My new free poker online coaching lesson looks at how to make cunning use of small bets to get big wins. So how can a series of small bets add up to a very sneaky play? And why will do good players switch from conventional big bet thinking to small?

Here is a hand example that shows the idea:

BLINDS 6k/12k

PREFLOP:

A comes from small blind, has got 9d-4d, raises to 35k
B from big blind, has got As-3s, calls 23k (Pot 88k)

Both plays are simply standard plays. A may be trying to steal the big blind with a raise from the small blind. B calls since he’s got a good hand for the upcoming Flop.

FLOP: Js-Jh-10h

A bets 25k (Pot 123k)
B calls 25k (Pot 138k)

Here A’s bet is just small, because he has nothing, but he wants to take away the pot by representing a Jack on a paired board, or a draw. On a flop with Straight and Flush possibilities presenting, B might well put A on a draw and wait to see if A slows later. Also, with a call he gets 5-1 odds.

TURN: Js-Jh-10h-Kc

A bets 25k (Pot 163k)
B calls 25k (Pot 188k)

A bets again! Might A possess the Jack or 10? Now, what B is thinking is that he is getting about 6.5-to-1 on a call to hit an Ace (where if A also has an Ace, they may split the pot) or a Queen (for a Straight). So he calls.

RIVER: Js-Jh-10h-Kc-8h

A bets 30k (Pot 218k)

Still A bets again! Now with a blank river card which hardly fill any possible Flush or Straight (maybe 9-7 or Q-9, but I don’t think both of them think the other one has it) why did A fire three times! And not just that, they were small bets. It might be a value bet where A has a J and trapped B for 2 further bet rounds.

It may also be a value bet where A had A-Q. B might consider: “A might know I’ve got nothing, but if uses big bets he’ll make me fold. So he bets small, hoping to extract more chips from me. I’m getting 8.5-to-1 on a call, but no matter. I’m not going to fall again.” B shakes his head and folds.

A shows a bluff!

If A bet big B may also think that A is just sustaining a three-round bluff, and may call it. And recall B is a good player, and can detect sneaky stuff like this. (B by the way is Elky Grospellier. And A is Jeff Shulman.) But A was betting small and good players think good players think smaller bets are value bets, as a result good players indulging in reverse psychology are able to bluff other good players with small bets that resemble value bets.

Try your hand at small bet techniques by practicing your poker on a free online poker site like NoPayPOKER.com where you can do lot of riskless free poker online training.

A turbo tournament is a cash or free online poker games tournament where the blinds increase exceptionally rapidly. Suppose, in an ordinary poker tournament, blinds increase every 12-15 minutes. In a turbo tournament, the blinds increase every, say, 3-5 minutes. Time will come where everyone will be just from five to ten big blinds.

Given these numbers, a turbo tournament is about four times as fast as a regular tournament.
So how do you incorporate this ‘four times as fast’ into your playing style? Does this playing more hands?

No. For example, if in an ordinary tournament you ‘small-ball’ – a playing style where you play more hands than your opponents, like 7-6 (even offsuit) and A-x (suited) which others feel a little woozy when holding. Then if you hit the Flop hard, you bet hard as well – because in the earlier levels the blinds are low in relation to the average stacks. 

But in a turbo tournament you can’t use this playing style. Blinds increase, but the number of hands never increase; in fact, they decrease. If you are playing, say, 60 hands in the first four levels of an ordinary tournament, in a turbo tournament you will be playing just 15-20 hands, most of them you will fold, of course.

What hands will you not fold?
- A-A, K-K, Q-Q, of course.
- In the early levels you can also experiment with connectors because your opponents might be a bit scared about losing their chips early with a, say, weak Ace or King.
- However, in the later levels, where everyone is near to blinding out, also put A-x or K-x (where x is greater than 10) and smaller pocket pairs in your arsenal.

Why? Because, simply, if you don’t play, the blinds will not just eat you – they will devour you!
If you move all-in with a wide range of hands than you are accustomed to in an ordinary tournament, then you can make the others fold.

And even with a caller, you may be on a classic coin flip if you have a pocket pair; you can be a favorite if you have A-x (x>10) and the caller is a weak Ace; and you will have two live cards with K-x and Q-x.

In the late levels the game will be mostly preflop; a series of crapshoots; so take advantage of preflop aggression.

However, you can also take advantage of postflop aggression in the late levels.
Suppose you are in the button with K-x where x is weak and the blinds call. You feel that the other two players have weak hands. Now the flop comes a bit scary (A-8-3) for example.

If you have the Eight or the Three and both your opponents check, you can bet. However, you can also bet if both of them check even if you have nothing. You have position; you are the best player to decide whether each other player has something.

Near the bubble, if you are sinking in chips, move all in with A-x, K-x or Q-x. Most of the time you will be drawing live. Others will be afraid to call you because they don’t know what you have and they will be the one sinking in chips if they call you incorrectly (or if you luck out).

If you play turbo, free poker games or for cash I hope this short advice article helps you some, if you are new to turbo poker them then I strongly suggest to practice them in free online poker games first.