I don’t usually write about spots that come up infrequently but recently I witnessed this hand I thought was uniquely instructive. Everyone started with about 150 big blinds. Player A in 1st position raised to 3 big blinds, Player B, a good tight aggressive kid in 2nd position, reraised to 8 big blinds and Player C, a mediocre loose aggressive kid in 3rd position, 4-bet to 22 big blinds. …
Should you ever fold pocket Kings preflop? Read More »
This blog post will be a bit longer and more technical than normal but I promise, the payoff is worth it as this concept alone could easily take your game to the next level if you have the leak I am about to address.
I was recently having a discussion about whether it is better to try to get heads up with A-A or to try to keep opponents in the pot. …
Force them out of keep them in? Read More »
I was asked by a large number of my students to get some experience playing the small stakes live games so I could make a training product to help them crush those specific games. I did exactly that, and Strategies for Beating Small Stakes Cash Games was born. I owe a huge amount of thanks to everyone who inspired me to make this book! Thank you for making it the #1 Best-Selling Poker book on Amazon!
Today I am going to share a hand with you from a $1/$2 live cash game at Borgata, in Atlantic City. My table will populated with mostly 50-70 year old recreational players who liked to limp with almost their entire range of playable hands. When someone raised, it was usually to 6 big blinds, which typically resulted in everyone folding. Talk about a great game! …
Fun hand from a $1/$2 live cash game Read More »
In my new book, Excelling at No-Limit Hold’em, out of the 500 pages, quite a few are dedicated to in-depth range analysis. While most advanced players know how to put their opponents on a range of hands, it seems like very few of them actually get out of line and take advantage of their range assessment abilities. I recently played a hand in the $3,500 Borgata WPT event where I was fairly certain I knew both of my opponents’ ranges. The only problem was that one, if not both of my opponents had me in bad shape. …
Figure out their range (then do something about it!)Read More »
Figure out their range (then do something about it!) Read More »
Those who know my game well know I don’t particularly like to fold reasonably strong hands. While being a bit of a calling station works well against most good, aggressive players who almost always have at least some bluffs in their ranges, against weaker opponents who play blatantly straightforward and rarely bluff, calling down with good, but not amazing, hands can get you in a ton of trouble. …
Finding folds at the WSOP Read More »
The WSOP is right around the corner! You can expect lots of educational content from me to help you prepare for the WSOP (or any major tournament series) over the next month or so. For those who do not know, I managed to cash in the 2014 WSOP $10,000 buy-in Main Event for $22,678. I somehow had the chip lead early in day one but couldn’t hold onto it for seven more days. Bad beat! …
Fun hand from the 2014 Main Event Read More »
By Dr. Tricia Cardner
Are you your own worst enemy at the poker table? Have you ever made a final table with a large stack only to make a series of silly mistakes to blow the chip lead and end up with a disappointing finish? …
Are You Getting in the Way of Your Poker Success?Read More »
Are You Getting in the Way of Your Poker Success? Read More »
In December of 2014, I had the pleasure of traveling to Prague for both the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour events. Compared to the players in the United States, European players are generally much more aggressive. The following hand, from a €1,000 buy-in event, beautifully illustrates how to take advantage of these aggressive players without opening yourself up to losing a bunch of chips when they happen to have a premium hand.
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Maximizing marginal top pairs Read More »
Sometimes your opponents allow you to win a pot by making a clear mistake. I recently played this hand in a $1,500 preliminary event at the WSOP. A player who had been fairly aggressive from late position raised to 1,600 out of his 35,000 stack at 300/600-100 from the cutoff and a loose, passive, weak player with 40,000 chips called on button. …
Do not be afraid to go all-in Read More »
Since top pair is the most common “value” hand you will make after the flop, it is important to fully understand how to play it. Despite the frequency with which you make top pair, most amateur players misplay this holding on a regular basis. It is important to realize that all top pairs are not created equal.
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Evaulating Top Pair Read More »
Learn how to beat small stakes poker cash games and tournaments with these 2 books! These strategies will help you win more hands and make more final tables.