How To Dominate The Table

How do you play to dominate a table? Do you ever try to dominate? What kinds of tournaments and ring games would you try to dominate?


Have you ever lost a huge pot because you had a flush draw or straight draw and didn't catch the card you needed? Because when you're on a draw, you're just ONE CARD AWAY from raking in a ton of chips. And you WANT to keep calling everyone else's bets, in hopes that your card will pop out on the turn or river. Of course, what ends up happening is you have to put a ton of your chips in the middle... just to call everyone else's bets. That makes you pot-committed... and if you DON'T catch your card, you're screwed. RAISE and raise big when in any hand and on a draw. If they fold you win right there and if they call your raise keep betting big until after the river. They might be on a bluff or a draw also and if they fold you rake in a big size pot.

And if they got the goods you lose big. Someone who was flogging one of his online books sent me that and I totally disagreed with it. As far as I am concerned chasers seldom catch and win. It is the same as averaging down in the stock market.

The two areas most neglected by neophyte poker players are hand percentages and pot odds. OK, I'm on an open-ended straight draw after the flop with two more cards coming. How many other hands are involved? What is my betting position at the table? How many "outs" do I have? What are the odds that I will make them? If I miss my draw on the turn, what are the odds that I will make it on the river? What are the pot odds? Is the payoff in the pot worth the investment I'm about to risk? If I'm 24-1 to make my river straight, and the pot is going to pay me 4-1 on my bets, do I stay or do I fold?

These aren't the sexy features of the game. They're...(gulp)..."the numbers." But until these are questions that you are asking yourself, and which you're able to answer with at least a general degree of accuracy, you haven't really started playing poker yet. You're just another chaser among a sea of chasers, rolling the dice and praying for a strike.

Mike Caro's poker odds tables which appear at the back of Doyle Brunson's "Super System" and "Super System II" are the industry standard. Read them, learn them, use them. Boring as hell... until you see them begin to win you a ton of money because you're the only guy at the table who bothered to memorize them.

Well put Rammer. You are right on the money with those questions. Couldn't have said it any better.

I think the only thing I can add is about knowing your opponent, his tendencies, and habits. That way if you do miss, you can potentially push the bluff through.

Draws are always a dangerous propostion. On the one hand if you hit it you stand to make a lot of money. On the other hand if you don't you stand to lose quite a bit. Knowing how to play them is a key element in being successful with them. Even when you miss you can still sometimes take the pot if you play your cards right.

HoldemChamp

I've read quite a lot of poker books written by the "experts". The best advice I've picked up from them on how to play a draw?

"DON'T!!"

unless you are getting good odds to call. dont make it sound like you never want to play draws, because sometimes they will be very profitable. the newer folks might be confused.

Rammer,

Definite didn't mean to give the impression that Draws should be played often. In fact, I rarely ever play them. Why, because I so rarely pick them up. It just isn't worth the risk the majority of the time.

HoldemChamp

New players are the very ones who should avoid draws. They rarely have the tools to adequately calculate their outs, or the pot odds. Novices do themselves a huge favor by keeping it simple, which means staying away from hard decisions. Few decisions are harder than how to handle a draw.

Quite honestly, I find it very rare to reach the river with a flush draw or straight draw and see the numbers in my favor. (When I do, it's typically because the draw developed while I was betting top pair, not because I was running it from the deal. If all I have is the draw, I will usually have tossed it by the turn.) I will typically only proceed that deeply into a draw hand if I have BOTH the flush and straight alive for me, AND the straight is open-ended. In my opinion, there is nothing profitable for ANY player, veteran or rookie, in chasing draws with any sort of real frequency.

As to the "Not!!" comment, I have no problem in giving that advice without reservation to the tournament player. I believe draws should be avoided like rat poison in a tournament setting where survival is the primary key to success.

Draws are just fine, as long as the pot odds allow for it. Never say never. If a guy's betting, say, 20 bucks into an 80 dollar pot, and I've got an open-end straight draw where I'm pretty sure at least 6 outs are live, I'm gonna draw. There's also implied pot odds, that says that I actually stand to make more than 100 from that pot by calling for 20 if I hit my draw. I think that's what keeps people drawing is the implied pot odds, which say pretty much that the guy I'm against is gonna keep betting even if I hit my straight on the next card, so I'm making the pot plus the size of his bet if I hit the straight.
As far as I know, that's the good rationale behind going for the draw.

You can dominate the table only if you have the most chips so that you can bet higher and make the others fold !!!

I play very aggressive with the chiplead and tight when shortstacked.

Draws are the double edged sword, but if you have the chips and can call represent a legit hand they are very much worth playing. I prefer to be aggressive in draw situations because a call usually tells the draw and then if you hit a call is too hard to come by later.

Draws are good and bad because u can lose tons and win huge pots but remember one thing always leave your self outs

If you are a new player the only situations to play draws is if the pot odds are very good or you really know the people you are playing with and use that to your advantage.