A F A Q-ish Post

[pele_br 0]

I'm lazy, but I'd like an EV thing on there and I like the online v live but it's not filled in right now.

Yes, I think an EV section would be helpful. Maybe some specifics for short-handed play as well.EDIT: I also pronounce FAQ as "FACK". But an EFF EH KEW makes sense too.

[Acid_Knight 2]

Yes, I think an EV section would be helpful. Maybe some specifics for short-handed play as well.

For the record, I'm pretty sure the intent of this wiki is not to teach anyone specifics of anything, but to provide general info so that instead of explaining things, David, Myself and other can just refer people to those pages.You want specifics for SH play? Read a book. Never limp. Reraise a lot. Profit.

[David_Nicoson 1]

Screwit,Idon'twanttowork.FloatingandDelayedBluffs:Ageneraldefinitionof"floating"iswhenyoucallaplayer'sbetpostflopafterfloppinglittleornohandatall.Floatinganddelayedbluffsareoftenassociated,exceptthatdelayedbluffsusuallyhaveamoreinvolvedplanthanafloatdoes.Let'slookatacoupleofexamples.Example1:AgoodfloatingsituationYoucallapreflopraisewith55or67sorsomeweakhandafteraplayerraisesinMP.Youcallpreflopbecauseyourhandhassomevalueandbecauseyouhaveposition.ThetwoofyoutakeaHUflopthatcomesdownA72rainbow.Youropponentbets3/4ofthepotandyoucall.Theturnisa9.Youropponentchecks,youbet2/3ofthepotandheangrilyfoldsQQfaceupmutteringabouthowluckyyouaretocatchtheAonhim.Yourhandisveryweakandlikelynotthebesthand.You'renotreallydrawingtoanythinghereandyouhavenopotodds.Sowhydidyoucall?Theanswerhasalotoflayers.Wecalledbecausewehavepositionandtheflopoftenmissesouropponent.Wecalledbecauseouropponentwillnotlikelyfirea2ndbulletasabluff(orwithQQorTT)sinceit'simpossibleforustohaveadrawonthisboard.Mostlywecalledbecausewearegoingtouseourpositiontotakethepotawayifouropponentshowsweakness.Thinkaboutit-wealmosthavetohaveanAcehereifwecalledhisflopbet.Sometimesweareevenslowplayingaset.Althoughweonlyhave1weakpairornohandatall,itwillbedifficultforouropponenttowinthispotunlessheactuallyhasfloppedtheAceandthewholereasonthatfloatingworksisbecuaseyoudomisstheflop2/3ofthetime.Whoandwhentofloat:1.Floatplayerswhoatleastattempttoreadhands.IfyouropponentwillnotfoldKKbecausehewaitedfor3hourstogetthathand,don'ttryandmakehimlayitdownbecuasetheAflopped.2.Floatplayerswhogiveupifthey'vemissedandtheircontinuationbetiscalled.IftheboardisT92andyouhave45suited,thisisagoodtimetofloatsinceyouropponentoftenhas2unpairedbigcardsandareonlygoingtofire1bulletatthepot.3.Floatondryboards.Thedryertheboard,thebetter.Manyopponentswillfiremultiplebulletsiftheythinkyou'reonadraw.Iftheboardistotallydry,theyfearthatyourflatcallismorelikelyatraporamadehandthanitisadraw.4.Floatweaktightplayersconstantly.Theseplayerswantandalmostneedastronghandtocontinueandtheywillalmostnevermakeit.Takeadvantageoftheirtendenciesandputthemtotoughdecisions.5.InpositionandHU.6.Floatingwithsomekindofdraw(evenagutshot)isbetterthanfloatingwithtotalair.WhoandwhenNOTtofloatandwhentogiveup:1.Anyboardthatisverylikelytohavehelpedyouropponentisonewhereyoushouldfoldtotheirc-bet.2.Veryaggressiveopponentswhodonotslowdownarehardertocontendwithbecuasetheyoftenfire2or3bulletswithnothing.3.Trickyplayerswhowillc-bettheflopandthenchecktheturntogetinacheck-raisewithastrongmadehand.4.Callingstationsdon'tknowhowtofold.Remember,you'rebluffing,sotheyhavetobeabletofold.5.Don'tfloatwhenthereareotherplayersinthepotbehindyouwhomightactuallyhavearealhand.6.Floatingoutofpositionisverydifficultandshouldnotbedoneoftenatall.Itistrickytoplaythestreetsasyouropponentmaycheckbehindtheturnforpotcontrol,makingitharderforyoutorepresentthebighandthatyouwanted.Overall,floatingisdifferentthanadelayedbluffbecauseyougiveupmoreeasilyonfloatsbecuaseyoudon'tnecessarilyhaveastronghandtorepresent.Let'slookatthedifference.DelayedBluffs:Adelayedbluffisabluffwhereyoucallononestreetandbetorraiseonanotherwiththeintentofrepresentingaverystronghand.Example1:Slowplaying"Trips"YouropponentopensfromMPandyoucallinpositionwithAQhh.TheflopcomesdownKK3rainbow.Youropponentbets2/3ofthepotandyoucall.Theturnisa6.Youropponentbets1/2ofthepotandyouraisehim2.5xhisbet.Hefolds.Whydoesthiswork?Well,delayedbluffsworkbecauseyouhaveabighandtorepresentandit'sahandthatyouropponentlikelydoesn'tholdandcannotbeat.Intheexampleabove,it'shardtoputyouonanythingbutKxthewaythatyou'veplayedthehand.That'swhydelayedbluffsareoftensosuccessful-theyare"transparent"inthesensethatyou'rerepresentingthatyou'replayingaverystronghandinaverypredictablemanner.Intheexampleabove,unlessyouhaveKxorafullhouse,there'snootherhandthatyouwouldraiseforvalueinthissituation,soyouropponentshouldprobablyfoldanyotherhands,evenasstrongaspocketaces.Pitfalls:Delayedbluffsareexpensive.Youmustcallononestreetandbetorraiseonanother,committingalarger%ofyourstacktothepot.Asaresult,youshouldpickyourspotscarefullybecausetheymustsucceedfairlyoftenasaresultofthehighrisk-rewardratio.Don'tbeafraidtogiveup.Justbecauseyoucalledtheflopwiththeintentionofreppingtrips,doesn'tmeanthatyouropponentcannotholdthem.Ifyougetthefeelingthathehasthehandyou'retryingtorepresent,abandonthebluffattempt.Makesurethatyouhaverespectandtherightimagewhenrunningoneoftheseplays.Alsomakesurethattheplayfallsintolinewithhowyou'dplayyourotherstronghands.Ifyou'resuperaggressiveandyou'dalwaysraisewithKQonaKK2flop,thenrunningadelayedbluffwhereyouflatcallagainstanobservantopponentmakeslittlesensesincehe'dalreadyknowthatyouraisethefloptherewithtripsahigh%ofthetime.Summation:Overall,theseplaysaremuchmoreadvancedandareunnecessaryinmanylowerlimitgames.Iftheplayersdon'tunderstandwhatyou'redoing,it'shardtomakefancymoveslikethese.Delayedbluffsandfloatingarewaystowinyourselfthebigpotswithoutahandbypreyingonweaknessinyouropponent.Playerswhomaketheseplaysregularlyaresomeofthetoughestopponentsyouwillfacebecausetheyforceyoutomakeahandagainstthemwhileplayingoutofposition.Onceyouidentifythesetrickyaggressors,thecheck/raiseontheturnbecomesoneofyourbiggestandmostprofitablemoves.Donewiththecorrectfrequencies,theseplaysmakeaplayerbothhighlyprofitableandunpredictableatthepokertable.

FYP

[Acid_Knight 2]

Did you write a script to delete all of the spaces from my posts?

[David_Nicoson 1]

Did you write a script to delete all of the spaces from my posts?

Only because there's a bug in open office.

#!/usr/bin/perlwhile (<>) {	$_ =~ s/ //g;	print;}

[David_Nicoson 1]

No_Neck didn't agree with the free card comment last time I posted about this. Any tie-breaking opinions? Zach's input would be valuable here as well for obvious reasons.Transition from Structured LimitIn general, the rhythm of no-limit is much different. There's a lot of waiting and collecting information, then a big decision. Limit constantly challenges you to make small decisions.Here are some differences in strategy:

1. Don't try the free card play. Opening the betting often means you have to commit your whole stack or fold.
2. Don't concern yourself too much with attacking and defending blinds.
3. Sometimes you have to give up on a nice draw.
4. Keep track of your opponents' stack sizes, so that you know who is pot-committed, who can reopen the betting, etc.
5. Be more careful about paying off on the river. In limit, that last bet is small in comparison to the pot, so it makes sense to call on the river even when we strongly suspect that we're beaten.

[David_Nicoson 1]

This bit wasn't in the original, either. I suspect that there might be some controversy on the bet size.-------------------------------------------------------------------------We should wager larger amounts on coordinated boards. The villains are weighing the odds you are offering against the likelihood that they will improve to a hand that beats ours. Since their chance of improving is higher on this sort of board, then we can bet more.Flop 1K K 5 :club:A good bet on this flop is 1/3 to 2/3 of the pot. Flop 2K Q 8 :diamond:A good bet on this board is pot-sized or sometimes even more to get all-in when out of position or to counter high implied odds in a deep-stacked game.Although I've suggested guidelines in relation to the pot, a bet's size compared to the remaining stacks is also significant.Consider the edits.

Edited December 21, 2007 by David_Nicoson

[tskillz187 0]

"Be wary of the free card play" IMO that's a little better.

[tskillz187 0]

This bit wasn't in the original, either. I suspect that there might be some controversy on the bet size.-------------------------------------------------------------------------We should wager larger amounts on coordinated boards. The villains are weighing the odds you are offering against the likelihood that they will improve to a hand that beats ours. Since their chance of improving is higher on this sort of board, then we can bet more.Flop 1K K 5 :club:A good bet on this flop is 1/3 to 1/2 of the pot. Flop 2K Q 8 :diamond:A good bet on this board is between 1 and 2 times the size of the pot.

Yeah, I don't agree with the size of either, but agree with the principle. It's not that drastic to me. More like 2/3 on dry and pot on draw heavy.

[Zach6668 513]

I'm down with the LHE transition thing.I have a tough time organizing my thoughts though.I've been thinking about an FAQ type thing for a while, but can never get to the point where I remember everything I want to add.If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know.

[David_Nicoson 1]

"Be wary of the free card play" IMO that's a little better.

I'm OK with that wording, but to be clear, I personally don't ever make a free card play in no-limit hold'em.

[Acid_Knight 2]

I'm OK with that wording, but to be clear, I personally don't ever make a free card play in no-limit hold'em.

You should add it to your game so that you can check behind semi strong hands and get action on the river when the draw misses in addition to being able to rep the draw after checking back on the turn.

[tskillz187 0]

I'm OK with that wording, but to be clear, I personally don't ever make a free card play in no-limit hold'em.

Hmmm... I dunno how often I do it. I feel like I'm raising in position with draws for a few reasons. And sometimes I'll check behind. I'm not really sure what is proper NL strategy for this, I didn't think it was a leak. I'm not too worried about getting 3-bet out of the pot because I'm either going to be getting the right odds if he 3bets all in on me or I'll be folding because I no longer have the correct odds.

[David_Nicoson 1]

I'm willing to take out the reference completely if we can't come to some common agreement. Let me restate what I'm getting at and see if there's still controversy.The free card play in limit poker is a raise on a cheap street in order to avoid facing a big bet on the next street in the case that the draw misses. It's an attempt to see the river card cheap.Here's an example of what I think is a mistake.Villain is tight/aggressive.Hero is LAG.Stacks around $200.Preflop ($3)Villain raises to 7. 3 folds. Hero calls on the button with J 9 . Blinds fold.Flop ($16)6 Q 2 Villain bets $12. Hero raises to $24.So, yuck. That bet isn't big enough to scare off a villain with a pair, so it doesn't work very well as a bluff. It reopens the betting with a draw that is pretty good, but isn't worth stacking off with if the villain reraises.Come to think of it, we're really making a blocking bet for the next street.