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July 15 — Be wary of good players leading out into multiway pots after someone else has raised preflop. 

If you have read some of my previous columns here you know that I usually say that lead outs, often called donk bets, into preflop raisers are usually a sign of weakness. In fact, many times when a bad player leads out at the preflop raiser he is often semibluffing with a draw or his range is “capped” at one pair. This is useful information to us because often times this causes the player’s hand to be face up and on the right type of boards we can move them off of their holdings.

However, if you see a player who you think is strong in your player pool lead into a multiway field that includes a preflop raiser, chances are he is very strong. Good players usually know that the best way to win big pots is to build a pot and often times they will play their hand extremely straightforward to try and get the most amount of money in. Obviously this can also be done by check-raising but a good, tight, player knows that if he check-raises multiple people, this really puts the heat on other players, especially the preflop raiser and might give them an excuse to fold. So sometimes the best way to maximize your value is to just bet your hand straight out — and many times other people will not believe the fact that you are very strong.

Let us take a look at an example that I saw go down from a game I played last week at the Commerce Casino’s $5-$10 no-limit table. The game was relatively loose and good and there were several fishy players at the table. Two of these fishy players limped in from the first two positions and a relatively solid, tight regular raised to $50 from under the gun (UTG) plus two. I then called on the button, $3,000 effective, with A J, a very good player in the big blind (BB) called and both limpers called. The board ran out J 5 3. The big blind then led out for $200, the limpers folded and the preflop raiser called. The action came to me and I mucked my hand rather easily knowing that only the best of scenarios would have me ahead. Even if I had the best hand, I realized that my opponents had a mountain of equity against me even if they had only big draws. The good player ended up betting nearly full pot on the turn and the river and won a monstrous hand with 5-5 against K-K. Because the villain played his hand fast he won the most amount of money and I was able to release rather easily because I was paying attention.

July 17 — Some guys are so fit or fold post that raising their limps preflop really is almost like taking free money — especially when they have a limp/folding frequency heads-up.

I remember 7-to-8 years ago when online training sites first came out, that one of their most useful pieces of advice was attacking preflop limpers. When people limped in, whether it was a six-max or full ring game, usually they did not have a strong hand. Raising limpers showed an almost immediate profit, especially when limpers who had big hands would limp/reraise almost always preflop. And even if limpers did call someone’s isolation raise, they would play so fit or fold postflop that raising them would be profitable with almost any two cards.

It did not take too long for people to adjust to the fact that the game was riddled with constant isolation at six-max tables and from five years ago until now almost no one ever open limped. But players in the mid-or-low stakes live games did not get the memo.

If you have read my articles here before or on CrushLivepoker.com you know how much I hate limp/reraising with big hands for value. Usually players that have this move in their repertoire are scared to play postflop as they do not want their big hands to be broken or more simply to do not want to get a bad beat. But normally after several people have folded, they will play big hands straightforward. So if you see a player limp in past the first few spots, as the first action, there is a very good chance that they do not have a strong hand.

This could be a hand like a small pocket pair that they wish to set mine or a hand as weak as J-9 offsuit. But the point is that if you raise them and take the betting lead, especially in position, it is almost always a profitable spot if their bluffing frequency post flop is not high — like in most low-to-mid stakes games.

In fact, if you are comfortable firing multiple bluffing barrels playing off of turn changing top pair textures, a large percentage of your winrate can be directly attributed to playing off of the fact that your opponents miss. And that really is the key to becoming a top player in no-limit hold’em. It is all about playing off of your opponent’s ranges and how the board affects his range, not your own. This is true for bluffing and correctly assessing a proper value bet sizing on a future street. Pay close attention to the strength patterns of those who limp in in front of you. If you are a tighter player you do not always have to sit around and wait for hands. You can force your opponents to make mistakes against you by folding too much.

July 20 — When you are last to act in limped pots and the flop has been checked to you playing off the board and your opponents’ calling ranges is paramount — your own hand is almost irrelevant.

Many times in limped pots, if you play close attention to the action your opponents from out of position will play their hands “face up.” Many players will check a weak top pair out of the blinds in multiway pots but usually players that have overlimped in the field, especially on draw-heavy boards, will bet hands that they want to protect or to a lesser extent any pair if they are in late position. So many times in a multiway pot if the action has been checked to you, you do not have to worry too much about the players to your right. If they have a hand strong enough to call they would have bet themselves. That leaves only the upfront players to get through. And on boards where top pair is likely to change that gives you a green light to steal the pot.

Let us take a look at a hand that I played at $5-$10 at the Commerce Casino last week. The table was a typical loose passive, live game and the stacks were somewhat deep. There were several “big” spots at the table, which caused me to limp in with some very speculative hands in position. In one hand, four to five people limped in front of me and I overlimped with 10-8 offsuit. The blinds checked and we saw the hand six ways to a flop of 9 5 2. The action got checked around to me and I decided to bet $45. Now obviously I totally missed this flop, but I thought that most people, if they were after the blinds would bet a nine or a five. In fact, I surmised if I could get through the blinds I would definitely take it down. The small blind (SB), who was next to act, called and everyone else folded. I thought his range was a hand like a nine, A-3, A-4 or 4-3. It was unlikely that he was calling with anything weaker than top pair or a draw because of all of the players left to act behind him. The turn brought a K and he checked again. This time I bet $125 and he folded 9 8 face up.

This is a perfect example of using positional awareness and hand reading. The fact that I had basically no real equity on the flop besides an overcard did not matter. I knew that the people to my right were relatively weak because they hadn’t bet and that even if someone were check/calling with a nine from up front that it would be difficult for him to call a lot of money later on.

These simple concepts are often times ignored by fit or fold players. We can always make money from a donk overplaying their hand, but there a spots like these that arise more commonly where there is free money to be won. So, you should play close attention to what is going on around you — especially in small pots that no one really cares about. ♠

Follow Bart for daily strategy tips on Twitter @CrushLivePoker and @BartHanson. Check out his poker training site exclusively made for live cash game play at CrushLivePoker.com where he produces weekly podcasts and live training videos.