When you play both play free poker games and any size cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). Four-bets mean better hands (or bluffs). I dare you!
But despite even for the most skilled players in the world, the best hands still come from luck! Here is a perfect example:
BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k
PREFLOP:
A has K-K, raises to 290k
A great start for A but he holds temptation at bay with the measured raise. He certainly plays K-K shrewdly. Many other players would play A-A or K-K weakly preflop for trapping later. A however just plays his K K like a standard hand.
B has A-Q, raises to 650k
A to call 360k
B’s reraise is to try and find out if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:
A reraises to 1.49m
B to call 840k
Now A plays his K-K in a more normal manner. He is making the pot bigger. It’s like saying "I Dare You!" Had his reraise be small (like only a reraise to 720k) it would not be "I Dare You"; it will be "I Want a Call" and B may call, but A has nothing to fear if B calls unless an Ace falls.
But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.
B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A's raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?
B moves all in
A to call 3.76m
Now B is the one daring A!
A could have thought any of these:
(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)
(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)
(3) How much will I invest? I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.
(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I'm quite uneasy if it's worth half my stack.)
But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, "My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished."
A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)
Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.
However, luck has the last word in this hand.
The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.
Conclusion
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level level where regular winning is possible.
Most players simply never get to this level which is great news for ou if you can.
That's because when you learn how to play poker well you can hunt the lesser players down on free online poker sites and low stakes real money games sites and happily build your skills and bankroll!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Play Free Poker Online Guide To How And When To Call In Poker Games
Regardless of if you just play free poker online or regularly grace the big Vegas tables a fact of poker life is that aggressive players make all the bets and raises and seem to get most of the chips.
Those who just call are deemed to be passive. This is because as a caller you do not influence the game dynamic and are, to some extent, are being played by the bettor(s). But if you have tons of reasons to call, and you have contemplated about it very carefully, you can call with no shame.
Here is one such hand (Shame on him if he folds):
BLINDS 60k/120k, ante 15k
PREFLOP:
A has 5h-5d, raised to 310k (under the gun)
B has Kc-10c, calls 310k (from middle position)
The raise A makes from under the gun (UTG) implies his hand is strong, but keep in mind that A is aggressive and a tad loose and can represent any hand. Also, A can make everyone fold. B’s K-10 suited is good for just calling, and he does.
With K-10, you need to be more careful if in case a King comes up. If a King comes then A might have KJ or AK (AK, especially from an under the gun raise). I don’t think B is aware of this, maybe because he hasn’t seen the Flop yet. Here it is:
FLOP: 10d-4c-2d
Now only a Ten comes, which is more favorable for B. Those who don't have flush draws with 2 Diamonds might play J 10 or 10 9 strongly, plus the King kicker is real powerful.
A bets 535k
Because A raised under the gun, he tries a continuation bet. If he gets called, he can put B on a flush draw or a small pair (like 7-7), so he can frisk away later with not much loss.
But B may want to end the hand with his Pair of Tens, probably because overcards can fall. Moreover, A has been too aggressive all throughout, as we said, and it may be with two face cards or A-x, so B returns A’s favor:
B raises to 1.61m
A needs 1.075m to call
Because A has been representing a strong hand so far (raising under the gun and continuation-betting), he might as well stay consistent. Moreover, A may think that B raised because he thought A had nothing, and he is trying o push A out of the pot with something like K-J or a Flush draw.
As for the possibility of a Ten in B’s hand, why would A think B had a Ten? Even if B did, he would just call (commonly) and then check-check it all the way, because a Pair of Tens is not so strong, especially if faced with a three-bet like this:
A moves all-in 3.075m
B needs 2.5m to call (Pot now about 7.5m)
Maybe A moved all-in because his Pair of Fives have value on a board with only one overcard and whose caller may have a Flush draw. In this case, the caller may still be reluctant because even with a Flush draw with two overcards, it's still a draw. But he might also be thinking that B is playing him, so he plays back.
Now B is put on the decision which calls for a call.
Here are B’s reasons why he may not call (which B may be thinking, but which will be my reasons for so doing):
(1) A three-bet plus all-in may signify J-J or higher, which is very likely if only small cards are on the table. Or: even a Set which A may have used to trap with.
(2) He is getting approximately 3-to-1 on a call (2.5 million to win approximately 7.5 million), but he should call only if he is getting 4-to-1 (21% chance of hitting Two-Pair or Trips), which is the right price.
(3) If he calls, he will have about 6 million chips remaining. But if he doesn’t, he will have about 8.5 million remaining, and his loss is relatively small for his stack (which is nearly 10 million).
Now here are B’s reasons why he should call:
(1) He can knock out an opponent who has proven to be very dangerous so far.
(2) Maybe A is the one on a Flush draw. Or maybe a Flush draw with two overcards where both of them have nearly equal chance of winning. So it’s OK.
(3) Maybe A put B on a Flush draw and decided to push B out of the pot instead of letting a Diamond emerge. So A’s all-in is just a bluff now.
(4) Maybe A put B on a bluff and decided to counter-bluff.
(5) With only one overcard which is not so likely to be in someone’s hand just as a face card is, B may put A on a pocket pair 5-5 to 9-9. In that case, he has a better Pair (Tens).
(6) He can lift himself up to 14 million chips after this.
(7) It is because B’s guts says so.
With these things in B’s mind, but still brewing over the cons, B tried hard to decide. For a long time he stared at his opponent and the Board. He commented first, You may hate me for this,” but then added, as if nothing but instinct prompted him, “but I call.”
B calls 2.5m (Pot just above 9 million)
A is in trouble now. B won the hand and knocked out A (who is Antonio Esfandiari! B is Steven Begleiter). B may be neutral in choosing between folding and calling, but if I’ll call, I’ll call not solely because of value of the Tens, but because of the above reasons.
Summing up
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the mad "chip flinging" you will come across on many free online poker sites.
Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well as free online poker sites that pay out real money like NoPayPOKER and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and play free poker to learn to play holdem good and get your skills finely honed.
Those who just call are deemed to be passive. This is because as a caller you do not influence the game dynamic and are, to some extent, are being played by the bettor(s). But if you have tons of reasons to call, and you have contemplated about it very carefully, you can call with no shame.
Here is one such hand (Shame on him if he folds):
BLINDS 60k/120k, ante 15k
PREFLOP:
A has 5h-5d, raised to 310k (under the gun)
B has Kc-10c, calls 310k (from middle position)
The raise A makes from under the gun (UTG) implies his hand is strong, but keep in mind that A is aggressive and a tad loose and can represent any hand. Also, A can make everyone fold. B’s K-10 suited is good for just calling, and he does.
With K-10, you need to be more careful if in case a King comes up. If a King comes then A might have KJ or AK (AK, especially from an under the gun raise). I don’t think B is aware of this, maybe because he hasn’t seen the Flop yet. Here it is:
FLOP: 10d-4c-2d
Now only a Ten comes, which is more favorable for B. Those who don't have flush draws with 2 Diamonds might play J 10 or 10 9 strongly, plus the King kicker is real powerful.
A bets 535k
Because A raised under the gun, he tries a continuation bet. If he gets called, he can put B on a flush draw or a small pair (like 7-7), so he can frisk away later with not much loss.
But B may want to end the hand with his Pair of Tens, probably because overcards can fall. Moreover, A has been too aggressive all throughout, as we said, and it may be with two face cards or A-x, so B returns A’s favor:
B raises to 1.61m
A needs 1.075m to call
Because A has been representing a strong hand so far (raising under the gun and continuation-betting), he might as well stay consistent. Moreover, A may think that B raised because he thought A had nothing, and he is trying o push A out of the pot with something like K-J or a Flush draw.
As for the possibility of a Ten in B’s hand, why would A think B had a Ten? Even if B did, he would just call (commonly) and then check-check it all the way, because a Pair of Tens is not so strong, especially if faced with a three-bet like this:
A moves all-in 3.075m
B needs 2.5m to call (Pot now about 7.5m)
Maybe A moved all-in because his Pair of Fives have value on a board with only one overcard and whose caller may have a Flush draw. In this case, the caller may still be reluctant because even with a Flush draw with two overcards, it's still a draw. But he might also be thinking that B is playing him, so he plays back.
Now B is put on the decision which calls for a call.
Here are B’s reasons why he may not call (which B may be thinking, but which will be my reasons for so doing):
(1) A three-bet plus all-in may signify J-J or higher, which is very likely if only small cards are on the table. Or: even a Set which A may have used to trap with.
(2) He is getting approximately 3-to-1 on a call (2.5 million to win approximately 7.5 million), but he should call only if he is getting 4-to-1 (21% chance of hitting Two-Pair or Trips), which is the right price.
(3) If he calls, he will have about 6 million chips remaining. But if he doesn’t, he will have about 8.5 million remaining, and his loss is relatively small for his stack (which is nearly 10 million).
Now here are B’s reasons why he should call:
(1) He can knock out an opponent who has proven to be very dangerous so far.
(2) Maybe A is the one on a Flush draw. Or maybe a Flush draw with two overcards where both of them have nearly equal chance of winning. So it’s OK.
(3) Maybe A put B on a Flush draw and decided to push B out of the pot instead of letting a Diamond emerge. So A’s all-in is just a bluff now.
(4) Maybe A put B on a bluff and decided to counter-bluff.
(5) With only one overcard which is not so likely to be in someone’s hand just as a face card is, B may put A on a pocket pair 5-5 to 9-9. In that case, he has a better Pair (Tens).
(6) He can lift himself up to 14 million chips after this.
(7) It is because B’s guts says so.
With these things in B’s mind, but still brewing over the cons, B tried hard to decide. For a long time he stared at his opponent and the Board. He commented first, You may hate me for this,” but then added, as if nothing but instinct prompted him, “but I call.”
B calls 2.5m (Pot just above 9 million)
A is in trouble now. B won the hand and knocked out A (who is Antonio Esfandiari! B is Steven Begleiter). B may be neutral in choosing between folding and calling, but if I’ll call, I’ll call not solely because of value of the Tens, but because of the above reasons.
Summing up
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the mad "chip flinging" you will come across on many free online poker sites.
Ironically the fact that so many players inhabit this dumb donk zone is great news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well as free online poker sites that pay out real money like NoPayPOKER and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and play free poker to learn to play holdem good and get your skills finely honed.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Learn How To Play Poker And Manipulate Other Players So You Win Even With Bad Hands
In poker be it free online poker games or big stakes you do not just play the cards. You also play the player, or to put it another way, you aim to manipulate other players so that they do what you want them to do. Your objective of course being that they donate to your stack!
Playing the player has 2 sides. On your side you are trying to read your opponent, classify their style, of play, motivations and actions and play your cards in accordance with your conclusions.
In regard to the other players you aim to play them in order to misdirect their attempts to play you, to have them make incorrect conclusions about your style, motivations and drivers.
To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.
BLINDS 50k/100k
1) A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
2) B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)
K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn’t have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.
From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.
FLOP 4d-5h-3d
B bets 535k
Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?
A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call
Here, A thought that B’s bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A’s belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?
Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.
At that point, A gambled that B has nothing. He may have also figured out that if B had something and then moves all-in later then he can move out quickly. So he raised to test B's resolve.
B folds
B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. (Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B’s hand was. But B’s cards were not strong enough.)
Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.
Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.
We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player. Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.
Conclusion
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the crazy stupid "chip flinging" you will come across on many poker sites.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn how to play poker on the free poker sites tables to get it nailed.
Playing the player has 2 sides. On your side you are trying to read your opponent, classify their style, of play, motivations and actions and play your cards in accordance with your conclusions.
In regard to the other players you aim to play them in order to misdirect their attempts to play you, to have them make incorrect conclusions about your style, motivations and drivers.
To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.
BLINDS 50k/100k
1) A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
2) B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)
K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn’t have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.
From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.
FLOP 4d-5h-3d
B bets 535k
Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?
A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call
Here, A thought that B’s bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A’s belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?
Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.
At that point, A gambled that B has nothing. He may have also figured out that if B had something and then moves all-in later then he can move out quickly. So he raised to test B's resolve.
B folds
B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. (Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B’s hand was. But B’s cards were not strong enough.)
Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.
Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.
We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player. Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.
Conclusion
I know this may seem like a lot to take in all at once, the fact is though that while poker is an easy game to learn it is hard to be very good at, hence the crazy stupid "chip flinging" you will come across on many poker sites.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn how to play poker on the free poker sites tables to get it nailed.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Learn How To Play Poker And Learn What To Do When you Get A Get A Big Hand Preflop
What do you do with a big hand preflop when you have a big stack, like K-K? And how might the other players react? Regardless of if you simply play free online poker for pennies or are at the final table in WSOP this is a core situation that you must know how to explot to the full.
Here is a great example from the WSOP:
BLINDS 40,000/80,000
A has As-10c moves all-in (Pot 1.296m)
B has K-K reraises to 5m (Pot 6.296m)
B has two options here. He can just call and then wait for someone to move all-in after him, but that would make him do some thinking...
Could it be A-A? Or Q-Q? If it was Q-Q there is a slight chance he might fold K-K, and regret it. But a big reraise can drive Q-Q or lower out, like what happened to another player:
C has Jd-Jc
(C’s comments on B’s hand were: “Why did you make it so much? ... You like your hand that much?”) If C calls, it’s for all of his chips.
C may think that B has A-K, but there are two all-ins in front of him, and one of them might be A-X (and with A-X he is still not safe) or a pair, but a suspiciously heavy raise to about 60 times the big blind is almost always a signal for A-A or K-K. So C could wait for a better opportunity than now.
C folds (Pot 2.39m)
C’s fold was brilliant, after the reraise, but it will still be brilliant even if B did not reraise. B might bet again on the Flop and C may not continue and just let go of the chips.
B’s reraise will work if he has A-A or K-K, but I doubt it if he will do the same with A-K or Q-Q, but it may have the same effect of making C fold. As for A, let us wish for his good health. B won the hand later.
In summary - Big Hand Preflop
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well free poker sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play poker for free on the free poker tables to get it nailed.
Here is a great example from the WSOP:
BLINDS 40,000/80,000
A has As-10c moves all-in (Pot 1.296m)
B has K-K reraises to 5m (Pot 6.296m)
B has two options here. He can just call and then wait for someone to move all-in after him, but that would make him do some thinking...
Could it be A-A? Or Q-Q? If it was Q-Q there is a slight chance he might fold K-K, and regret it. But a big reraise can drive Q-Q or lower out, like what happened to another player:
C has Jd-Jc
(C’s comments on B’s hand were: “Why did you make it so much? ... You like your hand that much?”) If C calls, it’s for all of his chips.
C may think that B has A-K, but there are two all-ins in front of him, and one of them might be A-X (and with A-X he is still not safe) or a pair, but a suspiciously heavy raise to about 60 times the big blind is almost always a signal for A-A or K-K. So C could wait for a better opportunity than now.
C folds (Pot 2.39m)
C’s fold was brilliant, after the reraise, but it will still be brilliant even if B did not reraise. B might bet again on the Flop and C may not continue and just let go of the chips.
B’s reraise will work if he has A-A or K-K, but I doubt it if he will do the same with A-K or Q-Q, but it may have the same effect of making C fold. As for A, let us wish for his good health. B won the hand later.
In summary - Big Hand Preflop
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well free poker sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play poker for free on the free poker tables to get it nailed.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Play Free Poker Games And Destroy Your Opponents When You Get A Big Hand
In this free online poker tips guide you will learn how to recognize and play the poker hand known as the "Big Hand".
The reason why you need to know this is you will simply learn to play poker so much better when you understand the way different hands can play out.
This can then be related to the context of play. From here you can begin to determine the motives of the other players for their actions, based on the cards that fell, your betting patterns, their player types, their chip stacks, the pot size, and many other factors.
Your objective, simply is to be able to play this type of hand with skill rather than the luck alone most players reply upon and so win loads more cash!
For our first reconstruction, this is the Big Hand.
BLINDS 1,000/2,000 - (Pot 5,400)
PREFLOP:
A has Js-9s, calls 2,000
B has Ks-Kc, raises to 14,000
A calls 12,000 (Pot 33,400)
A just initially calls, hoping that there will also be many callers because he has suited connectors and wants to get sufficient pot odds.
B, meanwhile, may interpret the call from early position as A-A or Q-Q, and because he has a big stack (the two are the biggest stacks in the table) he can afford to raise a little bit, because if the other player reraises and he thinks the other one has A-A, he can fold.
Plus, K-K is a little bit more shaky if an Ace falls on the flop, so this can work as a tester raise. A calls, he has a larger stack so he can afford the risk.
FLOP: Kh-9d-Kd
A checks
B checks (Pot 33,400)
Suddenly B has Quad Kings! A checks, because he has only a Nine, and can proceed carefully if B bets. B, hoping to conceal his unbeatable hand, checks too.
Paired boards are generally good bluffing situations. For instance, a 8-8-3 board is good for bluffing because on a, say, J-7-3 board, you'll find three cards which can pair one of them, and a bluff will be less effective.
But on the 8-8-3 board, bluffing has big benefits since there are only two cards which will conceivably help anyone, and also anyone there with a Three will be not as likely to call. (Only an Eight will do.)
However with a board with bigger cards like our Flop, B might have bet, but after that, A will be less likely to put him on a bluff (and more likely on a made hand) because he may have, say, K-10, and we play big cards more than small ones.
B doesn’t want A to back out of the pot. So B just checks.
Also, with two Diamonds B should check in the hope that A will put him on a flush draw so that if the flush doesn’t come, A will bet or raise to push B away, and B can gain extra chips.
TURN: Kh-9d-Kd-5h
A checks
B bets 20,000
A raises to 70,000
B calls 50,000 (Pot 173,400)
B still has invincible Quads, A still has Two-Pair. B could have now put A on the Nine or a draw, so B bets 20,000 so that A will call.
But since during the flop B may have represented a Diamond flush draw in A’s perspective, A raised to 70,000 so that B will move away.
B just calls, since there are two draws already, and B may want to represent one of them again so that A will attempt another bluff on the river.
RIVER: Kh-9d-Kd-5h-9h
A checks
B moves all-in 106,000 (Pot 279,300)
A folds
B still has Quads, but A is now in trouble because he has a bottom Full House. A King can kill him.
What A is hoping, though, is that B back-doored a Heart Flush and just check it along with him.
But B moves all-in. That is a very intriguing move by B. A strong player would value-bet this (sat, 40,000 on a pot of 173,400) and A can just call it.
It is OK to represent a Flush here, since the board is double-paired, which can destroy Flushes since the board is just one card off a Full House.
So what I am thinking is: B moved all-in because (1) he wanted A to think they may have the same hand or that his hand is weaker, like a Flush. B’s play on the Flop and the Turn was weak, so A might not have put B on a King but likely on the Flush draw we are talking about.
B wants a call. B now hopes that A backdoored a Flush too and also that he thinks his all-in is just a bluff, but A is in trouble due to the sudden strong play.
It was psychologically jarring.
Did B hide that King or not? A may think that better hands could come later, so he folds.
Also (2) B may not want a showdown; he did not want to show the two Kings; he wanted to trouble the minds of A and other opponents.
If they saw how he played K-K it will be added information. He wants to have them guessing.
You have to play more unpredictably in order to gain chips later than to gain chips now, but be unable to get some later. I believe this is a brilliant reason.
Concluding the Big Hand
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker on line sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play hold em on the free poker sites tables to get it nailed.
The reason why you need to know this is you will simply learn to play poker so much better when you understand the way different hands can play out.
This can then be related to the context of play. From here you can begin to determine the motives of the other players for their actions, based on the cards that fell, your betting patterns, their player types, their chip stacks, the pot size, and many other factors.
Your objective, simply is to be able to play this type of hand with skill rather than the luck alone most players reply upon and so win loads more cash!
For our first reconstruction, this is the Big Hand.
BLINDS 1,000/2,000 - (Pot 5,400)
PREFLOP:
A has Js-9s, calls 2,000
B has Ks-Kc, raises to 14,000
A calls 12,000 (Pot 33,400)
A just initially calls, hoping that there will also be many callers because he has suited connectors and wants to get sufficient pot odds.
B, meanwhile, may interpret the call from early position as A-A or Q-Q, and because he has a big stack (the two are the biggest stacks in the table) he can afford to raise a little bit, because if the other player reraises and he thinks the other one has A-A, he can fold.
Plus, K-K is a little bit more shaky if an Ace falls on the flop, so this can work as a tester raise. A calls, he has a larger stack so he can afford the risk.
FLOP: Kh-9d-Kd
A checks
B checks (Pot 33,400)
Suddenly B has Quad Kings! A checks, because he has only a Nine, and can proceed carefully if B bets. B, hoping to conceal his unbeatable hand, checks too.
Paired boards are generally good bluffing situations. For instance, a 8-8-3 board is good for bluffing because on a, say, J-7-3 board, you'll find three cards which can pair one of them, and a bluff will be less effective.
But on the 8-8-3 board, bluffing has big benefits since there are only two cards which will conceivably help anyone, and also anyone there with a Three will be not as likely to call. (Only an Eight will do.)
However with a board with bigger cards like our Flop, B might have bet, but after that, A will be less likely to put him on a bluff (and more likely on a made hand) because he may have, say, K-10, and we play big cards more than small ones.
B doesn’t want A to back out of the pot. So B just checks.
Also, with two Diamonds B should check in the hope that A will put him on a flush draw so that if the flush doesn’t come, A will bet or raise to push B away, and B can gain extra chips.
TURN: Kh-9d-Kd-5h
A checks
B bets 20,000
A raises to 70,000
B calls 50,000 (Pot 173,400)
B still has invincible Quads, A still has Two-Pair. B could have now put A on the Nine or a draw, so B bets 20,000 so that A will call.
But since during the flop B may have represented a Diamond flush draw in A’s perspective, A raised to 70,000 so that B will move away.
B just calls, since there are two draws already, and B may want to represent one of them again so that A will attempt another bluff on the river.
RIVER: Kh-9d-Kd-5h-9h
A checks
B moves all-in 106,000 (Pot 279,300)
A folds
B still has Quads, but A is now in trouble because he has a bottom Full House. A King can kill him.
What A is hoping, though, is that B back-doored a Heart Flush and just check it along with him.
But B moves all-in. That is a very intriguing move by B. A strong player would value-bet this (sat, 40,000 on a pot of 173,400) and A can just call it.
It is OK to represent a Flush here, since the board is double-paired, which can destroy Flushes since the board is just one card off a Full House.
So what I am thinking is: B moved all-in because (1) he wanted A to think they may have the same hand or that his hand is weaker, like a Flush. B’s play on the Flop and the Turn was weak, so A might not have put B on a King but likely on the Flush draw we are talking about.
B wants a call. B now hopes that A backdoored a Flush too and also that he thinks his all-in is just a bluff, but A is in trouble due to the sudden strong play.
It was psychologically jarring.
Did B hide that King or not? A may think that better hands could come later, so he folds.
Also (2) B may not want a showdown; he did not want to show the two Kings; he wanted to trouble the minds of A and other opponents.
If they saw how he played K-K it will be added information. He wants to have them guessing.
You have to play more unpredictably in order to gain chips later than to gain chips now, but be unable to get some later. I believe this is a brilliant reason.
Concluding the Big Hand
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables.
Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can turn mercenary and hunt them down in droves in low stakes real money games as well play free poker on line sites that pay out real money like www.NoPayPOKER.com and happily build your skills and bankroll!
As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play hold em on the free poker sites tables to get it nailed.
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