The Early Stages: Stealing Antes
There is definitely a better mathematical argument for stealing blinds or coming over the top of other poker players who are apparently making blind steals. But some players (sometimes me) like to sit back and let the other players at the poker table do the dirty work for us. These players like to let the other poker players go crazy and then nail them when they finally do catch a hand. I guess, like everything else though, it just depends on who is at your table and what they have been doing.Actually, a lot of times I will sit back and let the other poker players at the table outplay me for long periods of time and then bust them, leaving nothing but the felt. I let them build up their confidence and think that they can outplay me and eventually they get sloppy, make a move on me and Bam! They’re busted.
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Deception in Poker
Poker is not just a mathematical game. It is also a game that entails a lot of psychological combat. Three of the most important psychological weapons in poker are bluffing, semi-bluffing, and slowplaying.
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Short Run versus Long Run
Whenever someone draws me out with very poor odds, I’m tempted to bang my head against the table. However, I try to console myself by reminding myself of all the drawouts I’ve performed on people and more importantly, it’s the fact that my opponent is drawing to poor odds that allows me to win in the Long Run.
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Pot Odds
When you see a flop, you will generally be in one of three situations.
Situation #1: Your hand totally misses the board.
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Beware the Minimum Raise
Say you’re playing in a low-stakes no-limit ring game. The blinds are $.50 and $1, and it’s folded to you in middle position. You find a nice hand – pocket Tens – and bring it in for a standard raise of three times the big blind. It’s folded around to a player in late position, who re-raises the minimum amount, making it $5 to go.
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Playing a Short Stack
The basic strategy to playing shorthanded is if you are stuck with a short stack, you need to take a lot of chances. This axiom is true of life itself, actually. When young, you feel as if you have nothing to lose but when you get older, you stop taking as many chances because you have realized the value of life.
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Beginning Stages of a No-Limit Tournament
I have developed a strategy that has suceeded for me more times than anything else. This is the first part of the series and I have titled it exactly what it is, a strategy to win a no-limit tournament.
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