vets, newbs, mods, lurkers, dn? 5/10 nl strat thing

[ispepi 0]

I think beating the 5/10 NL game is more about being comfortable with the money being bet than knowing the strategy.     I could probably beat 5/10 NL if I was given 3 months and a good bankroll.   The money scares me, though.    The money scares me and  my heart rate just increases too fast for me to think clearly and I just don't enjoy the feeling of what they call a "rush".At that level it is more about winning pots that you aren't supposed to win because your opponents are also going to try to win pots that they aren't supposed to win so you have to even that out.

There's a big difference between being able to win at higher levels and lower levels, and it is not bankroll.First of all, the real big mistakes stop happening or disappear altogether. You have to try to keep these to a minimum as well. Second, it's about the thought process behind the hand. At a higher level, more thinking and analysis is going on 'behind the scenes' and overall people have a better 'feel' for about where they are at in the hand. The OP has the right idea. ie trying to grasp what is going on in the heads of winning higher limit players that is not going on in his.theredpill and people like him are the reasons why the higher limit players win. There are always fishies who get going on a lucky run and think they can now jump up limits.

I think this is dead on, and it really explains why I would like to see more high limit NL hands and pick the brains of the people posting them a little bit. I understand the theory's behind it all, but unless I somehow come up with the 150k or so I'd need to play TAG at 50-100 NL, I can't sit at the table and be in those positions. I understand why Player X is raising from the CO with 95s, but why's he calling the BB's re-raise? Is it attempt to isolate against a weaker opponent? Is he just hoping to get lucky and stack the BB? Things like that.

seems to me if you don't get it you won't? not that i do.... just saying.... what am i saying... nothing.... everyone's so concerned with profit they can't improve their games by losing a bit?

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

seems to me if you don't get it you won't?  not that i do.... just saying....  what am i saying... nothing.... everyone's so concerned with profit they can't improve their games by losing a bit?

There's a strong difference between understanding the theory and knowing when and why to enacy certain strategies. There's a difference between losing a little bit--which I did when I moved up from 1/2 to 2/5 regularly, before I learned and started beating it--and simply not having enough to play. I don't have the money to play 50-100 NL. See the difference?

[steve7stud 0]

I wish that I could help you out. I've played online nlhe a few times and really didn't like it.  25-50 on UB, and Party's 2k. I managed to book small wins in each session. But I certainly wasn't comfortable playing no limit online.  For better or worse, I'm not a math guy. A lot of my no limit game is based on tells. When I'm sitting at the table with a player, I can get a much better "feel" for the situation. Limit poker I find translates much better online.Here is a perfect example. Often times when I played in a no limit game at Commerce with a deep stack, the following would happen. Another player and I would get all the money into the middle on the flop or the turn. To reduce variance, we would "run it, once, twice, or three times". This isn't something that you can do online.  If you look in the strat section, I did talk about sessions of no limit that I've played with Daniel and Phil Laak. I've also played with a ton of other players like Allen Cunningham, Stan Goldstein, Billy Duarte, "Booby" Bellande, etc (the list would be fairly extensive.)If you haven't read the thread already, don't ever try and play Jacks against Daniel when he has q7. It's an easy way to go bust, lol.Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

you're really good at poker and stuff, but that was a total name drop... brutal

You're absolutely right. Shame on me. I'm sure that people spend a lot of time thinking about Billy Duarte and Stan Goldstein. No offense, but I find it irritating when people say that. 99% of what I add to this forum has NOTHING to do with the people that I play or have played poker with. It would be silly to not talk about the other players. In fact, it would be more arrogant to say that I have played with lots of well known pros, but I'm not going to divulge that information.Be realistic. I am who I am. I don't claim to have one any HUGE tournaments. Nor do I claim to play 4-8k at the Bellagio. But if I DO happen to play in games that include some "known" players. It gives people hope that anyone and everyone can sit down and play with these guys.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

You're absolutely right. Shame on me. I'm sure that people spend a lot of time thinking about Billy Duarte and Stan Goldstein.  No offense, but I find it irritating when people say that. 99% of what I add to this forum has NOTHING to do with the people that I play or have played poker with.  It would be silly to not talk about the other players. In fact, it would be more arrogant to say that I have played with lots of well known pros, but I'm not going to divulge that information.Be realistic. I am who I am. I don't claim to have one any HUGE tournaments. Nor do I claim to play 4-8k at the Bellagio. But if I DO happen to play in games that include some "known" players. It gives people hope that anyone and everyone can sit down and play with these guys.

Quite honestly, Steve, I don't think you should've bothered to reply to this guy. But, that's neither here nor there. The majority of reasonably intelligent posters on this site value your insight for what it is--a very honest and open look at higher limit poker and the things you need to do to be succesful playing those higher limits. There's a big void in this forum of people who do play higher limits and can speak intelligently about what it takes to get to get to that level. I know that I look forward to what you have to say and if I see you started a thread or have replied to it, I go look. I love the insight you bring, and you're right. It does give people like me hope that they can attain that level of skill, bank roll management, overall balance and stomach to play that kind of poker.I know you catch grief from time to time about being too nice, or 'name dropping,' or whatever. But, quite honestly, even Smash respects you. You have to be at least somewhat intelligent for that to take place. Thanks again for all that you add, and I really do hope that you'll visit us in NLHE Strat once in awhile.

[Timid 0]

Locally, I find it's impossible to get a guy off a flush draw or open-ended straight draw for any amount at 5-10 @Commerce.Anyways, you wanted some hands and I haven't seen many so here is one.I bought in $400My first hand in cutoff, pocket 7s.Post 10 btw.I dark checked.2 limpers.Button raises to 50.2 calls.I call.Flop K64 rainbow.Check,Check (I put the button on an actual hand and he isn't the type to bet an underpair here but would call a bet (especially an all-in,) so I check as well for info.)CheckTurn 2 CheckGuy2 Bet $200I'm 90% sure I have guy2 beat (wild player.) However, if I raise the botton will think that I am trying to steal it from the wild player and the button will know his pair is good. So I smooth call knowing the button won't think he can beat both of us and the button sighs and folds (pocket Jacks.) First position folds.River is the worst card-5 (K6542)I have $150 left and he puts me all in. (150 to win 750.)I gave it a 40% chance that he has A6 or 76 and then a 60% chance that he has 65, 54, 43.So obviously I call and he flips 65.If I had played it more aggressively the result would have been the same as this player would push and call with bottom/middle pair all night. So I was happy with how it played out.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

Locally, I find it's impossible to get a guy off a flush draw or open-ended straight draw for any amount at 5-10 @Commerce.Anyways, you wanted some hands and I haven't seen many so here is one.I bought in $400My first hand in cutoff, pocket 7s.Post 10 btw.I dark checked.2 limpers.Button raises to 50.2 calls.I call.

Do you consider laying this down at all? I know you've got 10 in and three other players, so you're getting 4-1 on your money, meaning this is a very close call even if you know he has AA. There's 160 in the pot, 200 when you call, so if you push any flop, 350 in, you're not really going to move anyone off an over pair if you don't happen to hit a set, right?

Flop K64 rainbow.Check,Check  (I put the button on an actual hand and he isn't the type to bet an underpair here but would call a bet (especially an all-in,)so I check as well for info.)Check

I absolutely love the bolded portion. I know exactly what you mean when you say he'd call an all in with TT, JJ, or QQ, but wouldn't bet it. I think we also forget that checking tells us a lot about the villain's hand as well. Good insight, that's what I was talking about.

Turn 2  CheckBet $200I'm 90% sure I have the bettor beat (wild player.)  However, if I raise the botton will think that I am trying to steal it from the wild player and he will know his pair is good.  So I smooth call knowing the button won't think he can beat both of us and the button sighs and folds (pocket Jacks.)  First position folds.

I like this. I think I often get myself into tough situations forcing the action when it's unnecessary. But, this leaves us with 150 behind into a 400 dollar pot, so we're pretty much forcing ourselves to show it down, correct?

River is the worst card-5 (K6542)I have $150 left and he puts me all in. (150 to win 750.)I gave it a 40% chance that he has A6 or 76 and then a 60% chance that he has 65, 54, 43.So obviously I call and he flips 65.If I had played it more aggressively the result would have been the same as this player would push and call with bottom/middle pair all night.  So I was happy with how it played out.

Obviously you have to call here. Do you think at any point you win this hand by pushing? Thanks a ton, for posting this. I really hope you'll post more in the strat section in the future.

[Loismustdie 0]

Locally, I find it's impossible to get a guy off a flush draw or open-ended straight draw for any amount at 5-10 @Commerce.Anyways, you wanted some hands and I haven't seen many so here is one.I bought in $400My first hand in cutoff, pocket 7s.Post 10 btw.I dark checked.2 limpers.Button raises to 50.2 calls.I call.

Do you consider laying this down at all? I know you've got 10 in and three other players, so you're getting 4-1 on your money, meaning this is a very close call even if you know he has AA. There's 160 in the pot, 200 when you call, so if you push any flop, 350 in, you're not really going to move anyone off an over pair if you don't happen to hit a set, right?

Flop K64 rainbow.Check,Check  (I put the button on an actual hand and he isn't the type to bet an underpair here but would call a bet (especially an all-in,)so I check as well for info.)Check

I absolutely love the bolded portion. I know exactly what you mean when you say he'd call an all in with TT, JJ, or QQ, but wouldn't bet it. I think we also forget that checking tells us a lot about the villain's hand as well. Good insight, that's what I was talking about.

Turn 2  CheckBet $200I'm 90% sure I have the bettor beat (wild player.)  However, if I raise the botton will think that I am trying to steal it from the wild player and he will know his pair is good.  So I smooth call knowing the button won't think he can beat both of us and the button sighs and folds (pocket Jacks.)  First position folds.

I like this. I think I often get myself into tough situations forcing the action when it's unnecessary. But, this leaves us with 150 behind into a 400 dollar pot, so we're pretty much forcing ourselves to show it down, correct?

River is the worst card-5 (K6542)I have $150 left and he puts me all in. (150 to win 750.)I gave it a 40% chance that he has A6 or 76 and then a 60% chance that he has 65, 54, 43.So obviously I call and he flips 65.If I had played it more aggressively the result would have been the same as this player would push and call with bottom/middle pair all night.  So I was happy with how it played out.

Obviously you have to call here. Do you think at any point you win this hand by pushing? Thanks a ton, for posting this. I really hope you'll post more in the strat section in the future.

I would have layed it down after the 50 dollar raise, but only because I am putting myself in the position that I cannot force anyone out after the flop if I miss, my stack is not big enough to make any moves. If I am sitting with more cash, maybe I call the 50 and go from there, but even then I am leery of the king, and any hand out there that could be better than sevens, which in this scenario is alot of hands. The way that I see this hand, and the way that I would have critiques myself had I played it this way is that I priced myself in when I should not have, which I have done many times. It happens. In my opinion, 400 is not nearly enough for 5-10 NL so to be honest, I have a hard time with this hand. I can sit 1-2, 2-4 and even 3-6 a little short but I couldn't do it at 5-10.

[teneight 1]

i felt like gambling tonight. i sat with $500. after going back and forth for atleast 30-40 hands, i got a feel for wbfinist. he was really aggressive, raising me and reraising me with any two cards. i was going to reraise his pf reraise but i decided to call since i had position on him. flop bricked and i couldnt put him on better hand since he clearly didnt want a call. he did this twice before and showed rags when i folded. it took me a while to make the all in call, but i just went with my gut feeling right before i was running out of time Hand #10717081-42434 at Garfield (No Limit Hold'em)Powered by UltimateBet teneight44108 is at seat 0 with $434. wbfinist is at seat 5 with $964.50. The button is at seat 0. teneight44108 posts the small blind of $5. wbfinist posts the big blind of $10. teneight44108: Jd Ad wbfinist: -- --Pre-flop: teneight44108 raises to $30. wbfinist re-raises to $90. teneight44108 calls. Flop (board: 5c 9d 2h): wbfinist goes all-in for $874.50. teneight44108 goes all-in for $344. wbfinist is returned $530.50 (uncalled). Turn (board: 5c 9d 2h 3h): (no action in this round) River (board: 5c 9d 2h 3h 9c): (no action in this round) Showdown: wbfinist shows 8s Ac. wbfinist has 8s Ac 5c 9d 9c: a pair of nines. teneight44108 shows Jd Ad. teneight44108 has Jd Ad 5c 9d 9c: a pair of nines, ace/jack kickers. Hand #10717081-42434 Summary: $.50 is raked from a pot of $868. teneight44108 wins $867.50 with a pair of nines..

[teneight 1]

i keeped playing him until i reach $992. decided to stop for the night since i'm tired and its already past 4am over here

[ChuckSty 0]

so you're not leaving?haha i love this forum...

Apparently, you missed the part where I said I was leaving the forum to go to the gas station. Don't post in this thread if you're not going to offer anything helpful, chucklefuck.

lol chucklefuck.

someone rang. i'll try and post some 5/10NL when i get stacked.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

You really aren't proud of that, are you?

[teneight 1]

sure, why not. made a correct read after i thought about it for a while. i couldnt put him on a strong hand from the way he was playing me this session. my AJs was good

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

sure, why not. made a correct read after i thought about it for a while. i couldnt put him on a strong hand from the way he was playing me this session.  my AJs was good

Your preflop play was bad. Your flop call was worse. But that's just my opinion. I'll post it in NLHE Strat and let the boys take a look.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

so you're not leaving?haha i love this forum...

Apparently, you missed the part where I said I was leaving the forum to go to the gas station. Don't post in this thread if you're not going to offer anything helpful, chucklefuck.

lol chucklefuck.

someone rang. i'll try and post some 5/10NL when i get stacked.

Outstanding, this is what I'm talking about, Chuck.It'd be much appreciated.

[teneight 1]

sure, why not. made a correct read after i thought about it for a while. i couldnt put him on a strong hand from the way he was playing me this session.  my AJs was good

Your preflop play was bad. Your flop call was worse. But that's just my opinion. I'll post it in NLHE Strat and let the boys take a look.

how was my pf play bad? i've played with him a few times at lower limits, and i got a feel for his play. very loose aggressive heads up.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

sure, why not. made a correct read after i thought about it for a while. i couldnt put him on a strong hand from the way he was playing me this session.  my AJs was good

Your preflop play was bad. Your flop call was worse. But that's just my opinion. I'll post it in NLHE Strat and let the boys take a look.

how was my pf play bad? i've played with him a few times at lower limits, and i got a feel for his play. very loose aggressive heads up.

I'll post my reply in Strat this afternoon/tonight after other people take a look. I don't want to influence anyone.

[teneight 1]

DD, please read the nlhstrat page regarding the hand i posted.thanks

[mbreon 0]

I will be in Vegas this weekend, DD, and will most likely wander over to the MGM's 10/25 NL game if it's still around. I don't really post in strat but might be up for posting a few hands on there (if I can remember them in detail). I will play plenty of 5/10 NL as well, though I am sure by my posting in strat will only prove how much of a donkey I really am.

[allinbluff35 0]

I know Allinbluff was playing 1k NL for awhile, not sure if he still does.

no, I went bust. I've beat every game I've played from .05/.10 to 10/20 NL but yeah, 25/50 NL, that I can't beat.

[Pupsta 0]

I know Allinbluff was playing 1k NL for awhile, not sure if he still does.

no, I went bust. I've beat every game I've played from .05/.10 to 10/20 NL but yeah, 25/50 NL, that I can't beat.

YSAPKY

[pwoblo 0]

Locally, I find it's impossible to get a guy off a flush draw or open-ended straight draw for any amount at 5-10 @Commerce.Anyways, you wanted some hands and I haven't seen many so here is one.I bought in $400My first hand in cutoff, pocket 7s.Post 10 btw.I dark checked.2 limpers.Button raises to 50.2 calls.I call.Flop K64 rainbow.Check,Check (I put the button on an actual hand and he isn't the type to bet an underpair here but would call a bet (especially an all-in,) so I check as well for info.)CheckTurn 2 CheckGuy2 Bet $200I'm 90% sure I have guy2 beat (wild player.) However, if I raise the botton will think that I am trying to steal it from the wild player and the button will know his pair is good. So I smooth call knowing the button won't think he can beat both of us and the button sighs and folds (pocket Jacks.) First position folds.River is the worst card-5 (K6542)I have $150 left and he puts me all in. (150 to win 750.)I gave it a 40% chance that he has A6 or 76 and then a 60% chance that he has 65, 54, 43.So obviously I call and he flips 65.If I had played it more aggressively the result would have been the same as this player would push and call with bottom/middle pair all night. So I was happy with how it played out.

So much bad advice in one hand. I love how you think a call is stronger play. Not only is a raise a general indication of a stronger hand, but it also puts the button in a situation where he is squeezed by the SB. This means that even if he finds a way to call the raise with that hand, then he may have to face another raise of SB. Second, how could he possibly "know" you were stealing? Both of you called a preflop raise and checked to the raiser. Facing a bet and a raise on the turn after this action with this info almost always means that 2 hands that hit the flop were 'checked to the raiser' on the flop. However, the comment that really takes the cake is that

Locally, I find it's impossible to get a guy off a flush draw or open-ended straight draw for any amount at 5-10 @Commerce.

foreshadowing this:

So obviously I call and he flips 65.If I had played it more aggressively the result would have been the same as this player would push and call with bottom/middle pair all night. So I was happy with how it played out.

If they can't lay a flush or straight draw down, then charge them a lot with made hands. Duh.However, I really can't believe you said you were ok with the result because if you had played it more aggressively he still woulda hit. Wow. This is RESULTS BASED THINKING, and it is no way to play poker. It's not about what happens, it's about the decisions you make.e.g. You have AA on a T 9 8 7 board with 2 hearts. If a retard who cannot tell a lie flips over 23 of hearts and tells you i call turn no matter what you do, then you push. That's the best play. If a filthy heart spikes on the river, then tough that's poker. All you can do is make better decisions.

[Fullhouse7 0]

Online tourney analysis that applies to ALL limits and (aside from B&M tells/online betting patterns) applies to sng's as well . CLick http://www.zeejustin.com/articles.php?art_id=6 or read here. Best analysis I've read in a long time:Inside My Tournament Game [07.20.2005]On Sunday, I entered a $350+28 tournament on Party. The tournament attracted an astounding 2,334 players, and first place prize was just over $171,000. The Stars Sunday tournament was also big, and I decided that since the prize pools were so big, and since I could use a bit of real tournament practice before the upcoming WPT, that I would only play these two tables for the day, and really concentrate on playing my A game.The easiest way to win at virtually all limits online is to play extremely tight solid poker. Lots of players, great winning players even, will play this tight game, and mix it up randomly. They will throw in random steals here and there, and make random bluffs too. One of the biggest differences between a great player and a world class player, is the world class player doesn’t do things randomly. He can give you a reason for every raise with trash he makes, tell you why he bluffed in any given spot, and justify every single play he makes.For this tournament, I concentrated on the details and played my A game. I’m going to take you inside my tournament game, and show you how I think. Instead of my normal tournament reports where I just summarize a bunch of hands, I’m going to go into greater detail in the hands where I think the reader can learn something.In the 3rd hand of the tournament, UTG and UTG+2 limped. I was 2 off the button and called with 86o hoping to hit a flop big. The cut off and the blinds came along. 6 players saw the flop of 632 rainbow. It checked to me, and I felt like I had the best hand, but my hand was too vulnerable to give a free card, so I bet 60 into the 90 chip pot. That took it down.With the blinds at 10/20, I found TT in middle position. The UTG player opened for 75, and another EP player called. I also called the raise and so did the small blind making it 4 players to a flop. The flop came JT6 with two clubs. The SB checked, and UTG bet 275 into the 320 chip pot. EP called, and I decided to push all-in for 1500.UTG probably had an overpair, although AK was also a decent possibility. I know that I have to fear any queen king or ace that comes. With EP calling the bet, I would also have to fear any card that completes a straight draw, as well as any club. With so many cards that scare me, I didn’t want to call and play a guessing game on the turn. It was better to just push all-in. I also get the added benefit of masking the strength of my hand. Very few players will play a set this fast, so if UTG does have an overpair, I will most likely get all his chips anyway.As it turned out, UTG had QQ and EP had A8 of clubs (a 4 flush), and they both called my all-in. The turn and river both blanked, and I had 4500 chips very early in the tournament.An orbit later, with blinds at 15/30, I found KK in middle position. UTG limped, and I raised to 120. Only UTG called, and the two of us saw a flop of 752 with 2 diamonds (I had 1 diamond). UTG checked, and I bet 225 into the 285 chip pot. UTG called.The turn was a 6 of spades, putting a second flush draw on the board. There were 735 chips in the pot, my opponent had 715 chips left. I still had over 4,000 chips behind. A lot of players will just go all-in here to scare a flush draw or a straight draw away, but I decided to bet 450.Since this pot is heads up, it is easy to determine my equity. If I push all-in, my opponent will most likely fold any draw, thus his equity is zero. If I bet 450, my opponent can fold for the same zero equity. He also has the option to call. If he has a flush draw, he has 8 outs (Note that one diamond is in my hand). That is the hand I am most worried about. In order to calculate his equity, we need to make assumptions for the river. Let’s assume that he will check fold when he misses, but when he hits, he will bet and I will call. Note that I will be committed to call any river bet if I think there’s any reasonable chance of having the best hand.We have now created two situations if he calls. He can miss and lose 450 chips (equity in this situation is -450). Or, he can call and hit. His equity in this situation is the number of chips in the pot plus the number of chips he will win from me. 735 + 715 is 1450. For this play to be profitable, he needs to hit 1 out of (1450 / 450) times, or 1 out of 3.22 times. He will hit 1 out of ((44-8)/ 8) times, or 1 out of 4.5 times. This means that calling has negative equity.By betting 450 instead of going all-in, I give my opponent a chance to make an incorrect play. If he makes an incorrect play, my benefit is exactly the same as the equity he loses, and I therefore prefer my opponent to make an incorrect play. Chances are he will just fold anyway, but why wouldn’t I give my opponent a good chance to make a worse decision?As it turned out, my opponent had A6 of diamonds and decided to call. The river was a 4 of diamonds, one of the scariest cards in the deck. However, there were 1635 chips in the pot, so I had to call my opponents all in of 265.Given this new piece of information (the opponents hand), we can now reevaluate the situation. Two important things are changed. First off, instead of having 8 outs, my opponent actually had 13 outs (8 diamonds, 3 aces and 2 sixes). Secondly, since my opponent has a pair, we can also assume he will call when he misses as he will be committed with only 265 chips left, and 1635 chips in the pot.Now when he calls and misses, he loses 715 chips. When he calls and hits, he still wins 1450 chips. For this to be profitable, he needs to hit 1 out of (1450 / 715) times, or 1 out of 2.03 times. He will hit 1 out of ((44-13)/13) times, or 1 out of 2.38 times. This means that even though he had 5 additional outs, his call still had negative expectation assuming he would call any river.To most people, this will seem like a simple hand, but as you can see, there really is a lot to think about. I should clarify that I simplified the scenario by giving my opponent 8 outs. In reality, he can have many hands that are much weaker, and a few hands that are significantly stronger. You simply have to make a reasonable estimate at the table based on the likelihood of his different holdings. The most complex part of this hand, however, is knowing how big of a mistake your opponent is capable of making. If he will call an all-in, the correct play is to just go all-in. If not, you should basically bet as much as you think he will call (unless of course that amount is small enough to give his call positive equity).There is not enough time to do all this thinking at the table, so you need to do this type of thinking away from the table. After you do this, you will have a better feel for the math without having to go over all of the possible scenarios in the middle of the hand.A couple hands later, I found 98o in the big blind. A loose, bad player limped in EP, and so did the button. I checked and the 3 of us saw the flop of A93 with 2 hearts (I had no hearts). We all checked the flop. The turn was an off-suit deuce. It checked to the button who bet 30 (the minimum) into the 105 chip pot. I couldn’t put him on an ace, so I called thinking my hand was probably good. EP also called. The turn was an off-suit 7. I checked and EP bet 125 into the 195 chip pot. Given the way he played so far, there was no way I could put EP on an ace or a pocket pair higher than 9’s. It seemed much more likely that he was bluffing on the river since no one had shown any strength. There was also the possibility of a missed flush draw, or that he rivered a pair of 7’s. I was only really worried about my pair of 9’s being out kicked, or a rivered two pair, but I thought the other possibilities were much more likely. I called, and EP showed KQo. My 9 was good.During 75/150 blinds, a player 4 off the button opened for 450. He had a stack of 5500. I called on the button with 99 and a stack of 5k. The flop came KJ8. He checked. Very few players will check this flop with a hand that hit the flop. It is very likely that he has a pocket pair lower than jacks, or AQ. I bet 700 on the flop. The fact that I had 99 here is irrelevant. I will make this play with any two cards. This is a very standard hand. Basically, when someone raises preflop and checks a flop like this, it is usually because they missed and are afraid the flop hit you. My read was correct and he folded.At 100/200 blinds, a player with 9k opened for 600 utg. I had 6k in middle position and called. A lot of beginning players feel inclined to reraise with QQ, but it is often better to see a flop. You can easily get away if an A or K flops and save yourself money vs. hands like AK, or even hands like AJ. Also, most underpairs and other inferior hands will simply fold to a reraise. Note that is almost never applies if the stacks are small, or the pot has not yet been raised.The player in the small blind raised to 1400, UTG called, and so did I.The flop was T84 with 2 diamonds, and the SB bet 1,000 into the 4.4k pot. UTG folded. I did not think the SB would make a bet this small with KK or AA, so I felt like my hand was best. I pushed all-in, and SB folded.I had 13k at 200/400 blinds when I found AKo 2 off the button. It folded to me and I opened for 1000. Only the SB called. The flop was AQ8 rainbow, the SB checked. I bet 1500 into the 2.4k pot, and the SB minraised to 3000. I called. The turn was a 3. My opponent had 10.5k chips, I had 9.1k chips and there were 8.4k chips in the pot. When my opponent checked the turn, I ruled out him having two pair or a set. Surely he would follow up with another bet if he had either of those hands. I put him on a weak ace and thought about how I could get him to double me up.I bet 2700 into the 8400 chip pot. It’s a small bet, and I figured my opponent would likely call it with a weak ace. Notice that he only has 3 outs with a weak ace, so I don’t have to worry too much about protecting my hand. He called my bet of 2700.The river was a 3. This was a great card for me. If my opponent has Ax, it is likely that he will call the river since he now splits the pot with any ace with a higher kicker except for AK. Also, my turn bet made it so that there was just under 14,000 chips, and I had 6400 behind. I moved all-in, and sure enough my opponent felt committed and called with A7.Note that the small turn bet is crucial. It is small enough so that he will call it with a weak hand on the turn, but also big enough so that he will feel committed on the river. Finding the balance between those two aspects can be crucial.Another example of where pot size and stack size determines the correct play came up during 400/800 blinds. It folded to the small blind who minraised. I decided to call with 92s in the big blind and try to take it away if I sensed weakness. I will call in this spot with almost any 2 cards. It is such a huge advantage to have position in spots like this. I also think the minraise from the small blind is terrible. Since he is out of position, it is to his advantage to keep the pot small. It would be much better for him to call. The other option is of course to make a big raise, and not have to worry about postflop play. Unless he has aces or kings, minraising is horrid.The flop came K83 with two diamonds giving me a four flush. My opponent checked. There were 3200 chips in the pot. My opponent had 7600 behind, and I had him way covered with 25k chips. Often times, with a flush draw in similar spots, I will bet as a semi bluff. There are two betting options here. I can make a normal bet of around ¾ the pot. This gives my opponent the chance to check raise me and put me in an awful position. On the other hand, I can just move all-in, but an ovebet like that looks too suspicious, and the last thing I want is to get a call from a terrible hand that has my 9 high beat. Taking a free card seemed much more profitable.The turn was another 8 putting a second flush draw on the board. My opponent bet 1700 chips into the 3200 chip pot. I decided that my opponent had either a really weak hand or a really strong hand. A weak hand makes sense because he didn’t follow up with his preflop raise on the flop. A strong hand also makes sense if he was slowplaying his hand on the flop, or just made trips on the turn. I called his bet, hoping to hit a flush and take all his chips on the river. I also decided that he would most likely bet with a huge hand on the river, so if he checked, I would move all-in to push him off his marginal hand.The river was the ace of diamonds completing my flush. My opponent moved all-in for 5900 into the 6600 chip pot, and I had an easy call. He turned over A6o, and my read was right. If the river wasn’t an ace, he would have almost surely checked and folded to my all-in. I was sitting in great shape with 35,000 chips after that hand.Not long after that, we were on the bubble and my table started playing very slowly and very tight, trying to make it into the money. I did what I always do with a big stack in this spot and started stealing blinds from the players that I thought were weak. Things backfired a bit at 500/1000 blinds… sort of. A player with 13,500 chips opened for 3300 in middle position. I had A5o in the small blind. 3300 was a large raise for the table, and I felt that it meant he really wanted to just take the blinds and not worry about playing a big pot on the bubble. I reraised to 15,000 to put him to the test. He thought for a while and finally called with AQo. Oops! Luck, however, was on my side, and I spiked a 5 on the turn.A lot of players will look back on spots like this and think, “Man that was stupid of me.” The truth is, you can’t be results oriented like that in poker. Sure he called with a better hand, but I don’t regret making a move. He thought for a while before calling with AQo. I really put him to the test. If he had a hand that was just slightly worse, he would have folded for sure. The table was playing really tight, backing off to any real pressure, and no one was playing any big pots, and my opponent in this hand was no exception up to this point. There is no play in poker that you can make with a 100% success rate, so when you get caught, you need to look at more than just the results.I kept stealing blinds until we were in the money and I had a monster stack of 60,000 chips. I was right behind the chip leader.During 1k/2k blinds, I found aces on the button. A loose and bad player limped in middle position, and I raised to 7000. He called. The flop came KJ7, and my opponent pushed all-in for 33,500 into the 17k pot. I had been watching my opponent carefully for a while, and we even had a few confrontations. Against most players, I will call this instantly. Against the opponent in this hand, I almost broke my mouse from clicking call too furiously. As it turned out, he had KQo. The turn and river blanked, and I became the first player in the tourney to break 100k chips. I had a huge chiplead.Another huge hand came up during 2k/4k blinds. I opened for 10k in early position with AK of hearts and only the small blind called. The flop came T83 with 2 diamonds and my opponent moved all-in for 26,500. There were 24k chips in the pot. There are three hands you will be shown in this spot. The first and most likely hand is a couple of overcards that missed the flop like KQo. The second most likely hand is a draw of some sort, most likely a flush draw. The third hand he could have is a small pocket pair. Given these three ranges of hands, and that only the least likely hand is ahead of me, I decided to call. He showed AQo, and I was a huge favorite. The turn was a jack, and the river a queen – giving me the nut straight.A lot of people told me this was a great call, but to be honest, I think it is a very easy call. If my opponent had a huge hand, or he had hit the flop big, there is no way he would have played his hand that fast. I raised preflop, so at the very least he would expect me to bet and try to get a check raise in. The fact that he moved all-in indicated that he wasn’t strong and that he wanted to take the pot down right there. I should also mention that the pot was laying me just under 2-1 to call. If my read is off and he has a hand like T9o, then I need 3-1 to call. Calling would be a mistake if I knew he had this hand, but not a huge mistake. If instead I had folded, and my opponent showed KQo, I would have made a MUCH bigger mistake than calling vs T9o.After this hand, my monster stack got bigger and I had 150,000 chips. I lost a lot of chips during 3000/6000 blinds when the small blind pushed all-in with KTo, and I called with AQo in the big blind. It’s frustrating losing a pot with over 50,000 chips when you get the chips in with the best hand, but I still had almost 100,000 chips to work with, so I wasn’t gonna get worried just yet. Little did I know that my demise was just two hands away.During 3000/6000 blinds it folded to a player 2 off the button who pushed all-in for 1000 (not even enough to call the blinds). I had QQ on the button and raised to 16,000. Only the big blind called. The flop came T65 with 2 diamonds. My opponent checked, and I bet 20,000 into the 36,000 chip pot. My opponent check raised to 40,000. This was a somewhat worrisome bet, but in a button vs. big blind confrontation, my hand was too strong to do anything but push. I moved all-in for 74,000, and he called and flipped up TT for top set. The turn and river blanked, and I was out of the tournament.This is another spot where even though the results were ugly, there is no reason why I should regret my play. QQ is a monster hand in that scenario, and it’s unfortunate that I ran into a better hand. There is no way I could have even considered a fold on that board, and I’m not going to question the way I played it.If you only take one thing from this article, it should be this: poker is a very complex game, and if you want to become great, you have to consider all of the smaller details. Sometimes the math may drive your decision, and other times it may be a read on your opponent. Whatever your reason is for making a certain play, make sure you have one. Don’t bet just because you raised preflop. Don’t move all-in just because you have a flush draw. Don’t fold just because your opponent moved all-in. Think things through. My goal in this article was to give you a feel for what kind of things I think about at the table. Now that you know the factors that go into each decision I make, you can begin thinking on the same level. No one will ever be perfect at poker, but the more you think about these concepts, the closer you will be.

[Timid 0]

"So much bad advice in one hand. I love how you think a call is stronger play. Not only is a raise a general indication of a stronger hand, but it also puts the button in a situation where he is squeezed by the SB. This means that even if he finds a way to call the raise with that hand, then he may have to face another raise of SB."Obviously its your opinion that a call is weaker than a raise here...but to your credit there are some factors left out.I left out:1. Played over 1000 hands with both players.2. The button isn't the type of player to realize the SB is even in the hand.If I raised there, button pushes all in with Jacks, I'd say 19 out of 20 times. This is why if I had a king I would have raised.BTW folding preflop not an option as you start with $400 min/max game, so action is crazy..even though Im only getting paid 3-1 at the time..implied odds are greater than 7-1..esp with this players. How this flop got checked I am still unsure.