This free online poker article is about a hand I watched in a Sit-and-Go tournament I played in. One of the players was duped, but so was I even though I wasn’t in the hand. The moral of the story is that you need to know when to fold and to be very aware of the outs that exist in the hand else you may get crushed.

Here’s how and why:

BLINDS 30/60

A has As-Jd, calls 60
B has ??-??, calls 60
Big blind and small blind joins (Pot 210)

FLOP: 8c-4c-As

Here A believes that his Ace is strong, so he continues his aggression:

Big blind and small blind check-fold
A bets 300
B calls 300

Because A fired out more than the pot, B is now getting less than 2-to-1 on a call, (1.7-1) which is the right price to call for a Straight or a Flush draw with two cards to come. A’s bet is just enough to drive out an incomplete hand. But because B is a bad player who will chase down draws, he calls.

TURN: 8c-4c-As-5c

The Five of Clubs came, and A, at this point, still has a strong hand, but has weakened. His Pair of Aces is good against what he believes should be a stray Flush draw. If he makes B continue, however, he might not be able to play his Pair. So A continues battering:

A bets 500
B calls 500

RIVER: 8c-4c-As-5c-7d

A Diamond came! Not a four-Flush. Of course A believes his Aces are good already, except if his opponent had A-K. So A tries a check-trap

A checks
B bets 1250
A calls all-in 1250

B reveals 8d-6d, wins the pot

How in the world did B have the Straight? When A saw three Clubs, he thought his opponent had, say, one Pair and one Clover which could materialize into a made Flush later. It didn’t, so A thought B’s all-in was because of the value of the small Pair B already had. He believed it will be only 8-x or less, so A called with what he thought was the best hand. It wasn’t.

The board was dangerous, but A miscalculated the danger. By focusing too much on the Flush, he didn’t realize that the Board was one card off a Straight (only a 6 is needed to topple him), and when only three Clubs came, he was lifted his fright of the Flush, but it made him recklessly disregard all other potential hands. The check was correct, but a fold would be better after that check.

And I, too, was duped. I thought B had a busted Flush, too. When B pushed A all-in, I, too, thought he was doing it with a pair and a busted Flush draw. It was with a Straight.

So what free Poker lessons can be taken from this hand?
One is to know when to fold. If the board’s one card off a Straight or Flush or any other big made hand, and a big bet is in front of you (which you reasonably believe is not a bluff), you should, more often than not, fold.

Two is to know which cards can crush you. All of them, not just some.

For A, during the Flop and the Turn, he realized that only Clubs can crush him. On the river, because there are only three Clubs (if B had the flush made, he would have moved all-in on the Turn, and A could have folded), A thinks he’s safe. He focused on the Clubs too much; he forgot the 6.

Of course it’s easy with hindsight and analysis, being aware of factors like all the available outs is a tough one if you’re new to poker (hell even if you’ve got some time tucked away) so for that reason it’s best to practice a lot in free poker games at NoPayPOKER before you go off to places like Feltstars and PartyPoker or live games and start throwing real money about. Even when you do progress I advise you to come back and play free online poker regularly in order to de-stress, make errors without loss and practice new ideas.

In this free online poker article we’ll look at what happens if, in a heads-up match, both players think they have the best hand and decide to slow-play – Trap versus Trap basically.

To illustrate the lesson we’ll look at the situation by example. In this case a World Series of Poker final table hand.

The scene:

BLINDS 100k/200k, ante 30k

PREFLOP:

A has Ks-10s, raises to 400k
B has As-Ad, calls 200k

A’s raise is standard for K-10, which is not as weak in short-handed play as in a full table.

B could have reraised A, but A might fold. B could be worried only if the Flop came up paired like J-J-7, but B thinks that a continuation test bet will detect if A has a hand after the Flop.

Reraising preflop and this test bet has the same effect of making A fold if A doesn’t have anything, but calling not only conceals A’s hand strength, but also makes it dangerous for B to bet if a King or a Ten comes.

FLOP: Kc-5c-3h

B checks
A bets 525k
B raises to 1.45m
A calls 875k (Pot now 3.76m)

Now A suddenly had top pair which he may think is the best hand!

B checks, again to conceal hand strength.

A bets to build the pot, then B raises.

A may interpret B’s raise as a bluff because he may think B is drawing (note the two Clubs) or that B may have a smaller pair, say, A-5 or A-3.

A just calls because he is now the one attempting to trap.

TURN: Kc-5c-3h-6s

B bets 1.5m

The three-Flush didn’t come. B’s bet is now challenging A.

If A folds, B still wins a large pot. If A calls or reraises, B can push him all-in if action gets back to B.

A’s trap seems to be working so far. Now B may have decided that A is still on a Flush draw with maybe a small Pair, say Ac-3c.

Additionally, because preflop A concealed his hand strength well (just smooth-calling), B can think that A also has a King, but with a weaker kicker.

Now he believes that A is ready to call anything he hauls in the middle, and he also thinks his trap is working. So what does he do?

A moves all-in
B calls 3.6m (Pot now about 14 million)

Both think their traps are successful! In poker, the bigger the hands, the bigger the chips in front.

Both did well in preserving the balance building the pot and concealing hand strength, but only one hand can win.

A can only win with a river King or Ten.

RIVER: Kc-5c-3h-6s-10c (!)

A wins! But had A continued trapping until the river with this river card, it’s still the same. Both still have big hands, both are willing to trap, and both are willing to ravenously hoard each other’s chips once the opportunity arises.

Summary of the Trap Vs Trap

Spend some time to read and consider the principles behind this article. Try and consider the key facts behind what’s going on in this particular example and consider ways to put these lessons into your individual play.

Poker, while not so difficult to learn if very difficult to make a living from, or, indeed, not lose money at most of the time!

But if (and when) you learn to really play online poker well then you’ll make some great money. Why?

Simply that the vast majority of players you come up against never get to what can be termed a good level.

So you, if you can get to a good standard will do very well very easily. You don’t have to be a TV pro to make good money in poker!

The fact that most players are at such a low competence means that whenever you hunt/play them on free online poker sites or low stakes sites you’ll be able to clean up.

To learn to play poker free go look at the rest of the NoPayPOKER blog, the free poker lessons here  cover all levels from rookie to advanced, plus, the site itself as a free online poker site is the ideal place to practice what you learn.

Regardless of if you’re a beginning free online poker player or a WSOP top table pro, the all-in is the biggest move in poker.

As a rule of thumb, usually one moves all-in only with hands that can stand a chance against, say, A-K or A-Q (the most common all-in hands).

It is because these are the hands also most prepared to call. Which hands, then, are we ready to put our tournament life on? Pocket pairs spring to mind. So does A-K (or A-Q or even K-Q suited or K-J suited if you are running out of chips)

But someone does it differently. I’d like to add that here; player B is usually an impatient, rowdy player who is familiar to us TV poker fans.

BLINDS 12k/24k

A has Ad-Kd raises 75k

A’s raise is simply standard for A-K suited, though it is slightly stronger (the average preflop raise is about 2.5x the big blind, but this raise is a little greater than thrice). But look at B’s move, which may be less standard:

B has 10c-5c moves all-in 544k

What about that: a 10-5? With about 22 big blinds left, which is relatively a short-stack (but not so short), B moves all-in. But with a 10-5? B can wait for slightly better hands than this.

Now let us try to justify the 10-5 in this situation. If B did it with a small pair, he is a slight favourite (about 55-45). If with A-x (with x smaller than a King), he is a significant underdog (about 75-25).

With any 2 cards apart from A or K he much less the underdog (approx. 66-34).

So the win-rate of 10-5 against A-K (here B deciding that A’s hand was A-K or similar was quite a gamble; if he’s up against A-A he is a big underdog, about 85-15) is just the average of the win rate of a pocket pair against A-K and the win rate of A-x against A-K, and therefore not so bad.

Moreover, with 10c-5c B has two live cards, in contrast to A-x, where x is the only live card. Moreover, B may dislike having 22 big blinds dwindle to, say, 15 or 14 later, so he decides to put his heart and soul into this hand. Who is this player, anyway? “I’ve got a 10-5, girls and boys.” Yes it’s true, the garrulous Mike Matusow! “The Mouth!”

A calls 469k (Pot 1.124m)

Now let us observe how “The Mouth” will fare against all odds.

FLOP: Js-7c-5s

“That’s a Flop!” A Five fell, pairing Matusow!

TURN: Js-7c-5s-8d

RIVER: Js-7c-5s-8d-6d

Moving all-in can prove to be the most dangerous moments in poker. Even in free online poker it can also be the most thrilling, anyway. The all-in recharged Matusow’s stack to 45 big blinds.

This sort of unusual play can be exploited forever in any case. When Matusow believed that A has A-K or similar, he is gambling.

While most players will work a strategy where they will call with pocket pairs I doubt in this case that A will call with anything less than 10-10.

Against A-A or K-K or a higher pair, 10-5 will win only about 15% of the time, and with 10-10 to 5-5, about 25%, and with 4-4 to 2-2, nearly a coin flip.

Summing up the All-In

Take time to read and comprehend the principles behind this article. Attempt comprehend the ideas behind what’s going on with this example and look into strategies to put these lessons into your individual play.

It takes time to learn how to play poker at a level where you make money consistently.

But if (and when) you learn how to play poker well then you’ll make some good money. Why?

Simply that the vast majority of players you come up against never get to what can be termed a good level.

So you, if you can get to a good standard will do very well very easily. You don’t have to be a TV pro to make good money in poker!

The fact that most players are at such a low skill means that whenever you hunt/play them on free online poker games or low stakes sites you’ll be able to clean up.

To learn to play poker for free explore the NoPayPOKER blog, the free poker lessons here cover all levels from beginner to advanced, plus, the site itself as a free online poker site is the perfect place to practice what you learn.

When you play both free poker online and any level cash poker Three-bets mean good hands (or bluffs). Four-bets mean better hands (or bluffs). Where you’re basically saying “I dare you!” to your opponent(s)

But luck gives you the best hands of all.  Here is one example:

BLINDS 50k/100k, ante 10k

PREFLOP:

A has K-K, raises to 290k

From the cutoff, A’s raise might want anybody else to fold. But he certainly plays K-K shrewdly. Many other players would play A-A or K-K weakly preflop for trapping later. A plays K-K as if it were any other hand.

• B has A-Q, raises to 650k
• A to call 360k

B’s reraise is to try if A has a decent hand or is just trying to steal. With suited connectors, A can call, but with K-K, A does better:

• A reraises to 1.49m
• B to call 840k

Now A plays K-K conventionally. He is enlarging the pot. It’s like saying “I Dare You!” Had his reraise be small (line only a reraise to 720k) it would not be “I Dare You”; it will be “I Want a Call” and B may call, but A has nothing to fear if B calls unless an Ace falls.

But he does not want a call. It is OK if B folds (which is just expected if B had no hand, but he wants B to put him on a bluff and push him.

B, meanwhile, is thinking something. Because A’s raises are from the cutoff, B may think that the second is a bluff (and good for A if he knows this is what B is thinking). So what does B do?

• B moves all in
• A to call 3.76m

Now B is the one daring A! A could have thought some of these:

(1) Was B trying to bluff me out? (He can’t, if he is. In fact, I want him to do that.)

(2) Did B trap me with a four-bet with the A-A? or K-K? (There is a small possibility.)

(3) How much will I invest? (I had 10.7 million at the start and I am going to invest 5.3 million. About half my stack. But I am going to try to knock him out, anyway.)

(4) Did B have A-x? (Most probably. They do it all the time. However, I’m quite uneasy if it’s worth half my stack.)

But A didn’t, because he instantly called. Moreover, A could have thought instead, “My ploys were successful. I trapped him. Now he’s finished.”

A calls 3.76m (Pot about 12 million)

Three-bets and four-bets almost always signify A-A, K-K or with some brave players, A-K or Q-Q. B had A-Q, which is not so

good for a call (A may have figured out that B held A-Q, so he reraised instead of trapped; if he just called, then an Ace may fall and he may not continue with his K-K) but even worse for staying in a hand with plenty of raises and reraises.

However, luck has the last word in this hand.

The board ended up Js-7h-3s-Ad-Qd, which clinched B’s win.

Concluding I Dare You

It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline and most players can’t be bothered. But, fact is, that learning hand scenarios like this is something that you just have to do in order to be good.

And this is great news for you as a player who wants to learn as so few players you will find playing lower stakes or free online poker do learn. So once you learn to play poker at an above average level and combat the “all-in-all the time” maniacs then you can take them apart in coldly calculated genocide anytime you like in low stakes money games and when you play free online poker that pays real cash such as that found at www.NoPayPOKER.com.

As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play poker online free on the NoPayPOKER.com tables to get it nailed

Whether you play free poker on NoPayPOKER or play for the biggest stakes imaginable a common theme is that aggressive players do all the betting and the raising, and get all the chips.

Those who just call are deemed to be passive. This is because calling puts you into a decision which the bettor hopes you to make. But if you have tons of reasons to call, and you have contemplated about it very carefully, you can call with no shame.

Here is one such hand (Shame on him if he folds):

BLINDS 60k/120k, ante 15k

PREFLOP:

• A has 5h-5d, raised to 310k (under the gun)
• B has Kc-10c, calls 310k (from middle position)

A’s raise from under the gun signifies a strong hand, but let us add that A is a strong aggressive player (somewhat on the loose side) that can represent any hand. Also, A can make everyone fold. B’s K-10 suited is good for just calling, and he does.

With K-10, one should be more careful if a King comes up. With a King, A may have K-J or A-K (A-K, especially from a raise under the gun). I don’t think B is aware of this, maybe because he hasn’t seen the Flop yet. Here it is:

FLOP: 10d-4c-2d

Now only a Ten comes, which is more favorable for B. Those who do not have flush draws with two Diamonds may play a J-10 or a 10-9 strongly, and the King kicker is very strong.

A bets 535k

Because A raised under the gun, he tries a continuation bet. If he gets called, he can put B on a flush draw or a small pair (like 7-7), so he can frisk away later with not much loss.

But B may want to end the hand with his Pair of Tens, probably because overcards can fall. Moreover, A has been too aggressive all throughout, as we said, and it may be with two face cards or A-x, so B returns A’s favor:

• B raises to 1.61m
• A needs 1.075m to call

Because A has been representing a strong hand so far (raising under the gun and continuation-betting), he might as well stay consistent. Moreover, A may think that B raised because he thought A had nothing, and he is trying o push A out of the pot with something like K-J or a Flush draw.

As for the possibility of a Ten in B’s hand, why would A think B had a Ten? Even if B did, he would just call (commonly) and then check-check it all the way, because a Pair of Tens is not so strong, especially if faced with a three-bet like this:

• A moves all-in 3.075m
• B needs 2.5m to call (Pot now about 7.5m)

Maybe A moved all-in because his Pair of Fives have value on a board with only one overcard and whose caller may have a Flush draw (in this case, the caller may still be reluctant because even with a Flush draw with two overcards, it’s still a draw) but he may also be thinking that B is putting a play on him, so he played-back.

Now B is put on the decision which calls for a call. Here are B’s reasons why he may not call (which B may be thinking, but which will be my reasons for so doing):

(1) A three-bet plus all-in may signify J-J or higher, which is very likely if only small cards are on the table. Or: even a Set which A may have used to trap with.

(2) He is getting approximately 3-to-1 on a call (2.5 million to win approximately 7.5 million), but he should call only if he is getting 4-to-1 (21% chance of hitting Two-Pair or Trips), which is the right price.

(3) If he calls, he will have about 6 million chips remaining, but if he doesn’t, he will have about 8.5 million remaining, and his loss is relatively small for his stack (which is nearly 10 million).

Now here are B’s reasons why he should call:

(1) He can knock out an opponent who has proven to be very dangerous so far.

(2) Maybe A is the one on a Flush draw. Or maybe a Flush draw with two overcards where both of them have nearly equal chance of winning. So it’s OK.

(3) Maybe A put B on a Flush draw and decided to push B out of the pot instead of letting a Diamond emerge. So A’s all-in is just a bluff now.

(4) Maybe A put B on a bluff and decided to counter-bluff.

(5) With only one overcard which is not so likely to be in someone’s hand just as a face card is, B may put A on a pocket pair 5-5 to 9-9. In that case, he has a better Pair (Tens).

(6) He can lift himself up to 14 million chips after this.

(7) It is because B’s guts says so.

With these things in B’s mind, but still brewing over the cons, B tried hard to decide. For a long time he stared at his opponent and the Board. He commented first, You may hate me for this,” but then added, as if nothing but instinct prompted him, “but I call.”

B calls 2.5m (Pot just above 9 million)

A is in trouble now. B won the hand and knocked out A (who is Antonio Esfandiari! B is Steven Begleiter). B may be neutral in choosing between folding and calling, but if I’ll call, I’ll call not solely because of value of the Tens, but because of the above reasons.

Summary of A Good Call

It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking “chip flinging” seen at many tables and learning hand scenarios like this is something that you just have to do in order to be good.

But this is also very good news for you as a player who is learning to play correctly because very few players you will find playing lower stakes or free online poker bother. So once you learn to play poker at an above average level and combat the “all-in-all the time” maniacs then you can take them apart in coldly calculated genocide anytime you like in low stakes money games and when you play free poker that pays real cash such as that found at www.NoPayPOKER.com.

As ever practice makes perfect so read, understand and learn to play poker free on the NoPayPOKER.com tables to get it nailed