Out with the old, bring in the new!
January 2, 2008
2007 has been an eventful year in the poker world for me, to say the least. I haven’t quite made my (profit) targets for the year, but I haven’t made a loss. I’m only up about $1000 for the period. I had hoped to do better than that. But I do realise that there were some good reasons for this.
To begin the year I had a mediocre run on the tables - winning some losing some. By March, my confidence had increased and I was comfortable with the way I was playing. I started winning due to this confidence. But by the end of April, I became a little bored with poker and restricted my playing to weekends. This helped a little, but I was getting very few wins under my belt. However, I was still in profit after a few good cashes.
The forum
December 17, 2007
I’ve just been and read the blogs regarding the shake up to the league and I feel the need to justify some things and correct others, and to put my thoughts across.
First off, let me say how disappointed I was that my mate Blagger was ’shown the door’. He is a good poker player and is always there for anyone who wants help or tips with their poker game. Most of all he is a friend who I enjoy talking to, no matter the subject. But this whole issue of who stays or goes has nothing to do with me, even though I’m an admin. But I will still keep up with him on skype. Just because he is no longer a member of the forum does not mean to say I will cut all contact with him - admin or not! As I said, he is a friend. This dispute is between the forum owners and Blagz himself. Both parties are, or should, be aware of this. It’s just turned out that I’m playing ‘piggy in the middle’, and believe me, it’s not nice. I’m staying well out of the situation!
Full circle
November 19, 2007
Svcmgr has been busy on his blog this month and it has been such a relief to see some new material. He was, and still is having the same problem as most of the skype crew, me included - A total disinterest in playing poker.
Every poker player will go through this and it can be caused by several things. From personal reasons outwith poker to being sick of being sucked out by monkey players to just being ‘pokered out’. Or in lamens terms, playing too much.
Everyone will have their own reasons, and they can comment on it for themselves. But before commenting, see if you connect with what I’m going to tell you. Reading Dave’s blog really made me think about my game and what is wrong with it. The thing is, there was nothing in the blogs that struck a chord, as such. Just reading them made me think.
The Jury is out…..
November 16, 2007
I have questioned the integrity of poker sites in the past, but not for the reason I will talk about in a moment. My main problem with some sites was their software. I feel their Random Number Generators (RNG) are not good enough. (The RNG is in place to give the online cards a random shuffle). I have played many sites, but there are some that you can practically predict the cards - especially on the turn and river. When giving this some serious thought though, I came to the comclusion that it wasn’t any kind of ‘cheat’ in the software or the RNG, but was in fact just the way the software acted. And remember, we see way more hands on the virtual tables than at a live game, so you are bound to see more ‘bad beats’ or suckouts. For the sites I questioned, I realised that you just have to work with the software and exploit the weaknesses as best you can.
How the the blinds work
October 20, 2007
I’ve mentioned ‘blinds’ in a few posts, and have had a few people asking me what they are. So here’s a quick explanation on blinds.
Blinds are a compulsary bet that must be made by the two players to the dealers left before a hand is dealt. These compulsary bets ensure there is always money in the pot to play for. The blinds increase after either a set amount of time or after a set amount of hands have been played. Increaseing the blinds makes the game move along - the higher they get, the more the low chipstacks have to take risks.
If the blinds are shown as 20/40 this would mean that the small blind would post 20 and the big blind would post 40. To call a hand the minimum bet has to match the size of the big blind. Any bet after the flop has to be at least the value of the big blind.
As the dealer button moves around to the left each hand so does the blinds. This makes sure that no-one has an advantage - everyone has to post the blinds at some point.
Antes
As the game progresses and the blinds increase, another compulsary bet is introduced. This is called the ante. Everyone still seated at the table has to post the ante for every hand played. The ante varies from site to site but is normally roughly 10% of the big blind. So if the blinds are 200/400 (400 being the big blind) the ante would usually be 50. Obviously as the blinds increase the antes will increase too.
The introduction of antes makes the initial pot a lot bigger, but also means that you are losing chips every hand you don’t play. It is basically to speed up the game.
And that’s all there is to the blinds, and antes.
Any comments, or you want to add anything, feel free…..
Continuation and information betting
October 6, 2007
Continuation bets
First off, what is a continuation bet? This is when a player bets the minimum bet after the flop. If the blinds are 20/40 the player would bet 40 into the pot.
Players use this bet for several reasons.
- they may have hit nothing on the flop and are puting out the single bet to see if anyone else has hit (information bet). They want to see if they can force people out of the pot. Normally a raise will cause the initial bettor to fold.
- they HAVE hit the flop, and are trying to beef up the pot. In this case they will hope that others will call. If they have the nuts after the flop with no dangerous draws showing they will want as many people to stay as possible.
- they have caught a drawing hand on the flop and are trying to beef it up in the hope they make their draw on the turn or river.
Continuation bets are more commonly seen in low stakes games by pretty novice players but can be used to great effect by good players also. So how do you deal with the continuation bet?
I normally find that when someone plays the continuation bet, there is normally 4 or 5 people in the hand. In my experience, most of the time they have hit the flop, but usually it’s only middle or bottom pair they have hit. They want to see another card as cheaply as possible, so their idea is to bet out first to make the other players think they could be holding a decent hand. They know that the other players will be wary of the bet, even though it is the minimum. In low stakes games you will find that most of the players will only call this bet or fold.
The best way to deal with the bet is to test the water yourself. Raise up the pot. Don’t go gung-ho and go all-in though, just in case they do have a hand. I would suggest a half-pot raise. If, they come over the top of you then you have an easy fold. If they call, the chances are that they are chasing a draw. In this case you have to bet out again after the turn if no draws are apparent. I find that betting after the turn is enough to make them muck their cards if they only had a drawing hand. If they call, then I would be very wary. Unless you have a decent hand, I would play very cautiously.
I have to admit that I don’t use the continuation bet very often, unless its against players who I know will fold if they haven’t hit the flop. If I happen to hit the flop, then I raise it up between twice the BB and the size of the pot. You need to make people pay to see more cards. I’m always an advocate of many small pots being just as significant as one large pot, so I don’t care if everyone folds around to me. Letting people see more cards on the cheap can be a recipe for disaster, so for that reason alone I would not advocate using the continuation bet unless you have the absolute nuts after the flop.
Information bets
An information bet is exactly what it says on the tin - you are trying to gain information from the other players in the hand. It is slightly different from the continuation bet as normally you won’t put out a single bet. You can use it to bluff or as a semi-bluff.
This can be a very effective bet for taking down pots, especially in games $5 and up. As we know, at these levels you will see slightly less of the pure novice/bingo players/chasers etc. The higher the buy in, the better calibre of player you will meet. You will start to see slightly more cautious players, who tend not to chase just as much. These are the players you are aiming for.
Information bets are akin to the stock market - sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate! Now I’m not saying you should bet out with wild abandon, but by picking your spots carefully - especially once you know how the other players are playing - can bring huge dividends.
So, when and how do you use these information bets? You are involved in a pot with a few other players and you are in late position. The flop is 
, and it checks around to you. You are holding 
. Do you also check to see the turn card? Hell no! Bet into the pot! But, as I said earlier, don’t go mad. I only bet out ½ to ¾ of the pot or 2 - 3 x the big blind, whichever is smaller. You don’t want to get commited to the pot. If you are called, I would be thinking overcards. If you are raised then I think you are beat, so an easy fold. But you will find most will muck their cards if they haven’t hit.
Whatever happens, you gain the information you want.
Another occasion you can use the info bet is by betting your drawing hands. A lot of players tend to check their drawing hands. They want to catch a free card. Don’t do it! If you are holding any gutshot or flush draw, bet out - even if you are first to act. Same rules apply. A call could be a pair or also on a draw. A raise could mean top pair or better and it would be time to get out (unless pot odds dictate otherwise). This is more commonly known as a semi-bluff, but it is an information bet. You are betting really to see how strong your hand is… trying to gain information from the other players. But at the same time you DO have a chance of completing your hand.
Don’t play these bets too often though. Good players can and will pick up on you so choose your spots. Always be wary if you are called. Chances are that you are behind in the hand. Don’t use these bets if you are shortstacked. When shortstacked, you are ideally looking for a hand that you can go all-in with. Using a continuation or information bet could be costly as you will have more chance of being called. The bigger chipstacks will try to remove you, even if they are holding only overcards or bottom pair.
These are two strategy bets you should be adding to your game. You will find that they will pay dividends the majority of the time. If not in chips then definately in information.
As usual, comments are most welcome.
