Hand 38: Small Blind, J-8, folded to cut-off who raises to £20, I fold. Stack size £797.

Hand 39: Button, 8-3, folded to me and I fold. Stack size £797

Hand 40: Cut-off, A-10, Player to my right raises to £15 and I fold and keep out of trouble with a dangerous hand. Stack size £797

Hand 41: 8-5, UTG calls, folded to me and I raise to £20, all fold. Stack size £809.

Hand 42: UTG, A-4, I fold. Stack size £809

Hand 43: Big Blind, Kh-5h, 3 Limpers and SB calls, I check. Flop 3-9-7 and all check. Turn card is an ace and it is checked to button who ends matters with a £20 bet. Stack size £804.

Hand 44: Small Blind, 10-6, folded to me and I raise to £15 and take it. Stack size £809.

Hand 45: Button, Q-J, Two limpers and I raise to £25 and all fold. Stack size £826.

I was still playing fast here even for a six handed poker game but no one on the table was trying to keep me honest and I was getting away with too much for me to stop. Throw in a couple of genuine hands and this was a highly profitable hour of play for me. This is a typical hour for me in many ways, the only differences being that £326 is way above what my proper hourly rate is and I got lucky with the 8-5 big time on hand 15.

Basically this is the type of poker game that I love. Most of the players were letting me get away with things and no one was being overly aggressive. Aggressive players and maniacs can really take you for a ride when they get lucky. You get them all in and in bad shape and they outdraw you not once but several times in the session with gut-shot draws against top set etc.

What I hope that this session highlights is in how straight forward I played. However I must stress that since this session was played some years ago, games at these levels have become seriously tougher.

I now use Poker Office at the NL400 to NL600 levels although it is also rare that I play as high as this now online and my usual levels are NL100 and NL200. It also has to be said that my level of play and the average player at this level at the time that this was played meant far greater value. Most if not all players didn’t use tracking software like Poker Office back then so there was a high level of naivety about the games at that time which needs to be factored in.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Come and see the excellent blog at bwin poker blog

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

Now it is interesting to point out here that our hero had some highly relevant data on the big blind and they were 44/17/1.9 which made them a very aggressive poker player in six max games. The flop is good and comes Jh-9c-3d and the big blind checks and our hero makes the obvious $20 bet and gets called.

The turn card is the 4d and the big blind checks again and our hero bets only to get check-raised. Now here I think we are looking at two distinct lines of play. Folding is clearly not an option in limit play and especially against a highly aggressive opponent at $20-$40 limit poker. So we are certainly calling here at the very least but in this instance then a three bet is probably required.

Having top pair and top kicker is still a strong holding in this situation but your opponent does not know that our hero is this strong. So the turn check-raise sort of becomes part of a standard line and cannot be considered to be ahead at this point.

Now our hero has to decide how to proceed as calling and then possibly calling the river or raising the river or re-raising the turn are both viable alternatives. The problem with three betting the turn is in if you get four bet and this now puts you into a tough spot. Much of how you play this hand from this point onwards comes down to having specific reads.

Against aggressive opponents like this then three betting is a highly attractive alternative as your hand is likely ahead of their range given what type of player that they are and what statistics they have. There are many draws that the aggressive big blind could be trying to semi-bluff with like Q-10, 10-8 or even a diamond draw. They could even have a hand like A-9 or A-4.

The good side to three betting the turn with hands like top pair and top kicker is that not only will you often be ahead but your aggressive play will often lead your opponent into backing down with hands that are superior to you like with weak two pair hands for instance.

One of the keys to successful limit play is to play without fear. In fact this can be said of any online poker game. Powerful aggressive players will often force you into making plays that can force you into passivity and $20-$40 is certainly a level where the average player will try to make you do that.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Play Texas Hold’em poker at one of the best sites around

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 would like to ask something but I don’t know if it would make sense. What will you do if you want to use the facilities or want to get some of the free grub? Will you leave your chips or take them with you in case?

Another thing, what if while you are gone, one of the blinds passes you by, ante up one more time?

Thanks,
Norman Morisset
Norman,

You leave your chips at the table. If the blinds pass you by while you are gone, it depends on whether you are in a cash game or a tournament. If you are in a cash game, you must post the small and big blind to receive a hand. Otherwise, you must wait until it is your big blind again to play. If you are in a tournament, you will continue to be dealt and your blinds and antes posted while you are gone. When you come back, you play as normal.

I’m just wondering if a player who is posting the big blind can actually ever raise before cards are even dealt, particularly when in no limit holdem. In some of the games I was able to witness, players with few chips left should put in what they still have prior to the dealing of the cards.

Any idea on the stuff I’m troubled of?

Thanks,
Bob Llewelyn
Bob,

The only person that could “raise blind” and get away with it would be the first person to act after the big blind. Some people will do a “straddle bet” which is a third blind that is used to force action. Players in other positions may not do this. The reason the first player to act may is because they are first to act and it’s their action anyway.

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.

Thanks!

Regards,
Henry Gilmore
Henry,

The most Bill can win from each player is the amount he pushed all-in with. The big blind can take out the extra fifty.

I’d start by sharing that for three times a week, I play live N/L tournaments near my hometown. There’s one player I usually encounter in my games. I believe he is one of the best amongst the locals and I heard he runs the NL tournaments. Just last week, I saw him and actually got the chance to play with him.

I remember I was the button and he was the small blind. The big blind was the only other player in the hand. Well, I had A9 off-suit and an A flopped. Back then, no one folded and the turn was another A. Both then checked while I placed a bet and he folded with no doubts on his face. Afterwards, the big blind called. Then the river came and was a 5. Big blind checked and so I then placed a minimum bet to the big blind. For three times my bet, he re-raised me. I then called. Later on, he showed AJ and so I lost. I then threw my cards towards the muck. I remember the next shuffler was about to pick them up when the small blind said he wanted to take a look at my cards. I disagreed but then he insisted and so eventually he got the chance to turn my cards up. Because of my cards, I believe he got some information that he can use for his advantage. Do you think what the small blind did was legal and acceptable?

Please, I need your help.

Thanks!

Best,
Reynolds
Reynolds,

In a tournament, a player may not request that you show your hand. This is acceptable in cash games when a call is made, but not in a tournament.

Before I lay down my question, I would like to thank you for creating and maintaining a site like this one. Thanks for all the efforts!

For my question, well say at a table, 100-100 blinds. Then player A is the big blind, 200. There is player B who will go all in for 150. Finally, there is player C who will raise to 400. Later on, player A who is the big blind will fold. What do you think should happen next? Player C will match the 150 all in of player B?

Also, I’m wondering, what if player B wins, is he going to take home the pot including the 200 of the big blind? Or else just the 150 as the 50 will go to player C? What do you think?
Thanks!

All the best,
Del Wilhelm
Del,

Player C will only have to match the 150 of Player B. The most that player B can win from each player is 150. The extra 50 from player A would automatically go to player C he calls the all-in bet.