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-Matty
How to Play: Do whatever you have to do to get the pot down to 1-2 other players. Aces win against a random hand around 85% of the time but that number decreases ridiculously fast the more people are in the pot. The value of aces depreciates greatly in a multi-way pot so play accordingly. Raise them based on table position and not their strength, ex. raise more in later position.
2. A-K: Big slick is another hand that I see a lot of players have trouble playing and I see a lot of people busting out of tournaments because they overplay the hand.
How to Play: The hand should be a raising hand in most situations but occasionally you should limp in with this hand just to mix up your play. In early position you should obviously raise with it, same for middle position but in late position and the blinds this is a good spot to occasionally limp. Now if you raise with it and your hand misses the flop you should make a continuation bet (a bet around 1/2 the pot) to try to take the pot right there. If you get called or encounter raising or a lot of fighting back then get away from the hand. Remember, if you don’t hit a pair with A-K all you have is Ace-high, learn to fold the hand when it misses if you face resistance when you bluff with it.
3. K-Q: This is a hand that I place in a group of hands called “Trap Hands.” These types of hands get a lot of beginner and intermediate players in trouble because they treat these like premium hands when they really are just high suited connectors and should be played as such. The reason this hand gets players in trouble is because they often enter raised pots against true premium hands like high pocket pairs, A-K and A-Q and when you hit a pair you face kicker issues from facing A-Q or Big Slick. What you really want is to flop a straight or flush draw with this hand.
How to Play: In early position, you can call with this hand if you’d like, the suited variations of this hand are particularly strong and I consider them raising hands but offsuit variants should be either called or folded in early position, preferably folded if you’re at a loose table. In middle position K-Q is again a calling hand but if an early position player raises or calls than your fold percentage should increase meaning you will throw it away more. In late position I would call a standard raise or a call from middle position and sometimes early position players depending on the dynamics of the table.
4. A-10/A-J: These two hands are another two hands I consider “trap hands.” Most players treat them like premium hands and again they simply are overplayed and overvalued horribly by the average poker player. A-J suited is the only hand that I consider any real strength and A-Jo and A-10s and off-suit are just calling hands. Treat them like calling hands and you’ll be good, you don’t want to enter raised pots against premium hands, hit your ace only to loose all your chips because someone holding Big Slick had you outkicked.
How to Play: Unless you have A-Js these are simply calling hands. I wouldn’t advise entering raised pots with these hands very often. Once in a while you should raise with these just to mix up your play but you have to be very cautious with these hands if you get called. You are really looking to hit a straight or flop two pair so you don’t have to worry about kicker problems because if you’re in a raised pot and you hit your ace your ten kicker is very vulnerable.
5. K-K: Pocket Kings are pretty tricky especially if you play against weaker players. Phil Hellmuth describes this situation the best “I know i’m going to pick up kings and one of you idiots is going to call me with ace-deuce.” That just about sums it up, weaker players are going to call your raise with ace-rag and if the ace comes out you’re going to have a difficult decision.
How to Play: Raise aggressively pre-flop regardless of table position, your bets still should vary based on position however. The closer to the button the higher your raise should be, but don’t get ridiculous cap it off at 5-6x the big blind unless there’s a lot of limpers. If there’s no ace on the flop then bet hard unless its a very safe board (all low cards, no straights, no flushes) but do NOT under any circumstances give a free card for a player to outdraw you. The only way you give a free card is if you flop a set and are trying to trap. If an ace comes on the flop and you encounter resistance than be done with the hand as hard as it may be to throw away a sexy hand like K-K.
Honorable Mention: Low-Middle Pocket Pairs: These aren’t that tricky but I felt the need to mention them at the end here. These are tricky because a lot of players like to enter raised pots with these and they get in trouble a lot by overplaying them. I’ll try to give you some basic guidelines.
How to Play: I limp a lot with 8s and below often and follow a strategy called “set or die.” This means you check/fold unless you flop a set or the board is all unders with no flush possibilities. This is a surefire way to keep from losing a lot of chips. If you set than analyze the flop and slow play if its a favorable situation or make a bet and hopefully you’ll get paid off big time. For just about any pocket pair thats not paint (face cards) basically just lay it down if there’s overs on the board and you don’t set. You can raise with 7s and up in late position if you want, maybe even middle position but it is usually advised to limp in early with them.
Congratulations you now know how to play the top 5 trickiest hands in Poker.
Eager to learn more? Maybe one of these pages will provide more help.
- Starting Hand Requirements & Table Positional Play
- Playing Trap Hands, Slow Playing & More
Don’t need anymore and ready to play? Check out one of these top poker rooms fully reviewed and broken down so you know which is the best to play at.
- Titan Poker Review (Non-Us Room)
- Full Tilt Poker Review
1. Develop strong starting hand requirements. Choose what hands you play and stick to them as best as possible. A tight player should only play mid-to-high pocket pairs, high suited connectors and high suited face cards. Loose players can play more hands but unless wreckless play is your playing style (which in my experience isn’t very profitable) you need to buckle down on your starting hands.
More on Starting Hand Requirements.
2. Take into account your position at the table relative to the dealer and the blinds. If you act within the first two to three positions after the big blind than you should play your tightest game here. Play the lowest number of hands in this area of the table because you will be out of the position the rest of the hand and will have to act with minimal information about your other opponents. Once you enter middle positon which are the two to three spots after first position you can loosen up a little bit but still keep it fairly tight. Once you reach late position which is the button and the one or two spots to the right of the button, you can play your loosest game here to take advantage of your position. In the blinds I suggest playing similar hand requirements as late position but if it folds around and only the dealer calls or its just you and the big blind fold only the worst of hands.
More on Table Position.
3. When you make a raise pre-flop do not ever raise based on the strength of your hands (ex. raising 5x the blind with aces but 2-3x with 10s). Your raises should be based on table position and the amount of players in the pot. If its a family pot, it is going to take a bigger raise to drive them out due to being offered pot odds. In earlier position you can safely raise less and as you get to later positon your raises can get to the 5x the big blind range. I wouldn’t suggest going higher than 5x the big blind unless its multiway and you have a monster that you don’t want a lot of players against. Remember, you don’t want aces or kings in a multiway pot, try to get it down to at most 2-3 players.
More on Pre-Flop Betting.
4. After making a pre-flop raise, if the action checks to you it is wise to make a bet around 1/2 the pot (make sure to vary it just to keep opponents guessing) whether or not your hand hits, that way your opponents can’t think “He checks when he misses and only bets when he hits.” This strategy is called making a continuation bet. For example, you have A-K the flop comes 2-5-9 you make a bet. Make a similar sized bet even with a flop of A-2-7. That way opponents won’t know when you have it and you are more likely to get paid.
More on Continuation Betting.
5. When you flop a monster hand like trips, straight or flush its often a profitable strategy to check it to your opponents and let them bet then smooth call when action comes back to you. Repeat this on the turn and then if you think your monster held up you can either bet if you think your opponent will check the river or check it one more time then put in a value raise over the top to try to get a little bit more out of it. This strategy is known as slow playing or trapping. Be cautious though, if you flop trips or a straight and theres better draws on the board like two hearts or even three hearts than you may want to speed up and price opponents out from getting a cheap card to make their flush.
More on Slow Playing/Trapping.
6. When you think or know you’re beat then fold. Unless you’re being offered ridiculous pot odds to call than just discipline yourself and make the fold. Great players learn to lay down great hands. If you have trouble knowing when you’re beat than perhaps you should play a very tight game until you improve so that way you are ahead of opponents most of the time.
7. Do NOT ever give a free cards when you make a hand on the flop. The only exception is if it is a very safe flop for a monster hand that is unlikely to be beaten on later streets. You don’t want to give a free card that beats you when a bet might have gotten them off the draw.
Congratulations, you are now almost ready to DOMINATE the poker table.
Before you go sharpen up your skills even more by visiting the tips section of Mega-Poker.Net - Poker Room Reviews - Full Tilt, Titan and More - Poker Coaching, Strategy, Tips & More
I just made over an hour of poker strategies and tips to teach you guys some various techniques and tips to take to the poker table. To access them just sign up for the newsletter over at the main site at http://www.mega-poker.net and you will receive one in each e-mail sent out.
I’ve read dozens of poker literature and don’t remember a whole lot of play on making moves “in the dark.” I’ve been using it more and more during live play and against weak to moderate players it is very effective in throwing off their reads and normal moves because it completely conceals the strength of your hand.
A strategy to try out is to call the small blind with a connector or whatever and when the big blind checks announce that you check dark. What you’re looking for here is to flop a huge straight draw or two pair, that way if anyone bets you set yourself up for a perfect check-raise situation and most opponents I’ve used it against couldn’t even put me on a range of hands.
I also utilized a form of this against a calling station/maniacal player that would go all the way with any piece of the board. I wanted to protect my hand so right after he called my post-flop bet I put in a huge bet in the dark before the turn. I got lucky and hit trips on the turn and a boat on the river that ended up doubling me up because the board was K-4-10-K-9… I held K-9s and he called me down with jack-four off (complete donk).
While this move can backfire if you make a dark bet and the next card hurts your hand and/or improves another. I use it very often in the small blind to make up for having to be out of position the rest of the hand. It prevents me from having to show weakness by checking AFTER seeing the flop from first to act post-flop and allows me to see what everyone else does before making a decision. Since it covers up your hand strength so well players will often bet at you and you will often have to fold but when you flop a monster with this strategy you should certainly get paid off big a lot of the time.
Check out the miscellaneous tips section over on the main page. Here’s a link Miscellaneous Strategy. Its over 4,500 words of unique strategy for you guys just on the topics of slow playing and playing trap hands.
I remember when I first started playing and I was getting crushed online and live playing KQ, QJ, KJ and A10 and couldn’t figure out what was going on or why they weren’t working out for me. So I studied and analyzed the game and my personal game further and after some reading I developed a new mindset for these hands. Check out this section I wish I had this section before I knew how to properly analyze and play these hands.
The slow play section is similar to the low pocket pair post on the blog, but it has a lot of great examples and is a bit longer and more detailed. Enjoy it guys… Hope it helps.
-The M
The M's Poker Blog - Mega-Poker.Net