Free Poker

Regardless of if you just play free poker sites or play for the highest stakes imaginaable a Set is one of the most unreadable hands in Texas Hold’em.

A Set is made ip of a pocket pair plus one of the Community cards that has the same rank as your pocket pair. For example, if you have 5-5 and the Board reads 5-4-10-J-K, you have a Set of Fives. Sets are unreadable because most players are accustomed to reading (a) two different hole cards, (b) high cards or overpairs, (c) draws that complete the Board, or (d) cards anyway related to the Board cards.

Our hand reading habits generally a mix of limiting possible hands to the given characteristics of the board/community, how would you put someone on 5-5 or 4-4 when it is much easier to put him on A-K (for top pair, best kicker), A-Q (for a made Straight), or K-10 or 5-4 (for Two-Pair), or even A-A (a high pair)? Or maybe you’ll put him on one Five, say, 6-5. But on two Fours or Fives? This is why Sets are very potent in Boards which have no Straight or Flush potential.

However, suppose in a Flop of Q-7-2 with no Straight or Flush possibilities, you have 2-2. You check in the hope of trapping and the other player bets. You raise all in then he immediately calls and reveals Q-Q. You thought your opponent had A-Q or K-Q. How is this possible? It’s possible. Even in this spot you are more at risk.

Since there are no Straight or Flush potentials your opponent will fold cards that didn’t fit into the Board cards. If you read hands in line with the criteria above, you might put your opponent on A-Q, K-Q, or even Q-7 (can you go as far as 7-2?!). Here because you are the one who moved all-in, the outcome of the hand is not fully on your control; it’s up to whether your opponent calls or not. But suppose the situation is reversed. The player with the Q-Q checks, you bet, then the response is a raise all-in. What would you do?

When you find yourself slammed in a situation like this (which usually occurs on the Flop) on a cash game, take it as it is. Pay him off. Some other time you will have the Q-Q, some other player will have the 2-2, and you will be paid off. But in a tournament, you have many givens to consider (and you might want to consider these even in an ordinary cash game). Compare your stack sizes relative to each other. If the difference is great, expect one of you to put his chips in the middle.

A Set could be the best hand both of you can have to get a double-up. If you have the smaller Set get eliminated, attribute it to bad luck. However, assuming both of you have stacks above chip average, and you are put to a choice costing you all or just about all your chips. You have 2-2. You’re not likely to be blinded out in a few hands.

You may want to reason out: I have a Set. He raised me enough to put me all-in, or almost. He might do it with Q-7, (and whether your opponent had Q-7 or not will depend on what happened preflop. If no raise occurred it may be with Q-7, and you can safely call. Whether the other guy had 7-7 or not can also come under similar scrutiny) or if there is a raise, it may be with A-Q.

Now, top pair, top kicker is a weak hand to risk an above-average stack. And there is no Straight and Flush incoming, so the all-in could be made only with an exceptionally strong hand. It might also be with A-A or with K-K (most probably it is) but it might also be just with Q-Q. If I put him on those three hands, there is a 2/3 chance I’m right, but a 1/3 chance of wrong, and when I’m wrong I will be busted. So I’ll fold.

If you have the middle Set (Set of Sevens), the same analysis may also apply. But you’ll be much safer since there is only one Set to kill you instead of the two possible Sets a while ago. If you have the Set of Queens, enjoy! The above analysis is agonizing and painstaking, especially when it all amounts to giving up one of the most most popular hands in Hold’Em.

Concluding Reading Sets

It takes some time to learn how to read hands, it’s not something the unthinking donk “chip flingers” seen on many free poker tables even consider. Most players it seems can’t or won’t put the time in, they claim to play just for fun which misses out on the key fact that winning lots of money is a lot more fun!

Ironically the fact that so many players play at this low skill level is excellent news for you. The reason why is that when you really learn how to play poker well you can go mercenary and hunt the “fun donks” down in low stakes real money games as well as free poker sites that pay out real money while you happily build your skills and bankroll!

To make this work first, play free poker online to learn to play poker free where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!

Whether you play free poker online or play for the biggest stakes imaginable a common theme is that aggressive players do all the betting and the raising, and get all the chips.

Players who mainly call are classified as passive. This is because as a caller you do not influence the game dynamic and are, to some extent, are being played by the bettor(s). With that said, you may well on occasion have very valid reasons to call and, as long as you have considered them in detail you should make that call.

Here is one such hand (Shame on him if he folds):

BLINDS 60k/120k, ante 15k

PREFLOP:

A has 5h-5d, raised to 310k (under the gun)
B has Kc-10c, calls 310k (from middle position)

The raise A makes from under the gun (UTG) implies his hand is strong, but keep in mind that A is aggressive and a tad loose and can represent any hand. In addition, A can make everyone fold. B’s K-10 suited is good for just calling, and he does.

With K-10, one should be more careful if a King comes up. With a King, A may have K-J or A-K (A-K, especially from a raise under the gun). I don’t think B is aware of this, maybe because he hasn’t seen the Flop yet. Here it is:

FLOP: 10d-4c-2d

Now only a 10 comes and this is better for B. Those who don’t have flush draws with 2 Diamonds might play J 10 or 10 9 strongly, plus the King kicker is real powerful.

A bets 535k

Because A raised under the gun, he tries a continuation bet. If he gets called, he can put B on a flush draw or a small pair (like 7-7), so he can frisk away later with not much loss.

But B may want to end the hand with his Pair of Tens, probably because overcards can fall. Moreover, A has been too aggressive all throughout, as we said, and it may be with two face cards or A-x, so B returns A’s favor:

B raises to 1.61m
A needs 1.075m to call

Because A has been representing a strong hand so far (raising under the gun and continuation-betting), he might as well stay consistent. Moreover, A may think that B raised because he thought A had nothing, and he is trying o push A out of the pot with something like K-J or a Flush draw.

As for the possibility of a Ten in B’s hand, why would A think B had a Ten? Even if B did, he would just call (commonly) and then check-check it all the way, because a Pair of Tens is not so strong, especially if faced with a three-bet like this:

A moves all-in 3.075m
B needs 2.5m to call (Pot now about 7.5m)

Maybe A moved all-in because his Pair of Fives have value on a board with only one overcard and whose caller may have a Flush draw. In this case, the caller may still be reluctant because even with a Flush draw with two overcards, it’s still a draw. But he might also be thinking that B is playing him, so he plays back.

Now B is put on the decision which calls for a call.

Here are B’s reasons why he may not call (which B may be thinking, but which will be my reasons for so doing):

(1) A three-bet plus all-in may signify J-J or higher, which is very likely if only small cards are on the table. Or: even a Set which A may have used to trap with.

(2) He is getting approximately 3-to-1 on a call (2.5 million to win approximately 7.5 million), but he should call only if he is getting 4-to-1 (21% chance of hitting Two-Pair or Trips), which is the right price.

(3) If he calls, he will have about 6 million chips remaining. But if he doesn’t, he will have about 8.5 million remaining, and his loss is relatively small for his stack (which is nearly 10 million).

Now here are B’s reasons why he should call:

(1) He can knock out an opponent who has proven to be very dangerous so far.

(2) Maybe A is the one on a Flush draw. Or maybe a Flush draw with two overcards where both of them have nearly equal chance of winning. So it’s OK.

(3) Maybe A put B on a Flush draw and decided to push B out of the pot instead of letting a Diamond emerge. So A’s all-in is just a bluff now.

(4) Maybe A put B on a bluff and decided to counter-bluff.

(5) With only one overcard which is not so likely to be in someone’s hand just as a face card is, B may put A on a pocket pair 5-5 to 9-9. In that case, he has a better Pair (Tens).

(6) He can lift himself up to 14 million chips after this.

(7) It is because B’s guts says so.

With these things in B’s mind, but still brewing over the cons, B tried hard to decide. For a long time he stared at his opponent and the Board. He commented first, You may hate me for this,” but then added, as if nothing but instinct prompted him, “but I call.”

B calls 2.5m (Pot just above 9 million)

A is in trouble now. B won the hand and knocked out A (who is Antonio Esfandiari! B is Steven Begleiter). B may be neutral in choosing between folding and calling, but if I’ll call, I’ll call not solely because of value of the Tens, but because of the above reasons.

Conclusion
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated “chip flinging” seen at many tables.

Yes it is mad that so many players play with so little skill, but it is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly. That’s because once you learn to play poker at an above average level and combat the “all-in-all the time” maniacs then you can take them apart in coldly calculated genocide anytime you like in low stakes money games and when you play NoPayPOKER.com that pays real cash such as that found at www.NoPayPOKER.com.

To make this work first, play free poker sites to learn to play holdem where you can learn while you lose but without losing real money, then once ready to can move up to low stakes and start to make some serious poker cash!