Bad Cards or Bad Plays?

Team Full Tilt

Losing is part of poker and all serious players, including the world’s best, can recount losing streaks that lasted for months. Often, the downswing starts with a particularly unlucky run of cards. A series of bad beats or impossibly tough hands eat away at the bankroll. As the bad run continues, and money continues to disappear, players are forced to confront one of the toughest questions in poker: Am I a victim of lousy luck or am I playing poorly?

John D’Agostino knows how difficult it is to find the correct answer. “Any time I lose a few sessions in a row, I start questioning myself,” D’Agostino says. “But I know that some days, even if I play perfectly, I’m going to lose.”

Erik Seidel notes that in tournament poker, months-long dry spells are to be expected. In the midst of such a run it’s hard to know if you’re a victim of expected fluctuations or if there’s something wrong with your game. “It’s really hard to determine,” says Seidel, “but I think most of us tend to fool ourselves and tend to think we’re playing better than we are.”

Then there’s the inevitable interplay between bad cards and poor play. The pros report that in the midst of a bad run, bad luck can lead to bad decisions. Jennifer Harman notes that when things are going poorly, she has a tendency to push hands. “Let’s say I have Ace-King and I don’t flop a pair,” says Harman. “I’ll be in there raising. But there’s no point. My table image is bad and nobody thinks I can flop a hand, so I can’t bluff. I might as well wait till I flop a pair. At that point, my opponents are going to call me down and pay me off anyway.”

For D’Agostino, a bad run can lead to more timid play. ‘I definitely made some bad days a lot worse than they needed to be. Sometimes, I started playing more passively. In the middle of a hand I’d be asking myself, ‘How is this going to go wrong?’ But if I played the hand the way I usually would, I’d have won the pot earlier on.” D’Agostino says that when he has that sort of mindset, he’s likely to miss bluffing opportunities.

Such a streak can destroy a promising player. Harman says, “There are a lot of players who have gone on losing streaks and can’t recover. They start playing bad and thinking that they’re doomed forever. And all of a sudden, they’re on the rail.”

How do the pros get a handle on their play and determine what’s causing the downswing? Harman recommends sharing hands. “I’d ask people to watch me play or I’d jot down hands and ask friends ‘Did I play this right?’ If they said I was playing it wrong, I’d have to reevaluate my play because I was letting the losing streak affect my play.”

“Just book a win,” says D’Agostino. He notes that confidence is critical at the poker table. So, in the midst of losing streak, leaving a session with a win – even if it’s a small one – can help a player regain that mental edge. “Once you can feel confident about yourself, things will start to roll,” he says.

Finally, a winning player needs to develop an honest, self-critical nature. Seidel notes that he rarely talks poker, but when he and John Junada chat about a play, the conversation usually begins, “Listen to how badly I played this hand.…”

When playing online, there’s every opportunity to assess your play. Save your hand histories. When a session is over and your head is clear, review your actions and see if you can spot problems in your play.

There, now that I got your attention, I was honored to be one of the second-year inductees into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. Joining me were June Field, the founder of Card Player Magazine, and Cyndy Violette, noted top high-limit pro. Each of them is a WSOP gold bracelet winner and has been in the poker industry as long as have I … 30 years give or take a few.

The Women In Poker Hall Of Fame (more fondly called the WIPHOF) was founded by Lupe Soto and designed to honor women who have acquired prominence and made contributions to the poker community. June has been a proponent of women’s events while playing in them over the years and also by promoting the growth of women in poker. She founded Card Player Cruises, which became a stand-alone company many years ago, and I was lucky enough to become a partner in it.

Cyndy Violette has been a one-woman wrecking ball on the poker circuit for many years. Always an icon of decorum and class, she won a WSOP… Continue reading Ladies of the Evening

Strategies for Short-Handed Limit Hold’em

John D’Agostino

In last week’s tip, I shared some strategies for playing short-handed no-limit cash games. This week, I’m following up with some more short-handed advice, this time concentrating on Limit Hold ‘em.

If you read last week’s tip, you’ll know that hand values change in short-handed play and that it’s proper to play a greater percentage of hands than would be wise at a full ring game. In these games, I play a lot of hands. So many, in fact, I’ve gotten the reputation of being something of a maniac. But there is a method to my madness. By the end of this article, I think you’ll agree.

Button Play

In a three- or four-handed Limit Hold ‘em cash game, I will raise about two of every three times I have the button. The quality of my hand is essentially irrelevant. The position raise puts me in control of the hand and, even if I’m holding total trash, the pressure puts the blinds in a spot where they need to catch a piece of the flop.

For example, say I raise on the button and the big blind calls with a modest but playable hand, maybe Qc-Td. Now, if the flop comes with any Ace or King, the blind is going to have a very difficult time continuing with the hand if he checks and I bet the flop. In fact, the blind is going to have a very difficult time continuing on any board that doesn’t contain a Queen or Ten.

If I follow up my raise and bet the flop with, say, 7-high, and get called or check-raised, it’s very easy to lay down the hand. I know this is going to happen at times, but I pick up the pot often enough to make the constant button aggression profitable.
Small Blind Play

When playing against opponents who raise frequently in position, I’m sure to respond with aggression in the small blind. If I’m holding a hand that’s likely best at a three-handed table – something as modest as A-9 might qualify – and I’m facing a button raise, I take control of the hand and three-bet. That puts additional pressure on the big blind. If I only call the button raise, the big blind will be getting great odds (5:1) to call the additional bet. And I’d far prefer to play the hand heads-up.

After three-betting from the small blind, I follow up with a bet on the flop almost 100 percent of the time. Since I represented a big hand pre-flop, I want to put my opponent to a decision immediately. Once I see how my opponent reacts, I can decide how I should proceed with the hand. I’ll have to give it up sometimes, but the pressure will force a lot of folds.

Big Blind Play

The big blind is the only place where I’m content to call bets pre-flop. In fact, a call is my usual reaction to a button raise. If I start with a moderate hand, I can see the flop and decide how to proceed. If I start with a strong hand, like pocket Aces or Kings, I’ll still call and look to check-raise the flop. I don’t like to three-bet from the big blind because it tends to announce my hand. My opponents know that I’m starting with a very big hand.

Overall Goal

As you can probably tell by now, I believe that aggression is key to success in short-handed Limit Hold ‘em. I think the constant bets and raises create two dynamics that can be exploited for profit. First, by being the aggressor, I have the opportunity to pick up a number of pots where both my opponent and I miss the flop.

Second, the aggression has the tendency to lead opponents to make some very bad decisions. After some time, opponents may call bets on every street with nothing more than Ace- or King-high. When they start doing that, I can tighten up and only bet hands that are likely to be winners at showdown.

At times my style may look maniacal. But in short-handed limit play, it works.

Taking on a Short-Handed No-Limit Game

John D’Agostino

Let’s face it; nobody takes up poker because they love the idea of sitting idly at a table while folding for hours on end. But, in a full ring game with eight or nine other players holding cards, it’s proper to spend most of your time folding because there’s too great a chance that one of your opponents holds a powerful hand.

But, in short-handed play when only three or four people have cards, you’re forced to open up. With the blinds coming around so frequently, you need to be playing and winning a number of pots just to stay even. And, with only a couple of opponents, you can be less concerned about running into a big starting hand. On most deals, everyone’s holding trash.

Here’s some advice for altering your strategy for short-handed no-limit cash games. Keep in mind that all the advice here is geared toward short-handed play while players have deep stacks. The advice given here won’t work especially well in a tournament, or against players who come in with less than 100 times the big blind.

My love of short-handed play is one of the reasons I play online so much. It’s rare to find a three- or four-handed table in a casino, but online, I can find short-handed games any time I want.

Pre-Flop Strategy

Three- or four-handed games are usually very aggressive, and I will never limp in. I open-raise or I fold. In a typical short-handed game, I’m raising one in every three or four hands when I’m not in the blinds. I recommend raising with every hand you’d raise with in a full ring game (big pair, AK, AQ). In addition, I raise with any pocket pair, including twos and threes. I’ll also raise with suited-connectors, such as 4s-5s.

What might be something of a surprise is that I’m extremely wary of hands that seem to hold some promise. Hands like A-J, A-T and K-J, are hands that most know to treat cautiously in a full ring game, but I will often fold these in a short-handed game as well. Why? Well, these are hands that are likely to get me in a lot of trouble. For example, if I were to raise with K-J, and the flop came K-T-3, I’m either going to win a small pot, after betting my top pair and seeing my opponents fold, or I’m going to lose a much larger pot as my decent hand goes down in flames against two-pair, a set, or an out-kicked top-pair.

It’s also important to note that A-J, A-T are just about useless against re-raises and must be mucked against most opponents. With a hand like 4s-5s, however, I can call a re-raise with hopes of catching a big flop (two-pair, trips) or a big draw, and then taking my opponents entire stack when I hit. If I miss a flop with a suited connector or manage to hit only bottom pair, I can easily fold to a flop bet. But if I call a re-raise with A-T and then catch top pair on a Ten-high flop, I may get in real trouble against a bigger pair. Or if I flop an Ace, I could be out-kicked.
Post-Flop Strategy

If a pre-flop raise from the cutoff or button has been called by one of the blinds, it’s important to make the most of your positional advantage. Keep in mind that in a short-handed game, your opponent isn’t likely to hold much of a hand and that even if he held something decent, chances are he missed the flop. (In hold ‘em, unpaired hole cards will fail to make a pair on the flop about two-thirds of the time.)

So, if I missed the flop completely while holding something like 6-high, I’ll almost always bet the flop. If I get called or check-raised, I’ll happily shut down. But, I pick the pot up often enough to make the bet in this situation worthwhile.

If, however, I’m holding a decent Ace and miss the flop, I’ll usually check. In a short-handed game, Ace-high can win at showdown, and taking a free card gives me a chance to hit my hand on the turn.

I’ll also bet most of my draws on the flop. Often, I’ll win the pot with a bet. Even if I’m called, I’ve got the added benefit of building a large pot. If I happened to hit my draw on the turn or the river, there’s a good chance I’m going to take my opponent’s stack.

Psychological Strategy

Short-handed play takes some getting used to. The pace is furious, forcing a lot of tough decisions in very short periods of time. The swings are far more dramatic than in a full ring game but, I think that after adjusting to the pace of the action, most players will come to love the excitement that accompanies short-handed play.