When we imagine trapping someone in poker, we usually assume a situation where we hit a substantial hand and go for the slow play to fool the opponent. This can be a perfectly valid strategy depending on the board texture and the players involved. Claim bonus royal vegas canada review. But are you trapping yourself in poker? Yes, that happens, too! And it is a mistake that beginners, in particular, make more often than you would think.
On this hand, which occurred at an online 6-max table on the micro-stakes, we raise in early position with {a-spades}{10-diamonds}. Usually, that’s already a fold for me. So I don’t think we need to play this hand in this position.
The problem with our hand is that someone with a better hand could wake up and call or raise behind us. That includes hands that dominate ours, for example, A-K, A-Q, A-J. If we continue to play after the flop, we rarely have a position on our opponents.
The power of position
As I explain in my book Crushing the Microstakes, initiative and position are critical to success in poker.
Initiative describes a situation where we raise pre-flop and hold the “betting lead.” We succeeded in the example hand. We are the first to act.
Statistically, it shows that playing without a position is a significant disadvantage. Conversely, you will win far more money if you have a position and are last in line after the flop. For this reason, I recommend betting in the early and middle position and the blinds on a tight starting hand selection.
In the cutoff or on the button, the opposite is true. So if you get dealt ace-ten here, you should raise with the hand.
Why? It is because of the position. We are often the last to act after the flop in the cutoff and button. Therefore, we can play more hands profitably.
Correctly assessing the hand strength after the flop
On this hand, the button only calls. We really like the flop: {10-spades}{j-clubs}{a-clubs}.
We have top and bottom pairs. In No-Limit Hold’em, this is a firm hand that we want to play for a big pot in most cases. However, the case is a little different on this hand. The board texture allows for many draws. There are already several made hands ahead against us: The straight or a better two pair. In addition, there are strong draws that have a high chance of winning against us: For example, sets like {9-clubs}{8-clubs}.
I would place a continuation bet on the flop by default for these reasons. Our opponent can either call, fold or raise.
We would be happy with a call. That would mean he holds a draw. Depending on the turn card, we can put further pressure on him. We wouldn’t mind a fold either.
If our opponent raises, we can call and reassess the situation on the turn. This way, we control the size of the pot and don’t reach a dead-end where we are forced to play for all the chips.
Other articles from mtltimes.ca – totimes.ca – otttimes.ca
Caerula Mar Club a new standard in paradise – South Andros Bahamas
