Month: October 2021

In the last, adrenaline-filled, days of a Texas No-Limit Hold ‘Em tournament, when the blinds are slowly eating up your stack and your fingers are about to fall off into poker oblivion, it is understandable why a lot of players cringe when crunch time finally comes. Don’t let that happen to you. Remember that your emotions can totally shatter your hopes of winning and sticking to rather mechanical yet logical approaches to the game will get you the top.

Aggression should start to show up here. Waiting for premium or good cards like A-10 and K-Q will munch up your stack. And once you do get them, you’ll probably only have about three to eight rounds left to play! That’s why you should be bold and keep on hammering those chips on the table!

With only four to six players in the table, it is highly unlikely that someone will have good holdings when you call. And when you do land a good hand, the chances that you alone will be able to double up are slim. That’s why you should throw out high cards looking for tight players or those who are not afraid to fold.

Apart from the high cards, you should also bet aggressively when you get a good set of cards (even if you have only a pair of cards cinched to sight). Tilt only occurs when you bet significantly and excessively (acts more than normally) when you have a good hand. When you do this, you drive out your competition and then get to the flop to make your move.

Once you win the pot, you should never, ever call to “Keep the pot moving.” Your decision is final. Once you’ve won the pot, you should immediately expend it to bet again, even if you missed on the turn or the river.

There is an exception to this rule however. If you have pocket jacks, and thus a strong hand, you should call a bet on the flop even if you have bet out in the previous round.

Before entering a Texas No-Limit Hold ‘Em tournament, you should study the dewabet play, the players, and their styles. But most of all, you should have a general awareness of the cards being dealt, and what high cards are likely to be dealt in the next hand, and you should keep in mind that even underdog players will tend to play their hands in a similar style.

Texas No-Limit Hold ‘Em uses a 52-deck of cards. The broad classification of hands is in the following list:

• hands of 10 or Ace – these are the strong hands.
• hands of Ace and Ten – these are strong hands.
• hands of Two of Ace – these are strong hands.
• hands of Queen of Ace – these are strong hands.
• hands of Jack of Ace – these are strong hands.
• hands of 10 of Ace – these are strong hands.
• hands of 9 of Jack – these are strong hands.
• hands of 8 of Jack – these are strong hands.
• hands of 7 of Jack – these are strong hands.
• hands of 6 of Jack – these are strong hands.
• hands of 5 of Queen – these are strong hands.
• hands of 4 of Queen – these are strong hands.
• hands of 3 of Queen – these are strong hands.
• hands of 2 of Queen – these are strong hands.
• hands of jacks – these are strong hands.
• hands of seven of the spades – these are strong hands.
• hands of six of the threes – these are strong hands.
• hands of five of the fours – these are strong hands.
• hands of four of the fives – these are strong hands.
• hands of four of the tens – these are strong hands.
• hands of three of the ones – these are strong hands.
• hands of two of ones – these are strong hands.
• hands of one of the twos – these are strong hands.
• hands of one of the tens.

Do not play if you have a hand that is beatable, such as a six and a seven of the same suit, or an ace and a queen of the same rank. When you have such a hand, you should surrender, and you will lose your bet. But if you are not beaten, you should stand.

You are a poker player. You have read excellent poker books from winning poker pros and noted poker authors. You believe you can beat the best. But, man, do you get your butt kicked in the back. Every time you lay a hand down, you swear to yourself that you will never play poker again. You just get irritated at yourself. If only there were a way to change your mindset, then you could get your rear in the sand.

There is always a way to improve your game. No, not surgery, but a way to focus on what’s going on in the game and to work smarter than your opponents. There is only one way to succeed at poker – make more money than your opponents. But, if you make money at poker, then why do you play? Most players play for the money. They play it so loosely that they can’t execute on their own strong plays. They force play on hands that are statistically terrible. But, they win! How can that be? Imagine if you could focus on the present, as in now, and fix your own flaws. Would you be a better player? Can you think of a long list of mistakes that you have made in the past and never paid for it? If you can answer yes to any of those questions, then you are ready to begin my series on poker mindset.

My first topic will be discuss tight play. Tight play has 4 distinct category of rules:

1. Loose Play
2. Tight Play
3. normal Play
4. Aggressive Play

But, I found that most players fall into one of the third type, tight play. They are very tight when they have a good hand, but once you gain the loose skill you will see that their weak hand is beginning to show profit. In order to play poker loose, you must first learn to be tight. A tight player is a player who bets only on good hands. Usually considered the best of the tight players because they play aggressively when they have a good hand. When playing tight, you should be very patient. You can’t afford to give away free cards. Also as a tight player, you don’t play with many hands. You are not looking for free cards. When playing tight, you are hoping to hit the flop and increase your chances of winning. It seems like a strategy that you can’t and shouldn’t change. But, what about playing as an aggressive tight player?

Playing aggressively tight also requires a lot of patience. You can’t afford to reveal your hand to others. Since you don’t want your opponents to know the cards you are holding, you should fold unless you have a very strong hand. Putting your opponents on a small pair seems like a strong hand. But, really, it isn’t. You want to maintain your surprise factor. Players who know the game are slowly slipping into a pattern. They see what the pro does and anticipate doing it. They are depending on their hunches instead of carefully planning out their moves. Playing tight is an effective strategy, when it is applied intelligently. However, nature is not allowing you to hold back now. You have to reveal your secrets to the other players. It doesn’t matter if everyone knows your strategy. The one choice is yours, and you alone decide when you should use it. Practice your tight game against your friends and family. Rely on your friends’ testimonials. Play in your friends’ home games. And, eventually, against the relatives.

Playing as a tight aggressive, MPO777 strategy, will allow you to have a steady poker playing income for many years.