Good advice from Iggy, via Tao of Poker:
My three little low-limit online tips:
- Other players bad play will make me far more money than my fancy or brilliant plays.
- The guy that leads with a bet on the turn after not betting previously, typically has a big hand.
- Folding costs me nothing pre-flop. If it’s a close decision, I can’t go far wrong by folding.
I agree with #1. When you’re folded, and 3 people around you go all-in, two of them are leaving, while you’ve still got chips in front of you.
I disagree with #2. If somebody is sticking around to see the turn, and they haven’t bet (or bet high) then I would think they’re trying to buy out the pot.
I strongly agree with #3. There is nothing wrong with folding pre-flop. Unless you’re in the blinds, FOLD if you don’t have a semi-strong hand. If you constantly pay to see the flop, then fold because you missed your pair/set/whatever, you’re gonna lose.
Lose small, win big. Play a few $100 hands, then go for the $1,000 pot with your strong hand.
Hey Wil, where do you play online? I’m on PokerRoom. Nice Java interface, no software to download.
Rule #1: Yep.
Playing Texas Hold’em with friends/co-workers a couple of weeks ago, I had a 6-something. Flop came KK6. I bet big. 4th street was a K. I bet even bigger. 5th street was yet another K. The student in the group with a single Jack beat us all. Wah-wah-wah-wahhhhh….
Rule #3: I suspect it’s true; I don’t follow it, which is (among other reasons) why I lose at poker.
…yeah…what he said…and stuff.
LOL I just joined a tourney at pokerroom as I was reading this.
I agree with all but #2.. that one is kind of iffy.
Sometimes people just do it to build the pot… sometimes they do it to be unpredictable and sometimes they are just NOT paying attention.. well in an online game that is. 😉
Matt, for #2, keep in mind that these points are with respect to low-limit online poker. There isn’t a lot of sophistication in these games. Often when someone bets the turn in this case, they are doing it for the straightforward reason of having hit their hand.
I agree with #1 but only if you take advantage of it. Don’t get too arrogent with weak players or else you will be down and wonder why if you are a good player. And to comment on Matt’s comment, if you are playing no limit … then no one will be going all in … and you shouldn’t be following low limit rules 😛
I disagree with #2…while it can be true sometimes…it usually isn’t true…I’ve often checked on the flop only to find out the turn had my second pair…not great…but enough to bet if you are in position and no one is betting strong hands.
and I agree with #3…play good hands…fold bad hands…not 100% of the time…gotta keep your opponents guessing
So does everyone play on pokerroom.com? I know I do.
Maybe Wil should open his own private table 😉 Tell us if you do!
There’s not a lot of sophistication in these games, but there are a lot of stupid bluff attempts.
I was playing last night. I think I had an A9 in the big blind. Flop came 9 high, two spades. I bet, got a call. Turn brought the third spade (I had none), and I checked and called the turn and river. The guy who bet both times had a red KT, and didn’t hit a pair.
#1.. very true. Overplaying hands. Calling thru the turn. I read your entries about your tournament and saw where you lost your first hand to someone playing 7-4. You may have lost that hand, but someone playing 7-4 is unlikely to be good, or survive. Without a lot of luck, you’d have pulled in his chips.
#2 Situational and positional. If he bets early in the hands, he is gaining info. Betting the turn gives him a good feel for how things stand. All too many people will raise a pair on the flop. Betting in the turn can give you a very good feel for which pair they pulled. If the turn is a higher card, they’ll either have to bluff or have it should the raise be representing that turn pair. ie, a raise on the turn can tell you if your middle pair on the flop is the winning pair to that point. He could be setting himself up to drop out of the river. Betting late in the turn. Yeah, he’s got it. He’s betting too many people are too involved in the hand to drop and it’s time to build the pot.
#3 Doesn’t cost anything to fold.
Careful with that online poker chief. That’s like a gateway drug to the harder stuff. You’ll lose your shirt and be back on that boxcar faster than you can say Chapter 11.
I disagree with #2. It’s a 50/50 thing. Either he’s got a nice hand, or he’s bluffing his underwear off. Usually, if the turn is a high card like a queen or something, some dork (usually me) will bet all big even though he/I has/have nothing.
Poker’s fun! I play at PokerRoom too.
So how many of you online poker players out there have actually won and gotten a check in the mail (or a deposit into eteller or something)?? I love poker, and can win pretty big online when it is play-money involved. But I’m concerned because 1) Its illegal. 2) There is little assurance that the house is straight. 3) There is nothing to stop the other players from colluding (on the phone or something) OTOH, there are so very many bad poker players that it pushes my greed button.
As for these tips, I think they are right on, even #2. A check/caller in early position who leads out strong after the turn probably has it, because it would be dangerous to bluff there when a later position could REALLY have what he is representing. Yeah, it could be a stone-cold bluff, but unless YOU have that big hand he is representing you are probably better off folding.
Thanks for linking me up, Wil… but the original quote I took off of Iggy’s site… Guinness & Poker. He should get all the credit. Best of luck at the tables.
#2 why it’s true… because I trap/slow play huge flops when I hit them. I check and everyone else ends up checking, so I lead out in betting on the turn.
I’ve played over 100hrs of online 3-6HE (Partypoker and Ultimate Bet) over the last six months, and I’d say all three of Iggy’s points are correct. Obviously with #2, sometimes someone is bluffing at the pot on the turn, but I’d say 80% of online players at this level always slowplay two pair, trips and sets (even when not appropriate). So yeah, sometimes you’ll be bluffed, but far more often they really have a hand. Here’s a fourth related tip that I’ve learned the hard way:
4) If you get check-raised and you don’t have a top hand or draw, FOLD! >90% of the time the check-raiser has the cards.
This one took me forever to believe, but my profits (which, BTW, are about 2.8 BB/hr) have gone up since I started following it. Check-raise bluffs and semibluffs, which I use occasionally, are simply not done by the vast majority of online 3/6 players. I’m confident that if I could follow this rule religiously I’d win an extra couple bucks an hour. But every couple hours I forget and end up paying an extra $12 with top pair(call check-raise, check-call river) to get beat.
I’m convinced that my wife could make more money playing online poker than she does working if she could follow these simple rules:
1) Only play good hands (paying attention to position)
2) If you think you have the best hand ram and jam
3) If you have a solid draw check-call.
4) Else fold.
Not knowing about free cards, semibluffs, implied odds, etc, would actually help her make money, because Iggy’s point #1 is the most important.
Wow, I’m stunned to receive a link from Wil. Thanks so much!
Very entertaining to read the comments about the three little tips. Again, bear in mind that these are for low-limit play. My point with #2 is that most, not all, but *most* low limit players are not very transparent in their play.
I’d agree with everything Lou said, as well.
phriedom – i’ve been cashing out and winning online for over four years. it used to be MUCH harder than it is now. now it’s a veritable ATM machine, with the advent of the Moneymaker win and the WPT. It’s insane and I love it. Hence, my humble poker blog. 🙂
I must remember not to play poker, or at least to learn before I do. I barely understand a word of the above posts! What’s a river? Or a turn? Is that something to do with turning over a top card?
Flop suggests not winning when you expected to , but I don’t know.
Lance,
If you get Travel Channel, they have poker tournaments every week. They go through the basic rules. Otherwise, you can go to any of the online sites and register for free games. I bought a poker game for my own pc just to get a feel for the mechanics of the game before trying anything online. It has a tutorial, but that’ll kill you if you follow it. There are a lot of ways to learn.
Poker is about all I ever play when I go up to the casinos in Nevada. I once won an $800 dollar poker tournament in Lake Tahoe.
I think the game is boring because if you’re really out to win, and you’re playing against competent opponents (and you usually are) – most of the time you must fold. FISH are players who think playing every poker hand increases their odds.
The best piece of advise I can give you Wil when playing in the tournaments:
1) Luck plays a huge role in the game, especially in tournament since the ante keeps on increasing and you are forced to play bad hands. And there is an old saying on the battlefield: better to have a lucky general than a smart one.
2) To escape boredom – don’t play any hand you shouldn’t. Rather try to have fun in any manner you can. Joke around as much as possible. Be silly – Be ridiculous. Come in a costume. HAVE FUN while you’re doing it.
Good luck Wil. And I have a feeling your new book is going to do well.
Hm, here is one other piece of poker advice to keep in mind – that many novice players almost always fail to observe when playing Texas Hold’m.
Your position to the button is actually important on what hand you should open on. That is, the closer you are to the button (i.e. you must bet first or second as the betting starts from the button and moves clockwise) the BETTER HAND you must have. If on the other hand, you are BEHIND the Button, in the double blind, you can open with a weaker hand.
FWIW –
1) Yes. And my own bad plays will cost me far more money than simple bad luck.
2) Usually.
3) Yes, especially since the temptation is rarely to play too few hands.
Nice to know you’re keeping tabs on us poker bloggers, Wil – you know you have a standing invitation to join the WBT (World Blogger Tour) tourneys any time!
(and congrats on the book…)
Maudie
—————
kebzweb.com
Hey Wil,
You forgot one:
4) That dog’s gonna come back to bite ya!
(Don’t get carried away on a lucky streek)
Scott
TwoPeanuts.com