Poker bankroll management, building and strategy – online poker guide

The All in Radio poker show and a poker hand analysis

Thursday, December 17th, 2009 | Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | 3 Comments

About a month ago (November 21st to be precise) I talked on the All in radio poker show (click the link and go to 34 minutes into the show to hear my words of wisdom). I talked mostly about my favorite flop moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. It is no secret that I like Mitchell’s book and consider it a must read for any serious poker player. if you have some spare time check out his tournament poker blog.

After talking on the All In Radio show I had a very good poker talk with Mitchell regarding a hand my friend Artur and I played in a tournament. I consider the email exchange worth posting here:

From me

So here’s my question:

“What is the optimal way to utilize the all in mayhem that always seems to take place in online poker tournaments once the bubble has burst and there are 5-10 tables left before the final table?”

To give an example my friend and I played some poker tournaments this Saturday and went fairly deep in 3 of them but stumbled before the final tables were reached.

Here’s one of the situations we were involved in:

200 left of a 7000 player tournament. We have 450000 chips which is about 3x average. Blinds are 3000/6000 and antes were probably around 500. On our tables the players have stack sizes of 150000-700000. The play is typical post bubble all in mayhem. People are raising and pushing their stacks to the middle with medium hands.
A couple of hand before we lost 200000 chips in a 3 way pot where we over played our middle pair.

We are dealt K2 suited in middle position and decide to raise 3xBB to steal the blinds. The BB who has 250000 chips calls. At this point we are pretty sure he does not have an ace or premium hand otherwise he would have raised us given the aggressive nature of the table. Something like a small pocket pair or QJ, J10 etc. Flop is 825. BB checks and we make a 3/4 pot continuation bet. BB calls. Turn is an Ace and BB makes a small probe bet of 30000 chips. We are convinced the Ace is a scare card for him and since we have shown strength throughout the hand we continue doing so by putting the BB all in. He instant calls with pocket sixes and takes down the pot.

We’re down to 250000 chips and end up all in preflop shortly after with KK vs AK and lose to a flopped Ace.

So within 15 minutes we went from an overall 2nd place to busting out. Afterwards we talked a lot about whether we did the right thing or not.

Do you have to be super aggressive and take risks (joining the all in mayhem) during the final stages of a tournament towards the final table, or is it a better approach to sit back a bit, win small pots and wait for decent hands?
Do you have any thoughts yourself on how to play these very late stages of a tournament?

From Mitchell

Mark:

You have 90x’s the big blind and are in second place.  The table is pushing in with all sorts of hands, according to your email.

Now you try to steal with K-2 and get called.

1.  You know people are pushing with all sorts of hands, so what is the point of this play.  If everyone is playing super loose–and you are a chip leader—tighten up.  It’s that simple.

2.  If you try to steal and get called, why are you compounding your error further with a c-bet–where players are playing loose.

You answered your own questions in the email.

In many tournaments, players will tighten up considerably near the bubble.  Then it makes sense to raise with any 2 cards in late position.  But here..after the bubble…the image of the table–super loose—and you know your chip position–in great shape with 90x’s big blind and in 2nd place—No need to rush.  Let the game come to you in these situations–they don’t happen that often–but when they do….relax.  Your opponents need to risk their stack, you don’t need to risk your stack….which you did here.

Also, please stop blindly making c-bets—a better play would have been to check the flop.  When the Ace hits on the turn, your opponent would have likely checked and you could make a bet to try to win the pot as a delayed c-bet and a scare card on the board.

I hope this helps…I am away for the Thanksgiving Holiday, so I won’t be able to read your attchments or post anything until next week.

Me again

Hi Mitchell

We wanted to represent a strong hand hence the 3/4 pot continuation bet. I get from your answer that you are not a big fan of c-bets and that it is your opinion that we build a stronger case representing an Ace by checking the flop behind the BB and then raising his probe bet on the turn once the Ace hits.

Say you do not have a big stack during the post bubble all in mayhem, would you then still recommend waiting for a solid hand and then push your chips in hoping for the best? Or would you start risking your stack with less than solid hands given the fact that everyone else are playing loose as well?

I think I am most in favor of using the stop and go in these situations. Call a preflop raise with your strong hand and push all in on the flop no matter what. If you are successful and manage to build a stack then start relaxing and let the hands come to you as you wrote in your previous mail. What do you think? Of course it all depends on how your table is playing in general. If they are playing regular tight aggressive poker you can probably get away with building your stack through stealing the blinds.

Thanks for your feedback! It is greatly appreciated.

From Mitchell

Mark, I am a fan of c-bets but not without planning ahead my line of play.

Whenever someone tells me that they raise pre-flop to steal the blinds AND They get called AND On the flop they make a c-bet…I know the player did not plan his line of play.  The line of play was to steal the blinds.  The play did not work….so end it…if you are in good chip shape.  If it gets checked to you on the turn, then bet.  If it gets bet to you, guess what, fold.  Your line of play was to steal the blinds….sorry, it didn’t happen.  It’s over….unless…your opponent is giving up–which is what a check-check means…and a 1/2 sized pot bet is fine.

Anyawy, I understand what you were doing with your 3/4th bet on the flop–but the pre-flop raise did not make sense given the the way the table was playing and your stack size.

If you don’t have a big stack at this stage, it doesn’t matter how the table is playing.  If you get a hand, push.  If you are less than around 10x’s the big blind, and you have even pocket deuces push…two paints push….position look to push depending on players to your left.

I don’t think people understand the stop and go.  They think it is simply calling a raise and then pushing all-in on the flop.  That’s like saying people who draw are artists.

The stop and go is used in situations where you have a hand, but one which may play better after the flop–and your all in move on the flop will not be auto-called due to the size of the bet on the flop.

For example, if you have pocket Jacks in the big blind, if you are low on chips after a pre-flop raiser you just push.  But, if after your pre-flop call, you have enough chips to get your opponent to fold on the flop, then use the stop and go.

I hope this helps.

From me

Hi Mitchell

It is really beneficial to get another view on things. I get where you are coming from when you say plan ahead with your c-bets. You say that if your plan was to steal the blinds and you do not succeed forget the hand. I have another possible take on the situation.

We did plan on stealing the blinds but it did not work. Instead of giving up on the hand we take another path to give ourselves an additional chance of winning the pot. If we check the flop our betting pattern can easily represent a hand with an Ace. When the Ace hits on the turn we take down the pot by raising our opponent’s probe bet.
I guess what I’m thinking is that by raising preflop you have the chance of representing different hands through your betting patterns on the later streets. Eventhough your initial plan was to steal the blinds and that did not work, who’s to say you cannot change strategy while the hand is played out. If your betting pattern is consistent then your opponents will not be able to tell whether you initially raised to steal the blinds or if you raised with a premium hand.

Regarding the stop-and-go, if I understand you correctly it is best to use it against an opponent who will risk a large portion of his stack if you move all in on the flop and who can afford to fold and still have a chance in the tournament. By making this play in the right spot, you increase your chances of taking down the pot uncontested in a situation where you are prepared to risk all your chips anyway.

From Mitchell:

Yes…and Yes.

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Tags: Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament

Tournament mistakes_part 1

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Tournament | 1 Comment

Instead of bitching and whining over bad beats I thought I would start sharing the mistakes I make in tournaments. By doing so I hope to reduce the number of mistakes I make and channel my frustrations into writing blog posts which is way more constructive than punching my desk.

Although I am on an official big buy-in tournament break I still play the tournaments in my Poker tournament league. Today was a 2000$ guaranteed 6$ buy-in turbo 6 max tournament on Power Poker.

I did quite well to build a decent 30000 chips stack and was in the money when I started making my first mistake on a relatively new table.

I was making small raises and c-bets to steal pots and blinds but the other players on the table picked up on this and started putting pressure on me by re-raising me all in. So what do I do? I continued making small raises and c-bet and quickly bleed out half my stack due to the increasing blinds. I should have been more aware of my table image and changed my style of play accordingly.

My second and fatal mistake was with J9 in the big blind and a 15000 chip stack. The button who had everyone on the table covered raised it up to 3xBB and I pushed all in aiming for a fold or two live cards in the case of a call. Turns out he had AJ and won the hand. In retrospect I should not have made this move because part of the value of it was to get my opponent to fold. You almost never get the chipleader to fold a preflop raise when you push all in as a short stacked player.

Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Tournament

Thoughts on making moves in online poker tournaments

Sunday, November 15th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | 9 Comments

You don’t win hands by checking; you win hands by betting.

My friend Artur keeps reminding me about this when we play online tournaments together. For some reason I tend to forget this simple mantra when I play online poker tournaments by myself.

Yesterday for example I was playing a small stakes online poker tournament on Full Tilt Poker. I was doing quite well due to some good hands coming my way. I think I had around 8000 chips when I decided to make a move under the gun with A7 suited. I raised it up to 950, the blinds being 150/250, and got one caller in middle position. The flop was rainbow KQ8. I bet 3/4 of the pot and my opponent called. At this point I started to worry that my opponent had hit either a King or a Queen so I decided to slow down and we ended up checking both the turn and river. My opponent showed pocket 9s and took down a 5000 chip pot. In retrospect this was a terrible play by me and I’ve been kicking myself about it all day long.

What annoys me is that I have a tendency to always slow down if I raise preflop, don’t hit the flop and my continuation bet gets called. I very seldom follow through on the turn. Yesterday this was exactly what I should have done. I showed strength both preflop and on the flop and with a 5000 chip pot on the turn compared to my remaining 6000 chips I should have pushed all in. There is no way my opponent could have called an all in from me on the turn. This is especially true because he did not re-raise my flop bet.

It has taken me a long time to make the transition from only betting into pots when I have a good hand to start making moves at pots where I don’t have a hand. Yesterday’s situation tells me that I am not quite there yet. To help me improve my game I have therefore made a new rule:

“Follow through on your preflop and flop moves if the size of the pot is comparable to the amount of chips you have left”

Although I risk looking like an idiot, if my opponents are trapping me, I think I will win more pots in the long run by following through. In any case it will help me grow some bigger tournament balls so to speak.

What do you think?

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Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament

All in Radio Poker show and a funny email from Mitchell Cogert

Saturday, November 14th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | No Comments

Last Saturday I talked on the All in radio poker show (click the link and go to 34 minutes into the show to hear my words of wisdom). I talked mostly about my favorite preflop moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. It is no secret that I think Mitchell’s book is a must read for any serious poker player, so if you have some spare time check out his tournament poker blog.
Later that week I had a pleasant chat with Mitchell and after listening to the radio show he sent me the following email which I found really interesting (I’m a sucker for poker anecdotes):

_________________________

Good job!

Funny thing, I’ve used all the moves you mentioned on the show.

Limp with pocket aces–I like this play better online since there are so many aggressive guys online.

The Stop and Go–this is actually a well-known move now that most players may use–and unfortunately, more players recognize it as a move. I believe it is in Harrington’s book.

The Leave behind re-raise pre-flop is a move that I had never seen before–but tried it  at one event by accident!  In this tournament I had intended to move all-in as a bluff after a player raised pre-flop.  After I made the bet, I noticed I had a couple of chips left  and felt really stupid. Well…my opponent noticed those chips and appeared confused. He folded…and I decided I should try this play again.  It worked and I won a big pot.

One of the times I used this move was in a $500 buy-in tournament in Reno.  I only took third place or the story would have been better.

It was the middle of the event.  And I was card dead. My image had to be of a very tight player.  My chips were bleeding out. The under the gun player put in a standard 3x blind raise….this player and I compete all the time in the Bay Area, so I know he thinks I only re-raise with the nuts.  I also know his image–and he likes making moves under the gun with good but not great cards.

A player in middle position calls. I have 9-7 suited on the button. I make a re-raise—about 4x’s the initial raise, which puts about all my chips in…probably 90% of my stack. The reason is that if I move all-in I know I will get a call by one of my opponents.  The blinds fold. The guy I knew looks at me, looks at those few chips behind the line and asks, “What are you going to do with those?” I don’t respond. He thinks for a while and mucks.  The player in middle position thinks for a long time.  I’m thinking to myself, “Fold.  Can’t you see I want action with those chips I left behind?” Finally, he shows pocket 9′s and folds. That hand was a big increase in chips for me, at the right time.

Ok..now to give you full disclosure…later on in the event. I’ve never told this story, because it is rather embarrassing. We are down to 3 tables.  I’m in the small blind and the timer says it is break time–but the dealer had shuffled so the hand is being dealt.  I am dying to take a leak…I mean I had been holding back for a long, long time! The under the gun player limps, the next player limps..and everyone except for one player limps in.  I’m in the small blind and I have to go…I really do…I look at K-5 offsuit. I fold and get up to leave.  One player says to me, “Wow, you must’ve had real junk to fold there.” I nodded.  As I leave, I see the flop…K-5-5!!!  No!!! Damn you Red Bull!!

Ok…

Thanks again for mentioning my book on his show. Tell these guys that Harrington is a great book, but tournament’s today are won by knowing how and when to get aggressive and get lucky.  See WSOP’s final table as an example.

It was also funny since they didn’t believe that Moon was ever bluffing with his check raises–I didn’t either until I watched the ESPN telecast.  This guy deserves a lot of credit for almost winning the bracelet by playing against his table image…whether he
knew what he was doing or not!

Thanks,
Mitchell

Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament

I’m taking a long break from tournament poker

Monday, November 9th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Tournament | 4 Comments

My online poker tournament year has been absolutely terrible with only two final table finishes all year. Due to my bad run I am experiencing increasing difficulties dealing with the luck factor of the game. I feel like an injustice is done to me every time someone sucks out on me. Watching the final table action of the WSOP main event has just confirmed the fact that luck is a key factor in poker.

You can be the best player in the world but if you are not lucky and those coinflips roll your way, you will never win a poker tournament.

I have to to face that luck is just not on my side these days. In addition my bitterness over being knocked out of tournament after tournament has started to eat away at my passion for the game. Worse yet, the bitterness persists for longer and longer time after the tournaments have ended which has not gone unnoticed by my surroundings.

Therefore I’m calling it quits for at least two full months until I feel ready to play again. I will still play the freerolls in my Poker tournament league but I will not play in anything else. I will keep track of my tournament poker break progress in the comment section of this article.

Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Tournament

Top 10 turn and river moves from Mitchell Cogert’s Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament | No Comments

In this series of top 10 lists I have selected top moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. I believe these moves have the largest probability of improving your chances of winning low to medium stakes online poker tournaments.

Top 10 lists in this series:

Top 10 preflop moves

Top 10 flop moves

Top 10 turn and river moves

Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.

Top 10 turn and river moves

Stack sizes are one of the most important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to make a move on the turn or the river. If the opponent you are up against has a large stack compared to yours and the blinds in general he is more likely to call any bet you make. Similarly, if your opponent has a significantly smaller stack than yours he will most likely be pot committed to call your bets. The best spot for making moves is when both you and your opponent have similar stack sizes that are significantly larger than the current size of the big blind. In my opinion, significantly larger in this context are stack sizes above 20 times the big blind.

• The delayed continuation bet

You raise preflop with two high cards but don’t hit a pair on the flop. By checking the flop behind your opponents you raise suspicion in their minds. They were expecting a standard continuation bet, but instead you checked. Could you be slow playing a monster hand? When a harmless turn card hits you are now in a great position to steal the pot.

• The Action-Inducing bet

If you hit the nuts or another great hand on the turn then making a small bet compared to the size of the pot will give your opponents the impression that you are weak. This will sometimes lure them into making a large re raise or even pushing all in.

• The blocking bet

The blocking bet can be used on the turn as well as on the flop. I already mentioned the blocking bet in my previous list of top 10 flop moves. Here’s what I wrote:

Say you called a preflop raiser out of position with a drawing hand such as 89 suited. The flop comes A J 7 with one card in your suit. You have an inside straight draw and a backdoor flush opportunity. By making a small blocking bet as the first to act on the flop, you aim to slow down your opponent and either get a cheap turn card or if you’re lucky make your opponent fold. If he raised preflop with pocket 10’s, pocket Q’s or even pocket K’s, he might interpret your blocking bet as if you have hit your Ace and aim to suck some chips out of him. Your defensive blocking bet has a better chance of succeeding if your opponents have seen you make the same size bet earlier when you have hit a big hand.

When you make a blocking bet on the turn you are aiming to slow down your opponent and see a cheap river card. Sometimes you get lucky and your blocking bet wins you the pot.

• Firing the Second Barrel

Don’t be afraid to bet again on the turn as the preflop raiser if your opponent called your flop bet. He might be on a draw, have a middle pair or he might be floating and hoping to steal the pot if you show weakness on the turn. Be wary  of firing the second barrel if a scare card such as a flush card or a straight card hits.

• Bet when opponents are weak

If your opponents have checked the flop and check to you on the turn as well they are most likely weak. Bet to pick up the pot.

• Bet when a scare card appears

If a scare card hits on the turn you can use it to your advantage to steal the pot by betting or re-raising your opponent. Depending on the texture of the flop, any Ace, King, straight or flush card may be a card you can use to win the pot. I would only use this move if you are up against one opponent. Betting when a scare card hits requires both skill and courage. Skill, because you need to be able to put your opponent on a hand range in order to determine what cards might be scare cards. Courage, because you are representing a strong hand which you do not have and if you misread the situation you could look like a fool.

• The naked Ace bluff

If you hold an Ace in the same suit as a suited board you can use this information to represent the nut flush. You can do this by checking the flop and raising any bet on the turn. Since no one else has the Ace they will have a hard time calling with top pair or a lower flush. If they do call you still have outs to win the hand.

• When you hold a pair and get raised on the turn think fold

Usually players will not raise a bet on the turn if they cannot beat top pair (unless of course they are betting due to a scare card hitting). If you have top pair, your flop bet has been called and your turn bet is raised you are most likely either beat or have run into an opponent with big cojones. Remember that a good fold is a good thing. However, if you suspect you have been outplayed make a note about your opponent and pay attention to his future betting patterns.

• When folding is clearly the right play

Don’t fall in love with big pairs. If you raise preflop, get three callers and they all call your bet on the flop alarm bells should be ringing inside your head. If a scare card hits on the turn you can be sure that one of your three opponents hit his draw.

• The River value bet

Poker in a nutshell is to get your opponents to call you with worse hands and fold with better hands. Keep this in mind when deciding what bet size to use on the river. If you are convinced you are ahead choose a bet size which you feel confident your opponent will call. If you are not sure you are ahead go for a small blocking/value bet.

• Getting paid off on the river

When you have the nuts on the river do not expect that a small bet is more likely to be called than a larger bet. Your opponents will be expecting you to make a small bet if you have the nuts. Instead try making a big bet or moving all in. To some opponents this will signal that you are trying to steal the pot     and make them call your bet if they have a piece of the board.
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Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament

Top 10 flop moves from Mitchell Cogert’s Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves

Sunday, September 27th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament | 2 Comments

In this series of top 10 lists I have selected top moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. I believe these moves have the largest probability of improving your chances of winning low to medium stakes online poker tournaments.

Top 10 lists in this series:

Top 10 preflop moves

Top 10 flop moves

Top 10 turn and river moves

Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.

Top 10 flop moves

The flop moves listed below are mostly bluff and semi bluff moves designed to win pots on flops you haven’t caught a piece of. Since you will often represent a hand you don’t have, it is of the utmost importance that your betting history in the hand and general table image tell a convincing story. In addition you have to choose your flops and opponents carefully. Ideally you want to be up against a maximum of 2-3 opponents who will be able to lay down their hands depending on the move you choose. Needless to say flop moves require a lot more skill and experience to master as compared to preflop moves.

• Bet the rainbow “Steal flop”

Some flops contain low cards of different suits (rainbow) and in addition are uncoordinated meaning that there is little chance that one of your opponents has picked up a draw. An example of such a flop could be 2 (h) 4(c) 9 (d). Say you enter a pot with Q10 suited without raising and have 2 opponents on a rainbow “Steal flop”. You should make a more than half sized pot bet both if you are first to act and if the action is checked to you.

• Bet at flops with pairs

If the flop comes with a pair and is uncoordinated (no flush draws and obvious straight draws) you should bet if you are first to act or the action is checked to you. Take advantage of your opponent’s fear of facing trips. If you get called on the flop you need to consider whether you want to bet the turn or not. Your opponent could have hit trips but the probability is small since there are only two cards in the deck that could give him this hand. Your opponent could also be planning to steal the pot from you on the turn if you show weakness and check. Notice how poker player level thinking really comes into play when considering what to do on the flop, turn and river.

• Bet at flops with the same suit

When you are up against few opponents, flops with the same suit are a good opportunity to steal the pot. Your opponents may not believe you have hit the flop, but they know that they need a flush to win. They will have to fold if they don’t have any cards in the same suit or one low card in the same suit.

• The continuation bet

Most of you probably already know the continuation bet, but it is an important move to include in your arsenal, which is why I mention it here. If you take the lead preflop and raise with say AJ suited, you continue showing that your hand is strong by making a 50-75% pot bet on the flop (the continuation bet). You make this bet even if the flop did not improve your hand. If you are up against a couple of opponents the chances are high that they will fold. If you get called, you face a tough decision on the turn. Did your opponent hit the flop or is he defending against your continuation bet by calling the flop aiming to steal the pot from you on the turn if you show weakness and check? In these situations you have to evaluate both the texture of the flop and put your opponent on a range of possible hands.

• The probe bet

The aim of the probe bet is to find out if you have the best hand after the flop without risking too many of your chips. Say you call a preflop raiser with J10 and the flop comes J 7 2. If you are first to act you can make a small bet of less than half the pot to find out where you stand and if you’re lucky take down the pot. If you get reraised you can fold your hand without having risked too many chips. As with all the other bluff and steal moves, the probe bet works best when you are up against only a few opponents.

• The blocking bet

Say you called a preflop raiser out of position with a drawing hand such as 89 suited. The flop comes A J 7 with one card in your suit. You have an inside straight draw and a backdoor flush opportunity. By making a small blocking bet as the first to act on the flop, you aim to slow down your opponent and either get a cheap turn card or if you’re lucky make your opponent fold. If he raised preflop with pocket 10′s, pocket Q’s or even pocket K’s, he might interpret your blocking bet as if you have hit your Ace and aim to suck some chips out of him. Your defensive blocking bet has a better chance of succeeding if your opponents have seen you make the same size bet earlier when you have hit a big hand.

• Leading out

If you are up against two or less opponents you need to be aggressive if you hand caught any piece of the flop such as middle pair. This is true also if you are out of position. Remember that you hitting the flop means that your opponents are less likely to have hit the flop. Try a probe bet if you are first to act and if the action is checked to you bet to take down the pot.

• Bet when you hit a set or full house

Bet bet bet when you hit a set. Don’t check and try to trap your opponent. You want to build big pots with your made hands. If your opponent folds he was going to do so anyway. Avoid check raising the flop as it shows a lot of strength and will slow down your opponent on the following streets.

• Bet if the action is checked to you

Bet when you are last to act after the flop and the action is checked to you. Your opponents have shown weakness and you should react to this. Fold if you are check raised and don’t have a hand that can improve on the turn. Make a note on the opponent who check raised you so you remember him the next time you are in a pot together.

• When to move all in

Move all in on the flop if you have raised preflop and the potsize on the flop is roughly the same size as your chip stack. It doesn’t matter if the flop missed you. You need to accumulate chips and this is done by taking risks. Late in tournaments and during heads-up play this move should be almost automatic.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

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Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament

Top 10 preflop moves from Mitchell Cogert’s Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves

Sunday, September 13th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament | 3 Comments

In this series of top 10 lists I have selected top moves from Mitchell Cogert’s “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves”. I believe these moves have the largest probability of improving your chances of winning low to medium stakes online poker tournaments.

Top 10 lists in this series:

Top 10 preflop moves

Top 10 flop moves

Top 10 turn and river moves

Mitchell Cogert is the author of “Tournament Poker: 101 Winning Moves.” It is the only reference book to reveal the plays the Pros use to win a poker tournament. These plays are based on reviewing 20 years worth of tournament poker strategies and by actual play against Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, David Pham and other top pros. The book is available on Amazon and rated 5 out of 5 stars by customers. Find out more about Mitchell Cogert by visiting Tournament Poker or his website APokerExpert.

Top 10 preflop moves

The following preflop moves are intended to either set you up to win all your opponent’s chips, win blinds and limps uncontested or make sure you don’t bleed out your stack to the ever increasing blinds.

• Early in the event limp with pocket Aces

When you are dealt pocket Aces early in an event you don’t want to settle with merely picking up the blinds. Limping with pocket Aces is risky business but could win you a larger pot compared to the standard play of raising with Aces. You want to be up against a maximum of 3 opponents when you limp with pocket Aces. In addition, the flop should optimally contain only one card in the playing zone (any card from 9s to Aces). If you limp with pocket Aces, get two additional callers and the flop is K (h) 8 (c) 2(d) that’s a great situation for you if one of your opponents has hit a pair of Kings. However, if you instead get 7 callers and the flop is K (h) J (h) 3 (c) you should have the discipline to fold your Aces since you will have almost no chance of winning the hand.

• The under-the-gun steal raise

Use this move later in tournaments to pick up the blinds uncontested. You don’t need a playable hand to make this move; you will be taking advantage of your position at the table since a 2 or 3xBB raise under-the-gun represents a strong hand. The move has a higher chance of succeeding if your overall table image is tight.

• The position power raise

The position power raise is intended to win both the blinds and the additional money in the pot from previous limpers. It works best during the middle or later stages of low stakes online multi-table tournaments where a raise represents a significant amount of your opponent’s stacks. If your hand is good enough to limp with, then it is also good enough to raise strongly to 4xBB with the goal of making the other players fold. If a player calls your hand can still improve on the flop. Make sure the opponents you want to fold have stack sizes comparable to yours. If they are low stacked they might push all in to your raise and if they are big stacked they are more likely to call you.

• The leave something behind re-raise

In the middle to late stages of an online tournament you need to seize every opportunity you can to accumulate chips. Say you hold a medium hand in the big blind such as A8 suited and an opponent in the cut off position with a medium stack size similar to yours raises 3xBB. Your opponent could be using his position to steal the blinds so this might be a good spot to re-raise him to get him to fold. But what is the optimal re-raise amount? If you re-raise your opponent all in, you put maximum pressure on him, but the all in re-raise is often perceived as a move and might lead your opponent to call. However if you re-raise your opponent with two thirds or more of your stack, this signals you have a premium hand. By leaving something behind you are telling your opponent that you are prepared to go all the way with your hand.

• Be aggressive near the bubble

You did not enter the tournament to finish in the money. You entered the tournament to win it! Keeping this in mind is especially important near the bubble. Most of your opponents will tighten up near the bubble looking to secure that prize money finish to justify the time and investment they have made in the tournament. Don’t be like your opponents. Take advantage of their tight play by stepping up your aggression level and loosening up your starting hand requirements. Bubble play is a great phase in a tournament to accumulate chips and increase your chances of making the final table.

• Move all in preflop as the first raiser when your stack is less than 9xBB

If your chip stack has declined to less than 9xBB your only remaining play is all in. When you pick your spot to go all in, it is more important that you are the first preflop raiser than what starting hand you have. Being the first preflop raiser you have a good chance of picking up the blinds and antes uncontested. Look to go all in as the first preflop raiser with any pocket pair, any Ace, any two face cards, any suited connectors and medium hands such as K10, Q10, J9 etc..

• Move all in with your good hands when you have 8 times or less than the initial raisers bet

You need to take risks to win an online multi table tournament. Obviously it is best to take risks when you have a good hand such as medium or high pocket pairs or face cards such as AJ suited or higher. When facing a preflop raise, look to double your stack or win a big pot uncontested by moving all in with your good hands when your chip stack is less than 8 times as big as the initial preflop raise.

• Moving all in when you are the BB and there are multiple callers

Consider moving all in to win a big pot during the middle or late stages of a tournament if you have a playable hand in the BB in a pot with many limpers. Often you will succeed and win the pot uncontested. Sometimes however, players will limp with high pocket pairs just waiting for a player to make a move like yours. In this case you will have to pray to the poker gods that you get lucky. Keep in mind that the stack sizes of your limping opponents should be comparable to your medium stack. If one of the limpers is either short or big stacked, the probability of winning the pot uncontested drops significantly.

• The stop and go

I like this move a lot. If you find yourself short stacked during the middle or late stages of a tournament and pick up a hand which you are prepared to go all the way with, consider using the stop and go move to increase your chances of winning the hand. The stop and go is an alternative to pushing all in preflop with your good hands when facing a preflop raiser. Simply call the initial raisers raise and push all in on the flop no matter what. 68% of times your opponent will have missed his hand on the flop and you have just presented him with a good reason to fold. If you had pushed all in preflop, the initial raiser would have most likely called leaving the outcome of the hand in the hands of the poker gods. With the stop and go move you still have some influence on the outcome of the hand.

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Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Top 10 Lists, Poker Tournament

How to apply the concept of poker player levels to online poker tournaments?

Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | No Comments

This article belongs to the Poker Tournament series.

If you are not familiar with the concept of poker player levels start by reading my article: Poker player levels revisited. Having read my article, I will assume you are now a level 3 poker player .

I will use the following situation as a starting point for my discussion:
You are playing an online poker tournament and you pick up 7 diamonds 8 hearts in middle position. A player in early position raises 3xBB and you call. The rest of the table folds. The flop comes 6 diamonds, 5 diamonds, K spades. Your opponent bets ¾ of the pot. What do you do?

Being a level 3 poker player you will have already put your opponent on a hand range. With the current flop it is likely that he has hit top pair. Your next job is to figure out what your opponent thinks you have.

If it’s early in an online poker tournament chances are you are up against a level 1 poker player who doesn’t even consider what you have. He has hit top pair and is prepared to go all the way with it. If this is the case you won’t be able to push him out of the pot, so you don’t have the additional value of your opponent folding if you move all in. In addition, if it’s early in the tournament your stack sizes won’t justify a call. You are better off folding in this spot and probably should have folded preflop in the first place.

The situation described above changes later in online poker tournament. Here the probability of facing a level 2 or level 3 player increases. In addition you are likely to be playing with deeper stacks. All of the sudden an all in raise to your opponents flop bet makes more sense. A level 2 or level 3 player might still call you, but your chances of your opponent folding are bigger and if you get called you still have outs to win. These are the kind of situations you need to seek out in order to win online poker tournaments.

In conclusion, your chances of winning an online poker tournament will improve if you are at a higher poker level than your opponents simply because in addition to winning chips from your own hands, you can also win chips by outplaying your opponents. However, take care to pick your spots only against players that are susceptible to your moves and at times where the other factors such as stack sizes and position at the table are in your favor.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament

Poker player levels revisited

Saturday, July 25th, 2009 | Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament | No Comments

This article belongs to the Poker Tournament series.

My good poker buddy McTap wrote an excellent article some time ago about the second major leak he had discovered in his game. In this article he introduced us to the concept of poker player levels which I believe were first coined by Phil Gordon in his article : “Inside the mind”

I’m revisiting the concept of poker player levels because I will be talking about it on The All in Poker Show later today. Currently I do not feel confident I will be able to explain to the listeners in a concise manner what poker player levels are all about. Therefore I will be using this article to focus my mind in preparation for the show.

To get started with the subject let’s say you are playing an online poker tournament and you pick up AK hearts in early position and raise 3xBB. A player in middle position calls and everyone else folds. The flop comes 6 diamonds, 5 diamonds, K spades. You bet ¾ of the pot and your opponent raises you all in. He has you covered, so your tournament life is at stake. What do you do?

If your reasoning is along the lines: “I have a good hand with top pair top kicker, no way I’m folding” then you are thinking like a level 1 poker player.

If you consider the range of hands your opponent could be holding as well as your own hand before you make your decision, you have moved up a level and are now thinking like a level 2 poker player. In this situation you will probably end up folding the hand because you don’t want to risk your tournament life with a call where your opponent’s hand range includes pocket 5’s and pocket 6’s.

If you try seeing the hand from your opponent’s perspective and consider the hand range he thinks you are holding, you have moved up yet another level and are now thinking like a level 3 poker player. In the mind of your opponent, you have probably hit top pair. Knowing this he still chooses to re-raise you all in. He could have hit his set or have slow played the Aces, but he could also be trying to push you out of the pot with a flush or a straight draw because he suspects you are capable of folding top pair. If your opponent did have a set wouldn’t he have re-raised you with a smaller amount? His all in bet smells like a draw where he would be happy if you folded but also have outs to win the pot if you called. In my opinion this kind of level 3 thinking will bring you closer to making the call as compared to level 2 thinking.

According to Phil Gordon, expert players take an ever deeper look into their opponent’s minds. In my opinion it all becomes a bit speculative and overly complicated when you start considering what your opponents think that you think they have. In an online tournament you have 30 seconds or less to make your decisions. There is no way you will have time for these kinds of considerations. Live tournaments however are a different story. Here you have the time to put a lot of thought into a hand. This is probably also why you see a lot more raise – re-raise – re-re-raise – fold action in live tournaments as compared to online tournaments. Players have time to complicate things .

Having now introduced you to the concepts of poker levels I will spend my next article debating how to apply the concept when you’re playing online poker tournaments.

You could be posting your articles on the Poker Bankroll Blog. Read all about it here.

Tags: Poker Articles, Poker Strategy, Poker Tournament