How To Win At Low Stakes Online Poker

1) Solid Opening Ranges

Full Ring:

Your opening ranges are arguably even more important in full ring than in 6-max. The reason is because one of your opponents will almost always have a strong hand so you need to stick with a solid tight aggressive style. As most of you know I hate to give specific range suggestions because it always depends on the table etc, however, this is will give you some rough guidance.

VPIP: 18%

PFR: 14%

3-bet: 8%

6-Max Poker:

Your opening ranges will need to be solid. If you are running PokerTracker or something like that (which you should be) it will be easy to see your statistics. They should look something like this for 6-max. Note: when I play 6-max my opening ranges are significantly wider than this. However, at first when you are trying to win it can be very hard to widen ranges appropriately – best to stick with a simple style.

VPIP 22%

PFR 18%

3bet: 10%

2) Why to Raise Pre-flop at low stakes 

Raising to Isolate at low stakes poker:

This is an incredibly underutilized strategy by low stakes players. Even if you don’t have a significant equity advantage over your opponent it often makes sense to isolate. Against weak players the bigger pots you can play (especially with position) the greater amount of expected value you will be able to extract. The most common way to isolate a weak player is by 3betting them. It is uncommon, and generally not advisable to cold call 3bets – thus 3betting is an effective way to push out most of your competition and increase your chances at the weak players money. You can also isolate simply by raising. Generally an appropriate pre-flop raise size to attempt to isolate is 4BB-6BB.

Raising for value:

It is easy to 3bet the top 6% of hands for value against a weak player and you can never go wrong. However, you may want to be 3betting for value more like 10-15% depending on how the Villain reacts and if other Villains let you get away with this without 4betting light. Against a player who raises 30% of hands which is super common among weak low stakes players you could 3bet something like (88+, A10+ KJ+).

Raising as a bluff: 

Bluffing in poker is always tempting but, I would advise against doing this until you become a highly sophisticated player. Frankly, it is not necessary to win at low stakes. Even at higher games it is rare to see many players effectively river raising as a bluff – with a few exceptions.

3) Why Play Aggressively Post-flop?

Raising to protect your hand:

In particular you should be aggressive early in hands with top pair and overpair type hands. In no-limit hold’em top pair and overpair hands generally hold a dominant equity position on the flop, but often lose it by the turn or river. Even sophisticated players need to be cautious about slow-playing themselves into trouble. Rule of thumb: Don’t stack off in just a raised pot with a one pair hand. In 3bet pots stacking off with top pair or overpair is generally totally acceptable, and folding would often be a horrible mistake.

Ex 1. Villain raises 3bb pre and hero 3bets to 10bb from the button with AA. The flop is QJs5s and Hero bets 15bb and gets check-raised. Assuming stacks aren’t super deep this is a super easy spot to shove all-in or just call and let your opponent put the chips in on the turn (likely best).

Ex 2. Villain raises 3bb pre and hero calls 3bb from the button with AA and then the SB and BB call as well. The flop is 98s5s the SB bets out half pot you raise to 20 BB and then the SB shoves. If this is a solid opponent you will often be beat or up against a monster draw – you should fold.

Raising the flop for value:

Many players seem to forget that they are playing No Limit Hold’em when they raise the flop – this means unlimited betting. Against weak players in particular it often makes sense to raise over the size of the pot for value. Weak players often simply look at their own hand when deciding whether or not to call rather than considering the hand strength of their opponent.

4) Learning To Fold At Low Games

Beware The Passive Player:

This is something which I think a lot of decent low and even mid-stakes players struggle with. One of the biggest things that experience has taught me is to be wary of passive players when they bet big. It may seem that you shouldn’t be folding your strong two pair hand or whatever, but I have learned over time to trust my instinct and make some big post-flop folds from time to time.

Board Texture Matters:

Some players make the mistake of thinking because it is a bad player that board texture doesn’t matter. However, that isn’t true. The reality is that the range will simply be wider against weak players and you need to consider more possibilities. This makes reading a weak player a bit challenging, but it also makes it fun. If you can read board textures and know what types of hands a weak player likes to chase it can be easy to play exploitively (like I advocate in my book) against the Villain.

Hope you enjoyed the post and be sure to check out my other posts and book!

-ThePokerCapitalist

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10 Poker tips – Learned From A Decade In Poker:

1) Playing exploitively is the key to success. Far too many people are distracting themselves focusing on GTO ranges when they should be finding their edge and maximizing it. To the extent that learning GTO means understanding basic ranges so you can deviate from them where appropriate, fantastic… However, if you are failing to think creatively and exploitively about the game because your mind is immersed in GTO, then you have a problem.

2) Adapt or die! In my 10 years in the game I have played multiple games. At times I have played tournaments, limit hold’em, no limit hold’em, pot limit omaha, and occasionally even omaha hi/lo. The best players are the ones that are able to reshape themselves as necessary to play in the game that offers the greatest opportunities. Don’t be afraid to explore new opportunities if they present themselves.

3) It is easier to be a TAG vs a LAG over time. I have seen a lot of young players come and go who played a super LAG style of play. Unfortunately, if you are a LAG there are often many more marginal situations to deal with. Some players don’t deal well with these situations – this is particularly the case when they are running horribly. So, in the long run most players are better off putting themselves into positions where they have a more clearly defined edge. Personally, I think hybrid TAG / LAG players are the most effective because they are able to toggle between the modes depending on the situation. In situations where there is a very high value player at the table they will be a LAG, but at the end of the day when exhausted they may act more like a TAG. I consider myself to be LAG / TAG hybrid who generally leans toward being a LAG. Frankly, I just can’t help myself lol.

4) Managing your bankroll is extremely important. Every player needs to find their own ideal strategy, but it should be clearly defined. I like to have a “primary roll” and a “backup roll” that I can play at smaller stakes with in the event I bust my primary roll. This allows me to be a bit more aggressive with my primary bankroll and maximize opportunities. What size of roll is appropriate for you will depend on the games you play in and your skill level. The higher your win rate the less downside variance you will experience and the lower your winrate the greater downside variance you will encounter.

5) Managing your emotional state is important. It is easy to get too high or too low in this game, and over time you need to strike a balance. Shorter sessions can help to keep your emotions in check, and I always recommend exercising and a generally good diet.

6) Your red line matters. Any tight player can show positive showdown winnings, but only high quality players are able to have flat or positive red-lines while maintaining positive showdown winnings. In my experience it is good to have your non-showdown winnings be close to the flat-line.

7) Learn to fold top pair hands. This is an issue that many beginning poker players struggle with. In particular it may be difficult to get away from top pair good kicker and even small overpairs. However, if you are only in a raised pot it is generally best to proceed with caution unless you are up against a very weak player.

8) Don’t fix your ranges (3 bet, 4 bet, fold 3 bet, flop c-bet %, fold cbet %, etc, etc) too much. This ties in a bit with #1. Your ranges should vary dramatically at times depending on the opportunities that present themselves.

9) Don’t overplay your draws. Keep in mind that most draws are at an equity disadvantage and putting too much money in while behind is never a good idea. There are times when it makes sense to play draws aggressively early in the hand to exploit huge weaknesses on later streets. However, I see far too many players just slinging chips in with draws when they should be more passive with them. Bottom line: unless you have a reason to play a draw aggressively wait until it hits and then put the chips in.

10) Sweat the small hands. Over thousands of hands the little decisions add up and often exceed bigger hands. In fact, big hands often play themselves while small situations are more complex. When you are conducting hand reviews make sure you find a balance between big hands and small.

I could go on, but for now that is it! If you get one thing from this post just remember to think exploitively!

-ThePokerCapitalist (No nonsense, no ads, straight talk on poker)

The post How to Win At Poker – Insights After A Decade In The Game appeared first on The Poker Capitalist.

1) 3-betting Exploitively

We are 3-betting a really high % of the time like 20% because our opponent folds 90% of hands to 3-bets. Doing so makes us exploitable, but also makes us a lot of money. It doesn’t matter if we are exploitable if our opponent is not exploiting you! Make sure you don’t level yourself against this kind of opponent and think that maybe they are spazz 4betting against you.

How do we find and exploit a Villains leak? In the scenario above it was very easy, but often that is not the case. In more complex cases we need a good grasp of what an unexploitable range looks like, and then if the Villain is deviating too far from that we know they have a leak. It is important to realize that some players may not have a significant leak until they begin to tilt. This is why game flow and psychology are still a very important part of the game. I think many players do not focus enough on game flow and psychology in determining their Villains ranges. Players that understand game flow and psychology better tend to be the higher stakes players. Ultimately, to be successful at any level we should have a strong understanding of how to construct an unexploitable range (to combat/break even vrs highly skilled regs), and have a good strategy for exploiting the leaks of weaker opponents.

With time and experience we can become experts at anticipating how a poker player will react in a variety of different situations.

A skilled Villain raises 50% of buttons (663 combos) and enters a min raise on the button. You proceed to 3bet him to 7 BB from the Small Blind and he folds. Normally he folds to 3-Bets 66% of the time. The very next hand he raises the cut-off (Villain is first in from the cutoff PFR=25%=331 combos) to 3BB and you 3-Bet from the button to 9BB. How frequently do you expect him to fold to your 3bet?

1. In this kind of scenario most players will fold more often vrs your 3bet(something around 80% IMO). They are afraid of being seen as spazzing out and therefore they will be 4betting almost exclusively for value. Also, the Villain will be hesitant to take a flop from oop because they are reluctant to bluff post flop (fear of being perceived as spazzing). In my experience many Villain’s defend only a range of hands that looks something like this ( TT+, AQs+, KQs, AQo+)=66 Combos. Unfortunately, if they are opening 331 combos that leaves them folding (1-(66/331))*100%=80%. Even if they aren’t quite this nitty most Villain’s inclination will be to fold too much in this scenario.

2) Understanding 4bets

A skilled villain raises the button 50% (.5*1326=663 Combos) of the time to steal the blinds when he is first in the pot. The first time he raises the button you 3-Bet from the small blind and he folds. 20 hands later a similar scenario develops where he is first in on the button and raises. Again you 3-Bet from the SB. When he 4-Bets do you perceive his range as wider or tighter? Lets assume he generally 4-Bets 20% of his raising range 663/5=132 Combos of hands.

1. Generally, in this scenario I would expect him to 4bet wider than this (possibly 160 combos). Most villains that open that wide off the button do not like to fold repeatedly vrs 3-Bets. Unlike our previous scenario where we 3-Bet the Villain back to back here there was a gap between the actions. This gap makes a significant difference in the psychology of the Villain. In my experience they are not as afraid of being perceived as spazzing. Because they are not afraid of being perceived as spazzing, and given the likely fact they remember your previous 3bet this will tend to make them stickier. Many Villains will 4bet too much in this spot and may be very exploitable to a 5bet jam. If they started with 663 combos and like to polarize their 4-Bets they will be in trouble. Assuming a value range composed of AK, AKs, AA, KK, QQ, JJ=40 combos they will be folding 75% of the time to 5bets (1-(120/160))*100%=75%. A little basic math will tell you with 100 BB stacks the Villain’s is exploitable. Either the Villain needs to 4bet less or the Villain needs to add more value hands into his range.

Against opponents that fold to a lot of 3-Bets we should be 3-Betting a ton. Against opponents that 4Bet a ton of hands, and fold to 5Bets we should be 5Betting small pockets, KQs, AXs etc. Against opponents that 4-Bet a ton of hands, and don’t fold to 5-Bets we can weigh our 3bets heavily in the direction of value hands. What I am trying to illustrate is the importance of being versatile and adjusting in real time to our opponents. Reading how our opponents react and shift the number of combos in their range is what will ultimately make you a big winner in this game.

One little trick to keep in mind is generally if you are significant off the 60-65% level for fold to 3bet, 4bet or 5bet you probably have a leak. When you are structuring your ranges start with 1326 and figure out how you can fold no more than 60-65% versus 3-Bets, 4-Bets, and 5-Bets. Whether or not your opponents recognize your weaknesses is an entirely different question. If your opponents don’t have a good sample on you it could be difficult for them to detect leaks. When studying spend some time thinking about how game flow will lead your opponent to shift their ranges.

Remember, playing exploitively is the key to success in this game. Good luck at the tables and be sure to check out my book Exploitive No Limit Holdem.

-Paul

P.S. Just an update for all the long time blog followers. I’m currently pursuing an opportunity with a startup so I haven’t been playing or writing lately. Anyhow, I had an hour or two and as always I enjoy talking poker strategy so I thought I would write this. I’ll try to post more frequently when possible, I hope you got something out of this. Good luck at the tables.

The post Winning Poker Strategies appeared first on The Poker Capitalist.

Before we delve further into detail I want to make available to you some of my other posts that discuss 3betting, 4betting, and 5 betting which are all important preflop concepts for players.

1. 4 Bet For Value
2. 5 Bet Shove – The Last Bet
3. Expert 3bet Strategy

3 Betting Range Visual

Below is a graph that shows you the different styles of play when it comes to 3 betting, I favor the LAG approach. However, far more important than the actual percentage of hand that you 3 bet is the types of hands that you use to create that range.

Constructing A 3 Betting Range

Polarized 3 Betting Range: When players are constructing a polarized 3 betting range this means they are 3 betting the top of their range and the bottom of their range. This is a strategy most commonly employed against other regulars. It can be especially effective against fit or fold regulars. The big advantage of this strategy is it allows us to “save” our relatively strong hands to call with and realize the equity of the weaker part of our range by creating fold equity. A polarized 3betting range of 11% might look something like this. As you can see we are not 3 betting hands like Aq, Aqs, Aj, Ajs, etc. Why? One of the big problems with these hands is they do not play well all-in preflop and 3betting them makes you vulnerable to aggressive 4 bettors. As a result it may be easier to achieve a greater expected value with these hands with calls rather than 3bets against regulars. In reality you will want to mix it up and there may be times that AQs is like the nuts. In particular I have found 3betting AQs to be quite effective in the bilnds because players will shove some very weak hands if you are an aggressive 3 bettor. Notice that I also included a couple of small pocket pairs in the 3 betting range. Note: these hands don’t play well in a passive manner because it is difficult to tell where you are with the inevitable 3 overcards. Realizing equity in a aggressive manner with these hands is generally the best policy.

Linear 3 Betting Range: A linear 3 betting range is simply one that is composed of the highest value hands. So, it will be heavy on the high cards. It is often a fairly good policy to 3 bet a linear range against maniacs or other weak opponents. Basically, you want to be 3 betting the top of your range to build the pot versus a weaker range and allow for the weak Villain to make huge postflop mistakes.

Against regulars who frequently call your 3 bets you will likely have to move more toward a linear 3 betting range and away from a polarized range. Why? One good reason is that it allows you to extract value from light calls of 3 bets with hands like QJ, Q10, KQ, etc. Unless you have some AJ and AQ type hands in your 3 betting range your opponent will be ok with these light calls. One of the first things you should think about when playing against another regular is how are they constructing their 4bet and calling of 3bet ranges. Preflop play is extremely important in NLHE and its importance should not be underestimated.

Value Only 3 Betting Range: A value only range will vary dramatically depending on the opponent. Versus other regulars this would be extremely tight and an ill advised way to 3bet. Ex. QQ+ and AK+ is only 2.56% of hands, and you probably don’t want to get it in much wider than that (especially if your numbers are this tight). 3 betting in this way is highly ill advised and means you are leaving a ton of money on the table. Your opponents will know exactly what you have every time that you 3 bet and it will be excruciatingly difficult to get paid off with your hands. Many live players fall victim to 3 betting only hands like this.

Keep in mind that a value only range will be much wider versus weaker opponents. This will vary wildly depending on the opponent that you are up against. Versus a maniac a value only range could exceed 10% of all hands. In some cases at higher stakes you will see players 3betting extremely thin for value in the 15-20% range. I

Bluff Only 3 Betting Range:

This could look like anything. If you took out the AA, AKs, Ako, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010 from the above hand range you could be looking at a bluff only 3 bet range. I don’t know that I have ever seen a player do this and it is highly ill advised. When you have strong hands in poker it is important to put pressure on your opponents and attempt to build the pot. The only time I use a bluff only range is against players that massively overfold to 3 bets. In these cases you probably want to save your stronger hands to play in postflop pots against them and just take advantage of their tightness with bluff 3bets.

Be sure to check out my book exploitive no limit holdem where I talk at length about these concepts and many more!

Good luck!

-ThePokerCapitalist

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