this point is definitely worried about the flush draw, so they are going to almost always bet big to make sure that draw has to fold or pay too much to see the turn. You should feel safe that the first three missed the flop.
With just the button to act after you, you probably should bluff here. Why? Well, it might work. You only have a 32% chance of hitting the flush, so why not try to scoop the pot right here? More importantly, by betting here you send the message that you have a king and that "hides" your flush draw. A bet of about 2/3 of the pot should be enough to look serious. More than that might make it look like you are trying to "buy the pot" - which is exactly what you are doing. So you bet around 2/3 the pot. Smart move, you poker genius!
The button goes all in.
Well, durn it. Now, you feel like an idiot for bluffing. Everyone folds to you. You briefly consider if it is worth calling your whole stack on this draw, but sanity kicks in and you fold.
Normally the next hand would be dealt and in twenty minutes you have forgotten this small loss. But I'm going to show you exactly what happened - why you did everything right and lost and why the button acted foolishly and won.
The Early Limper was dealt a pair of pocket 5's. He figured he'd try to see the flop as cheaply as possible, so he just limped hoping to trigger a bunch of calls and no raises. He got his wish.
You were dealt Ah 8h remember? You were happy to call and were happy to see two others join the big blind behind you.
The Button had Ad Kc - big slick.
Both of the Blinds had rags that missed the flop.
So now you see what the button did. He flopped a pair of kings with an ace kicker. Not a bad hand - in fact he can feel pretty confident he is out in front. But he's worried about those hearts. So he does what a lot of players do in this situation - he grossly over-bets.
The Lesson: Players make this over-bet mistake all the time, and they even think they are doing the right thing by "protecting their hand". If you are in a game and you notice your opponents pushing all in like this, you can set yourself up for a big pot against them. Don't play a lot of suited cards, like the Ah 8h in our example, because guys like that won't let you draw to your flush. Instead play more medium and small pairs. If you are holding a pair, there is about a 12% chance that you will see a third card of that rank hit on the flop. Now 12% may seem pretty thin, but with guys going all-in with only a pair of kings (and they really will do this!) you have a good shot at winning big pots with your trips.
Just remember to make sure your opponents have enough chips to make your three-of-a-kind pay off. Don't make this move if your opponents don't have a lot of chips.
Another great advantage of playing medium and small pairs is that sometimes you will get a full house when an opponent gets a flush. In this situation you will almost always win a huge pot.
We'll look at another scenario tomorrow.
Scenario #1:
You are holding Ah 8h. You call an earlier limp and the button and both blinds call behind you. So five players see the following flop: Kh 9s 6h. Nice! You just flopped a nut flush draw, and the fact the pot is being contested by multiple players increases the chances of someone paying you off, right? You, measure the size of your opponents stacks and see the all have more chips than you do, so you could double-up though any of them. This is good right?
Well, maybe. One of the cruel ironies of poker is that hitting a good flop always doesn't translate into big pots. Your hand is only good if you can hit the flush and if the three suited cards on the board don't scare your opponents away. In my experience these are to very big ifs.
Let's get back to this example hand and I'll show you what I mean:
Kh 9s 6h
Chances are very good one or more of your opponents is holding a king. Why? Because people like to play aces and kings. The original limper and the button are the two most likely to be holding either a king or an ace (remember, you have one of the aces, so that makes the odds kings are being held a little better), because they liked their hand enough to at least put in the amount of the big blind. The two playing out of the blinds could have anything. So, someone at the table probably hit at least top pair, and what is this guy thinking? He or she is thinking "I think I'm ahead but I should worry about those hearts! I can't let some fool suck out a flush on me."
Small blind is the first to act and he checks. The big blind and the original limper also check. Well this really is good news! Unless one of those three are setting a trap (possible, but unlikely), they don't have a king. Why do I say that? Remember what the guy with the king is thinking. Someone with a pair of kings or better at this point is definitely worried about the flush draw, so they are going to almost always bet big to make sure that draw has to fold or pay too much to see the turn. You should feel safe that the first three missed the flop.
With just the button to act after you, you probably should bluff here. Why? Well, it might work. You only have a 32% chance of hitting the flush, so why not try to scoop the pot right here? More importantly, by betting here you send the message that you have a king and that "hides" your flush draw. A bet of about 2/3 of the pot should be enough to look serious. More than that might make it look like you are trying to "buy the pot" - which is exactly what you are doing. So you bet around 2/3 the pot. Smart move, you poker genius!
The button goes all in.
Well, durn it. Now, you feel like an idiot for bluffing. Everyone folds to you. You briefly consider if it is worth calling your whole stack on this draw, but sanity kicks in and you fold.
Normally the next hand would be dealt and in twenty minutes you have forgotten this small loss. But I'm going to show you exactly what happened - why you did everything right and lost and why the button acted foolishly and won.
The Early Limper was dealt a pair of pocket 5's. He figured he'd try to see the flop as cheaply as possible, so he just limped hoping to trigger a bunch of calls and no raises. He got his wish.
You were dealt Ah 8h remember? You were happy to call and were happy to see two others join the big blind behind you.
The Button had Ad Kc - big slick.
Both of the Blinds had rags that missed the flop.
So now you see what the button did. He flopped a pair of kings with an ace kicker. Not a bad hand - in fact he can feel pretty confident he is out in front. But he's worried about those hearts. So he does what a lot of players do in this situation - he grossly over-bets.
The Lesson: Players make this over-bet mistake all the time, and they even think they are doing the right thing by "protecting their hand". If you are in a game and you notice your opponents pushing all in like this, you can set yourself up for a big pot against them. Don't play a lot of suited cards, like the Ah 8h in our example, because guys like that won't let you draw to your flush. Instead play more medium and small pairs. If you are holding a pair, there is about a 12% chance that you will see a third card of that rank hit on the flop. Now 12% may seem pretty thin, but with guys going all-in with only a pair of kings (and they really will do this!) you have a good shot at winning big pots with your trips.
Just remember to make sure your opponents have enough chips to make your three-of-a-kind pay off. Don't make this move if your opponents don't have a lot of chips.
Another great advantage of playing medium and small pairs is that sometimes you will get a full house when an opponent gets a flush. In this situation you will almost always win a huge pot.
We'll look at another scenario tomorrow.
Monday, August 23, 2010
More Poker Wisdom
Here are more poker tips that I frequently find myself thinking about.
From Bobby Baldwin: Be Polite.
You want the other players to be enjoying themselves. If you are winning, make sure that you praise the play of your opponents and comment on how lucky you have been. They will naturally want to see themselves as skilled and you as "just lucky", so you don't have to do much to encourage this. The most important thing is that they like playing with you and invite you back. When you see a guy try an obvious bluff, pretend to really deliberate before calling. Praise his courage for trying so gutsy a move as you rake his chips in, shaking your head at yourself while questioning your own recklessness.
From Mike the Poker Pro: Be Patient. In Mike's own words: "I see guys on their last day in Vegas make all kinds of reckless moves. I don't need to play that way. I live in Vegas. I don't have a plane to catch." In other words don't try to win every hand. Sit back, wait for the good cards, and let the other guy take the risks.
From Judi James: Differentiate "leakage" from "performance". Your opponents will be sending you lots of signals to help you interpret their relative strength or weakness. Some signals they are unaware they are sending. You should consider such signals as "leakage", true indications as to how your opponent feels about his or her hand. Other times your opponent will send false signals in an attempt to look weak when strong, or strong when weak. These signals you should consider "performance". Most people have standard moves they repeat when they perform, which you can detect if you pay close attention.
From Doyle Brunson: Pay close attention. Even in hands you are not involved in. If you only watch the other players when you are in a hand, then you are getting far less information on your opponents than you could be.
From I don't know who: Don't go broke with a pair. This is just one of those cardinal rules, which you should remember every time you flop top pair and someone else goes all in. Stop. Think. What is that guy going all-in with? Chances are it's better than a pair.
From Phil Gordon: Drink lots of water.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bits of Poker Wisdom
I have read quite a few books and blogs about poker and I'd like to share some of the advice that I find particularly compelling.
From Willie Nelson: Perhaps the best piece of advice is to be yourself. If you try to emulate others, you will likely just do a poor job of it. I used to have difficulty when I had a big stack of chips in a tournament. I knew from the books I read that in that position I was supposed to bully the small stacks around, so I tried to do that. But I was not a good bully. Being a bully is unnatural for me, so I am unconvincing and ineffective when I try to play that role. Willie Nelson said something to the effect of "If you are a butterfly, don't try to be an eagle." What he meant was you are always most effective when you are true to own nature. Willie was talking about poker. The great thing about poker is that a smart butterfly can beat a hundred sharks, lions and eagles.
From Chris Ferguson: Never stop learning. The moment you think you have the game figured out is the moment it has passed you by. You can only be your best if your are constantly trying to get better.
From Jennifer Harman: Everybody, even the worst players, does one thing very well. You can learn something from even the worst players.
From Howard Lederer: Be a well-rounded human being. Once you grasp the basics of the game, then understanding human nature is the key to success at the poker table. By sitting in a casino or on an internet poker site for 60 hours a week, you are actually limiting your experiences too much. Read philosophy, do yoga, learn to play the violin. Any number of activities that stretch your mind in different ways will give you insights that your leather-assed opponents may never have.
From Antonio Esfandiari: Think about what your opponent is trying to get you to do, and do the opposite. Usually profitable. It is good to always be asking yourself, "What is he trying to get me to do?" After awhile you will find you can get better at predicting your opponents actions. Of course if you always do the opposite, he's going to catch on.
Also from Antonio Esfandiari: Never tell bad beat stories.
Also from Antonio Esfandiari: Never bet a lot to win a little.
From Mike Caro: Never call "poker-clack." "Poker-clack" is that clucking sound of disapproval people make with their tongues. If someone is raising the pot and they make that sound, fold.
These are just the few that came to my mind this morning. More tomorrow.
From Willie Nelson: Perhaps the best piece of advice is to be yourself. If you try to emulate others, you will likely just do a poor job of it. I used to have difficulty when I had a big stack of chips in a tournament. I knew from the books I read that in that position I was supposed to bully the small stacks around, so I tried to do that. But I was not a good bully. Being a bully is unnatural for me, so I am unconvincing and ineffective when I try to play that role. Willie Nelson said something to the effect of "If you are a butterfly, don't try to be an eagle." What he meant was you are always most effective when you are true to own nature. Willie was talking about poker. The great thing about poker is that a smart butterfly can beat a hundred sharks, lions and eagles.
From Chris Ferguson: Never stop learning. The moment you think you have the game figured out is the moment it has passed you by. You can only be your best if your are constantly trying to get better.
From Jennifer Harman: Everybody, even the worst players, does one thing very well. You can learn something from even the worst players.
From Howard Lederer: Be a well-rounded human being. Once you grasp the basics of the game, then understanding human nature is the key to success at the poker table. By sitting in a casino or on an internet poker site for 60 hours a week, you are actually limiting your experiences too much. Read philosophy, do yoga, learn to play the violin. Any number of activities that stretch your mind in different ways will give you insights that your leather-assed opponents may never have.
From Antonio Esfandiari: Think about what your opponent is trying to get you to do, and do the opposite. Usually profitable. It is good to always be asking yourself, "What is he trying to get me to do?" After awhile you will find you can get better at predicting your opponents actions. Of course if you always do the opposite, he's going to catch on.
Also from Antonio Esfandiari: Never tell bad beat stories.
Also from Antonio Esfandiari: Never bet a lot to win a little.
From Mike Caro: Never call "poker-clack." "Poker-clack" is that clucking sound of disapproval people make with their tongues. If someone is raising the pot and they make that sound, fold.
These are just the few that came to my mind this morning. More tomorrow.
Friday, August 20, 2010
To limp or not to limp?
If you are playing no-limit hold 'em and everyone has folded ahead of you, then (assuming you are not in a blind) you have the option of folding yourself, calling the blind, or raising. Of these three options, taking the route of putting in only the amount of the big blind is an action commonly referred to as limping. Limping is often seen as a weak move and many strong players make it a point never, ever to limp in. Why such vehemence?
The most frequent point the never-limpers make is that by only betting the minimum, the person sitting in the big blind will not be required to put any more chips in the pot before the flop. The limper is in effect offering the big blind a free look at the flop, and in addition the small blind can still come in at only 1/2 price. Such generosity is not good business.
Also, by raising you force your opponents to "define" their hands somewhat. If they call a healthy raise, you can be reasonably sure they are likely holding big ranks, pairs or possibly suited connectors. When a flop then comes down something like 4c 7h 4s, it is rather unlikely that anyone hit a great hand with it. However someone playing out of the big blind who got to see the flop for free is actually more likely to holding a four than those who paid to see the flop. Now you are unsure of where you are, and even a good hand like AQ could be in trouble.
You certainly shouldn't limp in with very strong cards, like big pairs. The reason is that limping invites many players, not just the blinds, to see the flop cheaply. Maybe you think you will make more money with your big hand if more people are playing, but what you are really doing is making it much more likely that one of your opponents will out-draw you to a better hand. You can win just as much money against fewer opponents by raising than you would against many opponents by limping, but your odds of being beaten outright increase dramatically the more opponents you go up against. So don't limp with hands like jj or better.
Some players will limp in with drawing hands for the exact reasons that such hands pay off best against multiple opponents. For example it is not uncommon for someone in early position to limp in with something like Ac 8c, hoping a lot of people follow his lead, fatten the pot and make his flush draw potentially more profitable. Is this a good move or a bad move? I really don't know. It depends on a lot of things.
If you are playing against "loose" players - those who play a lot of hands and really don't like to fold - then seeing a lot of flops yourself for as cheaply as possible just seems to make sense to me. If you are at a very loose table (maybe a home game where your buddies have had a few beers) you can even take down a massive pot if someone has a weaker flush.
I know Chris Ferguson and Gus Hanson would disapprove, but I have limped in with suited aces, small pairs, and suited connectors (suited cards of consecutive ranks. 4s 5s, or 9c 10c, etc.) . Not often, but I have done it and will do it again.
But I do understand the anti-limping sentiment. I sense that it is really the passive nature of limping that is objectionable. Winning poker players usually try to control the table and by limping one allows a player in later position to assume the active roll with a raise. Players who like to dictate the pace of play are the most vocal anti-limpers. Perhaps they have a point.
Perhaps.
I welcome your thoughts.
The most frequent point the never-limpers make is that by only betting the minimum, the person sitting in the big blind will not be required to put any more chips in the pot before the flop. The limper is in effect offering the big blind a free look at the flop, and in addition the small blind can still come in at only 1/2 price. Such generosity is not good business.
Also, by raising you force your opponents to "define" their hands somewhat. If they call a healthy raise, you can be reasonably sure they are likely holding big ranks, pairs or possibly suited connectors. When a flop then comes down something like 4c 7h 4s, it is rather unlikely that anyone hit a great hand with it. However someone playing out of the big blind who got to see the flop for free is actually more likely to holding a four than those who paid to see the flop. Now you are unsure of where you are, and even a good hand like AQ could be in trouble.
You certainly shouldn't limp in with very strong cards, like big pairs. The reason is that limping invites many players, not just the blinds, to see the flop cheaply. Maybe you think you will make more money with your big hand if more people are playing, but what you are really doing is making it much more likely that one of your opponents will out-draw you to a better hand. You can win just as much money against fewer opponents by raising than you would against many opponents by limping, but your odds of being beaten outright increase dramatically the more opponents you go up against. So don't limp with hands like jj or better.
Some players will limp in with drawing hands for the exact reasons that such hands pay off best against multiple opponents. For example it is not uncommon for someone in early position to limp in with something like Ac 8c, hoping a lot of people follow his lead, fatten the pot and make his flush draw potentially more profitable. Is this a good move or a bad move? I really don't know. It depends on a lot of things.
If you are playing against "loose" players - those who play a lot of hands and really don't like to fold - then seeing a lot of flops yourself for as cheaply as possible just seems to make sense to me. If you are at a very loose table (maybe a home game where your buddies have had a few beers) you can even take down a massive pot if someone has a weaker flush.
I know Chris Ferguson and Gus Hanson would disapprove, but I have limped in with suited aces, small pairs, and suited connectors (suited cards of consecutive ranks. 4s 5s, or 9c 10c, etc.) . Not often, but I have done it and will do it again.
But I do understand the anti-limping sentiment. I sense that it is really the passive nature of limping that is objectionable. Winning poker players usually try to control the table and by limping one allows a player in later position to assume the active roll with a raise. Players who like to dictate the pace of play are the most vocal anti-limpers. Perhaps they have a point.
Perhaps.
I welcome your thoughts.
The final word on luck.
In my last post I cautioned against thinking too much about good luck and bad luck. One thing I forgot to mention was that when you allow yourself to believe that luck is more important than skill, you then you give yourself an excuse not to put in all the hard work that is required to become a winning poker player. After all, why should I bother to calculate double-reverse pot odds when it's all just luck anyway? Why should I look for tells in my opponents when it's all just luck?
Such thinking is not only lazy, it's dangerous. I think many of those who have fallen victim to gambling addiction have this mind-set. After all, honing a skill, in even such a volatile endeavor as poker, is an act of imposing your will. By giving yourself over to luck you are relinquishing control, and the unknown becomes intoxicating.
This is why I hate luck. Luck seduces the vulnerable with small runs of winning and then lets them throw away their retirement and sometimes their lives.
To hell with luck.
Such thinking is not only lazy, it's dangerous. I think many of those who have fallen victim to gambling addiction have this mind-set. After all, honing a skill, in even such a volatile endeavor as poker, is an act of imposing your will. By giving yourself over to luck you are relinquishing control, and the unknown becomes intoxicating.
This is why I hate luck. Luck seduces the vulnerable with small runs of winning and then lets them throw away their retirement and sometimes their lives.
To hell with luck.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Luck - and how to avoid it
I don't believe in luck, but I do believe remarkably unlikely things happen quite often at a poker table.
I have been in a tournaments and have gone all in with pocket jacks, only to be called by pocket queens (How unlucky for me!) and then hit a third jack to win (Gee, how lucky!). I've have seen people bet large amounts with garbage hands, get called by pocket aces, and still win with unlikely flushes or straights. I have seen people hit the one card they need to make a straight flush on the river, after foolishly calling an all-in bet. How can I say I don't believe in luck when I've seen such things?
Well, let's not call that luck. Let's call it probability. If you play enough hands, then you will see some strange things, and it is human nature to remember the strange hands and forget the common ones.
Let's use the following example. You are in a no limit hold 'em tournament. You are sitting in middle position and have been dealt Ah As. Whoopie! Everyone folds to you, and you make a raise of three times the big blind. You get one caller and everyone else folds.
Now you don't know it, but the guy who just called you is holding absolute garbage: 5d 7c. He is down to half of his original chips and needs to do something soon. He called because he has been watching you closely for the last three hours and believes you are the kind of guy he can bluff off a pot, and that's exactly what he's going to try to do. You don't know this, of course.
The flop comes down Kd 2c 9d. You have to act first (a disadvantage, and another reason your opponent choose this moment to set up his bluff) and you just check, hoping you opponent caught that king. Your opponent pushes all in, you call, and your opponent knows he is dead meat. You both turn over your cards. You gleefully watch as the dealer flips over the turn - a 8d.
Wait just a second- there are three diamonds on the board. You don't have a diamond, but your opponent does, so if another diamond comes on on the river...Just as this disastrous possibility dawns on you the river comes down: queen of diamonds. Your opponent has a flush, beating your pair of aces.
Now you are mad. You did every thing right, your opponent did everything wrong, but he won because he was extremely lucky. This is what they call a "bad beat".You may even decide to start gambling with weaker hands, hoping to get lucky yourself. If you can't win with skill, you might as well take a chance too, right?
Wrong.
The chances Ah As will beat 5d 7c is about 86%, so you expected to win in this situation. When you expect to win, you are not surprised when you do win. However, 14% of the time a garbage hand like 5d 7c will beat your aces, and when this happens you will remember this incredibly bad beat. You will complain about it and make a big fuss about how unlucky you are. You tend to forget about all the times you have won with AA, and you tend to remember the times you have lost with AA. This is because people forget about all the times the expected happens and people remember all the times the unexpected happens.
Let me repeat that: People tend to forget the times the expected happens and people tend to remember all the times the unexpected happens. There are people who claim that they almost never win with AA, which, of course is baloney. They just remember all the times they lost with AA and have forgotten the times they have won. This gives them the false notion that poker is just a game of luck.
It works both ways: people remember the times they got lucky as well as when they were unlucky, and this makes people more likely to believe that poker is mostly luck. People who are on a lucky streak also tend to play mediocre hands, figuring that luck is more important than skill. People might play weird hands like Qc 9h no matter what the situation because they are convinced it is "their lucky hand".
The best thing you can do is to recognize that "bad beats" and "lucky streaks"are just part of the game. Stick to letting the odds determine your decisions and in the long run you will come out on top.
I have been in a tournaments and have gone all in with pocket jacks, only to be called by pocket queens (How unlucky for me!) and then hit a third jack to win (Gee, how lucky!). I've have seen people bet large amounts with garbage hands, get called by pocket aces, and still win with unlikely flushes or straights. I have seen people hit the one card they need to make a straight flush on the river, after foolishly calling an all-in bet. How can I say I don't believe in luck when I've seen such things?
Well, let's not call that luck. Let's call it probability. If you play enough hands, then you will see some strange things, and it is human nature to remember the strange hands and forget the common ones.
Let's use the following example. You are in a no limit hold 'em tournament. You are sitting in middle position and have been dealt Ah As. Whoopie! Everyone folds to you, and you make a raise of three times the big blind. You get one caller and everyone else folds.
Now you don't know it, but the guy who just called you is holding absolute garbage: 5d 7c. He is down to half of his original chips and needs to do something soon. He called because he has been watching you closely for the last three hours and believes you are the kind of guy he can bluff off a pot, and that's exactly what he's going to try to do. You don't know this, of course.
The flop comes down Kd 2c 9d. You have to act first (a disadvantage, and another reason your opponent choose this moment to set up his bluff) and you just check, hoping you opponent caught that king. Your opponent pushes all in, you call, and your opponent knows he is dead meat. You both turn over your cards. You gleefully watch as the dealer flips over the turn - a 8d.
Wait just a second- there are three diamonds on the board. You don't have a diamond, but your opponent does, so if another diamond comes on on the river...Just as this disastrous possibility dawns on you the river comes down: queen of diamonds. Your opponent has a flush, beating your pair of aces.
Now you are mad. You did every thing right, your opponent did everything wrong, but he won because he was extremely lucky. This is what they call a "bad beat".You may even decide to start gambling with weaker hands, hoping to get lucky yourself. If you can't win with skill, you might as well take a chance too, right?
Wrong.
The chances Ah As will beat 5d 7c is about 86%, so you expected to win in this situation. When you expect to win, you are not surprised when you do win. However, 14% of the time a garbage hand like 5d 7c will beat your aces, and when this happens you will remember this incredibly bad beat. You will complain about it and make a big fuss about how unlucky you are. You tend to forget about all the times you have won with AA, and you tend to remember the times you have lost with AA. This is because people forget about all the times the expected happens and people remember all the times the unexpected happens.
Let me repeat that: People tend to forget the times the expected happens and people tend to remember all the times the unexpected happens. There are people who claim that they almost never win with AA, which, of course is baloney. They just remember all the times they lost with AA and have forgotten the times they have won. This gives them the false notion that poker is just a game of luck.
It works both ways: people remember the times they got lucky as well as when they were unlucky, and this makes people more likely to believe that poker is mostly luck. People who are on a lucky streak also tend to play mediocre hands, figuring that luck is more important than skill. People might play weird hands like Qc 9h no matter what the situation because they are convinced it is "their lucky hand".
The best thing you can do is to recognize that "bad beats" and "lucky streaks"are just part of the game. Stick to letting the odds determine your decisions and in the long run you will come out on top.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Bankroll Management: Part 2
Note the "Part 2" in the title? That means go read Part 1.
Okay, you may now have an intellectual appreciation of the importance of bankroll management, however this is too important a topic to leave it at that. So today I'm going to tell you a personal story of bad bankroll management and its disastrous results. This is a story I have not even told my wife because it shames me so much, but I really want you to understand why I think bankroll management is the crucial element that separates the financial winners from the frequently broke.
One day my dad, who was living with us, came to me and said. "Hey, I'm playing poker on-line and I see your hero is playing." I went down to his suite to see what he was talking about, and sure enough, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was playing on the poker site I used. Now I would not say Ferguson was "my hero", but he is certainly a player I admire. He was the winner of the World Series of Poker main event in 2000, a feat that was chronicled in the great book, Positively Fifth Street by James McManus. Now, here he was in all his animated avatar glory. Well, actually his avatar looked more like a cross between Waylon Jennings and an Orthodox Jew, but still, it was Chris Ferguson. I was surprised to see an empty seat at the table, usually when a poker celebrity like Jesus sits down at a table there is a long line of wanna-be's waiting for the chance to take a shot at him, but here an empty chair sat. Invitingly. I checked the limit, and it was much, much higher than I had ever played - in fact the minimum amount I could bring to the table was $400 - almost my entire bankroll. But when will you ever have a chance to play poker with Chris Ferguson again? So I sat down, clicked on the empty seat, and took almost all of my bankroll with me.
I was determined to play my very best. I remember wanting to impress Chris with my skill. Why did I want to do that? Well, it's a fairly common reaction when one come in contact with recognized master. Bobby Baldwin calls it "fancy play syndrome": regularly good poker players suddenly try all sorts of "creative" moves in an attempt to impress the famous poker pro. So there I sat, way over my limit, determined to show Jesus my brilliance.
Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold. I was playing tight, waiting for the right cards. It wasn't long before I found myself in middle position with pocket Jacks. One guy limped in ahead of me. I had played enough to know how tricky JJ is and how it was also very probable that no one had a better hand than me at this point. I made a large bet, hoping to maybe get one caller and then take it from there. I got my one caller - the guy on my immediate left- and everyone else folded. The flop came down - J A 6 (I don't remember the suits). I flopped trip Jacks! My heart started beating in my throat. I put out a bet of half the pot, and the guy re-raised me! Now, sure he might have pocket aces, but that was a remote possibility. More likely he had AK or AQ or AJ. He hit top pair with a good kicker and was not giving up the pot. I moved all my chips into the pot. He called and turned over....two aces.
I suddenly felt like throwing up. I can't remember what came on the turn and the river, but they were not jacks. All my chips went to the guy on my left as I stared, dumb-founded at the screen. My dad, who was watching television, called over to me. "So, how's it going?"
So what was my mistake? Believe me, I have played this hand over and over in my mind and I think if happened again I probably would play it much the same way. If you are to timid to go all-in when you flop trips, then you are probably playing too tight to be a winner. No, my mistake had nothing to do with the hand. Sometimes you can do everything right, and still lose. My big boneheaded move was to take almost all my bankroll to the table.
So, that lesson cost me $400, and I'm giving it to you for free.
I wish I could say I never played over my limit again, but that would be a lie. Time and time again I built up my bankroll by playing well and practicing good bankroll management, only to blow it in a few hours at a much higher limit. For me, there is something about internet poker that is too intoxicating - I have to keep moving up to higher limits even though my bankroll can not support it. Finally, I had to just give up on putting money into internet poker sites altogether. I find it much easier to practice bankroll management at the real live poker tables, where moving up to higher limits is not an impulsive move I could make with the click of a mouse.
The rules of bankroll management are simple, but they are also very difficult to adhere to.
Master bankroll management and you will have the discipline to learn everything else you will need to be successful.
Okay, you may now have an intellectual appreciation of the importance of bankroll management, however this is too important a topic to leave it at that. So today I'm going to tell you a personal story of bad bankroll management and its disastrous results. This is a story I have not even told my wife because it shames me so much, but I really want you to understand why I think bankroll management is the crucial element that separates the financial winners from the frequently broke.
How I lost $400 on a single hand trying to impress Jesus.
I started playing poker for money on the internet with an initial deposit of only $100. I played well at first and probably had more than my share of luck as well. After a few weeks my bankroll had grown to about $450, and I was a little too confident in my poker skills.One day my dad, who was living with us, came to me and said. "Hey, I'm playing poker on-line and I see your hero is playing." I went down to his suite to see what he was talking about, and sure enough, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was playing on the poker site I used. Now I would not say Ferguson was "my hero", but he is certainly a player I admire. He was the winner of the World Series of Poker main event in 2000, a feat that was chronicled in the great book, Positively Fifth Street by James McManus. Now, here he was in all his animated avatar glory. Well, actually his avatar looked more like a cross between Waylon Jennings and an Orthodox Jew, but still, it was Chris Ferguson. I was surprised to see an empty seat at the table, usually when a poker celebrity like Jesus sits down at a table there is a long line of wanna-be's waiting for the chance to take a shot at him, but here an empty chair sat. Invitingly. I checked the limit, and it was much, much higher than I had ever played - in fact the minimum amount I could bring to the table was $400 - almost my entire bankroll. But when will you ever have a chance to play poker with Chris Ferguson again? So I sat down, clicked on the empty seat, and took almost all of my bankroll with me.
I was determined to play my very best. I remember wanting to impress Chris with my skill. Why did I want to do that? Well, it's a fairly common reaction when one come in contact with recognized master. Bobby Baldwin calls it "fancy play syndrome": regularly good poker players suddenly try all sorts of "creative" moves in an attempt to impress the famous poker pro. So there I sat, way over my limit, determined to show Jesus my brilliance.
Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold. Fold. I was playing tight, waiting for the right cards. It wasn't long before I found myself in middle position with pocket Jacks. One guy limped in ahead of me. I had played enough to know how tricky JJ is and how it was also very probable that no one had a better hand than me at this point. I made a large bet, hoping to maybe get one caller and then take it from there. I got my one caller - the guy on my immediate left- and everyone else folded. The flop came down - J A 6 (I don't remember the suits). I flopped trip Jacks! My heart started beating in my throat. I put out a bet of half the pot, and the guy re-raised me! Now, sure he might have pocket aces, but that was a remote possibility. More likely he had AK or AQ or AJ. He hit top pair with a good kicker and was not giving up the pot. I moved all my chips into the pot. He called and turned over....two aces.
I suddenly felt like throwing up. I can't remember what came on the turn and the river, but they were not jacks. All my chips went to the guy on my left as I stared, dumb-founded at the screen. My dad, who was watching television, called over to me. "So, how's it going?"
So what was my mistake? Believe me, I have played this hand over and over in my mind and I think if happened again I probably would play it much the same way. If you are to timid to go all-in when you flop trips, then you are probably playing too tight to be a winner. No, my mistake had nothing to do with the hand. Sometimes you can do everything right, and still lose. My big boneheaded move was to take almost all my bankroll to the table.
So, that lesson cost me $400, and I'm giving it to you for free.
I wish I could say I never played over my limit again, but that would be a lie. Time and time again I built up my bankroll by playing well and practicing good bankroll management, only to blow it in a few hours at a much higher limit. For me, there is something about internet poker that is too intoxicating - I have to keep moving up to higher limits even though my bankroll can not support it. Finally, I had to just give up on putting money into internet poker sites altogether. I find it much easier to practice bankroll management at the real live poker tables, where moving up to higher limits is not an impulsive move I could make with the click of a mouse.
The rules of bankroll management are simple, but they are also very difficult to adhere to.
Master bankroll management and you will have the discipline to learn everything else you will need to be successful.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Bankroll Management: Part 1
"The first rule about making money is not losing money"- Warren Buffett.
Bankroll management is maybe the least talked about aspects of the game but is just as important as any thing else you have control over. Many players who consistently win at poker find themselves broke from time to time because they can't manage their bankroll properly.
A bankroll is that amount of money that finances your poker activities. You bankroll does not include money you need for rent, food or anything else. It is a very good idea to keep your bankroll separate from the rest of your money. It will make it much easier to track your winnings and losses. If you lose your bankroll, well that sucks, but you can not play poker with money you need for rent, food or anything else. This is not a suggestion, this is the way it has to be, okay? If you can't deal with that then you have gambling problem my friend. If you have a $1,000 bankroll, take $50 to the poker table and lose it, that means your bankroll is now $950. If instead of losing, you won $250 dollars, then it is up to you if you want to increase your bankroll to $1,250 or take your profit and go out for a nice dinner.
So why do so many really good poker players blow their bankrolls? Bad bankroll management is almost always to blame. People who have learned to be smart and disciplined while sitting at the table are often undisciplined about the amount of money they take to the table. A bit of bad luck, or just one or two bad moves and all the chips are gone. Now they may start playing angry, mad that some idiot hit a two-outer on the river to beat them, or they play at a higher level to quickly win back what they lost. When this happens a bankroll that has been carefully built over weeks or even months can disappear in an hour. It happens all the time.
How can you keep it from happening to you?
Let's forget all about poker for a second. Let's imagine a new card game called "Tyler Draw". The rules of Tyler Draw are very simple: There are two players, me (Tyler) and whoever I'm playing against. No cards are dealt to either player - instead the dealer turns over just one card. If the card is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 my opponent wins. If the card is an 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, or Ace I win. Nice game huh? Wanna play?
In Tyler draw, I will win 53.85% percent of the time, because 7 out of 13 cards make me a winner, and only 6 out of 13 cards make me a loser.
So let's say I have a $100 bankroll. One guy wants to play Tyler Draw against me for $1 a hand and another guy wants to play Tyler Draw against me for $100 dollars a hand. Who should I play? Well I only have $100, so if I play for $100 a hand there is a 46.15% chance I will lose my whole bankroll on one hand. The odds are only slightly in my favour, so why take an unnecessary risk? There is virtually no risk of me losing my entire $100 bankroll if I only wager $1 per hand. In fact the risk is so small, I really should take that "virtually" out. The more hands of Tyler Draw I play, the greater the certainty that I will make money.
Does this principle make sense? Now I know what you are thinking; What kind of sucker would be the "other guy" at a game of Tyler Draw? Well, walk into a casino. Are you in a casino now? Great. Okay, look around. See all those people playing the slot machines? See the sign saying Our Loose Slots Pay back 92%? Well, that's about the same odds they would get playing Tyler Draw.
But today's lesson isn't about the bad decisions other people make - it's about teaching you not to make bad bankroll management decisions. So let's apply what we've learned so far to the game of poker. Let's pretend you are one of the best poker players in the world. You have a bankroll of $100,000. Do you:
A: Take $50,000 to a $250/$500 No-Limit hold 'em table.
B: Take $5,000 to a $25/$50 No-Limit hold 'em table.
Knowing you will probably make money because you are so good, you may choose option A in order to maximize your profit. But as good as you are, you might get unlucky and lose half you bankroll. Better to take a seat at the smaller limit table. If you are really good you will probably win, an if you get unlucky only 5% of your bankroll is exposed.
What is the maximum amount you should ever bring to a table? The very disciplined professionals say 5% but some will say as much as 10%.
Set a limit on how much you bring to a table.
Bankroll management is not easy, but it is vital. So vital that I'm going to write about it in my next post too!
Bankroll management is maybe the least talked about aspects of the game but is just as important as any thing else you have control over. Many players who consistently win at poker find themselves broke from time to time because they can't manage their bankroll properly.
A bankroll is that amount of money that finances your poker activities. You bankroll does not include money you need for rent, food or anything else. It is a very good idea to keep your bankroll separate from the rest of your money. It will make it much easier to track your winnings and losses. If you lose your bankroll, well that sucks, but you can not play poker with money you need for rent, food or anything else. This is not a suggestion, this is the way it has to be, okay? If you can't deal with that then you have gambling problem my friend. If you have a $1,000 bankroll, take $50 to the poker table and lose it, that means your bankroll is now $950. If instead of losing, you won $250 dollars, then it is up to you if you want to increase your bankroll to $1,250 or take your profit and go out for a nice dinner.
So why do so many really good poker players blow their bankrolls? Bad bankroll management is almost always to blame. People who have learned to be smart and disciplined while sitting at the table are often undisciplined about the amount of money they take to the table. A bit of bad luck, or just one or two bad moves and all the chips are gone. Now they may start playing angry, mad that some idiot hit a two-outer on the river to beat them, or they play at a higher level to quickly win back what they lost. When this happens a bankroll that has been carefully built over weeks or even months can disappear in an hour. It happens all the time.
How can you keep it from happening to you?
Let's forget all about poker for a second. Let's imagine a new card game called "Tyler Draw". The rules of Tyler Draw are very simple: There are two players, me (Tyler) and whoever I'm playing against. No cards are dealt to either player - instead the dealer turns over just one card. If the card is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 my opponent wins. If the card is an 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, or Ace I win. Nice game huh? Wanna play?
In Tyler draw, I will win 53.85% percent of the time, because 7 out of 13 cards make me a winner, and only 6 out of 13 cards make me a loser.
So let's say I have a $100 bankroll. One guy wants to play Tyler Draw against me for $1 a hand and another guy wants to play Tyler Draw against me for $100 dollars a hand. Who should I play? Well I only have $100, so if I play for $100 a hand there is a 46.15% chance I will lose my whole bankroll on one hand. The odds are only slightly in my favour, so why take an unnecessary risk? There is virtually no risk of me losing my entire $100 bankroll if I only wager $1 per hand. In fact the risk is so small, I really should take that "virtually" out. The more hands of Tyler Draw I play, the greater the certainty that I will make money.
Does this principle make sense? Now I know what you are thinking; What kind of sucker would be the "other guy" at a game of Tyler Draw? Well, walk into a casino. Are you in a casino now? Great. Okay, look around. See all those people playing the slot machines? See the sign saying Our Loose Slots Pay back 92%? Well, that's about the same odds they would get playing Tyler Draw.
But today's lesson isn't about the bad decisions other people make - it's about teaching you not to make bad bankroll management decisions. So let's apply what we've learned so far to the game of poker. Let's pretend you are one of the best poker players in the world. You have a bankroll of $100,000. Do you:
A: Take $50,000 to a $250/$500 No-Limit hold 'em table.
B: Take $5,000 to a $25/$50 No-Limit hold 'em table.
Knowing you will probably make money because you are so good, you may choose option A in order to maximize your profit. But as good as you are, you might get unlucky and lose half you bankroll. Better to take a seat at the smaller limit table. If you are really good you will probably win, an if you get unlucky only 5% of your bankroll is exposed.
What is the maximum amount you should ever bring to a table? The very disciplined professionals say 5% but some will say as much as 10%.
Set a limit on how much you bring to a table.
Bankroll management is not easy, but it is vital. So vital that I'm going to write about it in my next post too!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
I'm not a loser!
...well, at least not lately.
In my first post I confessed to being a "financial loser overall" and went on to tell about losing a fair bit of money in my first years on-line. I realize many of you might have read that and thought, why should I take advice from this guy? He hasn't made any money playing poker.
Let me clarify. Yeah, I was an idiot at first. But my record since starting to play live opponents in the last year is pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. In fact I have made money consistently and not just against soft opponents - like the boys at the stag party. So, far my winnings at the real tables are only about a third of what I lost in my dumb-ass internet days. I've made it my first goal to get back to even.
Goal setting is important. If you just sit down at the poker tables with vague ideas of "making money" you are more liable to make the mistake I did - losing track of your losses and letting emotion get the upper hand.
In my first post I confessed to being a "financial loser overall" and went on to tell about losing a fair bit of money in my first years on-line. I realize many of you might have read that and thought, why should I take advice from this guy? He hasn't made any money playing poker.
Let me clarify. Yeah, I was an idiot at first. But my record since starting to play live opponents in the last year is pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. In fact I have made money consistently and not just against soft opponents - like the boys at the stag party. So, far my winnings at the real tables are only about a third of what I lost in my dumb-ass internet days. I've made it my first goal to get back to even.
Goal setting is important. If you just sit down at the poker tables with vague ideas of "making money" you are more liable to make the mistake I did - losing track of your losses and letting emotion get the upper hand.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Pot Odds Primer
Today's lesson is for the newbies. You grizzled pros can skip this one, or better yet add your own comments if you have something important to say.
You are holding two hearts in a game of hold 'em, and the flop comes down with two hearts in it. There is $10 in the pot, and only one opponent in the hand with you. Your opponents bets $5. Do you call?
Many considerations may go in to your decision. How your opponent has been playing and relative stack-sizes may factor in. But the question most players ask themselves is "Am I getting good pot odds to make this call?"
What exactly do we mean by pot odds and why is understanding pot odds so important? In our present example, we are faced with the decision of making a $5 call on a $15 pot ($10 plus the other guys' $5 bet). In other words we stand to win 3 dollars for every dollar we wager. We're getting 3 to 1 odds here, or about 33%. So what are the odds, if we see the turn and the river, that we are going to complete the flush? About 36% (check out the previous post, What are the Odds?, to see how I came up with this number). So your chance of making this flush are not great, but you are getting good pot odds, so you usually should call the $5 bet.
Think of it this way. If you play the hand out 100 times, then you should lose about 64 times and win 36 times. Your total losses will be $320 (64 x your $5 call), and your total winnings will be $540 (36 x the $15 pot). Subtracting your losses from your gains and you'll see you come out $220 ahead. So you should feel alright about making that call.
There are other factors to consider however; things that if you don't pay attention to, you could lose a lot of dough.
So while you are drawing to a flush, your opponent may be drawing to a full house. Just remember It is impossible for him to get a full house, no matter what his hole cards are, unless there is a pair on the board. So if, as they say, the "board pairs" then be prepared to throw your hand away - even if you've made the flush. A lot of people simply can not lay down a flush in this situation and that's why a lot of money is won and lost with a flush against a full house. Remember, great players make great lay downs.
Whew! I really blathered on today didn't I? Well, I hope that there is something in there you can use.
The Basics of Pot Odds
You are holding two hearts in a game of hold 'em, and the flop comes down with two hearts in it. There is $10 in the pot, and only one opponent in the hand with you. Your opponents bets $5. Do you call?
Many considerations may go in to your decision. How your opponent has been playing and relative stack-sizes may factor in. But the question most players ask themselves is "Am I getting good pot odds to make this call?"
What exactly do we mean by pot odds and why is understanding pot odds so important? In our present example, we are faced with the decision of making a $5 call on a $15 pot ($10 plus the other guys' $5 bet). In other words we stand to win 3 dollars for every dollar we wager. We're getting 3 to 1 odds here, or about 33%. So what are the odds, if we see the turn and the river, that we are going to complete the flush? About 36% (check out the previous post, What are the Odds?, to see how I came up with this number). So your chance of making this flush are not great, but you are getting good pot odds, so you usually should call the $5 bet.
Think of it this way. If you play the hand out 100 times, then you should lose about 64 times and win 36 times. Your total losses will be $320 (64 x your $5 call), and your total winnings will be $540 (36 x the $15 pot). Subtracting your losses from your gains and you'll see you come out $220 ahead. So you should feel alright about making that call.
There are other factors to consider however; things that if you don't pay attention to, you could lose a lot of dough.
Beware of a better flush
In my example I said you are holding two hearts, but I didn't say which two hearts. Consider that your opponent may have two higher hearts than you. Unlikely, but possible and in poker the unlikely happens quite frequently. If your opponent is experienced and thinks they have a better hand than you, then they will not give you good pot odds to hit a flush, but if they themselves are drawing to a flush they may make a small bet in the hopes of keeping you from making a bigger bet. Ask yourself why he's making such a small bet, and giving good pot odds, with an obvious flush draw on the board.
Beware of the full house
No matter what three cards come down on a flop, it is always possible an opponent hit two pair or even three of a kind. Think about it. A flop of 4h 8h jd looks harmless, but your opponent could have 4c 8d (particularly if he was in the big blind and saw the flop for free) or even pocket 4's, 8's or J's. A lot of people will play any pocket pair in the hopes of a big payday.So while you are drawing to a flush, your opponent may be drawing to a full house. Just remember It is impossible for him to get a full house, no matter what his hole cards are, unless there is a pair on the board. So if, as they say, the "board pairs" then be prepared to throw your hand away - even if you've made the flush. A lot of people simply can not lay down a flush in this situation and that's why a lot of money is won and lost with a flush against a full house. Remember, great players make great lay downs.
Look out for a shove on the turn
A lot of good players will make a small bet after the flop with the intention on luring you to call. You think you have a 36% chance of hitting a flush, but remember those odds are only good if you see the turn and the river. If a heart does not come on the turn your opponent might then make such a big bet that the pot odds are now against you. This scenario can happen in no-limit hold 'em, and illustrates why it is much easier to play hands like flush draws in limit hold 'em.Whew! I really blathered on today didn't I? Well, I hope that there is something in there you can use.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
What are the Odds?
I've got some good news and some bad news. First the bad news: if you want to be a winning poker player, you are going to have to learn the basic math of the game. Now the good news: there is a very simple way to roughly calculate some of the odds you need to know to make good decisions.
Walk through this with me. You are holding Ah 4h in a game of hold 'em and the flop comes down 3h 6d 10h. You are one heart away from a "nut flush" (a flush that can't be beat by a higher ranking flush - If you were holding Kh 4h in this situation, you'd be drawing to a king high flush and could possibly be beat if the Ah is in an opponents' hand). So what are the odds the turn or the river will bring that heart you need? Here's an easy way to roughly estimate your odds:
First count the number of "outs" you have. An "out" is a card that would complete the hand you are drawing to. In this case, any of the 9 remaining hearts are your outs. You have two opportunities to hit your flush - once on the turn, and once on the river, so multiply your 9 hearts by the two draws to come and you have 18. Double this number and guess what? 36% is pretty close to your chance of hitting your nut flush if you see both the turn and the river. The actual odds are 34.97%, but this easy "out counting" method gets you pretty close.
So, you have 5h 7d and the flop is Ah 4c 8s. You'd like to know what the odds of a 6 hitting on the turn or river are, wouldn't you? 4 (the number of 6's - your outs) multiplied by 2 (the draws to come) and doubled informs you that you have 16% chance of hitting your "inside straight". If you miss the six on the turn, the odds of catching a 6 on the river are only about 8%.
This is a very handy way to calculate odds if you not a math geek.
Walk through this with me. You are holding Ah 4h in a game of hold 'em and the flop comes down 3h 6d 10h. You are one heart away from a "nut flush" (a flush that can't be beat by a higher ranking flush - If you were holding Kh 4h in this situation, you'd be drawing to a king high flush and could possibly be beat if the Ah is in an opponents' hand). So what are the odds the turn or the river will bring that heart you need? Here's an easy way to roughly estimate your odds:
First count the number of "outs" you have. An "out" is a card that would complete the hand you are drawing to. In this case, any of the 9 remaining hearts are your outs. You have two opportunities to hit your flush - once on the turn, and once on the river, so multiply your 9 hearts by the two draws to come and you have 18. Double this number and guess what? 36% is pretty close to your chance of hitting your nut flush if you see both the turn and the river. The actual odds are 34.97%, but this easy "out counting" method gets you pretty close.
So, you have 5h 7d and the flop is Ah 4c 8s. You'd like to know what the odds of a 6 hitting on the turn or river are, wouldn't you? 4 (the number of 6's - your outs) multiplied by 2 (the draws to come) and doubled informs you that you have 16% chance of hitting your "inside straight". If you miss the six on the turn, the odds of catching a 6 on the river are only about 8%.
This is a very handy way to calculate odds if you not a math geek.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Some Basic Stuff...
I want to write to the beginning poker player, at least at first. I am really hoping that those less experienced than I will benefit from my blog. If you are such a person and don't understand a concept or the lingo I am using please make a comment and I will try to clarify. Similarly, if you disagree with me on anything, please comment! I really want to improve my game, and would rather have my misconceptions exposed here than at the poker table.
Ranks and suits
For now I will use this short-hand when indicating specific cards: Ranks are pretty obvious -A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, & 2. "h" means hearts, "d" means diamonds, "c" means clubs and "s" means spades. So "As" is the ace of spades and "2c" is the two of clubs". Simple, right? Sometimes the exact suits are irrelevant to the hand under discussion and it is only important to know if two cards are suited or not. In such cases "s" means suited (two cards of matching suit) and "o" means off-suit (two cards of different suits). You will find this short hand is universally used in poker blogs and magazines. "A8o" means ace and 8 off-suit. "QJs" means queen jack suited. Clear?
Position
It will be important to indicate where at the table you and your opponents will be sitting. Again I will use common phrases and shorthand to indicate position. In a nine player hold 'em game, the first player to act (sitting to the left of the big blind) is referred to as being "under the gun" (utg), the next two are in early position (ep), the next two are in middle position (mp), and although both the next two are in late position (lp), the one guy sitting to the right of the small blind is "the button" (b). The button is the strategically best place to be sitting. Next come the small blind (sb) and the big blind (bb). Make sense?It's no-limit hold' em, unless otherwise indicated.
I am going to be writing (at least at first) almost exclusively about hold 'em - the dominant form of poker. If I don't specify what kind of poker I'm talking about, just assume it's hold 'em. I will mostly be talking about no-limit hold 'em, but may talk about limit hold 'em as well. If I don't specify, assume it's no-limit.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Tells 101
I just read Mike Caro's Book of Tells and feel like I've learned a few very valuable things from it.
I picked it up expecting to learn how to read my opponents, and I did (more on this in a moment) but what really surprised me was finding out how many of the brilliant poker moves I had been using were, in fact, rather common tells. I am amazed that I have managed to make money playing live poker while employing tactics that any experienced player could see right through. I guess I've been lucky. Well thanks to Caro, I will no longer be doing the "reach for my chips" move when I want to make someone believe I'm on a real hand.
The day after finishing the book I went to the casino to put my new found knowledge to the test. I played at a $4/$8 limit game - pretty low stakes, which would let me concentrate on the other players without worrying about getting caught up in big monster hands. I gave myself a time limit of three hours - I know from experience that after three hours my attention wanders and my game suffers.
As Caro suggests, I kept my focus mainly on the players who had to act after me. I tried to predict, based on their reactions as they first looked at their hole cards, whether they would play their hands or not. I found that two guys were incredibly predictable. One guy almost always reached for his chips when he had a hand he wanted to play - if he didn't reach, he didn't play. The guy right after him did the opposite - he almost always made to throw the cards away if he didn't like them, and sometimes even folded out of turn. Knowing how the players behind me were going to act really helped me decide what hands to play.
Long-story-short I left, as planned, after three hours. I was up $109. How much of that was due to applying the lessons learned from Caro's book is difficult to say (and one session does not make a scientific study). Some would say I had a very lucky session: I was once dealt pocket aces, flopped another ace, while the fourth ace sat in an opponents' hand. A little later I had two fours and saw the other two fours on the flop. Sure, its easy to win money when you have monster hands, but I think I won more money on these two hands because I didn't go into my old "aw shucks, I don't really want to play this but what the heck" act. I extracted full value from my monsters, thanks, I believe, to Caro's book.
So here is the lesson for today: Study your opponents for tells, but more importantly, be aware of what tells you may have yourself.
And read Caro's Book of Poker Tells. The photographs are terrible, but the advice is solid.
I picked it up expecting to learn how to read my opponents, and I did (more on this in a moment) but what really surprised me was finding out how many of the brilliant poker moves I had been using were, in fact, rather common tells. I am amazed that I have managed to make money playing live poker while employing tactics that any experienced player could see right through. I guess I've been lucky. Well thanks to Caro, I will no longer be doing the "reach for my chips" move when I want to make someone believe I'm on a real hand.
The day after finishing the book I went to the casino to put my new found knowledge to the test. I played at a $4/$8 limit game - pretty low stakes, which would let me concentrate on the other players without worrying about getting caught up in big monster hands. I gave myself a time limit of three hours - I know from experience that after three hours my attention wanders and my game suffers.
As Caro suggests, I kept my focus mainly on the players who had to act after me. I tried to predict, based on their reactions as they first looked at their hole cards, whether they would play their hands or not. I found that two guys were incredibly predictable. One guy almost always reached for his chips when he had a hand he wanted to play - if he didn't reach, he didn't play. The guy right after him did the opposite - he almost always made to throw the cards away if he didn't like them, and sometimes even folded out of turn. Knowing how the players behind me were going to act really helped me decide what hands to play.
Long-story-short I left, as planned, after three hours. I was up $109. How much of that was due to applying the lessons learned from Caro's book is difficult to say (and one session does not make a scientific study). Some would say I had a very lucky session: I was once dealt pocket aces, flopped another ace, while the fourth ace sat in an opponents' hand. A little later I had two fours and saw the other two fours on the flop. Sure, its easy to win money when you have monster hands, but I think I won more money on these two hands because I didn't go into my old "aw shucks, I don't really want to play this but what the heck" act. I extracted full value from my monsters, thanks, I believe, to Caro's book.
So here is the lesson for today: Study your opponents for tells, but more importantly, be aware of what tells you may have yourself.
And read Caro's Book of Poker Tells. The photographs are terrible, but the advice is solid.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Playing Poker for Fun and Profit and Addiction and Ruin
Alright. Here we go.
I've been playing poker for about four years now. Mostly I play with fake-money on a popular internet site but I have played with real money too, both on the internet and in casinos.
I am a financial loser over all. Most of my loses occurred in the first year I played on-line. I, like many others, was attracted to the emotional rush that came with betting and I soon cared less about winning or losing than I did about getting high on poker. Had I been living alone, I probably would have lost a lot more money. Fortunately, I had family around whose love and support made it easier to keep a mildly bad situation from turning into a really bad one. I realized I had lost control, found the will to stop, and promised not to put any more money into my on-line account.
I was able keep my promise for about a year. One day, while playing on the internet the temptation to play for money was too great. I put a small amount in, lost it almost immediately, then put in some more. Within a few days I had lost about week's wages. Again I was able to stop thanks to the help of my family. I stayed away from poker completely for a little while and have been able to keep my promise of no deposits ever since. I only play on-line for fake-money now, or with the small amounts I have won in free rolls.
These days I play poker a few times a week and I love it. I am starting this blog for two reasons: 1) I want to be a better player and I think writing down my opinions and experiences will help me be more objective in my approach to the game, and 2) I really would like to help others become better poker players too. If you are reading this, then I hope you can learn from my experiences and apply them to your own approach to the game.
It is with the second motive in mind that I started this blog with the confession that I was a money-losing-poker-junkie, albeit a mild one. I want to start off by saying I understand that one can experience a very real high from gambling. Gambling is a very serious addiction - one we know less about than drug or alcohol addiction, and one whose devastating effects are not understood by the general public. I would hate for anyone I know to get addicted to gambling so I want to say before I say anything else about poker: Be very careful not to let poker control you. I am speaking from experience when I warn you to watch for the signs you are becoming addicted. I know these signs because I have been there. Signs include:
Hiding your deposits from your spouse or family (or even yourself). If you are ashamed of you behavior and are hiding it, then it is much more likely that you will allow it to become self-destructive. If you are playing poker for money, track the money you deposit very carefully. When I was in my worst phase I completely lost track of how much I had deposited (and lost) until my bank statement came and I found out it was a few hundred dollars more than I thought. Don't let this happen to you. Track it. Tell your partner ever time you make a deposit - if he or she has a problem with money being spent in this manner, then chances are you are losing too much too fast.
Excessive emotional reaction to winning and losing. It is normal and natural to feel good about winning and bad about losing. But do you feel absolutely ecstatic when you pull off a bold bluff? Does busting out send you into a depression for days? If so then poker has too much sway over your emotional well being. Again, I know what I'm talking about. I remember once taking $100 on-line and getting it to over $800 in less than two hours. I was on such I high from the adrenaline rush that I felt that if God himself tried to play me I would bust His ass. I felt absolutely invincible. Of course that high ended with me losing everything on a stupid bluff. I also remember losing bet after bet making bad, desperate decisions. I hated myself so much at that moment that I felt I deserved to lose - and of course I did. I spent several days feeling useless and despising myself. Sound familiar? If poker, or anything, has this kind of hold over you, you have to step away from it. Even the greatest professionals make poker fit their life, rather than making their lives fit poker, so don't delude yourself that obsession is dedication.
You find yourself playing more and more, or at higher and higher levels, in order to "win back" what you have already lost. This might be the most obvious sign. Logic is left out of your decisions now, and you are driven by this feeling that you simply must win back what you have lost. Why? Did the money to play poker come from some place it shouldn't have? Are you scared at the thought of having to explain the lower bank account to your spouse? Is it just internal desperation that drives you now? Whatever the reason, it is almost impossible to play winning poker in such a head space and things will get worse.
So whaddya think? Still want to play poker? I don't want to scare you, but you have to be aware of the dark side of the game and try your goddamn best to make sure the addiction does not get it's hooks in you. And if you do slip, please reach out before you lose more than just money. People love you and will not think less of you if you need help.
Trust me on this.
I've been playing poker for about four years now. Mostly I play with fake-money on a popular internet site but I have played with real money too, both on the internet and in casinos.
I am a financial loser over all. Most of my loses occurred in the first year I played on-line. I, like many others, was attracted to the emotional rush that came with betting and I soon cared less about winning or losing than I did about getting high on poker. Had I been living alone, I probably would have lost a lot more money. Fortunately, I had family around whose love and support made it easier to keep a mildly bad situation from turning into a really bad one. I realized I had lost control, found the will to stop, and promised not to put any more money into my on-line account.
I was able keep my promise for about a year. One day, while playing on the internet the temptation to play for money was too great. I put a small amount in, lost it almost immediately, then put in some more. Within a few days I had lost about week's wages. Again I was able to stop thanks to the help of my family. I stayed away from poker completely for a little while and have been able to keep my promise of no deposits ever since. I only play on-line for fake-money now, or with the small amounts I have won in free rolls.
These days I play poker a few times a week and I love it. I am starting this blog for two reasons: 1) I want to be a better player and I think writing down my opinions and experiences will help me be more objective in my approach to the game, and 2) I really would like to help others become better poker players too. If you are reading this, then I hope you can learn from my experiences and apply them to your own approach to the game.
It is with the second motive in mind that I started this blog with the confession that I was a money-losing-poker-junkie, albeit a mild one. I want to start off by saying I understand that one can experience a very real high from gambling. Gambling is a very serious addiction - one we know less about than drug or alcohol addiction, and one whose devastating effects are not understood by the general public. I would hate for anyone I know to get addicted to gambling so I want to say before I say anything else about poker: Be very careful not to let poker control you. I am speaking from experience when I warn you to watch for the signs you are becoming addicted. I know these signs because I have been there. Signs include:
Hiding your deposits from your spouse or family (or even yourself). If you are ashamed of you behavior and are hiding it, then it is much more likely that you will allow it to become self-destructive. If you are playing poker for money, track the money you deposit very carefully. When I was in my worst phase I completely lost track of how much I had deposited (and lost) until my bank statement came and I found out it was a few hundred dollars more than I thought. Don't let this happen to you. Track it. Tell your partner ever time you make a deposit - if he or she has a problem with money being spent in this manner, then chances are you are losing too much too fast.
Excessive emotional reaction to winning and losing. It is normal and natural to feel good about winning and bad about losing. But do you feel absolutely ecstatic when you pull off a bold bluff? Does busting out send you into a depression for days? If so then poker has too much sway over your emotional well being. Again, I know what I'm talking about. I remember once taking $100 on-line and getting it to over $800 in less than two hours. I was on such I high from the adrenaline rush that I felt that if God himself tried to play me I would bust His ass. I felt absolutely invincible. Of course that high ended with me losing everything on a stupid bluff. I also remember losing bet after bet making bad, desperate decisions. I hated myself so much at that moment that I felt I deserved to lose - and of course I did. I spent several days feeling useless and despising myself. Sound familiar? If poker, or anything, has this kind of hold over you, you have to step away from it. Even the greatest professionals make poker fit their life, rather than making their lives fit poker, so don't delude yourself that obsession is dedication.
You find yourself playing more and more, or at higher and higher levels, in order to "win back" what you have already lost. This might be the most obvious sign. Logic is left out of your decisions now, and you are driven by this feeling that you simply must win back what you have lost. Why? Did the money to play poker come from some place it shouldn't have? Are you scared at the thought of having to explain the lower bank account to your spouse? Is it just internal desperation that drives you now? Whatever the reason, it is almost impossible to play winning poker in such a head space and things will get worse.
So whaddya think? Still want to play poker? I don't want to scare you, but you have to be aware of the dark side of the game and try your goddamn best to make sure the addiction does not get it's hooks in you. And if you do slip, please reach out before you lose more than just money. People love you and will not think less of you if you need help.
Trust me on this.
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