|
|
 |
The basics |
 |
1
 |
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 11:04. Posts 15163 | | |
Ok I concur. I am definitely not at my previous levels of skill yet..
Every single time ever I have been 4 tabling before the break no matter at what limit I was a 3-5BB/100 winner, and my only issue was that I return to multi-tabling and dump stacks when I burnout (Read my old blogs with 'Tutbotilt' in them).
Well, now thats really gone and whats more I can't even 6 table breakeven NL50.
My focus has been on advanced topics after my break, but I think in all that excitement I forgot to refresh the absolute basics.
This is me 4 tabling NL50 now:
+ Show Spoiler +
And this is me 4 tabling NL50 before my break/before I started playing dota 8 months ago:
+ Show Spoiler +
The concepts below are basics that I need to refresh, at the end are important points. I will write this in several blog posts as I go through the basic concepts.
[ BLUE] - Flaws in my current game/logic
[ Green] -My comments
Index
-I will post various basic topics as I see fit/when I have time and energy and in the end combine everything into one blog post with index etc.
Let me know if there are any specific topics that you have trouble with (As I am likely to have trouble too) and I will try to research them/summarise and post them with my comments.
1) What is NL Hold'Em and how do you make money?
+ Show Spoiler +
Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain
-David Sklansky
Long-term success in poker doesn’t primarily depend on your cards or your opponents. Nor does it depend on whether you‘re playing low or high limits, or even the final table of the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Regardless of stakes, cards, or opponents the key to success is always the same: making as few mistakes as possible and making as much money from your opponents‘ mistakes as possible.
Typical mistakes of SSNL Players are:
-They play too many hands and, as a result, many hands that are too weak.
-They play too passively.
-They have difficulty folding, and end up paying too much for speculative hands, for instance.
-They bluff too much and at the wrong times. Often they unnecessarily inflate pots with pure bluffs.
-They don't factor in their position at the table.
-They don't practise good bankroll management and anxiety about their money dictates how they play.
How to exploit the mistakes:
-You only select hands that are worth playing.
-You play aggressively.
-You don't have a problem with folding, if the situation becomes unprofitable. You don't get “attached” to your cards.
-You don‘t bluff much but when you do, you do it at the right time. You don't bluff when you're playing for a big pot.
-You adapt your game according to your position at the table.
-You manage your poker bankroll well and can make moves because you know they are profitable, without worrying about the fact that you might sometimes also lose the hand.
The Aggressive Player
You have already learned that your profit is a result of your opponents' mistakes. And when do people make mistakes? When they have to make an important decision under pressure.
You will earn considerably more money with Texas Hold’em when you constantly force your opponents to make decisions, put them under pressure, and so force them to make mistakes. You can achieve this by playing aggressive poker.
At the same time you will save a lot of money if you avoid situations in which someone forces you to make a decision. If someone pushes you into a defensive position, you ought to feel very uncomfortable.
I didn't realise this as a factor, I always push small edges and play one street whenever its +EV. However the thinking of Giggy and Galfond, the two sickos from which you'd expect to seek tough spots seems to be the opposite.
Things like 3betting Q9o in HU deep against aggressive villain will put you under a lot of pressure in many hands and you will make mistakes=> you will lose money based on Sklansky's definition.
I need to not only think about profitability of one street, but also consider the likelihood of forcing myself into a spot where I am very likely to make a mistake/lose money and consider that when calculating EV for my action on one street. This goes especially into PF raising hands or bluffing without 6+ clean outs.
Cold-calling, which means going along with an opponent‘s raise pre-flop, is practically a deadly sin. With very few exceptions, it will lead you into situations, which are hard to control. For most cases you are limited to hoping to hit a strong hand, which doesn’t actually happen as often as some people think.
- I need to have a plan when calling PF, especially OOP. I call against unknowns just with the plan of C/F when I miss, which is OK with pocket pairs but sucks with everything else
2)On the flop - With initiative
+ Show Spoiler +
Purpose of a continuation bet is:
-You want to force everyone to fold and win the pot directly.
-You want to protect a made hand against draws and make the next community card too expensive for opponents on a draw to see.
-You have a made hand and want to get money out of weaker hands. You maximize the value of your hand.
When to make a cbet:
1) You have TP+. why: protect your hand and get money into the pot.
2) You have strong draw HU. Why: Semi-bluff with outs - cbet has to work much smaller %. Remember, a semi-bluff is ultimately just a bluff and is only profitable as a tool when you can get players to fold. A draw alone isn't enough to justify a bet/bluff. Unless you have a true monster draw, your chances of winning just aren't high enough.
3) You have air/weak draw/weak made hand.
Your continuation bet is a bluff if you have a weak draw, a weak made hand, or nothing at all. Bluffing against several opponents and bluffing against opponents who won't fold is a waste of money. Never bluff against more than two opponents with a weak hand.
You will encounter the next situation quite often: You raised before the flop, one or two opponents called, and you didn't really hit anything big. Should you make a bluff contibet? The answer depends on the community cards and your opponents' actions.
When you look at the board, ask yourself two questions:
Can you represent a hand?
Could your opponents have hit the board?
If you answer the first question with a yes and the second with a no, you're looking at a suitable flop for a bluff continuation bet. Flops with high cards, are good for contibets, too. You can represent a high pair with your bet.
Types of players to consider when cbetting:
Loose-passive
It's hard for a loose player to lay down his hand, which means you can't bluff against them effectively. A loose-passive player will rarely show aggression, but will call a lot of bets. Your strategy against him does not revolve around forcing him out of pots, but rather patiently waiting for a good hand and then putting your money in. You know he will call with a wide range of hands.
LAG
A loose-aggressive player has trouble laying his hand down, too, but he also plays aggressively. This type of opponent is also more likely to bluff. They see a paired board as an invitation to attack the pot. You should refrain from bluffing this type of opponent. Your strategy is to let him pay you off when you have a strong hand. Give him the small pots when you don't have a hand, and take down the big ones when you do.
Tight-Passive
You want to make your bluff contibets against tight-passive players. They are quick to fold and only show aggression when they have a strong hand. You will often make continuation bets against them. If it doesn't work, you'll know you're beat.
I KEEP CONTINUING BLUFFING/PAYING OFF WAY TOO MUCH AGAINST PEOPLE THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF BLUFFING/VBETTING THIN ON TURN AND RIVER
TAG
You are a tight-aggressive player. You play strong hands and avoid marginal situations. This is why you can bluff against tight-aggressive players. This also means players can bluff against you. This isn't a disadvantage - good players have to be bluff able.Fuck, sometimes I think I am not a good player :/
You can attack a lot of pots when facing so-called TAGs, but not as many as against tight-passive players. If he is multitabling, you can make regular contibets against him. He is probably playing his standard game and folding every time he misses the flop.
Points to think about
Pay attention to how your opponent plays before and after the flop. Some players patiently wait for a good starting hand, but turn loose as soon as they've seen the flop - a good sign that he won't fold to a contibet. There are also lots of players who like to see the flop with any two cards, but immediately get out of the way when they don't hit. You should like this type of opponent, since he plays often and rarely has anything after the flop.
Good players tend to make contibets between 65-75% of the time, and more often in than out of positionI have just realised a weird trend in my game where I always cbet OOP but check down IP a lot People fold more OOP so it should be the opposite . On average, however, a good player won't make a contibet with 25-35% of the hands he raises with. The 65-75% of the time he does it's either a bluff or a playable hand.
You should almost always bet against a single opponent, unless he is loose and won't fold on the flop. You need a good flop before you can make a contibet against two opponents, and then only if you know they can fold.
How to react to a raise
You will obviously have to fold any weak or worthless hand, such as a small or middle pair, or a weak draw. You can continue to play a strong combodraw, such as a nut flush draw + OESD, or nut flush/straight + a pair, aggressively. With more than 12 clean outs you can even go all-in.
You can call with just a flush/OESD/double gutshot draw if you're getting the right (implied) pot odds.
If you complete your draw, you can expect to win another 1/2 of the pot size on the turn by the showdown. As a general rule: you can call as long as you don't have to pay more than 3/4 of the pot size (including actions before you).
You can expect to win even more from passive opponents, whose raise indicates a strong hand. Any poor players still in the hand are also likely to pay you off. In such a situation you could pay as much as the full pot size (including actions before you).
If a made hand, top pair or better, the cards in the flop should be of particular interest. Raise and protect your hand on a draw heavy board. You could just call on a drawless board to keep your opponent in the hand if you think it's likely that he has a weak hand or is bluffing.
You can usually fold weak hands like top pair with a low kicker to a raise. You should only consider staying in the hand if you know your opponent is very aggressive.
3) Notes
+ Show Spoiler +
As poker is a game of incomplete information, you have to literally suck up every available bit of information like a sponge. With every piece of information you gain, your advantage over your opponents increases, and that is reflected in a higher profit at the end of the day.
It is important that you don't depend too much on HEM stats, because they only give you the average values of the hands played. This means that two players could have pre-flop values of 30 VPIP and 24 PFR, but still play in completely different ways: one of them could be a very good loose-aggressive player who pays attention to position, while the other one is simply a fish and raises hands whenever he feels like it, without giving it much thought.
Yup, I pay too much attention to small samples as TT pointed out -.-
Don't make the mistake of determining the post-flop competence of a player based on a good or bad pre-flop game, because many players might have a solid pre-flop strategy, but make many devastating mistakes post-flop.
4) Math
+ Show Spoiler +
EV
Example:
FR , 100BB Stacks
Pre-flop: Hero is BU with AA
6 folds, CO raises 4BB, Hero raises 12BB, 2 folds, CO is All-In.
What a great spot. You hold aces and have the opportunity to go all-in before the flop. It's a straightforward call. It should be obvious that you will make a profit (the EV is greater than 0).
What if we want to know the exact EV? First we need to determine the possible outcomes. You could win everything that lies in the pot, 100BB from your opponent, 12BB that you have already invested and 1.5BB from the blinds (a total of 113.5BB).
We will call this result x1 = 113.5 BB.
The other possibility, it the loss of 88BB, that you're yet to call, hence x2 = −88BB
Now we need to determine the probability of both outcomes. If you assume your opponent holds QQ, KK, AA or AKs your share of the pot is 80.4% which leaves your opponent with 19.5%.
Hence your EV is:
EV = x1p(x1) + x2p(x2) = (113,5 • 0,804 − 88 • 0,195)BB = (91,25 − 17,16)BB = 74,09BB.
- EV is amount that you win*chance to win - amount that you lose*chance to lose.
This shit is too Brain Intensive lol. I will expand this section with the basic calcs/equations after I watch WoT's series and read all math articles on pokerstartegy
Remember/cliffs:
-DO NOT BLUFF IN BIG POTS
-ONLY RAISE HANDS WORTH RAISING.
-CONSIDER LIKELIHOOD OF MAKING A MISTAKE(=LOSING MONEY)IN FOLLOWING ACTIONS WHEN YOU ACT ON ONE STREET.
-HAVE A CLEAR PLAN WHEN PLAYING MARGINAL HANDS/WEAK DRAWS
-Consider how profitably cany you play a hand based on position, villains AND your current state of mind. If you are tilted and are likely to make mistakes tighten up! Also, always be able to clearly say what is your plan on the next street (including when raising PF!)
-DRAW ALONE DOESN'T JUSTIFY BETTING
-GOOD PlayerS HAVE TO BE BLUFFABLE
-CBET MORE IP THAN OOP, CONSIDER VILLAIN AND BOARD, DO NOT CBET DRAWY BOARDS
-DO NOT PAY PEOPLE THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF BLUFFING OR VBETTING LIGHT
-DO NO CALL RAISES WITH WEAK HANDS
-DO NOT OVERESTIMATE PF STATS POSTFLOP AND SMALL SAMPLE SIZES
End note
I have applied these things and my red line instantly flatted out instead of going down and money won went just right up.
This thinking used to be the foundation of my game and is all coming back. I have even started talking out loud and explaining what exactly am I going to do on the next street before seeing it, just as I was doing automatically before but have forgotten since. I also suddenly remembered how I used to fight for the small pots and bluff like a madman and appear aggro, but when the big pots came I had the better hand most of the time.
All the study time and hand analysing is for nothing when you don't have the basics down and apply them in everyday grind.
|
|
| 93% Sure! | Last edit: 18/11/2010 11:21 |
|
| 1 | |
do not bluff in big pots what a shitty cliff note bro
i also don't like 'do not cbet drawy boards' as a rule, there are plenty of times its perfectly reasonable and likely the best play to cbet 783ss if you have good overs/backdoor flushdraw/etc
too many rules |
|
| | Last edit: 18/11/2010 11:23 |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 11:27. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 10:21 Night2o1 wrote:
do not bluff in big pots what a shitty cliff note bro |
Explain please. This is very applicable to me, my standard image and the limits I play. This cliff is the second most important note after having a plan for the hand.
I am widely recognised as an overaggressive player with massive spew potential and nobody who knows me ever does big laydowns against me.
Furhermore, I play at NL50 right now where the trend is to call rather than fold even without my image.
If your image is very aggressive and you are on the LAGgy side your goal should be to take the small pots because people will let you and they don't pay them off/bluff off your stack which is what they expect and many will count on that strategy against you. |
| |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 11:30. Posts 15163 | | |
And the cliffs are not definite rules, but rather inclinations I should make and 'standards'. If you read the sections you will understand. In my mind 'having a plan' overrides all rules, if you have good reason you can do absolutely anything in poker. Like 5bet shove 73 or whatever it was when Ivey pwned raszi -.-
And these are points for me Night based on the state my game is in right now, you could make completely different conclusions based on how you play. |
|
| 93% Sure! | Last edit: 18/11/2010 11:33 |
|
| 1
 |
genjix2 United Kingdom. Nov 18 2010 11:32. Posts 46 | | | |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 11:42. Posts 15163 | | |
I know that (although the samples will be 80k+ hands in both examples, these are the longest graphs I got). I am not concluding just on the graphs, but on the overall feel I get from my game. I was kinda shocked when reading through basic articles and that I don't apply that stuff -.- |
| |
|
| 1
 |
Big_Rob_48 United States. Nov 18 2010 13:28. Posts 3432 | | |
it shouldn't be that hard, I mean 50% of people are intelligent enough to be winners at nl 600 right? |
|
| My AIM sn if you want to chat: YoRobbyMiller | |
|
| 1
 |
waga United Kingdom. Nov 18 2010 15:05. Posts 2375 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 10:21 Night2o1 wrote:
do not bluff in big pots what a shitty cliff note bro
i also don't like 'do not cbet drawy boards' as a rule, there are plenty of times its perfectly reasonable and likely the best play to cbet 783ss if you have good overs/backdoor flushdraw/etc
too many rules |
This is probably the best advice.
bluff too much / never fold in big pot , is probably the biggest leak of the nl50/100 player.
(they don't vbet enough ofc , but that's another point)
You think way too much lemon imo.
To beat those limits you don't have to be really creative.
You just have to be patient ,not tilt and table select.
|
|
| 1 | |
naw I'm not trying to be harsh sorry seems I came off that way
I just don't want you to look at your laggy or aggressive image and not bluff in correct spots just because the pot "is big"
ie you might end up playing wayyyyyy too fit or fold in 3bet pots because of that idea (which is especially bad if you are a laggy player who is in a ton of 3bet pots because you 3bet people a bunch) |
|
| 1
|
joLin United States. Nov 18 2010 17:27. Posts 3818 | | |
lol 27k hand sample. and lol this:
| | On November 18 2010 12:28 Big_Rob_48 wrote:
it shouldn't be that hard, I mean 50% of people are intelligent enough to be winners at nl 600 right? |
|
| |
|
| 1
|
boreHM Netherlands. Nov 18 2010 18:17. Posts 1595 | | |
you can spice up the math example by giving your opponent the 4bet and a 4bet% and then you shove and have fold equity too and villain has a calling range obv |
|
| 1
|
NewbSaibot United States. Nov 18 2010 18:54. Posts 4946 | | |
Nice post Lemon. I've been trying to think a lot along these lines and having it spelled out for me is really clicking in my brain. One thing that really resonates with me is the whole "good players are bluffable" line. Sooooo often I try to hero call because I hate being bluffed, at least being bluffed by a fish in some retarded fashion. I smile when a reg bluff's me, the few times I see it. Whats worse is the fact that since I'm like 20/80 or worse on successful hero calls, I try to do them too often just because once I was right. Gonna see how much of this I can apply in the coming weeks. |
| |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 20:12. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 12:28 Big_Rob_48 wrote:
it shouldn't be that hard, I mean 50% of people are intelligent enough to be winners at nl 600 right? |
Most definitely. All the math you need is basic secondary school man.
Its more about hard work and self control which I am lacking.
|
| |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 20:35. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 17:54 NewbSaibot wrote:
Nice post Lemon. I've been trying to think a lot along these lines and having it spelled out for me is really clicking in my brain. One thing that really resonates with me is the whole "good players are bluffable" line. Sooooo often I try to hero call because I hate being bluffed, at least being bluffed by a fish in some retarded fashion. I smile when a reg bluff's me, the few times I see it. Whats worse is the fact that since I'm like 20/80 or worse on successful hero calls, I try to do them too often just because once I was right. Gonna see how much of this I can apply in the coming weeks. |
Look at first spoiler, work on the listed mistakes and improvement points and you will do way way better -.-
Think we got very similar mistakes |
| |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 20:36. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 17:17 boreHM wrote:
you can spice up the math example by giving your opponent the 4bet and a 4bet% and then you shove and have fold equity too and villain has a calling range obv |
Yeah I like completely forgot even the basic equations lol. I will make a separate blog on math |
| |
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 18 2010 20:38. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 18 2010 14:05 waga wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 18 2010 10:21 Night2o1 wrote:
do not bluff in big pots what a shitty cliff note bro
i also don't like 'do not cbet drawy boards' as a rule, there are plenty of times its perfectly reasonable and likely the best play to cbet 783ss if you have good overs/backdoor flushdraw/etc
too many rules |
This is probably the best advice.
bluff too much / never fold in big pot , is probably the biggest leak of the nl50/100 player.
(they don't vbet enough ofc , but that's another point)
You think way too much lemon imo.
To beat those limits you don't have to be really creative.
You just have to be patient ,not tilt and table select.
|
Yeah I just found out I am lacking the overall 'mentality'. Don't know how to describe it but I am lacking an overall strategy, and with that comes uncertainty, tilting and mistakes.
Its so much easier when you enter a session with 'don't bluff in big pots' and 'think 2 streets' goals. |
| |
|
| 1
|
mnj United States. Nov 19 2010 12:15. Posts 3848 | | |
vbetting should be like 90% of your money at these stakes when people are incapable of making folds
game=beaten |
|
| 1 | |
"My focus has been on advanced topics after my break, but I think in all that excitement I forgot to refresh the absolute basics." this is the absolute truth, and possibly the answer to your own question.
You are over-thinking-things....
|
|
| 1
|
LemOn[5thF] Czech Republic. Nov 21 2010 14:04. Posts 15163 | | |
| | On November 19 2010 14:01 casinocasino wrote:
"My focus has been on advanced topics after my break, but I think in all that excitement I forgot to refresh the absolute basics." this is the absolute truth, and possibly the answer to your own question.
You are over-thinking-things....
|
Yup, hence the return to basic concepts.
And today I scraped the positional raise sizing, that stuff just created unwanted extra variables  |
| |
|
| |
|
|
 Poker Streams | |
|
Contact Users: 769 Active, 0 Logged in - Time: 16:57
