23 Feb 09 Bluffing-Part II
Telling the Right Story
Bluffing is a lot like when kids fib to their friends at school to make them look cool. You can’t tell a story that doesn’t make sense, or else your friends will catch on. In poker, bluffing is fibbing, and if you don’t do it well other players will call you out. One complaint that I hear a lot is, “I bet and I don’t know how he calls me with that crappy hand!” Usually the hand goes something (more…)
18 Feb 09 Bluffing- Part I
Bluffing is an art and a skill that when utilized correctly, it can make you a lot of money. When practiced incorrectly, it can cost you. Since bluffing is an art that is situational and is dependent on a multitude of factors, I thought it would be beneficial to go over some of the basic and intermediate concepts behind bluffing. All too often I see people bluffing at pots when there is no value in it, or I see people bluffing a lot of chips (more…)
08 Jan 09 Experimenting with Small Ball Part III
The first tournament I played using small ball was successful in that it allowed me to play a lot of hands in the beginning stages and accumulate some chips without risking very much. However, I got killed using this tactic with my big pocket pairs. For my second tournament I wanted to use the small ball method to control the pot post flop and preflop I decided that I would use it as a means to see more flops. With my big pocket pairs I needed (more…)
Tags: Ball, Experimenting, part, Small, with
08 Jan 09 Experimenting with Small Ball Part II
Previously I wrote an article about the small ball concept and the theory behind it. I mentioned before that I was having trouble in tournaments with managing my chip stack, so I started playing around with different theories to help me improve. Overall, small ball seemed to work the best out of the concepts the I tried.
The first tournament I played implementing small ball, I decided that no matter what I was going to use the (more…)
Tags: Ball, Experimenting, part, Small, with
02 Jan 09 Hand Analysis: Using Your Image in High Risk Situations- Part II
Knowing that SB is playing a big pocket pair, and MP could be playing any two cards, there are three ways to play this hand. 1. Fold and wait for a better position. 2. Call and hope to hit your 7 for a full house. 3. Prepare yourself to play a big pot in which you can bluff your opponent off his hand. In my opinion, option 2 should never be an option. I would fold here if I thought that the SB would not be able to lay down his over pair. (more…)
Tags: Analysis, Hand, High, Image, part, Risk, Situations, Using, Your
30 Dec 08 Hand Analysis: Using Your Image in High Risk Situations- Part I
I recently had someone e-mail me a question about a hand they were involved in; this hand really shows the importance of being aware of what your image is and what the other players on your table are doing. If you stay aware of the way that they play in hands you are not involved in, it can give you a lot of information about a hand you do tango with. The e-mail begins as follows:
I’m playing 5/10 NL Hold’em and the small (more…)
Tags: Analysis, Hand, High, Image, part, Risk, Situations, Using, Your
26 Dec 08 Experimenting With Small Ball- Part I
Small ball poker is a method that has been made famous by poker pro Daniel Negreanu. I first became interested in the theory because I was having trouble with managing my chip stack in tournaments. In the beginning rounds I would bet my big hands substantially, and somehow people would still draw out on me. In the later rounds, I was having trouble compensating for the growing blinds, and I would tighten up the range of hands I would play (more…)
Tags: Ball, Experimenting, part, Small, with
