Some Quick Tips

One of my core beliefs about this game is that players should learn how to think about poker, in addition to how to play poker. While it's certainly possible to become a strong player by memorizing what to do with many different hands in many different situations, an ultimately better method for becoming a strong player is to learn how to analyze any situation on one's own.



A player whose game is founded in logic has advantages over a player who simply memorizes lots of plays. First, since every situation at the poker table is unique, a player should always have the flexibility to deviate from his preprogrammed strategy. A player who relies on memorized tactics will have the chance to make the best play in most situations. A player who trusts his own powers of poker reasoning will have the chance to make the best play in every situation. Second, there is far greater room for improvement for a poker thinker than for a rote player. Someone who has played poker the same way for a long time is going to have a much harder time changing his style than someone who is constantly adapting his game based on new ideas. I'm always trying to improve as a player. Phil Ivey is a far better player than I am, and he would also tell you he's constantly trying to improve.



Of course, it's not a bad thing to memorize some strategic ideas. In fact, for beginners especially, such memorization is probably necessary. There are situations that come up again and again in poker, and it is helpful to have a game plan for those common situations. It is important, however, to remember that there is no substitute for actual understanding of poker strategy. With that caveat in my mind, here are two tips for common poker situations. The advice given is not something I've memorized, but advice I've come up with by thinking these situations through and talking about them with other strong players.

1. Defend your raises.



Everyone knows that in no-limit hold'em, it's important to try to pick up the blinds and antes with steal-raises, especially late in a tournament, and especially from late position. So many people know this, in fact, that savvy players will reraise a late-position raise with a wide range of hands, in an attempt to pick up the pot.



This play is particularly effective if you, the original raiser, fold a lot of hands when you get reraised. For example, let's say the blinds are $5,000-$10,000 with a $500 ante, and everyone folds to you on the button. You raise to $30,000. The small blind folds, but then the big blind reraises to a total of $100,000. How often should you call? I don't have a definitive answer, but consider this: The big blind is risking $90,000 ($10,000 was already in the pot as the big blind) to win $50,000 (your $30,000, the $5,000 small blind, the $10,000 big blind, plus 10 antes worth $500 each). Let's say that you fold 70 percent of the time, and when you don't fold, let's say that you automatically win the hand (ha!). The big blind then wins $50,000 70 percent of the time, and loses $90,000 30 percent of the time. His overall expected value (EV) is (.7 x $50,000) – (.3 x $90,000) = $35,000 – $27,000 = $8,000.



In other words, the big blind's play is very profitable (it's worth almost an entire big blind), even if he loses every single time you call (or reraise) his reraise! If you're folding 70 percent of the time, your opponent should be putting in the reraise with any two random cards (unless he thinks you'll catch on). Think about how many hands you open with from the button, and think about how many hands you fold to a reraise. Then, make sure your opponent's play isn't a profitable one with two random cards.



2. Be wary of reraising on the river for value without the nuts.



If there are three hearts on the board and your opponent raises on the river, you'd be a fool to reraise in a no-limit hold'em game with a set (unless you thought, for some reason, that your opponent would fold a flush). And, honestly, it's not a good play to reraise there in a limit hold'em game, either.



When a player raises on the river, in either form of hold'em, he typically has a very strong hand, or in bluffing. In limit hold'em, it's far less common to see a bluff-raise on the river than in no-limit hold'em, at least in my experience. Let's say that you have pocket kings in a limit hold'em game, and you flopped top set on a rainbow board. Your opponent check-raised the flop, and you called. Then, you raised him on the turn, which brought a second heart. He called. On the river, the backdoor heart comes in. Your opponent checks and you, of course, bet. He now check-raises.



I recently made the mistake of reraising in this situation. "He check-raised me on the flop," I reasoned. "How could he have two hearts in his hand? He must have made two pair on the river." While it is possible that your opponent has made two pair here, the correct play is still to flat-call the raise. With a flush on board, even a backdoor flush, hold'em players have to be wary. So, when a flush is out there and your opponent is still raising, you just can't reraise without holding a flush yourself. When I had my set of kings, even if my read was essentially right and there was a 50 percent chance that my opponent had two pair, a 40 percent chance that he had a flush, and a 10 percent chance that he was bluffing, reraising was still not the play; 50 percent of the time, my reraise would earn me one bet, while 40 percent of the time (or at least close to it), I would lose two bets because my opponent would four-bet with his flush and I would call. So, my overall EV was somewhere around (.5 × 1) + (.4 x (-2)) = -0.3 bets.



When considering a value reraise, or even a straight value raise on the river without the nuts, remember that a lot of times, your opponent will raise you if he has the nuts and just call when he doesn't. You can lose two bets, but can win only one.



I hope thinking about these specific situations helps you to think more about poker in general. I also hope that you will soon find yourself thinking through poker problems rather than memorizing the answers to them.



Matt Matros is the author of The Making of a Poker Player, which is available online at http://www.cardplayer.com/.