Three No-Limit Hold'em Plays

The unwillingness to try new things dooms many poker players to lackluster results. It's very easy to develop a style, a pattern of play, and just follow it without thinking. How do you play? If you flop a set, do you always check it on the flop? If you flop top pair, do you always make a small raise to "see where you're at"? In similar situations, do you always tend to adopt a similar approach? If you're honest with yourself, the answer is probably that you do tend to play on "autopilot" much of the time.

Unfortunately, if you never try new things, you'll never improve. Unless you're consistently taking thousands of dollars per month out of your game, chances are that you don't play perfectly. You do stuff wrong. So the next time you play, why not try to break your pattern? Force yourself to try out something you don't normally do. You might be surprised with how well it works. I suggest trying out these three plays the next time you're at the table.

An All-In Semibluff
Do you usually play your draws passively? If you flop a flush or straight draw, do you immediately start thinking, "Hmm, do I have odds to call?" Do you typically check and call, perhaps occasionally throwing in the occasional cheeky flop bet? Try going for the full monty next time. Push all in.

Here's an example: You're playing $1-$2 and everyone has around a $200 stack. An early-position player makes it $10 to go, and one player calls. You call with the K J on the button. The big blind calls. There's $41 in the pot, and you have $190 remaining.

The flop is Q 8 6, giving you a flush draw, an overcard, and a runner-runner straight draw. The preflop raiser bets $30, and the next player folds. Try moving all in for $160 more.

Obviously, it's not guaranteed to work. Your opponent might have A-Q (or maybe even better) and call. It's a calculated risk, but it's a fairly solid one. Your flush draw will come in at least one time in three, and sometimes catching a king will also be enough to win.

There are a couple of rules of thumb. Don't try it if your raise will be more than twice the size of the pot. In this example, there was $41 in the pot preflop, $30 from your opponent, and $30 worth of call from your push, making the pot $101. Your raise was $160 more, less than twice the $101 pot.

Don't try it if someone has shown exceptional strength in the hand. If a really tight player who never reraises preflop without pocket aces reraises preflop, don't try it. If there's a bet and a raise to you on the flop, don't try it. Try it only when the action is "normal," as whenever that's the case, there's a good chance that your opponents won't have the hand strength to look you up.

A River Value-Bet
A lot of no-limit players, if they flop a pair, will bet once on the flop and then check it down on the turn and river. It's a safe option, but it also wastes a lot of value. If you're a chronic pair checker-downer, try a river value-bet next time out.

For example, let's say you have the A 10 in the big blind. Again, it's a $1-$2 game with $200 stacks. Two players limp, the small blind folds, and you check. There's $7 in the pot. The flop comes K 10 2, giving you middle pair. You bet $5, hoping either to win immediately or to get called by a weaker hand. The first player folds, and the second calls. The turn is the 8. You check, and your opponent checks. The river is the 7. Try a value-bet of maybe $10 or so.

Your opponent called your small bet, with position, on the flop. That play doesn't necessarily represent strength. But since you're out of position and don't have much hand yourself, you check the turn. When your opponent checks, also, it suggests a weak or moderate made hand (likely no better than a weak king) or a draw. When another blank comes on the river, there's a fairly good chance that you have the best hand. In addition, with all the weakness you've shown, your opponent may not be able to resist seeing a showdown with a small pair for just $10 more.

This may seem like small-time stuff. After all, we're talking about only $10. But when I play, I see one player after another check down decent pairs with which they could have won an extra $10, $20, or $50 if they'd had the guts to bet it. All of that money adds up. It's not about winning $10 on this hand; it's about learning to find all the situations where you can win a little extra.

A Double-Barrel Bluff
Bluffs and golf swings have something in common: follow-through is a key to both. Throwing out one $25 bet may seem like a cheap way to try to pick up a pot. But sometimes it just isn't enough, and you need to back that first bet up with another one.

If you're a chronic chicken when it comes to backing your bluffs up with the big money, throw caution to the wind the next time you play. Give it a shot.

Here's an example: Everyone folds to you on the button, and you have the 10 8. You make it $15 to go in your docile $2-$5 game. Only the big blind calls. The flop comes K 9 4, giving you a flush draw. Your opponent checks, you bet $20 into the $30 pot, and he calls. The turn is the A, and your opponent checks again. Try a $50 or $60 bluff into this $70 pot.

Your opponent could have called the flop with a wide range of hands. Good hands like a set, two pair, or top pair are all possible. So are weaker hands like a smaller flopped pair or pocket pair, a flush draw, or a gutshot draw. The offsuit ace on the turn weakens most of your opponent's possible holdings. In addition, since you raised preflop, your opponent has to worry that you might hold an ace. Your second barrel has a good chance to win immediately.

Force yourself out of your comfort zone. Sharp poker doesn't feel "right" at first. It's not cozy. It may even make your stomach queasy. Push yourself. Try out these three plays at your next session. If they don't work out, try them again the next time - and again the time after that. If you practice them enough and incorporate them into your game, you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Ed will personally answer your questions at his online poker advice column, www.notedpokerauthority.com. He has authored four books on poker, most recently Professional No-Limit Hold'em: Volume 1.