When you play both play free poker sites and any size cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). 4-bets mean even better hands (or even better bluffs). I dare you!
But despite even for the most skilled players in the world, the best hands still come from luck! Here is a perfect example:
BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k
PREFLOP:
A has K-K, raises to 290k
A great start for A but he holds temptation at bay with the measured raise. He certainly plays K-K shrewdly. A lot of players might play A A or K K weak pre-flop in preparation for trapping later. A plays K-K as if it were any other hand.
B has A-Q, raises to 650k
A to call 360k
B’s reraise is to try and find out if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:
A reraises to 1.49m
B to call 840k
Now A plays K-K conventionally. He is making the pot bigger. Basically he is saying “I Dare You!” If his reraise was small (like only reraise to 720k) it would be “I Want a Call” not “I dare” and B moght well call, but A has nothing to worry about if B calls unless an Ace drops.
But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.
B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A’s raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?
B moves all in
A to call 3.76m
Now B is the one daring A!
A could have thought any of these:
(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)
(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)
(3) How much will I invest? I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.
(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I’m quite uneasy if it’s worth half my stack.)
But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, “My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished.”
A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)
Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.
However, luck has the last word in this hand.
The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.
Summing up
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 free online poker that pays real cash such as that found at NoPayPOKER.com.
To make this work first, play free poker online 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!
It is a sad fact, it is not possible to be great at everything. In poker be it the win a lot of pennies free poker type or big cash it is why people become experts or specialists in their particular games.
It is the same as in the “normal” world where in our professions and hobbies and business we aim to find our niche and focus our efforts on becoming as good as we can so that we get promoted and earn more money.
So how does this relate specifically to the world of poker games?
Simply this, some people are great cash game players, while others are great tournament players. There are some players who are very good at both cash games and poker tournaments but this is very rare.
The majority focus on one or the other because they find they are more successful in that sort of poker.
How do you determine whether cash games or tournaments are your speciality? It might not be that clear at first. You obviously need to try your hand at both, but here are a few suggestions that may help you to figure it out.
Should You Focus On Cash Games?
If you’re a patient player who looks to play only in clear +EV situations, then you may prefer cash games. Full-ring games are all about waiting for premium starting hands and extracting the most value from them in the most favourable situation possible. Thus, cash games are good for players who don’t deal with variance very well.
The biggest mistake a beginning cash game player can make is playing too many hands. You don’t want to commit too many chips in marginal situations.
The opposite can seem to be true in the late to middle stages of a tournament.
Should You Focus On Poker Tournaments
It is correct to play tight in the early stages of a tournament, but once the blinds start to escalate you’ll need to loosen up your starting requirements. Once you’re low on chips, you’ll need to look to move all-in to survive. You may also need to put yourself in situations that may –EV in certain occasions. If you’re one of the big stacks, it’s also correct to start playing looser to bully the other players. It’s all about accumulating chips to either survive or thrive in tournaments. It’s not for the faint of heart or those who can’t deal with variance.
The biggest mistake a beginning tournament player can make is not pushing all-in enough when they get low on chips. Because the price of blinds increase as the tournament goes on, your chip stack can easily get whittled away.
Tight players can’t win tournaments.
Poker Game Specialization Conclusion
If you like tight then it is best to focus on cash games. However, if you’re an action junkie, you should consider concentrating on tournaments. That being said, a tight style can work for tournaments with a few adjustments and a loose style in cash games can be profitable under certain circumstances.
Ideally do your testing in free poker that way you can learn to play poker for free and find your style while not losing lots of money in the process!
This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world’s only free poker where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER.com is the ideal place for new poker players to learn to play hold em without risking any money at all. Experienced poker players can test out new techniques and rack up lots of free poker cash!
I can imagine a free poker player on http://www.NoPayPOKER.com who, after watching some episodes of the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour, suddenly gets ‘inspired’ and tries out one of the big advertised poker sites. As luck would have it he gets dealt 4-4 and, just like a pro he just saw moves all-in early position in the belief that it is a great move. As any experienced poker player will tell you, yes, it could be a good play but not all the time.
As it is, the overenthusiastic free poker player loses a large stack, it costs him hundreds of dollars in real money.
Why not tell him to try the same play on free poker, so that he will recognize his mistakes? He can learn to play poker for free lose lots but learn lots and not lose any money.
Play Free Poker On Line is also a great way to build a bankroll, if you don’t have one, and if you play long enough. And if you play long enough you will learn from your mistakes and from the mistakes of others – and it wouldn’t be so costly. Sure, you can try playing your Q-7 offsuit and then flop a Q-5-3 and then get called by A-Q later or K-K – that is when you realize your Q-7 is trash, and you ought not play it again.
Of course, you can watch someone else play the Q-7. He may flop Q-5-3, as above, or even A-J-7. Now you know you have him, because you have K-K (in the first flop) or A-K, or J-J (in the second). Now you remember the times when you win, and when you recall these times every time a similar situation arises, you will win the pot. If you play free poker long enough you will see what these situations are and then be able to characterize them like this: On the first flop, it may be ‘Playing Overpairs’; on the second, it may be ‘Playing Top Pair’ or ‘Playing a Set’.
There is, however, a downfall if you are not careful: Suppose you play 3-2 off and you win. You might think 3-2 off is a good hand, and then suddenly you rush to play real money poker. You lose. You think, “How would 3-2 be harpooned in this board! This just won last week!”
If you are observant enough for a long time in playing free poker you might notice plenty of players doing the same (playing bad hands) and they win. You can watch if they are winning consistently or not, and oftentimes they don’t. Someone plays 7-2, the wins; someone plays it again later, then loses.When you play free poker on line it may not yet teach you that A-10 is sometimes dangerous to play after a raise because it might be a better Ace, but it teaches you what hands to avoid and what to play.
In free poker you just don’t play any hand. You must play as if it is really big money at stake. Play only good starting hands. If you keep playing bad starting hands without the ability to represent them (and representing hands is not so practical in free poker because many free poker players play just any hand, bet when they hit the Flop and throw when they don’t) you will be a bad player sooner.
Regarding this, here is another point, indeed this is the key point that will win you a lot of money:
Many free poker players are novices and maniacs so if you take your time and master free poker you will know how to beat them.
Next, you will find when you move on to lower stakes real money you will mostly be facing these very same type of novice and maniac who have watched too much TV, and what do you think will happen then?
That’s right, your hard earned free poker skills will trash them and they will “donate” their stacks to you time and time again!. And as for the really good players, it’s so easy – avoid them unless you have the nuts.
This article brought to you by NoPayPOKER. The world’s only free poker where you win real cash on every game. NoPayPOKER.com is the ideal place for new poker players to learn to play poker for free without risking any money at all. Experienced poker players can test out new techniques and rack up lots of free poker cash!
