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I was recently told about a dicey situation from a $1/$2 game that you should strive to avoid while playing. A loose, weak player with $80 limped from middle position and our Hero found Jd-7d in the cutoff with a $200 stack. Hero decided to raise to $10.

Hero told me that he thought he could outplay the limper, winning most pots where the limper missed while sidestepping difficult situations where Hero happens to flop well but is still behind. While this may be true, as stacks start to get shallow ($80 is only 40 big blinds), you should mostly raise limpers with strong big cards and hands that have a lot of potential to make strong postflop hands, like Tc-9c. Jh-7h is simply too weak to justify raising. Hero should fold and wait for a better spot. An added bonus of playing only reasonable hands (besides making better postflop hands) is that your raises over limpers will tend to elicit most folds compared to when you frequently raise. If you are mindlessly aggressive, even the most obtuse opponents will eventually figure out your strategy. …

Playing a Marginal Made Hand with a DrawRead More »

The World Series of Poker upon us, so today I want to share an article from a few years ago that illustrates my mindset during the WSOP. I hope you enjoy it!

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Lucky flop leads to the final table in the $5,000 WSOP eventRead More »

One of my students recently told me about a hand from a $5/$10 no-limit hold’em cash game that demonstrates exactly how you should play a marginal under pair. Although he ended up losing the pot, he played it great.

A somewhat loose, splashy player raised to $30 out of his $1,000 effective stack from first position at a seven-handed table and our Hero with 10d-10c elected to 3-bet from second position to $90. …

The right way to play an under pairRead More »

Despite spending a decent amount of time studying, getting in shape, and finding my way into a tranquil mindset, the 2015 $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event did not go well for me. I felt like I played my best but the cards simply did not cooperate at all. However, I did get off to a nice start. Today I will share with you a hand that may seem straightforward, but in reality, it is a tricky spot that I think I played in the most profitable manner.   …

Choosing the correct river bet sizeRead More »