PokerWorks

Have you ever found yourself in a rut or making the same mistakes over and over again and not knowing what you can do to correct it?  It is not uncommon for an experienced poker player to get into predictable patterns and play. They find their bankroll slowly dwindling without understanding why it is happening. Sometimes the best things we, as poker players, can do is to go back to the basics, to change gears so to speak, and force ourselves to either re-learn old ideas or learn new ones.

This article is going to help you accomplish that through a six day “detox.” I am going to give you a concept for six different days and ask that you follow it rigidly for one day. By forcing yourself to apply these concepts, you will be able to understand the reasoning behind it. In addition, it will allow you to gain insight into how others play when you see them using a particular concept discussed here. At the end of the six days, you will have learned some things to shake your game up and perhaps help you take a step to the next level.

All of these concepts apply to multi-table tournaments such as ones played at Pokerstars and Full Tilt but can also be applied to cash games and sit and go's in most instances.

Day One – Folding dominated hands

Instructions: Fold the following hands anytime the pot is raised in front of you or you are in the first three spots after the blinds. AJ, AT, Ax, KQ, KJ, KT, Kx, QJ, QT, Qx, JT, Jx, and any other hand that is not a pair or AK/AQ.

One of the biggest dilemmas poker players face is not knowing where they stand in a pot or even worse over-committing to a hand when they are way behind. Most often this occurs when a player plays a dominated hand... that is, a hand that when it flops good is often beat by another hand because of the strength of their kicker. Typically, this happens when a player calls a raise with a hand like AT or KJ and flops top pair. For all but the most advanced players (and even they can struggle with this), this  leads to some difficult decisions and can even lead to going broke. If the pre-flop raiser bets, you can not be certain that your hand is best because of your kicker. If you raise the pre-flop raiser's bet and they re-raise you, then you have committed a significant portion of your stack with a marginal holding.

This exercise is meant to show you the value in folding dominated hands. Ask yourself questions about these types of hands. How much would you have won or lost if you had played the hand? Were there situations where playing a dominated hand was the right thing to do? If so, when and why? Study these types of hands and the different situations that arise and you'll find yourself understanding their strengths and weaknesses and when the proper time to play and not play them is.

Day Two – Re-raising positional steals

Instructions: Anytime a player has raised from one before the cutoff, the cutoff, or button, re-raise 2x their total raise with any two cards. For example, if player X raises to 600 with the blinds at 100/200 from the cutoff and you are on the button with 72o, raise 1200 to 1800.

Everyone steals. It is one of the funnest parts of playing poker. It frustrates opponents and adds to your chip stack with little risk. Why does it work so well? Because most poker players, by nature, are survival oriented and don't want to risk chips without a hand. If they are facing a raise, they usually are going to fold, no matter how much they might think their opponent is bluffing.

This exercise is meant to take you out of your comfort zone by showing you the effect of the re-steal. You'll learn over the course of the day that more often than not when people raise, they don't want confrontation either. While applying this exercise, note when the re-steal works and does not work. Note the frequency with which the original raiser folded. What does this tell you? If they just call, do they defer the action to you post-flop? Why is this important? By adding this element to your game you will be able to pick up pots from over-aggressive opponents. Just one or two of these a tournament can make a significant impact on your success rate.

Day Three – Using position to steal pots post-flop

Instructions: Anytime you are on the cutoff or button, call and see the flop as long as there is not a raise of more than 4x the big blind or there is not a raise and a re-raise. On the flop, if your opponent checks, bet ½ the pot size regardless of your holding. If your opponent bets, call any bet other than all in as long as it is pot size or less. If they check the turn, bet ½ the pot regardless of your holding. If they bet, raise their bet 2x their bet size.

Other than the actual cards you are holding, position is the biggest advantage a poker player can have over another opponent. It allows us to react rather than act. We do not have to guess what they are going to do... we already know. How many times have you seen a hand where everyone checks to the button, they bet, and everyone folds? Do you really think the button has a hand every time this happens? Of course they don't. What they do have, however, is the knowledge that no one in the hand liked their hand that much or are slow-playing a hand or are drawing. If they raise, the button's decision is usually an easy one. If they call, then the button can again use their positional advantage on the turn to make a somewhat informed decision.

This exercise is meant to show just how powerful position is by forcing you to use it. If you study it carefully, you will understand how using position can be another one of those “cards mean nothing” weapons.     

Day Four – Taking the lead post-flop

Instructions: Any time you have the opportunity to take action first (meaning no one has bet) on the flop and less than 3 players saw the flop, bet ½ the pot size regardless of your holding.

Most of us have heard ad nauseum that the flop misses people 2/3rd's of the time and that the pot usually will go to the person who makes the first bet. You've probably seen more than one televised hand where someone won a pot betting with seven high on an ace-queen-nine flop. Why does this work so often? One, because it puts doubt into our opponent's mind. They do not know if we have an ace or not. They might even fold a hand like queen-jack because they believe that we have an ace. The bet represents a holding to our opponent... one that beats them... one that they fear. If they call, they know they face the possibility of another bet on the turn. And if they think about raising, they know they are going to have to fold if they are re-raised. This fear causes them to fold.

This exercise is meant to show the power of taking the lead on the flop. It won't always work, so you need to determine when it doesn't work, why it doesn't. When it does work, note against what types of players it worked, and what type of flops were the best to take the lead with.

Day Five – Playing big draws aggressively

Instructions: Any time you flop a draw where you have 12 outs or more to improve to what you think is the best hand, bet ½ the pot if you are first bettor, move all in if there has been a bet in front of you. Examples of these types of draws are open-ended flush draws (i.e. 87 of diamonds on a 962 two diamond flop), and straight or flush draws with two over cards (i.e. KQ on a JT3 flop).

How many times have you done the following? See a flop with suited connectors and flop a monster draw like an open ender and a flush draw. You have 15 outs. One of your opponent's makes a pot sized bet and you call. You miss on the turn and your opponent makes another large bet and you call again. Why not, right, you have a monster! The river is a blank and your opponent bets and you fold, having lost 1/3rd of your stack chasing a draw that never hit. Or even worse, what about the time where you call that flop bet and you hit your draw on the turn and your opponent check folds? What a waste!

The problem is that too many people CALL or CHECK with these draws rather than betting or raising with them. Betting/raising accomplishes two important objectives. First, it gives you a second way of winning by inducing your opponent to fold. More importantly, however, it makes sure you get paid off if you do hit your draw. You are a mathematical favorite to win the hand more than you are going to lose it, so when you do hit it you want to make sure you receive value for it.

This assignment will force you to play your draws aggressively so that you can see how the two important objectives are achieved. Yes, you're going to go broke from time to time playing draws like this, but I think you'll see over time that you win much more playing draws aggressively like this than if you were to play them passively. Try it for yourself and see.

Day Six – Playing blind

Instructions: Play without looking at your cards. If you are playing online, cover your hole cards with something. If playing live, fake look at your cards each time.

Too many poker players rely on their cards in order to guide the decisions they make in poker. What would you do if you didn't know what your cards were though? The game suddenly just got much harder, didn't it? Or did it? Remember that no limit hold'em poker is a game of people, not cards. What matters most is how your opponent's play, what their tendencies are, position, and stack sizes.

This exercise will force you to rely solely on these factors. You won't be able to bet because you flopped a full house... you won't know. What you will be able to do is use your opponent's weaknesses to pick up pots. This assignment will force you to study your opponents like you never have before... and in turn you'll find yourself learning new ways to win pots.

How can you win pots without knowing what your cards are? Many of the concepts you used in the first five days, you will be able to use here. A few other possibilities to consider include stealing in position, using fold equity to get medium stacks and short stacks to fold, and using pot odds to make calls with any two cards when you are getting the right price to do so.

And on the 7th day...

Doing things you are not accustomed to can make life, and poker, difficult. We are, by nature, creatures of habit. It is easy for us to fall into patterns of doing the same thing over and over again. Unfortunately, patterns in poker can lead to financial ruin. Hopefully, what you have taken from these six days will allow you to be unpredictable and help you achieve the poker success you've been searching for. I challenge you to strive to be different. Work hard, study the game, and your cards won't matter anymore. Six days isn't nearly enough to master it all... but it's a start.

*Test your ablity to detox with freerolls provided by PokerWorks*