Archive for November, 2008
Everestpoker.nl – Deals and Bets off the Table:
24 November 2008
Everest poker – In recent times there seems to be an ever increasing trend of players both wagering money as ‘prop bets’ off the table whilst playing, and also deals being done when two or more players remain in a tournament.
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First of all, it is my feeling that if players want to bet on things off the table, should be entitled to do so as it is their money and they can gamble it how they wish. The only problem I would have with it, is if the players are paying more attention to keeping notes on who owes what than to their cards, or the game in hand. I have seen this happen in televised tournaments, and makes the players look like simple gambling addicts, rather than some of the greatest poker minds in the world. It gives the impression that game is not engaging or enjoyable, and that they are only playing poker on television because they are being paid to do so.
As for deals being done to split the money a certain number of ways in the latter stages of a tournament, I think this goes against the very ethic of the game. Everyone has different opinions of course, but my feeling is that when we sit down to play poker, the goal is to eliminate all the opposition, and emerge as the last person standing. I have personally seen an increase in players splitting money at my local tournament, and although they are well within their rights to do this if they wish, it is not something I would ever do. I will always choose to battle on to try and win, even if the deal offered by the other player was an exceptionally good one.
everestpoker.nl – Points on Bluffing:
13 November 2008
everestpoker.nl – In general terms, there are many instances where raising is beneficial, but we cannot raise every pot all of the time. Raising has it’s advantages, in the fact that we give ourselves two chances to win rather than the calling player, whose only chance is to turn over the best hand.
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The raiser of course, has the extra chance of his opponent not having a strong enough hand to call, regardless of what the raiser has. In this way, we can see the benefits of being aggressive, but as with many things in poker, there has to be a balance.
Every player knows approximately how often they have a strong hand, and if a player is raising with a frequency far above that figure, they know that at least some of the time, their opponent is bluffing. The more often we bluff, the more chance we have of getting caught, but remember we do not have to push all our chips in to bluff someone. Sometimes you could even say that the smaller raise on a dangerous board, gives the impression that we do not want to force a player out, rather than the truth of it.
If the opponent feels it is cheap enough to call your small raise anyway, you have built a pot to steal on the next round of betting. When we reach that next round of betting we can make the statement that we have found an interested player and are no longer afraid of forcing them out with our big hand. This statement is made with a larger raise, but as always, you are trying to be sure in your own mind, that your opponent does not have the big hand you are representing.
How Often Should you Bluff:
3 November 2008
One very good Holdem player that I know, recently said to me that if you take some time to really look at how many of the big pots you lose, are lost whilst bluffing, you can see that in the long run it is not profitable to bluff often.
I have to agree that there is a great deal of sense in what he is saying, as bluffing is usually a case of risking much, to earn little. But as players, we of course find our own styles of play with which we become comfortable. As a notorious bluffer at my local game, I certainly get more action when I make a big hand, so some things even out in that respect I feel. Also, if you never bluff at a pot, you have to assume that any players who are paying attention will see this, and be wary about calling your bets.
Despite the fact that advertising bluffs or being caught bluffing give you more chance of being called when you make a real hand, it is important to remember that you can’t win every pot, and you don’t have to in order to win a tournament. Sometimes it is best to sit back and be patient for a while in tournaments, although I for one, am always tempted to try and keep the momentum going when I am building chips, whether by hitting flops or simply by bluffing some of them. As to the question of how often you should bluff, the simple answer would be to say ‘whenever you feel your opponent is weak’ but it is not that simple. You can never be completely and entirely sure your opponent has no reason to call a bet at all, but you have to trust your feel of the situation at any given time.
Although I personally bluff more pots than I probably should sometimes, it can be more profitable to you as a pokeren player, to sit by, and wait. After all, discretion, as they say, is often the better part of valour.