Combating Weak Players
In my previous blog post, we discussed how to exploit calling stations. This time, we will discuss how to combat overly weak players. In my next article, we will discuss combating maniacs. …
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Articles
Combating Calling Stations
While I always suggest that you work hard away from the table to develop strong, fundamentally sound strategies, in the small stakes games, most of your profit will come from exploiting the mistakes that your opponents make. This will allow you to make considerably more money compared to if you play like a robot, treating all opponents the same. …
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Two Key Tournament Concepts
I recently played hand in a $2,200 turbo event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure that I think is quite instructional. It demonstrates two key concepts that you must master if you want to succeed at poker tournaments:
Avoid playing gigantic pots without the nuts
Constantly analyze your opponent’s range and figure out how to best take advantage of it …
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Don’t be a pushover
The following hand illustrates a common leak that many amateur players have in their poker strategy. When they face the least bit of resistance, they fold all but their best hands. With blinds at 250/500-75 with 25,000 effective stacks in a $500 buy-in tournament, the cutoff raised to 1,200 and our Hero in this hand reraised to 3,000 with Jh-Jd on the button. Only the cutoff called. …
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Fun spot with pocket jacks
At a European Poker Tour event, I played a fun hand with pocket Jacks that stirred up quite a bit of discussion. …
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Deciding when to slow play
This hand illustrates a common mistake that small stake no-limit hold’em cash game players make on a regular basis. With blinds at $1/$3 with a $300 effective stack, an unknown player called $3 from the cutoff. The player on the button, we will refer to him as Hero, called as well. Both blinds elected to see a cheap flop. …
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Multi-way Pots
In small stakes games, it is not uncommon to face opponents who think it is a good idea to limp in with a wide range of marginal hands. While this is almost certainly an indication that you are in a profitable game (because limping in is usually the sign of a weak player), you must be careful to not fall into the trap of overvaluing your marginal made hands once numerous players see the flop. …
No one wants to quickly bust
Today I am going to share a hand with you that I played last year in the $1,500 buy-in Monster Stack WSOP event. This event was different from other $1,500 events in that each player started with an overly deep stack. This was third hand of the day 1.
A 35 year old guy who I did not know raised to 525 out of his 15,000 stack at 100/200 from middle position. Everyone folded around to me and I called with 4c-3c from the big blind. …
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Bluffing off my stack at Borgata
While playing in the $2,700 buy-in Borgata Spring Poker Open Main Event, I found myself in a tricky spot on the river that I would like to share with you. My primary opponent in this hand is a 50 year old player who seems to be somewhat loose and passive. He also seems to overvalue most of his premium hands, which is a common trait most amateurs display. …
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Keep the Kid In
Last year I had the pleasure of traveling to Deauville, France to play the European Poker Tour series. Deauville is a beautiful city that looks like it is straight out of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Fortunately I made a deep run in the €10,000 buy-in high-roller event, which is always nice. I had a huge opportunity to do well in the event but I lost a few coin-flip situations as soon as we got in the money, killing my chances. …
