Wake up! You’ve read through all of the ‘Building a Bankroll‘ Articles, you’ve developed a sensible command of the game, you’ve left the band of bozo’s wondering ‘wtf’ happened to them.

Yet, you sometimes feel the need to carry a once powerful hand all the way to post-river play….even though you’re totally convinced that what you’re holding isn’t worth the equivalent of a beach photo where you’re displayed in a speedo. H E L L O !!!!!!

Sure you were dealt pocket QQ….but the flop showed A/9/4, and two players who you hold in very high regard have bet the flop. You know full well that neither of them would be doing so without a pocket ace.

And, your hopes of catching a Queen on the turn or the river are no greater than 8%; a 1 in 12 possibility. Don’t you think it might be wise to fold? Or, is there a latent desire for a rendezvous with the alpha bull?

In another instance, you were dealt QJ suited….then the flop showed K/J/2; without a card that matched your suit.

• And, two players made pot-sized bets. Both of whom are solid competitors, and both of whom possess game play habits that are known well by you.
• It’s sort of a ‘yes-brainer’; the question you’re asking is “do one or both of them hold a pocket King?
• And, you’re damn certain that the answer is “yes”.
• Maybe it’s wise to fold?

Interestingly, there’s a current television commercial being aired by one of the Internet poker sites. It features a young man, who is both a professional poker player and a personal friend.

• He’s looking at his pocket Kings, assessing the post-flop board (which contains an Ace), and analyzing the bets being made.
• Then, absent any ‘ego, emotions, or pocket-attachment’ featured in his facial expression, he casually tosses his Kings into the muck. An action akin to the two I cited above.

He’s ‘Laying Down a Once Powerful Hand’….and, it comes across as a routine, everyday, ‘who cares’ type of play.

Candidly, he has often been seen to do the very same thing in any number of televised poker tournaments.

1. Have you seen the TV spot?
2. Have you seen him do it in tournaments?
3. Can you do likewise?

If you answered “no” to the questions, or, of real consequence, if you answered “no” to the third question, be advised that there will be an ‘infomercial’ airing on your television later today….at exactly the time you choose to turn the TV on.

It’ll feature a whole lot of ‘BS’, and it’ll be hosted by the marketing firm that represents the ‘alpha bull’; somehow, they think he has an irresistible appeal. And, who knows, you may possibly agree with them.

Or, might it not be time to get truly serious about when to fold, about when to lay down good cards, about when to recognize that winning the hand ain’t gonna’ happen, and about when prudence takes center-stage….allowing ‘poor decision making’ to be yanked from the performance.

Of course it is! We’re not playing a one-hand game, we’re playing a game that permits us to see a near limitless number of hands; especially over the long-term.

And, we learned long ago that patience is the biggest asset, or skill, that we bring to a poker table.

It has served us well in putting together a bankroll, it’ll serve us well in the task of expanding our poker bankroll, and, if we so choose, it’ll serve us ‘beyond well’ at ‘yet to be played’ Brick and Mortar games (you’ll need to read the 10 Articles in the Brick and Mortar poker [B & M] series before you venture off to a card room or casino).

If we think of patience as a part of the discipline that we bring to the game, then it’s a minor leap to think of ‘laying down once powerful hands’ as an additional part of the discipline that we bring to the game.

And, it’s just about as easily done, as it is said. You’re definitely not inclined to fatten the wallets of the inordinate number of poor players who ‘flirt with the alpha bull’ at free poker NoPayPoker on a daily basis.

So, fold when necessary. And, learn to identify when it’s necessary….by making good use of a number of skills at your disposal; like Consistency of Focus (COF), Player Habits, Flop Texture, and a really big dose of ‘plain ole’ common sense; an attribute sorely missing amongst the vast majority of your opponents at NoPayPoker!

And, before we arrive at some specifics regarding ‘when it’s necessary’, keep in mind that we’re playing with one goal….to win money.

To accomplish that, we have sub-goals.

• We need to survive the ‘chip-flinging’ in the first 5 or 6 hands of the tournament
• We need to be certain that patience gets us beyond the ‘bubble’
• We need to utilize just about all of our strategic tactics to earn a seat at the final table
• And we need to win the game….or, come as close to winning as is possible (no one ever said we could win ‘em all).

Now, specifics! Let’s start with something simple….like, how strong is an early position pocket of Ace/Queen offsuit?

I suspect you’re about to be surprised.

And, any poker hands article about folding ought to take into account ‘strong pocket cards’ that most often should be folded.

Candidly, a pre-flop fold can save a lot of money. So, do you fold this pocket?

If your answer was “no”, let me explain why it should have been “yes”.

• Here’s the way A/Q offsuit holds up against premium and secondary pockets:
• Versus AA, it’s about a 92 to 8 loser
• Versus KK, it’s about an 82 to 18 loser
• Versus QQ and AK, it’s about a 72 to 28 loser
• Versus JJ and TT, it’s about a 57 to 43 loser
• .Aand versus 22 through 99, it’s about a 53 to 47 loser.

Well, against the combined total of 14 premium and secondary pockets, A/Q offsuit has an average losing ratio of 61 to 39….not quite ‘advantaged’, is it?

And, since you’re in early position, there are quite a few players remaining who could be holding any one of the 14 pockets.

Toss the cards, and reflect back on your Playable Pockets Matrix (PPM). Where, you’ll rediscover, that the ONLY playable cards from early position are AA, KK, QQ, AK, and AQ suited (not offsuit).

Next, remember that your free poker playing opponents at NoPay don’t replicate your game, they will participate in hands with very different cards, very different ‘pot entry’ standards.

• They don’t use the PPM, they don’t understand Positive Expected Value (+EV), nor do they understand Negative Expected Value (-EV).
• For the most part, they are of the mind set that says “you can’t win if you’re not in the hand”.
• In reality, they’re also of the mind-set “you can’t meet the ‘alpha bull’ if you’re not in the hand”.

Just because you are doing everything right doesn’t mean that they will too. People will play all sorts of hands, especially in free online poker freerolls!

That being true, particular attention should be paid to the possibility of straights….where ‘wet’ flop textures turn on the ‘flashing red light’.

When there are three ‘wet’ cards on the table, 5/6/8 for example, there’s a good chance that one or more ‘Farm Animals’ might be playing with pocket 7/4 or pocket 7/9.

Thus, your A/K offsuit has turned sour….and you’ll likely lay down the once powerful hand

Similarly, when 2 or 3 of the flopped cards are suited, and there’s an overcard within the flop….another ‘wet’ Flop Texture….there’s a distinct possibility that one or more of the ‘Farm Animals’ might be playing with rag/rag suited; or, paint/rag suited….a pocket severely overplayed by the ‘pasture dwellers’.

And, as cited above, the ‘wet’ flop automatically flips on your ‘flashing red light’ switch.

Thus, your pocket Tens have turned to turds.…and you’ll likely lay down the once semi-powerful hand.

Last, consider all of the following about being dealt pocket Jacks.

• With 3 other players taking part in the hand, you’ve got the potential for serious problems on the horizon.
• First off, all 3 opponents each have more than a 40% chance of holding a pocket Ace, or a pocket King, or a pocket Queen.
• And, the flop possesses more than a 60% chance of showing either an Ace, a King, or a Queen….which makes you about a 5 to 2 underdog.

Correctly, pre-flop, with no more than a 3 times the Big Blind raise, we belong in the hand; we are getting a bit over 3 to 1 on our money; or, approximately a 20% ‘advantage’.

Yet, post-flop, should an Ace, or a King, or a Queen (absent a Jack), appear on the board, and, one or more players bet the flop, the ‘light’ goes on.

Sure, any of us can look stupid, I more than anyone, but, none of us are stupid….we’re ‘enlightened’ players, and we win money.

We hold a profoundly obvious ‘advantage’ over the game; and we know it.

Maybe the ‘Farm Animal’ friends of the ‘alpha bull’ don’t know it, but, that too is another one of the major problems they have no ability to correct.

We, however, don’t have a problem. Our pocket Jacks have met their match, and we want out of the hand. The ‘flashing light’ has told us that it’s time to be ‘Laying Down a Once Powerful Hand’….just like Daniel does in the TV commercial.

“You will show your poker greatness by the hands you fold, not the hands you play”….I can’t remember who the quote belongs to, but I sure as heck understand it’s message.

How can a small stack react to the bullying of a big stack, and under what conditions? Here Player A has the smallest stack in the table, and B the biggest one. (B had at least six times the stack of A.) Player A could move all-in with what he had, but see how well he did it.

BLINDS 100k/200k

PREFLOP:

• A has Ad-Qd raise to 550k
• B is on big blind, has 7d-7c, calls for 350k (Pot 1.41m)

Why didn’t B try to push A all-in here? A might fold, and he may not want to blow up his big stack yet.

What if A has J-J or above? Then A would be harder to kick out of the pot. B could put A on big cards, and he will be right if he does.

Generally, small stacks could afford to play only big cards.

FLOP: 8d-3h-8c

• B checks
• A bets 650k

B checks, hoping to check-check it all the way with A. But A fires out 650k.

That move is aggressive; he can push B out. Why? His 7d-7c is not strong enough, expecially on a paired board.

It is good for A to bluff, and the pot will be a chunky addition to his small stack.

That may make B put A on a high pair or two big cards (like A-K), but he doesn’t know which, so he tries a raise:

B raises to 1.5m

Because B called from the big blind, A could put him on a wider range of hands.

One of them could be A-8 suited, or 9-8. But it could also be something else which didn’t help A, maybe K-J which A decided to limp in with.

The raise may signal an Eight, or an attempt to push B out. One of the two.

Now A can think of why B didn’t bet the flop. The check may be a trap, so he bets to see if it is. If B just called then an Ace or a Queen may fall, and that may be costly to B, A might think.

But B raised, so A figures out that B wants him out of the pot because B’s hand is not strong enough (If he guesses a small pair, like 7-7 or lower, he’s right.).

And because he is the short-stack, he has to be aggressive.

He has to take more risks and take more chips. He just hoped that B is semi-bluffing, and:

• A moves all-in (Pot 8.085m)
• B needs 3.675m to call

B is now on trouble here.
A’s three-bet represents a strong hand. Also, look at B’s: comments: “I really think you have A-K or A-Q…” He is right. He could have called, and cost him only a sixth of his stack.

Also, B can consider the stack condition of A. Would he raise with 8-7 or 9-8 with a small stack if he can wait for and then move all-in with A-K, A-Q or any pair?

B will be more inclined to believe it’s A-K or A-Q.

However, B adds: “I’ve been playing with you for a long time, and you’re a very solid player, I never see you not having a hand…and if you have a very big pair I’m in trouble. Nice bet sir.”

Yes, he has observed that A has been playing mostly with good hands. Was A aware of this?
He may be, and used it to his advantage. B thinks that it might be a big pair, too. What’s a three-bet plus all-in for, anyway? Or even 8-7 or 9-8.

B thinks: The raise is from a late position, and A might be trying to steal preflop with anything which may include the stray Eight, and his aggression looks like he hit the Flop. So it’s really a nice all-in, and B folds.

So a short-stack should play more aggressively.

If A didn’t do the move now when the proper conditions are there (a paired board which is less likely to hit B and more likely to scare him, too; a raise he interpreted as a weak semi-bluff; his player image), he might be blinded and anted off, and he will find it harder to stage a comeback in the tournament.

Phew, heavy stuff eh! If you are a poker beginner this may be a bit way out there for now but never fear! Join NoPayPOKER today. You can learn to play poker for free on the blog and then put your learning into practice with no money risk whatsoever on the NoPayPOKER free texas holdem online poker site

What do you do with a big hand preflop when you have a big stack, like K-K? And how does everyone else react? At the World Series of Poker, here is one such hand.

BLINDS 40,000/80,000

A has As-10c moves all-in (Pot 1.296m)
B has K-K reraises to 5m (Pot 6.296m)

B has two options here. He can just call and then wait for someone to move all-in after him, but that would make him do some thinking. Could it be A-A? Or Q-Q? If it was Q-Q there is a slight chance he might fold K-K, and regret it. But a big reraise can drive Q-Q or lower out, like what happened to another player:

C has Jd-Jc

(C’s comments on B’s hand were: “Why did you make it so much? … You like your hand that much?”) If C calls, it’s for all of his chips. C may think that B has A-K, but there are two all-ins in front of him, and one of them might be A-X (and with A-X he is still not safe) or a pair, but a suspiciously heavy raise to about 60 times the big blind is almost always a signal for A-A or K-K. So C could wait for a better opportunity than now.

C folds (Pot 2.39m)

C’s fold was brilliant, after the reraise, but it will still be brillinat even if B did not reraise. B might bet again on the Flop and C may not continue and just let go of the chips.

B’s reraise will work if he has A-A or K-K, but I doubt it if he will do the same with A-K or Q-Q, but it may have the same effect of making C fold. As for A, let us wish for his good health. B won the hand later.

So now you know! If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join today. You can learn to play poker online free on the blog and then put your learning into practice with no money risk whatsoever on the NoPayPOKER free poker site

OK, it’s time for some serous free poker learning! This is not a beginner article but if you are new read anyway, it will get your mind working in the background.

On a poker table, to reconstruct a hand is to determine the motives of the other players for their actions, based on the cards that fell, your betting patterns, their player types, their chip stacks, the pot size, and many other factors, so you can put them on a hand.

With poker shows now showing the hole cards, the player actions, the pot, and other statistics, a third-person analyst not participating can now reconstruct hands from his or own point of view, based on the other factors mentioned above.

So, for our first reconstruction, we shall discuss a big hand.

BLINDS 1,000/2,000
(Pot 5,400)

PREFLOP:

• A has Js-9s, calls 2,000
• B has Ks-Kc, raises to 14,000
• A calls 12,000 (Pot 33,400)

A just initially calls, hoping that there will also be many callers because he has suited connectors and wants to get sufficient pot odds.

B, meanwhile, may interpret the call from early position as A-A or Q-Q, and because he has a big stack (the two are the biggest stacks in the table) he can afford to raise a little bit, because if the other player reraises and he thinks the other one has A-A, he can fold.

Also, K-K is a little bit unsafe if an Ace falls on the flop, so this may serve as a tester raise. A calls, because he has a big stack and can afford it.

FLOP: Kh-9d-Kd

• A checks
• B checks (Pot 33,400)

Suddenly B has Quad Kings! A checks, because he has only a Nine, and can proceed carefully if B bets. B, hoping to conceal his unbeatable hand, checks too.

Paired boards are usually good bluffing situations.

For example, a 8-8-3 board is good for bluffing because on a, say, J-7-3 board, there are three cards which can pair one of them, and a bluff will be less effective.

But on the 8-8-3 board, bluffing has big benefits because there are only two cards which can conceivably help anyone, and also anyone there with a Three will be less likely to call. (Only an Eight will do.)

But with a board with bigger cards like our Flop, B could have bet, but after that, A will be less likely to put him on a bluff (and more likely on a made hand) because he may have, say, K-10, and we play big cards more than small ones.

B doesn’t want A to back out of the pot. So B just checks.

Also, with two Diamonds B will want to check on the hope that A will put him on a flush draw so that if the flush doesn’t come, A will bet or raise to push B away, and B can gain extra chips.

TURN: Kh-9d-Kd-5h

• A checks
• B bets 20,000
• A raises to 70,000
• B calls 50,000 (Pot 173,400)

B still has invincible Quads, A still has Two-Pair. B could have now put A on the Nine or a draw, so B bets 20,000 so that A will call.

But since during the flop B may have represented a Diamond flush draw in A’s perspective, A raised to 70,000 so that B will move away.

B just calls, because there are two draws already, and B might want to represent one of them again so that A will try another bluff on the river.

RIVER: Kh-9d-Kd-5h-9h

• A checks
• B moves all-in 106,000 (Pot 279,300)
• A folds

B still has Quads, but A is now in trouble because he has a bottom Full House. A King can kill him.

What A is hoping, though, is that B backdoored a Heart Flush and just check it along with him.

But B moves all-in. This is a very intriguing move by B. A strong player would value-bet this (sat, 40,000 on a pot of 173,400) and A can just call it.

It is OK to represent a Flush here, because the board is double-paired, which can destroy Flushes because the board is just one card off a Full House.

So what I am thinking is: B moved all-in because (1) he wanted A to think that they have the same hand or that his hand is weaker, like a Flush. B’s play on the Flop and the Turn was weak, so A might not have put B on a King but likely on the Flush draw we are talking about.

B wants a call. B now hopes that A backdoored a Flush too and also that he thinks his all-in is just a bluff, but A is in trouble because of the sudden strong play.

It was psychologically jarring.

Did B hide that King or not? A might think that better hands could come later, so he folds.

Also (2) B may not want a showdown; he did not want to show the two Kings; he wanted to trouble the minds of A and other opponents.

If they saw how he played K-K it will be added information. He wants to keep them guessing.

It is important to play more unpredictably so you can gain chips later than to gain chips now, but be unable to get some later. I believe this is a brilliant reason.

So now you know! If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join today. You can learn to play poker online free on the blog and then put your learning into practice with no money risk (zero, nada)  whatsoever on the NoPayPOKER.com free online poker site.

Learn how to play poker in our Learn to Play Poker Online series of free poker articles from NoPayPOKER members, Pro players and the legendary D Michael Vadnais

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Here is our Learn to Play Poker progam, attention at the back now!

1) If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join here and learn to play poker free online today! You’ll get $20 FreeD as an instant bankroll so you can begin.

2) But hold on…if you a beginner, first read through the D M Vadnais series An Introduction To The Game – Poker 101.

3) Go and watch some games being played in the NoPayPOKER games software.

• Time spent in recon is never wasted as long as you don’t get stuck there.
• Don’t obsess over this, just get a feel for the territory and the “enemy”

4) During this time time read (for the first of many times!) the awesome series Building a Bankroll – OK you may not get a lot of it first time around but it will get your mind going the right way.

5) Make a start.

• Try some of the freerolls.
• You will find a schedule in the games software, they run 24-7.
• If you lose your FreeD don’t worry.
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• If you do this take the FreeD for NoPay play, don’t go play at the money sites yet if you are new, you’ll only get whipped, play there is for later.

6) Keep playing and practising, to learn how to play poker is a lifelong trip that should never end, when you stop learning you’ll get stuck in a rut so keep playing and looking to learn.

Here are the current Learn to Play Poker Online resources on NoPayPOKER:

An Introduction To The Game – Poker 101
For poker beginners. If you don’t know your calls from your folds start here.

Building a Bankroll
Essential reading if you have any ambition at all to win money at poker. D M Vadnais takes you through the fundamental steps you must go through if you are to succeed. Read it!

World Of Brick and Mortar

• OK you’re doing great on NoPay.
• You’ve learned a lot about poker and winning and now it’s time to step up.
• In this guide D M Vadnais takes you through how to win in the real world, which, in his pro player opinion is far far superior (and profitable) than playing online poker.
• Read this, it’s an eye opener into the trembling hand, sweaty brow world that real hard men and hard women play in!

Starts June 2010: Expanding Your Bankroll
Masterclass time. D M Vadnais takes you through what you need to do to fine tune your game to perfection and make some serious money playing poker.

Poker Hands Analysed and Reconstructed.
Just started. Many articles on the way over the next 2 months. A brilliant series of articles from a NoPayPOKER member that looks in detail at the various hands work. How they work and what to do if you find yourself in such a situation. Advanced pro quality stuff.

User Articles – Best of the Rest

• Send us a poker article you’ve written yourself (don’t copy we spot copies easily)
• Every one accepted gets $50 FreeD.
• The best one every month wins $1000 FreeD with runners up each getting $100 FreeD.
• We publish the best of them here.
• Have a look there are some great free learn poker tips from the guys at the coalface.

So now you know! If you are not already a member of NoPayPOKER join and learn to play poker free online today!

Poker pro rocket scientist now you got it