New Rules

It has been quite some time since my last post. For the most part this is because the last post was not a lie. I have made some peace with the game. I expect bad beats. I get in with the best hand and I lose and resolve that I will do it again and again. I know that if I keep getting in with the best hand and the best odds, in the end I will win more often than not. I know my pocket kings aren’t really outstanding favorites to someone else’s weak ace, but they are a favorite and I’m happy to have all my money in a pot with them. I have had a few tough beats, some that would make good stories. But my new outlook have made them easy to forget.

There’s another factor, though, that I think has lowered my number of bad beats…I’m playing better. Much of this is due to some new rules I’m playing by. I’m happy to share them and take whatever comments you might have:

1. Bluff Seldom – I’m mostly limiting my bluffs to hands where I have a good read or know the player to be weak or passive. I don’t bluff early, before I know a player. I seldom bluff re-raise because it tends to be inviting disaster. At times this means I’m going to lose some little pots I could probably pick up, but it also prevents me from losing some big pots that I built so that someone with the nuts could take my money.
2. Assume others bluff seldom – I’ve found that when I think someone is bluffing I’m wrong more often than I’m right. So I’ve decided to give people more credit. In the end I know I’m losing some hands I can win, but (see #4) in the end I’ll win.
3. Call on the end – This is an important lesson. Let’s say I’ve got a king-high flush (with only three cards to the suit by the river) and there was a raise on the river by another player. If the pot is big enough and his raise is giving me enough money if I win, I should call not re-raise. Why? Because I only get called when I’m beat, only if he has the ace-high. If I re-raise and he has the ten-high flush or two pair he’s going to lay them down to my big re-raise. This allows me to save some money.
4. Pick your spot and stick it to the loose-aggressives – Nothing makes me happier at the table than to break a loose aggressive player. When I have top pair I want to wail on them. How many times, though have I flopped top pair only to have them beat me with a skip straight or two small pair? Instead I wait until I have the nut flush or full house and then I make sure they hang themselves hard.
5. Continuation bets are key – Even though I don’t bluff so much anymore, I’ve found that a continuation bet you raised pre-flop even if you totally missed the flop is a smart move. People like to see the flop and small stakes players often play passive after the flop if they’ve missed it completely (the exception to this rule is that it seems like players overplay big slick post-flop even if they missed the flop completely). I tend to make a continuation bet of 1/4 to 1/2 the pot after the flop if I was the pre-flop aggressor just in case I can win the pot right there. Most times I’ll fold to a re-raise.
6. Limping is okay – One of the first books I read on poker was Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book. I think it’s excellent, even if Phil isn’t the best player around. Phil never limps, that’s his rule. I think it is a bad one. There are lots of hands I love to limp with, especially on a cash table or early in a tournament. I like to limp with small pocket pairs or suited connectors. I feel like these have little chance to improve and are not winners unless they do, but I can stick it to people post-flop if I hit them. I’ll limp in any position with pocket pairs and I’ll limp in late position with any suited connectors 78 or better. There are exceptions and this is definitely influenced by the other players and the timing and many other factors.
7. Showdowns are bad – If you showdown a hand to the river you’ve generally misplayed it. With the exception of excellent hands, I want my opponents to know very little about what cards I’m playing. I want to protect good hands. I do not like to be called all the way to the river.

What do you think? I believe in these rules, mostly because I’ve seen them work.

And one bad beat story…

Late in a tournament and I’m just below an average sized stack. I have K3s on the button. One player raises to 2X the BB (but antes had already kicked in). I had about 10 BBs so I call. The SB folds and the BB calls. The flop comes AK3 rainbow. I flopped two pair and love the ace because it probably means someone flopped top pair and will play it like crazy. First player bets the pot, second player folds and I go all in. He calls and flips KJ. I celebrate…until the turn comes an ace. The cards come so fast that I can’t figure out whether that was good or bad for me. It was bad. He had two pair aces and kings, just like me, but with the jack kicker. I lose and I’m out of the tournament a few spots off the money.