Well, I do understand that a good poker player must actually adapt the tactics employed in every game but also must consider table conditions. But the problem is, I’m just new to the game and still find it hard to adapt my playing style. In case I have good pocket cards, I raise aggressively in pot limit. And about maniacs, well, I find them helpful as they usually give me right good hiding.

As of now, I believe my problem is more on about my getting burned on the river. I tried to increase the amount of times I fold but I notice I have to play less than 1 hand in 10 to the river Please help me. I badly need your advice.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks a lot.

Warm regards,
Johenn
Johenn,

Without seeing what hands you are losing with, it is hard to determine where your problem lies, or if there is even a problem at all. If you are talking about players that are catching 4 outers or less on the river to outdraw your sets or your big pairs, that is a normal part of the game. If you are talking about chasing down someone with A-K and them catching a hand at the end, that’s another story.

If you have a good reason to fold at the river or before, then by mean go by your reads, but don’t fold because you’re afraid someone is going to suck out on you. Suckouts are a part of poker and will happen when you play solid poker. Don’t let fear make your decisions.

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In a certain game, there was a preflop raise. I played right after the raiser with either AK or mid pair. I then called though I was not so sure. Raiser then placed a bet on the flop. For a while I paused and pondered on what I should do next. I consider what if he has a pair, well he’ll be way ahead but if he doesn’t then I’ll be the one to be way ahead. I guess I should just guess what he has, specifically if he has an over pair or not. Unfortunately, some players have placed a bet on the flop after a raise probably 90% of the time so it’s then quite hard to ascertain what’s behind him. I need clarity.

Glad to hear from you soon.

Thank you very much!

All the best,
Collin
Collin,

You need to work on being able to put your player on a hand range. Something like a middle pair is a hand that you should be trying to flop a set with. A-K is a hand that is really just a glorified drawing hand. Usually someone raising in early position has a good hand. They may be raising with ace high and making a continuation bet, but do you really want to risk that with Ace high or a low pair?

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I was in a certain tournament the other day. I was the BB and got dealt Aks. At some point, everyone folded to SB who made significant bet earlier. I then raised to eventually double the bet of SB. SB then called. Flop came and brought JJ9. SB opted to bet and so I raised. Sb then raised too and so I called. Turn came and brought 5. SB checked and then I placed a bet. SB then called. Flop came and brought an Ace. Then I called. After a while, SB showed A9o and so I was just second.

Do you think I gave justice to the hand that was dealt to me?

Many thanks,
Bob
Bob,

You were not second. You had A-K. The board was JJ95A. You had Aces and Jacks with a King kicker. Your opponent had Aces and Jacks with a 9 kicker. You should have won the pot.

Now, with that being said, you were a little too aggressive with this hand. There was a good chance that you were behind to a Jack, or a player holding a hand with a 9 in it. This was the case until the river. On the river, you got lucky and his pair of 9’s were counterfeited.

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For more than a year now, I’ve been playing NL Holdem on and off over the internet. Well, I’ve tried reading some books before and I believe because of my effort I became a great, reasonable player.

Earlier part of the year, I took a $40 dep. bonus to $2000 in just two months time being at .25/.50 NL, 2-tables. Well, I played fairly tight with only the top 25 hands or so however I believe my play was weak and I’ve been stuck at $1800. In late position, I was able to pull off some steals however only small pots. I remember I almost gave up on suited connectors as I failed to release in case I hit a pair. And the cards, well, they’ve been coming in spouts. And in cases when I had good cards, I was okay however if not so good ones, my weakness was very obvious. Any advice for a weak player?

By the way, one time I missed on the flop the last five times, it was then hard for me to raise to $4 with AK. I then figured out that once I saw some players played AK differently. Some raised small, large and some all in with it. Now, say someone raises strong in early position, what’s the best way to play AK?

Many thanks,
Calvin
Calvin,

If someone in early position raises with A-K, the best play usually is to fold the hand. A-K is a drawing hand and must hit in order to actually become a hand. Otherwise it is ace high.

As far as your play, you are playing a cash game. If you play solid and have spout of no cards, then your best option is to sit back and wait for cards. You can try and play some marginal hands for cheap flops, but if your normal style is working, then stick with it.

You will at some point want to expand playing hand ranges some, but don’t do it just because you are having a dry run of cards. Those happen. When you get suited connectors, let them go if you don’t his strongly. Strong with 9-7 suited does not mean flopping a 9. It means flopping an open ended straight draw or a flush draw.

If you are still up $1760 on your $40 deposit, that’s good. Keep up the good work.

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Once you’ve mentioned that a good portion of the hands is win over with only a high card. Well, I dealt over 100 hands and plotted the results. I found out that only 2 out of the 100 hands were won with a high card. Some of the hands were won with medium to high pairs while some with 2 pairs.

To make sure, I purchased a Poker simulator on the web and ran it a lot of times. I also tried the simulator against 2, and 3 other opponents and still got same results. In the event played to the river, high cards at times.

I guess the only way I can make sense of the proportion you’ve mentioned is through ascertaining if winner emerges from pre-flop betting. High card dealt face down almost always will be the best hand pre-flop. However, I guess this is not what you’re trying to imply. Personally, I believe players need to play high cards pre-flop aggressively, however to win against a call or re-raise, such cards should improve.

By the way, in a small local tournament last night, I met very conservative, tight players. At some point, I noticed they typically never open a pot without an Ace or medium pair, however I never saw a high card Ace or King holding up to win unless it paired or helped make part of either a straight or flush. I believe if they were more aggressive in terms of their betting, they could have won more pots.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Regards,
Anthony
Anthony,

The typical winning hand in Texas Holdem is two pair. A high card only wins the hand a small portion of the time.

Hands such as A-K really need to improve in order to have a solid chance of winning. A-K is really just a glorified drawing hand.

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Honestly, I’m having problems about reading other players and being dealt high ace like AQ or AK.

At times, when I’m dealt high ace like AQ or AK, somebody will either place a big bet on me or re-raise me and then I’ll place him on a big ace. One time there was one guy who possibly had any kind of straight draw and so I placed a huge bet. I then thought that oftentimes if in case I see a re-raise, I’ll lay down as he might have some kind of pocket pair however if he calls, it could possibly be flush draw. Turn and river then came followed by some betting rounds. Later, he showed set of 7′s or 10′s, while I either had a pair or something else.

Any thoughts? Do you think I’m just being completely blindsided or there’s actually something I need to look for?

Thanks in advance!

Dennis
Dennis,

You are being overly aggressive with Ace high. When you are bet into or reraised, you need to do better than put them on ace high. It is time to let that hand go. Yes, some maniac players may make a bet or a raise into you with nothing, but you need to be able to identify your players better and put your players on hands properly. If you have A-K and face major resistance, in most cases it is time to fold.

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