Say on the flop comes up AsKs9d and at the turn there’s Js. Latter has the potential for drawing a flush or a straight so it is a scare card. Typically, if you are not in a good position, you will check. You might also decide to raise as soon as possible on the basis of the cards on the board.

Aside from checking if you are in a good position or raising on the basis of cards on the board, you can try doing some other things. But of course you must consider the odds and the types of opponents you are up against with.

You can try confusing your opponents. Early in the game, you can call a bluff. But bluff should be strong enough to get found out. Have the goal of making it at showdown so your opponents could see you were just plainly bluffing and almost enjoying.

All throughout the game, your opponents will think that you are just a bluffer and for it they can raise and re-raise as long as they like which can really be a great help in increasing the size of the pot.

To strengthen the pot, try to keep your opponents playing. But of course, this is only possible if you have a pretty strong hand or the nuts. However be careful. Think things through. Although you need to get an edge to make it and win, you still have to widely open your understanding and your eyes to the situation at the table. Consider the cards and the opponents you are up against with.

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I was in a regular No Limit recently. It was a game with 2 maniacs. Well, one of the two has the best numbers on every dimension. Other one has also more or less achieved the same thing if he was not drunk.

On the other side, the rest of us at the table played pretty tight and played only hands that were known for not being weak. But the maniacs then kept on calling, raising, and re-raising.

Now, do you know of any effective way to beat maniacs? I don’t understand why they seem to come out about even in every heads-up play. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

All the best,
Lance
Lance,

The best way to play a maniac is to play tight and bust them when you have strong hands and their luck runs out.

Usually they come out even because many players will not loosen up their requirements when they are heads up with a maniac. Many more hands are playable in heads-up play and the players that don’t understand this get punished.

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Earlier this evening I tried my luck but unluckily didn’t get any good cards at all. In case it happens again, do you have any suggestion, tips, or the like? Do you think bluffing more will work? How about preflop raising?

Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks and more power!

Regards,
Chen
Chen,

You might want to try and open you hand ranges up in later position. Without knowing more about your game I cannot recommend bluffing. Raising preflop just for the sake of raising usually just leads to lost money. If you are going to raise, do so for a reason, such as a big hand or a tight game.

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I played poker yesterday. Early position, I had AK off suit and then raised it preflop. No raises appeared but for the flop 4 players stayed. Flop came but not that significant, 10-9-3 rainbow. At such point I had 25% chance for a top pair top kicker by the river. However I was not sure then if possible top pair top kicker can make it till the end.

After a while, bet appeared right in front of me. I then had to choose whether I’ll call, raise or fold. Well, I can call however I can only obtain additional infos about player’s hand if somebody else raises. Folding was the worst choice then as I only have a 25% chance to win and so I just raised. Two players then folded and opener called my bet. Table then was up for a heads up play.

Later, he didn’t raise pre-flop and didn’t raise me back after the flop. I then I figured out it was impossible he had flopped a set. He might be holding then either a 10 or a 9, probably with a bad kicker but not necessarily.
Turn came and I had K. He then checked and then called my bet. Well, he doesn’t have K 9 and so I won with a pair of Kings. He had pair of Tens with crap kicker.

Do you believe that raising pre and or post flop when it is cheap can really give you lots of information about other people’s hands?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Lowell
Lowell,

Raising in your situation can give you information on your opponents hand. Like you, when he didn’t reraise, I would have put him on a pair. Personally, I would have bet out on the flop since I was the preflop raiser. The player with the pair of tens would have probably only called the bet thinking that you may have an overpair.

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I’m not implying anything here but I usually win because of my discipline and right strategy. But of course I’m not perfect and so have also experienced being a loser. One of my most unforgettable losing moments was in a limit game 60/120 or 75/150. I remember I was in a table full of very aggressive players. At the start, I was just okay but later on I got tired and upset because others were winning pots on almost nothing and everyone seemed to have far better hands. I tried to play aggressively with good cards but later just end up being beaten. At some point, I thought of not raising preflop with high cards and instead just wait. What do you think? How about the idea of playing conservatively, does it makes sense?

Thanks a lot!

All the best,
Jonathan
Jonathan,

In aggressive games, playing tight is right. Don’t change your strategy based on some bad beats. They happen to players that play solid. Eventually luck evens out. Stick to your normal strategy.

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I have this belief about table experience at various situations being the most important factor to consider in Poker. And that everything you do will be based on what you have learned in the past.

As of the moment, I’m trying to develop a strategy on how I could beat a very wild game where AA, KK and QQ don’t stand most of the time. What’s worst is that I have to see flops more often thus causing me to spend lots of money as other players were raising wildly.

Any help? What’s on your thoughts?

Regards,
Nathaniel
Nathaniel,

In such games, the best strategy is to play a tight solid game. This way you are getting you money in with a solid hand, and usually in the lead. Strong hands aren’t going to always be outdrawn and usually when the big hands do win, they make up for the ones that get outdrawn.

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For about 12 months now, I’ve been playing Holdem. Well, in live games, I can actually say what kind or type of opponents I have, weak, tight, aggressive/loose, etc. But when it comes to myself I’m quite not sure. I believe that when I play, I play really tight however once someone call me a tight passive player.

I can’t believe I’m a tight passive one as I always thought I was a tight aggressive player. I don’t know if I just don’t realize it at all, but I’ve never played a passive game, I don’t also pretend to be a pro and actually very open to suggestions, advices, tips, etc.

Any tips on becoming a tight aggressive rather than passive? Your help will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Drew
Drew,

A lot depends on how much you are betting and raising etc. Do you check a lot when you miss the flop with your big hands? Do you only raise when you have the nuts? Do you not play position? If you can answer yes to any of these, then you are a passive player.

Being tight and aggressive means getting strong hands and then betting them strongly. Betting out, check raising, using the occasional semi bluff, and value betting are all skills that tight aggressive players have.

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I’ve just started playing at micro (.5/$1) tables on-line. Like the usual, before I choose a table, browser will first show a listing of the table name/number, with the number of players and the average pot amount. I believe the highest average pot tables with the most amount of players are the ones on top. Well, I understand why the amount of players in a particular table is significant but I can’t get the reason behind high average pot sizes. What’s the benefit of high average pot sizes? I know now that the optimum Low Limit Holdem table to play at should be a loose passive one. But I don’t know if this would result in average pot sizes being middle of the road compared to an aggressive table with high pot sizes, what do you think?

Thanks in advance.

Warm regards,
Jiro
Jiro,

A table with a high average pot size is a table with a lot of action. There may be a lot of loose aggressive players at this table or a bunch of bad players that chase down hands. A high average pot size will typically mean more stack fluctuation but also greater odds of winning big pots. Loose passive games will have lower pot sizes as there typically isn’t a lot of preflop raising and a lot of raising in general.

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I’m just 14 years old, actually almost 15 now and I’ve been playing Poker for some time now. Well, I know the game itself is very addictive so I decided to only play $1, $2, or $5 games. Normally, I play with 3-5 players. At times for a dollar I go one on one. I remember one time I only have 200 chips therefore all of us at the table agreed to divide stuff evenly depending on how many players were there, we typically play with 20 chips a piece, and to keep it simple, each chip worth a quarter. To have pot every time, we then just played with antes.

If I were to base it in a certain basic holdem strategy article I’ve read, two of my opponents then were loose aggressive, were actually raising pre-flop and checking every time.

In your opinion, should I re-raise them with a good pre-flop hand next time around? Most of the time when I feel they have something good I’d fold and they’d have my antes. At times when I have an okay preflop hand, I’d call them however on the flop I’d face the odds, fold and then lose majority of my chips. However sometimes they don’t have anything good to show. Any thoughts? I badly need your expertise now, please help me.

I’ll be glad to hear from you soon.

Thanks and more power!

Warm regards,
Brax
Brax,

Yes, reraise them and push your strong hands. Also, when you have speculative hands, take a look at the flop and when you do connect, push your advantages. Overall, I would probably play a little tighter in this game. Now if this is a limit game, open up your hand ranges a bit depending on position and see a few more flops.

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I’m just new to Poker and now I badly need your help. I don’t understand what a check raise is. Kindly explain it to me with sample situation if possible.

Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!

All the best,
Carson
Carson,

A check raise is when you check to another and they bet out, followed by you then raising that bet. For example, let’s say the flop fell 10-5-2 and you checked to your opponent and he bet out 500. You then raise to 1,500. That is a check-raise.

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