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Hi,

Once I was burnt with 2 pair so I want to know if how one should actually play it. I was thinking maybe I played it incorrectly.

Well, say you get dealt 2 pair on the flop and slow playing is not a good idea as players can pick up sets, straights, much more that can beat you. What will you do then? How will you bet?

I’ll be glad to hear from you.

Thanks a ton.

Warmest regards,
Jin
Jin,

If I flop two pair without an apparent straight or flush draw on the board, I will tend to slow play it. If I am in a loose game or against calling stations, I will still bet as they will likely call me down or even raise. If there is a potential straight or flush draw, I will bet the hand to try and push players out.

Hello,

With what should slow play be applied? With two pairs? How about with full house?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks,
Abie
Abie,

If you flop two pair or three of a kind, slow play if there isn’t a potential straight or a flush draw present. If you make a full house, slow play if you think your opponent will bet into you or to let them try and catch a hand that they may bet into you with.

Hi,

I’m into poker online. I know the cards online are seen as they are dealt and so of course I can see the first card come up, I can actually do something for the second card, perhaps “root” for a suitable one.

Say the first card you got was a 6 of clubs. It’s not the greatest card but you can play with it and even at times raise with 66, 76 suited, or A6 suited.

In case true, how would you play the above hands then? Any particular case you would play them? How about raising with them or else throwing them away without even limping in?

Well, I believe it should be considered first if the game was limit or not. Don’t forget as well other factors as position, bankroll relevant to the table itself, how many players are in the hand, and the instance that make them good or bad.

Now I know suited A6 would be sometimes desirable than the other ones but could also be played in some situations.

Any thoughts?

Best regards,
Jansen
Janese,

In Limit holdem I would play the 66 and the A6 depending on my position, but the 7-6 I would stay away from unless I was in the blind. 66 I would play as a limping hand in most positions and hope to flop a set. A6 I would limp in with or play from late position or the blinds in the hopes to pick up a flush draw or flop a couple of pair.

Hello,

Just last year, I started to seriously play Holdem. Well, I’m not fond of reading so I haven’t read most of the Texas Holdem books. However, I regularly watched ESPN.

As of the moment, I’m into online poker. I actually started as an average player in “online standards” however just after few weeks I changed and became very tight. Tight in a way that I already fold pairs, 9s or less in a long to medium table. I believed then that there was nothing wrong as I typically end up being on the top 3 out of 10. And for several times, I finished first about just half the time.

I really believe in starting tight and getting more tight as the game progresses down to 6 – 5 players then gradually loosing up when down to 4 once down to 3. And when there’s a need to be aggressive, then be aggressive.

I played with the above approach for some time. However, things started to change when I tried playing in tables with terrible players. I started witnessing really bad beats more often than usual. I also then discovered the huge difference in the skill level of various tables $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, and $200. Later, I decided to go down from $200 to $100 and much later to $5. Sad to say, my luck wasn’t that significant, for once in 10 games, I ended up on the bottom.

Can you feel it, the lower I go the worst it gets? For a number of times, I lose with trip As for nothing with a flush draw in the river, with straights to flushes and even to Quads on the turn and river. I don’t know what went wrong.

Any thoughts?

Warm regards,
Bill
Bill,

The bad players are at the lower levels. Some of this is due to their play and some is due to the normal variance you will see in poker, especially online poker. It sounds like your approach is working, but realize that when you play solid poker, you will take some bad beats. Also, you should loosen your card holdings depending on position. Folding all pairs below 9’s sounds excessively tight just based on the information you have given. Work on opening your hand ranges up in position and as the tournament gets later.

Hi,

Most of the time, flop appears and I don’t yet have anything good like a strong flush draw or an open-ended straight draw. Then at some point where I already have lots of outs to bring me a hand I will feel pot will be granted to me. However, I typically check when such thing happens. I also mix up a bit of betting stuff to my style so that players can’t nail down any patterns. But my approach wasn’t effective one time. I expected to hit but I end up frustrated, no hit at all. I thought of checking however I may look like a weak one.

In your case, how often do you bet a draw as opposed to checking it with a hope of getting a free card? And do you know all the best pots to bet on a draw? Lastly, when you can’t hit on the turn and/or river, what’s the best way to go on?

I’ll be glad to hear from you soon.

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,
Tristan
Tristan,

When you are in position and are on a draw, those are the best times to bet to try and get a free card. That way, players will tend to check to you on the turn. When you are unable to hit on the turn or the river, if you do not have a hand, you can either try to fire out a bluff at the end or check it down and save your losses. A lot of this will depend on the player that you are against and the likelihood they will fold to your bet. Now chances are you will be bet into on the river if you checked on the turn. In this case, you likely should fold.

Hello,

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.

Hello,

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.