Lets Talk Mixed Games

Thanks to poker on Television, the line of amatuer WSOP Champions and numerous books devoted solely to the game of Texas Hold'em the words "hold'em" and "poker" have become almost the same word! I'm not complaining about this fact because if not for the popularity of Texas Hold'em the poker boom would have never begun in the first place! I'd still be making my treks to Atlantic City, Foxwoods and Las Vegas to get into the good games. Instead, I can pull up a good game on my laptop for any stakes I feel like playing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! For this fact I can play good poker on-line, in my underwear on my terms I am completely grateful to Texas Hold'em! However, this is wear my admiration to Texas Hold'em ends! Obviously many players have gotten really good at playing limit and no-limit variations of Texas Hold'em and some are making a great living simply specializing in these games. Unfortunately, I have a hard time calling these players who only play Texas Hold'em great poker players! I think it is much more important for Great Poker players to be well versed in all forms of poker and like Doyle Brunson says in Super System, it is sometimes necessary to give up some advantage in one form in order to be able to have the edge in another variation of poker!

Based on this premise I have been devoting a lot of my time and a lot of my play to the mixed games with the goal of becoming a better, more complete poker player! The game I have chosen to play the most is the 8-game mix on PokerStars, the game consists of a 6 player table and the games rotate every 6 hands between: 2-7 triple draw, limit hold'em, limit omaha h/l, limit razz, limit stud, limit stud h/l, no-limit hold'em and pot limit omaha. I'm really enjoying the pace, excitement and skill envolved with playing the mixed game format. Obviously, I am giving up the edge in the High/Low split games but I make up for that in the high games and I don't really think anyone enjoys playing razz!

Now that I have spent considerable time learning and playing this mix I can make a few generalizations and adjust my play to be profitable.

• First, at the low limits players are not selective enough with their starting hand requirements
• Second, players tend to over value big cards in the high/low split games
• Finally, people will chase more draws to the 2nd best hands in high/low split games

In order to take advantage of these weaknesses in the games of your opponents, it becomes very important to follow a few simple rules.

• Be very selective with startig hands! Especially the high/low split games. The only playable hands in these game shave to have an Ace and or two/three to be profitable.
• Remember, you want to start with a good low draw and draw into your high hand!
• Watch and learn how your opponents play, at the low limits the hand they are representing is usually the hand they will have!
• Finally, exploit their lack of knowledge about odds, pot-odds and how they bet!

Now that you are introduced to these concepts, lets look at a hand that illustrates just what I'm talking about.

Playing $.20/$.40 8-game mix with $.04 ante on draw games and $.05/$.10 blinds for flop games. Obviously this is a low limit table as I am still learning these games myself! The hand we will discuss was Pot-limit Omaha and the table had 5 players at the time. All the players were very liberal with their starting hand requirements and I was able to out-play them late in hands exploiting there compound mistakes. Thus, I was feeling good and players were beginning to feel I was both lucky and dangerous! Just where I like to have my image!

The hand began and I was small blind and dealt the 4c 6h 10s 6s, not a monster by any means. UTG calls $.10, Cut-off pops to $.30, the dealer folds and me being an overly aggresive defender of my blinds I called and the Big Blind who was wild and aggressive pops it again to $.50 straight. Everyone calls the $.50 and there is $2.00 in the pot preflop

The flop brings the 10h 9c Ad. I hit middle pair with a straighty board and no flush draws. I'm not happy with this hand but I think I could be in worse shape, plus, my pair of 6's may be good! I check to see what happens and the big blind bets $.10 into a $2.00 pot! The dealer calls $.10 making the pot $2.20 and I go into thinking mode, here is my thought process:

Obviously the first think I realize is my call gives me 22-1 pot-odds and I would be hard pressed to not call unless I knew I was absolutely up against the mortal nuts! I've seen the big blind play reckless for several rounds and he/she doesn't really understand the concepts of poker! This is an advantage to me! I start putting him on a hand, based on play I'm thinking a straight draw is a possibility but I'm almost certain they hit the Ace but based on the small bet obviously they didn't hit the flop hard or they would have raised. The last time I saw this opponent bet large preflop and then small bets post-flop was when they raised with AK-suited and semi-bluffed their flush draw, thus, I think if I can hit any 10, 6 or 4 I have them beat! The dealer I put on a draw since they didn't raise, thus I should have the same live outs against them if my pair of 10's isn't already good. Thus, I have 8 live outs to draw to which will make me the winner which means I am a little less than a 6-1 dog and the pot is giving me 22-1, I call the $.10.

The flop brings us the Ks. Not a real bad card for me as I don't think it helped either of my opponents since I have the BB on a pair of aces or a straight draw and I have the dealer on a draw also. The BB bets $.10, the dealer calls making the pot $2.40 and I call getting 24-1 on my call with live outs!

The river brings the 4d, what a sweet card! I'm about 60% sure I have the best hand! The BB bets out $.10 again and the dealer folds signaling to me he was on the straight draw. Now, I go to the tank to see if I should call or raise here with my 2-pair? I'm getting 25-1 on my call and I really don't want to get reraised with my 10-4 2-pair so I simply call. Quickly I see my opponent was on the straight draw and had the pair of aces! I now wish I would have value bet and trusted my read! Unfortunately, I'm sure I lost at least $1.00 I could have gotten out of my opponent!

However, I used this hand to illustrate the compound errors I was able to exploit to hit the winner! First, the BB had no business raising pre-flop with what I eventually learned was 3s Ah 7d 8c, instead he should have called to see what happened. The second error was under betting the flop! With a $2.00 pot, 2 opponents and top pair the BB should have bet at least 1/2 the pot and more like the size of the pot to simply give bad odds to draw! I only stayed in this hand because I was constantly priced into my draws and honestly, any time a pot is giving me 23-1 or more on my calls I'm not sure I can look myself in the mirror if I fold anything!

I did make a mistake on the end when I didn't value bet my 2-pair, but I really was afraid I'd have to lay down my hand I thought was good if I got re-raised. That is why I eliminated having to make that decision with my call.

Now your ready to tackle the mixed games! Use this knowledge and go become a well rounded poker player like Doyle, Danial, Phil and the Cadillac :-)

Poker Bettings Tips - How Much To Buy In For?

Here's a common topic I'd like to chat about - the amount of your buy in for a cash game.

Many times, people confuse the term "buy in" with "bankroll". The "buy in" is the amount of money you put down at a table during a game. Your "bankroll" is the total amount of money you have.

So, for example, if I have $1,000 and I put $200 down at a table to play, my "buy in" is $200, and my "bankroll" is $1,000 (and hopefully growing).

So enough of the basic poker tips...

How much should buy-in for when you sit down at a table.

The simple answer is 200 time the big blind. So if the blinds are $1-$2, you shoudl sit down with $400.

So why 200 times the big blind? Your comfort level. If you sit down with $10 in a 1-2 game, you're not going to see many hands, and will be forced to play when it's not necessarily in your best interest. With a sizable buy in, you are able to make the best decisions when you enter a hand, not be forced because of the size of your chip stack.

Poker, as we all know, is a game of ups and downs. We all have that hot streak... along with the cooler. You want to make sure that you're able to fight through te cool periods.

Some recommend 300 times the big blind. This may be for you, but I've never felt the need for this amount. Plus, it helps protect me against myself, betting poorly because the game isn't exciting enough for me.

So what if 200X the big blind is more than you want to wager, based on the size of your bank roll?

The answer is simple - play at a lower cost game. You're not ready to play at that level.

Happy betting!

- DJ Rutt

betting vs. calling

To some this is obvious. To others, this is shear genius.

I want to make sure people understand the biggest difference between placing a bet and calling a bet.

... and it's very simple.

When you place a bet - you have two chances to win. You can win by having the better hand, or you can win by having your opponent fold.

When you call a bet, the only way for you to win is to have the better hand.

So, in my opinion, you automatically double your odds and percentages by simply betting.

This can get much more complicated than it needs to be (the size of the bet, the size of the pot, the actual hand you have, your opponents aggressiveness, etc.) - but why make it more complicated than it has to be.

Increase your wins by simply betting more and calling less. LIke Phil Laak once said "I'm playing good poker. Bet or fold, bet or fold. No calling".

Hmmm... if it works for him...

Lets Talk Prop Bets

Legendary poker player Jack Straus once said, "(poker) is hours of boredom punctuated by moments of terror," and as poker players we understand this sentiment. Good poker players understand the need to control their gambling nature and play smart, self-restrained poker. Unfortunately, even the most seasoned and self-controlled poker player can get reckless, impatient or just bored if the action isn't fast enough. In an effort to fill the gambling need at the poker table, players use prop bets.

Prop bets are side wagers between players that have no bearing on the actual outcome of a poker hand. The prop bet can be on cards appearing in the current game, last longer bets in tournaments and various other bets players can come up with to pass the time. In this post, I will examine two specific kinds of prop bets, the last longer bet and prop bets on actual cards in play during a game.

The last longer prop bet is quite simple, straight forward and often very fun! When two or more friends enter to play in a poker tournament the players decide an amount to wager. Once the tournament starts the last person to get eliminated from the tournament receives the wagered money. Other variations on this are odds to win the tournament prop bets, bracelet bets at the WSOP and also teams to see who can last longer. It is said that Phil Ivey stands to make as much or maybe more than the 2009 WSOP purse of $8.7 million if he can manager to win the WSOP Main Event in November. Supposedly, he has a bet with Andy Bloch where Phil took
99-1 odds on himself on a $20,000 prop bet, this bet alone could earn him a nice $2 million.

Prop bets on the actual cards in play can add a lot of excitement to any poker game but a few things must first be understood. First, most tournaments are slowed down by betting on cards in play, so it is often frowned upon to prop bet on cards in tournaments. Also, although not illegal most cardrooms will frown on prop bets, it is best to keep them on the down-low and record them during the game on paper and pay off after the playing is finished.

Specifically, their seem to be an endless number of prop bets you can devise, but here are a few of my favorite which pertain to texas hold'em. It only takes 2 players to play any of these props and the first order of business is to select the stakes. The first game I like to play is where 4 players each select a different suit of the cards, any time the flop comes with all 3 of any players suit, the player wins a bet from every person who is playing in the prop bet. Next, to add more interest players can select 3 specific cards such as (7-4-J, A-K-5 and so on) and when the flop comes with these three specific cards the player wins a bet. To add onto this game, anytime the flop comes with the highest of the selected cards as the middle card on the flop the player would win 2-times the bet. As you can see, any variation of these games can be played and can make a long, boring poker marathon much more fun and gambler friendsly. Now, the one golden and most important rule of poker prop bets during the game is you have to make sure the people who are playing the prop bets with you know when you hit! Thus, you have to notice and pick up on your win. If you miss your win it is called "sleepin" on the prop and you are not obligated to be paid because you missed the cards!

Now, take this information, go out to play some poker and liven up your play by using some prop bets during you next game! Just one word of warning, you will quickly be hooked on props!

Cadillac

donkey poker song

Donkey Poker Song

7-2 Classic

Hellmuth's -2 vs Matusow's KK on HSP4

Full House Bluff

100 hands down.... looking at my favorite one.

I'm in middle position... with an average stack of chips in comparison to the rest of the table (no clear-cut leader).

I'm dealt As 8h.

UTG raises to .04, which I call. One other player calls, and the blinds call the raise.

*** FLOP *** [Jh Kc Ts]

both blinds and UTG check, so I make a fair wager of .12 (slightly over 1/2 the pot). Player after me re-raises to .50. Quite the overbet. Small blind calls, big blind folds, UTG calls, and I call.

*** TURN *** [Td]

UTG checks, and I make my favorite new bet. .02 into a $2.70 pot.

everyone calls. Strange... why would someone with a strong hand raise to .50 cents... then only call a .02 bet? This tells me that the pair on the board concerns the better.

*** RIVER *** [Th]

UTG checks and I instantly go all in ($4.20). At this point I feel the better has an ace rag... and I can steal this pot with the presumption of an easy full house catch.

All players fold and I collect on the pot.

My presumptions, I believe, we're accurate. I assumed the better to have an ace and did not connect with anything on the board. I also assume that a small pocket pair was in one of the blind's hand, which was scared off with a big bet and a better full house on the board. Had I made a smaller wager I likely would have been called (and obviously lost the pot as, if you remember, I too had ace rag).

Note - this approach works much better when you're playing tight, conservative poker (I know, believe it or not that I was), as compared to the donkey who makes silly bets.