Pro Poker Matrixtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2008-11-25://12009-02-22T12:45:52ZFree Step by Step Guide to Playing Pro PokerMovable Type Pro 4.21-enAvoiding Patternstag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3102009-02-03T20:24:26Z2009-02-22T12:45:52ZYou should always remember to avoid patterns, if for example, you always bet from the button after everyone checks, then they will stop respecting you and possibly start check raising you. Checking in the right circumstances from the button will...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comYou should always remember to avoid patterns, if for example, you always bet from the button after everyone checks, then they will stop respecting you and possibly start check raising you. Checking in the right circumstances from the button will keep your respect level up.
On a full handed table I will always check from the button if a pair or an ace is on the board because most people set traps in those situations specifically to take advantage of the button. Although you can get away with it more often against only 2 or 3 players. If you flopped three of a kind would you bet out or wait for someone to bet? It's a situation to check, so you can see if you can catch the button trying to steal the pot. Then you can raise him if there is bad texture or flat call if the texture is good and then hope he makes a pair or two pair that he will bet more money on later.
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Fishing for Readstag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3042009-01-29T21:23:44Z2009-01-29T21:48:17ZWhen I'm considering bluffing that I hit a pair when it's down to two or three players in the hand, I'll grab for some chips and fake subtly like I'm about to put them in the pot and watch the...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comWhen I'm considering bluffing that I hit a pair when it's down to two or three players in the hand, I'll grab for some chips and fake subtly like I'm about to put them in the pot and watch the response of the person to bet after me out of the corner of my eye. A lot of times they will reach for their chips also to prepare their bet. If they do, I check instead because more often then not it means they just caught the card that I was going to try to bluff with. It's funny, because even if they know they gave you a read, they often do it several times since humans are creatures of habit.
Don't go over board, you want to be subtle enough to use this stunt several times without anyone noticing. Live poker is more about playing the player than it is the cards when you are short handed. Develop a bag of tricks into baiting people for a response before making moves. Fish for an answer to your questions without using words because you'll get them more often than you think from amateur players.
Then be a statue until time to make a bet. Keep your hands away from your chips. Hands on chips give obvious reads. However, the reverse can also be used to your advantage. If you have a small pair and another over card shows up and you don't want someone to bet at you, pretend to get a bet ready to call or raise them as if you just caught the over card. Hopefully they check and you take the pot with your small pair.
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Bets from Under the Guntag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.2992009-01-29T20:03:07Z2009-02-11T22:18:57ZBeware of under the gun limpers. Under the gun is the position to the big blinds' left, and therefore, the first to bet pre-flop. In order to call from this position, you must have a good enough hand to call...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Beware of under the gun limpers. Under the gun is the position to the big blinds' left, and therefore, the first to bet pre-flop. In order to call from this position, you must have a good enough hand to call a raise because there are so many people left on the table to bet after you. So anyone that calls from here has a very descent hand. You'll sometimes find me limping here with AQ and AK for instance.
Under the gun raisers usually have AQ, AK, 8's or better. I don't like raising from the gun with anything less than a pair because I'd rather just call with my AQ, AK, and then call any reasonably sized raises that come after me, that way they don't suspect a good hand as much and also because these hands play better in groups of people than pairs do. So why raise people out of a hand that performs well with multiple people? It's great when I flop a king, don't have to worry about over cards, and check. Then someone else with the king has confidence to go all in and I pop it. Leaving more people in the hand lets more kings survive to see the flop. I do it all the time for big pots. If I would have raised, they would be suspicious if I have a king with a higher kicker. Besides, you might have to call a raise anyways so you might as well have some limpers get their money taken before a raise happens. It's a little riskier letting more people see the flop because they might flop something huge also, but you are more likely to flop something huge with that hand. A nut straight or the two highest pairs for example.
The gun's bet has a tremendous affect on players, and commands more respect than any other position, especially on high stake tables with experienced players. A button limp will in most cases freeze raises from happening at all, and will actually win you the button a good percentage of times, simply because people recognize that you have a strong hand which is another reason I limp with my AQ, AK.
There are a couple of ways for other players to take advantage of the gun's limp affect. If I'm in late position with suited connectors or some other playable hand with good upside potential then I can simply call to achieve position in most cases. Also, if there is a gun limper and then someone raises anyways, it gives me crystal clear read of their hand. I will put them on Jacks or better if they do. Also be aware that it easy, at least for me anyways, to put a limper after the gun limps on suited connectors or low pairs.
Remember to raise from the gun with a high pair because you don't want a lot of players in the hand unless you're planning a risky slow play. Many people choose to limp with aces in this position however and I've seen it pay off big several times.
Note: Don't straddle from the gun. It's never a good idea to be more invested in such an early position. The lower the stakes, the less you have to respect the guns bet because people just don't understand it as much.
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Under the Gun Limperstag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.2982009-01-29T20:03:07Z2009-01-29T20:17:52ZBeware of under the gun limpers. Under the gun is the position to the big blinds' left, and therefore, the first to bet pre-flop. In order to call from this position, you must also have a good enough hand to...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Beware of under the gun limpers. Under the gun is the position to the big blinds' left, and therefore, the first to bet pre-flop. In order to call from this position, you must also have a good enough hand to call a raise because there are so many people left on the table to bet after you. So anyone that calls from here has a very descent hand.
Under the gun raisers have AQ or better. I don't like raising from the gun with anything less than a QQ because experienced players can put you on a hand knowing that you have AQ or better, which will really put them on the defensive. I'd rather just call with my AK and then call any reasonably sized raises that come after me, that way they don't suspect a good hand as much. However, with a high pair, you don't want a lot of players in the hand so you kind of have to raise to reduce the amount of hands at the flop unless you're playing a risky slow play.
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Close Bet Callingtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3022009-01-26T20:53:35Z2009-01-29T21:00:12ZIf your hand isn't as strong as you'd like it to be and someone makes a raise and you get some callers around the table which fatten the pot until it comes back to where you are the last to...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comIf your hand isn't as strong as you'd like it to be and someone makes a raise and you get some callers around the table which fatten the pot until it comes back to where you are the last to call. Then you can feel a lot better about calling in this situation because there is pot value, and because you can make a defensive bet here knowing that you can't be raised again until after you see the flop. Always make sure you know who can re-raise before calling with a mediocre hand.
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Avatar Selectiontag:www.propokermatrix.com,2008://1.1722009-01-24T07:57:00Z2009-02-06T02:34:45ZIt's funny seeing the effect that an avatar can have on someone. For instance, cute girl avatars that have big tits might bring sympathy, or people might think they don't know much about poker and underestimate them, even though it's...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comIt's funny seeing the effect that an avatar can have on someone. For instance, cute girl avatars that have big tits might bring sympathy, or people might think they don't know much about poker and underestimate them, even though it's just an avatar. It's very likely that some fat guy with a beer gut is using that avatar for that very reason.
Ugly or annoying avatars can have a similar effect. For example Greg Raymer, the 2004 WSOP Champion, wore really annoying lizard eye sun glasses the entire tournament and won. He said it was to annoy people so they wouldn't stare at him to get reads or just to distract people. Apparently it worked for him. Go here for a casino that has really cool avatars to play with.
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Playing Against a Continuation Bettag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3092009-01-24T05:57:55Z2009-02-03T21:07:02ZA continuation bet is the follow up bet from the initial raiser at the table pre-flop. In other words, the first person that raises and gets called by somebody, will a lot of times fire out another bet after the...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com A continuation bet is the follow up bet from the initial raiser at the table pre-flop. In other words, the first person that raises and gets called by somebody, will a lot of times fire out another bet after the flop regardless if he caught a pair or not, which is called a continuation bet.
You will need to take their position into account when deciding whether or not to respect their continuation bet. If they raised pre-flop from the gun, which is the worst, earliest position on the table then you have to respect their continuation bet a lot more than you would if they were the first to raise from the button pre-flop because people raise with weaker hands the later they are in position.
If your hand was descent enough to call in early position, then consider calling their raise because in all likelihood, it's a stronger hand anyways. People on the button or the cut off will raise with QJ for example or even worst. The earlier in position they raise with, the stronger their hand likely is.
Then it is pretty obvious that they will make a continuation bet because they have to stick with their story so that they don't show weakness, or so they can scare others into making folds. Knowing this common stunt, combined with the fact that you know they will only pair something on the flop 32.4% of the time, with their top card only being 16.2% likely, should make calling their raise easier to do and will put them in a bind with a hard decision when you call it, especially if you have a pocket pair, two over cards, or a draw. Then when they check, which usually means weakness with no pair, you can make a half pot raise to get them to fold.
Good players know how to exploit this defense though so be careful and don't get carried away with your bet size after the sign of weakness, again keep it around a half pot. A good player will raise pre-flop with a pocket pair for example, get called by a few people, and then make a continuation bet and get called by one person in this example. If there is only one over card then a good player could check it to show the weakness that the caller is waiting for and then once the caller makes their half pot bet in an attempt to steal the pot, then good player can re-raise him to close the trap.
It is best to only call a raise if you have position on them unless you have a great hand. That way, they will be forced to use their continuation bet first after the flop and then when you call, they won't know what to do next and often check, which leaves you free to bet and make them fold.
Important note: I am more likely to call a continuation bet when it is a pot sized bet as opposed to half the pot sized bet. This may sound strange, but why does he want me to fold so bad with his pot sized bet? If he had a good hand he would bet 1/2 the pot or so. The first question that comes to my mind is this, "Is he protecting his hand against a textured board?" if there isn't a bad texture on the board, and there are not a lot of high cards on the board then I call bullshit and know that he didn't catch his cards, so I call and when he checks next time I bet half pot and he folds.
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Stack Awarenesstag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3112009-01-21T20:45:31Z2009-02-11T04:48:51ZWhen picking a ring game to sit in, always try to sit to the chip leaders left so you have position on him. You don't want your raises getting called by someone with a bigger stack than yours in most...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comWhen picking a ring game to sit in, always try to sit to the chip leaders left so you have position on him. You don't want your raises getting called by someone with a bigger stack than yours in most cases. For example if you try to steal the button and the chip leader is on your left then he will often call you or even re-raise you for your entire stack and put you in an awkward spot, but if he is on your right then you can avoid tangling with him altogether.
Being aware of how pot committed someone is on their bets will help you decide how to handle them. If a short stack has more than a quarter of their chips invested then they are pretty much pot committed and will likely call any bet so you shouldn't bluff them unless you have them beat. If less than that then they can fold. It will help you decide whether to put them all in or not, being able to predict his response. Short stackers are also more likely to call your raises if they are desperate and expose your cards to the table, so be careful with that also.
For example, if in a tournament, you see a short stack paying quarter of his chips to be the big blind, then raising him here will most likely get you in an all in with him so make sure you have a good enough hand to tangle with him before making the raise. If you are down to the final two tables then you should leave him alone anyways and target stacks that have just under what you have because they don't want to tangle with someone that could end their tournament which will make them more likely to fold to your raises.
When you have a big chip lead at the final table, say three times what everyone else has, then instead of doing a standard raise, put them all in with whatever hand you have that you would normally raise with. This puts their life on the line and will make them fold more often while you slowly chip away at their stacks. When doing this, make sure you preserve the bubble, which means letting the shortest stack survive, even if it means folding a raising hand to let the little guy have a walk. You do this because everyone fears bubbling out and will fold to your raises more often while you work on chipping the medium stacks down.
When at the final table, raising to steal blinds from a dominant chip leader is a bad idea. He will often decide to re-raise you all in to put your tourney life on the line, even if he has garbage. It's better to let his blinds go bye and steal from stacks that are smaller than yours.
Use to Table Crusher to check out many different tables until you find an ideal spot to be in relative to their chip stacks.
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Texture Watchingtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3012009-01-20T20:41:26Z2009-02-02T06:52:41ZNever slow play when there is bad texture brewing on the board. By texture, I mean two suited cards, or two or more connecting, or gapped connecting cards. It's better to just take down the pot when either of these...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Never slow play when there is bad texture brewing on the board. By texture, I mean two suited cards, or two or more connecting, or gapped connecting cards. It's better to just take down the pot when either of these situations shows up on the board.
By take down the pot, I mean a pot sized raise or a little more if you think you have the nuts at that point. If you under bet with a little half pot raise then they will likely call you for a cheap look. You need to make it too expensive for calling to make sense to them.
Also, if you are playing live poker, never let anyone know that you didn't want to see a card that shows up on the board because they will play on your fears.
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Full Tilt Poker Casino Reviewtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2008://1.412009-01-19T02:48:23Z2009-01-21T19:13:32ZThis is where I play the majority of my poker. I only recommend a few casinos unlike other resource sites that recommend them all. I make my recommendations off of actual experience.What makes Full Tilt Poker so good is that...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com This is where I play the majority of my poker. I only recommend a few casinos unlike other resource sites that recommend them all. I make my recommendations off of actual experience.
What makes Full Tilt Poker so good is that they have a lot of players online which means lots of different game selections. More importantly though is that the tool that makes winning very much a reality for me works perfectly with their site. The developers of the most amazing poker odds calculators (Odds Calculator & Odds Calculator Pro) knew that they had to make it work perfectly with Full Tilt Poker before concentrating on other sites. That is why it doesn't work perfectly on small casinos quite yet. So that's the main reason I play here.
They also offer a generous $600.00 sign up bonus. It pays you back $10 for every hour or two that you play and I collected every penny of it back effortlessly. Plus their sign up and installation was very easy compared to others.
Also, one last very cool thing is the merchandise they have. They have got one wild selection of hats, clothing, electronics, and even cars that you can buy with your comp points. They aren't available for sell, you have to earn them. I actually just submitted my points for another couple of hats earlier today. They are the same authentic hats as you see the pros wear on ESPN.
Their graphics aren't the best because they are an older more established site but then again, graphics aren't as important as functionality, and that's why I rank Full Tilt Pokernumber one. U.S. Players accepted.
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Avoid Under Bettingtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.2882009-01-17T17:29:07Z2009-02-06T11:34:34ZI see it all the time, someone has two pairs and they bet as if they have a small pair. If you want to win big you have to bet big. It's as if people are afraid to scare people...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comI see it all the time, someone has two pairs and they bet as if they have a small pair. If you want to win big you have to bet big. It's as if people are afraid to scare people out of the hand by betting too big, so they make little blind sized bets to keep people in the hand. If you do this, then I won't be seeing you at many final tables.
Yeah you'll scare people out with larger bets 70% of the time or so but consider this. For one, if they do fold, then at least you won money instead of getting burned by letting people grow a monster with your little bets. Most importantly, when they do call then you'll drastically improve your chip stack. It's a win win situation. Don't be timid when you have a good hand, make them pay. You should at least be betting half the pot with a good hand unless you know you have them so dominated that they can't catch up. Then put out little value bets for them to pay to see your cards.
Get off to a strong start with a $1000 sign up bonus from this casino.
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Sports Book Poker Casino Reviewtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.2962009-01-16T23:29:20Z2009-02-05T00:24:54ZSports Book Poker is a great casino for poker. It has a $650.00 sign up bonus which is nice. Its action is good and its graphics are great. It also has the convenience of placing any sport bets, including horses,...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Sports Book Poker is a great casino for poker. It has a $650.00 sign up bonus which is nice. Its action is good and its graphics are great. It also has the convenience of placing any sport bets, including horses, along with a good casino.
It is probably the fastest and easiest install I've seen so far. I think I'll be playing here a lot more often. U.S. Players accepted.
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Balancing Rangestag:www.propokermatrix.com,2009://1.3142009-01-15T21:53:17Z2009-02-06T12:09:43ZBalancing ranges is important in poker. This means the range of hands you raise with pre-flop and throughout the hand. If you only raise when you have AQ or better then people will easily put you on a hand and...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Balancing ranges is important in poker. This means the range of hands you raise with pre-flop and throughout the hand. If you only raise when you have AQ or better then people will easily put you on a hand and will always fold before you can get into a good pot. However, if you extend your range to raising with a QT or better then your range is far wider and much more unpredictable and will lead to more action, especially if you throw in raising with suited connectors and low pair for example.
You should also balance your range within the hand, betting when you have draws sometimes and checking on others. It's basically to keep them guessing.
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Bettingtag:www.propokermatrix.com,2008://1.332009-01-15T02:36:13Z2009-02-06T23:14:19ZBetting is an art form. It sounds simple but here are a couple of tricks to help you get the most out of your betting. First of all, if you flop a high top pair, a good bet would be...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.com Betting is an art form. It sounds simple but here are a couple of tricks to help you get the most out of your betting. First of all, if you flop a high top pair, a good bet would be half the pot. You don't want to scare everyone out but at the same time, you want to eliminate some of your opponents to increase your odds of winning while at the same time, getting some more money in the pot. The lower your top pair, the higher you should make the bet because it's more likely that an over card will come.
If you have a good hand and your opponent seems tight you'll need to entice him into betting. So if you want to make a $20 bet, consider betting $15 instead. It works for car salesmen so why not apply it to poker? It's always better to take the extra second to type in your bet instead of using the bet sliders that are in most online casinos.
Now that you know this trick, you should watch out for others that are doing it to you as well. If someone does it against you, he is most likely trying to bait you in by making it seem cheaper to call.
At Poker Stars, when you make a bet like $99 instead of $100, you're chip stack appears a lot taller and more intimidating, so only use it as a scare tactic at this casino and others like it.
Also, if you have a monster hand, make sure not to scare off your opponents to fast. Make a small 1/3 of the pot sized bet or check if you sense real weakness. By doing this, they might catch a card that improves their hand enough that they are confident in betting more. Unless you see something developing on the board that might jeopardize your monster which at that point bet a heavy 3/4 pot bet. Practice your aggression amounts pre-flop, post-flop, turn, and on the river.
Here's another opportunity to win pots, say you raise with an A, T, and get one caller, and then a 2, 4, 8, comes out on the flop and he checks to you. It should be pretty apparent that he doesn't have one of the low cards because for one, he wouldn't have called your raise with low cards, and two, he checked. No one will slow play a low pair, even if it's the highest pair on the board. He could be slow playing a set but the odds of him flopping a set aren't very likely. So go ahead and shoot out a 3/4 pot sized raise to scare him off. You at least have two over cards for insurance anyways.
Under betting is a major issue and you should avoid doing it. If you have the top pair on the board, you need to make the bet big enough to scare them out or at least make it worth the risk of letting them see another card, the lower your pair, the bigger your bet needs to be. Betting too low will make it cheap enough for someone to see if they can catch their flush, straight draw, three of a kind or some other monster, and if they catch it and you bet big the next time you'll regret it.
Betting Adjustments
The standard sized raise is 3x the blind. If you have a great hand and you want to raise pre-flop. You do 3x the blind, plus the amount of any other bets on the board. For example, if the blinds are 100/200 and two people call before you. Then it would mean you should raise 600 + 200 + 200 = 1000. If you have aces or kings and someone raises ahead of you, raise them 3x their raise because it's a hand that you want them to call, but it is going to cost them. 3x seems like the optimal number since they are pot committed just enough to call it.
Keep Track of Bet Sizes
If someone raises 3x the blinds, it most likely means they have high cards. If you have a mid pair and call, and then a low flop comes out, then you can be pretty certain that they are stranded up high without a pair. It's a great time to bet 3/4 pot into them and make their high cards fold. You can read more about finding out what a bet might equal by searching "fine tuning raises" in my search box. Bet sizes can tell you a lot about an opponents hand.
Bets to Avoid
If you pair a king on the flop, but there is an ace on the board, be careful. A lot of people will check even though they got the ace in hopes that you or the button will try to steal the pot so that they can re-raise on them. Be careful of this trap, especially if you are the button.
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Betting Against Positiontag:www.propokermatrix.com,2008://1.2732009-01-13T19:57:30Z2009-01-21T16:38:19ZI love to stomp on little bets that the position makes in his attempt to steal the pot. People need to understand that bets give insight into what your pocket cards are. Every time you bet, it gives your opponent...Ryan McManigalhttp://www.propokermatrix.comI love to stomp on little bets that the position makes in his attempt to steal the pot. People need to understand that bets give insight into what your pocket cards are. Every time you bet, it gives your opponent that much more information to go on.
If I'm at a table and we all check to the guy that's in position, and then he places a small bet the size of the blind, it tells me that he only has the smallest pair on the board or that he's trying to steal the pot. So I triple raise him to let him know that he has been slow played and that I have top pair when in reality I have nothing, except an over card or two. You just have to make your bet big enough and he'll fold like a crisp hundred dollar bill in most cases. This stunt is best when you have two over cards for insurance in case he calls your raise. Pay more attention to position than any other player.
This casino is a great place to play against position.