Winning Poker Strategy Joe Hachem

 You’re always comparing the odds presented by the pot against the odds of making your hand. Simply put: the pot should always offer you better odds than the odds of making you're drawing hand.  Top players always calculate the pot odds when deciding to play or fold, even when they seem like they’re fluid and relaxed.

 Implied pot odds measure the probability of making a hand, where future betting is likely to occur and if your hand is currently a certain loser but with the possibility of becoming a winner. Implied pot odds look into the future and the likelihood of a certain draw to improve your hand, for example, drawing to a straight or flush.  The important thing here is to know your opponent.

 Knowing the “outs” is crucial to successful poker. Outs are the cards that, if they’re dealt, will improve your hand. Each out you have improves your chances of improving your hand and coming out on top.  On the flop multiply your outs by 4  On the turn multiply your outs by 2

 The rule says if the raise is less than 5% of your stack, then it’s an easy call. If it’s more than 10%, then it’s an easy fold. If it is between 5 and 10%, then it’s a judgment call. Be more apt to call if:  You have position on the raiser. Position is very important with suited connectors but not as important with pocket pairs.  You have a medium pocket pair (7’s or 8’s) rather than a smaller one  You have a no-gap suited connector such as 76s rather than a 1- or 2-gapper such as T8s or 96s  Your opponent is the type of player that will rarely fold top pair or an overpair after the flop

 Hate calling! Try and only enter a pot as the aggressor and take control. You never know where you are when just calling.  How much should I raise? Today it is very common to raise between 2 and 2.5 times the big blind from any position.  Position Position Position!

 A good bluff employs some very simple rules. The most important is that it has to be believable. Here are some tips that will help you succeed in your bluffs  Don’t bluff a beginner. If they have a hand, no matter how poor, they will call you almost every time  Always take the time to go over the hand and replay previous bets from this hand and others to make sure it makes sense. If it doesn’t make sense then others will see through your bluff.

 Don’t try to bluff into a pot when there are three or more players behind you, as there is far too much chance that someone behind you will have a hand.  Semi bluff rather than total bluff. I always try to bluff when I have outs (many of them), so if I get called I still have a chance of winning the hand. Also, if I do make my hand it’s less likely my opponent will put me on that hand so the chances of taking down a big pot increase dramatically.

 Semi bluffing  Catching someone bluffing  Re bluffing Howard Lederer  In Summary: Poker makes sense and has some logic behind it almost 98% of the time. Don’t get too complicated with you’re bluffing, especially when you’re a beginner and remember that the bluff you’re selling has to be convincing. The hardest part about the bluff is knowing when to dial up the aggression and when to slam your foot on the brakes. Time your bluff to perfection. And to achieve a more effective control of the table, add bluffing on top of your positional game. This is absolutely crucial to success at the top levels of poker.

 Please welcome my brother Tony to speak to us about success on the Australasian circuit and what you need to do to get there.

 Blinds are small, so keep the pots small  Play tight, in position and with premium hands  Don’t be afraid to lay down a big hand. Our gut instinct is basically our subconscious mind using all the information that our conscious mind has collected to give us direction in decision making. It actually works 99% of the time.

 A really good lay down because it just didn’t feel right in the gut!

 Your goal is to accumulate chips, but you cannot win the tournament on day1.  How many people do you need to knock out to win a tournament?  Take your time with decisions and worry about your table only.  Always know your own chip stack exactly.  Always know the chip leader at the table and his/her stack exactly.  Always check what the blinds’ chip stacks are while the dealer is shuffling.  Always know how much time is left at the level.  Always know if your table is likely to break soon.

 This is where you start building your stack so you are in a position to make a deep run.  You are prepared to take more risks now as the rewards are greater.  Antes have been introduced which means there is more value in stealing the blinds for eg: In the early stages with blinds at 100/200, you will need to raise to about 500 to win 300. How ever during the middle stages the blinds might be 150/300 with 250 in antes ( 25x 10 players) and you only need to raise to 750 to win 700. Less risk, greater reward.  There is more opportunity to make moves and re-steal from your opponents because now you have played with these guys for a while and should be able to put them on a HAND RANGE by this time.

 You and YOUR OPPONENTS will miss the flop about 70% of the time!!!!!!!  A c-bet occurs when a player has raised before the flop and is the first to bet after the flop, being either first to act or having it checked to him. When the pre-flop raiser continues with a bet after the flop we call that a c-bet. Since your opponent will miss the flop about 2/3 of the time, c-bets often take down the pot.  Bet size: It’s best to standardize the size of both your c-bets and your post-flop value bets. Betting about 2/3 the size of the pot is recommended with both. This way opponents won’t be able to distinguish your strong hands from your weak ones.

 C-bets should be used in the following circumstances:  1)When you’re against no more than two opponents.  2)When there is only one high card on the board (high card meaning Jack, Queen, King, Ace). The exception to this rule is when the high card is paired, so Q♥ Q♠ 2♣ for example only counts as one high card.  3)When you have a big draw—when you have a hand such as A♠ K♠ on a flop of 8♠ 6♦ 2♠, K♠ Q♠ on a flop like J♠ T♠ 4♥.  4)When the flop is unlikely to have given your opponent a made hand or a draw. We refer to flops such as these as poorly textured flops, or dry flops. If you have A♠ K♠ a flop of J♠ 2♣ 2♦ isn’t too bad since it probably didn’t help your opponent and it should be c-bet. This is a good flop unless you meet resistance.

 1)When you are against three, or more, opponents your chances of being successful are greatly diminished (this is just mathematical, although experience will tell you the same thing).  2)When there are two or even three over-cards to your holding on the flop. So if you hold Q♣ J♣ and it comes A♣ K♥ 4♦ you will very rarely c-bet. If you hold 8♥ 8♠ and it comes A♣ J♥ J♠ you will also very rarely c-bet. Following these rules will avert disaster in most cases.  3)When you don’t like the texture of the flop. Connected flops are dangerous and are much more likely to hit your opponents than dry flops. For example, let’s say you hold A♠ K♠ and are up against an aggressive opponent who has called you from the big blind, and checked to you on a flop of 9♣ 8♣ 7♥. If you c-bet here, there’s a good chance you’ll be raised and have to fold. Check and take the free card. More radical is the following example; rarely is it going to be okay to c-bet when you hold A♠ K♠ and it comes J♥ T♥ 9♥.

 A number of aggressive players will c-bet almost all the time. It’s imperative to defend against this tactic or you’ll be robbed blind. Here’s how.  1)The fastest way to slow down a c-bettor that has position on you (acts behind you) is to check-raise him. If an opponent is a prolific c-bettor, you can sometimes check-raise him when you have any part of the flop, such as any pair or any draw. So if you’re in the big blind and hold J♠ 9♠ and have called his pre-flop raise, check-raise on a flop of 9♥ 6♠ 3♣, or Q♥ 9♦ 2♠, or even T♦ 7♣ 4♥. This play is likely to be successful because aggressive players will bet the flop with a very wide range of hands (if they don’t, look out! Most likely they have flopped a set, or something bigger!). Check-raising is a very strong move and most opponents will back down unless they have a big hand.  2)Another defense against perpetual c-bettors is to bet the flop yourself before they have a chance to c-bet. Bet about 2/3 pot. This will often confuse the c-bettor and induce a fold. This method of defense risks fewer chips than check-raising. Leading into flops that are unlikely to have hit the pre-flop raiser, such as T♣ 5♦ 5♠, or 6♦ 5♥ 3♣ is likely to be effective. It’s also important to lead in this same manner with flopped sets and 2- pair. This way you’ll remain unpredictable.

 Here comes the World Champ, easy money !

The bubble is the point in the tournament when you are about to reach the money. Anywhere within 5 places of the money is considered bubble. This is often a very misplayed part of the tournament so here some points to remember: BUT, before considering these points you need to work out why are you here playing this tournament. Are you just happy to cash or are you playing to win or are you hoping to bump up the money scale? Your strategy and level of aggression changes for each scenario.

 When approaching the bubble keep the pot small when you’re a big stack going against another big stack  Know your opponents and know your pot odds. Kill Everyone, pages , contains some excellent charts that are essential in understanding proper short-stack play.  If all of your opponents are in the Move-in Stage, play move-in poker yourself, even if you have a big stack. Be the “big stack bully” near the bubble, especially against medium stacks.  Steal whenever you can if your table seems to be living in fear of the bubble.

 When considering a raise, be sure to weigh the relative factors of the stack sizes, your position, the tightness/looseness of your opponents, and your opponents’ perception of you. Use these factors to adjust how willing you are to push  Fight the big stack bully when you get an opportunity. The wider his range for his initial raise, the more likely it will be that he folds to your re-steal. Re-stealing is the primary defence for fighting a bubble bully

 If you have 15 big blinds or less you are short stacked The best way to play a stack of BB is to look for an opportunity where you can move all in against someone who has been opening aggressively  If you have between 25 and 45 BB then you are a medium stack and in my opinion this is the hardest stack to play. Try and play your hands against other medium stacks who will be in a similar situation to you.  Big stack is when you have more than 50 bb. Use your stack to bully but don’t try and be the captain and bust all the short stacks. Attack the medium stacks rather than the short stacks. Explain.

 Day by Day-Money st  Most tournaments all the money is in top 3 spots.

 We are well into the money now, usually around last 18 and you are setting yourself up for the final table.  This is the most exciting part of the tournament for me as I have to out manoeuvre other players to get there.  The strongest will survive: 5 Diamond final table bubble Scoop ME final table bubble

 Mr Jamie Glazier

 Bank roll management  Sometimes the bunny has the gun  Slow playing  Chip ownership  Dinner break  Obvious player tells/ changes in tendencies

 New Orleans Big Fish

 Hope you all can “Pass the Sugar” really soon!