trends
THE POKER TRADE
Four Tips to Winning Poker
Players have a choice: Constantly hone their tactics or plunge into an abyss of losses By Jonathan Little
P
oker’s a tough game, and players who aren’t constantly improving their skills risk becoming perpetual losers. So, don’t let that happen! If applied intelligently, the following four tips will ensure a player can stay competitive. Even players who find these tips familiar will benefit by having them brought back to the front of consciousness. Think about an opponent’s ranges Players who routinely put an opponent on one specific hand are certainly playing poorly. As a simple example, if a tight player raises from first position, an opponent should not put him squarely on A-A, A-K, or any other specific hand. Instead, put him on a range of hands, perhaps A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, and A-K. A player can then narrow that range as the hand progresses based on his actions on the flop, turn and river. If a player puts an opponent on one hand from the start, he will make significant blunders due to simply not assessing each situation properly.
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Stop continuation betting with 100% of the range Players should continuation bet nearly 100% of the time. While this advice was spot-on a few years ago when people were folding too often, in today’s games, a player should
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tone down the continuation bet a bit. You should “check” when the board does not favor the range, when holding absolute trash, when holding a marginal made hand that cannot withstand significant aggression, and when failing to connect with the board. That being said, you should still continuation bet much more often than most players because even today, most players fold too often.
(The next tip allows bets to stay profitable even with high continuation bet frequency.) Double and triple barrel more often Most people now know to call flop continuation bets with a somewhat wide range of made hands, draws and the occasional hand that has only a little potential to improve but
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luckbox | july 2019
1907-trends-poker.indd 42
6/7/19 12:41 PM
