Random thoughts from a Veteran Newb
I'm nowhere NEAR a great player. I make mistakes almost every session, I still tilt occasionally, I say out loud to myself "This is a clear fold situation" as my hand reaches to the mouse and clicks "call". On the flip side though, I would have to say I am an above average player. I deposited $100 2 1/2 years ago into an online poker account, and I've never deposited another dime since. I've withdrawn close to $10k from my account since that initial deposit though.
Unfortunately circumstances have prevented me from ever having a bankroll big enough to play anything higher than $100NL, though most of my time has been spent playing $50NL, and $10 tournaments. This puts me in a unique position to adequately talk to the beginner since I have so often played at this level. Two weeks ago I was forced to make another large withdraw taking my bankroll down to $50. I played outside "bankroll rules", and fell to $2. Since that time though I have grinded my way back up to over $100 and feel now would be a good time to take a break and share a few things with others. I should probably note that when I play cash games, I nearly always play 6 seated. At higher levels this is mostly what you'll find. I also find that 6 seaters give me a GREAT ability to get hand reads on every player at the table.
1. Learn discipline! Poker is a game of discipline more than anything else. Discipline in folding hand after hand, discipline in staying focused on your opponents, discipline with your bankroll...You're not here studying this forum just for fun. You're reading it to get better. Let the donks and fish play just for fun, I'm here to play for money!
2. Bankroll management rules are a MUST unless you have money to continuously deposit. For the true beginner though, I would still recommend starting small and working your way up for the experience alone. There is a huge difference in play between a $10NL ring and a $100NL ring. Follow the numerous bankroll management rules you see posted throughout this site and you will pretty much never go broke.
3. I hear over and over about how no one can win at the lower levels of play because of the fish and the wide variance. I disagree. You surely can't bluff near as much at lower levels, but solid play is more readily rewarded. My standard PFR at lower levels is 4-6x the bb plus 1 for each limper. At tight tables I'll keep it at 4, at loose tables I may raise it as much as 10. Find the level of PFR you need to get the results you want. Of course if you're at a $10 table where most players have $4 or so then a PFR of $1 is almost not worth it since your opponents will pretty much have to push or fold after a flop, so the only hands you could play would be AA or close to it. This brings me to my next two points.
4. In a cash game, be selective about the table you sit at. This isn't a game of pride, it's a game of money and your goal is to make as much of it as you can. If a table is totally maniac then get out and find another table. I have no problem with a maniac as I know he'll more than likely pay me off sooner or later, and if not me then someone else who will then in return pay me later. I won't however sit at a table with more than a couple of "risk it all on J10s" players. This isn't always easy to do, and there are times when I've gone out to cut the grass instead of playing poker, but as I've said...I'm here to win money!
5. At low stakes, SnGs are about the best way to grind it up in my opinion. I love them for $6 and below to grind up a bankroll. There's a lot less variance than with cash games, and the rake is somewhat negated. In SnGs I usually play a full 9 seater NON turbo. This gives me the absolute best chance to use my skill and lower the luck factor. I won't give a full essay on how to play them other than to say I'm VERY tight early and extremely aggressive later in the game. Outlast the donks, then outplay the rest.
6. Know the difference between ring games, SnGs and tournaments. Each of these games requires a totally different style of play. If you play them all the same, you're setting yourself up for losses. In a ring game I'm looking for deep stacks, and I'm playing odds. I have no problem limping behind others with 56s or even raising it from LP if folded to. In a SnG, as I stated earlier, I am VERY tight early and extremely aggressive late. Tournaments are totally dependent on stack sizes and blind levels from beginning to end.
7. Stop that multi-tabling! Go back to step one and learn discipline. We all want to make as much money as fast as we can, but if you want to play your best then keep it to a single table. You can play tight, and stick to a general set of rules when you multi-table, but if you truly want to get a read on your opponents and make optimal plays as often as possible then stick to one table. How many posts have you read where someone posts a hand history without including reads on their opponents? At least a few replies ask for some kind of read. Depending on stat counters to give you your reads is not nearly as effective as watching what they do in every hand whether you're in the hand or not. I'm not saying I never multi-table, but as a general rule I only do it under the following circumstances...Near the end of a SnG I'll start a second one. I'm not worried about reads in the early part of a SnG so I can play the second on auto pilot while I concentrate on the money in the first. I'll also multi-table after having been at a ring game for 30 minutes or so with the same players. I have such good reads I can somewhat auto pilot that table as well. The third case is the first hour of a tournament. Literally half the field is gone in that first hour because of the number of donks playing so I have a general set of rules I follow. It's almost impossible to get reads because of the number of people coming or going and the number of times your table closes and you're moved.
8. Learn how to bluff! You've got a GREAT read on the villain, and know by the river that he doesn't have that A that hit on the turn. He's probably caught bottom or middle pair. You missed everything, but the way you've bet SCREAMS you have the A or better. You bet, he calls and wins the pot. You can NOT push someone off a pot who is incapable of folding. You'll make more money playing your hands straight up at lower levels than you will by trying to buy pots. He wasn't bluffing you, he was just too stupid to fold!
9. Quit trapping and slow playing! As I said earlier, you will make more money playing your hands legitimately than you will any other way. My standard play with a good hand is to PFR 4x the bb. If I think I'm still good on the flop I make a 2/3 to 3/4 pot bet. I do this with top pr, AK with a rag flop, as well as with a set, 2 pr, straights and flushes. I just don't bother slow playing. Most of the time you're getting paid off anyways or else their folding. Why give them ANY free cards? I can't count the number of times I've stacked someone with an obvious monster hand, just because they refused to believe me and thought their top pair was good while I continued to bet. There are times to bluff and there are times to slow play, but in all actuality those times are generally few. This does not mean that if you have A2 in the bb HU against a limped sb that you should check a blank flop. In that case you're not bluffing, you're betting what you believe is the best hand...know the difference.
10. Stop chasing! You can talk about odds all you want. The fact is that once that flop hits, and ESPECIALLY after the turn, you've seen almost all there is to see and you have a good idea of what the outcome is going to be. Rarely will the bet be an amount that gives you proper pot odds. If I have no reads whatsoever on an opponent then I let pot odds be the soul indicator of what I should do. If I have a straight draw and someone bets pot on the flop, there's a good chance I'm folding. Implied odds come into play if you do hit your needed card(s), but in order to have implied odds, you need to know your opponent well enough to know how much he'll pay when that happens. Flushes are a great example. How often do you see people chasing the flush. Then when it hits they don't get paid the extra amount they needed to make it worth it over the long run because it's so obvious! If you never get paid for it (or not often) then you've made the wrong play whether you win that hand or not.
11. When to C-bet. If you c-bet every time, then you can be easily exploited. Here are my rules for c-betting. 1. I have flopped any kind of draw including gut shot. 2. I think my hand is still best. 3. My opponent is weak and will usually fold to any c-bet. 4. My table image is tight. 5. To gain more information on my opponents hand when I'm unsure. 6. Sometimes when the board looks scary and I know my opponent well enough to understand his response to my bet. When will I not c-bet? 1. When the flop probably hit my opponent and left me few outs. 2. Against a calling station. 3. Against a maniac unless I hit 4. If I have a very loose image and feel people are ready to see what I have. 5. Against an opponent who I KNOW will see my check as a sign of weakness and bet me on the turn if the conditions are right.
12. Fold when you are beat. Top pair is NOT the nuts! In lower limits it's SO easy to bet your hand for what it's worth and get paid for it. Let's look at a couple of scenarios. You have A9s in MP limping behind 2 other limpers and the CO as well as the button called. Not an unusal situation at lower levels. Flop comes up AQ2 rainbow. You're checked to and aren't sure what to do. Automatically you can assume the players ahead and behind you don't have a set of aces or queens, and probably don't have AQ either. There's a good chance you have the best hand here, but then again you may be beat. Someone could have A10, or even Ace rag and then catch that rag later. These same players will call a pot sized bet with any ace and some even with KQ. There's nothing wrong with just making a smaller bet here, say around a third to half the pot. You're controlling the pot size without risking too much. If someone calls you're still not necesarily beat. By continuing to make these small bets you stand a good chance of taking down a decent pot. If someone comes back at you, you haven't lost much and it's easy to fold. It's these middle of the road hands where many players make mistakes and lose money. They bet big to chase everyone out and either they're behind and lose a lot, or a donk with a worse hand gets lucky. Or else they're afraid of losing so check it down and win a small pot, or let someone else catch who may have folded. Not EVERY bet has to be sized big enough to take away all possible odds. A good portion of your money will come from hands just like this. At $10 no limit you'll often pick up a pot worth $3 or so after having only risked about 50 cents just by betting small and having a few chasers. Just always remember to fold when you meet resistance. Typically I don't like risking much money on anything less than 2 pair. Another scenario I frequently see is against the flush draw. You're playing someone who you KNOW is too stupid to lay it down until the river. You know the pot odds so just bet high enough to give him the improper odds. Why risk it all on his draw even if you have the best hand? Then you're playing HIS game and not your own by paying him off. Just do what is needed to take away his proper pot odds and you're playing a winning game. You don't need to stack someone in every hand you play. Number 12 here seems to be getting lengthy, but I'd also like to add not overplaying a few select hands. There is no need to 4bet AK. It is NOT a made hand. It is a STRONG hand, but one you would rather see a flop with BEFORE committing all your chips. Sometimes I don't even like getting all in with KK until after the flop, but there are a lot of exceptions with that hand.
13. Walk away a winner. Some people may disagree, but I have a pretty strict rule about the size of my stack at the lower levels. I prefer playing with 100x the bb, but will walk away from a table when the blinds reach me after doubling up. I also walk away from a table if I've been there for quite awhile and have increased my stack by 50% or more with the same people. Let's say I buy in for $25 at a .25/.10 table. If I hit $50 and walk away to start fresh with $25 at the new table, then lose it all, I'm still break even. On the flip side if I keep my $50 at the same table and lose to a bad beat I've lost $25! I like to protect my winnings, and have NO problems walking away while ahead. At high levels of play you won't find an all in situation very often with 200x the bb. At the lower levels though you'll face it a lot more often. I was just a a table earlier today and there were 2 people at the table each with 200x the bb. One guy was on tilt and pushed his stack from UTG wih AK. The bb thought about it for awhile and called with AQ. Donk play from BOTH players as far as I'm concerned, but you see crap like that all the time at the lower levels LOL!
14. I hate ending on 13 so I guess I'll throw in one more bit of advice. Keep your hand off the mouse while you play. Ask yourself some questions in every hand you're in before acting. First of all, the delay in acting nearly every time shows people you are a thinking player. This automatically gives you a scarier if not tighter image. Most people act within a second or two, I prefer to take 5-10 even for a fairly easy decision. Sometimes if I'm having troubles focusing I will cover my cards on the screen, and see what everyone does until it is my turn. Then I will uncover my cards and make my decision. This ensures that I am thinking about THEIR play and cards before thinking about my own. You always want to be one level higher than your opponent. Many of them are not thinking of your cards. They may be thinking in general terms such as "he's been tight or he's been loose", but they aren't actually thinking of what you have. Giving thought to what THEY have is thinking one step ahead of them. It's only when you know you're up against someone who considers what you have that you can bring to mind what you think, they think you have, and THAT'S where bluffing comes to play.
I know it was a lengthy post, but hopefully someone out there gets some use out of it. Don't be a fish, eat the fish.
Re: Random thoughts from a Veteran Newb
Quote:
Originally Posted by nish81
This part particularly interested me, it runs contrary to what I've been doing so far. Particularly the first example you give, with A9s on a AQ2r board. Are you saying that we should basically bet enough to offer bad odds to hands we beat, but not so much that we fold out all the hands we beat? i.e. that making a psb has a lower ev than a 1/2 pot sized bet because most of the hands we beat would fold to that?
The point I was attempting to make is that you don't always have to bet big or check, especially in multi-way pots. It's OK to just keep making small stabs at a pot in these small stake games since you are may have the best hand now, and have a decent chance of having it at the end as well.
