The quick answer: maybe. If I were to offer you two to one odds on a coin flip, it would be a great bet, at least from a probability point of view. The math is simple; I’d be willing to pay you $2 on your $1 bet based upon an event that will happen one time out of two tries. The probability of success is 50%, but you need a probability of only 33% to break even, so that’s a great bet, at least on the surface. You can probably tell I’m hinting about a downside here, so let’s talk about it in poker terms – specifically poker tournament terms, rather than cash or “ring” game terms. Why the distinction? Because in a cash game, if you take a 2 to 1 bet and lose, you can just reach in your pocket for more $$$. In a tournament, losing the hand may knock you out of contention or even bust you. It’s like me offering you 2 to 1 on a coin flip, but you have to bet everything you own. Sure, do it often enough and you’ll bust me, but if you lose the first time we do it, you’re busted and don’t get a second chance. Does two to one still sound good?

My point here is that every bet has a mathematical value, which can usually be measured precisely and a relative value, which is more difficult to measure because it must be done in relationship to other factors. Flipping a coin for a buck is one thing; flipping a coin for your entire net worth is another thing entirely. Fortunately, none of us has to risk our entire net worth on the outcome of a poker tournament, but we do want to finish as close to the top as possible, so we have to examine our bets from both a mathematical point of view and a relative point of view. For example, let’s say you’re in the Big Blind, which is $200 and you have $3000 left in chips after posting. A player in Middle Position bets $700 and everyone, including the Small Blind folds. The pot is now $1000 ($100 SB, $200 BB, $700 from MP player) and it will cost you $500 to call, so you’re getting two to one on your money. Now remember that your $200 blind bet is gone – once it’s posted, it no longer belongs to you, so you don’t use that in figuring odds like this. It’s simply a case of paying $500 to try and win $1000, which is 2 to 1 pot odds. In Lesson 2, I showed you some basic poker math that tells us how to convert probability to odds and vice-versa. Pot odds of 2 to 1 means you need a probability of just over 33% to break even (add 2 + 1 = 3; divide that into 100 and the result is 33.33). So, if we have a hand that we think has a 34% probability of winning, the math says it’s a call.

But there are several problems here. First of all, if the raiser has A-A and we have Q-Q, our probability of winning is only about 20%, so we’re not getting a good “price” for our bet. On the other hand, if our opponent raised with, say, A-K offsuit, our probability of winning is closer to 55%, which makes this a great call with Q-Q. But what if we have to go all-in to make the call? Is the return big enough; is 2 to 1 a good deal? For me, if I were short-stacked, I’d be happy to get all my $$$ into the pot with a pair of Queens. If my opponent has A-A or K-K, I’m basically toast and as the saying goes, “that’s poker”, but I’m a favorite in most other situations. Sadly, most hands you’ll encounter are not as clear-cut as this. What’s more likely is that you’ll hold something like 5-5, K-Jo or A-4 suited (I’m assuming you’ll fold the truly “junk” hands like Q-7o,10-5s, etc.) and calling the bet won’t force you all-in, but it would be a shame to miss a chance to add to your stack. What to do?

(Source: GameMaster)

Because most versions of Hold ‘em played in a poker room (real and virtual) have a dealer that’s employed by the house, a rotating disk ( the “button”) designates which player gets to act as the dealer for the hand, even though they won’t touch any cards but their own. The reason why the poker rooms go to all this trouble of designating the dealer for each hand is because from a strategic point of view, the dealer’s spot is the best. Of course, the dealer “button” rotates around the table so that each player has an equal opportunity to act in the dealer’s position; basically once every 9 or 10 hands, if you’re at a full table.

The advantage of being the dealer is that you get to act after all the other players, except in the pre-flop betting, where you still have position on everyone other than the Small and Big Blinds. This position advantage is significant for several reasons:

• You may “safely” play more hands in general
• The opportunity to steal the blinds is greater
• Big hands like A-A and K-K or A-K can be disguised somewhat

To me, the best part about playing on the button is that I can, from a mathematical point of view, play more hands profitably. What might be a wasted bet “under the gun” can be profitable when made from the button position. For example, one of the most popular hands of all, J -10 offsuit, is highly over-rated as a starting hand in early position (and, in fact, should be folded), but it does become slightly profitable on the button. The saving grace is that this hand makes a lot of Straights, but it’s usually a loser if that doesn’t happen. Even so, if several players ahead of you “limp” (just call) into the pot, the hand of J-10o is certainly worth one bet. With a lot of players, it usually takes a hand like a Straight to win the pot, so from the button, J-10o is frequently worthwhile to play. Of course, one of the Blinds may raise, which will make the J-10o a fold, but that’s poker. If you wanted guarantees, you would be at some life insurance site, not here.

While it’s really a topic that deserves its own lesson, stealing the blinds is a lot easier when you’re on the button. Don’t kid yourself, though. A lot of players almost expect a raise from the player on the button – it’s known as a “position” raise – so you can get burned if you do it too often. However, with a decent, if not great, hand that you’d be playing anyway, a well-timed raise is warranted and it may pay off if the Blinds have demonstrated that they’re prone to folding. At the best, you may win the pot right then and there, but if not, perhaps you’ll drive some trash hands out of the game, which may give your hand a better shot at winning. At the worst, you’ll get reraised by one of the Blinds, in which case you should refer to the chart I’ll be presenting for how to play the hand at that point.

But before I do that, let’s look at the idea of concealing a big hand when you play it from the button. Generally, in low-limit hold ‘em games a raise from an early position sends a signal that you have a “big” hand, so most will fold behind you – which is not all bad – but it does tend to cut down on your earnings. However, if you do that same raise from the button, many players will think it’s the “position raise” I mentioned earlier, so they might call, which is lovely. Of course, if you get re-raised, all the better. When it gets back to you, reraise if appropriate and you’re now involved in a “monster” pot with probably the best hand.

It’s obvious that being on the button has its advantages, but it’s not a license to play trash like J-6o, 10-5s and so forth. You still need to play decent hands here, but a lot more hands will qualify as “decent”, so it’s definitely a place where you can make some $$$. One more point: If the player to your immediate left is inclined to fold a lot, then you should look for opportunities to “buy the button.” What this means is that even after the button has moved to this person, you may want to raise as though you were still on the button yourself, because if you can get this person to fold, you’ll be the last to act during the hand after the Blinds have played. Of course, if this player – who can be described as “tight” – raises you back, it’s probably time to fold. But, once again, my chart will show you how to react. Okay, here’s the chart and you’ll see that it follows the same format as the others, which is to list the minimum hands needed to bet from the button. The options you have are usually to raise or reraise, call or fold, just as I show in my other charts. What I want to stress is that this chart is appropriate for limit Hold ‘em games and, like most of my others, will make you appear as a “tight” player, which may or may not suit your style of play

(Source: GameMaster)

If and when you find yourself with one of the larger stacks at the table, you naturally don’t want to tangle with anyone who has a bigger stack than you unless you have a super-premium hand. But that doesn’t mean you should just sit and wait for pocket Aces to show up. If there are several players to your left who have a chip stack equal to ten or fewer Big Blind bets and the pot is unraised when it’s your turn, put out a bet that’s five or six times the BB, even if you have a “marginal” hand like A-9o, K-Js or a pair of 2s to 5s. Such a bet puts a lot of pressure on those with smaller stacks and most of the time they’ll fold, especially if you’re all close to getting “in the money”. Beware of the big stacks – ideally they have already folded – but don’t do this if one of them will be acting after you. In the later stages of a tournament, the blinds and antes can be a significant amount, and, so long as a 5x raise isn’t more than 20% or so of your stack, this technique can pick up quit a few chips at a critical time. Plus, it makes you look like a “bully”, which is a good image to have when you’re really a fairly tight player. Holding a less-than-premium hand makes it easy to fold if someone re-raises you. But before you fold, see what kind of pot odds you’re being offered and whether or not the re-raiser has gone all in; they may be just acting out of desperation and it might be profitable to make the call.

(Source: GameMaster)

This chart will show you the minimum hands needed to make a play depending upon your position, working backward from the “button” (acting dealer for this hand) to the Big Blind. The options you have are usually to raise or reraise, call or fold, just as I show in my other charts. What I want to stress is that this chart is appropriate for limit Hold ‘em games and, like most of my others, will make you appear as a “tight” player, which may or may not suit your style of play. If you want to be looser in nature, the chart can easily accommodate you with some simple modifications, as you’ll see.

While I think it’s important for anyone to play within some sort of comfort zone (why bet your hard-earned $$$ if you’re uncomfortable?), the fact is that we have to loosen up our play as the number of opponents decreases. A hand of 5-5 may not be all that strong in a game with 10 players, but head-to-head with someone it will often be the winner, if it’s played aggressively. And that’s not something I can teach you – at least not in this lesson – how to get a feel for the “texture” of the game you’re in; whether to lay back or be out there firing at every pot. Whatever your choice, this chart will at least let you know if your play is fundamentally sound.

So, take a look at it and I’ll see you down below for a thorough discussion when you’re ready.

Notes and comments

To better explain what I’m trying to show you here, let’s discuss a few examples, starting with the cards to play when you’re on the button. Occupying the button is, of course, the primo position in Hold’em, mainly because all the other players, except for the Blinds, must act before you on the first round of betting. And, after the flop, everyone still in the hand has to act before you and that gives you a lot more hands you can consider playing.

If you go across the chart on the “0″ position, you’ll see that the minimum hand for reraising is K-K. What this means is that you can feel free to raise any number of previous raises if you hold K-K or A-A because the math is on your side. If the pot hasn’t been raised by the time it’s your turn to act, you should raise if you hold 10-10 or higher, but if your raise is reraised, you should raise that only with K-K or A-A. Anything less and you should just call. Continuing across, you can see that a hand of 8-8, for example, should not raise on the button (and obviously not reraise), but it’s worth calling any raises that have been made in front of you. In the far right column, you’ll see that a pair of 2s should call one bet only; in other words, dump them in a raised pot. So, what if you have 5-5 and you call, then the Big Blind raises the pot? Well, the chart says you need 8-8 to call that raise, so you should fold. Oh, I know the flop will have at least one 5 in it the first time you do that and you’ll curse me, but this chart is based upon long-term probabilities, not what may happen in one particular hand, so while that’ll sting a bit, the $$$ you save in the long run will justify the play, I assure you.

Let’s now look at the “UTG” (under the gun) position, which is the first player to bet pre-flop. The chart says you may reraise with K-K or A-A, but of course no bet has been made yet. My advice here is to “limp” into the pot by just calling the BB bet, then reraise any raisers when it comes around to you. The reason for that, particularly in a typical limit game, is upfront raises cause a lot of players to fold and you’ll usually win only the blinds if you do it. But, by reraising, you’ll now trap a few players into staying with the hand. Of course, one of those players may hold A-A against your K-K, but if you wanted guarantees, you’d be visiting a bank Website. I absolutely love to make that play with A-A, especially in no-limit tournaments, but it’ll work well in a limit game, too.

Okay, back to playing under the gun. While the “limp and reraise” tactic applies to K-K or better, a hand of Q-Q is one with which to raise, but not reraise. While you can limp with Queens, you can’t really generate much income that way, so my advice is to raise with them to open the betting. Sure, you’ll get called by every Ace out there, but all the lower pairs will call, too. It’s just wiser to only call any reraises with Queens and see what the flop brings. Obviously, if an Ace or King is in the flop, you have to proceed very carefully, if not fold. In the UTG spot, you can call any number of raises with Jacks or better. The far right column shows that 9-9 should call only one raise and that’s true of 10-10, at least in this position. Were you close to the button , then you could call any number of raises with pocket 10s.

This “sliding scale” of hands is what allows you to easily open up (loosen) your game. If you’re a kamikaze-type of player, then ignore all of the position limitations for pocket pairs and have at it. You’ll have some very good days, but on the bad days, you’ll all but bleed $$$ across the table. That said, I fully recognize the necessity for loosening up as the number of players at the table decreases. That’s easily handled with this chart by mentally moving the UTG spot closer to the button. For example, if you’re playing at a table with 5 players, make the UTG spot # 5 on the chart, which means you’ll still reraise only with K-K or better, but now you’ll raise with Jacks or better as an opening bet. In a 5-handed game, you can call all bets with 9-9 or better when in the UTG spot and call a raise with 7-7 or better. Thus, in a 5-handed game, you’d fold only 6s or less in a raised pot, if you’re under the gun. See how that works? If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me.

All of us are capable of making a profit with a pair of Aces or Kings, but it’s what we do with marginal hands, like pairs below 8-8, that can make a big difference in the overall profitability of our game. You may wonder why I specifically chose a pair of eights as my “line of demarcation”. I do so because eights are the median cards in a deck; median meaning half the cards are of lower value (2s through 7s) and half are higher (9s through Aces) – six of each with 8s making up the 13th card. So, it follows that half the time you hold a pair of 8s, any opponent that also holds a pair has you beat. However, the nice thing about pair versus pair matchups is that they are rare. The odds that one of your opponents at a full table has a pair when you have a pair is roughly 30 to 1, but if you have 2-2, you’re almost certainly beaten. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the bet I’ll be describing here.

In my experience, in the early stages of a tournament, be it single- or multi-table, players will limp into a lot of pots when given the opportunity to do so. Of course, many players will limp with trash hands and a pair Aces alike, so if you’re in late position (Cutoff or Button) and you also limp, you’re never really sure where you stand. One of my favorite sayings is, “Expect anything in an unraised pot.” The way to handle that is to put in a nice healthy raise if, say, at least four players have limped in and you’re in late position with a hand that can win on its own. Obviously, that means any pocket pair, but it can also mean a hand with an Ace or a King, suited or otherwise. Yes, most likely you’ll have to hit something on the flop to win if all you have is A-x or K-x, but a pair of Aces or Kings will often be a winner, so that’s what I mean by “win on its own.” I would not include Q-x or lower in this category.

So let’s say you have one of these qualifying hands and the blinds are 5/10 in the early stages of a sit & go tourney. With four limpers and the blinds, the pot will be 55 when it gets to you and you should raise the bet to at least 70. That means it will cost the Small Blind 65 more to get in on a pot of 125, giving him nearly 2 to 1 pot odds, so don’t be surprised by his call, which will raise the pot to 190. The Big Blind will have to put in 60 more which will be 3 to 1 pot odds, so again, don’t be surprised if he calls. Of course, you don’t really want to see this hand to a showdown, but if the two blinds do call, you’ll have 70 chips invested in a pot that is now valued at 250, which is better than 3.5 to 1 pot odds. Should you hold a pocket pair, your probability of success with a pair of 2s against two random hands like the blinds is 31% (just under 2 to 1), but the pot is offering 3.5 to 1. If you hold 7-7, your probability of winning is 44%, which is just under even-money. Of course, other limpers may also call, but that will only raise your pot odds, although you’re very likely facing a “real” hand if they do. If someone re-raises, you should probably fold if your hand is lower than 8-8. I say “probably” because in an online sit & go tourney, you may not have much of a read on that player and he may have limped with a big pair like As or Ks, in which case you’re about a 4 to 1 underdog or he may have A-x or K-x, in which case you have the best of it. So, if the pots odds warrant a call, you’ll have to use your best judgment, but I lean toward folding. A re-raise is the worst-case scenario, but what you’ll generally find is that everyone will fold to your raise except one other player and that person will just call, which makes any other $$$ in the pot “dead money”, thus the name of this bet.

Of course, every hand is different, but if I raise preflop and the remaining player(s) check to me after the flop, ninety percent of the time I’m going to bet at least 75% of the pot at that point. Remember, your preflop raise basically said, “I have a pair or two big cards” so if an Ace or King comes on the flop, just about the only player who can call my post-flop bet is someone who either has an Ace or a King, a pair that made a set or a drawing hand. If the flop misses me completely, I’m still making that bet and hopefully my opponent will fold. I only start to worry if I’m called. If I’m re-raised, I just drop the hand and that’s that, but a caller is very likely slow-playing me. Now remember, I’ve got “position” in this example and get to act last. With a hand like 2-2, if my opponent who called then bets after the turn card is placed on the board, I’m going to fold unless it’s a third 2, in which case I’ll re-raise. If my opponent checks on the turn, most of the time I’m going to check too and I’ll get to see the river card for free. The river will take care of itself; I’ll either be able to call a bet or I won’t.

But the vast majority of the time when you make this bet, the others will fold and you’ll have made a nice profit at very little risk. The tighter your image, the better this works. Only relatively sophisticated players will see this bet as a “steal”, but even they’ll be surprised a lot of the time because very aggressive players will make a bet like this with any two cards and you’re doing it with a pretty good hand. Remember, even 2-2 has the best of it against two unpaired overcards.

(Source: GameMaster)

As we work our way through the minimum starting hands one should play in limit Hold ‘em, I thought now would be a good time to address pocket pairs (2-2 to A-A), those two lovely cards that are known only to you; cards that can make you a lot of $$$ – or lose you a lot of $$$ – depending upon how (and when) they’re played.

Generally, there are no great secrets for extracting a maximum profit from your pocket pair because they’re pretty much a straight-forward proposition. That’s because a Pair of anything is the lowest “made” hand in poker, thus even a pair of Aces is beat by 2s over 3s, Trip 4s, any Straight, etc., etc. So, for the most part, the only way you’ll win with a pocket pair is to either have a “big” Pair that holds up, or you improve on it at or after the flop. Big pocket pairs (J-J and higher) will often be enough to win a pot, particularly if you’re playing against 3 or fewer opponents, but they constitute only 4/13ths of all the possible pairs that you’ll get. Pocket Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks may put rice in your bowl, but winning with the other 9/13ths is what keeps that rice in there. Before I get into my strategy chart for pocket pairs, let’s cover a few basic terminology and mathematical facts about them.

Pocket Pair Facts

• The probability of being dealt any pocket pair is 5.9% (16 to 1 against).
• The probability of being dealt a specific pocket pair (A-A, 3-3, etc.) is 0.45% (220 to 1 against).
• A “set” is formed with a pocket pair, plus another card of that rank on “the board” (the community cards).
• Trips are formed with one card in the pocket and a pair of the same rank on the board. Obviously, a set is much stronger than Trips, so remember the terminology as we go through the lessons; there is a difference in how each is played.
• The probability of hitting a “set” on the flop is 10.8% or 8.26 to 1 against.
• The probability of hitting quads on the flop, when holding a pocket pair, is 0.25% (about 399 to 1 against).
• The probability of hitting a Full House on the flop, when holding a pocket pair, is 0.74% (a 133 to 1 shot).
• A general rule for playing pocket pairs is this: If you hold 9s or lower and don’t make a set on the flop, fold. No set, no bet.

(Source: GameMaster)

As we work our way through the minimum starting hands one should play in limit Hold ‘em, I thought now would be a good time to address pocket pairs (2-2 to A-A), those two lovely cards that are known only to you; cards that can make you a lot of $$$ – or lose you a lot of $$$ – depending upon how (and when) they’re played.

Generally, there are no great secrets for extracting a maximum profit from your pocket pair because they’re pretty much a straight-forward proposition. That’s because a Pair of anything is the lowest “made” hand in poker, thus even a pair of Aces is beat by 2s over 3s, Trip 4s, any Straight, etc., etc. So, for the most part, the only way you’ll win with a pocket pair is to either have a “big” Pair that holds up, or you improve on it at or after the flop. Big pocket pairs (J-J and higher) will often be enough to win a pot, particularly if you’re playing against 3 or fewer opponents, but they constitute only 4/13ths of all the possible pairs that you’ll get. Pocket Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks may put rice in your bowl, but winning with the other 9/13ths is what keeps that rice in there. Before I get into my strategy chart for pocket pairs, let’s cover a few basic terminology and mathematical facts about them.

Pocket Pair Facts

• The probability of being dealt any pocket pair is 5.9% (16 to 1 against).
• The probability of being dealt a specific pocket pair (A-A, 3-3, etc.) is 0.45% (220 to 1 against).
• A “set” is formed with a pocket pair, plus another card of that rank on “the board” (the community cards).
• Trips are formed with one card in the pocket and a pair of the same rank on the board. Obviously, a set is much stronger than Trips, so remember the terminology as we go through the lessons; there is a difference in how each is played.
• The probability of hitting a “set” on the flop is 10.8% or 8.26 to 1 against.
• The probability of hitting quads on the flop, when holding a pocket pair, is 0.25% (about 399 to 1 against).
• The probability of hitting a Full House on the flop, when holding a pocket pair, is 0.74% (a 133 to 1 shot).
• A general rule for playing pocket pairs is this: If you hold 9s or lower and don’t make a set on the flop, fold. No set, no bet.

(Source: GameMaster)

You will often find yourself with a hand that may or may not be the best, so it’s not easy to decide if you should stay with it or let it go. As an example, let’s say you’re in the Big Blind of a single-table NLHE tournament with K-J suited and everyone has folded to the Button who makes a 3-times the Big Blind raise. The Small Blind calls and, because you’re getting odds of 3.5 to 1, you call. (If the BB is $100 and the SB is $50, a 3x raise is $300; the SB puts in $250, so the pot is now $700 and you must bet $200.) Let’s say the flop comes J,7,5 “rainbow” (all different suits) and the Button bets $500 into the what-is-now $900 pot. The Small Blind folds and it’s now up to you; you’ll need to make a $500 call into a $1400 pot, so you’re getting some decent pot odds. However, if you do call, what have you learned about you opponent’s hand? Basically nothing, which is not the way you want it to be when you’re putting your $$$ to risk, although it’s certainly not the worst call you’ll ever make.

But a better idea is to raise your opponent’s bet to $1000. My reasoning here is: (A) players often raise – quite properly – on the button with relatively weak hands, like 10-J, A-x or a low pair and (B) after such a raise, many will make a “continuation” bet, whether or not the flop helped them. If you do raise $1000, the pot is now $2400 and your opponent will have to bet $500 to stay in the hand, which is nearly 5 to 1 pot odds. That might induce a call if s/he has an open-ended Straight draw, but it’s not enough if s/he has an inside Straight draw (6 to 1 is the proper odds for that) or a Flush draw, which will require runner, runner suited cards (because the flop was of all different suits.) Of course, your opponent could have many other hands: Jack with a higher or lower kicker, two-pair, an overpair, such as Q-Q up to A-A, a pair of 7s or 5s or even a pair of Jacks. If he calls your raise, you have to at least suspect a hand like that, but if he re-raises you, the probability of a “set” (trips) is increased. As frightening as that is, your opponent has to also begin thinking that you may have a set or any other hand mentioned above, which is why a re-raise is giving you important information. Your raise is basically saying, “I have two-pair, a set or overpair” and your opponent’s re-raise is saying, “I know you have two-pair, a set or an overpair and it doesn’t scare me.”

It could also be saying, “I’m bluffing.”

Honestly, if I were able to detect every bluff thrown at me, I’d just play poker for a year and retire as a very rich person. So, while none of us can sniff out every bluff, we can probably spot a large percentage of them (how will we ever know for sure?), based upon the pattern of play by our opponent. If the player on the Button raises most of the time when in that position, he is either receiving good cards at an opportune time or, more likely, bluffing a lot. It’s no secret that picking up the blinds and antes with little risk is a very profitable venture; we all should do it whenever the math makes sense (see Lesson 13 for more on the topic). Bluffs are, at least for me, difficult to deal with when I have a hand such as top pair, second-best kicker like the K-J in the example above. It’s a decent hand, no doubt, but there are a lot of hands that beat it, so a re-raise back at me is usually going to convince me to fold. I say “usually” because if I were to fold every time, anyone who knew my style of play would simply come back at me whenever I raised.

But in a tournament situation, most of the players have never seen me before, so I’ll generally give them credit for the hand they’re representing with the re-raise. However, if my opponent has raised a lot on the Button and I then re-raise and he raises back, I will call if I have previously folded to him in a situation like that. Sure, this may be the time when he really has a hand, but I’ve got to send a message to not only my opponent, but the others at the table; you can’t move me off my hand just by coming back at me. This is a good point to talk about “gambling” as it relates to NLHE tournaments. You all have undoubtedly heard others say, “Sometimes you just have to gamble” and I agree. But there’s gambling and there’s gambling. Raising in early position with A-8s and calling a re-raise is gambling. I’d only do that if I were short-stacked and desperate.

What I do and recommend you do, is to gamble on whether or not my opponent is bluffing. What I hold isn’t all that important; it only has to be able to beat a bluff. As I gain experience, I’m constantly being surprised by how often players bluff. Missed Flush draws are somewhat predictable of course (if only two of a suit is on the board, nobody has a Flush) and missed Straight draws are fairly evident as well. More difficult to determine is the bluff where your opponent holds second pair, but is representing top pair and you hold top pair with a poor kicker. As an example, let’s say you have Kh-5h and the flop is Kc,Js,7d. Your opponent bets into it and you raise. If he calls your raise, you have got to at least suspect he also has a King and, if he does, his kicker may be better than yours. But don’t forget that he might be holding Q-J here and is hoping for either a J or Q to come on the turn, which is evidenced by the fact he didn’t re-raise. Let’s say the turn card is 10h. If he now bets into you, it could mean he has either made a Straight (from a hand of A-Q or Q-9), hit two-pair (from a hand like K-10 or J-10) or has a Straight draw (from a hand of J-Q). I would just call here, unless I had a lot of chips, in which case I’d raise in light of my Flush draw. Either move is a gamble, but I think it’s a reasonable gamble. I still have top pair and, unless the river card makes my hand totally untenable, I’m going to call his river bet, assuming he makes one. Of course, if the river makes my Flush, he’s getting it with both barrels, should he bet. Yes, he might have A-x of hearts, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take. After all, I’m gambling, right?

Back to information raises in general: They require a certain amount of discipline on your part to work effectively. When I first began using them, I would often call if my opponent re-raised me and I lost darn near every hand. A re-raise of your information bet is something that very experienced players will do in higher-level tournaments (like $50+ Sit and Go matches), but in lower level tourneys, you usually have to let the hand go if he re-raises. I’m sure you’ll run into many exceptions to that, but I approach it this way: My opponent’s re-raise has given me the information I wanted – basically that he has me beat – so I fold and go on to the next hand with no regret. When I’m against “sophisticated” opponents who will re-raise as a matter of course, I will go all in if I have top two-pair or better and that either makes them fold or I end up winning the hand because they’re betting an overpair. Sometimes they have a set and I’m toast, but that’s rare and my 16.5% shot at a Full House (the probabilty with two-pair made on the flop with 2 cards to come) makes the pain bearable.

(Source: GameMaster)

Just as I did for the Big Blind bet, I’ve created a chart that will eventually form part of my Hold ‘em Poker Basic Strategy Matrix. You’ll see that the chart is divided into three categories: hands that can raise and/or reraise, hands that can call any number of raises, but not reraise and hands where you should just complete the blind. If a hand is not on this list, you should fold. An important note here is that this chart is very conservative and you’ll appear to be some sort of “rock” if you use it all the time. Should you find yourself in a loose game, you can safely loosen up some yourself, particularly when you have a hand that’s in the “complete only” category. For example, I recommend that a hand of Q-9o is about as low as you should go, but in a loose game, a hand of Q-8o or even Q-7o is playable if the SB bet is 50% of the opening bet. If your SB bet is one-third of the opening bet, then you should pretty much stick with what I show in the chart and not loosen up at all.

As always, each hand is “keyed” by the higher card and all I show is the minimum hand, either suited or off-suit. Any hand that’s higher than the one I show is also playable within its category, of course.

If you have a hand that’s in the “complete only” category and the bet is raised, you should fold. The real judgment call comes when you complete such a hand and then the player in the Big Blind raises; you’re already committed to a full-sized bet and it’s difficult to fold at this point. Personally, I fold in that situation only if my cards aren’t a pair, aren’t suited or both aren’t a 10 or higher. I’m still working on the math for this, so be warned that my strategy in that particular situation is just an educated guess at this point, but it seems to work fine.

** The hand of Q-Q in the Small Blind is played much like it is in the Big Blind, sometimes you should reraise and sometimes you shouldn’t. While I hate to be that imprecise, all I can do is blame it on the “texture”, which I already pointed out is subjective in nature. It would be a mistake to always reraise out of the SB with pocket Queens, just as it would be a mistake to never reraise with them. The best I can say is to reraise with pocket Queens if the initial raise was from a player on or near the button, or if it came from a “maniac” who raises a lot, regardless of where s/he is sitting. If the pot hasn’t been raised by the time it’s your bet, raising with Q-Q in the Small Blind is the best move in a game with less than 5 players, especially if the BB is prone to folding.

(Source: GameMaster)

In my continuing self-education as a no-limit Hold ‘em player, I think it’s fair to say that few players have been “short-stacked” in tournaments as often as me. Be it a one-table sit and go type of match or a multi-table tournament with hundreds of players, my conservative style of play will frequently find me as the low stack with four people remaining at a 9- or 10-player SnG or 11th of 11 players when the tournament pays the top 10 places. Lately I’ve been able to improve on that, but it took time to get beyond being eliminated “on the bubble”, which is – as you probably know – a frustrating experience. But take heart, fellow students; the day will come when you’re first among the final 4 at an SnG or in the top five of a multi-table tournament when everyone gets in the money. It has happened to me and, if you maintain the discipline I’m trying to teach here, it’ll happen to you, too.

Let’s face it; when you’re the smallest stack at the table, your opponents want only one thing: your financial demise. If three are paid and you’re in fourth place, knocking you out gets everyone else “in the money”, so the attacks on your stack are going to come from all directions. I know, I’ve been there plenty of times and, while I cannot take credit for inventing the betting technique I’m going to explain here, I will say that I have used it to great effect; most recently at a multi-table satellite tournament where I was 9th out of 9 players, but went on to win it.

Almost all of the advice you’ll read or hear about playing when short-stacked (which I define as having less than 7 Big Blind bets remaining) is to pick a spot and push all-in, hoping to get lucky. Well, I’m not one to depend upon luck – I welcome it, but never depend upon it. Unless you have a really great hand like pocket Aces or Kings, my advice is to avoid a pre-flop “all-in” bet, which looks like sheer desperation and attracts callers like blood in the water attracts sharks. To add to your problems, you’ll probably have to play a less-than-great hand like K-10s, A-x offsuit, etc., which is not the type of hand your opponents usually see you playing if you’re using my starting hands matrix.

So the trick here is to decide that you’re going to go all-in and (ideally) do it when you’ll be first to bet on the flop, which means you’re either in the blinds or in early position. Your 3 times the Big Blind raise from early position or from the blinds might induce everyone to fold, but more likely one or two players will call with “premium” hands, just as they might if you weren’t short. But here’s the difference: when the flop comes, you then go all-in regardless of what effect it had on your hand. There’s a possibility, especially if you have only one opponent, that the flop did not improve his or her hand, just as it may not have improved yours. But at least now your opponent has to think about what to do and we all know that forcing our opponents to make decisions may inspire them to make the wrong one. If your opponent does make a hand, the result is the same whether you pushed pre-flop or only raised the bet; you’re toast. But if the flop missed your opponent completely, s/he just might fold. Sure, it’s a long shot, but it doesn’t cost you anything to try – you’ve already decided to put in all your chips. The downside here is that everyone may fold if you bet 7 times the Big Blind bet (“folding equity”), but that might be offset by having more than one player call, thus giving you the chance to win more if this works.

The bad thing about being short-stacked is that your opponents know they likely won’t have to risk an amount above what you’ll be pushing out there, so they’ll often call with any kind of decent hand, especially if they have one of the bigger stacks. In a way, that’s good because you might well be a favorite in the hand, but the best you can do is double up if only one other player calls. By making a more modest raise, hopefully you’ll get multiple callers, which automatically reduces your winning probability, but it reduces theirs as well, yet you may still be the favorite to win the hand. It’s a fair trade to make in an effort to increase your stack by more than double.

Probably the ideal time and place for this bet is when you’re in the Small Blind and the player on the Button raises, but not enough to put you all in. Rather than re-raise, which may cause the Big Blind to fold, just call. If the BB also calls, that’s a bit worrisome, but it’s now a nice pot and you’ll be betting first. After the flop cards are shown, you push all in and cross your fingers for luck. If it’s a rag flop like 2, 5, 9 “rainbow”, your all-in bet might cause the others to fold, especially if they’re playing big cards that aren’t paired. Remember, the player on the Button is making an almost-obligatory raise and the Big Blind likely has a “random” hand, so you have a decent shot at winning. As I told you earlier, the last time I used this bet I was 9th of 9 players and in the Small Blind. The Button raised, I called and the Big Blind folded. The flop was nothing special and I went all in, which caused the Button to fold. I scooped the pot and it was enough to get me back in the game, which I went on to win. I remember that I had made a pair of 7s on the flop, but it didn’t really matter because the hand ended with my bet. Was I lucky? Perhaps, but it wasn’t my cards that won the hand – it was the way I bet them.

“Okay, GM” I hear you say, “it worked that time, but will it work against experienced players?” Fair question. Of course, nothing is going to work all of the time, but let me quote you a passage out of a great book, “Harrington on Hold ‘em” (Two Plus Two Publishing, 2004 – Vol. 1) that was co-authored by Dan Harrington who is the WSOP Champion for 1995 and who made it to the final table in both 2003 and 2004. In discussing a hand where the short-stack (Player A) opens the betting with a minimum raise, he says this on Page 94:

“A had only $6000 left, just 2.5 times the pot. He had only a couple of rounds left before he’s blinded away. With any kind of reasonable hand, Player A could easily have justified shoving all his chips in the pot and rolling the dice. But he didn’t. Instead he made the minimum raise. That’s what a player does when he wants other players in the pot against him. He wants to make sure he gets some action before he gets all his own chips in. Conclusion? Player A has a very strong hand.”

(Source: GameMaster)