TEAM - Stake a Poker Player

How to Win at Online Poker Tournaments 

Online poker tournaments success can be yours if you follow this simple plan. There is a secret to winning in the online poker rooms and it can be summed up in one word…patience.

If you want to win online at Texas Holdem or any other poker game for that matter, you need to be patient almost to the point of becoming bored. The players who win money at these tourneys are the ones who are prepared to sit it out and wait for the good hands, whilst letting the rest battle it out amongst themselves and knock each other out of the game.

To be successful in the internet poker world, you should follow this simple strategy:

1. Pick a stake level you're comfortable with
Don't go charging straight to the $50 tables if you've never player poker before, you need to start small and work your way up so start at the low end of the scale until you find yourself winning there, then move up. Consider it as your apprenticeship into becoming a fully fledged poker player.

2. Fold almost all of your hands
This is the hardest part especially for new players. They fold a few hands then they'll see a flop of J J 6 when they've just folded the J 6 and the cautious approach goes straight out the window. Remember for every hand that you would have won, there are probably five that you wouldn't so stick to the game plan.

3. When you do get a big hand, bet it aggressively
If you're using this strategy, you need to win the pots when you do land a monster hand so you need to come out betting strongly. Avoid slow play and trying to lay traps unless you really know what you are doing, most of the time these tactics just let your opponent have a cheap look at the next card which could make his hand a winner.

4. Change your tactics as the game goes on
As players are knocked out, hands that you would have been folding in the early stages become more attractive so you should start to consider lesser hands, especially in late position in the dealing. This has the added advantage of unsettling your opponents who have become used to seeing you folding almost every hand.

5. Don't go all-in
Your aim is to get into the final three so that you're in the money. Don't go all-in unless you know that you have the best hand. There's no harm in putting an opponent who's short stacked all-in though, take the opportunity to get rid of any players you can from the game.

Being successful in online poker tournaments is relatively simple, you just need to have a plan and have the patience and strength of character to stick to it.

What is a continuation bet?

A continuation bet is a bet you make when you have missed the flop but entered the pot as the pre-flop raiser. It’s made to get your opponent out of the hand, as opposed to value betting. Essentially it’s a bluff that is based on the fact that you have shown strength pre-flop and were called.

What you have to be very careful about is to make sure that you mix it up a bit. You can’t continuation bet every time. It’s very important to understand the texture of the flop. When the flop is dangerous you shouldn’t make a continuation bet.

When you enter a pot as the raiser, should you always continuation bet?

What considerations are there to bear in mind?

The main factor to consider when deciding whether or not to make a continuation bet, is deciding what kind of player you’re up against. Are they a tricky player that likes to re-raise? Or have they folded to lots of other players’ continuation bets? It’s important to remember that your opponent will miss the flop 70 percent of the time and that’s what makes continuation betting a successful move. At the same time you have to vary when you make them otherwise everyone will realise what you’re up to.

It’s not very likely that you’ll hit every flop hard either! By making continuation bets, more often than not opponents will try to trap you when they do hit the flop and check to you. They’ve now missed a major opportunity to make good money on this hand because if you sense a little bit of danger you can take a free card. And if you don’t hit the turn it’s quite easy to get away from your hand if they then decide to come out betting.

What is your continuation bet representing and how much should you make it?

If an Ace comes down on the flop, your continuation bet is representing that you have an Ace in your hand. If the flop comes down 10-6-5 your continuation bet is saying that you have an overpair and are charging your opponent(s) to hit their Ace or draw. So what you need to do is evaluate how much it costs to knock others off their hands, and then make that maximum bet.

In the same way that different players have different thresholds of protecting their big blind you’ll find varying levels of resilience to continuation betting. If you find that optimal level you’ll lose the minimum. You need to get it spot on so that the times someone does come over the top you lose the minimum amount.

Does continuation betting change after lots of pre-flop action?

If you’ve had a pre-flop re-raise called you’re in an entirely different situation from when you have a standard raise called, and therefore standard continuation betting does not apply. Your re-raise was asking your opponent if they had a good hand and their call responded with a ‘Yes, I have got a good hand but I’m not sure if it’s better than yours,’ or they’re slow-playing an absolute monster. Now a flop comes up which you’ve missed. If they check you should check with them. You don’t need to be making this pot too big if you still haven’t connected.

Can you continuation bet on the turn?

A continuation bet on the turn can be more successful than one on the flop because continuation betting has become so common that a lot of players will ‘float’ you on the flop. If an opponent checks to you in position on a flop you don’t like, you can check to see how they’ll act on the turn. If they check for a second time, you can then make a continuation bet. It’s a lot harder for them to call or check-raise on a draw or bluff with just the river to come.

For example, say I raise on the button with A-Jo and you call on the blind with 8♥-6♥. The flop brings 2♥-5♥-Q♠. I’ve missed but you have a flush draw. You check. I elect to hold off my continuation bet and check too. The turn is the 10♦. Now your draw looks weak and if I bet it’s not easy for you to call with just one card to come. If I’d made a bet on the flop it’s conceivable that you’d check-raise your flush draw and I’d have to put down the better hand.

What are the giveaway signs for spotting a continuation bet?

Players will often put in a more calculated bet when continuation betting. It’s normally as close to threequarters of the pot as they can get, but if they actually hit a hand they’ll either check to you or bet the full pot. Watch your opponent’s play, follow how hands develop, and remember how much each player bet on each street so at the end of the hand you can think about what was a genuine bet and what wasn’t. There are physical tells, too, but anyone worth their salt will mix things up. If you raise with A-K from early position and the J-10-5 flop gives you overcards and a gutshot, should you check or make a continuation bet?

In a tournament it depends on the proportion of chips you’ve got invested in the pot. You have to continue representing that a raise from early position means you have a very strong hand, but J-10 on the flop is dangerous. Betting out of position is difficult, but as you’ve made the bet from early position you should make a continuation bet, but not more than three-quarters of the pot.

If that bet means you’ve committed more than 40-50 percent of your stack and they come back over the top, you haven’t got a choice – you have to play. In a deep-stacked cash game, however, you’re probably better off checking.

Check-raising would also be a strong play in this situation. Let the other player think that his A-J is good (which it would be at that point) and come back over the top when they bet. The combination of your early position bet and post-flop check-raise makes it difficult for your opponent to play on.

If they call your raise you still have outs and if they come over the top you can still get away from the hand. The more deep-stacked the action the more aggressively you should play that check-raise.  

 POKER & DISCIPLINE

The most important skill in playing poker is discipline. Can you fold Pocket Rockets?

The aim of the game, apart from the obvious and that is winning, is to finish as high as possible. First and foremost you want to recoup your entry fee then it's a matter of finishing as close to the number 1 position as you can.

And yes, there is a time to fold AA without blinking an eye.

You're playing a single table Sit n Go. The blinds are starting to bite hard and there's five players left. Make no mistake, the aim of the game is a Top 3 finish, anything else is gravy.

The table is down to five and the blinds are hurting, the two chip leaders are using their stack to advantage, low man on the totem pole has rolled the dice and is all in. The guy in fourth place is committed with his big blind, now the hard part, throw away them Rockets and watch the hand unfold.

Sure, it's easier said than done for most, but the advantage you have in folding your Pocket Rockets is that you do not risk anything and you can automatically move into third place should the chip leader win the showdown.

On this occasion, minimum risk for maximum reward is better than to announce your all in and watch in stunned silence as a flush on the river condemns you to a fourth placed finish.

Do you have the discipline required to be a successful Poker Player or are you married til death do us part when you see those Aces in the pocket?

Ten Tips to Playing Your Best Poker

Everybody wants to play poker well. As much fun as poker is, it's a lot more fun when you're winning; and a lot less fun when you're losing. Even if you've read Super/System and think you know all the ins and outs of the game, you still may not be playing your best poker. Here are a few tips to keep you at the top of your game.

1. Don't Play Emotionally

Being emotional is nice when you are having a tender moment with a loved one, but in poker it is instant death. Some very frustrating things are going to happen to you during your poker adventures, if you let these things get to you, you are doomed. You are going to take very bad beats. You are going to face opponents who do everything wrong and win huge sums while you are doing everything right and losing. In these situations players are very tempted to "spite the fates" and play incorrectly as well. Of course, the poker gods rarely smile upon good players who do this and your bankroll will quickly reflect this fact.

2. Don't Play Egotistically

Despite what some players may have you believe, poker is not a test of manhood. If it were, how could Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman be so successful? As the saying goes, there is no shame in folding. Making bad calls to prove you can't be bluffed or intimidated will not show them that you are a real man, but it may show them that you are a real broke man before long.

3. Don't Play Tired, Angry, or Hungry

This goes hand in hand with the above two. Poker is a game of wits, and you need to have your full wits about you at all times when you play. If you are tired or hungry, you will make mistakes or miscalculations, and if you are angry, you may be prone to punish yourself with bad play.

4. Don't Play with Money You Can't Afford to Lose

It's tough to win with "scared" money. If you are focused on the financial consequences of losing you may not be able to make the mathematically correct plays when you need to, which in the end will prove costly. If your bankroll is meager, play at lower limits, or wait until you can build it up.

5. Don't Play Over Your Head

Make sure you are beating the limit you play now consistently before moving up in limits. When you do move up, if you find yourself having trouble, don't be afraid to move back down. Moving up before you are ready can decimate your bankroll. Those higher limit games will still be there when the time is right.

6. Do Be Selective About the Games You Play

It is tempting to just jump right in to the first game or tournament that is available when you are itching to play. Sometimes there is only one game you can play in. But if you have a number of options, you will help yourself if you take a few moments to observe the different games in progress and find the best one. One or two weak players at your table can make a huge difference in profits.

7. Do Play for As Long As the Game is Good

It's tempting to get up as soon as you have sustained a big loss or a big win, however, if you are still at the top of your game and the game is still good, you should continue until you get tired. Be honest with yourself though. Whether you are ahead or behind, whether the game is good or not, if you continue to play when you are no longer sharp, you will see your profits slip away. If you are not sure whether or not you are still playing your best, it is better to err on the side of getting up and playing another day.

8. Do Be Courteous to Your Weak Opponents When They Win

Berating opponents for making bad plays that work not only makes everyone uncomfortable, it's also bad poker. The worst thing that can happen for you is that a bad player takes a chunk of your stack by doing something stupid, then responds to your comments by playing correctly so you can't get that money back. Shake it off when a bad player beats you. Remember that in the long run it is good for the game.

9. Do Educate Yourself

Learn everything you can about the game you play. If you have a bad session, go over it in your mind and see where you might have made mistakes, what you could have done differently. You can't win every time, but if you don't repeat mistakes, your win frequency should increase.

10. Do Have Fun

You started playing poker because it was fun, and even if winning is the goal, there's no reason that can't continue to be the case. If poker becomes an aggravation or a chore, take some time off for awhile. It's unlikely you are playing your best in that state anyway.