Better No-Limit Hold’em

Internet Texas Hold’Em – Winning Strategies for Full-Ring and Short- Handed Games,  is a new and expanded edition on the classic poker book Internet Texas Holdem.  In this latest edition the author Matthew Hilger expands on what he taught in the first book so the strategies will also help you win in your bricks and mortar poker playing as well.

Before we continue, Internet Texas Hold’Em is not going to teach you how to play no-limit hold’em,  this book specializes in Limit Texas Hold’em. If you are new to poker or are still loosing money at the NL tables, then playing Limit Poker and using the strategies in this book will turn you into a winning poker player. Do not be fooled into thinking that Limit Hold’em is easier than the NL game, admittedly it does not have the big all-in plays that you see on the televised poker games, but it does require skillful play to regularly win and minimize your loses.

The way the book is set out a bit different  than most poker books, instead of starting with the basics, starting hands and preflop play, etc, the book starts with covering different poker concepts including, probability and odds, bluffing, raising/ check raising and deceptive plays. Learning these concepts will help you have a better understanding of what it takes to be a winning player.

The book then has a comprehensive section on starting hands and how they should be played, the chapter covers starting hands for beginning and intermediate players then covers more advanced concepts of starting hands.

All the way through the book every chapter ends with a review and a “Test Your Skill” quiz  section that uses actual hand samples that will let you use what you have learnt.

As the book now covers live as well as online poker play, there are “Internet Tips” throughout the book and a section on playing poker online. This new edition also covers playing at short-handed tables and how to adjust your play for these games.

This book is essential reading for any beginner or player looking to consistently beat the limit tables.

Internet Texas Hold’em: Winning Strategies for Full-Ring and Short-Handed Games

If you are playing from the small blind at the no-limit holdem tables, remember whatever your actions before the flop whether you fold, flat call or raise, you will be out of position at the table for the rest of the hand and therefore at a disadvantage, so you want to minimize any losses you may incure.

  The worst problem that players make is  falling into the trap of completeing the small blind too often with weak or marginal hands. It is tempting as you have already contributed half the blind to the pot, so why not pay a bit more to see the flop?. As stated before, being out of position for every other round of betting is going to put you at a disadvantage.  

Your first consideration should be how good is your hand. To be able to play correctly from the small blind you need to be holding an above average hand, A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K. These hands will give you the option of being able to call a raise or even raise yourself. If there is a raise before you, it would be wiser to fold most hands.

If you are in the situation where every player folds round to you, this will give you the opportunity to raise the big blind and steal the pot, but this in itself will present problems. When you  raise from the small blind to steal the pot, ideally the big blind will need an above average hand to call your raise, but if the big blinds suspects you are trying to steal the blinds, they may well try and reraise you putting you at a disadvantage. If you just complete the big blind this will give the big blind the chance to raise himself and steal the blinds. The best strategy to use when everyone folds to you is to mix up your play, raising and flat calling with a mixture of hands, premium hands and average hands but always be prepared to fold to a reraise if you think your hand can be beaten. Mix these plays up with folding your weak hands and you will soon be able to get a read on how your opponent plays in the big blind position.

If  a few players limp round to you and you have a decent enough hand, you are getting good odds to see the flop, so it is worth completeing the blind.  If you are holding a monster pair, now is the time to fire in a big raise and try and take down the pot there and then.

Vanessa Rousso took the honours at the PokerStars EPT High Rollers Championship, but not before a deal had been struck when the table was three handed, as Rousso, Tony G and Randy Dorfman traded the chiplead between them. The deal gave the three 420,000 Euros each and left 150,000 Euros for the eventual winner.

Tony G was eliminated by Dorfman when the American hit a pair on the turn. This left just the two Americans to battle it out for the title. Dorfman had the initial advantage and managed to extend his lead over Rousso during the first hour of heads-up play. Rousso was down to 5,00,000 chips when she hit two pair and managed to double up and she eventually took the lead when she hit trip aces against Dorfman’s bluff.

The final hand saw Dorfman hit two pair but it was no help to him as Rousso had made a straight on the turn.

Dutchman Pieter de Korver made a stunning comeback  to take the title in the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo. At one stage de Korver had just three big blinds in his stack, but a handful of timely double ups saw him back in contention. Dag Martin Mikkelsen went into the final table with the chip lead and managed to build his stack to 15 million at one stage, but when the table got down to being four-handed the tide started to turn.

It was American Matthew Woodward who decimated de Korver’s stack, but that was the turning point in the Dutchman’s fortune, tripling up and doubling up to fight his way right back into contention. Mikkelsen busted out in fourth, leaving de Korver, Woodward and Tulchinskiy who would go out in third place.

At the start of the heads-up stage, de Korver’s aggression meant that he was always in control and building his lead. The final hand when it came, saw both players have middle pair, but de Korver’s better kicker meant he took the pot and the title.

Matthew Woodward collected 1,300,000 Euro for his second place finish, while the new champion took home the 2,300,000Euro  first prize.

One poker topic that is worth taking into consideration before you buy into a game is seating. By having the right types of players either side of you can make a difference to your profits. You may not always be able to choose  your seat position at the table, but you can gain an advantage if you can determine the type of players you have either side of you.

Because the action in a game of poker is always clockwise, it will always be coming from your right and you will always have an advantage over players that act before you and any players that act after you will have an advantage over you.

The basics are that a player who acts after another will have a chance to decide how he should play the hand whether to check, bet or fold depending on the previous players actions.

But having the right types of players acting before or after you can work in your favour. You ideally want loose, weak players sitting to your right, you want these players to  play a lot of hands for one bet but then fold to a raise, and the type of players you want on your left, to act after you are tight, passive  players who will fold when you show aggression.

For an example, you have a hand that is worth playing so you raise, your weak opponent to your left will fold, almost automatically unless they have a monster hand. Now, if the loose player to your right calls one bet and then you make your raise, that player will now fold because although he will often call one bet, he knows his hand will be easily beaten.

So in conclusion, a player to your left who is weak,  passive and doesn’t play many hands, will not profit from their advantage over you so often. Having a loose, weak player to your right, that will put money in the pot more often and then fold to your raise, will mean that you profit more often from their loose play.

It was third time lucky for Justin Bonomoas he won the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship at Las Vegas. Having reached the final table in the last two years, finishing fourth and fifth respectively, this time Bonomo won his first major title, collecting the $227,692 and a seat in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.

The continuation bet is a valuable weapon in a poker players arsenal, if it is used properly. When you have raised preflop, and you then bet after the flop, whether you hit the flop or not, that is a continuation bet or C- bet. Basically you are telling your opponent that you had a good starting hand before the flop and after the flop  that your hand is still good if not better.  As you are the aggressive player in the hand you are going to have the initiative in the hand and your opponent should fold.

Most players, if they do not already have a made hand, will miss the flop completely, so a show of aggression will push weak hands out of the pot. It is unwise to make a continuation bet every time that you raise pref lop, because you will be seen as predictable by your opponents and you could end up being trapped by a check raise.

There are  different types of flop that will make for a C-bet if you hace raised preflop, if a high card like a Ace or a King comes on the flop, a continuation bet will give your opponents the impression that you have improved your hand, whether you actually have or not. Basically, if you missed the flop when a high card comes you can make a C-bet to represent the pot. Another good flop that may call for a c-bet is a lower flop that probably will not have helped your opponents hand. A flop like 2c-6h-Td may not have helped an opponent but a well timed C-bet will force a player holding cards like Ac-7d to fold.

When will a C-bet not be so succsessful?. Playing at lower limits it may be harder to force opponents to fold, as less experienced players will be willing to call with any two cards. Remember better players will be wary of the times that you make a C-bet. If you do it too often, players may come over the top of you and if you have missed  the flop that is not the situation that you want to be in. If the flop may help an opponent to draw to a flush or straight, then it may be wiser to check instead of bet.

The size of your continuation bet is also important. The standard is usually about two-thirds of the pot, you should always bet the same amount whether you hit the flop or not. With practise, making the correct C-bet decisions will get easier as you will be able to read players more effectively.

If you are holding two suited cards and are fortunate enough to flop a flush, you are going to want to raise your opponents.Ideally you will not be facing more than two other players after the flop, so you should take control of the betting by raising or re-raising.  You may experience trouble in getting action back from players who fear your flush or have not improved their hands on the flop.  By raising you will get calls or re-raises from players who do not give you credit for hitting a flush, and  have hit on the flop, hands like over-pairs, TPTK, sets or players who are on draws.

You should not consider slowplaying a flush, as you want to be able to drive out hands that may improve against you on the next two cards. A player who hits a set will have outs to a full house, so your bets need to be big enough to give them the wrong odds to call your raise. You must also be wary of players who are on a flush draw. If you are not holding a nut flush, you are going to have to be careful that a player that is holding a card that gives him a draw to a higher flush on the turn, again you do not want to give them the correct odds, because a player holding a card like the Ah, on a flop of 6h-Jh- 9h, is going to call raises, but you need to more expensive for them to do so.

If you are originally raised and re-raised again, you could be up against another flush, or a player on a nut flush draw, it would be wise to call the raise and then check and call the hand down.

When you are playing poker, especially if  your playing online, one of the most important rules is to remember is to stay patient. Playing too many hands whether through inexperience or just plain boredom, then you will always lose money. Being patient and looking at your poker in the long term, you can profit at the tables. 

If you watch a live tournament on television, you will see how few hands are actually played, the pros know its about patience and consistantly picking the right moment. It can be a tedious playing when your not getting the cards, but use this time to study your opponents, there is always something you can pick up on that will help you beat them.

The size of the chip stacks at the table are a very important aspect of play at in a game of poker. It pays to be aware of not just the size of your own stack but that of your opponents as well, because at any time during play you could possibly have all your chips in the middle.

Stack sizes are always judged by their relation to the size of the blinds of the game you are playing, whether a cash game or tournament. Your stack may seem large playing at one level, but if you were to take that stack and play at a higher level, of course your stack would be smaller compared to the difference in the blinds. This is a rough guide for stack sizes,

• Small Stack  -  Under 50 Big Blinds
• Medium Stack  -  51 to 90 Big Blinds
• Large Stack  -   91 Big Blinds or more
• Deep Stack  -  200 Big Blinds or more

 Most online poker rooms have a limit on how little and how much you can buy into in a cash game, this is usually 10xBB and a maximum of 100xBB, so the choice of how much you buy-in for is up to you.

The size of your stack is going to effect the way you play poker at any given time. If you are the short stack at the table you will be unable to scare opponents out of pots, so you will little chance of  bluffing, you will have little option but bet your strong hands and fold all your weaker ones. But if you are the large stack you will be able try and control the betting when you are involved in a hand. If you are up against a small stack it is easier to bully them off the pot, as you are not in danger of losing all your chips, where if you are up against a equally big stack there is always the chance you could lose a sizable chunk, if not all of your stack.

If you do take stack sizes into consideration when you are playing, it will definitely have an advantage over players who ignore their’s and importantly other players stacks. It can pay to target the stacks that are smaller than yours and not get in to scrapes with the big stacks. It will give you the chance of increasing your stack without the risk of losing it all.

If you find yourself dealt a pair of Aces preflop, congratulations you are now holding the top hand in NLH.  Whether you will finish the hand with a maximum profit or end up losing a big piece or all of your stack, all depends on how you bet and raise preflop. No matter how tempted you are, it would be a bad decision to try and slow play your aces. If you are up against multiple opponents post flop your aces are far from invincible. Pocket aces are top cards to hold but they are only one pair, and you can find yourself  being outdrawn on the flop.

Limping in from early position or calling from middle or late position will only land you in trouble if the flop comes down coordinated. If you choose the easier option of just shoving all-in preflop, chances are you will take down the pot there and then, but you want to be able to get as much profit as possible from this premium hand.If you are in an early position holding pocket aces you should make a decent size raise.  A raise from an early position should stop too many callers, but you will be called by players holding hands like top pairs like K-K and Q-Q, hands like A-H and A-Q are not so likely as you are holding two of the aces. If you are up against the large stack or a loose-aggressive player, the range of hands that you may be called with will be larger. Holding aces, you want players to call you and to definately reraise you, then you can reraise all-in and drive out any lesser hands that may have been a danger to you on a coordinated flop. 

If you are in middle to late position, always reraise any raiser and their callers. Reraise all-in if the original raise was on the large side, or there were two or more callers. This will drive players out of the hand as well as build a large pot. After the flop you should always be aware that you could possibly be outdrawn and you could lose your stack, but the more players you can drive out of the hand the better chance you have of winning the pot.

If  you are not all-in after the flop, now you can outplay your opponent, but if the flop comes down coordinated and you think your opponent has hit his draw, make the decision to lay down the hand. Being able to make a big laydown when your aces look beat will mean the differance between staying in the game or busting out.

One of the biggest mistakes players make, is not knowing when to laydown a big hand. There are always going to be times when the cards you are holding, no matter how good, are going to get beaten when the board gets dangerous.

There are players who simply refuse to let go of their hands, even when the board cards are giving off danger signs, they will just be concentrating about playing their own cards instead of looking at the hand as a whole. Say if you are holding Ad-Ah and the board is Ks-Qc-Qs-Js-9s, and there is betting and raising on the river, then it should be obvious your Aces are not the best hand.

Given the above example, there are four probable hands that will beat your Aces;

• Two Pairs, players will always want to see the flop with two high cards, thus making two pairs
• A Set,  players holding a pair of  K, J, or a 9’s will make set, or one Q will have you beat  
• Straight, a player holding a 10 will make the K high straight
• A Flush, Any player with a spade will make a flush.

  Against one opponent in this situation, unless you have some sort of read on their betting patterns, it is probably always best to fold. Against more than one player folding is your only real option. With experience, making big laydown decisions will become easier, and you will get to recognize other, less obvious situations that will call for you to lay down your hand.

It is not always so easy to make laydowns online as you have to rely on betting patterns and playing styles to get reads on your players, who will come and go more quickly than in a “live” poker room. But if you are aware of all the cards in front of you not just your own, you can get yourself out from some difficult situations, and save yourself from losing more money at the tables.

You can find freerolls with varying prize pools at almost every online poker room. They are seen as a good way to start a bankroll if you have not made a deposit, and they have become even more popular now as players want to emulate Chris”Jesus”Ferguson and build an impressive bankroll from zero$$.

The “Ferguson effect” may mean that the mindset of the players you are coming up against in the freerolls has changed. You will still get the players that shove all-in with any Ace early in the tournament, but you will now get more players treating the tournament alot more seriously. You will come up against players  who are maybe playing MTT’s for the first time, the casual players who’s there for the fun of it , as well as more experienced players who are attempting to rebuild their bankrolls.

If you go into freerolls with the correct mindset you can start to build a bankroll, it can be a long grind  and more often than not you are not going to make the money and unless you win the tourney, winnings will be at a minimum.  But if you use all the time that you spend at the freeroll table to gain experience and work at your poker playing, that is where you will benefit the most. Play the freeroll as if it were a cash tournament, remember there is a prize at stake, if only a small one, and if you keep your discipline, while other players around you are playing marginal hands, you will have a much better chance of cashing and building your bankroll.

If you are playing poker on a large poker room, or spend most of your time playing tournaments, either MTT or sit-n-gos, you are going to come up against a large number of different players and it will be very difficult to get to know the playing tendencies of your opponents. But if  you are playing the same tournament regularly or playing at the same buy-in sit-n-go, chances are you will come up against the same players more often.  Obviously at the cash tables, if you are playing at the same limits every time you play, you will get to know how particular players will play their cards if you play against them often. So there will be opportunities for you to take notes on your opponents play that you can use against them in future sessions.

So, how should you go about taking notes about your fellow poker players. Thankfully, most poker rooms have some feature that will make this task easier, usually clicking on a players avatar will bring up an area in which you can make notes on their play. Some poker rooms let you assign icons or colours to players as a way of note taking. Full Tilt has a system that lets you assign a colour to a player, and that will be displayed whenever you are playing them.

Taking effective player notes is not something that can be achieved after just playing a few hands, it is best done after a couple of hours or more of observing your opponents. Keep watching the table at all times, even hands that you are not involved in as there is always something that you can learn about your opponents play. Don’t try and compile a complete dossier on every player at the table. Until you are comfortable making notes as you play,  just take notes on two or three players that you think you have a read on. Of course you will be watching every player, but don’t let note taking become a distraction from your own play. With practise, taking notes on your opponents will become easier at the poker table.

 The first thing of note that should become apparent to you is a players playing style, whether they are, Tight-Aggressive, Tight-Passive, Loose-Aggressive or Loose-Passive.  This information alone will help you make the right decision when you are faced with an awkward situation at the table. Then there are other aspects of how your competitors play that will provide invaluable information should you play them again.

• Are your opponents calling station who will happily call your raises?.
• How do your opponents play draws, will they chase draws even when they are getting unfavorable odds?.
• Do  they over-value top pair?.
• Will they make continuation bets after the flop?.

The most effective way to take notes is to do it your own way. Do whatever feels best for you. Not taking notes will mean that you could be leaving money at the table, so if you start taking basic notes on a few players, it will in time become an integral part of your poker playing, and it will mean you have an invaluable resource about your opponents.

Playing your best poker will require you to be in the best mental state you can be in. Any sport or pastime that you wish to become proficient at will require  you being able to focus your mind on the task at hand. Sportsmen who excel at sports like golf and tennis know that part of their success is down to mental preparation, their “inner game“.

Part of poker psychology involves how your opponents see you and how they react when you make a play at the table. How your opponents  percieve your table image is down to you, if you want your opponents to see  that you are a tight, solid player, the way you play will influence your image at the table.  

But there is another side of poker psychology, and that involves being aware of your own mental state as you are playing. It will govern your decision making, how you react when the cards don’t go your way,whether you can stop yourself going on tilt, and if your game is going well, how you can maintain your winning play.

In poker, if you are playing online for any length of time, you will play your best game if you are in the correct frame of mind.  You need to be able to fully concentrate on what is going on at the table, this will not be easy to do if you are not in the right frame of mind.

You Should Never

• Play when you are tired
• Under the influence of drink
• Angry or emotional
• Play above your bankroll
• Play for a quick fix

If you are playing poker under any of the above conditions your game and chances are you will at some stage go on tilt, and bankroll is going to suffer.

You Should

• Play when you are in a good state of mind
• Play with no other distractions, such as watching TV
• Play within your bankroll
• Be feeling in good health, nothing worse than a bad head cold to cloud your judgment
• Play at tables where you think you will be the best player
• Have enough time set aside to play
• Know when to quit

If you can mentally prepare yourself before you sit down to play, especially if you have entered a big tournament you will play that much better. If you don’t want any outside distractions, put on a MP3 player and listen to some music. Having a strategy planned out in your mind will help, what starting hands you will play, how you will bet in various situations, and how you will play against different types of players. If you can focus only on your game and keep your mind clear from any other clutter, you will be able to out think your opponents and keep building your bankroll.