Bodog Poker`s seCreTs To online Hold`em

Bodog Poker’s SECRETS
to Online Hold’em
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Bodog Poker secrets to Online Hold’em
INTRODUCTION
W
ith so many good online poker players leaving for
Las Vegas to play at this year’s WSOP, it’s the perfect time for the average poker player to take advantage of
our softer tables, and start to make big money. In order to
help our players maximize their profits, we have created this
useful poker strategy guide that should help you take your
game to the next level, and cash in at our tables.
Bankroll Management
Before you see even a single poker hand, arguably the most
important factor in determining how successful you will be
over the long term, is bankroll management. A bankroll is
typically the total amount of money you have set aside to
play poker with, and allows you to survive a potential run
of cold cards while also giving you the flexibility to move
up in limits quickly when you are running well. Additionally, playing at the proper limit in relation to your bankroll
will keep you from playing with “scared money” or sitting
down at a big game with a small amount of money. Remember poker is a game of taking calculated risks; if you
are hesitant to make the proper play because you are afraid
of losing your whole bankroll in one session then you will
ultimately hurt your long-term profit.
This leads to the question, how do you determine what is
the size of a proper bankroll? The amount you need is determined by the type and limit of the game you are playing.
If you are primarily a Limit player, then you would ideally
want a minimum bankroll of 200 times the big bet amount
for that game. For instance, if you normally play in a $1/$2
Limit game, then you would want to have a minimum
bankroll of roughly $400 or 200 times the big bet amount.
If, however, you are playing in a No Limit or Pot Limit
game, then you would typically want a bankroll of at least
20 times the minimum buy-in. For instance, if you normally
play in a $1/$2 No Limit game, then you would want to
have a minimum bankroll of at least $800 (because the
minimum buy-in for the game is $40). It is very important
to note that these are minimum bankroll recommendations, and that to ensure long-term success you may want
to consider having a bigger bankroll of roughly double the
minimum requirements set out here.
Note that your bankroll is not the same as the buy-in that
is required to sit down for one session at a particular table.
You can sit at any game if you have enough for the minimum buy-in and there is nothing wrong with this approach.
For instance, if you want to play in a $2/$4 No-Limit game
that has a minimum buy-in of $80, which also happens to be
the amount of money in your account, then by all means go
ahead. Simply understand that it’s impossible to win every
time you sit down at the poker table and as such you may
ultimately lose that buy-in that represented all your money.
This is not a problem as you can simply re-deposit into your
account. However, if that $80 is the only money available
to you, then it is definitely not a good idea to sit down in
a game where you can bust out in one session! The correct thinking in this situation would be to treat this $80 as
your bankroll and as such you should be playing in a much
smaller game, such as a $0.10/$0.25 game.
To fully understand the reason for having an appropriately
sized bankroll a player must first understand the concept of
“variance”. Variance is a measure of the money that naturally flows to and from a player over a period of time. Normal
game conditions dictate that you will have both wins and
losses, good cards and bad, and as such money will move in
and out of your stack. Depending on the type of player you
are and the type of table you are playing at, you may have
a slightly higher or lower variance from session to session.
If for instance you are sitting at a table where almost every
round of betting is capped and the majority of the players
are seeing almost every flop, then you will have big wins
and big losses due to the amount of bets required to enter
a pot. This in turn will lead you to have a high variance as
your swings will be bigger with larger amounts of money
flowing in and out of your stack. If, however, you are playing at a table where few players are seeing the flop and are
rarely betting or raising aggressively, then both your wins
and losses will be much smaller and so will your variance.
Remember that when you see your stack fluctuating this
does not mean you are winning or losing as your win rate is
a completely separate matter altogether. This is simply the
normal variance in the game you are playing.
Evaluating the Game
When trying to decide what table to play at, you should first
evaluate the game. Some games are tougher than others even though the limits may be the same. So, what type of
game should you be looking for?
Poker is ultimately a skill game, and that means skilled
players will always win against unskilled players - over
time. Therefore, the best way to increase your chances at
beating the game is to ensure that you are playing against
less skilled players.
Imagine sitting down at a table full of professional players.
There is no possible way that you could win over the long
run if you were not a professional player yourself. Even if
you were a professional player, the best you could hope to
do against a table full of other professionals is to break even
over time!
That’s why it’s important to make sure that the table you
choose to play at has at least two or three players that are
slightly less skilled than yourself. That slight edge will provide you with enough of an opportunity to turn a profit.
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PLAY STYLES
When trying to quantify a game and its players, it is useful
to think about them in terms of both the frequency and
strength of their actions. The standard descriptors used
for this purpose are “tight” or “loose”, and “passive” or
“aggressive.” These terms provide a framework in which
any game or player can be described, which will in turn
provide you with an insight into the nature of the table or
of a specific player. Use these parameters along with all the
information available in the software when evaluating the
game to determine the best possible return on your investment! Note that these descriptions can be used to describe
both players and games.
Tight or loose describes how many hands a player will
typically play and how they will in turn continue to play
throughout the rest of the hand. A tight player will tend to
play fewer hands than average and will generally be very
conservative in their choices and decisions. A loose player
will tend to play more hands than average and be very liberal in their choices and decisions.
Passive or aggressive describes the nature of a player’s
actions when they are involved in a hand. A passive player
does not tend to bet very often, preferring to check and call
instead. An aggressive player usually chooses to bet and
raise instead of checking or calling and prefers to take the
lead in most situations
Loose/Passive
Ideally, the most profitable games and types of players to
play against are those that are described as loose/passive.
The reasons for this are simple. Loose players tend to play
too many hands and many of the hands that they play are
not quality hands. As such, most of the time that a good
player is in the pot with a loose player, the good player
invariably has the best hand. Loose players will also call too
many bets and raise with weak hands that do not figure to
be winners. Although on occasion they may get lucky and
make their hands, often they will call bets when they are
behind and show down a losing hand. Further, loose/passive players will not raise enough when they do have a good
hand and as such they allow better players to play straight
or flush draws for cheap which is a critical mistake. In summary, loose/passive players play too many poor hands and
go too far with them. When they do have good hands, they
do not play them hard enough and allow players to get the
proper odds to make their draws. In essence, loose/passive
players are the perfect and most profitable opponent!
Loose/AGGRESSIVE
These games can also be very profitable to a good player
but they do come with a significantly increased risk factor.
Although loose/aggressive players are playing too many
hands and calling too many bets when they shouldn’t, they
are also betting and raising frequently. This is a major and
crucial difference between loose/passive and loose/ag-
gressive players. As loose/passive players do not bet and
raise enough, it allows good players to play draws and
see showdowns for cheap instead of getting pushed out of
hands or not getting the proper odds to make their draws. If,
however, a player is raising and betting constantly, it then
becomes much more difficult for a good player to get odds
to make draws or see showdowns cheaply. Now the cost
of each hand is greatly increased and will often result in
the better player having to fold more hands and tighten up
as the action is simply too intense to risk playing speculative hands. These games can be very profitable as players
are still making many of the same mistakes but the price to
play is vastly increased. Some players are not comfortable
playing in reckless and aggressive games. If this describes
you, simply avoid the game. Additionally, a player will need
a robust bankroll to play in a loose/aggressive game as the
normal swings and variation will be much larger than in
most other games.
TIGHT/Passive
The predictability of these games can make them profitable.
For instance, whenever a tight player enters a hand, you can
be assured that they typically have a strong starting hand as
they do not tend to play weak hands. It then makes it very
easy to get out of their way when they do play and you do
not have a premium hand yourself. Additionally, a tight/
passive player does not tend to bet or raise strongly enough
when they do have a good hand. This will allow you to
play draws profitably against them. The downside to playing with tight/passive players, versus playing with loose
players, is that they play fewer and better quality hands. As
such, they are much more apt to fold if they do not hit their
hand, unlike a loose player who will not fold often enough.
A tight/passive player or game will not be as profitable as
a loose/passive player or game and should not be your first
choice.
TIGHT/AGGRESSIve
Tight/aggressive games should be avoided on almost every
occasion as the combination of both tight and aggressive
is the style best suited to the game of poker. If you find
yourself at a table where players play only premium hands
and bet and raise extremely aggressively then you are at a
table of strong players who are playing extremely well and
you should get up and move! There is almost no remedy for
winning at this type of game other than playing extremely
tight/aggressive yourself and hoping that the cards hit run
you over. In short, this is the type of player you should try
to become but always avoid playing against.
It is important to characterize both players and games in
this way as it will give you a very good idea of what the
action is going to be like and what you can expect as a
general result from playing. There may be a time and place
where you play in every one of these games with every one
of these players, but as a rule you should always seek out a
game in which you have the largest edge possible, while at
the same time being comfortable with the pace and intensity
of the action.
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Table Position and Starting Hands
If there was only one consideration that you made before
playing a hand it would be possible to make an argument
that your position in relation to the button would be as
important as the cards you hold. This is due to the fact that
the later you are to act in a hand means that you are going
to have more information about how to correctly play your
cards throughout the rest of the hand. Poker is a game of
incomplete information, and the more information you are
able to gather gives you a serious edge over your opposition.
If you are on the button and last to act in the hand, you are
able to see every player’s actions before you act. If after the
flop there is a bet, a raise and re-raise before it is your turn,
then you can safely muck anything but the most premium of
hands. When you are first to act in a hand you have no idea
of what actions players behind you may take, and as such
you are in a potentially precarious situation even with very
strong hands. In poker, knowledge is power and understanding and utilizing position properly is absolutely key to
determining whether or not you will ultimately be a winning
player.
Middle Position
“Middle position” is usually defined as the next three
players after the three early position players. In middle
position, players can typically play more hands than in
early position, as they have seen the actions of some of
the players at the table and have much more information. However, there are still players to act after you and
a certain amount of caution must be exercised through a
solid hand selection strategy. If you are the first to enter
the pot or only one or two players in front of you call,
then consider raising with any of the stronger hands from
the middle position hand group and calling with the rest.
If there is a bet in front of you, re-raise only with early
position hands and simply call with any middle position
hands.
Early Position
“Early position” is usually defined as the first three players to act after the blinds, assuming a full table. These are
the weakest positions because they will be among the first
players to act each round. This means that should you be in
early position, you will have to act on minimal information.
For this reason, you should only play strong to very strong
hands in the first three seats because you will need to be
able to have a hand to lead out with, or withstand potential
bets and raises from players behind you. A lot of a player’s
success in poker comes from employing a solid hand selection strategy, which considers position in relation to the button. By limiting your play to these starting hands you can
mitigate some of the risk of playing from early position by
assuring your hands can survive a raise from a player who
acts after you. In fact, you should almost always raise these
hands in early position to take the lead at the table and use
your strong play to, in turn, get further information from
your opponents when they act.
Assuming you are in a fairly typical game, which is a blend
of different player types, you should often limit your starting hands to the following:
Late Position
“Late position” is usually defined as the last two or three
players before the blinds. In late position, a player has much
more information through the observation of other players’ actions and, therefore, a greater latitude in the range of
hands that can be played. For example, if five players call in
front of you then there are a number of drawing hands that
become very playable, as opposed to early or even middle
position where those very same hands may still not be
worth the trouble and expense of seeing the flop. If you are
first to enter the pot then certainly raise with any hand listed
in the hand groups.
The power of acting last does not give you a license to play
every hand no matter how tempting and you should still
employ a solid hand selection strategy. Acting last, or near
to last, does allow you to play hands much more creatively
and in certain situations bluff with great effectiveness.
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Blinds
The blinds have the advantage of playing a diverse number
of hands as they have already contributed either a partial
or full bet to the pot and as such may see more flops due
to the discounted price. This does not mean, however, that
any two cards are playable from the blinds, particularly if
there is a raise. The reason that you have to be careful about
what you choose to play from the blinds is simple: After the
flop the two blind positions will always be first to act and
as such will be in early position and therefore vulnerable.
It is best to think about your blinds as early position hands
that allow you to see the flop at a reduced price. The best
way to judge what hands to play in the blinds is to play any
of the hand groups if there is no raise, and re-raise with the
strongest hands in the early position hand group. If there is
one bet, then call with any of the hand groups and re-raise
with the strongest hands from the early position group. If
the action is two or more bets to you in the big blind then
seriously consider playing only A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K
while folding everything else. If you do play these hands to
two bets then also consider re-raising them as well. In summary, playing too many hands from the blinds is a recipe for
disaster and one that is relatively common among players.
Make sure you are not one of those players at your table!
Understanding and paying attention to your position relative
to the button while also employing a solid hand selection
strategy will go a long way toward making you a profitable
player. By understanding the value and power of position
you will be able to save bets by not playing marginal hands
out of position early, and by playing more hands creatively
when in the late position. Every hand in poker is different
and you need to adapt to each situation. Doing so is the
mark of a successful player.
Bluffing
Bluffing is an important part of poker and is a valuable
tool for players who are looking to have a complete range
of skills. Bluffing enables you to mix up your game, as
it allows you to act deceptively and create uncertainty in
the minds of your opponents. In the right circumstances,
bluffing can help you win pots that you would not have
otherwise. Although bluffing is a must-have skill in poker, it
is often overused by most players and ends up costing them
bets as opposed to making them money. There are two major types of bluffs, the stone cold bluff and the semi-bluff,
and knowing which one of them to employ and when will
be critical to your success as a poker player.
The Stone Cold Bluff
A stone cold bluff is when you have completely missed
with your hand and have no probable way of winning at
showdown based on the strength of your holdings. In these
situations, bluffing is probably your only way to win the
hand, which makes it worth attempting in the right circumstances. There are, however, a number of situations where
bluffing is often unprofitable and should be avoided because
the probability of its success is too low to even consider
wasting another bet.
One such classic bluffing error is when a player tries to
bluff at a pot where there are three or more players. Often
what will occur is that one or two players will fold and the
remaining players will call or even raise. You will be much
more successful at bluffing when you do so against fewer
opponents, as bluffing will often not succeed against a larger number of opponents. It is much easier to convince one
person to fold than it is to convince three or four to fold.
You should also avoid trying to bluff players that will not
fold! Some players, often named “calling stations,” are not
interested in playing tight poker and will often call bettors
down even with the most marginal of holdings. There is
virtually no point in bluffing these players, because it will
take the best hand at showdown to win the pot. The good
news about calling stations is that they will rarely ever bluff
you out of a pot.
Another common situation in which a stone cold bluff will
not succeed is when a player has shown down some unsuccessful bluffs. It is important not to bluff too much as other
players will catch on to the fact that you are betting and
raising with absolutely nothing and start to punish you by
either not releasing weak made hands, or aggressively playing back at you with stronger made hands. The fewer bluffs
you make the more likely they are to succeed!
The Semi-Bluff
A semi-bluff is when you bet a hand that needs to improve
to win, such as a draw or two overcards, as your hand has a
very good chance of being the best hand should you make
it. The semi-bluff is an extremely powerful concept to add
to your poker toolbox, because it accomplishes a number of
different things at the same time.
The semi-bluff can succeed in two different ways. When
you bet on a semi-bluff you may get another player to fold
a better hand and take down the pot right away. If you are
called then you still have outs that may allow you to end up
with the winning hand.
The most common mistake players make when using the
semi-bluff is not properly weighing the strengths of their
outs. In these cases, the hand the semi-bluff player is hoping
to make might not even be the eventual best hand at the
table. When this occurs players not only lose bets when
they miss, but lose even more bets when they hit their draw
but find out that it is still not the best hand. It is an important consideration to make sure that your hand will be the
nuts, or near nuts, should your semi-bluff work.
Observing your Opponents
It is critical to your success as a poker player to observe
your opponents and their actions even when you are not
involved in a hand. Analyzing your opponents’ play will
allow you to gain insight into what your competitors may
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hold. This will allow you to make better decisions, win
more pots and lose fewer chips.
The best way to do this is by observing hands that are
shown down to the river and seeing what your opponents
will typically bet and call with. This can be valuable later in
a game, especially when you are involved in a similar hand,
trying to decide what is your best course of action. If you
know an opponent tends to bluff in a certain situation, you
can be a little more confident calling them this time around.
This can make a difference in earnings - instead of folding,
you can use this knowledge to call your opponent and win a
large pot.
Bodog Poker provides an easy and innovative tool that
keeps these types of notes on opposing players. This notetaking feature allows you to keep and access notes on any
player whom you may come across. It’s a clever function one that allows you to store and access information anytime
you are involved in a hand with a particular player. To use,
simply right-click on the player plaque and select “Edit
Player Notes” from the drop down menu. Then proceed to
type in any notes or hints about your opponents’ play into
the “Notes Box.” Additionally, you can access any notes by
clicking on the “Notes” tab at the bottom right side of the
Bodog Poker Interface.
Remember, more notes are better notes!
One final thing about observing opponents - your opponents
may be observing you! It is important to remember that just
like your opponents, you are also prone to repetitive behavior - and this information can be stored and used to the
advantage of others. This is why it is important to mix up
your plays from time to time, so as to avoid giving your opponents too much insight into your game. For instance, you
may wish to limp and then re-raise pre-flop with big pairs
from time to time, instead of always raising with them. This
way your opponents will be unsure the next time you limp
in a hand as to whether you have a big pair or, say, suited
connectors. Mixing up your play in this situation will not
only allow you to limp with more drawing hands, but will
keep your opponents guessing as to the cards you hold.
Conclusion
A few quick tips in closing…
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Bankroll management is very important to long
term success
Evaluate tables before sitting down, and play
where you think you have an edge
Look for certain player types or games, in particular loose/passive, and loose/aggressive
Play your starting hands based on your table position and the action preceding you
Bluffing is an important tool when used correctly
You can never take too many notes
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