Are You One Bet From Greatness?

Are You One Bet From Greatness?

There I sit, staring down a
player across the table. There is
Jason, a new, but fairly strong
player staring right back.

I think "Well, Jason is pretty
aggressive and has been on tilt
lately, so I should probably call
his raise."

I look down at my pocket 10's
once more, and call his large
pre-flop raise.

The flop comes out 8, J, K.

Jason leads out with a medium
bet. With two overcards on the
table, I know my hand is only
marginal.

If Jason bets stronger, I would
fold. But since he only bet 2X
the big blind, I cautiously call,
still knowing my 10's are weak.

The turn is an Ace, and I am
really worried about my 10's.

Just about any bet will scare me
away from this hand.

However, Jason is a novice and
meekly checks. Sensing weakness,
I place a big bet, he folds, and
I win the pot.

As I rake in my nice pot, Jason
flips over a Jack and says, "I
couldn't call with just jacks."

I quietly laugh to myself as I
think about how easily Jason
could have won that pot.

Any bet would have scared me away
from the pot. Instead, Jason
showed weakness and lost the pot.

The moral of the story?

If you are going to succeed
playing poker, you need the "nuts
to bet without the nuts."

The key to picking up hands from
loose players is NOT just placing
a single large bet.

Instead, if you want to win pots
against overly aggressive players,
you must be willing to bet
before the flop, after the flop,
on the turn, and on the river.

Remember that bad players will
often call a large bet on a draw
or with a medium pair.

However, few players will call 2
or even 3 large bets with a weak
hand.

Let's say that a player comes out
with a large preflop bet. Then
the flop comes A, 9, 10- all
spades.

Now, the player scales back and
only places the minimum bet. I
put my opponent on a pair of
aces, weak kicker, and no spades.

Even if I don't have any spades,
I will bet like I do. After I
make a medium raise, my opponent
reluctantly calls.

I know now that he is on the
brink of folding.

The turn is a 4 of diamonds. My
opponent checks. In this position,
many players would not lead out
with another bet if they don't
have the flush.

Instead of showing weakness, I
lead in with a big bet,
representing the flush (or an Ace
with a high kicker).

My opponent stares me down, looks
at his cards, and then folds. I
rake in the pot as I throw my
scraps to the dealer.

If my opponent calls down the
line, his Aces will beat my rags.

I show weakness and check on 4th
street, he will bet big on the
river, and I won't be able to
call.

So, if I don't bet big on the
turn, I will lose the hand and a
chunk of my stack.

The biggest difference between
players and wannabees is their
ability to make multiple attempts
at a pot.

When you play poker, you cannot
be afraid to lose your chips. As
the old saying goes, "The second
you try to hold onto your chips,
you will surely lose them all."

***

I should mention here that there
are some circumstances when you
should play tight and not bet at
a pot.

The cardinal rule is simple:
never bluff tight players.

If your opponent only plays solid
hands, chances are that he will
be willing to call (or even raise)
you all the way down the hand.

Also, if there are more than two
other players in a hand, don't
try to buy it.

The odds are too great that
someone has a solid hand.

Also be wary of bluffing bad
players.

If a player has shown that he is
far too loose with his chips, you
should avoid trying to buy pots
off him.

Finally, don't bet for a pot when
you are short-stacked. When you
are short-stacked, you cannot
afford to lose any significant
hand on a bad bluff.

When you learn how to properly
time your bluff attempts and you
are comfortable with placing
several large bets on a single
hand, you will gain a huge
advantage over everyone you play.

This advantage will allow you to
win more pots, whether you are
playing in a friendly home game,
at a casino, or in a large
tournament.