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teaulc

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    Applying Leverage

    in Poker

    Posted

    This summer, Bodog announced Amanda Musumeci as its newest pro after a nationwide search for a promising young female poker player. It was Musumeci’s impressive online tournament results and six-figure winnings that put her head and shoulders above her competitors. The strategically articulate Musumeci talked to PokerNews about an effective tactic she uses in tournaments -- leveraging. First of all, for those who don’t know, can you explain exactly what leveraging is? There are a couple types of leveraging. Stack leveraging and positional leveraging are two common examples. Stack leveraging can be used by either betting or raising to a size that either (a) implies and represents to our opponent that this pot is growing rapidly, and that a huge bet is likely coming on the turn and river, or (b) can be used by raising or reraising to a size that gives the illusion that you will call your opponent’s reraise or reshove, meaning that you are giving the illusion of being pot or stack committed. Positional leveraging is using position to your advantage to threaten your opponents stack and put them in tough spots. 
 Let’s talk about stack leveraging. Can you further explain in what situations you might use this tactic and how you would apply it? The point of leveraging is to represent a bigger hand that we won't soon be folding, and we do so by making increasingly larger bets on proceeding streets of play. Let’s say we’re in a three-way hand and each player has 2,500 in chips with blinds at 25-50. We raise in middle position to 125 preflop, a middle-to-late position player flats, and another late-position guy flats. The flop is dealt, and it doesn’t really matter what it is. The pot is now about 450, so we c-bet the flop about three times what we raised initially (once for each player in the pot). I think a bet of about 350 is good. One opponent flats, and the other folds. The turn is dealt, and we now have to bet large enough that we're making it clear illusion to our opponent that we're either close to committed to this pot, close to calling off to a reshove and/or that we're setting up for a big river bet or shove. So on the turn, the pot is 1,150 after he calls the flop. Your opponent should have about 2,000 chips remaining after this action. Here, we could do something chumpy like bet 400-600 on the turn, or we can apply leveraging by making a powerful bet that implies we're committed, or that we're definitely planning on going all in on the river. The bet should be about three times what we bet on the flop. In this case, the bet should be more like 700-900 on the turn. I like going with a bet of 775. We would both have about 1,200 behind if our opponent flats the turn, leaving him or her thinking that we are going to shove the river or call if they shove. It sounds effective, yet risky. It’s a strong play and can cost big chips sometimes if played in the wrong spot or versus the wrong type of player. The idea is that the pot starts small and cheap for your opponent, but you make it very large early in the hand, putting pressure on your opponent to feel like they need a nutty hand to continue in a pot of this size, at this level, and so deep stacked.

 Another common situation which we might apply both positional and stack leveraging would be if there is an aggro player to our right who opens in mid-position and we three-bet him in position to a size that implies we're probably calling a shove. We can also make bets like this postflop if they flat us. We can make bets versus our opponents that compromise enough of their stacks that they should feel you're committed to them and to the pot. It's all part of the illusion you're creating. In actuality, you likely have a hand that is rags if you're taking this line, so it's easy to fold when your opponent tries to take control of the action in an already inflated pot.

 So by using leveraging, we are basically taking away our opponents’ ability to make a play at us, so if he or she does shove against us, it’s for value and we can fold right? Also, because you need to commit so many chips to use this tactic, how do you know it is profitable? Well, since they usually won’t have a big enough hand to put their whole 2,500 stack at risk at 25-50 level, this means that the 95% of the time that they fold on the flop and turn, and we pick up good pots. Also, you can raise smaller preflop to get more weak hands involved, isolate limpers, and assume that anyone who had ace-king would definitely three bet such a small open raise, especially if there is a flatter or two. That makes it an easy fold pre for us to a three-bet. Hands more likely to flat small raises preflop are hands like weak aces, mid pairs and marginal broadways, suited connectors etc. People like to see cheap flops with those types of hands and won't usually try to three-bet pre with those types of hands, so I think their range is partially polarized when you open small and receive all flats in response to the open. Say the flop comes like ten-high. A player with pocket sevens will usually calls your flop c-bet, but if you put in a big on the turn, implying that you’re going all the way with this hand, it usually gets pocket sevens to then fold. It’s the same idea if a player hits top pair with a weak ace on the flop. When we c-bet, our opponent usually calls once. If we bet huge on the turn, he has to really consider if he wants to take an ace-weak hand all the way to river. Plus, for their stack sizes (using 2.5k starting stack at 25/50 scenario), flatting a turn bet for 775 leaving 1200ish behind isn't appetizing if you're planning on folding the river for the rest of your stack after having committed over half of it. So typically, mid-thinking players will simply give up to this strong turn bet on the turn with many of the holdings that they would proceed on the flop with. How does pot equity fit into the equation? What happens if say you turn a lot of equity with a card that gives you straight and flush draws? Then change your plan accordingly and play your nuts or draws the same way you normally would feel comfy doing so. If we bet huge on the flop with backdoor stuff, and we turn an out, and we typically check/shove or lead/call then, then just change your plan on using leveraging and instead revert to the plan of putting your chips in with your draw. Of course, it’s all player and situation dependant

    PLWSOP - Attendee's list - Important - Please Post to confirm

    in Poker

    Posted

    Re: PLWSOP - Attendee's list - Important

    OK it's official. I won't be able to make it this year. An annoying bastard has a couple of us working on the 27th on a contract. Since the people we are meeting are extremely important we can't get out of it' date=' and yes, I am VERY annoyed!. :@:@ Hope everyone has a blast![/quote'] thats a shame matey,looks like it could be a good`un this year

    Playing Big Hands on the Button

    in Poker

    Posted

    by Team Full Tilt: No matter what poker variant you’re playing, it’s vital to constantly think about the players left to act behind you and what their tendencies are. Too often, when facing a raise, poker players think only about how to play back at the raiser to their right, without thinking about the opponents still holding cards on their left. Let’s say you’re on the button in Pot-Limit Omaha with a powerful hand and facing a raise. There are several important factors that you need to consider here. In addition to the tendencies and range of possible holdings of the player that raised the pot, you should take into account the tendencies of the players in the blinds. You may not have any information about their holdings, but if you have information about what type of players they are, it will impact your decision. If you’re on the button with a strong Omaha hand, like a double-suited Broadway hand – A-K-Q-J, A-K-Q-10, etc. – or pocket Aces or pocket Kings. Many aggressive players will look down at cards like that and re-raise the pot immediately without a second thought. That’s fine, to a certain extent. If the open raiser is a little bit loose, you know that most of the time when you are re-raising him that your hand is better than his, you’re going to be in position and you want to play a big pot against him. However, factoring in the players in the blinds, you can sometimes get greater value by flat-calling. If one of the players in the blinds is loose, if he plays too many hands or if he protects his blinds routinely with marginal holdings, a flat-call may lure him into the pot in a situation where you have a big advantage over him. If he’s the type who plays small pairs or hands that are badly connected, the flop will often hit him but put him in bad shape relative to you. You might out-flop him set-over-set, he might make a sucker straight to your nut straight, a flush lower than your flush or any draw that is not going for the nuts and is actually drawing dead. If the players in the blinds, particularly the big blind, will defend with hands that are easily dominated and have trouble getting away from them if they hit the flop, you need to think seriously about just flat-calling pre-flop to invite them in. And if the players in the blinds are not just loose, but loose-aggressive, then you should definitely flat-call, especially with hands like pocket Aces or pocket Kings with an Ace. That can pay off huge if you expect one of the blinds to do your re-raising for you. If one of the blinds is the type to try a squeeze play, he’ll re-raise, and then you can put in an enormous raise since there will already have been two raises. If everyone is playing with stacks of about 100 big blinds at this point, you’re going to be able to put in a significant percentage of your chips with a huge hand. If they choose to call and see a flop in a massive pot with a weaker hand, that’s fine. If they choose to muck, then you just won a significant pile of chips without even seeing a flop. On the other hand, if the players in the blinds are tight enough to fold some big hands, then it does make sense to try to shut them out of the pot by re-raising on the button. If you know that they’re tight and would only call two raises with a monster starting hand, then your re-raise gets you valuable information heading to the flop if they do happen to call or re-raise. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that you’re up against one opponent, the initial raiser, even though you’re actually still up against three opponents. Don’t forget about the players in the blinds. Their tendencies should always be considered when you’re deciding how to get the most value from your big starting hand on the button.

    Full Tilt adds Draw Poker with its latest update

    in Poker

    Posted

    There was a major software update on Full Tilt Poker today, and after installing the latest update players were greeted with a surprising addition to the Full Tilt Poker lobby, a Draw Poker tab as well as the addition of a new 10-Game Mix! The Draw Poker games added by Full Tilt are the most comprehensive of any online poker room and include the following game variants:

    • Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
    • No Limit 2-7 Triple Draw
    • No Limit 2-7 Single Draw
    • Fixed Limit 5 Card Draw
    • Pot Limit 5 Card Draw
    • No Limit 5 Card Draw
    • Fixed Limit A-5 Triple Draw
    • Fixed Limit Badugi

    With the new additions to their Draw Poker roster Full Tilt also offers the largest Mixed-Game in poker, a massive 10-Game Mix that has the following games in the rotation: Limit Holdem, Limit 7-Card-Stud hi/lo, Pot Limit Omaha, Limit 2-7 Triple-Draw, Limit Razz, No Limit Holdem, Limit Omaha 8 or better, Limit 7-Card-Stud, No Limit 2-7 Single-Draw, Limit Badugi Traffic for the new games is already picking up, and the play is very loose and very fast –which is usually the case when new games are added to an online poker site, especially the more uncommon poker variants like No Limit 2-7 Single-Draw.

    Playing A/K

    in Poker

    Posted

    A lot of the time you should play this hand as if it were a big pair. It is statistically unlikely that you are up against KK or AA. With regards to evens shots you will get into them. The key stat is not how many you win (everyone thinks they lose most of them) it is how often you got the money in first (particularly if you knew you would be in an evens shot and the opponent had a chance to pass). With AK you want to be setting your opponent in rather than calling if it is likely that they have any pair. So, structure your bets accordingly and be prepared to lay down pre-flop if you would need to call for all your chips. This is obviously dependant on exact chip position though. If you have been called when you have AK how do you play a rag flop against one opponent? This can be hard when you are first in line but a strong play is to represent the big pair with a substantial bet. Often your opponent has called with two big cards, a small pair that they hope to hit or even suited connectors, most of the time they will have missed and will give it up. Against two or more opponents, be much more cautious, probably only bet if you are last in line against two players and check against more. There is another way that you can play AK rather than moving all in for a re- raise. That is to raise just about half your stack if you think you might be in an evens shot and then to automatically bet the rest on the flop. You are odds against to hit either your ace or king and this will give you another opportunity to win the pot when you and your opponent would have got it all in pre-flop anyway and you still get your five cards if he calls. Playing against AK Play strong on a rag flop, whatever your hand, if you have good reason to have your opponent on AK or AQ.

    Top Twenty Poker tips

    in Poker

    Posted

    Practice and prepare. Get plenty of rest before a tournament. Get Focused. Don't be too afraid to lose or you can't win. Never get 'anteed away'. Be a bettor/raiser not a caller. Don't call if you can't stand a raise. Never show hands you don't have to or tell someone what you had. Very rarely slow play, particularly before the flop. Steer clear of big stacks unless you have a very strong hand. Watch every hand even when you are not in. Always count to five before you act. Watch the players not the flop. Always listen, don't talk too much. Don't get into habits that people can spot. Drink water. Watch the clock. Be Assertive. Know how many chips are in play. Respect everyone - fear no-one.

    London Calling Main Event 4-7 November 2010

    in Poker

    Posted

    Re: London Calling Main Event 4-7 November 2010 anyone from here playing this at all?? structure: 20,000 starting stack Time Level Small Blind Big Blind Ante Notes 19:00 1 25 50 Start of Day 1a/1b 19:45 2 50 100 20:30 Break 20:45 3 75 150 21:30 4 100 200 22:15 5 150 300 25 23:00 Break 23:15 6 200 400 25 00:00 7 300 600 50 00:45 8 400 800 50 01:30 End of Day 1a/1b 14:00 9 500 1000 75 Start of Day 2 14:45 10 600 1200 75 15:30 Break Colour up 25 Chips 15:45 11 800 1600 100 16:15 12 1000 2000 100 17:00 13 1200 2400 200 17:45 Dinner 18:30 14 1500 3000 200 19:15 15 2000 4000 300 20:00 16 2500 5000 300 20:45 Break 21:30 17 3000 6000 500 22:15 18 4000 8000 500 23:00 19 5000 10000 800 23:45 End of Day 2 14:00 20 6000 12000 800 Start of Day 3 15:00 21 8000 16000 1000 16:00 Break Colour up 100 Chips 16:15 22 10000 20000 1000 17:15 23 12000 24000 1500 18:15 Dinner 18:45 24 15000 30000 1500 19:45 25 20000 40000 2000 20:45 Break Colour up 500 Chips 21:00 26 25000 50000 2000 22:00 27 30000 60000 3000 23:00 Break 23:15 28 40000 80000 3000 00:15 29 50000 100000 5000

    Selecting Starting Hands in Omaha Hi/Lo

    in Poker

    Posted

    written by Chip Jett I firmly believe that it's impossible to play too tight in Omaha Hi/Lo, especially in a ring game. I'll be the first to admit that it's not especially fun to play the game that tight, but if you have the patience for it, it's as good a game as any to make money in. Here's an idea of how tight I play Omaha Hi/Lo: if I'm playing HORSE and get dealt 10 Omaha Hi/Lo hands before we move on to the next game, there's a good chance I won't play a single hand. On average, I'll probably only play one hand per round. It's a tight strategy, but in a game like Omaha Hi/Lo where so many players don't understand the strength of their hand and will make mistakes, it's a winning strategy. When it comes to starting hands, I never voluntarily put money into the pot with a hand that doesn't have an Ace in it, under any circumstances. Usually, I need A-2. That's the ideal, A-2 with a couple of other low cards. I'll also play A-3, provided the Ace is suited. When you start loosening your hand requirements, that's when you get into trouble. Say I had a hand like A-4-7-9 with the Ace suited. That hand is very much on the fence. I know that a lot of people play that hand, but it's actually a hand that's easy to get into trouble with. If I fold that hand and then I see a flop come out that would have been good for me, I don't get upset about it. That's because against other hands that my opponents might be playing, my A-4-7-9 could be very vulnerable. What you should really be looking for is a hand where all of your cards work together. Here's a classic example of a horrible Omaha Hi/Lo hand where your cards do not work together well: K-10-3-4. Some people see that hand and say, "That hand has a little high potential and a little low potential." Indeed it does have a little potential - very little. Those are two bad high cards and two bad low cards. Any time that your four cards aren't working together in some way, it's a good indication that you shouldn't be playing the hand in Omaha Hi/Lo. When people who are used to playing Hold 'em look at an Omaha Hi/Lo hand, they see all of these combinations and say, "I had a pair" or "I had a flush draw" or "I had a low draw." But you need those things in combination. If all of your cards work together, you're playing 16 hands, whereas if your opponent's cards are split, he's playing about four hands. Needless to say, if all of your cards work together, that gives you a big edge in Omaha Hi/Lo.

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