Playing on the Bubble

May 26, 2008

After three long hours of playing poker, you find yourself down to the last two tables of a poker tournament that started with just under 200 players. There are twenty tournament players left, but only the top eighteen are going to win any money. Not wanting to get knocked out “on the bubble,” or just outside the money, you notice that almost everyone at your table has tightened up their game. The exception is a player to your left who seems to be taking down pot after pot without even seeing a flop. He makes a standard raise of three times the big blind to which everyone at the table folds, each time earning him the blinds and dead ante money, a decent chunk of change at this stage of the poker tournament. Before play started, this player had an average sized chip stack and now he’s the tournament chip leader, presently on the bubble and in position to make a big run at the final table.

Switching to an aggressive playing style on the bubble in a multi-table tournament is an extremely effective poker strategy to pad your chip stack, in preparation for the final table. Truth be told, most players do not want to risk getting knocked out of a poker tournament after playing for hours when they’re just a couple of spots away from taking home the money. The fear of a bad beat or the possibility of running into a superior poker hand causes even the loosest of players to fold practically everything except aces or kings during the on the bubble stage of the tournament. Throughout a poker tournament, you will make decisions based on an array of situations, rather than your cards and opponents. The decisions you make when approaching the bubble can mean the difference between first place tournament money and just getting your buy-in back.

Changing your poker playing style to aggressive at the bubble stage of a tournament carries as much risk as it does reward. You should practice selective aggression with your raises, being careful not to get involved with the tournament’s big stacks, or players you feel might be willing to come over the top of your attempted blind steal. Continue to make standard sized raises in position and try to avoid stealing when one or more players has limped into the pot before you; a limper on the bubble is often trying to set a trap with a premium poker hand.

Focus your pressure on tight bubble players whose stacks are big enough that they will be able to fold their way into the money, but not so big that they can afford to challenge one of your raises without putting their entire stack in harm’s way. If one of these poker players does come over the top of your raise, do not hesitate to throw your hand away immediately. The possibility exists that he may have picked up on your aggressive assault and is simply making a play, but it is more likely that this player walked into a big hand and is making a stand.

Often times, when the bubble has been “popped,” or the last player before the money is eliminated, play will return to normal. Players will return to their regular playing styles, which means, it’s time to put the brakes on your relentless aggression and resume solid poker playing. Before you attempt to apply this technique in a big tournament, consider your goals. If you’re content with just making the money, then by all means, conform with the poker masses and fold away. But if you’ve got your eye on the big prize, raise it up!

By Garry Gates - Poker Expert

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Free Poker Content

May 19, 2008

I’ve added some more poker strategy articles to MillionDollarPokerGuide and these ones can be used by poker webmasters on your sites or blogs … Free Poker Content

When to Slow Play a Poker Hand

When to Re-Raise in Poker

When Does Playing Tight Poker Work ?

Making the Right Moves in Poker

Keeping Track of Your Poker Winnings and Loses

Monitoring Your Poker Play

How to Play the Nuts in Poker

Gathering Information about your Poker Opponents

Common Poker Distractions and Staying Alert

All I ask as that if you do use any of them you keep the links in the article and author credit intact … a great free way to grow your blogs and sites.

cheers Scrawnybob

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Your Poker Table Image - Part 2

May 19, 2008

There are two main ways to use table image to your advantage at the poker table; either by making decisions based on another players’ perception of you, or making decisions based on your perception of your opponent. The latter is most commonly exploited by getting a clear idea of your opponents’ style of play and then playing the opposite way.

For example, if you sit down at a table and find that the majority of your adversaries see a lot of flops and are constantly betting and raising, playing the role of a tight and somewhat passive player would prove profitable. As your opponents busy themselves with trying to outbet each other, you are patiently waiting for the most opportune moment to strike and fire back with a check raise on the river that takes them by surprise. You should also be aware that the more perceptive players may have already picked up on your tactics and will be hesitant to give you action when you do enter a pot. Therefore it might be a good idea to try and see a couple of cheap flops with marginal hands in order to disguise your strategy. Just don’t get too attached if you do end up catching a small piece of the flop.

You can also use table image to attack opponents individually. If you’ve pegged someone a tight passive player and find yourself heads-up against them, you may be able to steal the pot with an extra bet or raise if you sense the slightest bit of weakness. Be wary, however, if you do make this play and your opponent surprises you with a call or comes over the top of your raise – now he means business.

Being able to recognize your own table image is essential to making it work to your favor. Try to keep track of the number of flops you see, the frequency with which you raise, the kinds of hands your opponents have seen you expose and everything in between. You should also listen for clues directly from your opponents as to how they view your play. If you’re playing tight, you’ll often hear someone say “I’ll have to remember to get out of your way when you play a hand.” If you’ve been raising and being the aggressor, someone might say “imagine that, another raise.” All of these comments are clues that can help give you a better concept of your own table image.

Let’s assume you’re playing a loose aggressive style and your opponents have clearly picked up on it. Ideally, now you should change gears and wait for a premium hand while your opponents still have you pegged as a maniac. When you’re finally dealt a pair of aces or kings, play them exactly the same way you played to earn your reputation, by betting and raising, and you’re bound to get some extra action on the hand. Conversely, if you’ve been playing a tight game and haven’t seen many flops, use your conservative image to make a couple of bluffs. Opponents are much more likely to respect a bet from someone who’s played fewer pots than everyone else.

Remember, the minute you sit down at that table they’ll be watching you. Watch right back. Know your opponents, know your own table image, disguise your strategy and “play the man” accordingly.

By Garry Gates - Poker Expert

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Your Poker Table Image - Part 1

May 12, 2008

As a serious player, student or casual poker enthusiast, I’d be willing to bet you’ve come across some variation of the saying “play the man, not the cards.” Its meaning has been interpreted hundreds of ways by various poker authors, pros, and even movie directors; perhaps most famously immortalized by Matt Damon’s character in Rounders, who insists he can “play it blind” when pitted against less formidable opponents. “The cards themselves hardly matter,” he tells the judge.

Though it might work in the movies, I don’t advise that you play too many hands blind. On the contrary, you should play every hand, even the ones you’re not in, with wide open eyes. Though “play the man, not the cards” typically pertains to physical tells, or visible mannerisms that can tip off a player’s hand, I would argue that in order to best “play the man” you have to observe how he plays his cards, which in turn means the cards matter a whole lot.

From the minute you sit down at a poker table, your attitude, your outfit, your betting habits, the frequency with which you call, raise or fold and the quality of the hands you expose all combine to create a snapshot of your playing style in the eyes of the other nine people at the table trying to separate you from your money. Your opponents’ perception of your playing style, also known as your “table image,” often determines how an observant player chooses to play against you and you against them. So what if we could control how other players perceive us at the poker table and use it to our advantage?

Fortunately, we can! Being aware of your table image and knowing how to take advantage of it is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. Before you decide to be creative and make a play based on image alone, it is important to consider which of your opponents is capable of recognizing and applying the concept of table image. Assuming that everyone at the table has been watching and keeping track of your every move can be a costly mistake. You’ll often find more opponents than not who will be too preoccupied with a game on TV or a conversation with their neighbor to notice that you haven’t played a hand in an hour, so be sure that the target you attempt to exploit has been watching.

Most poker texts categorize playing styles into four major groups: tight, passive, loose and aggressive. The terms “tight” and “loose” are typically used to describe the range of hands a player is likely to play. A tight player folds most hands before the flop and only plays the upper echelon of starting hands, such as pocket aces, kings, queens, AK, etc. A loose player will get involved with a much wider variety of starting hands, including small pairs and small suited connectors. “Passive” and “aggressive” are terms used to characterize players’ betting habits. A passive player does a lot of checking and calling, while an aggressive player makes a lot of bets and raises.

Part II will discuss ways to exploit table image, both projected and perceived.

By Garry Gates - Poker Expert