Don't Go Broke with a Pair

NOTE: This story was originally posted in 2005, but has been moved forward because it was so relevant in my current ring game play.

** A player raises 3x the BB in early position and gets two callers including the BB. The flop comes A74 rainbow. The original raiser makes a pot sized bet and one of the two players calls. Fourth street brings a T and the original preflop raiser checks and the other player makes a 3/4 pot sized bet. Our raiser calls. The flop brings another blank, again the raiser checks and the other player bets the pot, the raiser calls and his KK loses to AQ.**

It seems fairly ridiculous when written in this fashion, but at the small blind NL tables -- I see this happen quite often. It is easy to fall in love with a big pocket pair, but it often becomes a very expensive date.

Of course, I wish I could claim immunity from such "pair worship" but alas I am guilty of it too. I am especially vulnerable to it when I have either just lost a big "bad beat" or won a big pot.

In the end, it is important to remember a pair is only a pair and a pair doesn't usually win in small blind NL ring games (blinds under $4.00).

**If that pair don't improve and the opponent's are bettin big, its time to be movin on.**

One of the key things I have surmised from my poker education during the past two years --- most of my winnings come from very few hands. The real key is to limit the size of the "leakage" (lost hands) while waiting for those big hands.

While AA, KK and QQ often turn into those big hands, they also have potential to be big losers. Just think about what hand you want your opponent to have when your pocket 7s turns into trips on the flop!! That is why people lose so much cash with high pocket pairs.

Based upon the betting patterns, you really have to assess what hands your opponent could have if he is raising all in on the flop, fourth st. or the river.

Here are a couple of examples of hands in which I have thrown away a big pocket pair, take a look and see if you would have done the same.

First hand:
A player raises to 3x BB in early position and I call from middle position with my QQ (I will both raise and call with this hand to mix things up). The player on the button reraises all in with a stack that is about 3x the pot. The original raiser quickly calls and I fold. If the original raiser folds his hand, I might have called the buttons raise, since he could easily be making a move. However, when the original raiser calls this size bet I am fairly certain I am beat. Why? Two reason -- first, to call takes a bigger hand than to raise (especially if you can't reraise to get the opponent to fold) -- in this case I think the original raiser needs at least AK, but more likely AA, KK to call. What's more because he did not reraise all in, I am fairly certain he was trying to goad me into doing so. Sure enough the original raiser has AA and I save myself a big loss. Incidently, the button was making a move with a questionable hand AJ and lost. Many people will gamble it up and call with QQs preflop. I rarely do so, unless it is a single opponent and they are fairly short-stacked. I would simply prefer to wait for a hand with the odds stacked in my favor.

Second hand:
Two players limp into the pot ahead of me and I raise to 4x BB with AA two off the button. The BB calls and both of the original limpers call and everyone else folds. I have played with these players long enough to know that they are decent players. The flop comes 872 with two cards of one suit. In general, I like this flop and hope that my opponents had AK, AQ or a pair like JJ, TT or QQ. The players check to me and I make a 3/4 the pot sized bet. Two players fold and the other player calls. Fourth street comes with a Q and the first player checks. I am now fairly worried, because to call my flop bet, my opponent has a hand. Given the size of my preflop raise and flop bet, I am guessing that he has KK, QQ, JJ, (maybe TT or 99), 88, 77 and maybe 22. Very few decent players would call the flop bet with a draw or overcards. So I am very worried about those trip possibilities and decide to bet 1/2 the pot. My opponent raises me all in (about 4x the pot) and after a short analysis, I fold. Again against a decent player in this position, I am fairly confident that I am beat. Of the 8 likely hands my oppenent could have, 3/8s are losers and the only hand I can beat that would suggest this betting pattern post flop is KK. Given the high likelihood of being beat, I like to fold and save the chips for a better post flop opportunity.

Remember the goal is to win the war, not every battle. The person with the most cash at the end of the day, not the person that wins the most hands!!!

Playing Where You're Comfortable

It is tempting to chase bonus programs and rakeback programs all over the net looking for ways to supplement winnings. I know it is tempting because I have chased them; deposit bonuses, rakeback programs and even propping programs. However, if you are playing ring games it is critical to understand the type of play the site you are playing.

From my experience, understanding the type of play and flow of play take 100s of hours to analyze before you gain a comfort level. That is the big problem with chasing bonuses. When I was playing very small stakes, it made sense because the bonuses were big relative to my bankroll and the players were generally very weak at low levels.

However, at higher levels the players are generally good and this means you better know how they play before you risk your stack.

Type and flow of play includes several variables that all differ greatly from one site to the next. Some of these variables are described below:

Loose/Tight Play: I generally play 6 max NL, but I still see a wide range between sites in the % of flops an average player is seeing at each site. This has large ramifications for the strength of hands that are typically going to win. If 3-4 of 6 players are seeing the flop often, then you better have a good hands (generally trips or a str8) before you want to risk all your chips on a hand. Conversely, if flops are usually heads up with 2 players, then you can be more aggressive in bluffing and/or playing top or even 2nd pair.

Preflop Aggression: How much limping is happening at the site. If every hand is raised and narrowing the field, play tighter and you can play top pair and two pair more aggressively. However, if there is a lot of limping then it is likely a "trappy" site where people are playing lots of connectors, one gappers and flush cards. Use caution playing without the nuts at these sites. Generally it is best to wait for big nut hands to win your chips at such a site.

Payoff Ratio: If you are playing at a site and you notice that you are not ever getting paid off on your really good hands, such as trips. BEWARE. The site is likely full of very good players and you should probably move along. This is more likely at some of the newer smaller sites as many of the players they have are either prop players or players that have exhausted bonuses at all the other sites (aka, very good players).

Long story short -- I have decided I am most comfortable at one site for ring games and I like to spend most of my time there and I am more selective about the bonus programs that I will chase.

Table Manners

Since the October and the US ban on gambling related transactions both cash games and tournaments are tougher because:

-- It is harder to get money onto the sites
-- Less new players are coming into the games
-- The remaining players must be maintaining their bankrolls (for the most part)
-- Therefore better players overall

Given that, you would think most players would be very nice weak players at a table. Right? Wrong. At 2 of the last 3 cash game tables I played at, a decent player took big pots from a weak player and proceeded to lambast them in the chat box. Why? To chase away a weaker player that is willing to rebuy? Ouch that is not smart.

Not only is it an unprofitable move, but it is rude and uncomfortable for everyone at the table. Let's not forget that we are playing against other human beings, not machines, and let's practice a little common courtesy.

Tourneys and Cash Games

So I just cannot stay away from the excitement of tournaments. I usually play 4-6 of them early in the evening and then switch to cash games for new tables when I get down to 2 tables remaining.

This way I can still come out positive for the night even if I do not make a final table in tournaments.

There are somethings to be careful with in mixing tourneys and cash games:

1. Avoid this strategy if you are susceptible to TILT -- You are going to get bad beats in tournament play -- it is inevitable. If I play six tournaments in a night, I will likely get bad beat out of 4 of them. That is just the nature of tournaments and all the all in hands required. Tilt will lead to big money losses in cash games, so bad beats set you off then avoid mixing cash and tourney games.

2. Pay attention -- In the early and early middle stages of a tourney you can get away with not paying attention. That is a good time to play 4-6 tables at the same time. However, when you get down to the late middle and late stages of a tourney, you need to pay attention to win. You need to know your opponents tendencies. For instance, who is raising a lot preflop but laying down to reraises. That is a great target for restealing chips. Don't open so many tables that you cannot pay close attention in your late tourney tables.

3. Use two different strategies -- Remember that you are playing both cash and tourneys and they both require different strategies. You can play more fast and loose in a tourney, you need to bluff more in tourneys and you resteal more in tourneys. Don't try these strategies too often at a cash game or you will just lose chips.

Good luck at the tables this week.

Beware: Tourney Play can Destroy your Cash Game Play

I used to be a good cash game player. That is how I originally built my bankroll. However, tourney play has just destroyed my ability to play cash games. I wonder how many other players are in the same boat?

I guess it comes down to patience. When I was strictly a cash game player, I would sit for hours at a time patiently waiting for big hidden hands like trips and str8s. However, as a tourney player you do not have that luxury. You need to play more hands and you need to mix it up more after the flop.

While my post flop play is much better than it used to be, I also chase far too much in ring games. In tourney play, it is often appropriate to call off chips to get to showdown where there is a chance you have the best hand. The scarcity of chips just dictates that you have to try to win more chips.

However, in ring games players really do not keep firing without very good hands. It is difficult to switch back to that mentality when you are getting rewarded in tourneys for opposite behavior.

Most good tourney players do not mix tourneys and cash and I can see why. However, now here I am stuck. I am not yet a good consistent tourney player and now I am no longer a good cash game player. Oops!