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Playing Low
Karina Jett
April 16th, 2007
How Much Luck? How Much Skill?
Ben Roberts
March 30th, 2007
The Weak Lead
Lee Watkinson
March 23rd, 2007
Satellite Savviness
Team Full Tilt
March 1st, 2007
The Pain Barrier - Manipulating Your Opponent
Joe Beevers
Feb 9, 2007
Finding the Low Cards in Omaha Hi/Lo
Mike Matusow
Jan 15, 2007
Looking at the Long-Term
Erik Seidel
Jan 6, 2007
Playing Small and Medium Pairs in Seven-Card Stud
Perry Friedman
Dec 29, 2006
Playing Aces in PLO
Andrew Black
Dec 21, 2006
Playing in Australia
Mark Vos
Dec 15, 2006
Playing Mixed Games
Jennifer Harman
Dec 7, 2006
Pot-Size Manipulation
Gavin Smith
Nov 30, 2006
Betting out of Position
Gus Hansen
Nov 20, 2006
How a Pro Thinks Through a Hand
Team Full Tilt
Nov 13, 2006
Cash Equity at the Final Table
Rafe Furst
Nov 6, 2006
Getting Beyond Your Cards
Perry Friedman
Oct 30, 2006
The Mindset of a Winner
Kristy Gazes
Oct 23, 2006
Balancing Poker and Life
Clonie Gowen
Oct 16, 2006
Play More Pots
Erick Lindgren
Oct 9, 2006
Heads-Up vs Multi-Way Hands in Omaha Hi/Lo
Andy Bloch
Oct 3, 2006
Playing Big Slick in Deep Stack Tournaments
Paul Wolfe
Sept 25, 2006
Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone
Ben Roberts
Sept 18, 2006
Playing Cap Games
Howard Lederer
Sept 11, 2006
From No-Limit to Limit
Richard Brodie
Sept 4, 2006
Check-Raising on Draws
Steve Brecher
August 28, 2006
Betting the River with Marginal Hands
Andy Bloch
August 21, 2006
Learning from Allen Cunningham
Jay Greenspan
August 14, 2006
Acknowledging Mistakes
Team Full Tilt
August 7, 2006
Playing the Main Event
Gus Hansen
July 31, 2006
Managing the Short Stack
Mark Vos
July 24, 2006
Playing Pot-Limit Tournaments
Rafe Furst
July 17, 2006
Red for a Day
Brian Koppelman
July 10, 2006
A Big Stack Mistake at the 2006 WSOP
Phil Gordon
July 3, 2006
Winning Poker - It's About More Than Money
Ben Roberts
June 26, 2006
Seventh Street Decisions in Seven-Stud
Keith Sexton
June 19, 2006
Big Blind Play in Limit Hold 'em
Jennifer Harman
June 12, 2006
Firing the Second Bullet
Greg "FBT" Mueller
June 5, 2006
Fourth Street Decisions in Seven Stud
Keith Sexton
May 29, 2006
Finding Your Inner Maniac
Greg "FBT" Mueller
May 22, 2006
Beware the Min Raise
Phil Gordon
May 15, 2006
Playing Bottom Two Pair
Rafe Furst
May 8, 2006
The Other Danger in Slow Playing
Howard Lederer
May 1, 2006
Why I Prefer Cash Games to Tournaments
Huckleberry Seed
April 24, 2006
Early Tournament Play
David Grey
April 17, 2006
Bad Position, Decent Cards
Howard Lederer
April 3, 2006
Inducing a Bluff
Layne Flack
March 27, 2006
Back to Basics
David Grey
March 20, 2006
Representing a Bluff
Huckleberry Seed
March 13, 2006
Viewer Beware
Howard Lederer
March 6, 2006
When Passive Plays
Chris Ferguson
February 27, 2006
Book Smarts vs. Table Smarts
Erik Seidel
February 20, 2006
Playing with John D'Agostino
Jay Greenspan
February 13, 2006
On Cavemen and Poker Players
Ben Roberts
February 6, 2006
Small-Pot Poker
Gavin Smith
January 30, 2006
Tips From Tunica
Andy Bloch
January 23, 2006
How Big a Bankroll?
Team Full Tilt
January 16, 2006
Thoughts on Omaha-8
Jennifer Harman
January 09, 2006
In Defense of the Call
Gavin Smith
January 02, 2006
Stepping Up, Stepping Down
Kristy Gazes
December 26, 2005
Playing a Big Draw in Limit Hold 'em
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
December 19, 2005
Know Your (Table) Limits
Paul Wolfe
December 12, 2005
Getting Started in Stud-8
Jennifer Harman
December 05, 2005
What's Your Starting Hand Really Worth?
Steve Brecher
November 28, 2005
Big Slick: A Slippery Hand
Rafe Furst
November 21, 2005
Bad Cards or Bad Plays?
Team Full Tilt
November 14, 2005
Strategies for Short-Handed Limit Hold 'em
John D'Agostino
November 7, 2005
Taking on a Short-Handed No-Limit Game
John D'Agostino
October 31, 2005
What I learned at the WSOP
Jay Greenspan
October 24, 2005
Back to the Drawing Board
Perry Friedman
October 17, 2005
It's Not Easy Being Green. Or Is It?
Team Full Tilt
October 10, 2005
Texture Isn't Just For Fabric
Phil Gordon
October 3, 2005
Know Your Opponent; Own Your Opponent
Paul Wolfe
September 26, 2005
How Bad are the Beats?
Steve Brecher
September 19, 2005
Third Street in Seven Stud
Perry Friedman
September 12, 2005
Our Favorite Poker Books
Team Full Tilt
August 30, 2005
Holding On To Your Winnings
Aaron "GambleAB" Bartley
August 22, 2005
No-limit by the Numbers
Andy Bloch
August 15, 2005
Chip Sandwich
Phil Gordon
August 8, 2005
Sizing Up Your Opening Bet
Chris Ferguson
August 1, 2005
So You Wanna Go Pro
Rafe Furst
July 25, 2005
Dealer, Leave the Bets in Front of the Players.
Greg Mascio
July 18, 2005
Not Playing By The Book
Phil Gordon
July 11, 2005
Playing Two or More Tables at Once
Erick Lindgren
July 4, 2005
How To Win At Tournament Poker, Part 2
Chris Ferguson
June 27, 2005
How To Win At Tournament Poker, Part 1
Chris Ferguson
June 20, 2005
Specialize At Your Peril
Howard Lederer
June 13, 2005
Common Mistakes
Phil Gordon
June 6, 2005
Don't Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand
John Juanda
May 30, 2005
Ask And Ye Shall Receive Part II
Erick Lindgren
May 23, 2005
Ask And Ye Shall Receive Part 1
Erick Lindgren
May 16, 2005
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Jennifer Harman
May 9, 2005
Keep Your Toolbox Well Stocked
Chris Ferguson
May 2, 2005
Why I Leave My Sunglasses And iPod At Home
Howard Lederer
April 25, 2005
In Pot Limit...
Clonie Gowen
April 11, 2005
The Script
Phil Gordon
April 4, 2005
Just A Few Things When Playing Razz
Jennifer Harman
March 28, 2005
A Way To Approximate The Odds
Clonie Gowen
March 21, 2005
Sit N Goes Made Easy
Howard Lederer
March 14, 2005
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Richard Brodie
September 6, 2005
When I started playing poker, I would get so excited when I flopped a big hand that I forgot my main goal: Win as many chips as possible. When I had marginal hands, I would think hard about what my opponent had and whether I could beat it. But when I had a big hand, I just wanted to get all my chips in the middle.
Big mistake.
Big hands can mean big pots. But, with a big hand, it's even more important to strategize and figure out how strong your opponent is. If you think he's weak, you can slow play the hand, perhaps getting him to call a bet thinking you're bluffing or, better yet, inducing him to bluff himself. If you think he's strong, you can let him bet your hand for you, raising on the turn or river to extract maximum value.
In the 2003 Borgata Poker Open, I mixed it up with a small under-the-gun raise with Ten-Nine of Diamonds. I got two callers, including Bobby Thompson in the small blind. The flop came Eight-Seven-Six, giving me the nut straight. Bobby led out with a pot-sized bet and we both called. The turn was an Ace and he bet again. I still had the nuts and, with my inexperience, didn't think enough about what my opponents could have. Instead, I got greedy and just called again, hoping to get a call from the third player.
If I had thought about it, I would have put Bobby on at least two pair and the third player on a straight draw with something like Jack-Ten. I should have moved in at that point, pricing out the straight draw and figuring Bobby would have to call. Instead, I just called and the third player folded. When a second Ace came on the river and Bobby pushed in, I had a very tough decision and ended up putting my chips in dead as he turned over pocket Sixes for the full house.
If I had put my money in on the turn, the results may have been different. By putting Bobby to the tough decision to call an all-in, I might have priced him out of the hand.
The next year in the same event, I had the very aggressive Jimmy-Jimmy Cha on my right. He made a late-position raise and I re-raised with pocket Tens. He called and we were heads-up. The flop came Ten high with two Spades, once again giving me the nuts. This time, though, I thought about what he might have. Nines, Jacks, and Queens were definite possibilities. If not, he could easily have over cards. Jimmy checked - not an unusual play given that I had taken the lead before the flop. I decided because he was so aggressive, I'd go ahead and bet the hand rather than slow play it. Sure enough, he check-raised me all in and I called. This time I went broke the right way, with all my chips in as a three-to-one favorite against his flush draw.
Then there's always the chance you're beat with an even bigger hand. In a televised tournament at the Plaza, I raised with pocket Tens and got called by the big blind. The flop came Queen-Queen-Ten, giving me a full house. But my opponent check-called my flop bet with such a Hollywood act that I put him on at least a Queen. A King came on the turn and he check-raised me. I could beat Ace-Queen or Queen-Jack but not King-Queen or Queen-Ten, so I slowed down and just called. When he made a small bet on the river I just called, suspecting I was beat and, sure enough, he turned over Queen-Ten for a bigger full house. I had flopped a monster and was drawing dead! By analyzing his play and getting a read, I saved valuable chips and went on to the final table.
So don't let the excitement of flopping a monster make you forget about putting your opponent on a hand. A lot of chips move around during these hands and you want them moving into your stack.
Richard Brodie
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