N
Niykk
Visionary
Bronze Level
Sometimes the winning move is to fold what seems the best hand, but at times shoving with air is the only winning play.
So the best lesson I've got is to calculate, let cards speak to me and not get confused by my emotions.
So the best lesson I've got is to calculate, let cards speak to me and not get confused by my emotions.
ObbleeXY
Visionary
Bronze Level
Here are a few...
1. Tighten your range. You are playing too many hands.
2. Use that fold button more often. Players are more often telling the truth when they bet than bluffing. Stop thinking everyone who bets is trying to bluff you off a pot. It IS happening...just less foten than you think.
3. Stop playing freebuy freerolls. Theese will cost you more in rebuys and add-ons than you will recoup. The problem is, even if you come first place, there are usually a couple more hoops to jump through before you're actually sitting in a money making game and not just another satellite to a satellite.
4. Get a HUD. You NEED to know who the fish, LAGs, TAGs and NITs are at your table. A HD is also a good place to organise your player intel.
5. Stop calling shoves with speculative hands. A shove is a big bet. Treat it with more respect than you currently do. There is a HUGE difference between being the firs tplayer to shove and being the player who calls a shove. Check your stats -- you have better results when you get your money in first rather than if you call.
6. referring to 4...stop trying to bluff fish. It doesn't work. This also applies to low stakes/freeroll games. If there is nothing to lose, than it is hard to force someone off a pot.
7. Position is FAR more important than you give it credit, Stop limping that crap from early position.
8. Imagine you are at the horse races and you're deciding which horse to bet on. Do you bet on the three-legged horse who's one race from the glue factory? Or do you put it on a horse with a strong record? If you wouldn't bet on a lame horse, why do you play such rubbish starting hands?
9. Once you have accumulated a nice sized stack...start looking after it. The chips you have are more important than the chips on the table.
10. Stop playing every random game you come across. You need to play the game(s) where you have a clear edge and can derive value from that. For example, I play and cash in single table SNG more than any other format. Why then do I play freebuys where I keep rebuying and even when I get through it doesn't translate into cash winnings. Obvs you need to try a few formats before you can identify your edge...but you need to go through this process.
11. stop doing the same thing in the same situation. You need to add variety to your play. Sometimes you need to bet, call, raise. Don't stick to one behaviour. Do not always bet just because you have hit. Instead, take position into account and cede the first action to the aggressor. Stop donking flops unless there is a compelling reason to do so (e.g. if a player always three-bet-shoves when met with aggression.
12. Play differently from the pack. If the table is loose and passive, get tighter and more aggressive. If the table is super tight....open up your range a bit.
13. TAKE COPIOUS NOTES. nothing helps more than good reliable intelligence. I label players as Fish, LAG, TAG, NIT and SITS OUT. High VPIP players are marked fish...loow VPIP are marked NIT. I can then enrich my betting strategy based on this. I do not bluff fish/LAGs. I am more likely to fold after a NIT's C-Bet which I miss than a LAG's. You need to be able to identify and respond to your oppnents' weaknesses. For example, in a lot of low stakes games, especially freerolls, people will shove any ace. ID those people. When you are in a hand with them and they haven't shoved pre-flop. You can be pretty sure they don't have an ace (or premium pocket pair). So when that ace hits the board, you can bet it aggressively...whether you've hit or not.
Does your opponent alwys defend their Big Blind? You can extract equity by playing stronger hands more aggressively. (But beware of bluffing).
Does your opponent NOT defend? Get in there.
14. You have to exploit one or two players...not the whole table.
15. Beware of the chip lead. When you are nutty, you want to extract max value. Otherwise just avoid them.
16. Beware of effective stack size.
17. Do not chase straight and flush dfraws when the opponent doesn't have a good stack size. If you're chasing...you had better get properly paid off when you hit. If villain has a small stack size, you ain't getting paid off properly.
18. Track the shoves. If a player uses the shove move a lot...evaluate whether it is genuine or simply defensive. You'll have to base this decision on past data.
19. Pay attention to FCB stat (folds to continuation bet). If the stat is high for your opponent, then use contninuationb ests with strength and pay particular attention if they call.
20. Pay attention to the PFR stat (pre-flop raise). If a player has a high PFR, you can be more confident in widening your calling range. If their PFR is low, it is often a good idea to just get away from hands where they are raising despite a low PFR.
21. When you bet you can win by showdown or by your opponent folding. When you call. you can ONLY win by showdown. More ways to win means more wins.
That should et you started!
All the best.
Regards,
JT
ghitocarcia
Rock Star
Bronze Level
The best advice at lower levels is to play for value to recreational players, almost never lie to them because they don't believe in anything and pay with everything even with high cards, and third and fourth pairs on dangerous cards. You have to know how to adapt to your game.
S
Station_Master
Legend
Platinum Level
Sorry but this is terrible advice. Suited hands are much stronger than unsuited hands
Luvepoker
Lost in the twilight zone
Community Guide
Dont tap the glass. Its scares the fish and aggravates the sharks.
I am sure some are wondering what this means. I was in Vegas and about to go home but was playing my last few moments of poker. This one guy I have played a lot against over the few days and he was sick good. A new player had come to the table and decided to pick on a player and calling him all sorts of crap. This guy mentioned this to him several time. After winning a last pot and hearing his crap again I had enough and said I was done and leaving. Yes this was about me. This good player decided to leave as well. I was in line to cash out and he stood behind me and I decided to ask since he had been friendly when we had played. I asked him if he would answer a question for me as I was going home. He said sure and I asked why did you say this saying whenever he made the rude comments to me. He thought for a few and said since I wont probably play with you again sure.
When you scare away the fish its a bad thing for winning poker players. Even worse not all the fish you scared away are fish. If you aggravate baby sharks the decided to learn how to really play the game and next time you see them they are not fish but sharks.
I took this to heart and started to really learn the game. I may never see this
I am sure some are wondering what this means. I was in Vegas and about to go home but was playing my last few moments of poker. This one guy I have played a lot against over the few days and he was sick good. A new player had come to the table and decided to pick on a player and calling him all sorts of crap. This guy mentioned this to him several time. After winning a last pot and hearing his crap again I had enough and said I was done and leaving. Yes this was about me. This good player decided to leave as well. I was in line to cash out and he stood behind me and I decided to ask since he had been friendly when we had played. I asked him if he would answer a question for me as I was going home. He said sure and I asked why did you say this saying whenever he made the rude comments to me. He thought for a few and said since I wont probably play with you again sure.
When you scare away the fish its a bad thing for winning poker players. Even worse not all the fish you scared away are fish. If you aggravate baby sharks the decided to learn how to really play the game and next time you see them they are not fish but sharks.
I took this to heart and started to really learn the game. I may never see this
