Poker resource advice

[nunch92]

Other than reading advice on this forum of course what resources would you guys recommend for a player trying to improve their game? I feel like I play pretty well pre-flop, but I don't think I'm making many of the right decisions post flop. Like when I 3 bet with pocket J's and the flop comes A84.. I feel like I'm just guessing what to do in these situations and would like to feel more confident in the post-flop moves that I make. Most of the youtube videos I see talk about ranges and pot odds, but I don't even fully understand how pot odds apply when you have no clue what hand your opponent has. Any advice would be great!

 

[eetenor]

Bluffing Odds

Other than reading advice on this forum of course what resources would you guys recommend for a player trying to improve their game? I feel like I play pretty well pre-flop, but I don't think I'm making many of the right decisions post flop. Like when I 3 bet with pocket J's and the flop comes A84.. I feel like I'm just guessing what to do in these situations and would like to feel more confident in the post-flop moves that I make. Most of the youtube videos I see talk about ranges and pot odds, but I don't even fully understand how pot odds apply when you have no clue what hand your opponent has. Any advice would be great!

Thanks for posting.

We have to use data to estimate villains ranges. What would a villain in the above scenario call 3 bets with? From what position?
Does KK 4 bet? QQ? AK? AQ?
Does A10 or lower call 3 bets?
Does 1010 or lower call 3 bets?

Assuming we are in position. This is a simplified example.
Lets estimate a calling range of AK AQ QQ 1010 99
If we check flop as would be wise. AK AQ lead bet turn. No bet no Ace.
QQ 1010 99 All check turn.
We bet blank turn all hands call us. We want to bet like we might have an Ace 40% pot
On blank river from experience we know 1010 99 seldom call but QQ calls fifty percent of the time.
With an opponent that calls 50% with QQ a correct math play is to bet pot on the river as a bluff. If the QQ will also fold 50% of the time to a half pot bet we make that instead. However most players call more often with half pot sized bets. We still make the right play if the villain only increases their calling % to less than 67% of the time. Unfortunately most villains will call half pot bets 80-90% of the time.

Check link of article on the math below.

https://www.husng.com/content/calculating-pot-odds-and-how-often-your-opponent-has-fold-your-bluff

Hope this helps. Questions welcomed.

 

[MattRyder]

I suggest studying these two MIT courses:

• Poker Theory and Analytics
• How to Win at Texas Hold'em Poker

 

[nunch92]

Thanks for posting.

We have to use data to estimate villains ranges. What would a villain in the above scenario call 3 bets with? From what position?
Does KK 4 bet? QQ? AK? AQ?
Does A10 or lower call 3 bets?
Does 1010 or lower call 3 bets?

Assuming we are in position. This is a simplified example.
Lets estimate a calling range of AK AQ QQ 1010 99
If we check flop as would be wise. AK AQ lead bet turn. No bet no Ace.
QQ 1010 99 All check turn.
We bet blank turn all hands call us. We want to bet like we might have an Ace 40% pot
On blank river from experience we know 1010 99 seldom call but QQ calls fifty percent of the time.
With an opponent that calls 50% with QQ a correct math play is to bet pot on the river as a bluff. If the QQ will also fold 50% of the time to a half pot bet we make that instead. However most players call more often with half pot sized bets. We still make the right play if the villain only increases their calling % to less than 67% of the time. Unfortunately most villains will call half pot bets 80-90% of the time.

Check link of article on the math below.

https://www.husng.com/content/calculating-pot-odds-and-how-often-your-opponent-has-fold-your-bluff

Hope this helps. Questions welcomed.

Thanks so much for the thorough response! I would have never broken down the hand in that detailed of a way, so thank you for doing that. I'm curious, what made you think the opponent would call with QQ 50% of the time? Also, why did you propose a 40% pot bet to bluff like we have an ace? I would probably check the flop, then make a 60% pot bet on the turn if the opponent checked in front of me. Not sure how I would have played the turn had the opponent bet out.. Probably a call and hope he checks the river.. Not sure if that's good thinking or not, but you're clearly more advanced than me. Thanks again!

 

[nunch92]

I suggest studying these two MIT courses:

• Poker Theory and Analytics
• How to Win at Texas Hold'em Poker

Thanks for the response! I have started one of the MIT courses before, but found that they are very theory heavy and not as application based.. Do you think it is necessary to learn the theory this way, or is there a more practice heavy style of learning?

 

[eetenor]

Value range and bluff range on turn.

Thanks so much for the thorough response! I would have never broken down the hand in that detailed of a way, so thank you for doing that. I'm curious, what made you think the opponent would call with QQ 50% of the time? Also, why did you propose a 40% pot bet to bluff like we have an ace? I would probably check the flop, then make a 60% pot bet on the turn if the opponent checked in front of me. Not sure how I would have played the turn had the opponent bet out.. Probably a call and hope he checks the river.. Not sure if that's good thinking or not, but you're clearly more advanced than me. Thanks again!

Thank you for responding.

As I stated this was a simplified example to give you the basics.
QQ 50% fold rate was an estimate that worked easily with the pot size river bluff
Any time we make a pot size river bet bluff we need only succeed 50% of the time that is a constant based on the math. That never changes.

The QQ fold rate is always an estimate we have to make based on game dynamics. Loose players may fold only 40% tight may fold to the bet 100%

Micro players will fold as little as 20% of the time.
If we know a player is folding only 20% of the time with QQ we have to check back that river.

Why 40% turn not 60%. QQ 1010 99 call 40%
-60% QQ calls 1010 folds 50% 99 folds 100%


When called we are betting more when losing. Also we know we are going to turn JJ into a bluff on the river so we are going to make 2 bets that look like value not like bluffs.

Remember we are not doing this vs micro players who could be calling down with A2.
We are playing thinking players who think about out bet sizing.

bluffing is about telling a story. 40% bet turn says go ahead call me. Combine that with pot bet river aha I got you call me again. Remember we should be doing this with AK as well. That is what balancing means.

60% turn says you can fold that would be ok. Pot river then says please fold common you can fold. Are we ever betting AK 60% turn -pot river vs a thinking player?

We are trying to get a thinking player to fold QQ.

There are threads regarding play vs a single over card check them out.

Just to let you know my example here is an ICEBERG explanation. This topic requires a lot of study and understanding. What you see here is only the smallest part of knowing what to do.

Hope this helps.

 

[marcumx]

i use breakthrough poker coaching even though he charges 90 bucks you can get free vids. most are commo sense but signing up will get access to free webinars, and of course youtube's ripe with analysis

 

[nunch92]

Thank you for responding.

As I stated this was a simplified example to give you the basics.
QQ 50% fold rate was an estimate that worked easily with the pot size river bluff
Any time we make a pot size river bet bluff we need only succeed 50% of the time that is a constant based on the math. That never changes.

The QQ fold rate is always an estimate we have to make based on game dynamics. Loose players may fold only 40% tight may fold to the bet 100%

Micro players will fold as little as 20% of the time.
If we know a player is folding only 20% of the time with QQ we have to check back that river.

Why 40% turn not 60%. QQ 1010 99 call 40%
-60% QQ calls 1010 folds 50% 99 folds 100%


When called we are betting more when losing. Also we know we are going to turn JJ into a bluff on the river so we are going to make 2 bets that look like value not like bluffs.

Remember we are not doing this vs micro players who could be calling down with A2.
We are playing thinking players who think about out bet sizing.

Bluffing is about telling a story. 40% bet turn says go ahead call me. Combine that with pot bet river aha I got you call me again. Remember we should be doing this with AK as well. That is what balancing means.

60% turn says you can fold that would be ok. Pot river then says please fold common you can fold. Are we ever betting AK 60% turn -pot river vs a thinking player?

We are trying to get a thinking player to fold QQ.

There are threads regarding play vs a single over card check them out.

Just to let you know my example here is an ICEBERG explanation. This topic requires a lot of study and understanding. What you see here is only the smallest part of knowing what to do.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much again for taking the time to explain this thoroughly! I definitely have some studying to do, and I look forward to understanding hands on this level! I'm currently only playing microstakes, which is probably why I had the 40% vs 60% question. Most players that I'm playing against will call with essentially any weak pair or an A to most bets.. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[smallfrie]

Twitch and YouTube are great sources for live streams and video's most of which are free.

 

[HaroldHouse]

Doug Polk has a $7 course at Upswing poker thats about this exact same question. I havent bought it because I only do free info for now. But you might be interested in looking at it

 

[Salavat Kozhakhmetov]

in addition to studying the materials you need to delve into this process,and actually play more hands and understanding itself will come to you!

 

[xxgsaint5501xx]

Other than reading advice on this forum of course what resources would you guys recommend for a player trying to improve their game? I feel like I play pretty well pre-flop, but I don't think I'm making many of the right decisions post flop. Like when I 3 bet with pocket J's and the flop comes A84.. I feel like I'm just guessing what to do in these situations and would like to feel more confident in the post-flop moves that I make. Most of the youtube videos I see talk about ranges and pot odds, but I don't even fully understand how pot odds apply when you have no clue what hand your opponent has. Any advice would be great!

There are many, many great sites out there dedicated to poker strategy. I personally learned a ton from Doug Polk at his training site called Upswing Poker. There is a lot they charge for on this site,but they offer so much for free if you sign up for a free account. The starting hand charts alone are worth the time. Check it out!

 

[nunch92]

Doug Polk has a $7 course at Upswing poker thats about this exact same question. I havent bought it because I only do free info for now. But you might be interested in looking at it

I'm with you. Only using free info right now. I just feel like there's so much free information out there that there's no need to spend money on it. Of course if you were playing for a living then it would make sense to invest in some lessons, but I just play for fun.

 

[nunch92]

There are many, many great sites out there dedicated to poker strategy. I personally learned a ton from Doug Polk at his training site called Upswing Poker. There is a lot they charge for on this site,but they offer so much for free if you sign up for a free account. The starting hand charts alone are worth the time. Check it out!

Thanks for the tip! I've seen some of Doug Polk's youtube videos and they're pretty interesting. I'll be sure to check his website out. It's cool how accessible he is as a resource while still being a professional poker player. Seems to really care about teaching.

 

[HaroldHouse]

Thanks for the tip! I've seen some of Doug Polk's youtube videos and they're pretty interesting. I'll be sure to check his website out. It's cool how accessible he is as a resource while still being a professional poker player. Seems to really care about teaching.

Jonathan Little is the same way. Puts out a ton of free stuff. Its marketing for the paid stuff, but you can tell both are guinely good guys.

 

[phantomjiujitsu]

The audio books on audible are pretty good. Lots of Jonathan little stuff and sky m. pre flop book is great.

 

[whitesmoke420]

WoW. So much great advice everyone has to offer. A lot of the time you can really learn a lot from a continuation bet keeping the bet less than half the pot and watching out for your straights and suits. If you don't have top pair or top hand then those who call the continuation bets even tho they are low are either chasing...…..or holding. If raised - judge amount and take possible turn card. If you don't hit and they push - let it go.

The hardest part for most is letting go of those "strong cards" like pocket kings and aces so two pair can go along way on the flop a lot of the time.

 

[Iryna Stryzheuskaya]

You can find a lot of videos about how other players play.

 

[Lena M]

Hello.
Normally, I only watch videos on YouTube. I think there is plenty of information there. The main thing is to find free time.