I have enjoyed the Cappers Lounge Invitationals on Bodog these past weeks. I usually head to this site for picks/thought on games of all sports. I always wished there would be more posts under the "Poker Strategy" Forum (besides updates on the ban of on-line poker) and it looks like it is starting to head there. I have been playing on-line poker for close to 5 years now and wanted to get more in depth advice on on-line poker.
Like we all know, on-line poker can be very frustrating at times. My purpose of this post is that I'm looking for responses regarding on-line play/strategy. Just like hearing everyones thoughts on say building a bank roll or football betting strategy. I would like to hear everyones thoughts on On-line play topics.
On-line I try to play somewhat tight, not saying for the price (like most players) I wont chase the occasional straight or flush. But to start this discussion I wanted to ask your thoughts on the topic of min-betting/raising. I cant stand min-raising, especially when the blinds are say 5-10 with chip stacks around 1,500. It just doesn't make any sense to me what the point of this could be. Your just asking for suck outs at that point. Not only will they min-raise on the pre flop, but min-bet on the flop turn and river. My question is at that point what do you do when you get stuck with one of these? Do you just call for the heck of throwing your 30 chips into a pot of 350? or raise? Even at this point I have run into many situations where I re raise their min-bet, I get called and then an immediate min-bet again. I have been trying to understand what this means and how (if there is any) can min-betting be a useful on-line poker strategy?
If you have any thoughts about this so called "strategy" feel free to post them along with any questions you might have for others. I would like to see this be a very usefully forum to all and I look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks to everyone that has been consistent in playing in the Poker Invitational on Bodog.
Another Topic to discuss is what is your big money making tool on-line. Do you like cash games over sit n' goes or multi table tournaments? and how do you use these to build your bank roll?
Dont know if I can answer your questions or not. I donot play for the cash but for entertainment. I quit the cash games and stick to torneys now. As I was losing too much. Online is so unpredictable and there are too many d'cks that will suck the life out of you when they are hitting and bitch up a storm when they lose. I think the majority of online players have not spent a long time playing and just picked it up as a fad thing the past few years(myself included). As for the min raise, Ill use it in the higher levels but usually wont raise below 50 unless im low on chips and trying to weed out the people with no hands. I feel more confidant raisng 2 people rather than 5. Hope this information helps(but not against me in the next tourney). Good luck.
On line play strategy is similar to any other type of poker play. I have been playing close to 8 years now online. I have played live for over 10. I can remember playing Ulti. Bet when there was 200 players online in a day..now there is 1k's.
Oddly enough I play differnt games @ diff. sites. On Tilt i strictly play cash games. For the Life of me i cannot beat the $20 and under sng's. I'd rather play 1/2 and sit at 1 or 2 tables. At UB i play cash/sng's/and tourneys. At Stars i play mostly Sng's. w/ the occasional cash game. I love the 180 man SNG's on stars.
couple of things to remember online... It is easier to draw when all you have to do is click the left mouse button. It's a little harder knowing you need 6 cards left in the deck and you push in $120 in chips.. instead of just clicking your left mouse button. You will get more draws at you, and you will likely at the start tend to draw more. i like online to keep it simple / stupid when your just getting started. You don't have near as much to watch for online as you do live. You will start to learn some players betting tendancies online..just as you would live, as well as the time it takes them to make certain bets.. but online, that could be cuz they are playing 3 or 4 tables. or cuz they are in the bathrooom.. ya just never know.
at the $100 buy in levels and lower for cash games, there are a TON of donkeys! At the 1k buy in, there are a TON of Donkeys with a little bit more $$!!! I have played both, and tend to stick close to 1/2 all the time, but i try to have at least 20 buy in's at whichever level i'm playing. I know they say it's not near enough for bankroll mgmt. etc.. but that's just me.
may not be much help, and long winded, but shoot if ya have questions
Good question. I hated to see party go away, I was hitting for a lot of money on a consistant basis. A lot of money for me anyway. Cashed for over 40k in 05 and over 30k in 06.
I now play a lot at pokerstars. One big differance, do not chase the flushes.... They do not hit on a regular basis or should I say they hit on a more realistic basis.
When I am hot like I have been the last six weeks ( cashed over 10k) I will play a lot of 3/6 NL. As soon as the bad beats start to happen I will cash out most of my bankroll and go to playing 20 or 50 sng's. When I cash in more than 70 % for a few days I will try my luck at 3/6 again.
At pokerstars if you don't have an ace or flop trips you may as well fold... unless of course you want to give me your money.
You're very right that it is so easy to draw with simply a mouse in front of you. You're playing some big cash games with some fish at the tables it seems, good luck and keep cashing.
Rich,
Those are 2 very good years in payouts and I think what you do is impressive in that if you feel that you are on a bad rut in the cash games you mix it up and go back to the sit and go's and take your winnings and go.
I think the main thing Berg is just to stay patient, find your limit through your bankroll, and it's important to mix it up from cash games to sit and go if you feel that you need a change of pace, and before you know it, you'll have a nice routine. I suggest not playing too many various types of games, but focus on 2 or 3 that you are comfortable at including 20 person sit and go's, larger tournaments and a specific cash table and mix it up as you feel hot or are in a rut in one type of game or another. Hope this helps.
__________________ Indiancowboy Researched Write-ups Every day.
The minimum bets have nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with thats the default option on the screen and people are too lazy to change it as most in the small buyin tables are not thinking about strategy at all and just playing to kill some time.
After posting this I havent had the chance to return to this forum in a while, but just wanted to say thanks for everyones answers/ thoughts about online poker. Rich, just as IC said congrats on your winnings and keep it up. Another question that I have is what about the poker sites itself? I'm not sure exactly the formula that the sites use to deal the cards but I have read that depending on the sites they are different. Does this mean you should play certain sites differently and if so why/how? I have played on many sites including Ultimate bet, Pokerroom (back in the days), Absolute Poker, and Bodog. Recently I have been playing alot on Bodog which helps with the Cappers Lounge Tournaments. Would you say that there are more "donkeys" at certain sites than others? I personally would have to say that there are a ton of donkeys on Bodog which at times can be good and bad. With Bodog I seem to get stuck in reverse for two reasons... one being the donkeys that suck out time and time again and other being card dead. I have also heard many rumors about the period after depositing into an account. I have several friends in my area that play bodog as well and they have a superstition about not playing up to a couple weeks after you deposit money and/or when your deposit clears. Any thoughts on this? Personally I think its a load of bs...
hi berg...min-raising can be a strategy to lull your opponent into believing he has a naive, mousy, inexperienced calling-station just hoping to catch a hand by the river on the hook when he is in fact hoping for aggressive play from you which can then be smooth-called or re-raised depending on how he thinks he can get you to commit the most chips into a pot he has dominated. having said that, at the lower blind levels or in freerolls, you are probably actually dealing with the mouse...test him with a raise that will hurt him to call but not cripple you if he does call or re-raise...if he really is a mouse on a draw he will fold, if he is a shark who only reeks of cheese, you have learned some valuable info about him and can get out of the hand to seek better opportunities
I have always done better in the cash games.. I am starting to switch my strategy more towards the tourament style of play just because I want to see if I can do better at it.. I have been playing poker for about 6 years now so I think its time for change..
Have a question to people that play on bodog, am I the only one that thinks that whan playing the tournament one or two players are a computer players thet are not real, just by looking at their cards it is impossible to get the cards they get??
i play mainly sit and goes, ecspecially the 8.80 beginner tourny, 5 places get paid 8/12/16/20/24, so play really tight for the first 10-15 minutes that usually get out atleast 2 players, playing only hands like a-a, k-k a-k suited. the next i lossen up a bit play some 10-j suited a-any card suited exc. by that time at least 1-2 players more are gone. sometimes more so say we have 6 players left including myself. i play kinda aggressive because peps will be playing tight be cause they dont wanna be 6th with no money, so 1 goes out. no i play all of allins this has me in the money 75% of the time, i cash out about 1000 per month and is a easy way to make extra money on your day off, the all-in part will have you coming in 4th place some times, but 1st a lot as well! and it is better to come in 1st and make the $16 profit than to keep coming in 3rd all the time. hope you like this game plan it works wonders for me!
P.S. dont tell 2 many peps they might take my idea lol
Playing freerolls is a great way to start a bankroll from scratch, or add to an existing bankroll. Playing low limit Texas and Omaha are good ways to increase one's bankroll as well. Managing one's bankroll is important; play at tables according to your bankroll.
People have different styles of betting, from the mini-raise to the all in almost every hand. Tables usually have a mix of decent players, so-so players and donks. One has to adapt their style according to the players at their table as well as their position, cards and stack.
Don't be annoyed by the mini-raise; either call, fold, or re-raise according to your circumstances. Try to be patient and remember that people's styles vary widely.
One way i started my bankroll was by playing heads up matches. For example; I can play two heads up matches at once and by winning three out of four or just two out of three matches per hour (if you only play one at a time) you can build your bankroll quickly. I started with a $100 and by playing $10 matches until I built to $200 (which only took me 14 matches) The only rule I have been using is to only risk 10% of your bankroll at once, so once you get to $200 play $20 matches, then $300 play $30 matches, and so on. I built my bank from $100 to a little over $500 in a week and a half. I started doing this because I wanted something to keep me busy while playing big tournaments that take 2+hrs. As long as you arent extremely aggressive (as most of your opponents are) you'll eat them up!
This has been very helpful! I am not much of a gambler, but have just recently gotten into the online poker scene. I look forward to more threads like this in the poker strategy section of this site! It seems like the main focus here is on sports...
In response to Berg's questions, I'd recommend reading "Harrington on Hold Em'" and "Online Ace". Both of these books have great strategies, the first one enabled me to win a free seat in the 06' WSOP Main Event and the second helped me destroy sitngo tournaments on FT. In regard to raises, I would recommend raising at least 5xbb preflop in the early stages (since most online players are loose in nature) and 2 1/2xbb in the late stages (blinds are higher, which forces the short stacks to go all-in or fold). If you are going to reraise, raise at least 3x the original bet.
Sitngos are a great way to build a bankroll, but if you want to get into serious money, you are going to have to cash in a MTT. You'll want to start tournaments by playing conservatively and once you build a stack, move to an aggressive or super aggressive playing style. Keep in mind as you get close to the cutoff or bubble that most players tend to tighten up to make the money. This is the perfect time to play aggressively and steal some pots. I'd recommend a maximum buy-in of 5% of your bankroll when starting with sitngos and then moving on to MTT's.
Does anyone else agree that it is in a poker site's best interest to have frequent turnover in sitngo tournments? Think about it, more turnover=more tournaments=more entry fees=more profit. I've been playing online poker for a couple years now, and at first thought it was legitimate (I was an online poker advocate), but now I'm not so sure. It seems like the majority of the time when I'm short-stacked in an all-in situation with the dominant hand (ie. A8 vs A7) that my opponent sucks out. Also, I know for a fact that players cheat using collusion (ie. Instant Messenger) and bots and sites sponsor players. An interesting site that was brought to my attention is scancardsnow.com.
In my mind, anyone who min raises at the front of a tourney, has a hand that wants action and wants chips. If someone bets 5 or 6 times the big blind, my assumption is that they are trying to isolate. I am more likely to call and hope to grab my hand thatn a min raise. The min raise is just enough to gt the pot up over say a hundred or two, and you can make your move post flop. I see that happen a lot. The min raiser overbets the pot after the flop. It seems to work to get some action going. That is the only thin that I can think of.
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