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Say you’ve missed a flop, put in a continuation bet and then you got called. What now? Most of the time, you’d need to keep up the aggression. Double-barreling (betting a second bluff) is a move that is often found to be necessary in NL Holdem. It’s becoming essential even in the micro-stakes games and most knowledgeable online players have adapted to the robotic A x continuation bets.
In addition, most are playing more optimally and calling you off lighter. Simply put, if your continuation bet percentage is 80% or higher, the regulars at the $.25/1 stakes and above will notice and start floating your bluffs with a wider range of hands. This isn’t very good for your game since in effect, it reduces the profitability of bluffing while also ensuring that you won’t win as many pots.
What you’ve got to do to to defend against floaters is to start double-barreling the turn. When you do that, you give yourself a far better shot at winning an even bigger pot and folding your opponents. Even tight-aggressive players won’t be afraid to fold their A x / mid-pair and drawing hands to a half-pot continuation bet on the flop, but, antes are much higher when it comes to calling bets on the turn. Hands like A x / K x, mid-pairs, straight / flush draws and over cards are simply impossible to play out of position if you’re raised on the turn. Because of this, bluffing becomes far more profitable and gives you a good shot at folding mots players with just semi-decent hands.
One more reason that opponents will frequently fold to a double-barrel on the river is that after seeing you bet the flop (perhaps the pre-flop as well), they know that they’re probably going to see another value bet when on the river. Most mid-stack opponents will end up being pot committed and calling double-barrels, thus being more willing to let their hand go. In multi-table tournaments, the average stack is worth just 50BBs during the middle stages and as the antes kick in, the effectiveness of double-barreling rises even further.
The optimal cards to double barrel with on the turn are always over cards to the board. As an example, double barreling the A on K 10 6 or the Q on J 5 3. Over cards are the best because betting on them will improve your perceived hand strength, and at the same time, you’ll be dampening your opponent’s equity on the board. It makes it tougher for your opponents without the nuts to call you. If you’re called on the flop with top-pair then your opponent will have to call your turn bet with a 2nd pair. 2nd pair on the flop becomes 3rd pair, and so on. By betting two or maybe even three consecutive streets, you’re giving away plenty of information about the strength of your hand. This happens even more in micro-stakes games where you’ll be getting folds around the table.
Position is also crucial to good bluffs. In order to double-barrel with profit, you’ve got to have position. Bluffing becomes much more successful when you witness your opponent check and show his weaknesses. In advanced NL Holdem strategies, it’s also much harder for opponents to float your bet with semi-draws out of position. By double-barreling in particular situations, you’ll even be ale to fold semi-decent drawing hands like mid-pairs. You won’t believe how many will just fold over to you with better hands in micro-stakes ring games as well.
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No Limit Hold'em Continuation Betting Tactics |
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Whenever you raise pre-flop and then end up missing the flop in NL Hold’em (especially with hands like AK/AQ), you can get into lots of trouble. When in multi-way pots, the value of AK can be worth nothing on missed flops. By slow-playing or just check-calling, you can lose lots of chips. You can be caught behind a range of hands, like flush draws, straight draws and low pocket pairs. Because of this, you’ve got to be more aggressive.
It’s important that you keep the initiative when missing the flop with strong pre-flop hands. This will make you harder to play against. You need a Plan B to win back the pots you put lots of money in since you’re going to miss the flop 2/3rds of the time with AJ and better. Hence, you can continuation bet to keep yourself ahead in the hand. By continuation betting, you’re basically betting into missed flops after being the last raiser on the pre-flop.
So how much should you bet? A standard continuation bet should be around 50-75% of the pot. This is dependent on the quality of the hand and the images around the table. Weak tight-aggressive opponents in micro-stakes games generally fold easier when they’re behind, so you just need to bet about 50% to push them away from the pot. The more loose-aggressive opponents won’t fold so easily, so you need to be open to raising anywhere from 75% to even 100% of the pot. Just don’t forget that you only need success one out of three times to be successful for half-pot continuation bets to break even.
The best flops to continuation bet are dry boards that can bring unconnected and rainbow cards, such as Q 8 2 or A 5 3. These are very good for continuation bets because they are so hard for your opponent to make a good hand with them. There are no straight or flush draw possibilities, so it’s much harder for your opponent to call. You also give yourself strong hand range by bluffing such boards.
In general terms, the better the board, the more unprofitable continuation bets become. The worst boards to continuation bet on are of course, the boards that give your opponents a good shot at hitting a good hand. In stricter terms, the absolute worst flops to continuation bet on would be ones with plenty of high connected broadway cards with a flush draw, like Q J 10 or K Q 10. There’s a huge chance of these hitting your opponent’s pre-flop range and it’s worsened because your opponent could have so many outs to make it profitable to float or call your raise with.
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If there’s one sure thing in poker, it’s that the easiest way to win large pots (or a large sequence of pots) is to catch your opponents when they are angry, carefree, agitated, or upset for any reason. Players under the effects of these feelings are referred to being “on tilt.” When a player is on tilt, they’re more prone to error. Being able to tell when an opponent is on tilt will help you isolate them to take full advantage.
What Causes Tilts?
Usually, tilts are caused by a chain of unlucky events. The most common is a bad beat. Say you’re at a table and a single player gets very aggressive in a hand. Don’t forget that this applies even when you’re not in the hand, so pay attention to all showdowns. Some poker sites even let you see the hand history, so be sure to use it to your advantage. By doing that, you can take note of bad beats, even when players don’t announce it. Imagine you see a losing player that had an AA get called by a 2-7 offsuit. Lots of people would be angry in this situation, just for the fact that their pocket aces didn’t hold up. If they take it so far as to complain about how the game is rigged or broken or other similar complaints, you’re sure to know the player is on tilt based on their illogical statements. What kind of player with his head on right would be playing at a game they think is broken?
More Tilt Symptoms
If you know your opponent to be a tight passive or tight aggressive player, you know that they’re not very likely to put many chips in the pot. If out of nowhere that player starts pushing loads of chips into the pot and pushes to win, this player is probably on tilt. They might be upset about how the game has been going so far and are looking to land themselves a win. Maybe they are just indifferent because they need to leave soon. It’s possible that they’re simply bored, or maybe they have so much cash that they don’t pay much attention for a particular hand. Every action can communicate a lot.
Acting On Your Catch
Once you see a player is on tilt, you’ve got to catch them early and strong to take advantage. In tournaments, it’s good to always keep an eye on players that lose big portions of chips, especially if they were one of the bigger players at the table. Pretty often, they’ll follow a loss with a big challenge. If you’re ahead of this player (in terms of position), raise pre-flop and try to get them into the pot. If you’re behind and the player that is on tilt is already in the pot, just call or maybe re-raise with the right pocket. The concept is simple – just have them commit to a poor hand.
It’s also very important to remember that a player on tilt can still get lucky, and even a little luck will calm them down. Don’t be afraid to back off because behavior is never permanent.
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Table Position in Tournament Play |
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Table position is one of the biggest factors in poker. Although in cash games or some online cardrooms, you can simply leave and join a different table when you’re in a bad spot, you don’t have this option in tournaments. For tournaments, you’ve got to learn how to offset bad position.
Position basically refers to your place in relation to the button. If you’re closer to the left of the blinds, you’re in an early position. Players across from the blinds are in the middle, and the players closest to the right, the button, and the blinds are all in late positions. As you can surmise, position refers to the order in which the players act. When you’re in an early position, you act first. Because of this, it’s important to be careful when raising, as people in the middle and late positions can re-raise if they want. When in a late position, you get to know the relative strengths of people’s hands by their actions.
There are times when you could be forced in between two aggressive players as well. When you’re in a tournament where the sizes of stacks play an important role in the tactics you employ, it’s risky to enter a pot where there are big stacks to both of your sides. It’s not easy telling how strong an opponent’s hand is if the guy ahead of you has a big stack and limps in by calling blinds. Likewise, you’ve got to think about the opponents that haven’t acted yet. It’s not rare for a player with a big stack to bully the players that limped in, and that is especially true when they’re in late positions.
Imagine if you’re in an eight player table and the chip leader limps in with an early call. If you’ve got a decent hand in the middle but also two opponents with big stacks in the late positions, what do you do? If you call or raise, there’s a good chance that at least one other will call or raise, or the big blind will enter, and then the action is back to the chip leader. You’ll then be caught between larger players in a tricky spot.
Because you can’t just leave in a tournament, this is something you have to deal with. One thing you can do is just wait it out and let the big stack players get at each other. As passive as the strategy is, it can be effective The key then is to isolate your opponents to catch them in a pot that you can take all the way to the finish. Ideally, you would catch a top tier pocket in late position. When something like that happens and the action gets to you with a couple of the bigger players already in, this is when you can isolate the target. By using the position to your advantage, you can hit them with a large raise and either steal the pot altogether or get yourself a couple of callers. Many players will take the fight or flight mindset when faced with big raises from a late position. By isolating the bigger stack from your pre-flop raise in a late position, you can then keep raising and re-raising as the round progresses.
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JJ, QQ, KK, and AA are big pairs that are often played very badly in online poker. This is because every time they receive them in the hole, most people play them the same. Big pairs should be played differently depending on what kind of table you're seated at, what kind of opponents you're playing and what has been happening in previous rounds.
The first thing that anyone should ever do when they get a big pocket pair is note your position. Are you sitting in early, middle or late position? This is a factor that must not be underrated, as it can play a decisive role in a situational game like No Limit Hold'em poker. At the same time you take a quick look in what position you're in, you must think about the table and the players. Are you sitting at an aggressive table or are the guys playing with you rather passive? Is your table loose or is it passive? This is critical information that you must ascertain. For the sake of an simple explanation, let's put these two important components into view.
Let's say you're in an early position and have QQ. If you were to play by the book you would raise here, as calling is potentially risky because it attracts people behind you to limp in, unaware of you holding a big pocket pair. Soon there is a flood of limps and with a K 8 3 flop, you know there's good chance someone got themselves a king. End of story - end of hand. So as the book says, calling is not the best option in a normal scenario. More importantly though, you must think about your table and your opponent's playing style as well. This is where alternative play that might go against the book becomes possible. Suddenly, position is not the only remaining factor because you have knowledge about your opponents and tables, and this knowledge is giving you counter-advice as opposed to the play by the book positional advice! Your table and players knowledge is saying: “people are really aggressive at your table; in the past twenty hands there has been at least one enemy who raised pre-flop."
Now all of a sudden, raising with your QQ might not be your optimal play any longer. If your table is really aggressive, especially pre-flop, then it’s all right to call pre-flop and trap a potential raiser. This way, when it is your turn again, you can re-raise him to really test his hand and know where you are. If he goes all in, he might have AK, KK, AA, and you might want to lay down your QQ, if he just calls, you’re probably ahead, and if he folds, you pick up some nice cash without a fight.
I hope this example makes it very clear that lots of factors should play a role in your decision making process when you play (online) poker. Position, table knowledge, player's knowledge: that's what is required to play a hand well pre-flop. This is especially true if you hold a big pocket pair. |
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What is a blocking bet? Typically it is a bet that one makes on the river to block a bigger bet by your opponent. Thus you make the blocking bet when out of position; that is, when you are not last to act. Blocking bets make you money, by losing less than you would have. For example, if you bet one-fourth of the pot on the river and your opponent just calls with the better hand then you save money if your opponent would have bet half the pot, say and you would have called that amount. Essentially, you are looking for a cheap show down. The blocking bet is also used to discourage a bluff by an opponent. Checking shows weakness, and this induces bluffs. Betting indicates strength and opponents typically do not raise when they sense strength unless they have a very strong hand themselves.
Obviously you do not want to make a blocking bet with a great hand. You want to bet your hand for value in such cases. A good candidate for a blocking bet is something like top pair with an okay kicker. For example, you are playing 1/2 NL and have T♦-J♠ in the BB and are heads up with another player. The board reads: T♠-7♦-6♦-2♠-2♣. You have top pair, but it certainly isn't a great hand. The turn and river cards look pretty safe and if your opponent was slow playing a hand like 7♣-6♣ then you just caught up. Nevertheless, your nine kicker is nothing to get excited about, since lots of better tens are possible. You could also be dead to a flopped straight but the paired board should cause some worry to the opponent and moreover, if you lead here, a player with a straight is unlikely to come over the top now that the straight is no longer the nuts.
Let's say the pot is $44, with you having bet on the flop and turn with only this other player calling. A $10 bet on the river qualifies as a blocking bet. A player with a hand like K♠-T♥ may conclude that he/she now holds the best hand if you check the river and consequently fire a $15-$20 value bet. Moreover, a check may induce a bluff from a busted flush draw. If you check and your opponent bets $30, you have a very difficult decision to make. By betting, you create a situation in which a raise from your opponent carries much more weight. It takes a lot of courage (or foolishness) to come over the top with a busted draw or just a lone pair on the river. Your bet blocks your opponent from exploiting your weakness.
The bet also can make you money by garnering calls from weaker hands that would fold to a larger bet or just check behind. In our example, a hand like 7♣-8♦ will likely call a $10 bet in a $44 pot. That's not to say it's a great call, but if your opponent has come with you this far in the pot with a hand like that, then a small bet will probably get called too. A hand like T♦-9♦ will almost surely call from sheer frustration, having missed all 17 outs. Another situation in which the blocking bet is useful is when a scare card hits the river. A scare card could be a card that completes the flush or straight draw or just a high card like an ace. For example, you have K-K and have lead a Q high flop and a safe turn card, but now an Ace hits the river. A check may induce a bluff from an astute opponent, who can infer that after raising preflop and leading the flop and turn a check on the river likely means that you aren't happy to see the ace. A check induces a bluff whereas a bet discourages it.
If you lead the river and your opponent comes over the top, you have a much better idea of what sort of hand your opponent has. It is unlikely that your opponent called you down with merely ace high, so it is more likely that your opponent has aces up or has slow played a set and you can fold in pretty good conscience.
Consider a case in which a flush card hits in a contested pot. You have K♦-J♥ in the CO (cut off), lead the flop and called the button's raise on a board of J♦-9♦-3♥. Let's say the turn brought a 4♣ and the river now brings a 2♦. Let's say you both checked on the turn. You could check here, but that indicates weakness and your opponent with a Q-J may just put out a half pot bet that will put you to a difficult decision. You can prevent this bluff by making a blocking bet. A hand like A♦-J♣ will rightly conclude from your check that you do not have the flush and so will make a normal value bet, which will also give you a difficult decision. The smaller blocking bet also has a better chance of being called by a hand like Q-J or J-T, though passive opponents will probably check behind on the river with such hands.
Let's consider one final example. You have J♥-5♥ in the BB. You flop a flush draw and a MP (middle position) limper bets half the pot which is called by the button and you. Everyone checks the turn and the river completes the flush. You have a strong hand but not great. Unless one of the players has the nut flush, a bet is unlikely to be raised. A smaller bet may also earn a call by a weak hand like top pair depending on the player. As in the previous examples, you are hoping for a cheaper showdown than you might get if you check and allow the better hand to bet cold. If the button has K♥-Q♥ and everyone checks to him/her on the river, a bet of more than one-quarter of the pot is surely forthcoming. If you make the blocking bet, however, the button will fear the nut flush and only call.
Now that we have some possible situations before us, I want to introduce a final variable. As with all poker plays, you must use the blocking bet selectively. There is little point in putting out a blocking bet against a calling station. Just bet your hand for value. The calling station will call with all sorts of hands that you have beat, so go ahead and make a good-sized value bet.
Similarly there is little point in putting out a blocking bet against a passive player. This player is unlikely to bluff you on the river or to make a thin value bet. If you think there is a real chance that you are behind then check. This player will let you know if you are up against a good hand. Another player that I would not waste a blocking bet on is the weak-tight player. This player is usually just as scared of the river flush card as you are. Either bluff that card and push the weak-tight player out or check as the weak-tight player is only betting with the flush. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the basic loose aggressive player who will pounce on river weakness. Checking induces a bluff. If you have a strong hand then this player is a good candidate for check-raising the river, but with a vulnerable holding a bet on the river discourages a bluff that you may not want to try and pick off. Finally the basic tight aggressive opponent is another candidate to try this play on. Checking may indicate to this player that you are not happy with your hand, and this can result in a value bet larger than what you could have paid for the showdown. Again, the purpose of the blocking bet is to lose less money than you would otherwise lose by checking and calling a bet. As with the loose aggressive opponent if you check the river scare card, an astute tight aggressive opponent may attempt to push you off your hand. Good luck! |
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