I was taking people to be lying to me at the poker table because in the same situation I would be lying to them. Many a time I broke even or lost in a session simply because I had called my money off through silly suspicion. At the time I did not even realise what was happening but it is clear to me now that my personality was taking over in marginal situations.

Once I cottoned on to what was happening to me then I quickly adjusted and my poker earnings sky rocketed. I am the type of person who would miss a great opportunity simply through mistrust. The flip side of course is that I am highly unlikely to get ripped off because I will simply not trust a person enough for them to get their hands on my money.

But it was this same mistrust in my personality and paranoia that was literally killing me whenever I was playing Hold’em online. It is exactly the same if you have an impulsive streak to your nature. You need to ask yourself if you are acting impulsively whenever you play poker. You see, in the online poker arena the pace of the game is that much quicker. The side effect of this is that you are having to act that much quicker and when you act quicker you do so with less thought.

OK you say, you knew that and I have to admit that it is obvious. But how many people are aware that their natural personality starts to take over when the amount of time to think is limited. What I suggest that you do is to have a very serious think about yourself. What things do you like and what things don’t you like. What things annoy you and do not be afraid to look very harshly at yourself.

If you have masochistic tendencies then admit it to yourself at least. Try to make a list of descriptive words that fits your personality and then try to assess how each one is pertinent to poker. This is a seriously good exercise because the results could earn you a very substantial amount of money or save you a very substantial amount of money which amounts to the same.

So take some time out and have a good think about yourself and what kind of person you really are, once you know this then you will be aware of what you are likely to do in marginal situations and you can be ready to combat your own poker weaknesses.

When I spotted my flaw it earned me a lot of money and this is why I am telling you to do this exercise because it could just do the same to you.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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 internet 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.

In one of my games, there was a beginner. Well, it was pretty much obvious then that he was a beginner. One thing I noticed was that he kept on raising unreasonable amounts back then, hence making every player fold. There are instance when someone had a decent hand and will spent some time thinking, trying to read him, but in the end will just opt to fold. Most players fold because they want to see the guy’s hand.

Do you think the guy and the way he play does makes sense? Does showing your hand not in the proper time acceptable? Any thoughts?

Thank you.

Benson Andrew
Benson,

The player was using a strategy of betting large amounts to make people fold. It’s not the wisest strategy but many beginners try it.

Taking a long time to show your hand or showing you had slowly to make someone think they have won when they haven’t is a form of slow rolling. It does not cause the person doing it to lose the pot, but it is a breach of etiquette.

In the game I was into the other night, one player went all in on the flop, while other players were raising a lot after their bet. Later on, the first player got the winning hand. An argument appeared as we don’t know what will happen to the coins left? We were wondering then if the the money should go to the separate players or to player with the next winning hand. What do you think?

Thank you so much.

Doug Linn
Doug,

I’m going to assume you are asking about the money that was bet on the side after the all-in player was called. These are known as side pots. Side pots actually should be awarded and distributed before the main pot is decided. If this would have been done, there would be no money left to divide between players.

First, I would like to thank you for creating a wonderful site like this one. It has been a great help to me and to many others.

Well, I am actually here right now because of the two questions about the showdown of hands in tournament and cash games that I’ve been wanting to ask you.

1. Say there were two players left at the table, player A and player B. At some point, player A placed a bet on the river while player B folded. Then player A showed one card. In tournaments for an instance, if in case player B asks to see the other card without calling the bet, is player A required to show it? And what if it’s in a regular cash game?
2. Player A and player B were left to fight for the pot. Player A eventually checked on the river while player B checked too. In tournaments and cash games, who do you think is obliged to show down the hand first? Personally, I believe that the first player to act should show first. But, it appears to me that somehow the second player to check was required to do so. Well, in an event where a bet is called, I believe the original bettor should show first. What’s on your thoughts?

Thanks again!

Regards,
Walter Danielles
Walter,

1. If a bet was not called, Player A is not required to show. The World Series of Poker tried to institute a “Show One, Show Both” rule, but it was so unpopular that it was eliminated after one year.
   
2. In tournaments, the player that makes the last aggressive action is the person required to show first. Aggressive action is defined as betting or raising. If the hand is checked around, the player closest to the button is the person that shows first.