Hand 31: Big Blind, Q-5, three players limp as does small blind, I check. Flop K-Q-9 rainbow and it gets checked around. Turn card is another Q. SB checks and I fire £20 and all fold. Stack size £620

Hand 32: Small Blind, 8h-5h, all fold to button who raises to £20, I fold. Stack size £618.

I now mentally switch to playing fast again as the time is right and I have been the tightest player on the table for three whole rounds. Switching gears and varying your speed like this continually throws your opponents a curve ball. I have been playing for about forty five minutes and am ahead by £118 without once having had a premium hand. My biggest poker hands were A-Q and I FOLDED THAT.

This just goes to show you that you do not need to wait for premium hands to win at poker. All you need is the skill to recognise profitable situations and the nerve to get your betting arm in motion. It would have been nice to have been dealt a premium hand during this slow period and trapped someone who thought that I was still a maniac but you cannot have everything can you.

Hand 33: Button, K-K, folded to cut-off who calls and I raise to £20. BB calls as does limper. Flop 8s-4s-2c. BB checks, limper bets £40 and I raise to £120, both fold. Stack size £700.

Typical, I decide to change gears to fast and get dealt a premium hand. I needed to raise here because I do not want to make it cheap for players to hit second best hands against me. I was taking the bettor to have a hand like A-8 suited or 9-9 or maybe 9-8 or 8-7 suited.

Hand 34: Cut-off, A-6, folded to me and I decide to increase speed by raising to £15 and test the blinds. Three out of my original five opponents have gone and been replaced so they will be unaware of my previous tight spell and I want to see what I can get away with here. Button folds and SB calls. Flop 5-4-A, SB checks and I check. Turn is the Ks, SB checks and I check. River card is a jack and SB bets £15 and I call it very rapidly and take the pot. Stack size £735.

In these situations with a weak ace I like to control the pot size. Either my pair of aces are well in front and likely to stay there or I am buried. I am not overly concerned about an out draw having only one opponent in a small pot. Here checking and inducing a bluff is the play that I like to make and it reduces my losses if my hand is behind.

Hand 35: Ad-Kd, UTG calls and I raise to £20, button calls, blinds fold and limper calls. Flop is great 3-K-8. Limper checks and I bet £45 and both fold. Stack size £782

Hand 36: UTG, 6-5, I fold. I was contemplating raising here because I am in a fast gear but I impulsively clicked the fold button. I have raised and shown aggression for three hands straight and the table never got to see my premium hands but they did see the A-6. Maybe the fold was more prudent and I was UTG. Stack size £782

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Come and see one of the best poker blogs on the Internet at bwin poker blog

It is the same with maniacs (loose aggressive) as their constant barrage of bets, raises and re-raises make them formidable opponents. They know that given the right type of timid opponents then they can make them fold all sorts of mediocre hands and they can end up taking pots down with absolute junk.

It seems that whenever you bet they raise or whenever you check they bet. When you are running cold then they tend to absolutely murder you. The thing is with loose aggressive players is that their constant aggression has two distinct advantages. Firstly they take advantage of timid and cautious play. The second advantage is that they also beat players who are running bad!

There is a third advantage as well and that loose aggressive play can play huge dividends as well in other ways because it can seriously tilt players when you outdraw them or you are sitting there with a big hand like AA on the very hand that they decide to play back at you with. This is a very interesting yet often overlooked factor of loose aggressive play.

You make a raise with AA after raising or re-raising the last ten hands. Your opponent in the cut-off is starting to get a little steamed that you are denying him opportunities so he raises and you four bet him…they have Q-J and shove which you call.

Here in this instance your previous play has tilted them into overplaying their hand and getting stacked. So how do you combat loose aggressive players? Well for a start you are far better off having position on them. You can then attack their range rather than them attacking yours. You will have position on them rather than the other way around. Re-raising to isolate will give you a strategic advantage.

Although do be aware of loose aggressive players who simply refuse to be bullied in this way and play back at players who three bet them. Another option may be to leave the table as well and this is an option that is rarely exercised. If you are constantly getting your steal raises called or three bet or you are getting pots taken away from you post flop by loose aggressive maniacs then you need to make the proper adjustments.

If those adjustments are not very palatable then your best remaining option may be to leave the game. If more players left poker games or sought out a new seat then more poker players would be winning poker players. Making money in online poker is a complex variable of interwoven factors that carefully interact with each other to create an online poker strategy that will make you money.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

Just the other day, I played no limit at Poker Stars. At some point, I was not allowed to do the raising and all. Blinds by the way were $100/$200.

With Qt of hearts, I was small blind. Eventually, for 200 two players called while for $100 I called. Later on, big blind checked, thus leaving him $435 left by which was in chips. Flop came and was Kc 9c Jh, hence providing me the straight. After analyzing everything, I then placed a bet of $400 while big blind raised all in to $435 without any doubts. Other two players called then the raise. When my turn to act came, I was permitted to only call the $35 and take note, without raising. By the way, other two players were not all in as long as I can remember.

Why do you think I was only allowed to call the $35? I don’t totally understand. I believe I should have been given the chance to raise.

Thanks and great site!

I hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Herb
Herb,

The reason that you were not allowed to raise is because the big blind’s raise was less than a half the size of the required raise amount. This actually does not constitute a true raise.

I played no limit holdem with some business partners. Well, one hand came down to two players, player A and player B. Before the river, player A was hoping back then for a flush with clubs in the pocket and two on the table. Player B was already committed to pocket with QQ. River card came and good for player A as he got his flush. Suddenly, without betting or even checking, he showed his cards. A keen observer who was around since the start of the game said that he mucked. Later, he admitted his mistake that he had forgotten however everyone at the table believed then it was a muck. What do you think? And if in case no one went all in, what will be the verdict?

Thanks!

Schultz
Schultz,

This was not a muck. He just prematurely showed his hand. Action could continue as normal, but the other player would have added information.

I believe the incident that was said to be a “mucked” was just a question of intention. Well, if a player never directly said he’d fold or else surrender his cards then he is actually up to play the hand. I guess the simplest and just solution is to consider the player to be in an all in status.

What do you think? Do you have anything in mind?

Thanks!

Warm regards,
Timothy M. Bates
Timothy,

It depends on a couple of factors whether the hand would be allowed to play. If he went to show and the cards hit face down and he is reaching out like “Wait, I meant to show that” then yes he should be allowed. But if it is a case where the dealer pulled his hand in because it looked like he had folded it, then he has no recourse.

Players are required to protect their hand at all times. Now if he had a chip or something on it and the dealer mucked it, then he has recourse.

Say in a heads-up action, there were two players and the blinds were at 400 & 800. Player 1 was the small blind and then player 2 was the big blind. Eventually, player 1 called the big blind and then expressed verbally he’d raise. Player 2 then went all in and so player 1 folded. By the way, player 1 was not given the chance to say how much he’d raise.

So now, what do you think happens next right after player 1 folded? At some point, I thought that player 1 should raise but I don’t know how much. What do you think?

In advance, thank you.

David White
David,

Player 1 must raise. Since he did not declare an amount or push any chips out, he is only forced to put a raise in of the minimum, which is the size of the big blind.

In a recent game by which my friend was in, something happened. At preflop, there was betting. Then flop came and after that two players remained, player A and player B. Player A went all in. While player B without any doubt, immediately flipped his cards and afterwards said “I flopped a straight”. I was not there actually so I am not certain if the cards that were flipped touched the muck pile or not. Well, I think they didn’t. There’s just one thing I am certain of, player B had turned his cards over however never call, go all in or fold.

Do you think what player B did is already a call or else a fold? Any idea?

Thanks!

Jeffrey Anderson
Jeffrey,

Most will assume this to be a call. The dealer should have asked if he was calling. That would have solved it right there. If this happened in a casino, the dealer would ask his intentions and then move on. If there was a debate, then the floor would be called, but the fact he flipped his cards up and declared his hand would have been ruled an intention to call the bet.

In a certain holdem event, me and two other players were down to the river. If I could remember it right, I need a club on the river to make a flush. River card came and of course I was hoping to have the card I wanted. Then when I saw light, I therefore called all in. Player 2 then asked how much and so I counted my chips. Player 2 suddenly said that I better have a hundred or so. Then few seconds passed and I revealed my cards, A high flush. Player 3 was upset then as he already doesn’t have the opportunity to call the all in because of what I did.

Any comments about the incident? Also, do you think I should have been eliminated from the hand as I have flipped my cards over?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Nathan Lewis
Nathan,

You are not eliminated from the hand. Player 3 has the opportunity to still call. You must act first. You cost yourself some bets, but that is all. Your hand is not dead.

I played holdem with some family members just this evening. I admit most of us are just newbies.

At near mid part, three were left for the pot including me. With a small pot, I went all-in. Two other players had more chips than me, later, they called my bet. Flop then came. However, two cards were not revealed.

Do you think the two other players should have continued to bid on the turn and river card, actually right after I called all-in? Or else with the other two players, the two cards may have just been flipped with no more side bidding? Any idea?

Thanks!

Regards,
Darrel Koester
Darrel,

Your two opponents have the option to bet or not to bet after they call your all in bet. They must still at least check it down on the flop, turn, and river.

In a recent tournament, a situation came up. I remember then that after the flop, I went all-in. Later, I had one caller for it. Well, it was the first hand of the tournament therefore both of us were all-in. I was then the dealer and when the time to flipped my two cards came, we were quite surprised as one of them hit one of the community cards. By the way both my cards were face up then.

So now, do you think that meant a dead hand and so the other guy actually won? Well some players said that I lost automatically while there are some who said that it was another way around as my cards were face up actually. What do you think?

Thanks!

Regards,
Lynette Bower
Lynette,

There should never be a rule killing your hand if your card touches the flop. This is a silly rule and there is really no good reason for it.

For sake of argument, let’s say the rule is in place. Since you are all in and the cards are already face up, then it does not matter if the community cards touch your cards. The dealer should just push your hand off to the side while they deal the cards. This should not be an issue.