Poker Pro Tips

Choose the right time for Continuation Betting

promoteclick — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:51:37 +0000

Jon Turner

Continuation betting has become so common in No-Limit Hold ‘em tournaments that many players no longer give it any respect. They will often call your bet on the flop, whether or not they actually have anything, just to see what you’ll do on the turn. Because continuation bets have lost so much value, you should be wary of making this bet if you don’t have much of a hand, and, even if you do have a hand, you should occasionally check behind just to mix up your play.

When deciding whether or not you should follow up a preflop raise with a bet on the flop, you should consider a variety of factors, including the texture of the flop, the number of players involved in the hand and the tendencies of those players, but here I want to talk about how your use of the continuation bet needs to change as a tournament progresses. Read More…

Early Tournament Strategies

promoteclick — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:50:01 +0000

Allen Cunningham

Many players’ first exposure to poker comes from watching WSOP and WPT tournaments on TV, and I think that’s great. It’s entertaining and you’ll see some interesting plays, but viewers have to understand that they shouldn’t model their games based on the action they see on TV.

Why? The answer is simple – what you’re seeing is unrealistic and edited for television. Players in these televised tournaments often start with very deep stacks (sometimes 10,000 chips or more) and, most of the time, all you’ll see on the broadcast is action from the final table where the blinds are high and play is fast. In contrast, the majority of the low buy-in ($1 to $20) tournaments you’ll encounter online usually start with stacks of 1,500 and blinds of 10/20. Read More…

Sealing the Win

promoteclick — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:48:50 +0000

Nenad Medic

If you don’t think poker is a competitive sport, chances are you’ve never made it to the late stages of a major tournament where the only thing higher than the blinds is the pressure of playing for thousands – or even millions – of dollars in prize money.

As a former basketball player, I can compare the pressure of a WSOP final table to the final minutes of a playoff game where every play is crucial and any mistake can mean the difference between walking away a champion or a runner-up. From the crowds on the rails to the lights, TV cameras and reporters running around the floor, everything around you is amplified. Let the pressure and the circus atmosphere distract you, and you can easily watch your tournament slip away. Read More…

Moving from Online to Live Play

promoteclick — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:36:27 +0000

Jordan Morgan

After honing their games online for awhile, many players decide to take the next step and test their skills in a live poker room. For some, the transition comes easily but, for others, the differences between playing at a computer and at a live table can be difficult to overcome. For many online players, one of the hardest adjustments to make is to the speed – or slowness – of live play. Where you may easily see 50, 60 or more hands an hour if you multi-table at home, you’ll be lucky to see 20 or more hands during an hour of live play. Read More…

Control Your Environment

promoteclick — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:26:11 +0000

Scott Fischman

We’ve all had moments in good old fashioned brick and mortar casinos where our senses become overwhelmed by an environment that we have no control over. From uncomfortable chairs to overflowing A/C to the guy sitting next to you who obviously hasn’t bathed since the last time the Cleveland Indians won the Series, playing live poker can be a less than pleasant experience at times. That’s why one of the biggest advantages of playing online poker versus live poker is the ability to control your environment. Read More…