Cake Poker newsletter

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Confusing Your Opponent

In a previous post  “Poker Tells: Observation for Profit” I talked about the ‘strong-when-weak/weak-when-strong’ concept which suggests that some players, when they have a good hand, will try to represent that they have a weak hand, and vice-versa. They will try and trick you (but probably not successfully if you are a studier of tells and their meaning). Conversely, there will be times when you may need to trick another player into making a wrong play.

My experience is that it is easier to act weak-when-strong, than it is to act strong-when-weak. I classify myself as a tight-aggressive player; if I were a loose-aggressive type I would be acting strong-when-not so strong a good percentage of the time, but it’s not my style and am seldom in a pot without a solid hand.

Sometimes acting strong when you are strong (or at least have faith that you are strong) works best, and sometimes when you are weak you have to be prepared to improvise and use whatever means you can to confuse or mislead an opponent. You can only do this if you have formed a good enough impression of a player to predict his response to whatever trick you intend to pull.

A good example of acting strong when strong came in a low limit ($10) rebuy tournament when I held the nut flush on the river. The remaining player in the hand checked to me, announcing to the whole table, “I know he’s got the flush”. My turn, so what do I do? We both have good chips, but I’ve got him covered. I could:

A. Check, so as to be a gentleman and have a showdown.
B. Make a very small bet which he would probably have to call out of curiosity
C. Make a bet of a larger size, which he probably couldn’t call out of curiosity
D. Make a very large bet that he couldn’t possibly call

The other player just happened to be rather weak, and prone to making errors. Checking it down would achieve nothing, a small bet was hardly worth the bother, and if he would call a large bet he he might possibly call a very large bet. Which is why, in line with the concept of acting strong when strong, I chose option D and bet the pot. He knew he was beat but called anyway.

Another nut flush situation: I flopped the Ace high flush and checked it right down to the river with total disinterest. Being weak when strong was called for here, as any bet would have scared the other player out of the pot. I had no option but to check on the river, hoping for a bluff. Once again, this was a weak player who hadn’t got a clue. For some unfathomable reason he decided a bet of his entire stack was appropriate.

As in any endeavour you have to pick the right tools for the job – and know how and when to use them – which depends a lot on who your opponents are and what you can predict about them. The weaker the opponent, the easier deception.

Seven Card Stud High Low

Q. Why play Seven–Card Stud High-Low?

A. Because it’s fun and profitable! In a recent poll on a well known book publisher’s poker forum. the results could be interpreted to mean that compared to Seven-Card Stud and Razz, Hi-Lo has bigger winners and bigger losers. This suggests that there is money to be made – if you can play the game well.

Some may be under the illusion that Limit games are boring and slow, and that you need a super-power memory to remember all the cards that have come. Whilst I would agree that Limit Hold ‘em is more boring than Ludo, the same cannot be said for 7-Stud Hi-Lo – at least not if you play it like I often do! As for remembering the cards, it’s not an issue – just paying attention will do it.

It pays to know how to play well in as many of the games as you can, and learning how to play 7-Stud Hi-Lo (sometimes referred to as Stud-8) will also improve your regular Stud and Razz play. A serious player would buy Ray Zee’s book, but here’s a few tips to keep you going.

Betting

Most players of this game don’t bet often enough. They fail to bet their drawing hands, seldom reraise and prefer to check and call, as opposed to pushing the action. That is my experience at the $1 MTTs and SnGs at Poker Stars, and where I would normally veer towards a tight-aggressive style at most other forms of poker, this particular game (at these lower limits) bears a more loose-aggressive style of play.

You can bet, raise and reraise when:
You have the best hand
You have a draw to the best hand
It looks like you have the best hand
It looks like you have a draw to the best hand
Opponents are not catching their cards
Your opponents are not betting
You are betting and raising on every street and you miss all your draws on the end
You are showing a pair
You are showing three suited cards

Bet without hesitation, raise without hesitation. Don’t ponder – know what cards you need and what will improve your opponent before the next deal so you can act instantly. If they blink, you bet. If you would call a bet, usually bet yourself, especially on 7th Street. Usually bet on 7th if your opponent does not show strength – such as if he or both of you check on 6th. Unless you are quite obviously beat and your opponent is likely to reraise, of course.

Starting Hands:

A decent starting hand, as in all of poker, is paramount. Best starting hands at this game are trips, three related low cards that can make a flush and/or a straight, Aces with a low card, three low with Ace, two small cards or a small pair with an Ace, the top pair from what you can see, one high two low to a flush (hoping to catch a low suited card), three high to a straight flush. Under most circumstances you should not play high straights or three low cards (without an Ace) that can’t make a straight or a flush: Ah, 6D, 7D good, AC, 2H, 7S bad.

Third street play

Look out for any upcards that you would need for your hand to improve, such as low Diamonds if you have K, 4, 5 Diamonds, or Aces, twos, sixes and sevens if you have 3, 4, 5. Or Aces and eights if you have A, 8, 8. The fewer out there the better. Also look for what cards can and can’t improve your opponent, such as when he is betting with an Ace showing and you and someone else have one each, or a few fives and/or fours are out, thus limiting his low straight potential.

Always play hands that have the potential to scoop the whole pot, but if it looks like all the other players are going for high hands and worse lows than yours, stay and draw to the low. If most of the other players are showing low possibilities, be very inclined to raise it up with your high hands such as trips or Aces and bet aggressively to knock out and/or extract bets from the low hands, which by definition are drawing hands.

Fourth Street

If you improve to a good low draw/flush draw/two pair/trips etc keep betting and/or raising aggressively. If not, fold if there is a bet unless your opponents play weak on later rounds, in which case you can see fifth street. Raise at the right moment – don’t necessarily raise out players too early, but if in position you can often get another call from everyone. Just call along if going for something like a high flush, as you will likely be splitting the pot and need the odds to make it worthwhile. Don’t allow free draws. Beware pairs showing. Look at the upcards all the time.

Later Streets

Keep on betting unless there is real danger from both ends, but even then you need to keep the pressure on. A pair showing could mean a made full house, so be careful but don’t let up. If you miss all your draws on 7th street, it’s usually best to bet anyway, but if you encounter a player who keeps calling you down, if he checks on 6th street, you should also check and only bet if you hit your hand on 7th.

Apply commonsense, use your eyes, watch the other player’s style, check and fold if you have very little. Don’t defend your bring-in. Don’t raise on Third with drawing hands but do so with Aces, and trips to knock out the drawing hands. Sometimes slow down, but be ready to get very aggressive with your good hands.

William Hill Poker Feb ipad league

William Hill Poker and PokerBankrollTips.com are running a Feb poker league series in which the winner takes home an Ipad. The game is only open to players who download and create a player account at William Hill Poker through our link.

Poker room: William Hill Poker
Tournament name: PokerBankrollTips League
Dates: 4th Feb, 11th Feb, 18th Feb & 25th Feb
TIME (GMT): 19.00 GMT
Registration starts: 28th Feb
Buy in: £2
1 Re buy @ break: £2
Added one off prize @ end of League: Ipad

Join us for Poker Bank Roll Tips Mini League, Winner of the league gets an Ipad. So how do you enter for your chance to win a brand new Ipad for winning the league series? Details below -

1. Download William Hill Poker via this link -> William Hill Poker

2. Use William Hill Poker Coupon Code – PKBTIP and get a 200% match up to $2000

3. Use password poktip1 to enter and enjoy the series

Titan Poker Summer SNG Poker Chase

Play SNG’s and win up to $10,000 or a Caribbean poker tourney experience.

There's always action taking place at the sit 'n' go tournaments, heating up the tables from Feb 1st-30th is our Sit ‘N’ Go Summer Poker Chase.

As you earn Titan Points playing sit ‘n’ go tournaments, you can win up to $10,000 in cash prizes or fly out to St Maarten & Punta Cana with a Caribbean Poker Tour package worth €7,500.

Earn just 50 Points and you’ll get an entry to one of our Sit ‘N’ Go Summer Poker Chase $500 or $1,500 GP Freerolls on Feb 31st. Earn more and get cash prizes or even the Caribbean poker experience of a lifetime. Prizes will be awarded according to the table below.

Click here to create a Titan Poker account.

Payout Structure

SNG Summer Poker Chase prizes will be awarded according to the table below:

Points Generated	Cash Bonus/Freeroll*
50	$500 Freeroll
250	$1,500 Freeroll
1,500	$5
3,000	$10
5,000	$20
10,000	$50
30,000	$150
50,000	$250
100,000	$600
200,000	$1,200
300,000	$2,200
600,000	$5,000
700,000	$10,000 or €7,500 Ultimate Caribbean Experience Package