pokernews strategy ebook

5/26/2018 Pokernews Strategy eBook

1/64


2/64

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Texas Holdem Poker

3 Poker Hands

4 Basic Concepts15Understanding Your Poker Decision Making

16Evaluating the Value of Your Hand

18Assess Your Skill

19Poker Math and Odds

5 Cash-Game Specic23Preop Aggression in Live Cash Games

25How to Be Successful Live Cash-Game Pro

27Guide to Micro No-Limit Holdem Cash Games Online

29A Lesson on Value-Betting


3/64

6 Tournament Specic33Stealing Blinds

34Bet Sizing Considerations

36 Using Chip Leverage

40An Unconventional Play

7 O the Table44Characteristics of a Great Poker Player

47Moving Up in Stakes

48Improve Your Poker Mindset

8 Hands by the Pros51Randy Lew

53Ben Wilinofsky

56Max Steinberg

57Daniel Negreanu

58Andrew Robl

61Nick Rampone


4/64

I remember learning the rules of no-limit holdem and playing for the rst time with

friends. At one point, I put all my chips in the pot and proudly turned over my cards and

yelled, Straight! I have a straight! I turned over Ace-King on a Two-Three-Four board. Afteeveryone had a good laugh and I lost all my money, I learned that a straight does not go

through the Ace.

Despite learning an embarrassing, public lesson that day, I was hooked. I played

every chance I could, read whatever literature I could get my hands on and let an obsessio

take over. Eventually, that led me to playing and dealing in underground cash games in

Fort Wayne, grinding a small bankroll online, and moving to Las Vegas to nish school and

pursue a career in the poker industry.

Since then, Ive balanced life as a full-time poker reporter and a serious player. Ive

been incredibly lucky that my job requires that I speak to the best poker players in the

world. Ive had the opportunity to pick their brains on strategy, hand analysis, handling

downswings, and so much more. The information Ive received over the years is enough to

take make anyone a winning no-limit holdem player. It seemed like the natural next step t

organize a few of the articles into an easy-to-digest form.

Introduction


5/64

This E-book is a compilation of the best, most informative articles published on

PokerNews.com on the topic of no-limit holdem. It begins with an introduction to basic

strategy then branches into tournament and cash-game specic articles. Following that is

section on handling poker life away from the table. At the end, there are rst-hand accoun

of real hands by the pros. Feel free to move into specic sections or to skip around and

enjoy the articles in any order.

Becoming better at poker involves making mistakes, learning lessons and studying.

Ive come a long way since turning over a made-up straight thanks to so many of the playe

featured in this book, but poker is an ever-evolving game with innite intricacies to learn.

I hope this E-book serves as a starting o point to improve and leads to lots of plus EV

decisions. Youve already made one by opening up this book.

Good luck!

Kristy Arnett


6/64

Texas Holdem Poker

Introduction

Texas holdem is the most popular of all poker variations. A

of the marquee tournaments around the world (WSOP, WPT, EPT

etc.) are played in a variation of this game.

Dont let the simplicity of the game mislead you. The numb

of possible game situations is so vast that, when playing at a

high level, the game can be very complex. Thus the renowned

expression: It takes a moment to learn, but a lifetime to master.

When playing the game for the rst time, you will be

confronted with some of the basic rules which are explained

below. For starters, each player is dealt two hole cards in Texas

holdem with the overall goal of making the best ve-card hand.

Play moves clockwise around the table, starting with action to th

left of the dealer button. Generally, the rst two players to the

immediate left of the button are required to post a small blind an

a large blind to initiate the betting. From there, action occurs onmultiple streets: preop, the op, the turn and the river.

Button

The button determines which player at the table is the

acting dealer. In Texas holdem, the player on button, or last activ

player closest to the button, receives last action on all post-opstreets of play.

When playing in casinos or online, you wont have to worry

about who the dealer is. When playing with friends, everyone

usually takes a turn at dealing the cards. After each hand has be

completed, the button rotates one position to the left. While sta

dealers handle the duty of dealing out the cards in brick-and-


7/64

mortar casinos, and the process is automated online, this isnt th

case in home games. A small tip is to nd the most skillful dealer

in the game, oer him or her a beer or a small tip and have them

deal the game while the button keeps track of which player is the

dealer.

While the dealer button often dictates who the rst player

are to begin the wagering with the small blind and big blind, it als

determines where the dealing of the cards begin. The player to th

immediate left of the dealer button in the small blind, receives th

rst card and then the dealer pitches cards around the table in a

clockwise motion from player to player until each has received tw

starting cards.

The Blinds

Before every new round, two players at the table are

obligated to post blinds, or forced bets that begin the wagering.

Without these blinds, the game would be very boring because

no one would be required to put any money into the pot. In

tournaments, the blinds are raised at regular intervals. As the

number of players keeps decreasing and the stacks of the

remaining players keep getting bigger, it is a necessity that the

blinds keep increasing throughout a tournament. In cash games,

the blinds will always stay the same for a given limit of which the

game is being played.

The player directly to the left of the button posts the small

blind, and the player to his or her direct left posts the big blind.

The small blind is generally half the amount of the big blind,

although this stipulation varies from room to room and can also

dependent of the game being played.


8/64

The Aim of the Game

Winning, of course! But in order to achieve this, you need t

be holding the best combination of cards.

In Texas holdem, every player receives two cards face dowcalled hole cards. Every player keeps these cards to concealed un

the end of all of the betting rounds, which is called the showdow

Texas holdem is a game of community cards, where ve cards

are displayed in the middle of the table to be used in conjunction

with a players two hole cards in order to make the best ve-card

holding.

The ve community cards are displayed in the middle of th

table on the op, the turn and the river. The op consists of therst three community cards, the turn adds another and the river

completes the board with one more. These ve cards are visible

for every player. Once all ve cards are down, players have to

make the best ve-card combination from these seven cards. Thi

can be done using both of your hole cards in combination with

three community cards, one hole card in combination with four

community cards or no hole cards and playing all ve community

cards as ones hand. The player with the best combination of card

wins the pot, which is the sum of all bets that have been placedduring that hand.


9/64

First Betting Round

The rst round of betting takes place right after all hole

cards have been dealt to each player. The rst player to act is the

player to the left of the big blind, and this player then has three

options:

Call: match the amount of the big blind

Raise: increase the bet within the specic limits of the gam

Fold: throw ones hand away

If a player chooses to fold, he or she is no longer eligible to

win the current hand.

The amount a player can raise to depends on the game th

is being played, but most commonly must be at least twice the bi

blind.

Limit holdem: you can only raise by the amount of the bi

blind

Pot-limit holdem: you can only raise a maximum of the p

size (the total bets that have been placed at that time)


10/64

No-limit holdem:you can raise by any amount you want

to the maximum that your chip stack allows, and betting all of yo

chips is deemed all in

The players who follow have the same three options: call,

raise or fold. In the case of raising, the minimum allotted amount

for a raise must be equal to the original raise amount. For examp

lets say the big blind in a game is $10 and the rst player to act

raises to $40 in a game of no-limit holdem. The second player to

act has the option to call for $40, fold and no longer play the han

or raise to $70 as the rst raise amount of $30, the dierence

between the wager placed and the original big blind.

Second Betting Round

After the rst preop betting round has been completed, t

second betting round takes place on the op after the rst three

community cards have been dealt. In this betting round, and all

that follow from now on, action starts with the rst active player

the left of the button. Along with the options to bet, call, fold and

raise, a player now has the option to check if no betting action ha

occurred prior. A check simply means to pass the action to the ne

player in the hand.


11/64

Third Betting Round

The fourth community card, called the turn, is dealt face-

up following all betting action on the op. Once this has been

completed, another round of betting occurs, similar to that on th

previous street of play. Again players have the option to options

bet, call, fold, raise and check.

Final Betting Round


12/64

The fth community card, called the river, is dealt face-

up following all betting action on the turn. Once this has been

completed, another round of betting occurs, similar to that on th

previous street of play. Again players have the option to options

to bet, call, fold, raise and check. After all betting action has been

completed, the remaining players in the hand with hole cards noexpose their holdings to determine a winner. This is called the

showdown.

Showdown

The remaining players open their hole cards, and with the

assistance of the dealer, a winning hand is determined. The playewith the best combination of ve cards will win the pot.


13/64

Poker Hands

In Texas Holdem poker players construct hands of ve cards. These hands are

compared using a hand ranking system, the player with the highest-ranking hand wins. Th

ranking of a particular hand is increased by including multiple cards of the same card rank

by all ve cards being from the same suit, or by all ve cards being of consecutive rank.


14/64

Basic Concepts

Its important to have a solid understanding of the basics to succeed in

poker. In this section are articles that cover important, beginning strategies

and eective processes of thought that lead to good decision making at the

poker table.

Understanding Your Poker Desicion Making

Evaluating the Value of Your Hand

Assess Your Skill

Poker Math and Odds


15/64

Understanding Your PokerDecision Making

For the premiere episode of the Strategy with Kristy podcast, host Kristy Arnett spok

with the person who single-handedly took her game, as well as dozens of other players

games, to the next level through poker coaching Andrew balugawhale Seidman.

The rst step in improving your poker game is to constantly ask yourself, Why are

doing what youre doing? You must have good, solid reasons for every decision. The

following is taken from the podcast interview:

You can do something withoutknowing if its right and have it still be

right, but you dont have any control over

the situation. Lets say for a second that

I decide that Im going to reraise seven-

deuce osuit, and then if I get reraised

from there, Im going to go all in. Lets say

I do that, and the guy folds. I win money,

and it was the right play at the time and

was a good blu because he folded. But Ican do that without really knowing why or

what Im doing. This is the danger when

people play poker and why the games will

always be soft.

People will learn from the result of something. Theyll say, I led out with pocket eigh

on a king-seven-three board and the guy folded so it was good. But when you start to

separate the immediate results or understand the immediate result better, you realize the

need to know whether you are blung or value betting in order to know whether or not it

right. Oftentimes people misread those things. Theyll think that since their opponent fold

when they had pocket eights it was a good bet. Well, maybe not. He probably had a worse

hand than you. In poker, its not good for people with worse hands than you to fold usually

So, to get simpler, and answer your question, we have to start with this very basic

dichotomy between blung and value betting to understand anything that stems from

there out. Everything in poker revolves around relative hand strength. If my hand is worse


16/64

than my opponents, I must be blung. If my hand is better than my opponents, I must be

value betting. Because your hand is rarely the same as your opponents, you pretty much

always have to be value betting or blung whether or not you know which one youre doi

For those of us whove played high stakes poker, there have been times when weve

blued all-in with bottom pair only to be called by ace-high. And there have been times

when we have top set and shove a river but get called by a rivered gutshot straight. So, we

didnt know in those times what we were actually doing. We thought we were value betting

but we were actually blung or we were blung but we were accidentally value betting.

The truth is, starting from that basic idea that we have to be doing one of the

two, gets people in the right channel for thinking about things that get more and more

sophisticated. From there out we start to ask other questions like, What sort of factors do

I need to have to be value betting? How does whos sitting at my table, my interaction with

them, how deep we are, what the board is aect

my ability to value bet a hand or blu him? Thats how we branch o into the complexitie

that make up poker theory.

Here is a link to the full interview: The Strategy with Kristy Podcast Premiere Episod

Evaluating the Value of YourHand

In another podcast interview, Andrew Balugawhale

Seidman discussed his book, Easy Game, and touched on a few o

the covered topics. In the following excerpt he talks about how to

evaluate the value of your hand:

The rst thing that we have to realize at any given time isthat our hand is always going to t in one of these three categori

low value, medium value, or premium value. Premium just mean

that its good enough to raise for value. We dont need to raise, b

its good enough to. So, obviously aces are always good enough t

raise for value preop.
http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-premiere-episode-10869.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-premiere-episode-10869.htm


17/64

A hand like jacks, whether or not its a good hand to reraise for value preop would

depend on a lot of things. Against a really tight player who only opens the nuts preop, th

we probably dont want to reraise jacks, but against a crazy maniac person we do.

We can actually see the beginning of how these value categories might change

depending on a whole bunch of dierent circumstances like our stack sizes, our opponent

everything. What we nd is that, if were not in premium value, and we cant raise for value

then do we have enough value to play our hand? That would put us in the medium value.

So lets say were up against a huge nit, we have jacks, and he opens. We think, OK,

were not in premium because I cant raise for value, but do I have value to play my hand?

Yes, I can op a set, so Im in medium value. Now, if we go one step further, we might

say, My hand is not quite good enough to be in medium value because I dont think it has

enough value to call.

Lets say I have a hand like eight-ve suited and a regular raises. Its sort of on theborderline between medium value and low value. If we decide its low value then we cant

continue by calling because we dont have enough value to capitalize on and we cant raise

for value ourselves. So, we have to either fold our hand, or we could blu with it. We dont

lose any value if we have to fold our hand at some point in the hand because we were

planning on folding it anyway.

Im going to tie this back now to polarized and strong ranges (depolarized ranges).

When we want to create a strong range, we dont raise any of our low value hands, we

just fold all of them, and the premium range becomes very wide. So now, jacks is clearlypremium, king-queen is premium, ace-nine is premium half the time. The medium-strengt

hand ranges become a little bit more narrow and a little bit weaker because most of the

higher end of the medium-value range is now considered premium value because were

choosing to adopt a strong range.


18/64

Assess Your Skill

To be successful in poker, one must be able to accurately assess his or her own skill

There are several factors that make this dicult such as results oriented thinking. When askilled player pulls o a blu, he considered all the necessary variables including ranges,

player type, leverage, fold equity, image and odds. However, when a beginning player pull

o a blu, often there was awed thinking that led to the decision. Even though the result

may be the same in any given hand, the long-term results will show that the beginning

players lack of understanding will cost him money.

David Randall, an instructor for Pocket Fives

Training, poker coach, and co-creator of 3D Poker

Training alongside Sorel Mizzi, addressed this very topicin an article and illustrated the point with examples:

Hero opens to $30 at a $5/$10 table with an

eective stack of $1,000 holding pocket sixes in middle

position. Villain calls in the cuto. The op is

. Hero continuation bets $40, and Villain calls. The

turn is a . Hero checks, and Villain checks behind.

The river is a ,and Hero decides to turn his hand

into a blu and bet three-quarters of the pot. In this

example, Hero is putting his opponent on some type

of one-pair hand no better than tens. Hero realizes it is

easier to represent a broadway combo that improved

than it is for Villain to do the same. So, Hero took the

opportunity to bet in order to get those one-pair hands

the ones that beat his pair of sixes to fold.

Now consider a beginning player who proceeds in this hand with the exact same

actions. The dierence is intention and reasoning. Thoughts may seem something like th

following:

I have pocket sixes. Thats a pair, so I raise.

I dont think he caught any of that op. Ill bet $40.

The turn is another overcard. There are so many hands that beat me now. Ill check


19/64

He checked the river, so I can win if I bet. Ill bet $110. The opponent folds. I did it

Though the beginning player received the desired result, he made many mistakes

in his thought process. He was scared of the Queen turn card because it was another

overcard, but it hits very little of his opponents range. He also did not think through what

his opponents range on the river was. He just simply reacted to his opponent checking ba

on the turn. Had the opponent bet the queen against the beginning player, he wouldve

been able to win the pot (especially if he was willing to follow up his aggression with anoth

bet on the river) even though his line represents only a small range in reality. Acting on

emotion rather than reason will eventually cost the beginning player money.

To read the full article by David Randall, go here: Advanced Poker Strategy: David

Randall Highlights Common Flaws in Hand Reading

Poker Math and Odds

Math plays a large role in good decision making in no-limit holdem. Here are a few

them most basic and necessary terms and uses:

Pot oddsare the ratio of the pot size to the cost of the bet facingyou. To determine the size of the pot, add the money in the midd

plus the uncalled bet. Divide that by the amount of the bet you

need to call.

For example, say your opponent bets $5 into a pot of $10.

Pot size: (Uncalled bet) + (Money already in pot) = 5 + 10 = 15

Pot odds: (Total pot) / (Amount needed to call) = 15 / 5 = 3 / 1

Result: You are getting 3-to-1 pot odds.

Expected oddsare the ratio of the expected pot size to the cost

the bet facing you. To determine the size of the expected pot, ad

the money in the middle, plus all uncalled bets.

For example, say your opponent bets $5 into a pot of $10 and there is a loose-
http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/david-randall-highlights-common-flaws-in-hand-reading-16167.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/david-randall-highlights-common-flaws-in-hand-reading-16167.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/david-randall-highlights-common-flaws-in-hand-reading-16167.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/david-randall-highlights-common-flaws-in-hand-reading-16167.htm


20/64

passive player left to act behind you. If you expect that player to almost always call, you ca

calculate that into the size of the pot to determine your expected odds.

Pot size: (Uncalled bet) + (Money already in pot) + (Expected call amount) = 5 + 10 +

= 20

Expected odds: (Total pot) / (Amount needed to call) = 20 / 5 = 4 / 1

Result:You are getting 4-to-1 expected odds.

Deuces Cracked instructor and podcast host, Aaron WiltOnTilt Wilt come on the

Strategy with Kristy podcast as a guest to discuss how to use math in-game. He used a spo

that come up often in no-limit holdem as an example of how he uses math to help him

come to a decision.

Heres the situation: In a $5/$10 game, three players limp in. Youre in the big

blind with and . The op is rainbow. Action checks to button, who

bets $10. The small blind calls. What do you do?

Basically, what Im thinking here is that I have four outs to the nuts. If I was calling o

just purely pot odds alone, I would need about 11-to-1 in order to break even. There were

ve callers preop, thats $50, the button bet $10, thats $60 and the small blind called, tha

$70. So I have to call $10 into $70. Im currently getting 7-to-1, so Im not getting the correc

pot odds. Does that mean we should fold? I would say probably not because if we do it onof our three outs, theres a good chance we could probably get a little more money out. A

lot of times, thats where people kind of stop. Theyll say, Im getting the right implied odd

though so Ill call. Well, I think its worth going the next step and asking, How much more,

on average, do we need to make if we hit in order to make this call? Im getting 7-to-1 but

need to be getting 10-to-1. Each of those units is $10 so I need $40 or four more units. So

be asking myself, When I hit a three, can I, on average, make an extra $40? It seems like i

this spot, when it goes bet-call, someones probably going to have an ace reasonably often

here. It seems pretty likely that I can get a $40 bet out of one of them on either the turn or

the river. I would go ahead and make the call there for that reason.


21/64

Outs On turn On river Turn and River

1 out 2.13% (46:1) 2.17% (45:1) 4.26% (22.5:1)

2 outs 4.26% (22.5:1) 4.35% (22:1) 8.42% (10:9)

3 outs 6.38% (14.7:1) 6.52% (14.3:1) 12.49% (7:1)

4 outs 8.51% (10.8:1) 8.67% (10.5:1) 16.47% (5.1:1)

5 outs 10.64% (8.4:1) 10.87% (8.2:1) 20.35% (3.9:1)

6 outs 12.77% (6.8:1) 13.04% (6.7:1) 24.14% (3.1:1)

7 outs 14.89% (5.7:1) 15.22% (5.6:1) 27.84% (2.6:1)

8 outs 17.02% (4.9:1) 17.39% (4.8:1) 31.45% (2.6:1)

9 outs 19.15% (4.2:1) 19.57% (4.1:1) 34.97% (1.9:1)

10 outs 21.28% (3.7:1) 21.72% (3.6:1) 38.39% (1.6:1)

11 outs 23.40% (3.3:1) 23.91% (3.2:1) 41.72% (1.4:1)

12 outs 25.53% (2.9:1) 26.09% (2.8:1) 44.96% (1.2:1)

13 outs 27.66% (2.6:1) 28.26% (2.5:1) 48.10% (1.1:1)

14 outs 29.79% (2.4:1) 30.43% (2.3:1) 51.16% (1:1)

15 outs 31.91% (2.1:1) 32.61% (2.1:1) 54.12% (0.8:1)

16 outs 34.04% (1.9:1) 34.78% (1.9:1) 56.98% (0.8:1)

17 outs 36.17% (1.8:1) 36.96% (1.7:1) 59.76% (0.7:1)
http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=17&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=16&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=15&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=14&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=13&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=12&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=11&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=10&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=9&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=8&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=7&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=6&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=5&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=4&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=3&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=2&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=2&t%5b%5d=47http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=46http://www.ohrt.com/odds/?o%5b%5d=1&c%5b%5d=1&d%5b%5d=1&t%5b%5d=47


22/64

Cash-Game Specic

This section focuses on strategic concepts that apply mostly to cash

games.

Preop Aggression in Live Cash Games

How to Be Successful Live Cash-Game Pro

Guide to Micro No-Limit Holdem Cash Games Online

A Lesson on Value-Betting


23/64

Preop Aggression in LiveCash Games

Bart Hanson is a long-time live cash-game grinder from Los Angeles who specializes

in no-limit holdem and limit Omaha eight-or-better. Since Black Friday, there has been an

inux of online players in live games. Hanson talked to Kristy Arnett about a few dierence

in preop aggression between the two.

How does three-bet blung dier

in live poker compared to online?

Its a little less protable live than it

is online because people arent opening

as much. Their preop raise frequency is

lower so their hand ranges are stronger.

Players call three-bets out of position

much more often. This isnt always

necessarily bad because you can still get

them to fold post-op, but in live games,

they just fold much less often.

What situations do you look for in live games to three-bet blu?

You can pick up information from players preop raise sizing. If you are observant

about the way that people play, you might nd that they raise smaller with high cards or

suited connectors. If youre playing $5/$10, they might only raise to $20 or $25, and if they

have big pairs, theyll raise to a lot more to maybe $60 or $70. Also, often raise sizes that

are really big, like more than seven times the big blind as an open, are often medium-strength hands like sixes, sevens, or eights that are afraid to play postop. So knowing you

opponents preop raise tendencies will give you a feel for when you can three-bet blu.

I look for those situations when I think that someone is raising large with a medium

strength hand to three-bet blu. Or, lets say a few players limp and the button makes it $

He never has aces or kings. Thats prime for you to three-bet from the blinds. Most likely, h

raise was to bloat the pot with suited cards or small pairs. And, as far as my range for thre


24/64

betting goes, Im mostly polarizing my three-betting range.

Why would you generally rather use a polarized three-bet range preop?

Well, you should skew your three-bet range more toward value hands than blus, bI dont three-bet hands like sevens and eights because I like to have a bigger stack-to-pot

ratio. The thing about live play is that you dont have to bloat the pot preop. If you op a

big hand, you can almost always do it post-op even when youre playing deep. If you op

a set against aces, you can just start building a pot right on the op. Its not a big deal to

articially inate the pot.

Online, limping is most often a sign of a sh; however, its much more prevalen

live. Whats your take on limping in live games?

I dont do a whole lot of limping upfront [early position]. I still limp some pocket pair

up front, and in a passive game, Ill limp some suited connectors and suited aces. I used to

open suited aces, but now, I think you want to limp with them because you want to have

smaller suited cards call. That way, you have a chance to over-ush someone. Also, you ca

play a little more deceptively if you op top pair or two pair.

You can also over-limp, which is a big part of live play and not part of online play.

If there are a few limpers, and Im in late position with a suited connector, Ill limp. The

only hands Im raising to isolate are obviously value hands and high cards. Other than

that, I dont mind limping in with those hands because Im not lot losing value by not

raising preop because when I hit my hand, I know how to properly extract value from my

opponents postop.

Lets talk about four-bet ranges. Since players are three-bet blung so rarely in

live poker, does that mean four-bet blus are almost nonexistent?

Its so rare to see. Ive thrown in a four-bet blu a few times before because I know

player is three-betting with ace-jack, or king-queen because theyve seen me open a lot, bu

its really rare. Its not bad in live poker to basically have no four-bet blung range.

Does that mean you shouldnt four-bet for value with hands like aces and kings

since youre never four-bet blung?


25/64

Thats a valid point for the purposes of balance, but preop, balance is a little

overrated in live games. You dont need to really concern yourself with balance to set up a

type of meta game. Of course, this is to say you are playing in one of the bigger houses lik

Commerce Casino, which always has tons of games. Youre just playing with a lot of diere

players, and most of them dont care or notice if youre balancing your ranges or not. I thin

it just causes more problems to make moves just for balance in live games.

That said, when considering whether or not to four-bet for value, it depends on how

deep you are. If youre $3,000 deep in a $5/$10 game, I do want to four-bet with aces or

kings because I want to try to stack my opponent. If I only at the three-bet and then raise

the op, it puts me in a really weird spot if he calls, and its going to be almost impossible t

get our stacks in. I might also four-bet against someone who is willing to call the rest of his

stack with ace-king, jacks or tens. A lot of times, if you just call preop, the guy isnt going t

barrel o if he misses or if an overcard comes. Id rather just get it in preop.

How to Be Successful LiveCash-Game Pro

On the Strategy with Kristy Podcast, host Kristy Arnett began a live cash-game

grinders series with Las Vegas players Andrew Moreno and Lincoln Garner. They have bee

consistently amongst the biggest winners in the cash-games they play. The two discussed

how to handle downswings, the biggest mistakes players make at low stakes, taking shots,

moving up in stakes and improving your win rate.

Here are a few highlights from the series:

Garner: Ive been through a lot of downswing

and theyre hard. The thing is, this is a sick game and

is going to mess with your head a lot. The best advic

I could give when going through a downswing is to

stay present in the moment as much as you can. An

money won or lost in the past is completely irreleva

Theres nothing you should focus on other than the

hand youre playing right now.

Theres nothing youshould focus on otherthan the hand youre

playing right now.


26/64

Moreno: When youre going through a downswing, you should take a look at your w

rate because if you keep losing for an extended period of time at small stakes, youre

probably doing something wrong. The best advice I always give people at the poker table i

that what you need to do is make friends with people who are better than you at poker. Te

them you want to bounce hands o them. First of all, if they are good, they will be able to

quickly gauge how good you are by the way you talk about hands. Talking through handswith someone who is better than you is how youre going to see a lot of improvement. Its

best to make friends because coaching can get expensive really quickly. I was lucky to mee

a great group of friends and once I did, my win rate just took o.

I always tell people that there are three basic

things that you can do to make your chances better

of having a winning session. I always try to have the

lead in the hand if I can, I want to have position, and I

want to have a hand with showdown value or that opwell. If you can have those three things, your chances

of winning the hand go up exponentially. So, if you did

those three things and game selected and seat selected well, youd crush. You have to take

those little edges. If you dont, its a major leak.

Garner: When youre playing a hand and your opponent has the extra information o

getting to see what you do before they do anything makes the game a lot harder for you.

you could just go into every session saying to yourself that you want play in position, I thin

that would help a lot.

The biggest mistakes I see players making at the table is choosing to play pots out

of position when they dont have to. Its funny because I was actually just talking to Andrew

about this before the podcast. People arent aggressive enough to force you to play out of

position at low stakes, yet players choose to do it all the time.

Listen here: Strategy with Kristy Podcast: Live Cash Game Grinders Part 1

and here: Strategy with Kristy Podcast: Live Cash Game Grinders Part 2

Make friends withpeople who are betterthan you at poker
http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-live-cash-game-grinders-part-1-13623.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-live-cash-game-grinders-part-2-13670.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-live-cash-game-grinders-part-2-13670.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-live-cash-game-grinders-part-1-13623.htm


27/64

Guide to Micro No-LimitHoldem Cash Games Online

For anyone looking to learn poker or improve their game without having lots of

collateral scal damage, micro-stakes games online are the perfect place to go. Players

can nd $0.01/$0.02 and $0.05/$0.10 no-limit holdem full-ring and six-max cash games

on plenty of online sites that are perfect for those looking to get their feet, but not risk an

uncomfortable amount of money.

Deciding On Stakes

For the $0.01/$0.02 no-limit holdem games, there is a $0.4

minimum and a $2 maximum buy-in. For the $0.05/$0.10 level, th

minimum is $4 and the maximum is $10. Deciding which game to

play heavily relies on the amount of money you are starting with

Many poker pros say that having at least 20 buy-ins for a low-

stakes game is ideal.

For example, if you deposited $200 into your account, goahead and jump into the $0.05/$0.10 level. If you start to lose an

your bankroll drops down to an amount you feel uncomfortable

playing that level with, start playing the $0.01/$0.02 games. Ther

is no shame is taking a step down in limits, and this moved is

respectable because you are honoring a solid commitment to

bankroll management rules.

Six-Max or Full-Ring Poker?

After deciding on which stakes to play, the next decision

is whether to play a six-max or full-ring format. Full-ring tables

have nine seats available for players, which is comparable to live

poker in a casino where action is usually nine or 10 handed. For

most players moving from live poker to online, this is the most


28/64

comfortable transition.

Full-ring games generally play tighter and more passive

than six-max games. Many would argue that its a more laid-bac

game. This is great for players who prefer to play less hands and

tighter range with focus on more premium hand selection. Keepi

that in mind, the average starting-hand strength is generally pret

high. In early position, it is advantageous to play only very good

hands because you are likely going to play versus opponents who

have position on you. Limping into pots is fairly common in these

games, although not necessary something you should fall into lin

with. Coming in with an opening raise is often much better than

limping as you now have initiative on the hand and are showing

strength.

In six-max games, the button comes around much faster

because less players are dealt in. That means more hands for

players and in general, higher aggression. Shorthanded games a

great for players who enjoy action and playing a lot of hands. As

all forms of poker, position is very important, but it is particularly

imperative in six-max games. Because hand ranges are wider and

the average hand strength is lower, position is a huge advantage

when neither player has a top premium hand. Its important to

remember that because the aggression is higher, there is going

to be much bigger swings than in the full-ring format because

of variance. If you are a player who has a tilt factor or becomes

emotional due to high variance, perhaps full-ring poker is a bette

t.

Use the Stats

If there are a few games running in the stake and type of

game you want to play, use the stats available. The Avg. pot sta

will tell you how big the game is playing. For example, if youre

looking at $0.01/$0.02 full-ring no-limit holdem game and the

average pot size is $0.41, thats about 20 big blinds. If you see

another table that has an average pot size of $0.12, then you can

infer that the second table is play tighter and has much less actio


29/64

Next, look at the Plrs/op column, which is the percentag

of players who see the op. That will help you determine whethe

its the table that is playing loose or only one or two players. If

that number is 23%, that could mean that only one or two player

are playing every pot and putting in a lot of money, that will mak

the average pot size higher. If its closer to 50% or 60%, that likelymeans there are a few loose, action players at the table.

Additional Tips

When you nd a table that is full, one most online sites, yo

can join a waiting list. You will be alerted when a seat opens up fo

you. Once seated and playing, remember to have fun! Before youknow it, youll be moving up from the micro-stakes.

A Lesson on Value-BettingMike umpa21 Ziemba is a former

PokerStars Supernova Elite status. Before

Black Friday, he was regularly grinding 24

six-max no-limit holdem cash game tables

with ease. Ziemba has returned to the

virtual felt with the legalization of online

poker in Nevada. He sat down with KristyArnett to discusses general strategies for

value betting against a recreational player.

Once youve pegged a player as recreational, what is your general game plan as

far as getting value from them?


30/64

I try to recognize tendencies or leaks. There are dierent types of recreational

players, and not all of them play the same. So, I need to gure out how to exploit them, an

in what situations.

Is it fair to say that you can categorize most recreational players as either badpassive or bad aggressive?

I would agree with that. A big error recreational players make is that they forget the

reasons why they are betting. Are they betting for a blu? Are they betting for value? Or, a

they betting to protect their hand?

Recreational players usually have a harder time reading hands and ranges of

opponents. So at times, it can be harder to make more complex blus versus someone wh

is not as familiar with the game. In certain situations, its easier to extract more value, and/

overbet versus a sh.

Against a sh, I generally try to get involved with more hands preop in position.

Or, open my preop range. I have a huge advantage post-op against a sh, and they will

usually make a large error, resulting in a large prot for me.

Post-op, how does the width of your value-betting range change and across

how many streets against a bad, passive player versus a bad, aggressive player? For

example, does your value-betting range narrow or widen, and do you go for more or

less streets of value with top-pair types of hands?

If a player is passive, Im more likely to bet all three streets if I believe I have the bes

hand in or out of position. Out of position, its harder to check-raise a passive player since

theyre more likely to check than bet. My value-betting range is always wider considering

theyre getting involved with worse hands preop, and post-op.

The texture of boards, positions, stack sizes, and reads, plays into my conclusion of

what bet sizes I want to make. Against a bad aggressive player, Im more likely to try and lethem hang themselves. Meaning, I may check-call the op and turn with the best hand,

and check-raise on some rivers.

What about bet sizing against a sh versus good players? What are some gener

guidelines on how it changes?


31/64

A lot of bet sizing has to do with ranges and board textures. Against good players, it

much harder to get them to call three large bets with worse hands, so you may bet smalle

or give them better odds to call. Usually, when you see two good players making large bet

on every street, they both have good hands, and one happens to be better than the other

Or, its a cooler in an unavoidable spot. Against a sh, its much more likely you can make

large bets on each street, and get a player holding a very bad hand to call on each street.


32/64

Tournament Specic

Tournaments require dierent skill sets than cash games. This section

focuses on concepts that apply to tournaments.

Stealing Blinds

Bet Sizing Considerations

Using Chip Leverage

An Unconventional Play


33/64

Stealing Blinds

Randal Flowers has accumulated more than $2.7 million in tournament winnings,

including two World Poker Tour titles. For a Strategy with Kristy podcast interview, Flowersdiscussed all aspects of blung preop. Here, he talks specically about stealing blinds.

How do you balance the need to steal with the fact that these days many playe

know that youre stealing?

If I have a very aggressive player or two to my left and Im in

late position, and theres an obvious weak [player in the] big blind,

I dont know how often Im going to open very light. Im anticipatinggetting atted, and people messing with me after the op because

they know I dont have that great of a range.

A lot of times, the general strategy should change to fold.

Play tighter if there are good aggressive players behind you. But, if

no one is really messing with you, you can sneak in a raise with a

pretty weak hand.

With what kind of range are you willing to go for blind steals?

Well, live is way dierent than online, and I havent played online in so long that I

guess my strict math fundamentals arent as good as they should be. When you play live,

people look at their hands before theyre supposed to, so I could be in the hijack and know

the guy on the button is already holding his cards that he wants to fold. So then, Im really

the cuto. You should play way, way more hands in live poker, in my opinion.

What raise size do you prefer?

I vary my raise sizing more than most, but generally, I think 2.5 times the big blind

is ne. What really matters is, if its really early in the tournament, and youre very deep, I

would recommend raising 3 times.

Maybe midway through the tournament, when there still arent antes and the avera


34/64

stack is around 50 big blinds, I think under 2.5 times is probably better because youre

risking 250 to win 150 if the blinds are 50/100. With no antes, if you get three-bet, it puts y

in a tough spot. Youre never really getting a good price so depending on stack sizes, I thin

you can risk less.

Listen to the podcast here: Strategy with Kristy: Randal Flowers Discusses Blung

Preop

Bet Sizing Considerations

Tristan Wade is a live, online grinder who plays under the screen name cre8ive. He

also an instructor at Deepstacks University where he teaches everything from the basics to

high-level strategy. Wade sat down with Kristy Arnett to talk about bet-sizing.

When you begin with a group of students, what are the

big and obvious mistakes they are making with bet sizes?

Well the initial bet-sizing mistakes they make are preop.

They dont keep their bets within the 2 to 4 x the blind range, or

keep their bets consistent. After the op, most amateur players

arent aware of the size of the pot, so they dont make their bet

sizes in relation to the pot.

OK, lets talk preop. What kinds of factors are you taki

into account to decide on preop raise sizes?

The rst things I take notice of are the blind levels and

stack sizes. If everyone is playing 100 big blinds deep, I am more

comfortable making a 3 x the blind preop raise. If the stacks are

shallower, I will decrease my opening bet size to 2.2 to 2.5 times.

Once the antes kick in, I will almost always keep my opening raise

under 2.5 x the blind. All of this depends on the table, as well and

how other players are playing.
http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-randal-flowers-bluffing-preflop-11405.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-randal-flowers-bluffing-preflop-11405.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-randal-flowers-bluffing-preflop-11405.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-randal-flowers-bluffing-preflop-11405.htm


35/64

With antes in play and such a small preop raise, doesnt this allow for the big

blind to defend protably? Or should our postop skill and position make up for tha

The big blind can defend protably in some cases with certain hands, but typically

against skilled poker players who have position on you, you will get outplayed. The good

player will nd a way to lose less chips when the big blind has a hand, and win more chips

when he has hands that have value. Thats a concept a lot of people forget about, as well.

How do limpers aect your preop raise size?

Well, at DeepStacks Live, one of our instructors, Mike Matusow, is a big fan of makin

3 x the blind raises and adding one for every limper. If there are two limpers, you would

make a 5 x the blind raise. Personally, I think isolating the limper and taking control of the

pot itself is more important than the actual size of the raise. Sometimes I will still make a 2to 3 x the blind raise. Depending on the player and the table, I will isolate a little bigger.

What kinds of players are you isolating against?

Im probably isolating with a bigger raise size when I have a lot of people who like to

see cheap ops behind me. I will also isolate players who react dierently in bigger pots

rather than smaller ones.

What about three-bet sizes, in and out of position?

Preop three-bet sizes are another thing that seem to uctuate a lot, as they should

This is all player dependent. On the Internet, some people will fold to small three-bet

preop, whereas in a live setting, you could make a 3 to 4 x three-bet and still get called.

Typically, if you are in position, I think your three-bet sizing should be around 3 x the raise

or below, and if you are out of position it should be 3 x the raise or a little bigger. Know yo

players and that answer will be a lot easier to determine.

Postop, when you have the initiative and position, what are some things

consider when nding a continuation-bet size?

There are a few key principles to continuation betting. First, it depends on how man

opponents you are betting into. If there are four or ve players you should make a bigger


36/64

continuation bet in most cases. If you are against one or two players, you can get away wit

making a smaller bet, like half the pot. You should also be aware of building the pot and

how the size of the pot relates to your stack. For example, betting the op and the turn to

leave yourself with a pot-sized bet on the river.

Thats great advice. It seems like beginning players often bet the op without

thinking ahead as to what theyll do if they get shoved on or if they have to see the

turn.

Yeah. Everything is player-dependent in poker. If one player will fold to a one-third

pot continuation bet, youre burning chips by not betting smaller. If another player wont

fold for full-pot bets, and you have a hand with good value, punish him.

Is there anything else you want to add about beginning players learning correc

bet-sizing?

Always be aware of your stack size, the size of the pot, and what you are trying to

accomplish when you are in the pot. Keep your bets consistent and think ahead.

Using Chip Leverage

Amanda Musumecis impressive online tournament results and six-gure winnings

live have caught the attention of the poker world. The strategically articulate Musumeci

talked to Kristy Arnett about an eective tactic she uses in tournaments leveraging.

First of all, for those who dont know, can you explain exactly what leveraging i

There are a couple types of leveraging. Stack leveraging and positional leveraging a

two common examples. Stack leveraging can be used by either betting or raising to a size

that either (a) implies and represents to our opponent that this pot is growing rapidly, and

that a huge bet is likely coming on the turn and river, or (b) can be used by raising or

reraising to a size that gives the illusion that you will call your opponents reraise or reshov


37/64

meaning that you are giving the illusion of being pot or stack committed. Positional

leveraging is using position to your advantage to threaten your opponents stack and put

them in tough spots.

Lets talk about stack leveraging. Can you further explain in what situations yomight use this tactic and how you would apply it?

The point of leveraging is to represent a bigger hand that we wont soon be folding,

and we do so by making increasingly larger bets on proceeding streets of play. Lets say

were in a three-way hand and each player has 2,500 in chips with blinds at 25-50. We raise

in middle position to 125 preop, a middle-to-late

position player ats, and another late-position guy

ats. The op is dealt, and it doesnt really matter

what it is. The pot is now about 450, so we c-betthe op about three times what we raised initially

(once for each player in the pot). I think a bet of

about 350 is good. One opponent ats, and the

other folds. The turn is dealt, and we now have

to bet large enough that were making it clear

illusion to our opponent that were either close

to committed to this pot, close to calling o to a

reshove and/or that were setting up for a big river

bet or shove. So on the turn, the pot is 1,150 afterhe calls the op. Your opponent should have about

2,000 chips remaining after this action. Here, we could do something chumpy like bet 400-

600 on the turn, or we can apply leveraging by making a powerful bet that implies were

committed, or that were denitely planning on going all in on the river. The bet should be

about three times what we bet on the op. In this case, the bet should be more like 700-90

on the turn. I like going with a bet of 775. We would both have about 1,200 behind if our

opponent ats the turn, leaving him or her thinking that we are going to shove the river or

call if they shove.

It sounds eective, yet risky.

Its a strong play and can cost big chips sometimes if played in the wrong spot or

versus the wrong type of player. The idea is that the pot starts small and cheap for your

opponent, but you make it very large early in the hand, putting pressure on your opponen

to feel like they need a nutty hand to continue in a pot of this size, at this level, and so dee

The point of leveraging

is to represent a biggerhand that we wontsoon be folding, andwe do so by makingincreasingly larger betson proceeding streets of

play


38/64

stacked.

Another common situation which we might apply both positional and stack leverag

would be if there is an aggro player to our right who opens in mid-position and we three-b

him in position to a size that implies were probably calling a shove. We can also make bet

like this postop if they at us. We can make bets versus our opponents that compromise

enough of their stacks that they should feel youre committed to them and to the pot. Its a

part of the illusion youre creating. In actuality, you likely have a hand that is rags if youre

taking this line, so its easy to fold when your opponent tries to take control of the action in

an already inated pot.

So by using leveraging, we are basically taking away our opponents ability to

make a play at us, so if he or she does shove against us, its for value and we can fold

right? Also, because you need to commit so many chips to use this tactic, how do yoknow it is protable?

Well, since they usually wont have a big enough

hand to put their whole 2,500 stack at risk at 25-50 leve

this means that the 95% of the time that they fold on t

op and turn, and we pick up good pots. Also, you can

raise smaller preop to get more weak hands involved

isolate limpers, and assume that anyone who had ace-

king would denitely three bet such a small open raise

especially if there is a atter or two. That makes it an

easy fold pre for us to a three-bet. Hands more likely to

at small raises preop are hands like weak aces, mid

pairs and marginal broadways, suited connectors etc.

People like to see cheap ops with those types of hand

and wont usually try to three-bet pre with those types

hands, so I think their range is partially polarized when

you open small and receive all ats in response to the open.

Say the op comes like ten-high. A player with pocket sevens will usually calls your

op c-bet, but if you put in a big on the turn, implying that youre going all the way with thi

hand, it usually gets pocket sevens to then fold. Its the same idea if a player hits top pair

with a weak ace on the op. When we c-bet, our opponent usually calls once. If we bet hug

on the turn, he has to really consider if he wants to take an ace-weak hand all the way to

river. Plus, for their stack sizes (using 2.5k starting stack at 25/50 scenario), atting a turn b

for 775 leaving 1200ish behind isnt appetizing if youre planning on folding the river for th

The idea is thatthe pot starts smalland cheap for youropponent, but you

make it very largeearly in the hand,

putting pressure onyour opponent


39/64

rest of your stack after having committed over half of it. So typically, mid-thinking players

will simply give up to this strong turn bet on the turn with many of the holdings that they

would proceed on the op with.

How does pot equity t into the equation? What happens if say you turn a lot oequity with a card that gives you straight and ush draws?

Then change your plan accordingly and play your nuts or draws the same way you

normally would feel comfy doing so. If we bet huge on the op with backdoor stu, and w

turn an out, and we typically check/shove or lead/call then, then just change your plan on

using leveraging and instead revert to the plan of putting your chips in with your draw. Of

course, its all player and situation dependent.

LEARN TO PULL THE TRIGGER!

Cylus Watson shared the following advice on the Strategy with Kristy

Podcast:

You have to be able to pull the trigger, and I say that a lot when I talk about

tournament strategy. I think its an undervalued concept-- to make that big blu or to make

that big call or whatever it may be. You have to have the ability to pull the trigger when

there is money on the line.

If you can see a spot where you need to cold four-bet blu, but you cant pull the

trigger, youre just not going to have as big of an edge as other players. I would say too, that

its way more important in tournament poker than in cash games because in cash games,

you can just come back the next day and the same exact spot is going to be there for the

same exact amount of money. If youre playing $5/$10, and you dont make a big blu with

$1,000 on the table because you wimp out, you can just go back to the same casino and

make the blu another time. In the Main Event, on Day 7, if you decide not to make a blu,

thats probably your only shot in your lifetime to make that blu.

You have one shot at winning a tournament every time you enter. It doesnt have to

be the Main Event. It could be any live or online tournament. If you get down to the nal

ve percent of the eld, that doesnt happen very often, so if you cant seize the moment

when it actually arises, then youre just not going to win as much money as the people that

can.


40/64

An Unconventional Play

As players advance in poker, getting creative and thinking outside the box can lead

to further understanding of the game. Carter ckingusc King won the PokerStars WorldChampionship of Online Poker in 2008 for $1.2 million and has since continued to

consistently cash in onlines biggest tournaments. To remain successful on the virtual felt,

says being creative and implementing new, eective strategies is essential. Carter King sat

down with PokerNews to talk about continuation betting small in three-bet pots in

tournaments.

Concept:

When your three-bet is called preop, try

continuation betting small, around one-third pot.

Why is this a good idea?

It just gives you so much more room to

play, especially because of the nite stacks oftournament poker. What you see is what you get.

If you continuation bet small, you have much more

stack left to play and use to your advantage. Giving

yourself more ways to win the pot is always going t

be benecial. When you start adding those one-thi

pot bets to your repertoire of plays, you really ope

up the post-op game in three-bet pots.

The small bet saves you money when you have to fold, and when youre betting for

value, it usually wont hold you back from being able to get all the money in by the river

because tournament stacks allow it. Increasing post-op play and putting opponents in

awkward positions is so important in tournament play these days.

Why stray from the conventional rules of continuation betting?


41/64

A lot of people are so used to the rules of betting two-thirds pot or half pot. People

are so afraid of giving something away by their bet sizing, but if youre a good, thinking

player and you have an understanding of what your bets appear as and what you can do

with the size of your bets. Of course everyone knows that on the river, you can pot or two

times it, but it seems like up until the river, players fall into really specic betting patterns.

think its good to be able to mix it up.

What other benets are there?

The more you do it, the more comfortable you will be playing in three-bet pots. It w

allow you to three-bet more often, too. In a situation where you might not normally three-

bet because you are worried about committing yourself with a bigger c-bet, you can now d

it because you know your continuation be will be smaller. People just dont really have the

odds to continue on these hands. Its more benecial for them to fold than to call down wiace-high.

That being said, its also valuable that in a three-bet pot, youre also willing to

continuation bet two-thirds the pot as well when you miss. If players keep seeing you

betting a third of the pot, theyll adjust and start peeling against you, or raising. Theyll

develop plans to counter, so you have to balance. Also, if I ever hit a op in a three-bet pot

Ill consider third-pot betting like I would if I missed. All these things are important.

What types of opponents should you use this play on?

Against good players, theyll adjust and try to narrow your range and make plays at

you they think they can get away with, but when youre against someone who just doesnt

have a plan, it works well against them. This also works well live because the physical chip

alone can be an intimidation factor. There are no numbers telling you the pot size, so you

are being told how small the bet actually is compared to the pot.

How it Applies

Can you tell us a couple of examples of when you used this play?

Sure. In the $100 rebuy on Full Tilt, with the blinds at 1,000-2,000, it folded to a good

solid regular. He opened in the cuto to 4,700. I three-bet on the button 10,200 with king-


42/64

jack. He called. The op came ace-ten-rag. This was a good hand to try the small c-bet

because if he had a lot of his suited connector or small pair type-hands, hed probably fold

If he had a big ace like ace-king or ace-queen, he probably would have four-bet preop.

It works so well against people because if they just call there, they dene weakness

in their hand. Its so hard for them to raise on a blu because they are committing so muc

of their stack. If he wants to raise me there, even if hes clicking it back (raising minimum)

he still commits a lot of chips, but there is also still room for me to continue blus on later

streets.

People play so crazy now that people are trying to avoid awkward spots like that. Yo

save a lot of money for hands that they continue with, and youre making hands a lot more

disguised, and also creating more play post-op. One hand I won on the turn in a WCOOP

event, I three-bet from the small blind with ace-queen. The op came all low cards, maybe

eight or nine high. I bet small and he called quickly. I felt his quick call was a defensive one

because it was so small. Because he didnt even think about raising, when the turn came

a blank, I was able to barrel the turn. I bet small again, maybe 40 percent pot. He instantly

folded.

Its funny because I think the person who Ive see do this more than anyone else is

Phil Hellmuth. I hate to give him props, but I like the play.


43/64

O the Table

Edges in poker are not only gained in good decision making at the poke

table. Part of being a successful poker player is understanding when to move

up or down in stakes, having a good sense of when quit or keep playing, and

constantly improve your poker mindset. This section focuses on what skills yo

can acquire o the table.

Characteristics of a Great Poker Player

Moving Up in Stakes

Improve Your Poker Mindset


44/64

Characteristics of a GreatPoker Player

Andrew Robls list of accomplishments in poker is long. Not only does he play in the

biggest cash games in the world, but Robl also boasts a career live tournament record of

nearly $3.5 million earnings. His rst major career win came at the 2013 Aussie Millions

where he took down the AU$100,000 Challenge for AU$1,000,000. The second and third

largest scores of Robls live career came in World Poker Tour events. At the 2012 WPT Wor

Championship, Robl took second place for $822,375. In 2010, he nished runner-up to

Antonio Esfandiari in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $549,003.

Back in 2010, Robl wrote an article on PokerNews outlining six key characteristics tobe a great poker player:

Experience

This is by far the most important attribute in becoming

a great poker player. It is impossible to become a great poker

player without putting in thousands of hours at the table andseeing millions of hands. Due to the nature of online poker, with

the ability to play hundreds of hands an hour, its possible to

get experience faster than ever before. You have to play at least

10,000 hours of poker before you have a shot at becoming a gre

player. The best way to get started is by downloading an online

poker room, and playing small stakes.

Intelligence

At the highest levels, everyones experience level and

knowledge of the game will be near equal. Whoever can adjust

to an opponent faster and out-guess what adjustments the

opponents are making will come out on top. This is sometimes

referred to as leveling.


45/64

Desire and Willingness to Learn

No matter how much you play, you will not improve unles

you actively think about what your opponents are doing. Beyond

this, you also need to seek other poker strategies from players

better than you are. This can be done several ways through book

training videos, one-on-one coaching or discussing hands with

friends. You may also want to check out the PokerNews strategy

pages.

Ability to Control Emotions

In poker, it is always important to have a logical, analyticalreason for what you are doing. Our emotions are not equipped

to deal with probability and randomness, which are two dening

elements of poker. The ability to control your emotions in order

make the correct logical play time after time is one of the hardes

things to do in poker.

Social and Networking Skills

Having a strong poker network is key to becoming a great

poker player, as referenced above in the desire and willingness t

learn. It will allow you to get into the best games and allow you t

make friends with the strongest players who can help you furthe

improve. You can begin the process by liking PokerNews on

Facebook, and keeping an eye out for tips and tricks.

Having a Sick Amount of Gamble

To be a truly great player, you have to have a lot of gamble

in you. You have to be willing to take on players better than you

stakes higher than youre used to. At some point, it is the only wa

to improve. But be warned, its also a good way to go broke.


46/64

THINK IT!

How do you get better at poker quickly?

Here is a tip Galen Hall shared with the Strategy with Kristy podcast: A lot of times

players come to me for advice or coaching, and they want to talk through hands. But they

bring these hands that are just the most o-the-wall, crazy spots. Listen, I could spend an

hour talking about this hand, but the point is to get better at poker. This isnt going to make

you that much better to master this super-rare occasion. I have found that the best way

to improve in poker in the least amount of time is to take really simple hands, break them

down strategically and to think about basic concepts. Focus on fundamental things, tweak

it, and come to a basic understanding from that.

Moving Up in Stakes

Alec Torelli is a poker professional originally from California, but regularly travels th

world playing cash games and tournaments. He has over $1.5 million in live tournament

earnings and over $500,000 in online tournament earnings. On his record are two World

Series of Poker nal tables and two World Poker Tour nal tables. He writes several article

and blogs for PokerNews sharing his knowledge and experience.

According to Torelli, here are three ways to help you advance quicker up the stakes

Staking: Having a backing deal can

allow you to play bigger games without

risking any money, and heres how. Youcan prove yourself at small stakes and

show projections of win rates at the gam

you wish to play. Compare your percent

as a winner to those of higher stakes. In

other words, if youre winning at 5 BB/10

hands, and that is the 70th percentile of

winners for that stake, then project your


47/64

win rates for bigger games. Be sure to take into account rake. Be professional and treat th

like a business plan. Its no dierent.

Play tournaments: While building a roll, a large score is much more valuable to your

career. Since capital is extremely important, allocate a small part of your roll, roughly 10

20% (and maybe one day a week), to playing tournaments. If you hit a six-gure score, it ca

save you a year or two of time.

Save money: Not spending or wasting money is the same as making it. Especially in

the beginning, when your roll is short, be a nit. Dont go popping bottles (like I did) as soon

as you win $10,000. Sure, you can enjoy your life and even buy something small to celebra

but most importantly you need to save. The money you dont spend now is money you wo

have to make later. Something I still do to this day is accumulating air miles and points. I

almost always y business without paying for business ights. I estimate it saves me over

$10,000 a year.


48/64

Improve Your Poker Mindset

Tommy Angelo is a well-respected poker player, writer and coach. Hes best known

penning, Elements of Poker, which addresses the mental side of poker. In an interview onthe Strategy with Kristy podcast, he discussed how to begin improving your poker mindset

as well as addresses the common hurdles players face during the process.

Angelo: Thats the hardest thingawareness and being

to able to accurately access our own performance and our own

mindset, especially early. That is a big challenge. One of the thing

I tell people who are just getting started is that its very natural

to start with just the cards. The rst thing we learn is three-of-a

kind beats two-pair, or whatever. It usually takes a little while forsomeone to go up and down the swings and go through some til

issues before they realize, in their saner moments that they can

step back and say, This is what I really need to work on.

So what I tell people who are just getting going is that

instead of taking all of your improvement energy and channeling

toward making your A-game better, meaning your betting strate

your tells, and everything, is to partition o some of that energy

and spend it working on all these other aspects of the game

including your own mental stability right from the beginning. Ma

it a priority instead of making it an incidental thing.

Lets say after three or four years, youve got an A-game thats good enough to beat

the game youre playing. Now, if you want to improve your win rate, the only place to turn

to improve it signicantly is to do what I call, lop of the C-game. Thats where Elements

of Poker starts. The idea there is that you have to be able to accurately asses what your

C-game is, when it happens, and why it happens. Then go at it diligently with great eort.

Lets say you lop o the very, very worst of your performance. Lets say it only comes up

once a week when youre really bad, but through tools and whatever, you managed to lopthat o. Now you will have a new C-game which will be better than your old C-game. A lon

range plan of improvement should be what I call, From the top up and bottom up. You

work on your A-game all the time, and you work on your C-game all the time. Thats a path

thats sustainable and will always bear fruit.

To listen to the full interview, go here: Strategy with Kristy Podcast Part 1 with Tomm

Angelo
http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-part-1-with-tommy-angelo-10955.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-part-1-with-tommy-angelo-10955.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-part-1-with-tommy-angelo-10955.htmhttp://www.pokernews.com/strategy/strategy-with-kristy-podcast-part-1-with-tommy-angelo-10955.htm


49/64

PRO TIP!

Danielle Andersen, also known as dmoongirl, came on the Strategy with

Kristy podcast and discussed the keys to longevity and balance in poker.

The rst thing that comes to mind when I think about having longevity in poker is

mental health. Take care of tilt and frustration. You have to understand variance. I guess

the key word to all that is balance. I just think that its completely inevitable that, if you

are a professional poker player and you dont have balance, youre going to be miserable.

Youre going to live a miserable existence. It will aect your game and your life. Its hard

because, in other professions, you might be kind of forced to have more balance. You go

to work from nine to ve and then you have your social functions. As poker players, if we

want to, we can sit in front of our computer for 18 hours a day, not talk to anybody, and

be in our underwear. Nobody would know the dierence. So I think people can get suckedinto just making as much money as they possibly can, but ultimately the goal in life is to be

happy. I just think balance is the foundation of that.


50/64

Hands by the Pros

One of the best ways to improve your poker skill is to review hands. In

this section, you will nd in-depth hand analysis from top pros.

Randy Lew

Ben Wilinofsky

Max Steinberg

Daniel Negreanu

Andrew Robl

Nick Rampone


51/64

Randy Lew

Randy nanonoko Lew is known for crushing as a mass multi-table cash-game play

online. His ability to hand read and quickly asses his opponents is unrivaled. He talked toPokerNews about a hand he played in the rst level of the Triple Chance No-Limit Holdem

Event at the 2011 World Series of Poker.

Level 1: 25/25

Stacks: Randy Lew - 4,500; Villain - 2,400

Preop Action:Randy Lew raised in the cuto to 75 with . The button calle

and the action folded around.

What is your general preop raise

size early in tournaments like this?

Early in tournaments, I make it three

times the big blind because if you min-

raise, they almost always call in the rst

level.

What was your impression of the

player who atted you?

He did some weird things, so it kind of led me to think he wasnt an online regular. H

was also playing more hands, so with that, I just assumed he was a bit loosey goosey.

So his range is pretty wide for calling in position here on the button?

Yes, its very wide, much more wide that a regular, solid player would have.

Flop Action:The op came Lew bet 125. Villain called. The pot is now

475.


52/64

The reason I chose to bet instead of check, despite my hand being so strong, is

because very early on in the tournament in the rst couple of levels, trapping isnt as

important. If I check and induce a bet from him, Im only going to win 100 in chips, and

thats just not that many. Its better for me to try and bet and make a really big pot. Later

in tournaments though, like if I was at a nal table or something, each bet is much more

important. I chose to try and make a bigger pot.

When he calls you on the op, how does this narrow his range?

When he calls on this op, he can have any seven, any pocket pair, and maybe a kin

Do you think he was capable of oating you here?

I dont think he has any pure oats. If he does, he has like ace-high. I dont imagine h

was that complex to do

Turn Action: The turn was a three of Spades. Lew bet 300. Villain instantly raised

to 1,200. Lew went all in, and Villain called o the rest of his stack with . Lew won

the pot with .

Was your thought process on the turn, the same as on the op as far as wantinto build a pot?

A continuation bet is kind of standard for me, everyone expects that, so the turn is

kind of a bigger decision for me. Like I said earlier, by checking, I might induce him to bet

maybe 200 on this street with a blu or a pair, but again, I want to con

pokernews strategy ebook

Documents