Bluff and Counter Bluff
Phil Ivey vs. Paul Jackson
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Playing Heads-Up
Heads-up play is one of the most important aspects of poker, and many players could benefit from strengthening this part of their game.
Position is crucial in heads-up play. So is aggression and reading your opponent. In fact, playing aggressively in position can often be the deciding factor in whether or not you win the pot. You can have a much worse hand, but if you trust your reads, you can often take the pot with the right board.
Playing Position
I don’t recommend playing that many raised pots out of position – in other words, don’t call a lot of raises from the big blind. Hands like two face cards, A-8 and up, and pairs are worth re-raising with. Hands like 8-7 suited are fairly worthless because suited connectors like these can be easily dominated by larger hands and lose a lot of their value heads up.
In general, I’m looking for big cards like K-10. Even though these cards are easily dominated in ring games, they play much stronger heads up. If I hit a big pair with cards like these I can feel comfortable going with it, which is something that’s hard to do with middle cards like 6-5.
I’m usually going to do one of two things in the big blind when I’m heads up; fold or re-raise. My standard re-raise is between three and four times my opponent’s bet, and by pumping up the pot pre-flop, I’m making it difficult for my opponent to call me with marginal hands. If he does call, I can always make a post-flop continuation bet or lay down my hand if I’ve missed and my opponent leads out at the pot.
The only time I call out of position is when my opponent plays back at me by moving in a lot. My decision here comes back to paying attention to my opponent’s tendencies and going with my reads.
Reading is Fundamental
Reading your opponent becomes even more important in heads-up play. Because your opponent is likely to raise with a much larger range of hands heads up, making reads is much more difficult. Learning to gauge your opponent’s hand requires paying close attention to their patterns. Do they always raise the button? How often do they call your button raises? Do they ever re-raise from the big blind? Asking questions like these helps to narrow down their possibilities.
You have to trust your reads enough to act on them. If you sense strength, are you willing to lay down the second-best hand? If you sense weakness, will you apply the pressure it takes to win the pot?
In my experience in both ring games and heads up, many players try to accumulate chips too quickly. If you just sit back and wait for your opponents to make mistakes, you’ll end up with all of the chips in the end. For instance, you should avoid making pot-sized bets when smaller bets will usually accomplish the same goals with less risk. Sometimes half-pot bets are even too high and betting the minimum is enough to gather the information you need about your opponent’s hand.
This becomes especially true when your opponent becomes short-stacked. In these cases, I will usually limp on the button once they are around the 10 big blind range. If I do raise, I must have a hand I’m willing to go with because my opponent’s only options are folding or pushing. Some people think it’s weak to limp on the button, but I don’t want to keep folding semi-decent hands in this situation. By limping when my opponent is short, they have to decide if they want to gamble with a high-risk/low-reward all-in move to win one of my blinds.
In heads-up tournaments you want to play in position, trust your reads, and play small pots to build a lead. Once you have a 3-1 lead, then you’re looking for hands to gamble with against your opponent’s short stack.
I’ve had a lot of success using these principles in heads-up play; they were instrumental in helping me win the 2007 National Heads-Up Championship. Put these ideas into practice and you may find the extra edge you need the next time you’re playing heads up.
Playing Small and Medium Pocket Pairs in No-Limit Hold’em
Ring Game Play
In ring games, I like to build a really small pot when I have these hands in early and middle position. Sometimes I’ll make a min raise; other times I’ll just limp in. I want to keep the pot small when I have a small or medium pair because I lay them down if I’m faced with a large re-raise.
If I min-raise or limp in and an opponent makes a small raise, I can call, but if I open with a big raise and my opponent comes over the top, I’m not usually getting the right odds to call. By keeping the pot small, I have a better chance of seeing a flop and I may pull other players into the hand. Then if I do flop a set, someone’s going to pay me off. To me, the biggest moneymakers in No-Limit ring games are small sets, like 2s and 3s, because they’re so disguised.
A lot of players get overly aggressive with the middle pairs: 8s, 9s, and 10s. They raise before the flop with them, but if the blinds fold, they’re only going to win a small pot. I’d much rather try to win a big pot by flopping a set. If the flop comes J-8-2 and I have pocket 8s while my opponent has a hand like K-J, I’m going to win a big pot a lot of the time.
If I’m in late position and have a small or medium pair, I’ll raise in hope of taking the blinds if nobody else has entered the pot. If one of the blinds calls, I’ll try to win the pot with a bet on the flop, but if both blinds call my raise, I’ll be more cautious. Against multiple opponents I’m trying to flop a set. If I don’t and there are several overcards on the board, I’ll check if it gets checked to me and I’ll probably fold if one of my opponents bets. If I’m in late position and someone in early position raises pre-flop, I’ll generally just call and hope to flop a set.
Tournament Play
In tournaments you have to treat small and medium pairs much differently that you do in ring games. You have to play them more conservatively because you can’t usually rebuy. In fact, I will often fold 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s under the gun in tournaments. In ring games, I always play these hands because of my implied odds. Even if I lose 15 of these hands in a row, I can always rebuy. In a tournament, if I lose five times in a row, it’s going to really hurt my stack.
How I play small pairs in tournaments often depends on the size of my chip stack. If I have a big stack and get dealt a pair of 3s or 4s, I might raise, hoping to win the blinds and antes. However, if I’m on a short stack and in late position, I might just move all-in.
In tournaments I try to stay away from middle pairs because they can cause big problems and tough decisions. Let’s say I call a pre-flop raise with pocket 9s and the flop comes 10-4-2. In a ring game, I would check and call or possibly check-raise trying to find out if my 9s were good. In a tournament, however, that’s scarier because you really have to be careful about the amount of chips you use to get this information.
My decision is easy when there’s an Ace or King on the flop, but when the flop is 10-4-2 and I’ve got pocket 9s, it becomes very difficult. You can’t fold every time, but you don’t want to get too crazy in these situations either. Middle pairs are so difficult to play that I notice that I often find my best tournament results come when I simply stay away from them.
The beauty of small and medium pairs is that they very rarely get you into trouble. However, when they do, it really hurts. When the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2007 World Series of Poker got down to the last three tables, I opted to defend my blind with pocket 3s. The flop came J-8-3. My opponent and I got all our money into the pot, but as it turned out, he had pocket 8s. When you do flop set over set and you have the bottom end of it, you really get punished. But when that’s not the case – and it usually isn’t – you’re going to be in great shape.
Greg Mueller
Full Tilt Pro
When to Continuation Bet
When you raise pre-flop in a game of No-Limit Hold ‘em and are called, you’re faced with a decision when the flop hits the board. Should you put out a continuation bet on the flop or should you check and let the turn come off for free? Of course, there are a variety of factors that will effect any decision in a hand of poker, but if I was the one who raised pre-flop, I’ll put out a continuation bet on the flop a large proportion of the time.
I can afford to put out a lot of continuation bets, whether I hit or not, because my post-flop bets are usually pretty small – about half the size of the pot. Pre-flop, I normally raise to three times the big blind, then on the flop, I’ll put out a bet of the same amount. When I bet these relatively small sums, I don’t put a whole lot at risk. If I get check-raised on a flop that I missed, I can fold without having lost a whole lot of chips. Most of the time, however, my opponents will have missed the flop, so my small bet will win me the pot right there.
While I prefer to put out continuation bets on most flops, there are some situations where checking is the right play. For example, say I raised with K-T and was called by the big blind. The flop of A-J-2 gives me a gutshot straight draw. I know my opponent in the hand likes to check-raise on top pair. When he checks to me on the flop, I’m happy to check behind and have the free draw to the nuts. If my opponent hit something like two-pair, I could double up if the Queen comes on the turn.
I also like to check the flop in hands where I’m either very far ahead or very behind. Say I raise pre-flop in late position with pocket Kings. The flop comes A-J-3. Here, my pair of Kings is either very far ahead (if he missed completely or has something like pocket 5s) or is very far behind (if he hit an Ace). In a spot like this, I don’t want to get check-raised and I don’t want to just give up, so I’ll often check the flop and then call a bet on the turn. I can then try to get a read on my opponent if he bets the river. The worst thing I can do in this sort of situation is to put out a big bet on the flop and then call an all-in check-raise.
As with every aspect of poker, it’s vital that your continuation bets don’t become predictable. If you check every time you miss and bet every time you make top pair or better, then you’re opponents will know exactly how to play against you. They’ll be able to bet any pair with total confidence. So occasionally, you’ll want to check when you hit top pair on the flop. Your hand will be disguised and you’ll stand to win a big pot if you hit trips on the turn. Showing that you can sometimes check a good hand will keep your opponents off balance.
It’s a good idea to put out frequent continuation bets, but also be sure to look for spots where a check may be to your advantage. If you’ve got a draw or hold a hand that will be difficult to play for a raise, a flop check may be your best play. Also be sure to mix up your play – being unpredictable is vital to playing winning poker.
Andy Bloch
Team Full Tilt
Buying In Short in Pot-Limit Omaha
It’s amazing the difference that two cards can make. As opposed to Hold ‘em where players have two hole cards at the start of each hand, Omaha starts each player off with four cards, which makes both pre- and post-flop play much more challenging, especially for those who are new to the game.
In fact, Pot-Limit Omaha can be so complicated that when playing it in a ring game, I think your best move is to buy in for the minimum – especially if you’re not as experienced as the other players at the table. Even if you’re a really good player, it’s an advantage to buy in short because it will be a lot easier to make a move when you get dealt a big hand.
Let’s say you get Aces before the flop. If you’ve bought in for the minimum, you’ll often be able to get most of your chips into the pot pre-flop, which should always be your goal when you know you have the best hand. Once you get your chips in, your opponents won’t be able to push you off your hand. You will be able to see all five cards on the board while they’ll be trying to bet each other out of the pot. If you’re a beginning player, you’re not going to get trapped or outplayed because you’re already all-in.
Or let’s say you flop a set. Once again, if you’re short you’re going to be able to get all your money into the pot and if a scare card comes – for example, one that could give your opponent a straight – you won’t have to figure out what to do with your hand. If you had a big stack in this situation and were playing against a very aggressive player, he might bet the pot on the turn and you wouldn’t be able to call.
Conversely, let’s say you’ve got a strong draw and it’s a multi-way pot. If you’ve bought in for the minimum, you can stick everything into the pot and you’ve got a good chance of tripling or even quadrupling up. Your opponents won’t be able to bet you out of the hand because you’ll have already shoved all your chips into the pot.
There are some advantages to buying in for the maximum, but only if you’re a strong player who can put your opponents on a hand and you’re really confident in your ability to outplay them. Then, when a scare card hits the board, you can be the one forcing your opponents off their hands by making a huge bet. You’d also be wise to buy in for the maximum when there’s a really weak player with a big stack sitting at your table. In that situation you’d want as big a stack as possible so you could take advantage of the weaker player.
Your position at the table is also an important factor when deciding how much to buy in for. If there’s a weak player with a big stack on your right, then you might want to buy in for a lot of chips. But if there’s a tough player with a big stack sitting behind you, even if you think you’re a better player than he is, you’d still be better off buying in short.
When playing Pot-Limit Omaha in a ring game, my philosophy has always been to buy in short. I suggest you do the same, especially if you’re new to the game.
Lee Watkinson
Full Tilt Pro
Small Pockets and Big Stacks
Michael Craig
Full Tilt Poker Blog
I played the World Series of Poker Main Event for the first time in 2006 and like all rookies, I was involved in endless discussions of "The Hypothetical." You know, it’s the first hand and you’re in the big blind. Five players move all-in. You look down at pocket Aces. What do you do?
Some first-timers insist they will fold, and plenty more at least entertain the idea. Chances are that no one has to face The Hypothetical, but what about the more plausible nightmares at the beginning of a deep-stack tournament? What if you raise with Aces and get four callers? What if you have Queens in the big blind after a raise and re-raise? The early stages of a big tournament can be mortal terror for a neophyte.
Experienced players make fun of the rookies’ discomfort, but they ignore the underlying issue at their peril: with a giant stack and a lot of action, a premium hand like pocket Aces can quickly lead to trouble.
This is why I think there are a lot of times when pocket 5s are better than pocket Aces. In fact, when I get pocket 5s, I may want to be against pocket Aces. This idea synthesizes advice I received from three of my expert collaborators on The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition.
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Andy Bloch "In his chapter on pre-flop No-Limit Hold ‘em, Andy explains how your goal with A-A is to get all your chips committed when you’re a huge favorite or are playing against a single opponent. The deeper the stacks, the less likely you are to accomplish these objectives.
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Chris Ferguson "Chris’ philosophy is to minimize the number of difficult decisions you have to make during a hand, and maximize the number of difficult decisions your opponents have to make. With enough chips for betting throughout the hand, a player with an over-pair faces decisions that get more difficult on each successive street.
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Richard Brodie "In his chapter about online No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments, Richard explains how tournaments have two phases: the "implied-odds" phase and the "showdown-value" phase. When stacks are deep, you want to accumulate chips with hands that offer the best implied odds " hands that can make the nuts and/or out-flop an opponent willing to double you up with a "superior" starting hand.
Playing Aces can be dangerous when you and your opponents have deep stacks. In contrast, a small pocket pair like 5-5 can’t get you in much trouble. Given that you’re going to flop a set approximately 1 time in 8, how do you know when it’s worth playing small pairs if you only have a 12% chance of making a strong hand?
For the answer, you should consider the following factors:
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Stack size " If it costs more than 12% of your stack to see the flop, you’re not getting the right implied odds. Adding in the times when you make a set but don’t get a big payoff, you need at least 15 times the size of the raise (probably 50 times the big blind) to achieve the risk/reward ratio that lets you call with small pocket pairs. (In these calculations, the relevant stack size is the smaller of your stack or your opponent’s.)
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Pre-flop position " The best situation is being in late position, calling the raise of a tight player in early position. Ol’ Tighty probably has the kind of hand that will pay you off if you hit. In late position, you can even possibly call a re-raise with a small pocket pair. You need more than 8 times the cost of the call, but not much more " the re-raise suggests a hand that will pay you off. (You have to consider, however, that anyone left to act may push all-in before the flop.) In early position, there’s a temptation to limp with a small pocket pair so you can call a late-position raise. That’s a mistake for several reasons. You give away information about how you play (both in this hand and in the hands where you don’t open-limp), create a limper-friendly hand that is unlikely to win you a big pot, and make it easy for Mr. Aces in late position to make a giant re-raise to chase you (and other limpers) out.
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Post-flop play " All streets after the flop are Easy Street. If you miss, you have an easy decision to fold. If you hit, you have an easy decision to play fast and get that over-pair or top-pair/top-kicker to try to push you out (especially if the flop suggests you might be moving with a drawing hand). With small pocket pairs, post-flop position isn’t that important, and that’s rare in No-Limit Hold ‘em. If you join me in taking the advice of these outstanding poker pros, you can be causing, rather than suffering from, nightmares in the early stages of a tournament, whether it’s online at Full Tilt Poker or at the WSOP Main Event.
If you join me in taking the advice of these outstanding poker pros, you can be causing, rather than suffering from, nightmares in the early stages of a tournament, whether it’s online at Full Tilt Poker or at the WSOP Main Event.
Michael Craig
Full Tilt Poker Blog
A Calling Hand in Stud Hi-Lo
In split-pot games, beginners are often cautioned against playing hands that have them drawing to half the pot. But in Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, a situation sometimes arises where drawing with a modest chance at the whole pot and an even smaller chance at half the pot is clearly the correct play.
Say you’re playing eight-handed, $4/$8 Stud Hi/Lo, with a $1 ante and a $1 low card bring in. You’re dealt 2s-5d-5c and, with the low card showing, you bring it in for $1. It’s folded to a player showing a King, who completes to $4. Everyone else folds; you call and head to Fourth Street.
Both you and your opponent pick up a 7. He bets $4 and you call. On Fifth Street, you pick up a Jack and he gets a 4. You have [2s]-[5d]-5c-7h-Jc and your opponent shows [x]-[x]-Kd-7s-4c. At this point, you’re pretty convinced that your opponent has a pair of Kings. You look at your hand and see that you don’t have much, a low pair and three to a low. You might be tempted to fold if your opponent bets, but that would be a mistake.
The action so far has already created a significant pot. There’s $8 in antes, and another $16 from the betting on Third and Fourth Streets. You’ll need to call bets of $8 on Fifth and Sixth Street to try to make your hand, so it will cost you $16. If you manage to make two pair and it holds up, you’d win about $50. That’s a pretty good price.
The odds here are so compelling that even if you were playing Seven-Card Stud Hi only, you’d have to consider calling your opponent down. You’d have a 30 percent chance of cracking the Kings, which isn’t quite enough to justify calling against an over-pair. However, if there was a chance that your opponent was bluffing, then calling would be okay.
However, Stud-Hi/Lo gives you an additional way of getting money out of the pot. You’ll go runner-runner to a low often enough so that your pot equity increases to about 37 percent. Those odds are way too good to consider folding.
Stud-Hi/Lo is a complex game that presents players with decisions that they’re not going to encounter in Hold ‘em or in any other high-only game. If you’re looking to improve your Stud-Hi/Lo game, play some hands online, and then try running some computer simulations to see if you’re making the best mathematical decisions.
Howard Lederer
Team Full Tilt
Satellite Savviness
Satellites offer a great way to get big discounts on tournament entry fees. Over the years, many of Full Tilt Poker‘s best known pros have spent a lot of time playing in satellite tournaments, both in live venues and online. Some, like Gavin Smith, even made their reputations and their livings by travelling the tournament circuit and playing single-table satellites for their cash value.
The fact is, satellites provide much more than the chance to save some money on a $10K buy-in; they also serve as great warm-ups for big tournaments, and a convenient way to focus your game and sharpen your skills before playing for big money.
With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a collection of resources that should help you hone your tournament game in preparation for playing in Full Tilt Poker‘s wide variety of World Series of Poker qualifier tournaments.
If you have some Full Tilt Points to spare, we suggest you head to the Full Tilt Store and pick up some great books on tournament poker. The three books in the Harrington on Hold ‘em series are excellent. David Sklansky’s Theory of Poker may not apply strictly to tournaments, but it’s one of the great books on poker theory. And Full Tilt Poker‘s own Phil Gordon has packed great information into his Little Green Book and his Expert Insight DVD.
In addition, these tips from some of Full Tilt Poker‘s WSOP bracelet winners will help you further refine your game:
- Sit N Goes Made Easy – by Howard Lederer will teach you how to conquer these mini tournaments by applying a tight-aggressive style.
- How to Win at Tournament Poker, [Part 1] and [Part 2] by Chris Ferguson which explains how to think through complex tournament situations.
- Big Slick: A Slippery Hand – by Rafe Furst shows how you can make the most out of one of the toughest hands in No-Limit Hold ‘em: A-K.
- Early Tournament Play by David Grey explains why building your chip stack early provides a solid foundation for late-stage play.
- Looking at the Long Term – by Erik Seidel provides insightful analysis of why patience is vital to the successful tournament player.
For even more reading, be sure to visit Full Tilt Poker‘s complete archive of pro tips or look for answers to specific tournament questions in our Pro Chat archive. Of course, theory only goes so far at the table. Try playing some WSOP satellites as you absorb these lessons, and see which tactics work best for you. Who knows, you may just win your way to the WSOP along the way.
Finding the Low Cards in Omaha Hi/Lo
A while back, I played a hand in an Omaha Hi/Lo Limit tournament that had everyone at my table jumping off their chairs. They thought I was crazy and couldn’t believe my play. But I made the right move. In fact, the play illustrates an important Omaha Hi/Lo concept that’s not widely understood.
Here’s how the hand went down.
It was a nine-handed table. The under-the-gun player raised and another early position player three-bet. Two other players called the bet cold. It came around to me in the big blind, where I held 9-K-Q-2. This is usually considered a pretty trashy Omaha-8 hand. But I didn’t fold here; I four-bet. I then flopped the nuts and took down a huge pot. When they saw my hand, the players went crazy. How could I four-bet with that kind of trash?
I could do it because I made some good assumptions based on the way my opponents played their hands. This was a tournament, where most players tend to be pretty cautious. Few will play any hands that don’t contain Aces, and just about everyone is sticking to hands with a lot of low cards.
So when the under-the-gun player raised, I felt pretty confident in assuming that he had an Ace with some other low cards. The same goes for the player who three bet. The two callers must also have had hands that they thought were pretty strong. I could be all but certain that all four aces were dealt to these players, and that they held a lot of the deck’s low cards.
I was also confident that, in this hand, the flop was going to come at the high end of the deck and that I’d have a chance to sweep a huge pot because there would be no qualifying low. And that’s exactly what happened.
This hand shows that in Omaha Hi/Lo, you can often make some good assumptions as to what cards remain in the deck and what the flop is likely to hold. For another example, say that you’re in the big blind and it’s folded to the cutoff, who raises. You see 9-T-J-Q. With all but one player folding, you can be pretty sure that almost everyone else held a number of medium and high cards. So the deck is ripe with low cards, which will probably help your lone opponent’s hand. Your best move is to fold this hand pre-flop and wait for a better spot.
Of course, the better your position, the more information you’ll have. So you shouldn’t even consider playing certain hands in early position. Something like 2-3-4-5 might be playable from the button or the big blind if there hasn’t been a lot of action. The lack of raising would show that the Aces haven’t been distributed and are still in the deck. But in early position, you just don’t know what’s out, so you need to muck the hand. The same goes for hands like T-T-J-Q and T-J-Q-K. There are times when prior action will show you that these hands are worthy of a three-bet or four-bet. But in early position, it’s best to just let these kinds of hands go.
Being able to predict a flop is part of what makes Omaha Hi/Lo so much fun. You really can’t do these sorts of things in Hold ‘em. If you hone these skills, you’re sure to be a tough Omaha Hi/Lo player.
Mike Matusow
Team Full Tilt
Looking at the Long-Term
Tournament poker can be a very tough business. No matter how good you are, you’re bound to encounter long periods where things don’t go well. On the tournament circuit, even the best players can go several months – or even a couple of years – between significant cashes. These dry spells can be tough to deal with if you don’t develop a solid mental approach to the game.
I think the down times are particularly difficult for younger players who have some success early in their careers. They come to expect great results and can become overwhelmed when things go badly in a long string of tournaments. They may grow frustrated and are apt to assume they’re making mistakes. They make changes in their games that aren’t well thought out, and they suffer because of it.
To endure the long, tough stretches, serious players need to understand that bad runs are inevitable. They’re part of this business. And while there’s something to be said for going into every tournament with a positive attitude, it’s also important to be realistic. If you expect to win every tournament you enter, the disappointment that accompanies repeated bust outs could be very damaging to your psyche. I know that early in my career, my confidence suffered when I went through a rough stretch.
Over time, however, I learned to focus my attention in productive ways. Now, when I’m playing in a tournament, I concentrate on making the best decisions I can. I try to approach every hand in a thorough and effective manner. If my focus is good at the table, I can be honest with myself as I assess what I’m doing well and where I need improvement. I’m not likely to fall into the traps that ensnare other players. Many refuse to admit mistakes and insist that a bad run is due to bad luck alone. Others believe they’re playing well when their results are good, even though they’re playing poorly and are benefiting from a great run of cards.
After a tournament is over, I’m quick to remember that tournament poker requires the temperament of a marathoner, not a sprinter. If I play well and consistently make good decisions, I’ll be rewarded, though it may be a long time before I see the results I’m looking for.
Erik Seidel
Team Full Tilt
