Tag Archives: kicker

Flop Play for Online Poker Sites

July 27, 2019   Game skill   No comments

Flop play is very important in No Limit Texas Hold’em. The key is to find the relative strength of your hand. Over time, it is important to develop the ability to release good hands when you think they are second best. Determine your relative strength and release hands that face a real risk of being second-best. Betting is the natural move when you want to protect a good hand from being outdrawn or when you are presented with the chance to make your opponents fold. The flop is the time to “pump it or dump it”. It is extremely important that you always evaluate the relative strength of your hand on the flop when playing at online poker sites.

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Typical Flop Situations& 8232;

Here are four typical situations on the flop at online poker sites:
Very Strong Hand (top two-pair, set)& 8232;& 8232;
• Often slow-play if the board is uncoordinated so you lure opponents in, induce bluffs or let them make second-best hands.& 8232;& 8232;
• If the board is coordinated and several are in, over-bet the pot so they have to pay for trying to outdraw you. The bigger the bet they call, the bigger their mistake. This is how you make money in poker: let other players pay for chasing you. & 8232;Strong Hand (over-pair, top-pair with A kicker, etc.)& 8232;& 8232;
• Bet about the size of the pot in order to protect it (for example, pushing out over cards and making draws pay).& 8232;& 8232;
• You may have to release this hand when facing an over-bet or raise because someone may well have a bigger over pair, a set, or connectors that hit the flop for a two-pair. You should not back any top-pair with your whole stack! & 8232;& 8232;
• If you bet and get called in several spots you have to decide whether your hand is the best because it is unlikely that all of the other players are drawing. & 8232;Medium Hand (top-pair with a weak kicker, middle-pair with A kicker, second pocket- pair, etc.)& 8232;& 8232;
• Most of the time, avoid betting this hand when in early position, facing several opponents, or against tricky players who slow-play frequently. Try to get a free card to hit one of your pocket cards on the turn or call/raise an opponent who bets from last position.& 8232;& 8232;
• If you are in late position and it is checked to you, bet.& 8232;& 8232;
• If you are facing a bet or raise, fold. You have no initiative and are probably chasing few outs.& 8232;
Are you ready to tackle some online poker sites? Head over to www.sportsbook.com/poker and get into the action today!

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Tips on How to Play Various AK Starting Combinations on No Limit Hold’em Short-Handed Tables with Small Buy-ins. (Page 1 of 3)

July 11, 2019   Game guide   No comments

This article discusses how to play when you start out with an Ace-King combination. This combination is very strong whether you are dealt two cards of the same suite or off suite. There are only two starting hands in Hold’em that are stronger than AK – AA and KK. Other hands are at least the same strength as AK. However, though this hand is so powerful, it can cause problems for those who are inexperienced and don’t know how to play it right.

How to play with this hand:

1) It is not wise to play with the whole buy-in on the pre-flop if you are playing against an unknown opponent. 2) You should play your whole stack on the pre-flop if you are playing against an unknown opponent if he has stack no more than 60BB. 3) Raise on the pre-flop or re-raise if there has been a raise.

The following examples are all taken from real games.

Example 1. Standard drawing: top pair, top kicker (TPTK) and a flush draw on the flop.

NL50 Stacks: Hero ($51), button ($65)

Hero is in the first position with AKo, all black. You raise to $2, button calls your bet, the rest of the players fold.

Flop: Ad-6h-2h*, pot ($4.75)

You have a top pair on the flop, a top kicker and there are two hearts on the board. In this situation you should bet approximately the same size as the bank to protect your hand against a flush draw. If there is a rainbow on the flop, 2/3 of the bank is enough so as to not frighten the contender with an ace and lower kicker off.

Hero bets $4.50 and the contender calls.

Turn: 7h, pot ($13.75)

There is a flush draw on the turn, you have a bad position and it’s difficult to find out if your opponent has a flush or not. If you check, you show weakness. By doing so, your opponent, especially if he is an aggressive player, will easily win the pot, even if he has a weaker hand than yours. The best advice in this position is to bet a little more than half a bank. After a bet like this, your opponent, even an aggressive one, wouldn’t dare bluff. With that kind of bet, your opponent won’t be able to guess if you have a flush or not.

You bet $7.50 , your opponent raises up to $15 (Hero bets $7.50, Button raises to $15).

Your opponent made the minimum possible raise (this kind of raise is also called a flat raise). You only need to raise $7.50 in a pot of $43.75. You have very good pot odds now, but you have a bad position and you know for sure that the river will not improve your hand. If your contender is not bluffing, having two pairs will not save your game. You can also be sure that if your opponent is bluffing, he will continue bluffing on the river. You will have to fold whether he bluffs or not. You know that your bet on the turn reduces the possibility of bluffing. The best thing is to believe your opponent has a flush.

Example 2. WA/WB – way ahead/way behind

The example called WA/WB is a combination you’ll often see in poker. It means you are either strongly ahead or, on the contrary, strongly behind the opponent. In other words, the chance of changing one way or another is very small. NL10 Hero – BB ($9.60), CO ($12.80)

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