Just this morning, I played in a MTT online NL tournament. I don’t know much about the players there as I was just moved from another table.

I was on the button w/ 22. UTG when I raised 3 times the blind. Eventually, everyone folded to me. What do you think, how many chips do I need to call the raise? How about 10 times the raise, as the minimum? 15 times? Or else something much higher? What’s your idea about this?

By the way, what if there is a caller in front of me? Or worser, 2 callers? Another thing, about 56 suited, is it as good as the 22 or does the math change eventually?

Thank you.

Bodie

Bodie,

To call a raise with 2-2 preflop in a tournament, you need to pretty much either be calling the raise of a short stack or have a fairly large stack.

If you raise preflop with 2-2 and get two callers, then you need to flop a set. At best you are a coin flip to win.

5-6 suited in a heads up pot is actually slightly ahead of 2-2 preflop. The reason is due to the fact that both cards are overcards and that they are suited. It’s still a coin flip however.

I’ll start by sharing that I love playing 5/10 and 10/20 NL holdem online. I regularly play those kinds, and I actually earn lots of money. But just recently, I’ve read something which I know will not make money whatsoever.

It’s actually something written by Doyle and something that discusses the trouble one can be into whenever he or she call raises with hands like AJ, AQ, KJ, KQ, etc. due to the pots.

With confidence, Doyle recommends calling with hands that are speculative, let’s say for an instance 65s or 79s. Sometimes a raise and a call for re-raise is also advised.

In my case, once I tried to call with hands like AJ. But there’s a problem. Doyle was actually playing at tables by which people have stacks by which 200+ times the size of the big blind. While online at a 10/20 NL table, the max buy in is 75 big blinds, and 50 big blinds is the average stack. So if in case I follow Doyle’s advice, there’s nothing much to gain I guess.

So now I’m wondering, if calling a raise with AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ, etc. is bad and calling with 65s will not lead you to proper odds, then what do you think should you call raises with? Personally, what do you think? Please help me.

Thanks!

Bryan

Bryan,

You also have to remember that Doyle Brunson has been playing at the largest stakes cash games for decades. The skills and reads that he has developed are far beyond your current training. Doyle’s tips are actually very valid and can win money, but they also come with large swings. If you have a winning style already, work on improving your winning style. Super System is not the only way to learn to play poker.

For about 2 years now, I’ve been playing poker. I’ve tried 4-8 limit casino, 60 man no limit casino tournaments, and a lot of home game varieties. At some point I thought I’m already prepared to play online, and so I tried my luck.

One thing I noticed when I moved in to the next level is that I don’t know how to lay down a hand and whenever I raise, typically about 4-6 times the blind, things and results seem unusual. Also, I find it hard to have a feel for players. Unlike when I am playing in person, I know I can make better readings and so as a result have better decisions.

What do you think? Any advice for me? Any tips to share? Maybe some tips about how I can effectively read online players will do.

Thank you.

Kevin

Kevin,

Reading online players is obviously much different than live players. With online players you need to watch their betting patterns and get a bead on their play that route. You can also keep track of players you play with on a regular basis with hand histories. Also you can tell with some players when they have clicked some of the automatic action buttons. If you bet out and they call as soon as you bet, your opponent has clicked the call any button. This typically means they are slow playing a monster.

In regards to laying down hands, you need to apply your live poker skills online in regards to getting away from hands. If you feel you are beat, get out. Trust your reads.

I love poker. But just recently, I’m starting to get bothered because of a certain hand that took place in one of my NL, .10/.25 online games.

What I can remember is that I had pocket 5′s under the gun and I limped in with some of the players. Then, a player who is in 5th position raised about 4 times the big blind and so a result got a call from the player in 8th position. Right after, it was folded around to me, I called.

Finally, the flop came 5-6-7, 2 spades. Well, I hit my set back then, however, drawing potential was still very prevalent even for me. I then bet out about 80% of the pot, because I was thinking that I’d have at least one caller from two players behind me.

Afterwards, the person in 5th position re-raised me, the amount was really big. Because of that re-raise, I got into conclusion that he is keeping a very large hand or was trying to bet me out of the pot. For some reasons, the person in 8th position called that large raise, so somehow I was relieved from delight.

To be honest, I’m not sure of what I had back then. There was a chance for a straight and flush draw, but somebody at the table might be holding 7-7 or 8-8 so the way to winning wasn’t that sure yet for me. As a result, I went all-in.

In just seconds, both my opponents folded. Well, I’ve taken home the pot, and I was so happy then. But still at some point, I still feel I’ve messed up at the table. I don’t know if I was able to maximize everything, the hand, chance,etc. What do you think? Do you have any comments or advice for me?

By the way, I’m very open to suggestions and even for bad comments so you can say everything. You don’t have to worry.

Thanks!

David

David,

I’m going to go with the assumption you had the set of fives for this scenario. You bet 80% of the pot, was raised and another player called before action returned to you. I would say that there is a good chance that you were against a large pair such as Aces and maybe a draw. I am surprised that both players folded to your bet. My only guess is that they maybe thought you had flopped a straight.

After betting out 80% of the pot, I would have been concerned with a big raise and a call ahead of me. I would have at least put one of them on the straight, even if it seemed unlikely. With that being said, you still had a 40% chance to make a full house even if you were unlucky enough to run into a straight.

Moving all-in did seem like a bit of an overbet, but if I were you, I would be very happy with both players folding. If they were on a draw, you prevented them from outdrawing you.

I have a question about pushing or calling all in with a draw. Hope you can help me with this one.

For an instance, I was at .25/50c no limit cash table online and I was dealt A/8H. Then, I was given the chance to limp in. Finally, the flop came 9s/ 5h / 7h. Well, the first player to act raised $2 and so as I result I re-raised him to $4. Then, he opted to have all in for my last $12 or more.

For a reason, I called and for the nut flush rivered the 3h. Well, eventually, I took down a nice little pot. What do you think, did I played well or just fair enough?

Thank you.

Ryan

Ryan,

You had a few more outs here than you give yourself credit for. My guess is your opponent called you with either top pair or an over pair, such as kings. On the flop, you had 9 outs for the flush, 4 outs for a gutshot straight, and if my assumption was right, 3 outs to catch an ace to make a better pair. With 16 outs, you had an 80% chance to catch a winning hand by the river. Your $12 call represented 70% of the pot. Believe it or not, you had pot odds. You made a good call and it paid off.

Well, I drop by again because of some more questions about NL cash game and tournament questions.

1. Just few days, ago I noticed some people in no limit cash games love buying in with less than the maximum. Say for an instance, in NL100, people are buying in with $10, $15, $20 or even may be $40. To some extent, I understand that playing the short stack has some advantages, but I’m wondering, how should I play with them when I have a full buy in?

Assume that I limp in with 88 in the early positions. Then with only 20 all folded to a short stack at middle position. A certain guy raised to $4 and everyone else even the small blind and big blind folded. My turn came and I don’t know what to do. I am sure either of the two, call or re-raise, won’t bring in positive result so I just thought of folding. Am I correct with this one?

By the way, do you have any idea about short stack specialist? Any helpful advice about it?

2. At times, I play NL tournaments. Well, I believe NL tournaments are far different from cash games. As my chips are limited, if I keep calling a raise with small pocket pairs, I would spend much chips before I hit my set in NL tournaments. On the other hand, I can always reload, and always have the opportunity to win back the money in cash games.

Well, in NL tournaments, I always find some ways to balance everything. However, I can’t still get the hang of some stuff. I don’t know how can I accumulate lots of chips and then proceed to the final table all the way. Also, I don’t know what kind of hands should I play. Can you help me?

3. I like GSN’s High Stakes Poker a lot. One thing I noticed in most of their games is that pros typically play loosely. Say someone raises with A4o, unexpectedly someone calls with K9s. And when flop hits a 9, player with K9s would assume he got only the best hand and nothing else follows. Well, I don’t totally understand what’s going on. Please, I need clarity on this.

Thank you.

Regards,
Carter

Carter,

1. Short stack specialists are trying to find a hand to pretty much double up with right away. Your best bet in playing these type of specialists is to pick a strong hand or pick a hand and hurt them when you flop well. The pocket eights you mentioned above is a good hand to hurt a short stacked specialist with. Call their bet and see a flop. If you hit your set, chances are you are going to extract bets out of them. Your best bet with a short stacked specialist is to play small pots and see cheap flops. Don’t put yourself in a spot to double them up.
2. The key to long term success in tournaments is being able to steal blinds and antes on a regular basis and use position to your advantage. Most tournaments do not begin until the antes kick in. Once that happens, the person that can successfully steal blinds on a regular basis in addition to catching some hands is a person that can go deep in tourneys.
3. You need to remember that these players are the best in the world and they spend their entire lives dedicated almost exclusively to poker. These players are mixing up playing hands with being able to play the player as well. If you watch closely, each player has their own unique styles. Just as a word of advice, watch very closely how Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, and David Benyamine play when they are on there. You will see a little more sensible play. Benyamine and Ivey right now are 1 and 2 in the world in amount of money won in cash games online.

Well, I believe there are factors that could help players ascertain how much they should bet without risking their hand strength.

The first factor is the position. I believe that the better your position is, the smaller the opening bet should be. And that with good position, you can invite more people into the pot. But on the flip side, when you are in bad position, you will more or less long to force more opponents out early on.

Personally, the way I love to play is when I’m in early position, I will raise 4 BBs + 1 BB per limper. Then lower it to 3 BBs +1, and eventually bet only 2.5 BBs + 1 per limper in late position. Any comment on this?

The second factor on the other hand is the stack size. Well, I believe that it’s an advantage to have smaller stacks. By having smaller stacks, you will be feared by opponents, thus forcing them to play fewer hands. However, I also believe that at some point, adjustments should be made. So now, I’m curious if when should a player make some adjustments? If he or she have a 2:1 advantage in terms of chips or else if the advantage is totally more significant? Any suggestion?

Thanks!

Jessie

Jessie,

While position can be a consideration in raising, most pros recommend not varying your raising size too much. This does indeed give off information bout how you play. If you vary your raises based on position, this gives off the same type of information. Players like Gus Hansen, Gavin Smith, and even Chris Ferguson make the same type of raise when they raise regardless of position. This way an opponent doesn’t know if they are playing position, or holding rockets.

However, the dealer and both blinds called my raise and the same thing with the original bettor. Subsequently, the flop came JTJ rainbow. Then the original raiser placed a bet which was 3/4 of his stack but didn’t went all in.

Out of nothing, I placed him on KK, QQ or even AT. But eventually I decided to fold as there were three bettors still left, one of them might have a J. Well, later on, everyone else folded.

Do you think I played well in that game? I’m not sure but I guess I still need to learn some strategies and tactics on how to isolate an opponent. Can you help me with this one?

In advance, thank you.

Davies Morgan

Davies,

How much did you reraise this player? You reraised someone that raised ten times the blinds, and got two additional callers? I don’t think you have a problem of isolating a player. I think you have stubborn players.

Your fold on the flop is not necessarily a bad fold. However, based on how much he bet, how much was in the pot, etc, you may have had pot odds to call.

On thing that I noticed is that he put in ¾ of his stack and didn’t go all in. This looks like he wants a call. He could have had T-T as well.

Based on the information you gave me here, I think you did fine.