I’m still doing well. I am pretty manic at the moment again with poker. I am reading non-stop. I got a bootlegged copy of Super System because it seems to be at the top of everyone’s list: the Poker Bible if you will. I also bought 2 Poker books with my Tilt points that I will start reading as soon as they arrive. I’m posting on forums, although most people don’t seem to agree with my theorems. Sadly most HH posts are 6-max these days.
Full Tilt has a kickass promotion going for December. They are matching your Iron Man points accumulated for the year as a bonus if you achieve any IM tier in December. That is cool of them. That means that by January or February I will be able to buy 2 $100 bonuses. That is always something nice for the BR.
BR still climbing. Currently at $1200. I will need to have one hell of a December to catch last year’s earnings. I doubt I will, but at least I have something to strive for. I don’t plan to cashout much so my roll should keep compounding exponentially as I move up stakes. I have currently made $1900 YTD. That’s $2600 below last year’s mark. Come on Lady Luck. $1900 is great considering that 6 months or so ago I was down $300 for the year.
My game has really been evolving in the last month or so. I tightened up my starting hands a bit, but I have become uber aggressive from the Highjack on with any 2. This is getting a ton of action for my normal starting hand range. I’m currently taking down nearly as many pots on the flop as I do PF to my CB’s. I am winning a ton of small pots now. Another big change in my game is that I am usually only playing big pots with big hands. TPTK all-in on the flop is basically nonexistent any more. I know I am folding the best hand often, but folding to hyper flop aggression with 1 pr isn’t too weak IMO. Why risk it with so little invested on the flop. Big hands for big pots is my new maxim. Since I am now winning a ton of smallish pots with my aggression why risk losing profits on an iffy endeavor. Also when I get called with my steal attempts and I flop TP or 2 pr I often get paid off nicely with moderate holdings because they don’t give me credit for a hand because I’m bulling their blinds so often. Lets see how these days off go.
Plus I have a home game tonight. Hopefully I can keep my streak alive. I had 15 straight wins in the home games going. I then lost $17 one game and now have a 4 game streak going again. Plus, I now have been given the invite to a local Corrections Officers’ game. It kinda sucks though because they usually only play $10 buy-ins tourneys, plus they start at 10:30 at night after they all get off of work. I’ve only gone once as of yet because of my work schedule, but I did OK that night. I bubbled the first one due to a horrid suckout, but it happens. The second one another guy and I chopped 1st and 2nd $ because it was 3:30 am.
Showing posts with label My Current Style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Current Style. Show all posts
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, November 02, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
My Current Style: Part 4
D-Hands
Now here comes the fun stuff that is here to test my post flop savvy and reading skills. All D-Hands have some things in common: I will not call a PF raise with them and the only way I will limp in PF is if I can get in half price from the SB, although I will try a blind steal with a few. All have some major draw-backs and thus weren’t a part of my old strategy, I now have enough hands under my belt that I have somewhat of a post flop game. But in most cases I expect to hit these hard on the flop or I’m done with them.
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
A lot of people love paint. Paint is made to be dominated. Often you would have better odds of winning the hand with mid-suited-cons or even 2 medium unsuited cards because at least both cards are usually live. These are the kinds of hands that pay me off. People hit a pr and are then willing to get in a kicker fight. I really don’t get it, but hey, it makes me money. I will not raise or call a raise PF, hell, I don’t even limp with these hands. I will occasionally try to steal the blinds in an unraised pot from the button or steal the BB from the SB with these hands, because they likely have junk that they will fold or if they call, I likely can steal on the flop even if I don’t pair-up. The other time I will enter the pot PF is from the SB where I get in for a discount. They do have straight potential after all, or likely will be TP if you hit the board, plus you could always spike 2pr or trips. But ultimately I play these very cautious post flop. Depending on how many players are in the hand with me dictates how I play it on the flop. I will most often be 1st to act so I’m out of position. If I hit a pr on the flop it is most likely TP or 2ndpr, so if it’s 1-3 players with me I will lead out a pot-sized bet, and if I get RR’d I drop. If I am called I usually C/C or C/F the remaining streets depending on how aggressive the betting gets. So position is huge factor on how I play these paint cards. So basically it is thrifty SB call, blind steal or fold. It’s that simple.
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
There are some obvious drawbacks here with K-suited. With the A-suited hands you know you have the nut flush, but with K-high flushes you can stand to lose a few big pots. But most of the time 2nd nut is usually good. With the KTs and K9s I also have the straight possibility as a bonus. Also Kings-up is a monster when it hits, so overall I am willing to throw in the other half of the blind. But as with most of my hands I won’t fight too hard without a good certainty that I’m good or that there is a good indication that they will drop before I fold and wait for a better play to risk my stack. I refuse to get into a kicker fight with a pebble in my hand if the stakes get high.
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
These are total junk hands, but they are so concealed when they hit that they can make you some good money. But they have some major drawbacks so I will only see them for half price from the SB. Here’s what makes these SC’s so much worse than their SC big brothers. They are almost always the bottom pr, the low end of a straight, and a vulnerable flush. If you hit your flush on the flop and make a pot-sized bet you are often called with 1-card flush draws and if that 4-flush hits on the turn or river you are usually forced to lay it down before the showdown along with all the money that you already invested. They are also real susceptible to being counterfeited on the turn and river even when you hit a strong hand like 2pr. So you really have a lot of stressful decisions to make when playing these cards. And sadly sometimes even when you hit your hand you are already nearly drawing dead. But it’s almost worth all the risk solely because of how bad it tilts some players when you reveal these cards at showdown and scoop the pot. I can see the chat box light up now expletives comments about my intelligence.
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
And last but not least – uh actually they do rank least – we have the Suited-Gappers. These cards totally suck, but they do have both straight and flush possibilities, and they are so well concealed that you can snipe off some nice pots when you hit hard. With these holdings I hit hard or I saying bye. Sometimes hitting the flop I can push out 1 or 2 opponents that whiffed. I try not to spend much on the draws either.
Summary
I would say that most of my big pots come from A and B hands, but C and D Hands are well concealed and bring in good money when they occasionally hit really hard. My A-hands also win a lot of smallish pots where everyone drops to my PF raise or they fold the flop to my CB. Position isn’t a big aspect of this current strategy PF except for the frequent blind steal attempts. If I hit any part of the board with any hand that I’m in I will bet it against 1 or 2 opponents on the flop. I am quite aggressive against few opponents because they are just as likely to have missed or barely hit as myself. If I am in position against 1 or 2 players and get checked to, I bet pot. I take down many smallish pots this way also. Often because I am limping in pots from lots of positions PF I find myself on the flop with only the blinds and I’m in position. Likely they check to me and I take the hand with a pot-sized bet. Often the blinds are folding hands where they hit BP or 2ndpr but figure I paired the over-card to their pr, especially when an A or K comes on the flop and I bet from position, they figure I stayed PF with A or K rag which is an extremely common occurrence. So the big concepts of this strategy are: 1 - Play only hands where you know how strong you are when you hit. 2 - Play mostly hands that aren’t at a disadvantage due to bad kickers. 3 - Play lots of hands that you can get in with cheaply, but pack a powerful punch when they hit. 4 - Win lots of small pots due to blind steals and aggressive short-handed flop aggression.
My game has changed enormously from last year, with me adding more starting hands and being a little more aggressive on the flop when putting in a bet isn’t killing my stack but is surely scary to players that missed their holdings. I am still fairly weak with some hands and my aggression with them, so hopefully I can at some point move some more of those hands up in my rankings. My current style is a mere semblance of last year’s, so who knows what another year will hold for my game?
Now here comes the fun stuff that is here to test my post flop savvy and reading skills. All D-Hands have some things in common: I will not call a PF raise with them and the only way I will limp in PF is if I can get in half price from the SB, although I will try a blind steal with a few. All have some major draw-backs and thus weren’t a part of my old strategy, I now have enough hands under my belt that I have somewhat of a post flop game. But in most cases I expect to hit these hard on the flop or I’m done with them.
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
A lot of people love paint. Paint is made to be dominated. Often you would have better odds of winning the hand with mid-suited-cons or even 2 medium unsuited cards because at least both cards are usually live. These are the kinds of hands that pay me off. People hit a pr and are then willing to get in a kicker fight. I really don’t get it, but hey, it makes me money. I will not raise or call a raise PF, hell, I don’t even limp with these hands. I will occasionally try to steal the blinds in an unraised pot from the button or steal the BB from the SB with these hands, because they likely have junk that they will fold or if they call, I likely can steal on the flop even if I don’t pair-up. The other time I will enter the pot PF is from the SB where I get in for a discount. They do have straight potential after all, or likely will be TP if you hit the board, plus you could always spike 2pr or trips. But ultimately I play these very cautious post flop. Depending on how many players are in the hand with me dictates how I play it on the flop. I will most often be 1st to act so I’m out of position. If I hit a pr on the flop it is most likely TP or 2ndpr, so if it’s 1-3 players with me I will lead out a pot-sized bet, and if I get RR’d I drop. If I am called I usually C/C or C/F the remaining streets depending on how aggressive the betting gets. So position is huge factor on how I play these paint cards. So basically it is thrifty SB call, blind steal or fold. It’s that simple.
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
There are some obvious drawbacks here with K-suited. With the A-suited hands you know you have the nut flush, but with K-high flushes you can stand to lose a few big pots. But most of the time 2nd nut is usually good. With the KTs and K9s I also have the straight possibility as a bonus. Also Kings-up is a monster when it hits, so overall I am willing to throw in the other half of the blind. But as with most of my hands I won’t fight too hard without a good certainty that I’m good or that there is a good indication that they will drop before I fold and wait for a better play to risk my stack. I refuse to get into a kicker fight with a pebble in my hand if the stakes get high.
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
These are total junk hands, but they are so concealed when they hit that they can make you some good money. But they have some major drawbacks so I will only see them for half price from the SB. Here’s what makes these SC’s so much worse than their SC big brothers. They are almost always the bottom pr, the low end of a straight, and a vulnerable flush. If you hit your flush on the flop and make a pot-sized bet you are often called with 1-card flush draws and if that 4-flush hits on the turn or river you are usually forced to lay it down before the showdown along with all the money that you already invested. They are also real susceptible to being counterfeited on the turn and river even when you hit a strong hand like 2pr. So you really have a lot of stressful decisions to make when playing these cards. And sadly sometimes even when you hit your hand you are already nearly drawing dead. But it’s almost worth all the risk solely because of how bad it tilts some players when you reveal these cards at showdown and scoop the pot. I can see the chat box light up now expletives comments about my intelligence.
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
And last but not least – uh actually they do rank least – we have the Suited-Gappers. These cards totally suck, but they do have both straight and flush possibilities, and they are so well concealed that you can snipe off some nice pots when you hit hard. With these holdings I hit hard or I saying bye. Sometimes hitting the flop I can push out 1 or 2 opponents that whiffed. I try not to spend much on the draws either.
Summary
I would say that most of my big pots come from A and B hands, but C and D Hands are well concealed and bring in good money when they occasionally hit really hard. My A-hands also win a lot of smallish pots where everyone drops to my PF raise or they fold the flop to my CB. Position isn’t a big aspect of this current strategy PF except for the frequent blind steal attempts. If I hit any part of the board with any hand that I’m in I will bet it against 1 or 2 opponents on the flop. I am quite aggressive against few opponents because they are just as likely to have missed or barely hit as myself. If I am in position against 1 or 2 players and get checked to, I bet pot. I take down many smallish pots this way also. Often because I am limping in pots from lots of positions PF I find myself on the flop with only the blinds and I’m in position. Likely they check to me and I take the hand with a pot-sized bet. Often the blinds are folding hands where they hit BP or 2ndpr but figure I paired the over-card to their pr, especially when an A or K comes on the flop and I bet from position, they figure I stayed PF with A or K rag which is an extremely common occurrence. So the big concepts of this strategy are: 1 - Play only hands where you know how strong you are when you hit. 2 - Play mostly hands that aren’t at a disadvantage due to bad kickers. 3 - Play lots of hands that you can get in with cheaply, but pack a powerful punch when they hit. 4 - Win lots of small pots due to blind steals and aggressive short-handed flop aggression.
My game has changed enormously from last year, with me adding more starting hands and being a little more aggressive on the flop when putting in a bet isn’t killing my stack but is surely scary to players that missed their holdings. I am still fairly weak with some hands and my aggression with them, so hopefully I can at some point move some more of those hands up in my rankings. My current style is a mere semblance of last year’s, so who knows what another year will hold for my game?
Saturday, July 07, 2007
My Current Style: Part 3
C-Hands
There are 3 categories of C-Hands. Each is played a little different, but one thing they have in common is that I intend only to limp in with them PF.
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
A-suited doesn’t hit hard often, but when it does flush you have the nuts on an unpaired board, so it is possible to make some change. Conversely it also put you on a lot of draws to which you can waste a lot of coin. Another adverse problem inherent to A-suited is when an Ace comes on the board or the rag is top pair you are very vulnerable – now you have to really be careful. These are the kinds of things that I don’t enjoy. I like to know where I stand, especially on the flop, before I start putting in a lot of chips, and with A and B hands I usually know right where I stand – not tons of think-tank moments. But hitting TP can really cost you here if you choose to get in a kicker fight. So I play these hole cards sparingly after the flop. I do take some small pots against 1 or 2 players if they check to my position or if I bet out because I paired and they whiffed. But I refuse to lose my stack with A-shitkicker. I limp with these hands. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also as long as there are at least a few other callers also, giving me a nice pot to look forward to. The more people that get in these hands the better. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the AQs, AJs, or ATs.
Suited Connectors down to 65s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s
I obviously play these cards because of the triple-threat – straights, flushes, or maybe the 2pr/trip possibilities. These cards can be deadly when they hit, because they are well concealed, and therefore can win you some nice pots. The flushes can be scary at times, but overall you are best when you hit. I currently only limp with these cards, although I have been stacked on many occasion when someone calls my PF raise with them. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also only if is a multi-wat pot giving me good money to draw for. The more people that get in these hands the better. Unless I hit hard I don’t waste a lot of cash after the flop. Once again this can be a chasing hand and you can chip down if you get greedy. You must be careful not to over estimate you outs when chasing with these holdings, because you could be dead if you hit your flush or your straight at times. You have to be on you game when playing low junk. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the KQs, QJs and JTs because even if they call I have position.
AQ, KQ, KJs
I will limp with these hands. I know a lot of players love these hands – shit to some of you they are A-Hands. Now why I don’t hold them in high esteem. If you raise with them and are called you are often dominated, especially when you hit the pr you were looking for. When someone raises PF I fold these cards for the same reason. If I have already limped and someone else then min-raises, I won’t even throw in another BB. Weak you say? Safe I say. I make enough winning small pots with flop aggression that I don’t need to hazard what these cards can bring When someone’s hand is good enough for a PF raise it is possible that you are crushed even when you hit. It is quite possible that you only have 1 live out. That can mean some big losses. Like I have stated before, this strategy is about having a real good idea of where you’re at before getting too much money in the middle. Now don’t get me wrong these are great holdings, I just like their power in unraised pots where if I hit I am usually in good shape. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button.
D-Hands and Summary yet to come...
There are 3 categories of C-Hands. Each is played a little different, but one thing they have in common is that I intend only to limp in with them PF.
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
A-suited doesn’t hit hard often, but when it does flush you have the nuts on an unpaired board, so it is possible to make some change. Conversely it also put you on a lot of draws to which you can waste a lot of coin. Another adverse problem inherent to A-suited is when an Ace comes on the board or the rag is top pair you are very vulnerable – now you have to really be careful. These are the kinds of things that I don’t enjoy. I like to know where I stand, especially on the flop, before I start putting in a lot of chips, and with A and B hands I usually know right where I stand – not tons of think-tank moments. But hitting TP can really cost you here if you choose to get in a kicker fight. So I play these hole cards sparingly after the flop. I do take some small pots against 1 or 2 players if they check to my position or if I bet out because I paired and they whiffed. But I refuse to lose my stack with A-shitkicker. I limp with these hands. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also as long as there are at least a few other callers also, giving me a nice pot to look forward to. The more people that get in these hands the better. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the AQs, AJs, or ATs.
Suited Connectors down to 65s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s
I obviously play these cards because of the triple-threat – straights, flushes, or maybe the 2pr/trip possibilities. These cards can be deadly when they hit, because they are well concealed, and therefore can win you some nice pots. The flushes can be scary at times, but overall you are best when you hit. I currently only limp with these cards, although I have been stacked on many occasion when someone calls my PF raise with them. If I already limped and it is min-raised on the way back around I will call also only if is a multi-wat pot giving me good money to draw for. The more people that get in these hands the better. Unless I hit hard I don’t waste a lot of cash after the flop. Once again this can be a chasing hand and you can chip down if you get greedy. You must be careful not to over estimate you outs when chasing with these holdings, because you could be dead if you hit your flush or your straight at times. You have to be on you game when playing low junk. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button with the KQs, QJs and JTs because even if they call I have position.
AQ, KQ, KJs
I will limp with these hands. I know a lot of players love these hands – shit to some of you they are A-Hands. Now why I don’t hold them in high esteem. If you raise with them and are called you are often dominated, especially when you hit the pr you were looking for. When someone raises PF I fold these cards for the same reason. If I have already limped and someone else then min-raises, I won’t even throw in another BB. Weak you say? Safe I say. I make enough winning small pots with flop aggression that I don’t need to hazard what these cards can bring When someone’s hand is good enough for a PF raise it is possible that you are crushed even when you hit. It is quite possible that you only have 1 live out. That can mean some big losses. Like I have stated before, this strategy is about having a real good idea of where you’re at before getting too much money in the middle. Now don’t get me wrong these are great holdings, I just like their power in unraised pots where if I hit I am usually in good shape. I will try to steal the blinds in an unopened pot from the CO or the button.
D-Hands and Summary yet to come...
Friday, July 06, 2007
My Current Style: Part 2
A-Hands
AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AK, JJ
I don’t worry about position with A-hands. I raise PF with all of these hands. I will reraise PF with AA, KK, QQ. If the aggressor is another player I will reraise PF with all 3 of these. If someone goes back overtop of my goodly sized reraise I will push all-in with AA and KK. I will fold the QQ to this aggression because the predominate holdings are AA or KK. Yes you might get the hyper-aggressive reraise or push with QQ, AK, JJ, AQs, and AJs, but I think in the long-run you will pay out much more than you will win in this situation. Depending on how much the reraise was I will call the flop and see if I spike that Q. With AK or JJ I just call a PF raise and hope to hit a nice flop and can hopefully then bet or more often CR the flop. I am cautious with JJ on low flopped boards. I will bet or CR it and if I get too much resistance I am done with the hand or depending on bet size C/C to showdown. I prefer to just bet it and see where I stand instead for calling bets. I figure if I’m willing to put a certain amount in the pot I mind as well put him to the decision because if they don’t have a premium hand or are afraid of overs they are more apt to fold to that aggression. If I am the PF aggressor and get 1 or 2 callers I will always CB the flop no matter the board. With 3 or more in the flop hand I will always bet AA and KK. I will sometimes slowdown with overs on the board with my PF raised QQ and JJ, because with 4 callers odds are that I’m beat and they are looking to CR. Sometimes I will bet a little over ½ pot to reduce the field and gather some info. If I’m CR’d here I’m done. If my AK whiffs the flop I will always CB with 1 or 2 PF callers. If 3 or 4 are with me to the flop, I either check hoping to see the turn or I will bet a little over ½ pot to see where I stand. I don’t go broke as often with K’s, Q’s, AK, and JJ anymore. I do still find it hard to let K’s and Q’s go if there are no overs. But now if I get all-in action over my CB and there are overs on the table I drop and save my stack for another opportunity. I might hold the winning hand on occasion but why risk it all the time. The rest of strategy wins enough small pots that I don’t want to lose all my grinding money on one big hand where I put it all-in with the worst hand. I will break my own rules here if I have a read on the player, but that goes without saying. If I totally crush the flop with a set or trips I will usually slow-roll till the turn or depending on their aggression CB the flop instead. If the board isn’t all that innocuous, but instead is coordinated with straight and flush draws, I bet out even my monsters as to make them pay to chase. A big no-no for me is slow-playing PF. I always bet PF; I don’t care if is folded around to me in the SB, they pay to play – this ain’t a Holiday Inn Express. Lastly, I obviously bet PF to isolate against 1 player or 2 at the most; anymore than that and you are just asking for trouble.
B-Hands
All prs Ten and under – TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
I play these cards for set value. I usually limp and do a little set-farming. If I’m able to limp in and hit the flop I usually slow-play the flop. If the flop is bet I CR or smooth-call opting for the turn bet or CR. If there is a bet and 1 or more callers on the flop, I add their bets to the current pot and raise that amount, because they are showing that they are willing to add money to the pot and if they are on draws I definitely need to make them pay to see. If the board is scary I don’t even mess around, I just bet pot and see where we go from there. I will fight a little bit on the flop if I have an over-pr (usually opening or RR’ing for info and hopefully taking it down right there) but as a rule you should never put all your money in on an unraised pot, because the other limpers could be holding anything because they weren’t forced out PF. (2pr is a very likely holdings.) With TT and 99 I will raise PF in an unopened or un-limped pot if I’m the cut-off or button because I will have position on my side if I get any takers. I will call a PF raise with any of these pairs for set value. This tactic works especially well against a PF raiser, because they might have premium hole cards that they will find hard to fold and double me up. The more people that get in PF the better, because it usually juices up the pot for my set. Also the PF raiser usually CB’s the flop, which increases the pot. I usually check to the PF aggressor, then I decide to smooth call or CR according to the board. I prefer to CR on the flop and hope we can get all the money in right there, and optimally they are drawing to a 2-outer, but it also keeps them from drawing cheaply. If I’m out of position and it is a drawy board I just lead out and hope to take it down.
C and D hands plus the summary coming up next.
AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AK, JJ
I don’t worry about position with A-hands. I raise PF with all of these hands. I will reraise PF with AA, KK, QQ. If the aggressor is another player I will reraise PF with all 3 of these. If someone goes back overtop of my goodly sized reraise I will push all-in with AA and KK. I will fold the QQ to this aggression because the predominate holdings are AA or KK. Yes you might get the hyper-aggressive reraise or push with QQ, AK, JJ, AQs, and AJs, but I think in the long-run you will pay out much more than you will win in this situation. Depending on how much the reraise was I will call the flop and see if I spike that Q. With AK or JJ I just call a PF raise and hope to hit a nice flop and can hopefully then bet or more often CR the flop. I am cautious with JJ on low flopped boards. I will bet or CR it and if I get too much resistance I am done with the hand or depending on bet size C/C to showdown. I prefer to just bet it and see where I stand instead for calling bets. I figure if I’m willing to put a certain amount in the pot I mind as well put him to the decision because if they don’t have a premium hand or are afraid of overs they are more apt to fold to that aggression. If I am the PF aggressor and get 1 or 2 callers I will always CB the flop no matter the board. With 3 or more in the flop hand I will always bet AA and KK. I will sometimes slowdown with overs on the board with my PF raised QQ and JJ, because with 4 callers odds are that I’m beat and they are looking to CR. Sometimes I will bet a little over ½ pot to reduce the field and gather some info. If I’m CR’d here I’m done. If my AK whiffs the flop I will always CB with 1 or 2 PF callers. If 3 or 4 are with me to the flop, I either check hoping to see the turn or I will bet a little over ½ pot to see where I stand. I don’t go broke as often with K’s, Q’s, AK, and JJ anymore. I do still find it hard to let K’s and Q’s go if there are no overs. But now if I get all-in action over my CB and there are overs on the table I drop and save my stack for another opportunity. I might hold the winning hand on occasion but why risk it all the time. The rest of strategy wins enough small pots that I don’t want to lose all my grinding money on one big hand where I put it all-in with the worst hand. I will break my own rules here if I have a read on the player, but that goes without saying. If I totally crush the flop with a set or trips I will usually slow-roll till the turn or depending on their aggression CB the flop instead. If the board isn’t all that innocuous, but instead is coordinated with straight and flush draws, I bet out even my monsters as to make them pay to chase. A big no-no for me is slow-playing PF. I always bet PF; I don’t care if is folded around to me in the SB, they pay to play – this ain’t a Holiday Inn Express. Lastly, I obviously bet PF to isolate against 1 player or 2 at the most; anymore than that and you are just asking for trouble.
B-Hands
All prs Ten and under – TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
I play these cards for set value. I usually limp and do a little set-farming. If I’m able to limp in and hit the flop I usually slow-play the flop. If the flop is bet I CR or smooth-call opting for the turn bet or CR. If there is a bet and 1 or more callers on the flop, I add their bets to the current pot and raise that amount, because they are showing that they are willing to add money to the pot and if they are on draws I definitely need to make them pay to see. If the board is scary I don’t even mess around, I just bet pot and see where we go from there. I will fight a little bit on the flop if I have an over-pr (usually opening or RR’ing for info and hopefully taking it down right there) but as a rule you should never put all your money in on an unraised pot, because the other limpers could be holding anything because they weren’t forced out PF. (2pr is a very likely holdings.) With TT and 99 I will raise PF in an unopened or un-limped pot if I’m the cut-off or button because I will have position on my side if I get any takers. I will call a PF raise with any of these pairs for set value. This tactic works especially well against a PF raiser, because they might have premium hole cards that they will find hard to fold and double me up. The more people that get in PF the better, because it usually juices up the pot for my set. Also the PF raiser usually CB’s the flop, which increases the pot. I usually check to the PF aggressor, then I decide to smooth call or CR according to the board. I prefer to CR on the flop and hope we can get all the money in right there, and optimally they are drawing to a 2-outer, but it also keeps them from drawing cheaply. If I’m out of position and it is a drawy board I just lead out and hope to take it down.
C and D hands plus the summary coming up next.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
My Current Style: Part 1
My current game
It is somewhat passive, but it is designed to let me know where I stand on the flop, and to minimize hands where I’m dominated. I make money with this style so don’t knock it too readily. I am averaging over a buy-in per session. (8 tables for 1 ½ to 2 hrs) With no bad beats on big hands I am making 2 or 3 full buy-ins. I have added in some hands omitted from my old rock stratagem, so I play more hands, and thus get more callers when I do have premium hands, plus I spike more junk hands because I’m seeing more flops. I have added in these other hands because I have gained a post flop game and often can take down small pots without risking much. I’m not great, but don’t check to me. I’ll go through the basics of my PF strategy. I will also explain how I play some things on the flop. I know a lot of players would rank some of these hands different, but this is my current style. In case you are wondering – this Style is made for Full Ring Micro to Small stakes play. In this 1st segment I will just give you the hand ranks, to be elaborated on in subsequent posts.
A-Hands
AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AK, JJ
B-Hands
All prs Ten and under – TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
C-Hands
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
Suited Connectors down to 76s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s
AQ, KQ, KJs
D-Hands
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
It is somewhat passive, but it is designed to let me know where I stand on the flop, and to minimize hands where I’m dominated. I make money with this style so don’t knock it too readily. I am averaging over a buy-in per session. (8 tables for 1 ½ to 2 hrs) With no bad beats on big hands I am making 2 or 3 full buy-ins. I have added in some hands omitted from my old rock stratagem, so I play more hands, and thus get more callers when I do have premium hands, plus I spike more junk hands because I’m seeing more flops. I have added in these other hands because I have gained a post flop game and often can take down small pots without risking much. I’m not great, but don’t check to me. I’ll go through the basics of my PF strategy. I will also explain how I play some things on the flop. I know a lot of players would rank some of these hands different, but this is my current style. In case you are wondering – this Style is made for Full Ring Micro to Small stakes play. In this 1st segment I will just give you the hand ranks, to be elaborated on in subsequent posts.
A-Hands
AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AK, JJ
B-Hands
All prs Ten and under – TT, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22
C-Hands
Ace anything suited – AQs, AJs, ATs, A9s, A8, A7s, A6s A5s, A4s, A3s, A2s
Suited Connectors down to 76s – KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s
AQ, KQ, KJs
D-Hands
AJ, AT, KT, KJ,QJ, QT, JT
King anything suited – KTs, K9s, K8s, K7s, K6s, K5s, K4’s, K3s, K2s
Suited-Connectors – 65s, 54s, 43s, 32s
Suited –Gappers – KTs, K9s, QTs, Q9s, Q8s, J9s, J8s, J7s, T8s, T7s, T6s, 97s, 96s, 95s, 86s, 85s, 84s, 75s, 74s, 73s, 64s, 63s, 62s, 53s, 52s, 42s
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