This is to do with a player lacking the confidence to have achieved results over a long period of time. Let us look at the example of a player who had been re-raised after trying to position raise. Imagine if you had a history of trying this and you had been successful twenty times out of twenty when you play poker online . This player would have the confidence to keep on trying to steal the blinds even if they had been re-raised on occasions twenty one through twenty three.

But if a player who had no previous experience of such a run had three consecutive re-raises against him then this could drive them into more passive play. I always think that patterns in poker are often similar to weather patterns that occur over long periods of time. Any pattern that takes a long time to reveal itself is difficult to pin point and this is why many players are forced into changing the way that they play. This is very similar to blackjack with areas like basic strategy.

Unless you see simulations over many hundreds of thousands of hands and even millions of hands then you simply are not going to see the truth. This is why computers are so important in the analysis of gambling and blackjack and poker fit that category. With poker then you have an extra layer of complexity in so much that it is not always easy to see something working in a clear cut way. Sometimes a particular tactic may work in one situation against one opponent but not work in another against someone else.

While it is clearly advantageous to be able to play a type of “basic strategy” in online poker, it is far more difficult to do as post flop play adds an awful lot of complexity. It is in the area of post flop play that players tend to get into the most trouble in no-limit hold’em and this especially applies to players who are playing deep stacked. This is why players tend to check and fold more often in deep stacked play and this is especially the case in full-ring games where the average hand is stronger simply because it is coming out of a field with more opponents. But to finish this article off then I feel that looking at the long term is imperative with regards your poker career and is a crucial quantum leap in your understanding.

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This is a great reason to open raise with them rather than limp in from a steal seat. Another reason is that raising yourself stops others from raising. Imagine if you have 4c-4h in the cut-off and open raise to $1.75 in NL50. The button who would have open raised himself with Ac-10d only calls and everyone else folds. The flop comes Kd-9s-6h and you make a two thirds of the pot continuation bet and they fold fearing that you have the king.

Now look at this same scenario if you limp and they raise. Now you are either going to fold and lose the $0.50 or you are going to call with poor implied odds as you only have one opponent who will unlikely pay you off even if you flop your set and that is not good poker strategy . But with three over cards on the flop even if you call and you being out of position then you are going to have problems on the flop.

Another reason for raising applies if you have an edge over your opponents and this is that it builds the pot and makes it easier to stack someone. You have already begun the process of escalating the pot and if you raise with your pocket fours in the previous example and get called by A-10 and the flop comes A-10-4 then you are likely going to win your opponents entire stack unless they hit a four out hand against you.

Also in tight games then simply raising by itself will win you many blinds when it simply gets folded around. But you must never raise in no-limit hold’em cash games when deep stacked merely to win the blinds. Winning those chips may be necessary in tournament play but not in cash game play. However they still do have their strategic use in cash game play as well. If you can win the blinds once per orbit then this pays for you to play the game as your playing costs are offset.

This is why you do not need to be too aggressive in deep stacked cash games as you are merely trying to win small pots while you wait for that big pay off when you get aces versus kings or some other type of hand that your opponent cannot get away from. You have already paid for your blind costs by skilfully stealing a few pots in selected positions when you have decent but vulnerable poker hands.

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A combination of no value and sitting out for too long waiting for weaker players to come along can leave a high-stakes player making no more money than a middle stakes player who looks to play poker online. My dear father used to say some years ago that bookmaking was a “licence to print money”. There is some truth to that statement but it does rely on one undeniable truth and this is that the bookmaker is still dependent on enough uneducated business from his customers to provide him with a decent living.

This applies to poker and if you do not have inferior players to play against then you are not going to make money irrespective of how good you are. So I decided some time ago to play lower levels but to multi-table those levels. This proved to be a highly productive step for me to take and I have never looked back. Let us look at a player who cannot make money in the actual games themselves when they multi-table. So their EV long term is neither positive nor negative and they are merely recycling money.

If this player is not taking advantage of this situation then they are making a very costly mistake. It is a seriously good result in online poker these days to be able to break even on the tables. This is because of rakeback deals, sign up bonuses and other types of bonuses that are frequently on offer. So if a player who was able to play ten tables at his favourite level could manage to break even spread over all of the tables then the rakeback and sign up bonuses would enable them to do very well.

It is for this reason why many players chase bonuses because you often see sign up bonuses of $1000 or more now and rakeback of 30% or more. These are sizeable sums of money that can be made and all you need to be in order to get them is to be a break even player. This sounds easier than what it is because the vast majority of players are losing players either because they blow their money in games like no-limit hold’em or because they cannot beat the rake even with rakeback. So in poker then you either plan to be good or you plan to be a winning player. You need to look at the long term strategic objectives in order to be a big winner in the modern online poker game.

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Let us say that you played and multi-tabled NL Texas Hold’em $100 and so $3k a month represented 30 buy-ins or a buy-in of profit per day. Theoretically then you are starting each day $100 ahead and this was how I used to view it. Then depending on how the rake was contributed then I would sit back even more. Certain card rooms use the “dealt” method of collecting rake when you play poker and this can allow the player to sit back and accumulate rake simply by folding.

So it is clear then that certain dynamics in online poker change the way that you should approach the game. When you are getting rakeback then you are in effect receiving payments above and beyond the actual playing of the game. If you are paying $10,000 a month in rake and you have a 30% rakeback deal then you are going to be getting $3k a month paid into your account.

These are considerable sums of money and should not be underestimated. I once knew a poker player who over pressed so much that they broke even lifetime. This was criminal considering how technically good this player was but his attitude to risk was such that he never played above certain levels. So in order to try and make some meaningful money that would make the process of playing poker worth his time, he would frequently over press in the actual games to try and force the process of making money.

But once he knew what he could get with rakeback and other bonuses then it settled him down psychologically and stopped him from getting too impatient. This player is now making $5-$6k/month from online poker and has left his old job. This is the power of rakeback and bonuses and it is also a factor in how you play your individual hands as well. You can afford to pass up on your more marginal hands in favour of a lower variance style of play.

This would enable you to play a more solid defensive style that maybe lowered your ptbb/100 figure but stopped you from having huge swings. This is a good thing to do for risk adverse players or players who are prone to tilt. This can be a very serious problem for some people and especially those who have certain personality types. So do be advised that getting rakeback alters the playing dynamic immensely.

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I admire any player that can sit down at the online poker tables and emerge sane ten or more hours later. It is a skill that I do not possess. I cannot blame the wonderful bwin poker tables, which use great software or even the risk of losing money because you can play poker for free at bwin, it is simply the way I am made. I move from one thing to the next and am constantly searching for ways to feel fulfilled. When poker fails to do that I move onto something else. Because of this funny quirk in my character I must find ways to stay on the game in Poker.

One way was to start a poker website and I say you take any advantage you can get in this tough poker climate. That advantage could even be grinding freeroll tournaments but whatever works for you I say do it. For me, writing is my saviour but writing is no fun at all unless someone reads it. So thank you, by the way, for reading this and thus making me feel a lot better!

When you play poker you must stay focused and you must really focus on thoroughly going through each decision properly in every hand. When you start clicking before thinking that really is the time to switch off. For volume players it can easily become a game of instinct so you need a keen eye on how you are feeling at all points of the game. There is a difference between feeling tired after a long session and feeling bored with poker and you must be able to spot the difference and act accordingly. A small comfort break, a complete break or a can of Red Bull. Which one works? That depends on the situation and you remembering some wise words; know thyself.

My website also helps me to learn strategy thanks to various submissions by dedicated writers and websites that I post articles for. Research is very important and if anything I have the balance tipped more in favour of study than playing. Many players suffer the opposite but having a poker blog is excellent if you tend to play and not leave enough time for assessing your game thanks to hand history review sessions and other reviews coming a distant second to getting your targets met in terms of volume for the month.

Playing winning poker in 2010 is about volume and efficiency. I advocate a look at your game and a careful look at what makes you tick as a person. I have found a little trick in running my site that helps me get the hands in that I want to each month. You might have another trick like having friends review your hands which makes you try hard so you make less errors. Like I say, whatever works and makes you a stronger force at the poker tables; do it.

By Malcolm Clarke

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But I have always concentrated on full-ring play where with nine and ten players; there is nearly always value on your table somewhere. This is not always guaranteed in six handed play where at best there are only five other opponents and often there will be less when players drop out or sit out.

I like the “automated” way for many reasons but the main reason for me is that it takes emotion out of your game. It is for this reason that I like to multi-task when I play at the lower levels because even though my concentration levels are low, my earn rate is being generated by my strong technique and weak players being present somewhere on a full-ring game.

In that scenario then my only enemy is myself and what I tend to find happens is that I go looking for action through boredom and boredom is a very negative emotion in poker. But this is a serious issue because if you can make for example 4bb/100 hands playing this way then your style is one that can be expanded by playing more tables without it hurting your bb/100.

Compare this to a very strong player who single tables and reaches a very high 20bb/100 because he is homing in on his opponent’s weaknesses and players who are multi-tabling. On a technical level this could be the best player at the site but only playing one table means that he is only getting 60-70 hands per hour. If this player were to play a second table then he may make more money but his bb/100 would almost certainly fall.

However it is the bb/hour that we are concerned with here as a solid multi-tabling player who was basically playing ABC style who was making say 5bb/100 will find that it is far easier to replicate that 5bb/100 when they add tables. So even though he is not reading the game anywhere near as well as the stronger player, he is now in this example playing eight tables. So instead of playing 60-70 hands an hour, he is playing around 500 hands an hour which equates to 25bb/hour which is now more money than the very strong single tabling player.

So it is clear then that automating your poker play is a serious alternative in poker and definitely one that merits further examination.

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Firstly you must be very adept at playing post flop because an aggressive style by sheer definition will see more flops because your bets and raises will be called. This means that your post flop play has to be really good because the pots are now being escalated (by you) and so any mistakes that you make post flop will be magnified and this is one of the first things that should know as you learn poker.

So your post flop play has to be very good and the only exception to that is if your opponents are very bad. This means that they either fold too much pre-flop or they fold to continuation bets and post flop pressure too frequently. If the latter is the case then a bad loose aggressive player could make money in these exceptional circumstances although these games are more popular at the lower levels.

The default play of course as always is to play tightly. This aspect of poker has led to what has become known as the “tight aggressive style” which has been championed as the optimal style to make money playing poker. Of course the optimal style is the one that makes the most money and creates the highest EV given the individual circumstances but there is a whole new world of dynamism out there that needs to be factored in.

For instance in the current online poker climate then most players who play the game for profit multi-table. The very highest online cash games are accepted but even here, many of the high-stakes players play more than one table. But the tight way is usually the way and you will be folding many more hands than you are playing unless you are playing heads up or really short handed. The exception which has already been mentioned is if you totally dominate the table.

This can happen if a very good player is playing on a weak table or as often happens online at the lower levels, a table can be full of weak tight multi-tabling rocks. The complex factor here of course is that “tightness” changes from game to game and in one game, playing tight may involve only playing 10% of your starting hands and you would be correct to do so. But in a six handed game then it may be correct to play double that number of hands and you would still be playing tightly. So it is clear then that for the majority of poker players then playing tight poker is the correct way to go for most people in most games.

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A dejected David was taken to a local Poker club by a friend. His friend happened to work at the club. Soon, David was winning the small games and heading for the top slot in the European Poker circuit. Despite the small victories and cash earnings, David did not intend to take up Poker professionally till his friend insisted that he make the best of his talent. Today, David is always seen at the Aviation Club when he is in Paris. The club is known for attracting some of the best Poker players in the world.

David is known for being completely unflappable at the Poker table playing every hand with tremendous intensity. He seems to have a complete lack of nerves. Apart from live tournaments, David has also been a part of several events as part of television series across Europe. David has been known to beat some of the best professionals simply by staying cool at critical moments when his opponents are completely losing their composure.

David is an extremely polite person in his regular life but brings great aggression to the game – in terms of strategy alone and not as behavior. He is one of the few Poker players worldwide who insist that there should be etiquette penalties during a Poker game so that more players understand the seriousness of Poker play.

Ironically, David says he has never read a poker book or magazine and learned everything in practical play. His biggest winnings have been at the 2005 World Poker Tour Battle of Champions II where he took the title. He managed to defeat Phil Laak, Mel Judah, Antonio Esfandiari and Hoyt Corkins at the final table in that tournament. David plays online Poker a lot. He his quick to give out hints and suggestions while playing online and is always open to questions from amateurs about the strategy and skill required to play Poker.

David has also been one of France’s top-10 billiards players for several years. He has however weaned himself off billiards to remain more of a professional Poker player lately. David is currently engaged to fellow professional Poker player and blackjack expert Erica Schoenberg and has a daughter.

Benyamine has final-tabled thrice at World Poker Tour open events including a first place at the Grand Prix de Paris in 2003, sixth place at the L.A. Poker Classic in 2004 and second place at the Bellagio Cup IV in 2008. In the World Series of Poker events he has managed four final tables with a bracelet. These standings include the bracelet at the 2008 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split event. As a specialist Benyamine has always preferred Pot-Limit Omaha form of Poker accounting for more than $3 million in earnings.

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But remember that implied odds apply to limit Texas Holdem poker as well so even here, one has to be a bit careful when identifying a potential “fish”. For the novice, “implied odds” are the estimated number of bets/pot size that will be in the pot at the end of the hand.

Failure to extract the maximum amount of money from the hands that you win is a sure sign of weak play. We all sometimes miss bets and raises but the “fish” are guilty of glaring errors. You no doubt have heard of the term “value betting”. This basically means betting on the end with mediocre hands that you are still quite sure is the best hand and you are also sure that your opponent has a hand that is not only inferior to yours, but that they will also call with it. Weak players are terribly guilty of this and I must see this type of error literally dozens upon dozens of times a day.

There is a lot more that can be discussed here but this is a very involved topic and not something that could be covered in one single series. The definition of a “fish” is very vague as it implies a poker player that is weak. However this is a very grey area as any player who was experienced and technically proficient may be a “fish” in a game full of world class players. But yet a big winner in a small poker game could well be classed as the “shark” in the game.

So in a strange way, a shark can be a fish and a fish can be a shark. What it all depends on of course is where you stand in the particular food chain and how that correlates to the games that you are playing in. If in a certain line up of ten players, you were technically the tenth best player then you would be the fish. If in a different line up of players, you were the best player then you would be the shark.

Poker is a strange game in so many ways. Skill and good play isn’t always rewarded and this tends to tilt many players and this is quite possibly the toughest part of poker. But to know where you fit in with regards the poker food chain is not only a very important piece of information, it may also keep you safe form loss. It isn’t just about technical knowledge either. Knowing poker theory is good but it only counts for a small percentage of the overall game of a skilled player. I don’t believe that poker skill can be found through reading or watching coaching videos, it can only be arrived at by a process of doing it repeatedly.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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One must remember with these things that nothing is ever set in stone and most players can and will adapt and change. Once you sit down in any poker game, the playing patterns of your opponents will reveal many things to you. For instance, any player who is calling a high percentage of the time especially in a game like limit Texas Hold’em poker unlike Omaha is a definite fish. There is simply no way that any player can be a long term winner in any poker variation who has a high calling percentage unless it is someone like a very skilled no-limit player who is constantly limping in because they feel that they can dominate the opposition. Many of the hands that players call with are long term money losers. This is very difficult to spot from the play of a very small number of hands, especially when a player is getting lucky with junk.

It takes poker simulation software that can run the same hand in the same situation literally hundreds of thousands of times to see the patterns emerge. Another classic “tell” of a weak player is the failure to take aggressive action of any kind unless the “fish” has a very strong hand or the nuts. Many players who are either inexperienced or weak shy away from raising because it makes them feel uncomfortable. This lack of aggression costs them dear because not only are they losing bets in the pots that they win, they are also losing entire pots by allowing hands that would have folded to stay in and draw out on them.

A player who does not raise at the appropriate times in poker is akin to the blackjack player who fails to take advantage of positive situations by not doubling and splitting. When you have the best of it, you want more money on the table, it is as simple as that. Failure to do this is losing poker and once you have spotted players doing this, make sure you remember them for these people are a major part of your earn rate.

Another example of “fishy” play although a bit more subtle is when players draw to hands without receiving the necessary pot odds. This is especially the case in structured betting games like limit hold’em. Be careful though not to apply this concept to big bet poker because implied odds are far more important in those particular disciplines. In a game like limit hold’em for instance, if you observe a player who is calling bets and raises with totally inadequate hands, then this is a definite fish.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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