Poker Player Life

 The basic rule of play on the flop is -- Bet or Fold.

Generally, we will be playing a lot of hands in this game if you follow my opening advice. We dont play these hands to make great poker hands post flop but we play them to control the pace of the game and win small pots uncontested. When the pots get big we have the NUTS!

My flop play basic rule is that if no one has bet the flop when it is your turn and the flop is taken headsup or three handed, just BET. Dont even look at the flop. 

• Flop nothing - Bet
• Flop a little - Bet
• Flop a lot - Bet
• Don't know what the flop is - Bet

Get the picture. When first into the pot - Bet!

The problem with looking at the flop is as follows. Lets say you see three straight cards or three flush cards. That looks scary right? Well we bet anyway. Remember scary to you is scary to the enemy. If you don't bet and the next guy bets you may be throwing away a winner with your AK or QJ or whatever you are playing. Or even worse you may be throwing away a hand like bottom pair or middle pair.

The flip side is that if someone bets than be ready to throw away many hands. Generally we throw away hands that dont have the potential to improve to pat hands or anything less than top pair. So we may call with pair and a gut shot, a pair and a flush draw, top pair (carefully on this one). We also look carefully at the pot odds and implied odds before calling.

 In the 6-max Fast Fold game I have developed my recommendations for the opening. I will describe these with my explanations of why I chose to do it this way.

AA, KK -- The big premium pairs I choose to limp re-raise. The reasons are two fold:

• Early position raises tend to scare away players in this game at most times so the Limp Re-Raise play gets more money in the pot pre-flop and thats what we like.
• We want to be able to limp with certain other hands and this balances out the opening range.

Pairs 66-QQ -- My standard open raise is three times the big blind and that's what I would do with these holdings. These hands play for set value and for the power of a made pair pre-flop when every one misses. Call a single raise with these hands and fold to a raise and re-raise (yes fold QQ.. against players with very tight stats I fold KK).

Pairs 22-55 -- Limp in with these hands looking for a set. These are valuable hands but you want to play them with really good implied odds. A re-raise of these small pairs is disastrous to the implied odds of what you can when when you hit. Limp, hope someone has a big pair and that you hit a set. The ingredients for a big pot!! If there is a raise call and fold to a raise and re-raise.

Suited A-x -- Limp in with these hands

Post flop plan: Never enter a pot with out a plan. Our plan here is simple - in two or three handed pots and no one has bet the flop yet always bet about 2/3 of the pot. Always, always, cover up if needed and bet the flop when you are first in. You have air, bet the flop, you flop a set -- bet the flop; you flop a flush -- bet the flop. Bet, Bet Bet when first in post flop.

An example of a good semi-bluff came up recently.

Three limpers when the Small Blind raised in a 15-30 hold-em game. I look down and see KQ of hearts. A fine multi-way hand so I call. Five players see the flop. The SB is a slightly loose player but is likely to have AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ-suited type hands in this situation.

Flop: A J 6 with two hearts giving me a flush draw and a straight draw.

Pre-flop raiser bets, I and two others call. The pot now has 7 big bets in it.

Turn: Off suit J paired the board.

The small blind bets again, which given the player did not really narrow his holdings much as he would bet a pair of Aces as well as KK, QQ here and of course Aces Full. On his bet, I raised the pot. I was pretty sure I could fold to a re-raise her as that would only be if he was actually full.

Looking at some math. If we give him AK, AA, or KK as his only possible holdings. Then his chance of having Aces full is 3 divided by divided by 21 or about 14% percent of the time. His chance of having AK is about 12 by 21 or about 56%. Rest of the time he has KK.

If his possible hands include QQ then of course the chance of his having AK and AA go down.

This particular may, just may, lay down a pair of Aces if he thinks he reads me for a Jack.

Anyway, he call. And I waited for the river.

The river arrived, he checked, I bet and he folded.

Note that I did not say what the river was. I was going to bet whether I improved or not and as it turned out he was going to fold when he did not improve.

So, I risked 3 big bets in this semi-bluff. I had less than 14% chance I was drawing dead (in which case I would have lost 2 big bets). I had about a 12/46 or about 26 percent chance of improving to hand that should win. Plus I had significant chances of winning without improving, even if he does not lay down a pair of aces.

The pot I won had 9 Big bets, NOT counting the money I put into the pot on the turn and river. So I risked 3 to win 9 (or 10 if I had to improve to win and he called). Not a bad bet.

The key to the hand was that the Jack paired. This is the threat that I represented with my raise. Now if he does not have an Ace he has two things to worry about my having an Ace or having a Jack. He knows, I play tight so both these cards were possible holdings for me.

Plus of course my very tight image always works for me in these situations.

Another fine session last night. Two hands, one where I played it well and one where I goofed big time.

Hand 1: Loose player slightly on tilt raises in early position, bad player calls cold, I call in the big blind with 34 suited. This is a slightly loose play, and usually I prefer having at least 56 suited in this situation.

Flop: Q 6 2 rainbow.

I bet the flop on this ragged board representing a Q and hoping to win outright. Original raiser calls and bad player folds. Heads up to the turn.

Turn: was a 5 completing my straight. I was planning to check and fold but of course now I have the nuts.

I bet the turn (again my default action here is to check-raise but given the player, I was not sure if there would be a bet on the turn - the reason for the check raise is to balance your play, see HPFAP for the discussion). My opponent had flopped a set of Queens, so we ended up putting 5 Big bets on the turn.

My semi-bluff bet on the flop triggered a massive misread of the situation by my opponent leading him to put many bets into the pot on the turn.

The power of misdirection.

Note also that a flop check and call is slightly wrong. A flop check raise is possible (specially as the opponent is on tilt) but is slightly too aggressive in my opinion though very close).

Hand 2:

One limper, late position poster checks his option, i raise in the big blind with JJ.

Flop: Kxx giving me second pair and a backdoor draw.

I bet and get called by the poster, who could have as little as an ace or a small pair hoping I have AQ or a King.

Turn is a rag card, I bet again and get raised.

Should have folded, instead paid off all the way and was shown Kings Up, having put 2 more big bets drawing to three outs. Very stupid!

Just got in from a session of hold em. Quite successful, up 43 big bets in about 10 hours of play.

Two hands both holding 77.

Hand 1:

I am in the Big Blind with 77. Pot is raised in Middle position by an average payer, plays a little too loose and a little too passive. Two cold callers, Small Blind and I call. Flop is: KJ3 with two hearts. The flop is checked around. Turn is an offsuit 5, checked to me, I bet and am called by the Small Blind, who I characterize as a travel channel type. River is an offsuit 7. Check- Check my hand is good.

Hand 2:

I open raise the pot with 77 in late middle position. Both blinds call. Flop comes: K98 rainbow. Checked to me, I bet and am called by a pro player who is stuck quite a bit and playing a little on tilt. Turn is another King, checked to me again, and I bet and am check-raised, I call and again call the river when a small card hits the board. My opponent shows a A-T off and I win the pot.

The main reason I called was: a) I felt that if he had a K he would have bet or c-raised the flop, and b) when I bet the flop, instead of my usual crisp betting motion, I fumbled the chips and thought projected weakness which he picked up and therefore check raised the turn.