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Poker Strategy: Restealing Late in Poker Tournaments

October 20, 2008

Restealing Late in Poker Tournaments

When you reach the late stages of a poker tournament, the blinds and antes will place immense pressure on each player’s stack. Because of this, play will become more and more aggressive, and passive players will be in a tough situation. To succeed in such a fast-paced and aggressive game, you need to open up your raising ranges, and know when you can make a play at a pot. This becomes especially crucial when you’re playing the bubble in a tournament, as play drastically changes. This article will teach you how to spot a steal attempt by an opponent, and how to counter their move.

Poker Tournament Strategy: Position

The first component that goes into a steal attempt is your position. When a player is in early position, it makes less sense to attempt a steal because you have so many players behind you who could wake up with a big hand. When a player is in middle position, it becomes a little more sensible to steal, especially if everyone in front of that player has folded. Late position is the prime time to steal blinds and antes, especially if no one has entered the pot in front of you. In that situation, there are only 2-3 players still to act, and odds are that they don’t have a solid hand.

If you suspect an opponent may be making a steal attempt, always think of their position first. If they’re in early position, do you think they’re aggressive enough to make a play at the pot from that spot? If not, fold your hand and let them have the pot. If you DO think they might do it, this could be a spot for a re-steal. We’ll talk more about how to execute a resteal later.

Poker Tournament Strategy: Chip Stack Size

Another factor that goes into a steal attempt is stack size. A solid rule to keep in mind is that the farther an opponent’s stack size is from average, the more likely they are to try to steal. The reasoning for this is because big stacks have chips to blow, and want to keep pressure on the table. Also, small stacks are desperate, have less to lose, and are more likely to make an overly aggressive play. Middle stacks, however, are trying to make it deeper into the tournament, and have enough of a stack to survive a few rounds of blinds. This makes them much less likely to attempt a steal, especially if they’re out of position.

Poker Tournament Strategy:Table Image

Another thing to consider when an opponent makes a raise is his/her table image. If the player has been making raises or re-raises recently, they are probably an aggressive player and are more likely to be stealing. If he/she hasn’t played a hand in a few rounds, it is more likely they are a passive player and actually has a hand.

Poker Tournament Strategy: Restealing

Ok, so let’s say that an aggressive opponent in late position with a big stack has made a raise, and you’re in the big blind. It folds to you, and you face a 3x sized raise. You decide that you think he/she is stealing. What do you do?

Well, unless you have a very strong hand, calling is out of the question. You’re going to be playing out of position on the flop versus an aggressive player with a stack, which is basically suicide.

I advocate re-raising preflop. Make a re-raise of 3-4x the initial raise, as this is just enough to give your opponent fold equity, meaning that they aren’t automatically committed to the pot because of their initial raise. When you make this re-raise, make sure that you still have plenty of chips behind your re-raise, because if it is only 4x more for the raiser to call your all in, he/she might do it just to gamble.

If you can make a few steals of your own, as well as an occasional resteal, you’ll be in excellent position to go deep in the poker tournament. Good luck!

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    Written by mwittmeyer · Filed Under Poker News, Poker strategy, editorial - opinion 

    Beating Low Limit No Limit Hold’em Cash Games

    August 27, 2008

    For all you grinders just starting a bankroll, let’s discuss a few points on how to beat the low limit no limit cash games online.  The games at this level are surprisingly mixed with new poker players who can and will draw out on you, and multi-tabling sharks that play 10 tables at a time and grind out $50 an hour while playing low limit poker and clearing bonuses.

    There are few adjustments that need to made to your game, regardless of your level of experience.

    Low Limit Poker Strategy: Don’t Bluff

    Bluffing works, and it’s very profitable but not at this level.  A key concept in using a bluff in no limit hold’em is relying on your opponent being good enough to fold his hand.  When you’re grinding it out in  the micro no limit games, you cannot do this profitably except for rare situations,  very rare situations. The likeliness of your opponent folding a bad hand is not great.

    Cash poker games are not like tournaments where you need to steal blinds and antes just to survive.  In these games, we are looking to buy in with the maximum allowed stack and wait patiently for the nuts (the best possible poker hand)  and someone who will pay it off.  Thank you for your whole stack sir, fish again.

    Low Limit Poker Strategy: Play Post Flop Poker

    Keep in mind, you will run into a lot of people limping in with big hands.  Ace King and high pocket pairs like Aces or Queens. All of these hands will be limped a lot both by beginners who are afraid to broadcast the strength of their hand, and more experienced players looking to trap you.  While I don’t encourage limping with these hands myself, I definately don’t over commit to them pre-flop either.

    Knowing the large range of hands I will be called with, I prefer to put in “value-raises” of 2.5 x the big blind with big hands and see where the cards fall before putting them on a hand to continue the action on later streets.

    You can and should fold JJ and QQ, or AK AQ after missing a flop, it simply depends on the reads you make.  The exception to this style of play is that if you hold KK or AA, you should  raise AT LEAST 4 times the big blind.  It is also okay to open shove all in with hands like this, you never know who will wake up and call behind you with a pocket pair of fives!

    If you feel you have the best hand, but aren’t quite sure or know that your opponent will call to the river on a strong draw, don’t be afraid to use a small value bet or even check the flop to see if the draw hits.  Using the turn to extract value instead of the flop helps insure you won’t be semi-bluff shoved all in by an opponent with a 30% draw that may or may not hit.  After the turn, you can evaluate your odds to win much easier by seeing how it may or may not have improved your opponents hand.

    These poker tables are a gind and you should treat them as such, for the most part you need to play very tight poker and wait for 80% or greater edges to get your money in with, this will help your bankroll grow at a steady pace without big risks and with the added benefit of clearing your first bonus.  Players who can multi-table four or more of these low limit cash game tables  find that it is easier to play tight poker as they don’t get “bored” as easy.

    Try your low limit strategy where all the fish play! Cake Poker - home of the 100,000 gold chip tournament!

      Written by Mike Murphy · Filed Under Poker strategy 

      Growing Your Poker Bankroll With Poker Loyalty Programs

      August 27, 2008

      Just about every online poker room offers a poker loyalty program of some kind that can be utilized to grow your bankroll. Some poker loyalty programs are better than others, but all hold value on some level.

      Poker loyalty programs are based on a VIP Level, requiring point accumulation to reach the various VIP Levels. Other poker loyalty programs, especially those that run on a weekly or monthly rewards basis, just require point accumulation, without the occurrence of VIP Levels.

      Poker Loyalty Programs - Cash Back for your Bankroll

      Pokerstars Banner

      The most common Poker Loyalty Program awards ‘cash back’ for points collected. For example, collecting 100 points may grant a $1 cash back reward. Another poker loyalty program may offer $10 cash back for every 100 points. While the latter may seem much more valuable, chances are it’s more difficult to acquire points. In the long run, they are probably close to equal.

      Poker Loyalty Programs - Special Tournaments

      Another poker loyalty program frequently offered also requires point accumulation, but allows players to utilize the points in a different manner. These are usually Special Tournament Entries that require a specific number of points. For example, a $1,000 Loyalty Freeroll may require 250 points to enter.

      Free Merchandise from Poker Loyalty Programs

      This particular poker loyalty program will not add to your bankroll, but many players like getting free merchandise. Again, point accumulation is required. Online poker rooms with a ‘Points Store’ or ‘Loyalty Store’ for example will allow players to trade in their points for various items at the poker room store. Full Tilt Poker, for instance, is well known for offering some of the best merchandise.

      Poker Loyalty Programs - Reload Bonuses

      Another benefits of poker loyalty programs can be offered via reload bonuses. This can be an excellent way to increase your bankroll. Loyal players - those who participate frequently in tournaments and/or raked ring games - will often be privileged to special promotions like reload bonuses. Different online poker rooms vary as to the value of the reload bonus. Some offer 15-25% reload bonuses, while others promote as high as a 200% or higher reload bonus to their most valuable players.

      High Rollers Poker Loyalty Bonuses

      Online poker rooms love high rollers! A high roller is a player who participates in high stakes ring games and large tournaments on a regular basis. Any online poker room with a VIP Level or similar promotional offer will take very good care of these players, offering frequent reload bonuses, high point accumulation and entry to big tournaments. The largest poker rooms who offer ‘Teams’ commonly provide high rollers with a shot at exclusive tournaments awarding the chance to join the Poker ‘Team’. For example, the Full Tilt Poker Team is a group of highly skilled poker professionals sponsored by the poker room to enter major, offline poker events like the WSOP, EPT, WPT and others.

      Poker Loyalty Programs - Boosting Points

      Most, if not all, poker loyalty programs are based on point accumulation. The fastest way to collect points in generally by playing in tournaments. Tournaments fees accumulate points at the fastest rate, usually X-amount of points per $1 in fees. For this reason, just any old tournament won’t due. There must be a buy-in and fee to collect points. Don’t confuse the Buy-In with the Fee! The average fee is based on 10% of the buy-in. This means a Tournament buy-in of $10 + $1 fee will acquire points, most often 5 to 18 points per $1, depending on the poker room. Again, just because the points granted are higher doesn’t mean it’s the better deal. Compare the point collection with the return ratio to determine the best poker loyalty program.

      Be sure the online poker room you’re playing at offers a good poker loyalty program, and watch your bankroll grow. Always read the fine print. Know how much you must wager, contribute to the rake, or pay in tournament fees to collect points. Also be aware of online poker rooms that require the player to manually convert points to cash back. In this case, if the online poker room offers cash back monthly basis, don’t forget to convert your points as you may lose them when the month is over.

      Each online poker room has it’s own rules regarding poker loyalty programs, point accumulation, conversion rates and expirations. Take a pain pill, squint your eyes and read the fine print - in the end, it’s worth the headache!

        Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under Poker strategy 

        When To Bluff In No Limit Hold’em

        August 25, 2008

        A well timed and perfectly executed bluff in No Limit Hold’em is a relative work of art, but it is not as easy to do profitably as it may look on the television. Good poker players know that a successful bluff on the river or catching a bluffer in the act can add a lot to a winning players expected value over a players career. Picking your spots and knowing the other players at the tables tendencies (how they react based on similar situations in the past) are key skills, and bluffing is not to be attempted at low limit games with a large number of bad players.

        When deciding to bluff, it helps to put your opponent on a range of hands first, starting pre-flop. This will allow you to set-up the bluff, by becoming what the player fears in a hand. I can and do successfully bluff Pocket Aces out of scary boards, but only when I deem the player good enough to be capable of folding (and this is simply not the case at low limit games for the most part). If you are confident in your play, and your read of the opponent – you can represent any hand that is possible on the board. A few tips:

        Holdem Strategy: Don’t Bluff On The Turn:

        Bluffing on the turn is the hardest to pull off, and I generally don’t recommend it. If a player stayed in after the flop the turn usually improves a hand or adds a draw, so players are simply more likely to call or even re-raise on a draw at the turn, because the potential to make their hand becomes great in their own eyes (straight and flush draw for example). Instead, the one time I highly recommend using this play as by semi-bluffing a big draw – that is, give yourself a lot of outs if you are bluffing on the turn, because it might just turn into a big pot. And when we are playing big pots, we want to have the maximum chance of scooping it as possible.

        Holdem Strategy: Do Bluff The River

        And do it often, especially versus tight/passive players. A player with pocket queens is susceptible to a river King or Ace, a flush card, or even a gutshot. Become the hand they fear most, and prey on their ability to “make a good fold”. Bluffing on the river can be risky of course, but I swear by it – it works well especially in heads up poker games. In multi-handed pots I only recommend attempting a stone cold bluff if you have position in the hand, thus ensuring you have the most information possible on what the other players might have – but in general a bluff works best in heads up poker situations.

        If you haven’t been trying the occasional river bluff, you are losing a lot of pots that you don’t need to. Target players that check behind in showdown situations with hands like top pair weak kicker – just don’t over use the play as this style should fit solidly into your winning tight aggressive image to ensure the highest success rates, good luck!

          Written by Mike Murphy · Filed Under Poker strategy 

          Pot Limit Omaha Upstaging The Online Poker World

          August 18, 2008

          Since the advent of online poker, Texas Hold’em has been the irresistible reigning king of the industry. Omaha Hold’em was always the distant second, barely visible on the horizon by comparison. As of lately, though, it would seem Pot Limit Omaha is making more than a respectable mark on the online poker industry.

          Pot Limit Omaha has closed the enormous popularity gap, becoming what some have called a current “fad”. Especially at high stakes cash tables, more and more players – including the most esteemed pros – have put their Texas Hold’em play on the back burner to partake in Pot Limit Omaha games.

          With that said, let’s go over a brief description of how to play Pot Limit Omaha.

          Omaha is played in the same manner as Texas Hold’em, using Small Blind and Big Blind bets, Hole Cards and Community Cards. The only real difference is the way Hole Cards and Community Cards must be combined, and of course the ‘Pot Limit’ restrictions.

          Players get 4 Hole Cards to start, not just two. The usual 5 Community Cards are dealt to the table as a hand progresses. However, each player must combine exactly 2 of his own Hole Cards with exactly 3 Community Cards to develop the strongest possible hand.

          The Pot Limit rule defines the maximum wager that can be placed at any given time. The minimum wager is always equal to the Big Blind. The maximum bet/raise is always equal to the current size of the pot. For example, if the pot has $5 in it, the max bet/raise is $5. If $5 is placed, the pot raises to $10, dually raising the max bet/raise to $10.

          As in most any other poker variant, the player with the strongest hand after the last betting round wins the pot.

            Written by Donna Norman · Filed Under Online Gambling News, Poker News, Poker strategy 

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