A dark tunnel bluff is a repeated bet that is made as a response to the feeling that you must bet, without thinking about what the opposition are doing or why they have stayed in the hand.
It doesn't have to be a pure bluff, rather it refers to unneccessarily adding to the pot, often with a marginal hand with which a player doesn't know where he stands. Such bets do not have the desired effect of the opposition laying down their hands.
Typical dark tunnel bluffs are hands in which beginners raise with a good starting hand that doesn't improve in any street, but they cannot bring themselves to stop betting.
This situation tends to happen when a player is on tilt.
segunda-feira, 29 de março de 2010
sábado, 27 de março de 2010
quinta-feira, 25 de março de 2010
Keeping the Pot Small By Full Tilt Pro Jennifer Harman
Poker is a game of decisions. Some decisions are very easy to make, while others will keep you awake all night if you choose poorly. In my experience, the larger the pot size, the harder the decision you’ll be faced with.
On the other hand, the smaller the pot is, the easier the decision. Which is why, especially in tournament play, you want to keep the pot small when you’re holding a marginal hand. You don’t want to be facing a decision for all of your chips in a situation where all you’ve got is something like top pair with a medium-strength kicker. You want to avoid that scenario as much as possible.
It’s better to keep the pot small by checking and calling rather than building a huge pot, even if you do hold an advantage in that hand.
Let me give you an example from a hand I played at a World Series of Poker event last year. We were still fairly early in the tournament, and I was in the cut-off (the seat before the button) holding K-J. The action folded around to me, I put in a raise and was called by the button. Both blinds folded, and we were heads-up going to the flop.
The flop came J-9-3 with two diamonds. Yes, I had top pair with a strong kicker, but with straight and flush draws on the board I was in no mood to go crazy with my hand. So I checked, and the button bet about two-thirds of the pot.
A check could also tempt my opponent to bluff in this spot, especially if he put me on something like A-K or A-Q. With a bluff or a drawing hand being the button’s most likely holding, I made the call.
The turn was a harmless 5, not a diamond, and very unlikely to help out the button in any way. Once again, I decided to control the size of the pot and keep it small by checking. If I’d bet and the button had a monster draw, there’s a good chance he’d come over the top of my bet to try and push me off the pot. I liked my hand there, just not enough to go broke with it.
After I checked, the button put in another bet, which I called. The river was a non-diamond 2, meaning that neither the flush draw or the straight draw got there. Confident that I had the best hand at this point, I still decided to check the river.
Why? Well, there was a small chance the button had made a set or two pair somewhere along the way, and it’s better to check-call in that spot rather than face a tough decision for a lot of chips if he raises. Also, if he did have nothing but air, checking might induce a bluff on the river.
As it turned out, the button checked behind me and I took down the pot with my K-J. I didn’t win a big pot with that hand, but I also didn’t lose a huge pot. The decisions I faced on each street were made much easier by the fact that I kept the pot small.
As it turned out, the button checked behind me and I took down the pot with my K-J. I didn’t win a big pot with that hand, but I also didn’t lose a huge pot. The decisions I faced on each street were made much easier by the fact that I kept the pot small.
sábado, 20 de março de 2010
quinta-feira, 18 de março de 2010
terça-feira, 16 de março de 2010
Invitational Freeroll
INVITATIONAL FREEROLL - 7th April 2010 at 19.30 GMT
No deposit required
Texas Holdem
Prizes: 600€
10 minutes blinds (with antes)
2000 starting chips
15 Paid places
Texas Holdem
Prizes: 600€
10 minutes blinds (with antes)
2000 starting chips
15 Paid places
Password needed
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After Registering on the AWH banner located on the right column or here, then send and email to aboutholdempoker@hotmail.com and i will send you the password for the event.
Unfortunetly, US citizens are not allowed to this poker Room.
segunda-feira, 15 de março de 2010
quinta-feira, 11 de março de 2010
Online Poker Tells - The Time to Take Actions
Every online poker room has a set number of seconds that each player has to respond before he is declared either all-in or folded. Sometimes, due to internet issues, a player's actions will almost always be slow and laggy. However, often, the speed of play can be a good “tell.” Typically, a quick bet is a sign of weakness, and a delayed action is a sign of strength, as the player is calculating his strategy with what he percieves to be a huge hand. Watch how much time it takes the other players to make their action, and mentally make a note of it. If you get a chance to see their cards at showdown, see if you can determine what they “slow bet” with and what they “fast bet” with.
The golden rule of tells is that a strong opponent will try to act weak, while a weak opponent will try to act strong.
Long pause, followed by a raise (very strong):
The whole logic behind this play screams strength, because people usually only do it when there is a big possible hand on the table, like a flush or straight. You bet, your opponent pauses for about 10-15 seconds and then raises you. He might as well be saying: "Hmm... there's a flush possibility on the table and you've bet into it. Man, I really have to think about this because you might have a really strong hand! Oh well, I think I'm beat, but I *guess* I'll raise...". Don't fall for this. Sometimes, a player legitimately thinks you're bluffing the river or whatever so he's raising you back, but most of the time he's got a big hand.
Instant automatic raise (usually very strong):
This is used by maniacs and bluffers, most of the time it's used by a player who is so sure of his hand that he is willing to bet or raise regardless of the action. This usually means that you want to tread carefully and consider folding or check-calling this down. It should always raise a big warning sign at the very least.
Instant automatic check (weak or folding hand):
This is a pretty straight-forward tell, as almost every player uses the auto-check button only when they are willing to fold their hand. Sometimes players will be willing to call after auto-checking, but it's incredibly rare to see someone check-raise with the auto-check button. So, when you're in a small field and it's auto-checked to you, you can often take down the pot right then and there.
Opponent quickly calls your bet (moderate to semi-weak hand):
Usually when someone is chasing you or has a marginal hand, they'll make a fast call to look as if they're not scared of your bet. With reverse psychology, you can figure out that this is an intimidation ploy, because if they did have a strong hand, they'd be raising your bet instead of flat calling. In this situation, you can often continue to bet as normal. That said, some players on tilt or experienced players will often make quick calls, as they really do intend on calling to the river.
The Slow Check-Call (Very Strong Hand)
A Good situation is when you don't have to start the betting yourself. This is one of my favorite online moves that works time and time again. Instead of trying to check-raise your opponent into paying you off when you've got the nuts, try the slow check-call. From my experiences, this can be a very effective move that will make you more money than declaring your hand strength immediately. A note of caution: don't try this with a vulnerable hand or you'll be giving your opponent a great chance to draw out on you.
Waiting for the Big Blind
When you sit down at a Hold 'em table, many times you'll have the option of “waiting on the big blind“ to get to you, or you can post a matching big blind and start playing immediately. This a good tell on how patient and online player will be. If he is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to get around to him, he might not be very patient about waiting on good starting hands. Expect him to be a loose player. The opposite holds true for players who do wait on the big blind. Either they are patient or cheap. Both are pretty good qualities to have if you are playing online poker. Cheap players, even when they are not especially skilled will tend to wait on better hands since they are loathe to throw away their bets!
You will see many of these types of situations in your online poker career. Make an effort to observe them in other players, while avoiding them yourself.
The golden rule of tells is that a strong opponent will try to act weak, while a weak opponent will try to act strong.
Long pause, followed by a raise (very strong):
The whole logic behind this play screams strength, because people usually only do it when there is a big possible hand on the table, like a flush or straight. You bet, your opponent pauses for about 10-15 seconds and then raises you. He might as well be saying: "Hmm... there's a flush possibility on the table and you've bet into it. Man, I really have to think about this because you might have a really strong hand! Oh well, I think I'm beat, but I *guess* I'll raise...". Don't fall for this. Sometimes, a player legitimately thinks you're bluffing the river or whatever so he's raising you back, but most of the time he's got a big hand.
Instant automatic raise (usually very strong):
This is used by maniacs and bluffers, most of the time it's used by a player who is so sure of his hand that he is willing to bet or raise regardless of the action. This usually means that you want to tread carefully and consider folding or check-calling this down. It should always raise a big warning sign at the very least.
Instant automatic check (weak or folding hand):
This is a pretty straight-forward tell, as almost every player uses the auto-check button only when they are willing to fold their hand. Sometimes players will be willing to call after auto-checking, but it's incredibly rare to see someone check-raise with the auto-check button. So, when you're in a small field and it's auto-checked to you, you can often take down the pot right then and there.
Opponent quickly calls your bet (moderate to semi-weak hand):
Usually when someone is chasing you or has a marginal hand, they'll make a fast call to look as if they're not scared of your bet. With reverse psychology, you can figure out that this is an intimidation ploy, because if they did have a strong hand, they'd be raising your bet instead of flat calling. In this situation, you can often continue to bet as normal. That said, some players on tilt or experienced players will often make quick calls, as they really do intend on calling to the river.
The Slow Check-Call (Very Strong Hand)
A Good situation is when you don't have to start the betting yourself. This is one of my favorite online moves that works time and time again. Instead of trying to check-raise your opponent into paying you off when you've got the nuts, try the slow check-call. From my experiences, this can be a very effective move that will make you more money than declaring your hand strength immediately. A note of caution: don't try this with a vulnerable hand or you'll be giving your opponent a great chance to draw out on you.
Waiting for the Big Blind
When you sit down at a Hold 'em table, many times you'll have the option of “waiting on the big blind“ to get to you, or you can post a matching big blind and start playing immediately. This a good tell on how patient and online player will be. If he is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to get around to him, he might not be very patient about waiting on good starting hands. Expect him to be a loose player. The opposite holds true for players who do wait on the big blind. Either they are patient or cheap. Both are pretty good qualities to have if you are playing online poker. Cheap players, even when they are not especially skilled will tend to wait on better hands since they are loathe to throw away their bets!
You will see many of these types of situations in your online poker career. Make an effort to observe them in other players, while avoiding them yourself.
quarta-feira, 10 de março de 2010
segunda-feira, 8 de março de 2010
domingo, 7 de março de 2010
sexta-feira, 5 de março de 2010
quarta-feira, 3 de março de 2010
Semi-Bluffing by Full Tilt Pro Andy Bloch
The semi-bluff is one of the most powerful weapons in any poker player’s arsenal. If there’s a decent chance you can steal a pot by semi-bluffing, you should usually take it. But, as with any play you make at the table, the semi-bluff is always most effective when you use it at the correct time in the correct situation. Semi-bluff too much and your opponents will know when you’re on the draw; semi-bluff too little and your opponents will know to fold whenever you bet. The key to semi-bluffing is to always mix things up and never become too predictable with your betting patterns.
Let’s say that you’ve flopped the nut flush draw and are pretty certain your opponent has connected with the flop in some way, be it top pair or maybe even a set. A lot of players like to check-raise as a semi-bluff in this spot. There are a couple of problems with this play: first, if you always check-raise in this spot then your opponent will be able to put you on a draw very easily. Second, if your opponent really does have a hand, there’s no need to check-raise here because there’s no way he’s folding and there’s a good chance he’ll pay you off anyway if you hit your hand.
A better move in this spot might be not semi-bluffing and just calling instead. This way, if you hit your flush on the turn, your options are wide open – checking, calling or raising are all viable plays − and your opponent won’t be able to put you on a hand quite as easily. By not semi-bluffing, you increase your chances of winning a bigger pot when your opponent actually has a strong hand. There are players out there who’ll assume you’re not on the draw if you don’t semi-bluff, so use that to your advantage.
Now, if you don’t think that your opponent has a strong hand or your draw isn’t that strong (say a low flush draw), this is the perfect time for a semi-bluff. The semi-bluff should be used as a tool to steal pots when the opportunity arises, not as a means of building big pots.
Another good way to mix up your semi-bluffing game plan is to wait until the turn to semi-bluff rather than always doing it on the flop. This can be a dangerous play because you’ve only got one card to come on the turn and you’re not getting the same odds. But it also means that your opponent is less likely to think that you’re semi-bluffing and put you on the draw. It looks pretty strong if you call on the flop and then raise on the turn; your opponent might think you’ve flopped the nuts and throw away a pretty strong hand.
Another advantage to semi-bluffing on the turn rather than the flop is that you could pick up additional outs on the turn. Say you have a gut-shot straight draw on the flop and then pick up a flush draw on the turn. You’ve just gone from four outs to about 12, which might be worth a shot at taking down the pot right then and there. A lot of players will also have trouble putting you on the flush draw in this spot; it’s just harder to see that flush draw on the turn than it is on the flop.
Once again, the key to a good semi-bluff is picking the right spot to pull it off. Choose poorly and you could stand to lose a good portion of your stack; choose well and you could throw your opponents off balance and hit them where it hurts when you make your hand.
You can Learn more about this game at the academy. Just register
terça-feira, 2 de março de 2010
segunda-feira, 1 de março de 2010
Freeroll
INVITATIONAL FREEROLL - 3rd March at 19.30GMT
No deposit required
Texas Holdem
Prizes 600€
10 minutes blinds (with antes)
2000 starting chips
15 Paid places
Texas Holdem
Prizes 600€
10 minutes blinds (with antes)
2000 starting chips
15 Paid places
After Registering on the AWH banner located on the right column or here, important: After registering, send me an email so you can get the password for the event.
Unfortunetly, US citizens are not allowed to this poker Room.
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