When to play junk hands?

I know there are some people that always throw away garbage hands no matter what and there are players like Sam Farha or Gus Hansen that'll play their 6 9 off like a monster hand.

I was recently watching some old footage from GSN's high stakes poker and Sam Farha was picking up some pretty good pots with trash hands.

When do you decide to play your garbage hands? Or is it dependant on many factors?

Dependent on many factors - position, stack depth, knowledge of your opponents game, your image, bankroll considerations, reading skills, limit vs no-limit, cash vs tourney...

I think it works much better in live games. Playing trash usually (unless you hit a miracle flop) involves outplaying your opponent after the flop, and that requires getting a decent read. Add to that the fact that it's much easier to call a big bet when it's just the click of a button, as opposed to pushing all your chips in with everyone watching you.

If your on the button with tight player in the blinds

If your good enough to outplay people on flops

Coming out of hiding for 1 post....

I don't recommend this play at all in online play. You will not have the information needed to play correctly after the flop.

Since you may do it anyway...I will mention some times when it will be most useful.

(1) When the table is very tight. This is quite uncommon online. To decide if the table is good for this type of play, keep track of how many players see the flop on raised pots. If players are raising around 3x or 4x the BB, most flops should be taken by 2 players, sometimes 3 players. If 4 or 5 players are typically calling these raises before the flop, your play will be a disaster.

(2) When your opponents are capable of playing good poker. For your play to work, your opponents must respect the hands you are representing. If they cannot fold when u have them beat, they cannot fold when you act like you do. If they cannot fold when someone outflops them, they cannot fold when you outplay them.

(3) When you are running cold. As mentioned, this play requires respect and solid play from your opponents. You don't want opponents trying to keep you honest with marginal hands. If you havent played much lately, your aggression will be repected.

(4) When you know your opponents. This is the most important thing! If you don't know when your hand is the best hand (nearly all the time), you are not good enough to use this play. If you can read online players this well, you are a much better player than I am.

(5) In cash games. Everyone will be playing weaker hands in tourney play and this is not the situation you want for this type of play. You will find this play works better at higher stakes, where the players are better and everyone cares about the money in front of them.

(6) When you are the only player doing it. If other players are playing like this and you know it, you should play straightforward and break these players by getting in with the best of it.

Sammy was playing with the best TAG players in the world in that game. He also caught his share of starting hands and good flops. Also, (very important) he was playing with his opponents money. He would have mixed up his play more if he lost a couple big pots and was risking his own cash every hand.

I would just not do this if you play online. Save this play for when you get on HSP.

it depends on the factor of the situation u r in.

freerolls are a good place to play junk hands. i sometimes play junk hands at the beginning if its a cheap flop. i have won major pots that way with 2 pairs of junk and then sat around playing the normal game with a large stack. i have also beat a lot of good players playing so called donk hands. they make the mistake of letting in cheap. suited anything with a staight. my favorite is the small cards. super pros don't see it coming cause they all play the same.

sng, hs i don't recommend it but it depends i guess

im a super donkey what do i know:joyman:

i agree freerolls, while on button, see 60%-80% flops will pay off in the mad world of freerolls, even a raise if you see only 2-3 people call blinds, no matter what u have.

o0

I think if a particular type of game is so weak that you may change your strategy (for the worse) in order to do well in it, you should just avoid that game.

BTW "super pros" don't all play the same. There are great TAG and LAG players. They DO see bad play on the part of other players and try to adjust accordingly.

It is true that it is next to impossible to put a maniac on a hand. Still, maniacs bust out so quick in tough games that they never catch the type of big hand that thier image helps them collect chips with. They are thier own worst enemy.

Put simply, if you are playing raised pots with ATC, you should have a specific reason for doing so.

Like real estate it's LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
(ie: late or on the button).
Raising when its folded to you, don't give a damn what the cards are. (ATC). SNG's & MTT's
Read "The Tournament Formula" forgot the authors name.