Online Table Selection

You can find an assortment of writings that explain which games you may want to play in on line based on hands per hour or average number of players seeing a flop (or fourth street). What I want to address is heads up play (and to a lesser extent sit and gos). If you play a lot on line, you should be keeping notes about those with whom you play. I'll admit that I'm not the best at this, but you'd prefer to play against weaker players as opposed to playing stronger ones. This is basically the same principle with regard to table selection. You may be the best razz player in the world, but why play against 6 or 7 other top razz players when you (a good omaha 8/b player) can play omaha 8/b against 8 weak players? It just makes more sense in my opinion to attack the weaker players.

If I'm playing online and want to play heads up, I rarely open a table and let people come to me. Instead, I go to players that are already seated. This may seem like a trivial point, but by selecting your opponent you avoid a stronger player coming to sit with you. Instead, you have control over who you play against and who you may avoid. There are skilled players that I'd rather not play if there is an option of playing against a weaker player. This same principle can be applied to sit and gos. Don't open a table--try to be one of the last 3 to sit. Look for tables full of weak players and you'll find that your results should improve.

Straight Flush

The purpose of this post is not to gloat in my straight flush but to make the point that players need to raise and bet enough to prevent draws from calling you. I was in my regular $1-$2 no limit hold 'em game and picked up 9s-7s in late position. The pot was not raised so I limped in for the $2. There were about 6 players in the pot as is typical for a low stakes game. I know some people would argue to play my position and raise the pot pre-flop, but that is just not my style. I know I can out play my opponents after the flop and if I happened to hit a monster flop I would probably get paid off.

The flop came Js-10s-x. That is a great flop for my hand. I figured I would win with any spade or any 8--that is 12 outs. After a couple of checks a player led out with a bet about 3/4 of the size of the pot. I know raising is definitely an option, but I didn't want to go crazy without a made hand. I flat called and so did a player to my left. Everyone else folded. I hit my 8 on the turn--it was the 8 of spades. I just turned the nuts. The player to my right moved all in. You just can't ask for a better situation. Now I still had a player behind me so I didn't instantly call. I debated raising, but figured my best chance for the other player to get involved was if I just called. I called, the player to my left folded and the player to my right turned over a jack. He was drawing dead and I took down a nice pot.

Big Tournament

A few months ago, I took a stab at a 4 figure buy in tournament. I was confident in my game and wanted to see how I fared against some better competition. I got off to a rocky start. I lost almost half of my chips in the first level. It wasn't due to bad play--I was just getting cold decked. I limped in the small blind with 9-2 off suit. My opponent flopped two pair and trapped me while I turned a lower two pair. I held A-2 in the small blind. My opponent on the button held A-Q and didn't raise the pot. We both make trip aces on the river and I lose the minimum.

I was struggling for chips when I picked up K-K in the second level. I raised and then got reraised. I raised again (of course, the third bet is always aces or kings) and got called in two spots. I didn't like that at all. The flop came jack high and action was checked to me. I moved all in and got called instantly by Q-Q. The kings held up and I was back in it. I picked up a couple more pots at that level and things were going well. In the third level, I raised with 7-7 and flopped an open end straight draw. My opponent led out and I raised with my pair and draw. My opponent called and then moved all in when an ace hit the turn. I had to fold and gave up a big pot.

For the next few levels, I was treading water. I really went card dead, but did manage to pick up a pot here and there. However, I proceeded to get short stacked. I was in the small blind with K-J and faced a minimum raise. I felt as if was dominated here, so I just folded the hand. I later picked up A-J and raised all in and won a pot pre-flop. I called a raise with 3-3 on the button. The flop came all clubs and my opponent led out. I probably should have reraised all in pre-flop, but that is hard to do with a small pair. I finally made a move by limping in and then reraising all in with 6-6. Of course, I ran into K-K and was out after surviving about 50% of the field.

If anything, that tournament taught me that I can hold my own against solid amatures and professionals. I was surprised that there was some extremely bad play in the early levels. While I'm not planning on playing bigger buy in events on a regular basis, I will certainly play one every now and then.

Chinese Poker

I've recently started playing Chinese poker before and after my regular home game. While there is more of a luck factor in this game, skillful play can beat a novice player. We normally play the variety with a 2-7 lowball hand in the middle. Chinese poker is more of a relaxing form of poker as there is no bluffing involved. You are just trying to play your hand as best as possible knowing what your opponents like to do with their hands. If you play a lot of poker, I recommend trying a few hands of Chinese for variety.

A triple draw mistake

I recently played in a 2-7 triple draw tournament. I wanted to capitalize on my good finish earlier in the year as I knew there would be a lot of bad play early on. And indeed there was. It seemed like every hand would be at least 4 way with at least 2 players drawing two cards on every draw. I played tight early and stole a couple of pots against aggressive opponents who would miss their draw after the third draw. I won two pots with pairs and never had to show it down. I then went on a horrible streak when I would make good hands (8-6 or better) and ran into a player who kept drawing two cards and hitting the nuts. This happened three times. After that, i was a bit short stacked. I managed to win a pot with an 8-5 low to keep afloat. I then picked up the fourth nut (7-6-5-4-2) and got good action on it.

After my table broke, I was moved to the table with the chip leader. Still short stacked, I managed to double up with third nut low against the chip leader's 8 low. I now had enough chips to feel comfortable. I proceeded to have a run of paint cards that would have been great for draw high poker, but I was folding a lot of hands. I finally got dealt a pat 8-5 low and slow played it and got an extra bet out of my opponent. I then picked up a couple more small pots. We were finally down to 7 players and at the final table. I lost one pot early after I bet a 9-8 lo after the second draw and got check raised. I folded that one. I was starting to get marginally short stacked. I knew I had to find a hand and go with it soon.

Action was folded to me on the button. I usually don't always raise on the button in triple draw as that play is very obvious to a good player. However, I looked at A-J-8-6-4 and decided stealing the blinds was worth it at this point in the tournament. I raised. The small blind made it 3 bets. The big blind folded. I called. I thought about why the small blind made it 3 bets. Was he trying to keep this pot heads up and shut out the big blind? Did he think I was on a total steal with absolutely nothing? My opponent drew two cards. I obviously did the same. I now knew that he started with 3 wheel cards. I drew a Q and a 3. My opponent checked. I improved my hand so I bet. With the pot this big, I didn't think he would fold. He didn't and then drew two more cards. I took one off and picked up a 7. I now had a good, but vulnerable hand: 8-7-6-4-3. My opponent led out and bet.

Why would he lead out after drawing two when I drew one? If he checks, I'm almost certain to bet there as I was down to two big bets. Did he really hit two perfect cards? I'm guessing he has a one card draw to a 7. I have a made hand so I decided to raise and get all in. He called. Then he stood pat. This totally confused me as I was almost certain he was going to draw since I could tell that he didn't like my raise after the second draw. Now I'm in a very tough spot. Did I make a wrong read? Did he hit two perfects to make a or a smooth 8 and lead out with it? If he made a 7 or 8, my hand is no good. If he has a 7, I'm practically drawing dead. Even if I hit a 2, I only have 4th nut. If he has an 8, I'm still in bad shape as I'm still drawing to the 2 if I throw away the 8, or drawing to a 2 or a 5 if I throw away the 7. If I hit an 8-6 low, it might not be good either. I'm really in a tough spot. I decided to go with my read that I was beat. I threw away the 8. As soon as I did that my opponent said, "I think you just broke the winner." I was crushed. My read was wrong. He turned over 10-8-7-5-2. At least I had a few outs to stay alive. I drew a jack and it was over.

My mistake was not considering how much worse my hand could get if I drew. Sure, I was going with the read, but nobody is ever perfect in their reads. After raising all in with my 8-7-6, I should have been content with it. If I'm beat, I'm beat. What is even more frustrating is that this mistake is all on me. I didn't get sucked out on or have a bad run of cards. I simply made the wrong decision and it cost me. If I win that pot, I'm up to 2nd or 3rd in chips and have a good chance to win it all. While I haven't played too many triple draw tournaments, I shouldn't have made that mistake.

Heads Up

I recently played heads up on one of those PokerTek heads up machines against a well known female professional. We were playing a $100 freeze out of $1/$2 no limit hold 'em. I would have preferred razz, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play against a great player for only $100. I feel pretty good about my heads up play and I reasoned that she would give me credit for a hand more times than not so I played a bit more aggressively than I normally do to start out the match. I got off to a good start and won a few pots without a showdown. While I did hold a few good hands, I also bluffed at a few pots. I was up about $135 to $65 when I raised on the button and bet on every single street with a 9-4 off suit. A King hit the river and I made a value bet on the river to represent a hand like A-K. I figured that would win me the pot as I had fired the third bullet at the pot. I was getting called down by K-rag with no draw and had the king not hit, I think I would have won the pot.

That was the first showdown of the match, so I knew I had to adjust my play accordingly. I know knew that my opponent knew I was capable of betting with absolutely nothing. I tightened up a bit and after folding a few hands, I was down about $90 to $110. I then picked up A-2 on the button. Normally, this is a spot where I raise. However, I wanted to set up a bit of a trap as I knew my bets would not gain me as much respect as they did earlier in the match. I limped on the button and then got minimum raised. This sent off a few warning signs in my head as she had not minimum raised all match. Her standard opening raise was anywhere from $7 to $10 (mine was only $6). I chose to call the raise as I did not want to play a big pot with a weak ace pre-flop.

The flop came K-Q-2. She checked. I wasn't sure if I was getting set up for a check raise, so I put out a feeler bet to see where I was at with my pair. There was $8 in the pot and I bet $7. She called. The turn was an ace. There is now $22 in the pot. She moves all in for $99 and has me covered. I just turned aces up. I had to think this one through. Here is a list of the hand she could have that beat me: A-K, A-Q, K-K, Q-Q, 2-2, J-10. Of these six hands, the only likely hands she would have held are 2-2 and J-10. Against those hands, I'm drawing thin, but not dead. I would not expect a minimum raise and a check-call on the flop with the monster starting hands. Here is a list of other hands she might move in with that I could beat: K-Q, K-2, Q-2, A-J thru A-2. Her small pre-flop raise led me to believe that she held a hand like K-Q or an ace. If I was right about her hand, I stood to be in good shape.

I made the call. She turned over J-10. I didn't fill up on the river. Game over. I'll give her credit for over betting the pot with the nuts and getting a call out of me. I still think it is very difficult to fold my two pair in that spot. Based on my analysis of her likely hands, I win more times than I lose. That is what making a read is all about. It is not necessarily putting your opponent on a specific hand, but correctly analyzing the range of hands they might have and determining where your hand stands. Although I didn't win the match, I confirmed to myself that I can hold my own against the best.

Running Bad

Sometimes, you just can't win a pot. However, after losing pot after pot to poor players who make bad plays, poker can be frustrating. This May, I had the worst month I had in about 20 months. I wasn't playing bad; the cards were just not cooperating with me. While I am still in process of getting out of this funk, I have found a few methods that can be helpful.

• Don't play. It sounds simple enough, but take some time away from the table to clear your head.
• Avoid fancy play. Go back to a more basic, ABC approach to the game. You might not win as much, but you should be able to right the ship and book a win.
• Play a different game. After taking a brutal beat in a $1/$2 no limit hold 'em game, I hopped into a $1-$5 stud game and ended up a small winner. It wasn't much, but it was a win.

The purpose of having a bankroll is to be able to make it through the times when you run bad. As long as you are playing well and getting your money in with the best of it, you will win in the long run. Short run variances are just a part of the game. The best advice if you keep getting knocked down, is to get back up again and keep playing. As long as you are not letting your emotions take over, you will eventually start running better.