- Play Strong Hands Only
- Master Your Position at the Table
- Play Against Weaker Opponents
- Mix Bluffs and Semi-Bluffs
- Float the Flop More Often
Play Strong Hands Only
Playing strong hands should be mostly pretty simple: the idea is to have the best chance possible to win. Maintain a statistical edge on your opponents by ensuring that your strong hands are beating their weak hands.
Types of Strong Hands
- Pocket Aces (AA)
- Pocket Kings (KK)
- Pocket Queens (QQ)
- AK (Suited or Unsuited)
- Pocket Jacks (JJ)
- Ace-Queen (AQ) suited
For instance, pocket aces defeat random hands 80% of the time.
Example Play:
You have A♠A♦ in Texas Hold’em. The way to go about this hand, you might ask?
Pre-flop: You raise the pot with decent cards in middle position. It lets other players know that you have a good hand. If the big blind is $2, you make it $6 to go.
The flop ran out 7♠ 5♣ 2♦. This is an excellent aces flop, with none of the high cards that can help an opponent connect a good hand. You bet another time, this time for half the pot, $6, in a $12 pot.
Turn: The turn is a 9♦. Again you place a bet, still representing a strong hand. This time, in a $24 pot, you bet $15.
River: The river is a 3♣. You value bet the river for the last time $25 in a $54 pot. The odds are, if your opponent was on a draw, they are likely to fold now.
Key Statistics:
- Probability that A-A wins against any two random cards: 77%
- In the example of pocket Kings, they win roughly 68% of the time while standing up against two random cards.
Those figures make Ace-King suited a monster – it plays as a favorite against any two random cards.
As the great Doyle Brunson once said, “No-Limit Hold’em is a game of putting a man to a decision for all his chips.” Playing a strong hand puts your opponents in tough spots and makes them have to make a decision.
Detailed Breakdown:
- Early Position: Stick to the top 5% of hands in early position: AA, KK, QQ, AK suited
- Middle Position: You can add AQs, JJ, TT
- Late Position: Add AJs, KQs, 99, and 88 to your range.
Master Your Position at the Table
In poker, position refers to where you sit relative to the dealer button. The less you are the button, the more delayed you are in each round of betting. This allows you to get additional info about what your opponents do, which gives you a HUGE edge.
Types of Positions
- Early Position (EP): The first three seats to the left of the dealer. Playing from early position demands a tight range, as you do not know the hands of other players.
- Sample Hands: AA, KK, QQ, AK suited
- Middle Position (MP): You can open up a little bit but should still be a bit careful.
- Sample Hands: AQs, JJ, TT, KQs
- Late Position (LP): Cutoff (one right of dealer) or button. Playing from later position will also enable you to widen your range and bluff more effectively.
- Example Hands: Any pocket pairs, 78 suited, QJ suited.
Example Play:
K♠Q♠ on the button in a six-handed game.
Preflop: It folds to you. Raise 3x the Big Blind from the button. If the big blind is $2, you make it $6.
Flop: J♠9♠4♣. You hold an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw. Your bet of $8 into a $14 pot allows you to put pressure on your opponents from position.
Turn: The turn is a 2♦. Your opponent checks again. You bet $20 in a $30 pot, continuing your aggression.
River: T♥. The river hits the straight for you. You bet $40 into a $70 pot for value.
Statistics and Insights:
- Position: The later the position, the more hands a player wins. According to statistical analysis, a player in late position can win 10-15% more hands than a player in early position.
- Late position players have a higher aggression factor (AF) overall which allows them to steal blinds and pots uncontested.
“Position is everything in poker,” says Phil Ivey, one of the best players to ever play the game. It tells you how much data you have and how hard you can get your opponents to play.
Detailed Breakdown:
- Early Position: Play tight and strong. Avoid speculative hands.
- Middle Position: You can open up a bit more but remain cautious. Include more suited connectors and lower pairs.
- Late Position: Play loose, bluff more, apply pressure.
Play Against Weaker Opponents
Shaky behavior is what most weaker players, colloquially known as “fish,” tend to do.
- High VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money in Pot): They tend to play a lot of hands, typically more than 40% of the time.
- Calling Stations: Players who never fold, and rarely raise. If they are not raising, they are calling, but never folding.
- Passive Play: This is someone who checks and calls much more than they bet or raise.
- Regular Strategies: Their betting strategies are also way too predictable and thus exploitable.
You make money in poker on the mistakes of your opponents.
Example Play:
You are playing a $1/$2 cash game and you realize this player could be extremely aggressive, but carries a VPIP percentage of 45% with a 3% AF.
Preflop: 9♦9♠ — Cutoff. The lower player calls in middle position. You 3-bet to $10 to try to get heads-up with them.
After a flop of 8♣ 6♠ 2♦, the weaker player checks. You bet $15 into the $23 pot, knowing they call too wide.
Turn: The turn is a J♠. They check again. You bet $30 into a $53 pot, trying to put maximum pressure on their weaker hand.
River: The river is a 4♥. They call, and with $83 in the pot, you bet $50 for value, hoping they will call you down with some missed draws.
Statistics and Insights:
- VPIP 40% or more: Players that are losers in the long run.
- Calling Stations: These players fold infrequently, so they make for great opportunities for a value-bet.
- Passive Players: Do not raise, let you control the size of the pot and betting.
David Sklansky put it best, “The fundamental theorem of poker states: every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents’ cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if you could see all their cards, they lose.” Playing vs. weaker players means they are more often out of position.
Detailed Breakdown:
- Raise more often preflop when weak players limp. Try to play heads-up against them.
- C-Betting Strategy: C-bet often, assuming that weak players will call with weak hands.
- Action Plan: Value bet more often, as they will call with weaker hands.
- River Strategy: Make value bets that are thinner, because weaker players often call marginal hands with which they would fold you off on another street.
Mix Bluffs and Semi-Bluffs
Bluffs are wagers or raises with no strength in your hand, hoping to push your opponent off a better hand. A semi-bluff is a bet or raise with a drawing-type hand that may become a strong hand on future streets.
Bluffing and semi-bluffing make your gameplay less predictable, and thus much harder for your opponents to read you.
Example Play:
In a $1/$2 cash game, you are dealt Q♠J♠ on the button.
Preflop: You raise to $6. The big blind, who is a tight player, calls.
Flop: 9♠ 8♣ 2♦. The big blind checks. You semi-bluff in a $10 pot, on the flop with a gutshot straight draw and two overcards.
Turn: A♠ (2 players). You have a flush draw. The big blind checks again. This time it’s a more potent semi-bluff, but you’re getting more aggressive as you bet $25 into a $33 pot.
River: The river is a 3♣. The big blind checks. As played, you opt to make a bluff bet of $60 into an $83 pot as if you had a strong hand.
Statistics and Insights:
- Bluff Success Rate: Well-played bluffs typically win about 30-40% of the time, but this greatly depends on the kind of opponents you are playing against and the dynamics at your table.
- Realizes Fold Equity: Semi-bluffs are still bluffs and give you a way to win the pot without making the best hand at showdown. Example: If you have a flush draw (9 outs), you have about a 35% chance to hit the flush on Turn/River.
Phil Hellmuth says, “The hardest part of a good bluff is starting with a great story.” If you bet according to the story you are trying to tell and your story has the right amount of credibility, your bluffs will work better.
Detailed Breakdown:
- Pre-flop: Playable drawing hands.
- Flop: Notice the scare cards and board textures. Make more bluffs on dry boards (e.g. K♣ 7♦ 2♠), and semi-bluffs on wet boards (e.g. 8♠ 9♠ 2♦) when drawing.
- Turn: Fire your bluffs and semi-bluffs if your hand has improved on the board.
- River: You either do not need to bluff, believe they inflated their draws on the flop, or otherwise are not showing aggression.
Key Strategies:
- Position: Bluffing and semi-bluffing is more effective when you are in position. This gives you more control and enables you to gather information on your opponents by their actions.
- Bluff Less vs. Calling Stations: (opponents who call much) and more against tight opponents who are going to fold all the time.
- Bet Sizing: By using consistent bet sizing, you can make it more difficult for your opponents to distinguish between your value hands and your bluffs.
Float the Flop More Often
Floating the flop is effective because people tend to c-bet the flop very wide, but then give up on the turn or river. While not ideal, it is a strategy that will turn a marginal hand into a profitable one by hitting other stacks at the perfect time.
How to Execute a Float
Example Play:
Case 1: You have button with 10♣9♦ and the action is at a 1/2 cash table.
Preflop: You overcall a $6 raise from a tight-aggressive (TAG) player in middle position.
Flop: Q♣ 6♦ 2♠. There is only 1 Q♠ left and 2 spades left in the deck that can hit the Turn [A♠] or on the River [2♦]. A TAG player bets $8 into a $15 pot. Floating is the purpose of your call.
Turn: The turn is a 9♥. The TAG player checks. You bet $20 into the $31 pot sensing weakness.
River: The river is a 4♠. When the TAG checks again, now it is fine to go for that value bet or bluff if the circumstances are right.
Statistics and Insights:
- Continuation Bet Frequency: Two or more players c-bet 60%+ on the flop, but then proceed to c-bet less frequently on the turn (around 40%).
- Floating can induce a profit when your opponent folds to turn bets more than 50% (Ideally between 60%) of the time.
Daniel Negreanu says, “Floating the flop is about picking up the pattern that is your opponent and shoving them into the mud with it.”
Detailed Breakdown:
- Preflop: Pick opponents with high c-bet numbers and low turn continuation bet numbers.
- Flop: This is better for calling c-bet with hands that have backdoor draws and/or overcards, so you gain some extra equity on later streets.
- Turn: Small bet when checked to or overcards come, especially 3-spades to complete a lot of front door flush draws.
Key Strategies:
- Floating: The faster you get into position, the more effective a float is. This way, you can identify your opponent’s move on turns and river before you make a decision about betting.
- Opponent Tendencies: Look for players who routinely check/fold the turn. Check their continuation betting frequencies using a HUD.
- Board Texture: Simply float on dry boards, thus boards that your opponent c-bets with a wide range and is less likely to have a strong hand.
Example Scenario:
You hold 8♥7♥ on the button and the flop is A♣ 9♦ 2♠ vs a player that c-bets a ton but barrels turn less frequently.
Preflop: You call $6.
Flop: $10 c-bet from opponent into a $13 pot. You call, planning to float.
Turn: The turn is a 3♦. Opponent checks. You fire out a $25 bet into the $33 pot that screams an Ace or better hand.