#keepgrinding

Intro: Poker Hand Rankings accross all  game types and variations

First of all, let’s take a brief look at the possible poker hands combinations; you can check out the image below, or click it and get re-directed to a interesting blog article, which brought up all possible hand strength variations accross all poker game types:

Why You Shouldn’t Slow Play Big Hands

When you get a MONSTER hand, you should NOT slow play it.

Here’s why:

“Slow playing” means that you don’t bet very much, or bet nothing at all, in hopes that your opponent makes a big bet or tries to bluff.

For instance, if you got two Aces before the flop and only called the big blind, you would be “slow playing” your Aces.

Or if you flopped a straight and just “checked”, you would be slow playing your straight.

Does it make sense?

The problem is, most amateurs will slow play their big hands… trying to perform the famous check-raise

maneuver… or trying to “trap” their opponents…

But generally speaking, this is NOT a smart strategy… for two reasons:

Because many poker players will see right through you… and fold the hand as soon as you make your move.

Because you won’t win as much money when you slow play big hands versus betting them.

Let’s talk about the first reason…

The fact is, slow playing big hands will NOT confuse your opponents.

On the contrary, it will actually give them a SOLID READ on you.

Why?

BECAUSE MOST PLAYERS SLOW PLAY MONSTER HANDS.

That’s just the way it is.

You may think you’re being SLY, but you’re really just being STUPID.

I think it’s actually human INSTINCTS to slow play big hands…

Think about it. When someone gets a big hand, what are they thinking in their heads?

They SHOULD be thinking… “How can I get the most money possible out of this pot?”

But what they are REALLY thinking is… “How can I make sure everyone doesn’t fold and this great hand doesn’t go to waste?”

It’s the truth.

Especially since it will often take HUNDREDS of hands before you catch a monster.

And that’s the REAL reason why people slow play big hands…

Because they’re SCARED TO DEATH that if they make a bet, everyone will fold.

So the point is, it is NOT unique to slow play a monster… in fact, it’s what MOST card players do. Especially amateurs.

Now let’s look at the second reason why slow playing a big hand is a bad idea… and that is:

YOU WON’T MAKE AS MUCH MONEY.

The fact is, when you hit a monster, you should bet it. It’s that simple.

Even if you REALLY ARE thinking to yourself, “How can I get the most money out of this pot?”, the answer is to bet it.

Not slow play it.

You’ll win more chips and make more money by betting your big hands… especially when you look at it over a long term perspective.

Let me show you three reasons why:

Usually, one of your opponents will have SOMETHING… whether it’s a bottom pair, wired pair, straight draw… whatever.

This means that you’ll usually get one or more callers for your monster hand… which is “sure money” going into the pot that you’re about to win…

When you slow play big hands, you’re opening yourself up for BAD BEATS. You shouldn’t give your opponents the opportunity to see free cards.

When you let them see free cards, you’re just increasing the odds that someone catches a lucky draw… or the one “miracle” card that can bust your hand. Betting your big hand, instead of letting your opponent get free cards, will narrow down your chances of a bad beat.

Your opponents won’t see it coming. 

Since most players slow play monsters, your opponents will often put you on a BLUFF when you bet your big hand.

And if they think you’re bluffing, they’ll try to come back over the top of you with a raise.

This, of course, gives you yet ANOTHER way to make more money from your hand…

Now… let me talk about the EXCEPTION to this rule. And that is when you get a monster that is SO UNBELIEVABLE…

AND you sense complete weakness at the table.

The most common example of this is 4-of-a-kind. For instance…

Let’s say the flop came out 8,8,2 and you’ve got pocket 8’s.

The other two players check to you.

In this case, it will be smart to just check your big hand, rather than betting.

BUT, you’re not really “slow playing” it.

What you’re ACTUALLY doing is just letting your opponents “catch up” to you.

Since you know the 8’s couldn’t have helped either of your opponents, you want to make sure a turn card comes out… and maybe even a river card… in hopes that someone catches SOMETHING.

If the turn card is a face card, that’s good news for you. Because it means that someone might have made top pair and will be willing to give you some action in the hand.

But besides that, you should NOT slow play your big hands.

Now let’s see a real-life instance where this strategy helped me make more money at the poker table.

Just the other night I was at the riverboat and got dealt AQ. My positioning wasn’t good, but it was the first decent hand I’d seen in awhile, so I raised the pot to 1,500 in chips.

Only one player called me… the man on the button. This guy (we’ll call him “Mike”) is a very good card player. He goes to the casinos every single night… 7 days a week… grinding it out and making his living.

He’s one of the only players at this table that I generally avoid going heads-up with, actually.

So anyway… the flop comes out, and it’s:

Q-Q-3

I’ve flopped a set with an Ace kicker.

I’m first to act. So what do I do?

Most players would slow play… but not me. I come out firing.

I hesitate for like two seconds and then push in 4,000 in chips.

Mike is thinking there is no possible way I’d bet trips like that… so he’s probably putting me on a high wired pair (but not Queens).

Plus, he might think I’m just representing my pre-flop raise with this bet…

So instead of folding, Mike decides to represent the Queens out there… and act as if HE has the trip queens.

“Make it 10,000”, he says aggressively.

Of course, now I’ve got Mike EXACTLY where I want him…

I call his bet.

The turn card comes… it’s a 10.

I check… because I know Mike is going to make a big move on me.

“Make it 10,000”, he says again.

And I call again.

It turns out Mike is sitting on K-10… which means he’s got a pair. This will give him even MORE confidence to try to buy this pot.

Now that I’ve called his bets, however, he’s probably thinking I have Kings or Aces. Which means the only way he can win this pot is to scare me away.

The river hits… and it’s a 3. Which gives me the full house.

I check again, and Mike goes ALL IN with his huge chip stack… thinking he can bully me out of the hand.

I call… and I take down a MASSIVE pot from the seasoned rounder.

And it all started because I DIDN’T slow play my trips. Mike didn’t put me on the three Queens and was willing to push his entire stack into the middle to try to win that pot.

Of course… that won’t happen every time you get a big hand. And trying to confuse your opponent is definitely NOT the only reason to not slow play your big hands.

The reality is, when you bet your big hands you’ll CONSISTENTLY win more pots and make MORE MONEY playing poker…

And if you’d like to discover step-by-step strategies and concepts like this one that will improve your Texas Holdem skills, make sure you stay tuned for the next blog article 

This is an article about the decisions and strategies you can use to Prevent Bad Beats Online. Or at least reduce them to a minimum :)

Do you ever get frustrated when that “river” card brings a monster hand to your opponent? Or when you finally get those great cards, but your opponent gets even better ones? For online play, most players will complain about the RNG being rigged, but in reality- such situations happen during live sessions, almost as often as online. In this article I will try to help you learn a few tips on how to prevent bad beats online, using your skills to prevent such situations.

Let’s do through some of the basics first (clicking any of the links below will take you to an external page):

Bad Beat Definition

Poker Hands Combinations

There are two types of bad beats:

BAD BEAT #1…

When you catch a monster hand but lose to a BIGGER monster hand.

For example, let’s say you’re holding pocket Aces and the flop hits A-6-6. That means you’ve got a full house.

Your opponent goes ALL-IN… and you call. You think your Aces are the best hand but they’re NOT, because your opponent has pocket sixes, which gives him the four-of-a-kind.

BAD BEAT #2…

When YOU have the best hand and your opponent has the WORST hand but your opponent GETS LUCKY and wins the pot.

For example, let’s say you have pocket Aces and go all-in.

Your opponent calls with pocket three’s.

The flop hits 2-4-5 and the turn card is a 6, giving your opponent the STRAIGHT and causing you to lose the hand.

Now that’s a bad beat.

And let’s face it, the SECOND type of bad beat– the one where your opponent gets totally LUCKY and outdraws you– is the kind of beat that just plain SUCKS. And pisses you off.

In fact, the second type of bad beat is the kind you REMEMBER the most too. When someone says, “Hey man, how did your card game go?”, the first thing that will come out of your mouth will be the story of that bad beat.

Am I right?

Now here’s what’s interesting…

MORE BAD BEATS HAPPEN IN ONLINE POKER THAN IN “REGULAR” LIVE POKER. 

Literally, you’ll see more bad beats happen in an online poker game than you’ll see at a local cash game or in a casino.

If you play both online and offline poker, I’m sure you agree with this statement.

So what’s going on here? Why would it be this way? 

There are two popular “theories”…

Online poker is rigged.

There are more hands per hour, therefore it’s an ILLUSION that there are more bad beats.

My opinion is that BOTH of these theories are WRONG.

Here’s why:

First off, I genuinely believe online poker is NOT rigged. I mean, c’mon… Do you REALLY think these multi-billion dollar casinos would need to RIG hands?

Most of them (at least the largest ones) use a professional RNG (Random Number Generator) programs, so the actual game cannot be manipulated in any way. Also- legislation authorities also inspect both RNG and the operator’s game code, to conclude if the gameplay cannot be manipulated, and only then they can obtain a gambling license.

Run Your Own Poker Site (RYOPS) has both RNG and Game logic certified by the highest authorities, offering the best experience for their clients.

So my hint for you regarding online poker is to check the validity of the RNG and Game Logic certification. The highest authorities regarding ther mentioned certification are “iTechLabs” (RNG certification) and “Gaming Labs International- GLI” (gaming logic and fraud prevention certification). Look for the logos like the ones below, but also check if clicking those logos lead you to an actual certificate for the operator you want to play at:

ItechLabs certificate:  GLIiTechLabs

They make their money from tournament entry fees and rakes… and trust me, they’re making plenty.

OK, so what about the second theory?

Well, I do agree that there are more hands per hour in online poker than offline poker. There’s no disputing that.

But I don’t think that’s a good enough reason…

Because my belief is that there are MORE bad beats that happen per X number of hands ONLINE than for offline poker.

For instance, let’s say you played 100 hands. And let’s say you caught two really bad beats for every 100 hands at a casino. That’s 2%.

In online poker, you’re likely to catch FIVE or even TEN of those really bad beats per 100 hands. That’s 5-10%.

So the fact that you’re seeing MORE hands doesn’t explain the HIGHER PERCENTAGE of bad beats.

Still with me?

OK, so now let me give you MY “theory” about this.

It’s not really a theory. Just good old simple logic, actually.

Here it goes:

The reason there are more bad beats in ONLINE poker is because the very NATURE of online poker leads people to PLAY DIFFERENTLY.

The CARDS and ODDS are the same.

It’s the PLAYERS that aren’t the same.

What I mean is that for online poker, a LARGE portion of players adopt the style of LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE.

Translation? Manic.

They act irrationally… play hands they shouldn’t play… and bet way too aggressively for most given situations.

Why?

Because online poker isn’t as “real”.

The money isn’t as real. I mean, heck… the casinos give you so much “free” money when you sign up, how COULD it feel real?

The cards aren’t real. The chips aren’t real. The table isn’t real. NONE OF THAT STUFF EVEN EXISTS.

All you see when you play online poker are some silly little animations. And you hear some “clickity-click” sounds of fake chips.

That’s it.

Nothing else.

Period.

And if you LOSE a game, all you have to do is make three or four mouse clicks and you’re INSTANTLY playing another game. 

And hell, you can PLAY ten games at once if you want!

You can literally play poker against 100 players AT THE SAME TIME!

It’s a different world, my friend.

Now… let’s get back to the bad beats.

The FACT that players are LOOSE-AGGRESSIVE is what leads to the SITUATIONS where bad beats happen.

Here’s why:

Players bet their draws more or call large bets with draws or OK hands (i.e. bottom pair).

More players are involved in every pot.

The pots are bigger, since players are more aggressive.

When these conditions COMBINE TOGETHER, it creates an environment where there are a lot of BIG POTS and bad beats.

It’s not that the cards are “rigged”.

It’s that the betting patterns and playing styles are DIFFERENT than what you’re used to.

And when you combine that with the fact that you see more hands per hour, it inevitably leads to seeing a lot more “crazy” hands and bad beats than in regular poker.

OK, so now the obvious question becomes…

Is there any way to PREVENT bad beats?

The answer is yes and no.

Ultimately, bad beats will occur NO MATTER WHAT if you’re playing good poker. Because to win at poker, you’ve got to be willing to take RISKS.

And most risks have a minimum 20% chance or more of NOT working out in your favor.

With that being said, there ARE ways to prevent a LARGE PORTION of the bad beats you’ll see online.

Not only can you prevent them, but you can literally turn it around and make it YOUR ULTIMATE ADVANTAGE.

The key is to “tilt the tables” in your favor and USE the fact that players are so loose and aggressive to HELP YOU win more pots.

The way you achieve this is by adopting a SPECIAL playing style designed SPECIFICALLY for online poker…

My name for this “secret sauce” is this:

TIGHT-AGGRESSIVE SQUARED.

The concept of “tight-aggressive squared” is quite simple…

It starts with the logic that tight-aggressive is the most effective playing style to use in poker.

Tight-aggressive means TIGHT with hand selection, AGGRESSIVE with betting.

With online poker, there are more players in every hand. That means you must play EVEN TIGHTER with your hand selection.

You should ONLY play monster hands!

Period!

There’s absolutely no reason to get involved with “decent” hands because the odds are against you.

You’re bound to run into players who are CHASING or who just caught an extremely lucky flop.

When you DO get involved with a hand, you must be OVERLY aggressive. The pot size will be bigger, so you can’t lose many hands or else you’ll be out of the game in a hurry.

You must STRIKE… and you must STRIKE HARD.

You must risk ALL OF YOUR CHIPS– frequently– in order to win.

Of course, it’s much easier to risk all of your chips when you have a GREAT HAND than it is otherwise.

You see, the goal is to do two things:

Force out all but one, maybe two players for any pot you get involved with.

Have the odds so unbelievably stacked in your favor that you win far more HUGE pots than you lose.

And when you win lots of big pots, you become chip leader VERY QUICKLY. And that’s how you take control over a poker table.

The reason you want to force people OUT of the hand is simple mathematics.

Let’s say for instance you get pocket ACES.

Here’s what three of your opponents are holding:

Player 1: K-K

Player 2: 10-9 suited

Player 3: Q-10 offsuit

Now, if you went heads-up against any of these hands ONE-ON-ONE, your odds of winning would be about 80%. They’d be 85% against Player 3.

BUT…

If you went up against ALL THREE of these opponents in one single hand, your odds of winning is just 58.5%!

That’s just over 50/50 with the absolute BEST starting hand possible.

Get my point?

So when you GET pocket Aces, you need to FORCE OUT all but one caller.

You’ve got to be VERY AGGRESSIVE. 

In low stakes Sit and Go’s and ring games online, that quite often means going all-in.

Like I said, you’ve got to risk ALL your chips.

Now if you go all-in and one of those players makes a CALL, you’ll win four out of five times.

So if you get five big hands a game, you only lose ONCE. Of course, that one you lose USUALLY won’t wipe you out, because you’ll have more chips from the OTHER big hands…

Get my drift?

Literally, if I play low-stakes online Sit and Go’s, here is what my betting pattern looks like:

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

Limp-in

Fold

Limp-in

Fold

Fold

Fold

All-in

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

Fold

All-In

Fold

And so on…

I’m serious!

THIS IS HOW YOU WIN. It seems kind of “strange” to think about, but this is it!

Now… when you get down to just a few players in a game, it’s time to bust out the strategies, bluffs, trick plays, and so on.

BUT WHAT GETS YOU THERE is this TIGHT-AGGRESSIVE SQUARED style of play.

OK, so now the question becomes…

If all you did was ever FOLD or go ALL-IN, why would anyone ever CALL your bets?

What a great question.

And we’ve already gone over the answer…

It’s because online poker isn’t the same as offline poker. The people on there are DISTRACTED and often STUPID and VERY LOOSE.

That’s all there is to it.

AND THAT IS PRECISELY WHY ONLINE POKER IS SO MUCH EASIER TO MAKE MONEY AT… ONCE YOU LEARN THESE SECRETS.

Once you “crack the code”, it’s amazing how SIMPLE it is to win at online poker.

It’s actually SO SIMPLE and SO IRRATIONAL that I’m not sure it will always be this way. It seems that all those fish out there have GOT to go broke sooner or later.

But until that day comes, I’ll be making hay while the sun is shining…

And I recommend you do the same.

So, you’ve learned the basic style of play for online poker, which is “tight-aggressive squared”.

Use it, go win some pots, and let me know what you think.

When you’re done with that, make sure you you check out hot to use advanced odds calculator online. 

It will practically FORCE you to “play by the odds”, which means you’ll have yet another advantage over all the fish.

ODDS EXPLANATION & CALCULATORS

This article is packed with strategies and techniques… but if you want to have even MORE ADVANCED tactics you can use to win at Texas Holdem poker, whether it’s online or offline, make sure you check out our other BLOG articles.

Of course, even though a lot of the stuff you’ll read in my articles is “pro-level”, it’s written in an easy-to-understand and simple-to-follow way… just like this one.

When you read the strategies, you’ll be able to implement them INSTANTLY. 

And most important- after some time of impementing these advices, your own experiences will make you upgrade your skills to a unique style, becoming a pro poker player with ease…

Useful and interesting links:

Bad Beat explanation video (YouTube)

Intro: “Flush” definition and basics explained

For start, let’s remind ourselves about the basics:

flush (definition, click to open an external link from Wikipedia)

possible poker hands combinations; you can check out the image below, or click it and get re-directed to a interesting blog article, which brought up all possible hand strength variations accross all poker game types:

Topic: Stop Getting Burned On Flush And Straight Draws

Have you ever lost a huge pot because you had a flush draw or straight draw and didn’t catch the card you needed?

It’s happened to all of us.

And frankly, it sucks.

Because when you’re on a draw, you’re just ONE CARD AWAY from raking in a ton of chips.

And you WANT to keep calling everyone else’s bets, in hopes that your card will pop out on the turn or river.

Am I right?

Of course, what ends up happening is you have to put a ton of your chips in the middle… just to call everyone else’s bets.

That makes you pot-committed… and if you DON’T catch your card, you’re screwed.

Now let me ask you…

Wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if every time you were on a draw all the other players would CHECK around?

That way you didn’t have to risk any chips, and could bet only after you KNEW for sure whether or not you caught your card.

That sure would be nice, wouldn’t it?

AND…

What if there was a way to STILL WIN THE HAND… even if you DIDN’T catch your card?

That’d be nice too, huh?

Luckily, there IS a technique you can use to make BOTH of these things happen.

Let me show you how…

OK, so let’s say I’m at an 8-person no limit table and I’m sixth to act.

I’m dealt a 5-6 of diamonds.

Villain#1 comes out firing with a $10 pre-flop bet. Villain#2 and Villain#3 both call.

Now it’s on me.

I love suited connectors… especially busting my opponents with them unexpectedly, so I jump in and call.

The players behind me muck their cards right away… scared to death of so much action.

The flop hits:

4d-9s-7d

That means I’ve just flopped an open-ended straight flush draw. I couldn’t have asked for a better flop in this situation.

Unfortunately, Villain#1 comes out firing (again) with a no-hesitation bet of $20.

Villain#2 and Villain#3 both FOLD this time…

And the action is to me.

I’m putting Villain#1 on a high pocket pair, or maybe A9 or A7. And he’s figuring the scraps on the board didn’t help anyone, hence the strong bet.

Which puts me in a tough situation.

Think about it… If I CALL, I might miss my flush or straight on the turn card. Then what? Villain#1 will make another strong bet… what will I do then?

And if I call to see the river and miss, then I’ll have just given Villain#1 most of my chips and lost a major hand.

On the other hand, I don’t want to FOLD, because I have a ton of outs and I want to WIN this!

Now let me ask you, what would YOU do in this situation?

Most amateur card players don’t think ahead, and they’d call Villain#1‘s $20 bet. And if they missed on the turn, they’d call another bet to see the river.

And if they missed on the river, they’d probably fold, watch Villain#1 rake in all the chips, and wonder why they “never catch the right cards”.

Now a more skillful player would ANTICIPATE what’s about to happen… and would probably call to see the turn, but then fold if Villain#1 bets again.

And of course, there are always the tight players who would never have played the 5-6 of diamonds in the FIRST place.

So what do I do?

Remember, I’m sitting on 5-6 of diamonds. The board reads: 4d-9s-7d

And Villain#1, who made a strong pre-flop raise, just bet $20 after the flop.

Here’s the answer…

I RAISE!

Not some wimpy raise either… I raise him $40 more to play.

Most players would NEVER think to raise in this situation… but here’s what I’ve done:

I’ve TAKEN CONTROL of the hand and bought myself a FREE CARD when it matters most.

You see, if Villain#1 calls the $40 raise, when the turn hits he’ll CHECK to me.

(Remember what I said at the beginning of this post?)

That means I get to see the turn and river for a total of $40 more, which is a BARGAIN compared to what Villain#1’s next bet would have cost me.

I’m representing possible trips.

Villain#1 now has to wonder whether I called his pre-flop raise with a low pocket pair and just caught trips on the flop.

Or I could be sitting on a high pocket pair and I’m not “phased” by the flop.

I’ve raised the stakes of the hand in MY favor… not his. You see, if I just call Villain#1‘s bets and then hit a 8 of diamonds on the turn, what will happen?

Well, Villain#1 will SEE the three diamonds and the straight possibility, and he probably won’t make any more huge bets or call any huge bets from me.

This way, I’ve raised the stakes $40, which increases MY CHANCES at winning an even bigger pot than if I had just called.

Make sense?

And last but not least…

I’ve given myself a way to WIN even if I don’t catch the straight or flush.

Now I get to see Villain#1’s reaction to my $40 raise…

If I sense weakness, I may decide to BLUFF and buy this pot if I don’t catch my flush or straight.

If I only call Villain#1’s bets the whole way, he would’t fall for this type of bluff. But my raise of $40 will sure get him thinking.

OKAY, BACK TO THE HAND…

Villain#1 shuffles his chips around for a moment, and looks back down at his cards. It turns out he’s holding an A9… so he’s got top pair with the kicker. A good hand, but not a monster by any means.

He calls.

The next card comes out… Queen of spades.

No help.

Villain#1 checks.

THAT WAS IMPORTANT.

This is my “free card” opportunity that my $40 raise bought.

Now I’m in complete control… and feeling pretty good about this hand.

I can check and see the river for free. I’ve still got a lot of outs here.

Or I can bet STRONG and try to scare Villain#1 away.

“One hundred dollars”, I say, as I push a huge stack of red chips into the middle.

True, I only have a Queen high… and the beginner card player may think this type of play is crazy.

But then again, that’s why they’re called “BEGINNERS”.

Anyway…

Villain#1 thinks for a minute and then mucks it.

I rake in a beautiful pot.

Even if Villain#1 had called, I still had a good number of outs.

And if I missed, I could have tried to bluff again.

Now think back to when the flop came out…

After Villain#1 bet $20, what if I had called? (And not raised.)

Well, here’s what would have happened…

The Queen would have came and Villain#1 would’ve immediately fired a huge $80 bet. 

I would’ve had to either call the $80 to see the river, or muck my beautiful straight flush draw.

And THAT, my friend, is why it’s CRUCIAL that you TAKE CONTROL of the betting.

This type of technique allows you to truly DOMINATE THE TABLES and win more money playing poker. Period.

That’s what makes Texas Holdem such a fascinating game… there are just so many scenarios that can occur, and so many special “tricks” and “techniques” you can use to beat the competition.

Of course, you’ll probably never figure them all out on your own… and that’s why I’m here to help.

If you’re serious about taking your card playing skills to the next level, then it’s time you get started on the tables now and become a poker SHARK.

This proven, step-by-step “roadmap” will improve your game TREMENDOUSLY and help you achieve your goals… by TEACHING YOU WHILE YOU PLAY.

Because only by constantly learning new strategies, and reviewing your previous sessions played, it’s the only way you can constantly keep improving your game, and building your BANKROLL!

In the text ahead you’ll find advices to acquire a sneaky way to improve your positioning.

The dealer position (known as the “button”) is the best position at the poker table.

The reason is because when you’re on the button, you get to act LAST after the flop… giving you the chance to see what your opponents do first.

This lets you get a “read” on your opponents at the table… and decide who has a strong hand, who has a weak hand, who’s bluffing, and so on.

OK, so that’s common knowledge.

What’s also common knowledge is the fact that LATE POSITIONING is preferred over EARLY POSITIONING… because once again, you get to see what your opponents do first before it’s your turn to bet, raise, call, or fold.

Of course, being on the button is BETTER than just plain late positioning… because the button GUARANTEES that you will be LAST TO ACT post-flop.

OK, now here’s what is NOT common knowledge…

Once you understand positioning and its enormous implications, you can begin “improving” your positioning and setting yourself up for more pots each game.

The technique is called STEALING THE BUTTON.

It’s simple… it’s practical… and right when you’re done reading this newsletter you can immediately start using it.

Stealing the button is LEVERAGING your late positioning when you’re NOT on the button… but getting all the same benefits as if you WERE on the button.

Remember, the dealer position is SO POWERFUL because it means you’re LAST to act post-flop.

Being SECOND TO LAST to act isn’t nearly as good, especially considering there’s usually only three or four players to a flop at an 8-man table.

So what you do is make a reasonable pre-flop RAISE when you’re in late positioning… and therefore force the player on the button to fold.

Having done this, you’ll be last to act after the flop… the same as if you actually were on the button. (Hence the name, “stealing the button”).

OK, let’s look at an example so you can see what I’m talking about:

Let’s say you’re sitting two seats to the RIGHT of the button at a 10-man table. The game is $1-2 no limit Holdem.

Two players limp-in… and you look down at your cards:

J-9 of clubs.

I call hands like these “semi-connectors”– they’re not quite connected… but almost.

The great thing about semi-connectors is that they’re a “hidden hand”. When they HIT (straight, flush, two pair…) your opponents NEVER see it coming.

You decide to play your Jack-9 suited. Now remember, there are two players BEHIND you that will act post-flop if they both call the blinds.

So it’s YOUR JOB to make sure they DON’T limp-in.

The solution is to crank up the pressure…

You make it $15 to play. Nothing crazy (after all, you don’t exactly have a monster). You simply want to force the two players to your left to FOLD… which will happen most of the time.

Of course, they won’t always fold… because sometimes they’ll pick up a big hand. But odds arethey’ll fold.

The RESULT, of course, is now YOU have the button.

Well, not the button exactly… but all the advantages that it brings.

Sure enough, the two players to your left fold, and John– who’s in the big blind– is the only caller.

The flop comes out:

10h-8d-Ks

No flush possibilities for you here, but BINGO, you’ve just flopped an open-ended straight draw.

This is the type of flop you hoped for.

Now it’s on John to act first. And this is where your positioning is so important. Not only do you get to see what John does first… but you also have the CONTROL in this situation.

Since you made the pre-flop raise, John will likely check the flop to you… giving you the opportunity to play aggressively and take down this pot.

No matter what happens after this, you’ve set yourself up to win this pot. Sometimes John will pick up a real hand and come out firing… but usually not.

Sure enough in our example, John checks.

You throw out a $30 semi-bluff. This is a bet you should make even WITHOUT the open-ender… because you made the pre-flop raise.

John mucks it, and you rake the chips… leaving the table wondering what you had.

That’s how you “steal” the button. It’s a simple, surefire way to gain control at the table by improving your positioning.

There are five main steps you need to know…

You need a playable hand.

If you’re going to bluff, make it a “semi-bluff” by raising with a hand that can hit… something like semi-connectors.

I personally don’t like raising with 7-2 offsuit or crap like that. It seems to me like an “ego raise” more than a logical play.

Remember, the key is to gain that extra bit of control and power by acting LAST after the flop.

Force out the player on the button (and possibly the player to his right).

The whole point to stealing the button is to ACTUALLY STEAL THE BUTTON. If you make a wussy raise that doesn’t scare anyone, you’ve failed.

If you’re one seat to the right of the button, you want to raise enough to force the player on the button out. If you’re TWO seats to the right, then you’ve got to force out both players to your left.

One of the “secrets” to this process is to ALWAYS pay attention to the pre-flop betting patterns of your opponents on the left.

If you’re sitting on the right of “Tight Tim” who only sees flops when he’s got pocket pairs, then you can steal the button quite often.

On the other hand, if you’re on the right of a LOOSE player, you won’t be able to steal the button nearly as much.

So pay attention.

After the flop, your opponents will usually check to you.

Notice if someone bets into you, beware. That’s a red flag. Usually players will check into you since you raised pre-flop.

When players check into you that gives you the power to either BET and try to steal the pot right there… OR… get a free turn card by also checking.

While I normally recommend a bet, you can check to mix it up once in awhile or in the case that you’re getting short-stacked.

Don’t get pot-committed.

Remember, stealing the button is a simple technique that improves your position and sets you up to have a BETTER CHANCE at winning the hand.

Don’t get stupid. Don’t get stubborn and bet any amount in hopes of bluffing out someone with a real hand.

Like I said, you need a playable hand to steal the button in the first place.

Don’t become pot-committed… Never bet so much that it’s PAINFUL to fold your cards after the flop.

Sometimes you don’t need to raise to steal the button.

Often the blinds will be high enough where you figure simply CALLING the big blind will get you the button (this is especially true when you’re to the right of a tight player).

Also, someone in front of you might raise the pot enough that all you have to do is CALL THE RAISE and you’ll get the button.

OK, so that’s the process…

Here are the two types of situations where you DO want to steal the button…

DO STEAL THE BUTTON WHEN:

You sense weakness and want to steal the pot on a bluff or hidden hand.

You have a good hand that you want to play post-flop.

On the other hand…

DO NOT STEAL THE BUTTON WHEN:

You have a poor hand and you sense someone else has a strong hand.

You think someone to your left will call a raise no matter what (that defeats the purpose).

The MOST IMPORTANT lesson you can get from all this is to realize that winning poker depends on ALL THE LITTLE THINGS. 

Stealing the button is just a little technique for setting yourself up for better positioning… it’s not a “game changing” strategy that will double your poker profits or anything.

But when you combine it with ALL THE OTHER LITTLE THINGS– like establishing the right table image, throwing out feeler bets, representing the flop at the right times, buying free cards, picking up betting patterns, spotting tells, and more– then you will become a DYNAMIC and POWERFUL poker player…

AND THEN your poker profits will double.

A lot of amateurs base their games on the “big hands” and might get lucky once in awhile. But over time, the REAL MONEY always goes to the GRINDERS… the guys who know how to CONSISTENTLY take down pots.

It takes a lot of discipline, don’t get me wrong.

But you can do it.

And I can SHORTCUT the amount of TIME you spend doing it by showing you the STEP-BY-STEP PROCESSES for all those “little things” that will transform you into a winning poker player…

Not to mention… I’ll show you the “big things”: the pro-level tactics that most players never EVER learn.

So if you’re ready to take your skills to the next level, visit here and download my easy-to-read eBook “No Limit Holdem Secrets”.

It’s jam-packed with hundreds of strategies and tactics, along with step-by-step examples and more. After reading it many players have reported up to DOUBLING their profits… instantly!

There is one KEY PRINCIPLE to keep in mind when deciding if someone is BLUFFING or has a GREAT HAND…

Here it is:

If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK.

If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG.

It’s simple human nature.

This is NOT an original idea… Mike Caro was the first to put this amazing insight into words many years ago.

And after I had heard this wisdom, my poker winnings soared to a NEW LEVEL.

Because every poker TELL boils down to this fundamental principle.

Now, the UNFORTUNATE thing about this advice is that even though it is SO SIMPLE, most card players just don’t “get it”, or don’t apply it properly.

So let’s discuss how you can use this concept to spot bluffs

QUICKLY, EASILY, and CONSISTENTLY…

First off, it’s important to remember that in order to spot BLUFFS, you must be tuned into signs of STRENGTH as well.

For example… if you only look for “tells” that suggest a player is BLUFFING, you’re only getting half the picture…

When trying to get an accurate read on an opponent, you must be looking for both signs of strength AND weakness.

Let’s go back to our main “rule” again and look at the first part:

“If a player acts STRONG, he is probably WEAK.”

This means that when a player does something that makes it LOOK like he’s got a monster hand, he’s probably bluffing.

The CRUCIAL point to keep in mind is that most players don’t TRY to act strong. They just do it unconsciously…

I know that sounds strange, but think about it.

Let’s say you’ve got 9d-2s and you decide to make a bold bluff by going all-in pre-flop (which I don’t recommend, by the way!).

Anyway… in your mind, you’re thinking, “Damn I sure hope no one calls!”… but when someone starts contemplating a decision, you REALLY start to get worried.

So what do you do? 

Well, the NATURAL thing to do… the thing that MOST players do… is to act like you’re NOT afraid.

Obviously you don’t want someone to know that you’re SCARED of getting called, right?

So you sit up straight, your hands don’t tremble, your voice has a little “arrogance” to it…

And ultimately, all of those things are signs that you’re BLUFFING.

But you didn’t MEAN to act that way… it just kind of came naturally. You didn’t think, “Oh, I don’t want him to know that I’m scared, so I’m going to sit up straight and act smooth and talk with arrogance.”

It just kind of HAPPENS…

Still with me?

Ultimately, a BLUFF is a LIE.

That’s right… just a plain old lie.

So when someone is bluffing by betting, they’re simply LYING about what they have in their hand.

Which means technically, the real skill is not the ability to spot a bluff… it’s the ability to spot a LIE.

But anyway… back to my point…

When the player acts strong, he’s probably weak. But he didn’t really CHOOSE to act strong… this is just a

“mechanism” inside of him that turns on, simply because he’s LYING to you about his hand.

Let me show you a few practical examples. Here are THREE valuable “tells” to look for:

When a player “flicks” his chips in the middle with extra OOMPH or tosses them in aggressively… What’s going on there? I’ll tell you what: The player is ACTING strong… which means he probably doesn’t have a very good hand.

When a player speaks aggressively and talks a lot… Once again, this is usually a sign of weakness, since the player is “covering up” his bad hand by acting like he’s got something.

BUT… this poker tell is very easy to confuse and get

COMPLETELY WRONG, and here’s why:

There is a major difference between SPEAKING AGGRESSIVELY and DEMONSTRATING CONFIDENCE.

Here’s what I mean…

If a player talks a lot in a manner that’s NOT normal for him, it’s usually a sign of WEAKNESS.

The way to sense this is to look for any signs of DESPERATION with his voice…

But if the player is chatting along, having a good time, and seems quite CONFIDENT in general, it usually means he has a strong hand.

It’s a very subtle difference, and takes time to learn.

When a player looks you dead in the eye… This usually means the player does not have a strong hand. The “death stare” is simply an ACT of strength, but what it really means is WEAKNESS.

Now…

Let’s flip this over and look at poker tells that will show you when a player is sitting on a monster hand…

Because knowing when to FOLD is often times MORE IMPORTANT than just knowing when someone’s bluffing you.

So, repeating the second part of our mantra:

“If a player acts WEAK, he is probably STRONG.”

ACTING WEAK is usually more subtle than acting strong… it’s usually demonstrated in a way that is more like DISINTEREST.

And once again, the player doesn’t usually MEAN to act weak… it’s simply a NATURAL MECHANISM.

Of course, sometimes a player will INTENTIONALLY ACT WEAK, but the meaning behind it is still the same:

He’s got a strong hand.

Here are three poker tells when a player is acting WEAK, but has a really great hand:

Looking AWAY and acting disinterested… and NOT making eye contact with you…

This is the opposite of STARING YOU DOWN, which is a sign of weakness.

This poker tell is ESPECIALLY apparent when the flop hits… if the flop REALLY helped a player, he’ll usually just glance at it for a brief moment and then look away.

(On the other hand, if a player stares at the cards on the flop for a long period of time, that usually means the flop did NOT help him.)

Being very quiet…

When a player is PRAYING to himself that you’re going to call his bet, he usually stays very quiet and to himself…

If everyone at the table is laughing at something and a player suddenly gets QUIET… or kind of “forces” his laugh… then that’s a sign he just picked up a monster hand. 

Beware!

Getting shaky…

When a player’s hands get very shaky, watch out. 

Some people think it’s a sign of BLUFFING, but I sure hope you’re not one of those people. Shaky hands is almost always a sign of a MONSTER HAND.

Also… I might add here… that after someone WINS a really big pot, sometimes they get shaky as an “after effect”.

Honestly, I have no idea why. But I do know that it happens.

So if someone just won a huge pot and is looking kind of shaky, that’s probably why.

Knowing about poker tells like these… both signs of WEAKNESS and signs of STRENGTH… is a very important part of WINNING POKER.

P.S. Be careful not to study the poker players on TV for bluffs and “tells”. Most of these players are two or three steps FURTHER than anyone you play with…

The pros will try to trick their opponents by doing stuff like INTENTIONALLY giving off a tell that is the OPPOSITE of the tell that would actually MISLEAD the opponent…

Previous Game-play Analysis

It is very important, for every poker player, to make analysis of your previous sessions played, comparing the decisions you made, figuring out what you could have done better in certain occasions, therefore improving your future game-play.

I was recently in an online tourney with a $20,000 payout. 5,000 people entered and unfortunately I finished 352nd. I have one hand in that tournament that since haunts me every night before I go to sleep, and I have to replay it in my mind over and over again, I have even dreamt about it.

**Please let me know what (you think) I did wrong so I can give myself a different angle for reviewing my own game-play.**

Alright, the blinds were at 400/800. My stack was about 10k. I get A-J off 1 spot before the button. Everyone folds to me, and since I think A-J isn’t that strong, and it is one of my “unlucky hands”, I only called the BB. The guy on the button called as well, the SB folded, and the BB doubled the bet. So, I said, well, another 800 is OK cause I will probably be getting 5:1 on my money, assuming that the guy on the button calls.

He does, and the flop comes K-A-8. No flush draws are present and the big blind checks to me. I bet about 2,500 as a feeler bet, with top pair to see where I stood in the hand. The guy on the button

goes all-in for his remaining 8,000, I figured he was playing position and I was going to call him.

But, the BB goes all in for his remaining 7,000, and that scared me because he was the original raiser preflop.

I knew he didn’t have A-K, but A-Q was a possibility and A-8 was too, as well as a pair of 8s in the hole.

After reviewing in my mind the betting sequences, I folded thinking that one of them had either 2 pair, or trip 8s.

They turned up their cards, and the guy on the button had K-5, and the BB had A-6… I was STUNNED! I could have taken that pot, and the chip lead in the tournament and could have either worked with that lead, or sat all the way to the money, but instead I was forced to later go all in with a moderate hand, and get beat by a pocket pair. 

My logic about the hand seems good, the only mistake I think I made was not raising a considerable amount pre-flop in the position I was in, I think that if I did it and they still called I woulda been pot committed to call and would have won.

The most important thing is to review the sessions played, ie to analyze what you could have done to avoid this, which is crucial to keep the same mistake or bad play from occurring again

There are various online tools which can help you analyze or keep track of your gameplay over the sessions. Most pro players will tell you that analyzing the sessions is the only way to improve your game.

First of all, let’s talk about the strategies that SHOULD have been going through your head at the time.

ON POSITIONING…

I was sitting one seat to the right of the dealer button. In this position, when you get a strong starting hand you want to RAISE and “steal the button” if possible.

This technique is simple. You basically just want the player to your left to FOLD, that way you get to act last after the flop.

You don’t have to make a huge raise, just a simple 2-3x multiple of the big blind. Most players will try to limp-in when they’re on the button because it’s the best position at the table.

Your raise will stop them from doing so– assuming they have a mediocre hand.

ON ACE-JACK…

Have you ever called Ace-Jack offsuit one of your “unlucky hands”? The truth is, you are NOT ALONE in this thinking. Far from it.

A-J is one of those hands that seems to get run down all the time… and it drives many players nuts.

The REASON Ace-Jack is tricky is because you never know if your opponent has A-Q or A-K… or if they have something like A-10 or A-9.

The obvious solution is that you MUST ALWAYS find out “where you stand” BEFORE THE FLOP.

Do not– I repeat, DO NOT– limp-in with Ace-Jack! When you do, disasters like this occur.

Think about it: The REAL reason you lost such hand is that you “psyched yourself out” because you didn’t have a good read on your opponents after the flop.

And why didn’t you have a good read?

Because you didn’t make a raise BEFORE the flop.

If you had made a 3x big blind raise, the player on the button most likely would have folded… and the big blind might have called with his A-6.

After calling, you could be confident that you’re ahead in the hand… AND you wouldn’t have to worry as much about someone hitting a lucky two pair, because it’d be heads-up to see the flop.

If the big blind decided to RE-RAISE you, you’d know that your A-J was probably beat… and in that case, you wouldn’t commit more chips when the flop hit with A-K on the board.

Get it?

ON CHIP STACKS…

When the action came to you, there were 1,200 in blinds in the pot, and your chip stack was at 10,000. That’s not many chips– just over 10x the big blind.

But fortunately, you still had MORE chips than your other two opponents.

That means stealing the blinds would have been an EXCELLENT move in this situation.

I mean, chances are your opponents do NOT have strong hands. So without the chip stacks to bully you, you could have confidently guessed they’d FOLD to a pre-flop raise.

Winning the blinds as often as possible is a CRUCIAL TACTIC that you must implement, especially in a tournament like this…

ON TOURNAMENT STRATEGY…

OK, so let’s review. Your positioning, your cards, and your chip stack were all reasons you should have made a pre-flop raise!

But if it makes you feel better, you DID make a smart move with your post-flop feeler bet.

Now given the fact that you didn’t raise pre-flop, SHOULD YOU HAVE FOLDED TO THE TWO-WAY ALL-IN?

To quote Matt Damon’s character in my favorite movie “Rounders”:“You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle. But you can’t win much either.”

Possibly more important than the decision itself is what you should have been THINKING ABOUT in order to MAKE the decision.

If this had been a ring game, you would have wanted to make the decision based on the betting patterns of your opponents.

But since it was a tournament, you probably didn’t have time to develop much of a read on these opponents…

Had I been in someone else’s shoes, I would have CALLED. I would not have folded.

Here’s why:

After committing 1,600 chips pre-flop and 2,500 post-flop, you’ve only got about 6,000 left. With the blinds at 400-800, that’s considered “short-stacked”.

As a general principle, when you have LESS THAN 10 times the big blind, it’s time to make a move. (The exception to this rule, of course, is in the VERY late stages of a tournament– like a final table– when the

blinds are ridiculously high.)

But anyway… with just 6,000 chips, my guess is that you were too afraid of LOSING the tournament.

And I’d venture to say you weren’t thinking enough about WINNING the tournament.

The reality is, the chance to TRIPLE up with top pair and a solid kicker is not common. Especially since there were no flush or straight draws on the board.

This was your “golden opportunity” to build a respectable stack and set yourself up for a nice payout.

The ability to take a risk and “go for it” in this situation is what often times separates the AVERAGE tournament players from the PROS.

If you analyzed the players at the final table of a 5,000-player tournament like this– or even a 500-player tournament– you’d find that ALL of them won a couple HUGE pots earlier.

Maybe even more than a couple.

Just remember this mantra:

IN ORDER TO WIN, YOU MUST RISK LOSING.

That’s why you see “pros” often get eliminated from tournaments in the very EARLY stages. It’s not because of the bad beats, it’s because they TOOK A BIG RISK and it didn’t work out.

Next time you’re in this situation, stick to your game plan of “tight-aggressive”. If you’re going to enter a pot, do it with some gusto.

Raise pre-flop, bet post-flop when you hit top pair, and call the all-in in hopes of tripling up.

Of course… what’s done is done, and there’s no sense beating yourself up about it.

Believe me, I’ve made PLENTY of mistakes that were probably a HUNDRED times as dumb as this one…

You’ve just got to get over it. Learn from the experience and move on.

The best thing you can do right now is go and play an online tournament (poker room of your choice). The next time you’re playing an online poker tournament, you won’t have this problem. Because (I hope) you’ve learned from my mistake and won’t make a similar one!

P.S. If you opened this post and then immediately scrolled to the end to find out whether it was a “bad play” or a “bad beat”, here’s your answer: BAD PLAY. (Now go back and read the whole email! 

P.P.S. Please pass these poker tips on to your buddies. Thanks!

Everyone loves the highlight. The wins. The applause. The “you made it” moment.

But no one talks about the quiet parts.

The early mornings when no one is watching. The late nights when you question everything. The days you show up tired… and still keep going.

The truth is simple — the grind is not glamorous.

It’s messy. It’s repetitive. It’s lonely sometimes. But that’s where the real growth lives.

Not in motivation. Not in aesthetics. But in consistency.

And one day… what felt invisible becomes unstoppable.

If you’re in that phase right now — keep going. You’re closer than you think.