1/2 NL (or any NL) Hold Em advice wanted!
Posted by GoAheadJorge
Posted by
GoAheadJorge
posted in
Mid Stakes
1/2 NL (or any NL) Hold Em advice wanted!
Hello all,
I'm new to posting and forums, not so new to the game. I've been playing poker for several years now and I can confidently say not profitably. I'm really trying to take my game seriously now with school coming to an end, but I feel like that learning curve hast kicked in yet, even though I feel I'm now playing the best game of my life so far. I usually end up losing my stacks in coin flips and I can't see the error of my ways.
I'm starting off with .25/.50 NL online now and I play live for 1/2 at the Casinos.
I love the game and the competition but I know that money is the ultimate goal. I thoroughly enjoy the game and if i had sustained monetary success I know I would enjoy it that much more.
I'm reading a lot of posts on here and learning but what I'm really asking is how do I get a better edge than just putting my chips in with a 50% chance.
A recent example would be:
Stradle (4$)
UTG(calls)
(Stack180$)Hero (A,K off) calls
UTG+2 folds
UTG+3 folds
(stack700+)UTG+4 raises to 20$
utg+5 folds
utg+6 folds
SB folds
BBfolds
Stradle calls 20$
UTG calls 20$
Hero Raises all in for 180
UTG+4 raises all in
Stradle folds
UTGfolds
He showed pocket tens and the AK never connected. My logic here was that I didn't want to get outplayed post flop by the big stack (who could have had the same hand or worse) and the other two were calling stations and so would fold. There was 68$ already in the pot and I felt like I could have taken it down there. ANy ADvice?
Loading 10 Comments...
Play online poker to improve your game, and watch training videos, post hands etc.
Live poker is easy money, but you don't really improve by playing those games, except for the ability to exploit fish.
As for the hand itself, raise your AK. Why would you slowplay a hand like this, when others will call behind a lot? Make a big raise to isolate the limper, so you're heads up, in postion, with initiave.
Given your limp, the all in squeeze was good, and it's just variance.
focus on reading ranges, learning fundamentally sounds strategy and the math behind it. Flips don't matter that much.
I just called originally because most of the pots were being
raised pre-flop, sorry forgot to mention, and thank you for the advice,
starting to read game theory and watching those videos. If I'm trying to
get a better grasp of EV, reading ranges and poker mathematics would
you be able to recommend any specific title(s)?
Jorge, if most pots are being raised, then raising yourself is least suspcious.
As for videos, start by watching the essential videos.
James Hudson has plenty of good ones, Felipe has good videos, and Phil makes one a month.
Make sure to watch cash game videos.
Yeah, basically everything Chael said. It's also important to note that since the straddle is on, you're only ~45bbs deep. Shallow effective stacks will restrict the "big stack's" ability to outplay you postflop, so I wouldn't worry to much about that in this particular scenario.
As played I think the shove is more than fine.
I didn't consider the shallow stack factor, usually when I'm dealt a
big hand my eyes gloss over green and I'm trying to figure out how to
get the most money. Of course in the process I forget to consider
factors such as these, something i need to work on.
If you really want to improve your over all winning % I would forget about what is happening around you as far as other stack sizes except when you are calling out of position without being the big stack. The small stack has the advantage because if you make a hand, no one will bluff you out. ok, now to ask you a question? If you are trying to WIN then why are you shoving with 2 cards pre flop in a cash game? Cash games play differently than tourneys. No pair is still no pair. What is the problem with a smooth call of the 20$ to limit your loss of chips. If you miss the flop, with only 6 outs and no redraws, then throw your hand away and save that money for another hand. However, if you are a - Gambler - then keep shoving pre flop and you will have big swings.
I tell them that It's not simply gambling, its poker. But with this
type of play style I'm effectively just gambling my stack without
learning more about the game. I don't want to be a better gambler, I
want to be a better poker player. I'll try to avoid putting myself in
this type of all-in scenario again unless I'm more confident in my hand
against that of my opponents.
I disagree with this post on so many levels. Firstly, I think you should always be cognizant of the other stack sizes at the table so you can properly estimate your implied odds in certain spots, evaluate what kind of stack-to-pot ratios you'll be encountering on flops/turns before calling/raising etc.
Secondly, your assertion that shoving preflop with "two cards" in a cash game isn't sometimes a profitable strategy is just wrong. Would you say putting all your money in preflop with pocket aces in incorrect? Of course not, because pocket aces have excellent equity against any calling range.
In this particular case, if we assign villain a calling range of TT+, AK, AQs, our AKo has ~43% equity. If all the money goes in pre flop it looks like this:
0.43 * (75 + 180) - 0.57 * 180
=109.65-102.6
=$7.05
Thus, we can show an immediate profit with this line vs. his calling range and it doesn't even take into account the amount of times we take down the pot a preflop when he folds all his 3bet bluffs. Poker is all about finding profitable spots, and this is clearly a profitable spot.
There are several problems with calling here. 1) If we call and close the action we see the flop four ways and our hand's equity goes down tremendously. There will also be times when we hit our hand and our opponents flop a better hand and stack us. 2) We're not going to flop a pair often enough to compensate for all the times we miss and have to check/fold. 3) Our 4betting range becomes too narrow if we're calling here and we never get action from worse when we 4bet AA or KK. i'm sure there are some others that I missed, as well.
Point being: Yes, this is a higher variance spot than getting it in with a set vs. a flush draw, but it's still +EV in the long run so I'm taking this line all day.
I strongly agree with Brock.
Also it's good to watch videos, chat in the forums, etc, but before all of that, you should learn the basics. There's a reasson their there, and by learning them, you'll learn important vocabulary that is primordial for understanding different concepts/videos/forum posts.
It's like saying you're studying science in Russia, but don't know how to speak Russian. Of course, you're going to understand some concepts, but simply emulating them in random situations will not get you good results.
You said
«Usually when I'm dealt a big hand my eyes gloss over green and I'm trying to figure out how to get the most money. Of course in the process I forget to consider factors such as these, something i need to work on.»
Start by analysing more, and not simply thinking about getting the most money. You need to think of all the different scenarios, even before it gets to a difficult decision. With the straddle, the best move preflop was to raise and not limp, etc. You can learn stuff like that by understanding the basics.
I suggest you go watch videos from Gripsed, a poker channel on youtube. It could teach you great first steps towards being a winning poker player. It's hosted by Evan Jarvis, a online cash game pro and friend of ME champ Greg Merson. He has some great videos about basics.
Gripsed poker channel
Thank you! already watched a couple videos and subbed. I'm currently going through a mental rewiring of all the things I knew about poker, and EVERYTHING that I did not.
Be the first to add a comment