NL Hold'em Strategy

How to become a better player - preflop

Thursday, December 10, 2009, JT1swaggin

Today I want to talk about opening your 3-bet range. This is one key aspect of the game that most beginners fail to do. Even many novice players fail here who could be regular winning players at higher stakes and are only break even players...Read more...

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*Text		<p>Today I want to talk about opening your 3-bet range. This is one key aspect of the game that most beginners fail to do. Even many novice players fail here who could be regular winning players at higher stakes and are only break even players at their current stakes because of this. The following examples are mainly for 8-10 handed cash games and full tables at tournaments while averagestacks are 75+bb deep. It also works in short stack play, but that's another 2k+ word blog.</p><p>I see many players do it all the time, especially the old folks in the Casino's off the strip here in LV. Suppose you're on the button with QQ and a middle position player raises 3x and is called by the cutoff. So many players flat call in this spot. When you have a big pocket pair you have one objective preflop. You want a large pot against one player.Against one player there is less of a chance he draws out on you plus you increase your equity postflop as well simply by drawing your opponent in with great odds.</p><p>That should be fairly simple to understand, but what I want to show you is how wide we can 3-bet and show a profit. 3-betting preflop shows a great deal of strength so on almost any dry board your opponent will give you credit for a hand post-flop, even if they got a piece of the flop they will be careful assuming a large part of your range consists of overpairs.Therefore, you will be able to steal a lot of pots when you 3-bet AJos in position and miss the flop.</p><p>Tight players will usually open with a good hand, even in position we'll say ATs+, AJos+ KQs and 88+. However, most of their range will not be worth a call after a 3-bet in their minds. So you can profitably 3-bet almost any hand with potential against these players such as suited connectors and low pairs.</p><p>Loose players will open much wider but to profitably 3-bet you only need to raise about 30% of their range, especially if they open from late position. I'd say 3-bet about the same as the tight players opening range that I just stated.</p><p>Now here's one great example in a hand I played recently live at a 1/2 table. Table was semi-loose but very aggro. One player was up about $500 and was opening about 30% of the pots constantly varying the size of his raises, so I know the amount he raises means something. I'm on the bb with AKos and he opens from the cutoff for $22 (11bb) after 3 limpers.</p><p>Now I know he has a strong hand but certainly doesn't want a lot of action. I had a stack of $182, exactly $160 more. I put him on QQ or AK, possibly JJ. I figured if we went all in I have almost enough equity to make the call but not quite. I definitely don't want to put this much money in out of position and go to the flop. However, I can't raise to something like $60 because I am committing myself to the pot. I can take the easy way out and fold leaving my $2 all to him.</p><p>However, even though he is loose and up a lot of money I know I have a decent amount of fold equity here. So I shove for $160 more. He turns QQ face up into the muck. Many players here would call, which is actually your worst option. Some tight variance nits will fold, but the only play here with +EV is to shove and that's what I did. Just an example here of why you should always go through your options and remember that 3-betting is always an option.</p><p>Don't overuse the 3-bet, usually you just want to 3-bet strong hands. However, we can't polarize our range that much. As I said before we can 3-bet fairly light against a lot of tight players. Remember also,if action folds to the button he will usually open about 50% of range and he's right in doing so. Here, I wouldn't 3-bet with hands that figure to beat 50% of his range but rather about 25-30% of range plus some extra hands with potential. A great example is something like 64s, this way your not polarizing your range.</p><p>Use this advice, especially in cash games, and I guarentee you make more money over your next 1k hands. So much for keeping it short, hope you enjoyed.</p>

How To Execute Proper Semi-bluff Strategy

Tuesday, December 8, 2009, JT1swaggin

For those who don't know a semi-bluff is leading out (or raising) with a hand that figures to be beaten at the moment but has potential to win. Usually this is done with drawing hands post-flopsuch as open ended straight draws, flush draws,...Read more...

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*Text		<p>For those who don't know a semi-bluff is leading out (or raising) with a hand that figures to be beaten at the moment but has potential to win. Usually this is done with drawing hands post-flopsuch as open ended straight draws, flush draws, two overcards etc. You could categorize raising with something like 78s pre-flop on the button a semi-bluff but it's really more of a steal attempt and is irrelevant to this post.<br /><br /> For those of you who have read my EV blog this will also discuss EV further in depth in another aspect of the game, for those who haven't feel free it's in my blogs as well as the article section of the school here. Here is an example of when to use the semi-bluff:<br /><br /> First, you have to understand that a flush draw is not a favorite to winthe hand and you want your opponent to fold when you use the semi-bluff. So, suppose you picked up KdJd in the cutoff at a 1/2 tableand and called a middle position raiser for $8 (everyone folds and the pot contains $19. The flop comes Th8d4d.<br /><br /> The original raiser checks to you and you have a choice between taking a free card and trying a semi-bluff.If you take the free card you will hit your flush and win $19 one in every 5.1111111 tries, for this example we'll say it's one in every 5 tries. So, four times youwon'tmake your hand and one time you will (you're odds are 4:1). If you assume you're opponent will lead out with a pot sized bet on the turn you will be forced to fold if you don't make your hand. If you do we'll assume on average you can extract another half-pot sized bet on the river.<br /><br /> Therefore, taking the free card we lose the $19 in the pot 4 times and make $57 one time. Over 5 tries we've lost $19, over 100 tries we've lost $380 or $3.80 per try. Now, hypothetically speaking we'll say if we semi-bluff bet the flop for just over half the pot($10) our opponent will fold1/3 of the time. Instantly we win $19 once and have lost $10 twice if we don't make our hand .<br /><br /> However, knowing our opponent very well we are sure this will give us a free card on the river so now we have given ourself 2:1 odds of making our hand with $39 in the pot. We can also expect to make some money if we hit our draw, we'll say another $25 on average between if we make it on the turn or river.<br /><br /> Now we make $19+$10+$25=$54 one in every three tries being we have brought our odds up to 2:1 by giving ourselves a free card. Twice we'll lose $19+$10=$29.<br /><br /> Now over 100 hands we've made $19 -> 33 times for a profit of $627. Also of the remaining 67 tries 22 times we will win $54 for a profit of $1188 and the remaining 45 times we lost $29 for $1305.<br /><br /> Total EV is equal to $1815-$1305=+$510 or $5.10 per try. So overall we have raised our EV $8.90 in the hand by making this move.<br /><br /> Now, quickly, suppose there is no chance of him folding (so you understand the bluff aspect). Now you lose $29 67 timesfor a total of $1943 and win $54 a total of 33 times for $1782. Net profit is -$161 or -$1.61 per hand. We still gain by the fact that we've given ourselves a free card but this will not be the case against every opponent. Also the exact numbers are a little bit off as I just realized I used different implied odds in each example.<br /><br /> Hope you enjoyed and further understand the game of poker.<br /> </p>

Understanding EV (Expected Value)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009, jt1swaggin

EV is also referred to as expectation and is the most important aspect of each move you make at a poker table. To explain I'll take some examples of random gambling propositions first before moving onto some common poker situations. First, ...Read more...

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*Text		<p>EV is also referred to as expectation and is the most important aspect of each move you make at a poker table.<br /><br /> To explain I'll take some examples of random gambling propositions first before moving onto some common poker situations. First, so we all know how odds are typically written I will give you an example. If your odds of winning any proposition are 4:1, this means you will win 1 in 5 times. The 4 represents the times you will lose and the 1 represents the times you will win.<br /><br /> The easiest proposition is the flip of a coin which is 50/50. If I offered you 1:1 odds on the flip of a coin for any amount of money this is considered a fair bet. Over 100 coin flips you can expect to win 50 times and lose 50 times. Your expectation or EV is 0. Now if i offered you 2:1 odds on the flip of a coin for your $1 (I'll be paying you $2) you have +EV. I think this is obvious. Over 100 coin flips you will win $2 -50 times and lose $1 -50 times. Therefore you win $100 and lose $50 giving you an expectation or EV of +$50 or $.50 per coin flip.<br /><br /> Dice also offer a great gambling proposition. You will roll a 7 more often than any other number. If you roll a 1,2,3,4,5, or 6 you will need to roll a 6,5,4,3,2, and 1 respectively to make a 7. Another way of reasoning this is that there are 36 combinations you can make (6*6) and there are 6 ways to roll a 7. So we have 6 ways to make a 7 and 30 ways to make something else.Therefore, your odds against are 30:6 or 5:1, so if I offered you 5:1 on the roll of a 7 your EV=0. (You can take the time to figure out all the odds if you'd like, here's the amount of ways to roll different numbers: 6 or 8 -> 5 ways, 5 or 9 -> 4 ways, 4 or 10 -> 3 ways, 3 or 11 -> 2 ways. 2 and 12 -> 1 way.<br /><br /> Now if I offer you $10 to your $1 to roll a 7 here's how the math works out. Your odds are 5:1 and I'm offering 10:1. Over 6 rolls you lose $1 five times and make $10 one time. You made $5 in 6 rolls, now divide 6/5=1.2. So your EV is +$1.20.<br /><br /> Here's how it works in poker, the odds of hitting a flush on the river are 4.111:1, for the sake of easier math we're going to say it's an even 4:1. If you're opponent is all in on the turn for his last 500 in a pot of 1k, you're being offered 3:1 odds as it will cost you 500 to have a chance to win 1500 (500 all-in plus 1000 pot). Now we know this is -EV but how much can we expect to lose assuming all flush cards are outs and we have no other outs?<br /><br /> Our odds against are 4:1 so we will lose 4 times and win 1 time in every 5 tries. We stand to win 1500 once while losing 500 four times. So in five tries we've lost 500 giving us an EV of -$100 per try.<br /><br /> Now let's say our villian moved in for his last 500 into a pot of 2k. It costs us 500 four times like we stated previously, but now we win 2500 one time. So after 5 tries we are up $500 and our EV is +$100.<br /><br /> Now, here is an example of when EV debates become much more complex and hypothetical. Suppose you're in the cutoff with T9 off suit and a stack of 2k. Blinds are 200/400, everybody has you coverd but not by much. We're going to assume everybody folds 50% of the time and you win $600. The other 50% of the time you are a 2:1 underdog (remember we're being very hypothetical) so you stand to lose your stack twice and double up once in 3 called all-ins. Since this is only the case 50% of the time you have a 0.33 x 0.5 = 16.5% chance of doubling up. The chance of going broke is 0.66 x 0.5 = 33%. Of course our numbers are repeating so we'll say it's 33.5% we lose.<br /><br /> Distribution for this move looks like this: We stand to lose 2k 33.5% of the time. We stand to win 2k 16.5% of the time. We win $600 50% of the time.<br /><br /> Therefore in 100 tries we've lost: 2000 x 33.5 = 67k and we've won 600 x 50 = 30k + 2000 x 16.5 = 33k for a total of 63k<br /><br /> So the move in this very hypothetical situation is -EV, we've lost 4k over 100 hand so our EV is -40.</p>

Poker Bankroll Management 102

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, Aaron Clark

This was going to be 100 or 101 reasons why you shouldn't play above your bankroll, but ya know - there just aren't that many reasons worth putting in a list so you'll get the ones worth listing.Players watch games and see 'bad' play, often...Read more...

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*Text		<p>This was going to be 100 or 101 reasons why you shouldn't play above your bankroll, but ya know - there just aren't that many reasons worth putting in a list so you'll get the ones worth listing.</p><p>Players watch games and see 'bad' play, often what they don't realize is that the play is actually often correct given the opponents. When you see someone flip over 27o with aggressive betting they may look like a moron, but in fact they just felt that betting was enough to win the pot. Even if you know for a fact that the game is beatable there are 99 other reas...well there are other reasons.</p><p>Playing above your bankroll makes you conscious of the money. You should never think of the game in any form except number of bets. Casinos are nice enough to put the game in chips so you can see it in bet form instead of bills on the table, and there's no reason to worry about the results of an individual night.</p><p>The average player at the table is better. Maybe not that one fish you followed over, but the rest of the table is likely to be better than the average guy at the level you're used to.</p><p>When you have a bad run it kills your bankroll. If you play too high then step down to a level even lower than what you're used to then it will take forever to catch-up.</p><p>The cute girl at the table is a hooker, not your future wife.</p><p>Believe it or not, its addictive. Gambling is addictive by nature. You play poker and reduce the gambling aspects of it by playing tighter or better poker than your opponents. I for one work pretty hard to not be enticed by gambling, but when you have a good night at the 30-60 game instead of your normal 15-30 its hard to not go back. Even though you only played that game because it was prime, you did win $3000 last session, might as well try again. I could go pro if this keeps up, after all.</p><p>There's just no reason to take the risk. You've got a good thing going, why risk it?</p><p>Them folding more really isn't good for you. I hear it all the time that the low limit games are impossible to beat because they never fold. If this is your view then you need to study a lot more. Read, then read more. Get low limit books, not the advanced books. You make all your money from your opponents mistakes, not from their good play.</p><p>You forgot your sunglasses and hat.</p>

There’s three ways to play Jacks preflop - and all of them are wrong

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, John Darr

Aside from "don't fold the nuts on the river," very rarely is anything in poker a slam dunk piece of advice. But I think I've come the closest thing to it. Now, I can't take credit for coming up with this and perhaps you've heard it already...Read more...

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*Text		<p>Aside from "don't fold the nuts on the river," very rarely is anything in poker a slam dunk piece of advice. But I think I've come the closest thing to it. Now, I can't take credit for coming up with this and perhaps you've heard it already but here it is anyway: "There are 3 ways to play Jacks preflop and they're all wrong."</p><p>A friend of mine, known in the poker world as "Candyman," heard someone say it at a 2-5 no limit game and he rushed over to my game to tell me about it. "John, you have to write an article on THAT!" It's not too often I 'must' do anything but I will cater to my rabid fans one time only ; ) Let's see if this piece of advice is an alley-oop or a dribbler off our foot and out of bounds.</p><p>First things first. What are the three ways to play Jacks preflop in no limit Texas Hold'em? Um, there's more than 3 ways given all the possibilities of game types, opponents, opponents' betting, etc.</p><p>But if I was asked that question "what are the 3 ways to play Jacks preflop" I'd immediately shoot back 'in what position?' But let's cover the basics. You obviously can call, raise or fold. For the sake of keeping this article out of overtime, AKA under 10,000 words, let's isolate this situation to playing Jacks under the gun against a full table (8 or more opponents) THAT you have NO info on. And we're only concerned with your initial decision. Calling with the intent of reraising or raising with the intent of calling the reraise or better yet folding with the intent of calling but being too chicken and you'll do it next time? Another article. </p><p>Well, this seems to be a most extreme starting condition for Jacks. So let's light up the scoreboard and see what plays out.</p><p>Why Calling (limping) with Jacks UG is wrong</p><ul><li>You're allowing worse hands to come in for a very cheap price (1 point)</li> <li>If someone behind you raises you are in a very awkward spot (1 point)</li> <li>You're playing the whole hand out of position, possibly against a large field of random hands (2 points)</li> <li>An over card will hit the flop more than 50% of the time (2 points)</li> <li>When you have an overpair and get any action you're probably facing some draws or two pair, so there's no good turn card for you (3 points)</li> </ul><p>Total score 7 points</p><p>Why Calling with Jacks UG is right</p><ul><li>You get in for the minimum and see what everyone else does before committing a lot of money (1 point)</li> <li>When you flop a set chances are someone has top pair and you can make some money (2 points)</li> <li>If you go to showdown, your limp with Jacks may allow you to limp UG with weaker hands later in the game (1 point)</li> <li>Umm, you just can't fold can you? (.5 points)</li> </ul><p>Total score 4.5 points</p><p>7 to 4.5. It appears calling with Jacks is wrong.</p><p>Why Raising with Jacks is Wrong</p><ul><li>You are giving up the strength of your hand (.5 points)</li> <li>Your raise is attacking one big and one small blind and that' not a lot (1 point)</li> <li>Your raise will still probably price people in to draw at your stack (1 point)</li> <li>You're likely crushed by a hand that reraises you but you can't be sure (1 point)</li> <li>You'll be out of position the WHOLE hand against better than average starting hands (2 points)</li> <li>An Ace, King or Queen will flop more than 50% of the time (1 point)</li> <li>When the board is under your Jacks, you're probably getting action from a draw or a real big draw like two overs and a flush (1 point)</li> </ul><p>Total score 7.5 points</p><p>Why Raising with Jacks is Right</p><ul><li>You charge lesser hands a premium to see a flop (1 point)</li> <li>You MIGHT get small pocket pairs and hands with an over to fold instead of out-flopping you (like AT, KT, KQ) (1 point)</li> <li>You'll probably get bigger hands like AA, KK, QQ to reveal their strength early in the hand (2 points)</li> <li>Your hand plays best against a small field and your raise increases the chances of that (1 point)</li> <li>You can't fold Jacks can you? (.5 points)</li> </ul><p>Total score 5.5 points</p><p>Hmm, a trend. 7.5 to 5.5. It also appears raising with Jacks is wrong. Folding Jacks? Let's see.</p><p>Why Folding Jacks is Wrong</p><ul><li>Most of the time you're going to have the best hand preflop (5 points)</li> <li>When you flop a set, you're probably going to make some money against an opponent who over plays top pair A, K or Q (1 point)</li> <li>Even though one over card is likely to hit the flop, that doesn't mean it hit your opponent(s) (.5 points)</li> <li>You can't fold Jacks preflop, can you? (.5 points)</li> </ul><p>Total score 7 points</p><p>Why Folding Jacks Preflop is Right</p><ul><li>You'll play the whole hand out of position (2 points)</li> <li>Unless you've flopped a set, you really can't feel good about your hand if you get any action (2 points)</li> <li>You will establish a super-tight image and that can be good for you when you play your button (1 point)</li> <li>Umm, you can't fold Jacks and I know it (-3 points)</li> </ul><p>Total score 2 points</p><p>So, that's 3 of 3 ways to play Jacks preflop all wrong. Strangely enough, Jacks are one of those in-betweeners that are all wrong to players who don't play at a high enough level on all streets. Good players love to play Jacks because it gives them a chance to showcase their skill.</p><p>So how can you play Jacks preflop right? There's no one right answer and I think the truth lies in your image and comfort level playing out of position.</p><p>I know you don't want to fold. Although it wasn't discussed in this article, I prefer limping with the intent of reraising. In that spot if I get re-re-raised I can fold thinking I'm beat or barely ahead. And sometimes I get QQ to fold thinking they're up against Aces or Kings. But I'd rather lose that initial investment rather than see a flop and overplay an overpair when I'm crushed.</p><p>Slam dunk?</p><p>I think so. So when you look down and see Jacks under the gun remember that no matter what you do, your first decision is probably pretty marginal at best.</p>

The Catholic Casino - Lessons in Game Selection

Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Aaron K

Last Saturday, I volunteered to help out my father and work his booth at the St. Joseph Orphans picnic. For those of you not familliar with the Catholic picnic circuit in Louisville, St. Joe's picnic is the picnic to end all picnics in the ...Read more...

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*Text		<p>Last Saturday, I volunteered to help out my father and work his booth at the St. Joseph Orphans picnic. For those of you not familliar with the Catholic picnic circuit in Louisville, St. Joe's picnic is the picnic to end all picnics in the city of Louisville, and every year around the 2nd week of August, Catholics come from all over the city to eat fish, drink beer, and attempt to win cakes, fruit, stuffed animals, and other inexpensive commodities.</p><p>My assignment that day: the front line at the Ker Plunk booth. Ker Pllunk is basically a smaller version of the Price is Right game of Plachinko, but instead of $10,000 being on the line, the best prize a customer at the booth could win was an inflatible Sponge Bob, which I am quite sure was out of style 3 years ago. Regardless of that fact, it was amazing the amount of traffic I saw at this booth after working only a short 3 hours. Parents, children, bum unlcles, etc. all stepped up to try their luck and attempt to win the inflatible and stuffed assortment of prizes that the booth offered.</p><p>There was a little blonde girl who kept coming up to the booth and playing Ker Plunk for a $0.25 per attempt. She won a few prizes for the $15 that she spent, but I don't think she really cared about them. I saw the addictive look in her I that I sometimes get while meandering through casino floors, wanting to place bets where no edge existed for myself. The girl just cared about beating the KerPlunk game, regardless of how worthless the merchandise was. I could respect the competitive and never-say-die attitude of this girl, but I think she could have found a better game to play. Maybe the girl was not thinking Risk/Reward at all as she was dropping disc after disc into the KerPulnk board, and I did not bother to ask her, but that's the read I had on her after she spent 30 minutes at the booth.</p><p>So what is my point, you may ask? The point is, when walking through casinos or surfing the internet, find a game where you have an edge and can beat the game. Walk by the blackjack, craps, and Let it Ride tables and get into a poker game you can beat. Read up on the poker knowledge you learn from PartTimePoker and other poker sources, and then put your knowledge into practice out in the real world. Let's play another hand......</p>

Handling the inevitable online swings

Sunday, August 31, 2008, James "Krazy Kanuck" Worth

One of the most frustrating aspects of playing online poker is the swings. Regardless of how good a player you are, swings are inevitable. They can be mind boggling, they can be harsh, and they can wreak havoc on your sanity. After playing ...Read more...

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*Text		<p>One of the most frustrating aspects of playing online poker is the swings. Regardless of how good a player you are, swings are inevitable. They can be mind boggling, they can be harsh, and they can wreak havoc on your sanity. After playing online for nearly seven years, I've seen it all, but to this day I have trouble handling the swings, both emotionally and financially. The secret to success in the long run is to understand the reasons behind these swings and minimize their contributing factors.</p> <p>There is luck in poker; if there were no luck involved, very few players would continue playing the game. Bad players (i.e., poker's bottom line) would lose every pot and quit. The reality is that it's the luck factor that keeps many players liquid in this game and allows them to play on. But that luck factor, or variance, can kill your bankroll when you take a bad swing in results. You could conceivably play 100 tournaments online, play them all very well and not cash much overall because you keep taking devastating all-in beats at critical moments. It seems like the sites have it in for you, the poker gods hate you, and your karma is all messed up. My laptop has been in jeopardy many times after being launched across the room following a string of really bad beats in major online tournaments. Some days, no matter what you do, everything goes wrong. On other days, even the wrong plays turn out right. The difference between the good player and the amateur is how he capitalizes on the good runs and minimizes the losses on the bad runs. The truly great player recognizes the mistakes he's making that compound his bad run and he takes steps to correct them.</p> <p>Compounding factors can be anything from tilting to external factors that can affect a player's judgment. It is very hard not to get angry and emotional over a bad run or a bad string of beats. But as hard as it is, you cannot let that bad run bother you. It should be water off a duck's back. Keeping a positive attitude throughout a bad run is critical to helping you overcome and correct it. I keep hearing players cursing their luck, complaining about how many bad beats they are taking even though they're playing great, and how they just can't get out of their rut. I've watched them play and I see them chasing bad draws, making bad calls, going all in when they don't need to —basically pushing the envelope and not getting lucky, making mistakes because they're trying so desperately to get out of their tailspin.</p> <p>So stay upbeat, and try not to get mad. Your positive attitude will help you keep a clear head and help you make better decisions during play.</p> <p> </p> <p>Stepping down rather than up</p> <p>Many players make the mistake of climbing up in limits, rather than stepping down, when they are in a bad run. They try to get their money back faster at higher limits, when most of the time that backfires and they dig themselves into a deeper hole. If you want to learn how to stop your tailspin, you have to force yourself not to make this mistake. Stepping down in limits will have a couple of positive effects. First of all, it will build your confidence. Secondly, you can build up your bankroll, albeit slower at lower levels, but with much less risk. By moving up, you may blow your entire bankroll if you aren't playing sharp and on top of your game, nullifying your ability to recover. Get rid of your ego while in a bad run.</p> <p>You can take an extreme step by lowering the limits dramatically and practicing the aspects of your game that may not be as sharp. You can do this in low limits with virtually no risk to your bankroll, but the upside to your game could be dramatic.</p> <p>When you're in the midst of a bad run or swing, relax, breathe, and do everything in your power to stop the bad run. But take the right steps and don't panic. Baby steps will help you much more than chasing that one big lucky score. Your bankroll and your sanity will thank you!</p> <p>Knock 'em dead Jim "KrazyKanuck" Worth</p>

Single-tabling your way to the World Series

Friday, August 22, 2008, James "Krazy Kanuck" Worth

The atmosphere of the WSOP is magical. Just being there, amongst the hundreds of poker tables and thousands of poker players all vying for their place in poker history, is a real buzz. I'm sure it must be a very intimidating experience for ...Read more...

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*Text		<p>The atmosphere of the WSOP is magical. Just being there, amongst the hundreds of poker tables and thousands of poker players all vying for their place in poker history, is a real buzz. I'm sure it must be a very intimidating experience for a rookie tournament player to walk into that big ballroom. Even to the seasoned professional player, the electricity in that room is mind-blowing.</p><p>Along with the money and fame that go with taking down a WSOP tournament, there's a golden opportunity to make money in the side games. The reputation of the ring games that surround WSOP is legendary. Some poker players come to the WSOP and do not play any tournaments. Instead, they do their hours in the side action ring games, and do extremely well from the massive influx of money and players.</p><p>One area that is somewhat ignored, however, is the single table satellites, or sit-n-gos as they are called online. Most players will only play a single table satellite with the direct intent of winning their way into a following day's tournament. Apart from a few hardcore single table players, most people fail to realize the true earning potential of these single table tournaments, preferring to devote their time to the ring games. But by doing so, they may be leaving one of the best moneymaking opportunities out of their playing time.</p><p>You will rarely see me in a ring game at large poker events, unless I am horsing around with some friends in the same game. I'll either be playing the tournament of the day, or slugging it out for hours in the single table satellites. I play probably 10 to 15 single table sit-n-gos a day online and have naturally become pretty strong at them. Online sit-ngos will prepare you well for the live games, as the strategy and tactics are nearly identical. And in my opinion, the single table satellites at live events are much easier to beat than the ones online. Thus, practicing online can open up a world of potential earning power at large poker events like the WSOP.</p><p>The dynamics of a sit-n-go constantly change as the game progresses and players are lost, and you have to adjust your play accordingly. Hand values increase as the field size decreases, forcing you to be flexible in your game. Hands that you wouldn't dream of playing at a full table become good, or even great, with position on a short-handed table. Having a bare ace or king three-handed is actually a better than average starter.</p><p>Aggression is key in this kind of tournament, both online and live. Forcing your opponent to make the tough decisions is way easier and more effective than having to do so yourself.</p><p>Playing very small stakes sit-n-gos online can train you to play aggressively without much risk to your bankroll. Sometimes I'll play a very small stakes sit-n-go online, and raise or reraise every hand I play for no other reason than to push the envelope and try to get a good read on whether I'm behind or not. This has really sharpened my instincts and taught me how to control the play at the table. It's much more effective and profitable to be the guy the other players hate to get into a hand with, rather than sitting there scared to death of the maniac to your left.</p><p>Knowing how to use your stack while it's big enough to intimidate your opponent is critical. I've seen many rookie players blind themselves down to an ineffective stack size. When they finally come into a pot, their chip stack size is too small to really damage me, which allows me to take a shot at them with a hand that I wouldn't dream of calling against a bigger stack.</p><p>Basically, you have to know when it's time to start shoving your stack into the middle, either trying to steal a few critical blinds, or to get lucky if you are called, so you can become a threat again.</p><p>Playing sit-n-gos online can train you in the skills you'll need, should you decide to step into the world of live single table satellites. They will not only give you the opportunity to win a seat into your targeted event, but they will also give you a great opportunity to make a lot of money. Pop online and practice your play before you head to your next live event. It could end up being your little pot of gold. Just go easy on me if you see me at your single table; after all, I just gave you some good advice.</p><p>Knock 'em dead, Jim "KrazyKanuck" Worth</p>

Fast Tracking The Learning Curve

Thursday, August 14, 2008, James "Krazy Kanuck" Worth

I've played poker now for approximately 13 years. I started playing online poker roughly six years ago, after I walked into a business client's office and noticed he was playing a poker game on his computer. Being someone who loved the game...Read more...

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*Text		<p>I've played poker now for approximately 13 years. I started playing online poker roughly six years ago, after I walked into a business client's office and noticed he was playing a poker game on his computer. Being someone who loved the game and played it live regularly, I was naturally interested, and asked him about the software he was using. I thought at the time that he was just playing an online game of poker against the computer, like Hoyle's Texas Hold'em. I had no idea that he was playing interactively with other players from around the world, let alone for real money. </p><p>When he explained it wasn't just a "video game," I was so excited about the prospect of playing online from home, rather than in the smoke-filled poker rooms in Calgary, that I ended my day early and rushed home to download the poker site. I promptly deposited $500 into my real money account and proceeded to turn that into roughly $2,500 within a short period of time. I thought I had died and gone to poker heaven. </p><p>Within a couple of weeks, however, I was down over $10,000 and realized that, obviously, internet poker was rigged. I mean, what else could be the reason for my sudden loss? I continued to play, despite knowing in my heart that it was fixed, figuring I was good enough to beat the game anyway. After losing and losing and complaining about "the cash out curse" and all the other things that players choose to blame for their losses online, I finally went back to complain to the guy who had originally introduced me to the site. </p><p>After he stopped laughing at me, he showed me his track record over the previous few months. Then he made a comment that really stuck with me: "Jim," he said, "maybe you aren't as good a player as you think you are." </p><p>Maybe, he suggested, the tilt factor, the speed of play, the number of hands seen, and all the other reasons that make internet poker different from brick and mortar poker were making me lose. After realizing that almost all of the blame rested on my own shoulders, I went home with the knowledge that I had to learn how to play better and adjust. Lesson number one was learned. Internet poker is not rigged; it just forces you to evaluate your own game, make adjustments and become a better player. </p><p>There are so many factors that can turn a winning live player into a losing online player. The simple fact that you are betting with your mouse button can make it all seem less real. Picking up real chips that you know are of a certain value and making a bet in live play carries weight to it. Clicking a mouse button can become all too easy, and you can easily forget the importance of each bet you make. It's scary how you can be sitting at your computer and it feels just like a video game: Call, call, call, raise, chase, chase again, and you keep on doing it. </p><p>So if you are going to play online, you had better take what you are doing seriously, because you can bleed through your bankroll so fast it will make your head spin. You need to learn discipline. Minimize distractions and get yourself into an environment that helps you to concentrate on the game. It's all too easy to play from home with the TV on, stereo blaring, kids running around, and your spouse yelling at you to take out the garbage. If you are playing to win, you need to isolate yourself from as many distractions as you can. I'm not saying you should shut out your life completely to play online poker. It's just that trying to play your A-game and balancing other distractions around you is damn near impossible. Little distractions affect your decisions and that costs you money. The accumulative effect of many bad decisions over time can be very expensive. </p><p>The reality is that online poker can make you a better player much quicker than playing live can. The simple speed of internet play will either force you to get better faster or blow through your bankroll at lightning speed. If you realize early that the key to improving your results rests fully on your own shoulders, rather than believing that the sites rig the flops, then you are on your way to much better play and greater financial reward. </p><p>Knock 'em dead, </p><p>James "KrazyKanuck" Worth

The Best Way to Improve Your Game

Tuesday, August 12, 2008, Jim "KrazyKanuck" Worth

It was an honor to be asked to write a regular column for Bluff, and I was even happier when they asked to write about my favorite topic, online poker. I've never said I'm the best online player, or the authority on online poker, but I've h...Read more...

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*Text		<p>It was an honor to be asked to write a regular column for Bluff, and I was even happier when they asked to write about my favorite topic, online poker. </p><p>I've never said I'm the best online player, or the authority on online poker, but I've had consistent and profitable results over the past few years. One of the most effective ways I can share some of my success, and relay that to other players, is to describe what I think has most helped me improve my game over the years. And that's exactly what I want to do in this regular column. </p><p>Making the adjustment to online play, in comparison with playing live, takes some time. First and foremost is the speed of online play: without the dealer taking time in between hands to shuffle the cards, the speed can be up to three times faster. Therefore, it goes without saying that any leaks that you have in your game will be magnified online because you're seeing many more hands over a shorter space of time. Some tables deal out at 80 hands per hour, in comparison with an average of about 27 per hour live. And if you get proficient at playing online and start playing multiple tables at once, the number of hands that you see per hour will increase exponentially. Playing three tables simultaneously, you could be seeing as many as 240 hands per hour - that's nearly ten times the number of hands you would see in a casino! You will take more bad beats, see more weird draws hit, and witness far more quads and straight flushes than you would in live play, all of which can lead you to conclude that online poker is crazy poker. </p><p>The reality is, however, that if you view online poker in a positive way, you can use it to improve many areas of your game in a much shorter period of time than you would by strictly playing live. </p><p>Once I realized the mistakes I was making online, I worked hard to tackle them and become a better player. I found different games that I thought could help me improve different facets of my play, and I played as many of those games as I could in a day, working hard on areas where I felt I was weak. </p><p>One of the first things I realized early on was that I was pretty good at playing tournaments. I could consistently make it deep into my tournaments, occasionally cashing, and making final tables through solid play; but I would find myself getting eaten alive by superior players at those final tables. Soon, I started playing the sit'n'gos and I realized that I had found my little pot of gold. Not only could I make money on these single table tournaments, but I could also practice an area of my game where I felt I was weak - final table play. The sit'n'gos afforded me the opportunity to get valuable final table experience in order to finish off tournaments better, without wreaking havoc on my bankroll. I could play single table sit'n'- gos for as little as $5.25 (in those days) and experiment with ideas that I would never have dared try out at the $100 plus level. I could play twenty $5.25 sit'n'gos in a row without worrying about the financial impact. Even if I lost every match, which was rarely the case, I'd consider the money spent an investment into my poker future. Today, you can play for as little as a dollar. </p><p>By tinkering with different aspects of my play, I started to understand the psychology of the game as the table became short-handed. There were ten-handed sit'n'gos, six-handed sit'n'gos and heads-up sit'n'gos, all of which allowed me to start my "final table" full-table or short-handed, depending on the aspect of my game that I felt I needed to improve at the time. </p><p>Sometimes I would cover my screen in heads-up matches and play my hands blind. I would try to read betting patterns of my opponents and learn how to react to them. I would play the player's style only, and try to represent the different flops, rather than my actual holdings. What this did for my game was to leapfrog my ability to read certain situations. Investing time in expanding my comfort zone and reading-ability of situations started to pay off when I made final tables. So rather than being eaten alive by the more experienced players, I started becoming a force to be reckoned with. </p><p>I still play sit'n'gos daily online. I play the bigger ones seriously to make money, but will still jump into the smaller matches to practice new things. It's not uncommon to find me in a $5 dollar game. I'll blow off 80% of my chips in the first couple of hands for no other reason than to practice short-stack play. I believe that repetition is key to improving your game and the beauty of online play is that it gives you that opportunity every day, seven days a week. Online play gives the serious player the chance to improve different areas of his or her game in months, rather than in the years it would take in a brick and mortar casino. So jump into the sit'n'gos, not just for the moneymaking opportunities, but also for the priceless experience you can gain from them for tournament play. I would say with confidence that the sit'n'gos have been the biggest factor in the improvement of my tournament play. Hop in, try new things and expand your comfort zone. Some people play poker for 30 years and never change their games. Don't get caught in that rut - there is always room for improvement. </p><p>Knock 'em dead, James "KrazyKanuck" Worth

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