There have been several times in my poker career where I am in the small blind and look down at 4 6 of hearts and say, “I hope I can see a flop.” Inevitably, someone will raise and I end up folding the hand, wishing I could have seen a flop.
Lets imagine, that we are playing 2/5 No Limit Texas Hold’em. In this scenario, we are the small blind with a hand like 4 6 of hearts, facing a raise of $25 dollars. There are 6 callers and the action is on us. What are we going to do?
Though 4 6 of hearts is not the best hand we can hope for, our cards are live with that many callers ahead of you. Since we are in the small blind, the pot is laying us $23 to $150, or roughly 6 to 1. There are several possibilities that we have with your hand, so there is no reason not to see a flop. We decide to call the $23 and the flop comes 2h 5d 7h. Not only do you have a heart draw, but you also have a double gut shot. That gives you 15 drawing outs to hit a flush or a straight, and probably four more outs to go runner-runner 44 or 66, giving us a total of 19. This would be a great opportunity to raise $75 to see where you are at.
As the scenario plays out, everyone folds except the original raiser who just calls. There is a wide range of hands we can put our opponent on, so lets try and narrow down the choices. A big pocket pair, 9-9 to Q-Q is most likely. Q-Q become questionable, but if he had a pair like AA or KK he defiantly would have reraised on the flop. He could possibly have a bigger flush draw, like AK suited to QJ suited, so with our flush we will have to play accordingly. As well he may have that same range of hands but unsuited, looking to turn an over card. From this point on, it is important to use any scare card to bet on in order to get your opponent off their hand.
This means if you put your opponent on an medium to medium large pocket pair, you bet at the turn if an A, K, or Q comes, and if you put them on a big pocket pair or overcards, you bet any small connecting card. So in this case we could also bet a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. If you do hit your straight you bet in order to gain the maximum value out of the hand. If you hit the flush, and still put your opponent on a possible higher flush, you will have to use your reads to evaluate if you have the best hand.
The key to playing a raise out of the blinds, is the deception you gain from the hand. Most people put you on garbage to begin with, so you have more opportunities to bluff at boards you expect no one has hit.
I received an email recently asking me if I listened to music while playing poker, and if doing so actually helps my game or detracts from it. Much like the sunglasses phenomenon, the trend of wearing headphones and listening to music at the card tables is definitely a result of the poker boom and the insurgence of millions of young players into the game.
Typically when asked such a “yes or no” type question, my go-to answer is to just say “do what the pros do.” Now what do I mean by that? Look at it this way, the top flight professional poker players have been playing cards for money for decades. They’ve tried literally everything to try to give them an edge at the table, from superstitious artifacts to funky wardrobes. In most cases, such as wearing sunglasses at the table, the results are universal, as most poker pros have gathered that wearing them at the table can’t influence their results enough to warrant wearing them, which is why in general you don’t see many full time pro poker players wearing sunglasses at the tables.
Music on the other hand is a different beast altogether. While sunglasses are a physical change to your poker persona, listening to music can often induce an emotional or mental change to a players mindset, myself included, which is why I do in fact listen to music at the table more often than not.
Grinding away at a table for hours on end can get very taxing on ones state of mind, and really the only kind of breaks we can take at a casino without physically leaving for the day is to go outside for some fresh air or stop to eat. I actually don’t like to take breaks that involve me leaving the game, which is the reason I listen to music. If I find myself starting to lose focus and not following the action as intently as I should, I’ll pop in one or both earbuds and put on some mellow mood music. The sounds keep my mind active, and helps remove some of the staleness from the game.
Now the question becomes, what about being able to hear the other players, who may be giving away important information while they play? It really all depends on the scenario. If I’m playing a very loose game and am simply just waiting for the right moments to strike based on tight card selection, then my listening habits can be a little more accommodating and I might have both my earbuds in. But if I’m playing with very experienced players, such as in a tournament, then I’ll either just have one earbud in, or none at all, and even if I’m still listening to music, the volume is very low as to not allow me to miss a important comment from a opposing player.
But as always, it comes down to preference. Can you listen to music and focus on another task at the same time? Some people can’t. How do you know what kind of person you are? Look at other areas of your life. Can you listen to music while you work and stay focused? If so then you can probably do the same at the table. But if you need to turn off the stereo whenever you’re trying concentrate on something, then maybe you need to leave the iPod in your car.
As usual, practice makes perfect, so experiment with some different types of music in different poker settings and see if you can find a combination that works for you.
For a poker player, it is extremely difficult to move down limits after being accustomed to playing higher. There are several factors which make it hard to move down. One big reason is ego. It is easy to say, “I’m too good to play with the players at that limit.” Then there is the problem with people recognizing that you’ve moved down limits which usually indicates that a player is not winning at the limit they were playing at. No one wants to be noticed as a losing poker player. Even though it is almost impossible to convince yourself to ignore these instincts, if you want to be a successful poker player you might have to at some point. Poker is a game of longevity and endurance. If your bankroll cannot take the stress of losing buy ins at larger limits, then you should move down. If you are losing more than you are winning, you should move down. Don’t let your ego get in the way; think of it as business. Sometimes you must sacrifice yourself to sustain your business, and this includes finding a way to let your bankroll flourish. If you are worried about playing against players who are more novice than your skill set, remind yourself that you wont have to think as hard to win. If you are worried about people noticing your downsize, realize that you are managing your bankroll successfully and the odds are that they won’t be around in six months. Remember, if you are making poker your career, success isn’t measured by a few sessions but
Confidence is a weapon that most poker players overlook when they go to the tables. However, it will directly affect the way you play and how other players perceive you. Having confidence in your playing ability and the level you are playing is going to give off a vibe to players that you are in control and a force to reckon with. If you are apprehensive mentally, other players will catch on and try to push you around. Having confidence will give you an edge in bluffing more because players are going to see the confidence in your body language and the way you are betting. Unknowingly, if you don’t have confidence, you are more susceptible to giving off tells. Confidence pertains to knowing your playing ability, bankroll, and the level that suites your skills. If you are playing outside of your comfort level in these areas, it will greatly affect your ability to make money.
In Las Vegas there are tons of tournaments running every day with different structures, buy-ins, and starting chip counts. Cities across the world are starting to increase their tournaments as well, and it can sometimes be hard to evaluate which tournaments are best to play in.
There are several factors to take into consideration when finding a tournament to play in. For starters, players need to find tournaments that are easy on their bankrolls. Some poker pros recommend that you do not play a tournament that is more that 5% of your bankroll. Once you find tournaments that are in your budget, you should look at what the starting chip stacks are. Some tournaments offer 1500 in chips, while there are deep stack tournaments that will give 20,000 chips or more. Some players like to have a lot of chips so they have time to sit and wait for better hands. Other players like to have smaller chip counts so the tournament doesn’t take as long.
Players should then look at structure. If a tournament has a bad structure then there is no point in playing it. Most tournaments publish a structure sheet which can be looked at prior to registration. Another element that players often forget to research is the player count and registration. If a reoccurring tournament has the best buy-in and structure, but they are not getting very many players, then it might not be worth your time to play.
After taking these factors into consideration it should lead you to a more profitable tournament experience.
One of the real perks of working in the poker media is that you can improve your game by watching the professionals. You can stand next to a table hand after hand or follow a single player for an entire event. In this series Sweating the Pros, I'll be covering some of what I have learned from watching professionals play the game.
Here is a little maneuver I have seen more than a few professionals use: Talking to Players or Spectators (or Media) who are not at the table. Now this would seem obvious and mundane, the pros are at the tables for a lot of hours and they all know each other, so sure they talk between tables and talk to friends and fans on the rail. They also get to know some of us in the media and will carry on conversations with us. But its not all just talk and it is sometimes about the poker being played at the table.
Two ways I have seen this "talk" influence the game.
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