I Tried to Help

Mate you are loosing against flushes and fulls. I tried to help lol.

No one believe you at poker, only when they see your cards.

Take lines that seems like a bluff vs bad players with monsters.

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A Lucky Shot

It seems that he did his lucky shot for the new year. Happy new year!

65 Ways to Increase Your Winrate at the Micros Right Now

A new article from Blackrain79 about ways to increase your winrate.

It's a lot of stuff but I think it worth the time to read it. Enjoy!




Increasing your winrate at the micros by even a little bit can make a huge difference in the long run. The reason why is that when you play online poker you can really get the volume in (i.e., play a ton of hands).

With multi-tabling some people play as many as 50k, 100k or even more hands of poker in a single month. When putting in this level of volume increasing your winrate by even half a big blind per 100 hands can mean hundreds or even thousands more in terms of actual profit (dollars) depending on the stakes that you play.

So in this article I am going to list more ways to improve your winrate at the micros than you could ever possibly need. 65 of them in fact.

Let's get started!

1) Play More at the Right Times. The games are always a little bit better (i.e., there are more recreational players) on the weekends and during the prime-time hours for Europe and North America. This means roughly 6pm-12pm. Try and put in the bulk of your play when the games are likely to be the best.

2) Don't Ever Sit in Games Without a Fish. If there is always at least one fish (40% VPIP+) at the table then you will always have a shot at getting that easy money. If you notice that there are no recreational players at the table, leave immediately and go find another one. Make this a non-negotiable point and your winrate will skyrocket.

3) Get Position on the Fish. Having position on somebody can make a massive difference to your winrate. When you have direct position on the fish then you will be able to isolate them every hand as well as value bet and bluff them as much as you want. If the table is short handed and the fish has position on you always leave and re-join in the seat to the left of them.

4) 3Bet the Regs Light When They Are Isolating the Fish. Some of the easiest money possible at the micros can be made by simply tossing in a few light 3Bets when it is obvious that a reg (regular) is trying to abuse a fish as I just described above. They will usually have a wide range and won't want to fight back without a big hand.

5) 3Bet Light Versus the Weak Regs. 3Betting light versus the weak regs has been one of my favorite tricks for years at the lowest stakes. You will still find plenty of people at these stakes who fold to 3Bets way too often (80%+). Don't 3Bet them with any two cards but you should increase your range significantly in order to collect all of that free money.

6) 4Bet Light Versus Chronic 3Bettors. It is best to try and avoid reg wars for the most part at the micros because it is a waste of time. There are much bigger fish to fry. However, many regs these days will 3Bet too much (3Bet% approaching double digits) but back down to a 4Bet. So pick a random ace or a broadway blocker hand and re-raise them on occasion.

7) Bluff the Weak Regs More Postflop. Most regs at the micros are passive and they don't like to stick big money in the middle without a big hand. In single raised pots where there is plenty of stack behind you should look for spots to bluff them. This is most effective on the turn and river on boards where it is difficult for them to have anything really strong.

8) Steal The Free Money Blinds. There are still tons of regs at the lower limits in particular who play way too tight and are simply mass multi-tabling on auto-pilot. These people don't defend their blinds anywhere near enough. Grabbing these extra couple of big blinds every orbit or so can make a huge difference to your long term winrate. If you see a couple of nits in the blinds, raise it up with a wide range.

9) Have the Betting Lead as Often as Possible. One of the two pillars of success at the micros (as discussed in my first book) is having the betting lead (being in control of the pot). You can load up your poker tracking program right now, throw in a couple of simple filters, and see for yourself just how much more money you are making when you are the preflop aggressor. Flatting is ok on occasion but try to be the one in control of the pot as often as possible.

10) Play in Position as Often as Possible. The other pillar of success at these stakes is to play in position as often as you can. You will make far more money from the button and cutoff compared to early position, middle position or the blinds. You will in fact lose money from the blinds. So once again, keep things simple. Play more hands from the most profitable seats at the poker table.

11) Stagger Your Preflop Raise Sizes Against Huge Whales. You can still get away with this especially at the lower stakes. If I see some massive fish playing 80% of his hands and I have AA, KK etc. why would I make it 3bb to go if I know that he will call 5bb or 7bb just as easily? This creates a much bigger pot after the flop and allows me to stack him much easier. If the table is full of regs (which you shouldn't be playing on anyways) then I would suggest that you do not use this strategy. I have been talking about over-raising for years now and everybody and their dog knows what it means. This strategy is only for huge fish.

12) Stagger Your Postflop Bet Sizes Against Huge Whales. The same thing goes for postflop bet sizes. When I am just trying to CBet and take it down with air I will bet 60% of the pot. When I have top pair or better though I will make it 80% of the pot or more. Really bad players are not paying any attention to this sort of thing. Also, at these stakes the money is largely insignificant to most people. If they have something that they want to continue with then 60%, 80% or 100% of the pot probably makes no difference to them. Again, this strategy is only to be used against huge fish.

13) Put the Fish on Tilt. There is nothing more profitable in poker than a fish on tilt. This is when they will hand you their stack at a truly amazing pace. So I personally go out of my way to make this happen. The best way to get them on tilt is to get position on them, isolate the crap out of them and CBet a lot. Always remember that pride/ego is more important than anything else to a fish. Make them see you as a "bully" and they will pay out like a slot machine.

14) Put the Regs on Tilt. A reg who has lost his mind can be just as profitable as a fish on tilt. So I will often go out of my way to target one specific reg each session and be as annoying as humanly possible. I will 3Bet them light, 4Bet them light, bluff raise them postflop. I will do everything I can to start a war with them and try and put them on tilt against me.

15) Always Buyin for the Max. Your potential winnings are always going to be higher with the more money that you have in play. If you choose to buyin short then you handicap yourself and place an artificial limit on your winnings. Always buyin for whatever the table maximum is.

16) Play Deep Whenever Possible. Some of the most profitable poker tables that I have ever seen online are the deep stacked micro stakes tables on Pokerstars and elsewhere. These are tables where you can buyin for much more than the standard 100bb. There is nothing better for your winrate than hitting a set versus some fish when it is 200bb or 300bb deep and he can't let go of top pair.

17) Avoid Anonymous Tables. There are a handful of poker sites that do not allow the use of HUDs (heads up display). Being able to have information on your opponents is a huge help especially at the micros where you are facing thousands of different opponents. Try to avoid playing on these sites.

18) Avoid Sites Which Limit Table Selection. Table selection is also one of your most powerful weapons at the micros today in order to increase your winrate. There are a handful of sites which try to limit your ability to change seats or tables. Poker is not bingo. We make money by targeting the bad players. Avoid these sites.

19) Play on High Volume Sites. While it is true that some of the biggest sites like Pokerstars for instance might have some of the toughest games on the internet, the ability to choose from 100 different tables at the micros means that they will also have the most fish. Try to avoid sites that only spread a handful of tables at your current limit.

20) Play on Multiple Sites at Once. But if you must play on smaller sites then remember that there is no rule which states that you can only play on one poker room at a time. If you play on low volume sites then open 3 or 4 of them at a time in order to improve your ability to table select. This is especially the case for Americans whose playing options are currently limited.

21) Use Your HUD Effectively. Setting up your HUD properly and using it effectively is hugely important to your success at the micros. Don't play millions of hands in the dark like I did. These programs pay for themselves very quickly. Both major brands, Pokertracker and Hold'em Manager have a free trial. Check it out for yourself. If you are serious about online poker, use a HUD.

22) Tag the Fish Immediately. Once you can see on your HUD that somebody is playing 40%+ of their hands then you need to make sure that you tag them immediately. Nearly all poker sites will allow you to put a color, icon or a custom note beside an opponent. These are stored on your hard drive and show up every time you play on that site. This makes finding the fish that much easier next time you play.

23) Make Good Use of the Popup Display. There is a ton of information at your fingertips in the popup display for Pokertracker or Hold'em Manager. If you have a big sample of hands on somebody and want to find that custom line that will work the best, then open up the popup display and dig deeper into the rarely used stats.

24) Review Your Sessions on a Regular Basis. Reviewing your poker sessions on a consistent basis is one of the best ways to find our what you are doing right but also to fix what you are doing wrong. You won't always make the best decisions or be able to analysis a hand well in the heat of the moment. After your session is over, take a short break and then review the major hands (both winning and losing) in your poker tracking program.

25) Review Your Database on a Regular Basis. Conducting a regular database review is another great way to improve your results at the poker tables. One of the best features about these modern poker tracking programs is the ability to filter for very specific situations and then find the profitability (or lack thereof) and then make adjustments. You can also study the game of the best players at your limit. Make sure that you make use of this amazing information.

26) Don't Get Into Ego Based Reg Wars. As I mentioned before it is very important to remember why you are at the table especially at the micros where there are so many weaker opponents. If a decent to good reg grabs a seat to your left and starts 3Betting/4Betting the crap out of you then just get up and leave. You do not have to fight an uphill battle here to defend your ego. There are a million other tables to choose from.

27) Lose Your Ego at the Micros. Leaving your ego at the door is indeed one of the biggest keys to success especially at the very lowest stakes. Sometimes it will simply not be your day, week or even month. Instead of flipping out and trying to force something to happen just keep making the disciplined folds and wait for the big profitable spots.

28) Ignore Ego Based Stats Like the Red Line. This is only for people to brag about on forums. You do not even need to have a positive red line (non-showdown winnings) in order to have big success at the lower end of the micros. I am one of the biggest winners of all-time at NL2 and NL5 and my red line goes downwards at a 45 degree angle in both games. You can't run over recreational players and calling station regs with huge bluffs. Focus on the only line that matters, the green one (overall winnings).

29) Ignore Results Orientated Stats Like All-In Equity. I also suggest ignoring or removing stats in your poker tracking program such as all-in equity. This is another one of those stats that people love to spend way too much time focusing on even though it has very little importance. All-in equity can sometimes take as much as a million hands to balance out properly. Who cares if you happen to be on the good side or the bad side of variance right now. Focus on what matters, playing your best in the next hand.

30)  Hire a Good Poker Coach. I don't think there is any method of studying the game which is more effective than getting coaching from an experienced winning player. They can sweat you or look over your database and find leaks in your game which you might not normally notice. The downside is that the price of a good poker coach can be expensive for somebody playing at the micros.

31) Join a Good Video Training Site. There are more video training sites than ever on the internet to choose from these days. Getting to look over the shoulder of a solid winning player and listen to how he/she thinks about the game can be a huge help. And the price is often a lot more suitable for a micro stakes player than coaching. Make sure that there is plenty of regular content being released at the stakes that you actually play at.

32) Read Modern Poker Books. Poker books are a good way to study and learn about the game on a much deeper level. So much more information can be provided in a 300 page book as compared to a 45 minute training video or an hour long coaching session. In recent years a ton of new titles have come out which cover the modern online game. I have written two of these myself, Crushing the Microstakes (NL2, NL4 and NL5) and Modern Small Stakes (NL10, NL25 and NL50).

33) Post Hands on Forums. One of the easiest ways to get immediate feedback on your game is to post hands on any of the various poker forums. There is of course no guarantee than you will get high quality advice. In fact most of the people commenting will probably be losing players. And you might get flamed as well! But it is 100% free and sometimes getting a bunch of different perspectives can be beneficial.

34) Start a Poker Study/Discussion Group. Many top level poker players these days have a small group of friends who are also winning players to discuss hands with. You can create a Skype group and have regular discussions or just chat 1 on 1 with other good players. The point is, find a handful of dedicated, winning players to bounce ideas off of and help push yourselves to success. Poker does not have to be such a solitary pursuit.

35) Use Proper Bankroll Management Strategy. There are enough things to occupy your mind in the fast paced world of online poker. Wondering if you have the bankroll to withstand standard variance should never be one of them. Make sure you implement a good bankroll management strategy. This typically means 30 or 40 buyins per limit for most people.

36) Set Clear Move Up (and Move Down) Targets. What stakes you should be playing and when to move up is another one of those things that you should never have to worry about at the tables. If you are brand new to online poker then simply start at the very lowest stakes. After that, make clear goals or targets for when you will move up and move down if things don't work out at first. If you have signed up for my free newsletter then you have probably already received your complete plan for how to go from NL2 to NL100 in a single calendar year.

37) Understand Basic Poker Math. There is a crazy obsession among some people these days who seem to think that you need a PHD in advanced mathematics in order to beat the micros. This is silly but you should definitely be aware of basic pot odds, hand odds, and implied odds. You can learn all of this very easily with a few quick Google searches or by picking up a basic poker math book.

38) Play Your Draws Effectively. If all you ever do with a flush draw or a straight draw is call and hope to hit then you are losing a lot of value. Draws are a great weapon to use at the micros to help you take away a few more pots from the weak regs. This is often done by raising with them or barreling them. Make sure that you know how to play your draws effectively at the micros. 

39) Don't Overplay (Or Underplay) Top Pair. Top pair is another one of those tricky hands that can be played in many different ways depending on the opponent and the situation. Generally against the recreational players you should be aiming for at least 2 streets of value. Against the regs this is often the most that you will get and if you face serious pushback from them then you should highly considering folding in fact.

40) Raise Donk Bets. Donk bets are when somebody leads into the preflop raiser for a small amount. In other words it is a play that goes against the flow of action in the hand and is usually done by a recreational player. Usually this means that they don't have very much. You should be raising donk bets (or at least flatting when in position) with all of your made hands, draws and even some air hands.

41) Understand the Betting Patterns of Fish. Another thing that the fish will do is tell you the strength of their hand through the size of their bets. One of the classic ones is the triple barrel for a small amount (bet flop, turn and river) and the bet size never changes. This typically indicates that the strength of their hand didn't change either. So you can often call down fairly wide in these spots or even bluff raise on the end.

42) You Should Bluff the Fish (Sometimes). I know the ancient mantra at the micros is to never bluff the fish but truthfully you can get away with it sometimes especially when there is no history between the two of you. You still don't want to make a habit of it though. I discussed bluffing the fish in more depth in a recent article for PokerNews.

43) Use The Search Player Feature. If you are ever in doubt about what type of player you are up against just search them. If it is a reg then they will most likely be on 6, 12 or even more tables. If they have blocked themselves from search then it is probably a reg as well. If they are not blocked and only on 1 or 2 tables, then it is probably a fish.

44. Understand the Different Player Types. When you can quickly identify the various player types it makes it really easy to take specific lines against them without having to think too much. I classify regs into 6 different categories at the micros: Super Nits, Nits, TAGfish, TAGs, SLAGs and LAGs. I then also have 3 categories for fish: SLP, Whale and Maniac. You can go read more about how I classify them along with how to exploit each one right here.

45) Turn Off the Chat. There is no reason to ever have the chat on at the poker tables. It is distracting and often filled with some of the most vile and crude stuff you will find anymore. This is because poker is an emotional game and on the internet people will not hold back in what they say. Don't waste your time listening to the table captains, the drunken rants, the whiners and others. If you want to chat go turn on Facebook or go have a coffee/beer with a friend. Poker is all business. Turn the chat off.

46) Use Timing Tells and Betting Patterns To Your Advantage. One of the key ways that we find "tells" in online poker is through the timing of various actions and betting patterns. When a fish leads into you very quickly for instance on the flop this usually indicates a mediocre hand at best. When a reg "Hollywoods" the river and then raises this usually indicates a monster though. I have discussed timing tells and betting patterns before. Make sure you know them.

47) Balance Your Range Against Good Regs. Against some of the good regs at the micros it does become necessary to start balancing your range against them. This means that you will show up with nut, mediocre and air hands in equal measures and in all situations. This keeps them from ever getting a read on you and makes you impossible to exploit. Don't worry about this too much until you get to NL25 and higher though.

48) Have More Heart. Again when playing against good regs at the upper levels of the micros it is important to be able to think on a higher level versus them. Sometimes this means having the heart to stick all the money in preflop with a mediocre hand or triple barrel bluff them. This kind of stuff should only ever be done sparingly against good opponents at the micros. At higher limits plays like this do become more common though.

49) Be a Specialist. Don't run around playing different formats such as SNGs and MTTs. If you want to play cash games for instance then stick to cash games. Don't jump around playing different limits or mix short handed with full ring either. Have a clear bankroll management strategy as mentioned before and be very specific about what you play. People who jump around all the time and play whatever fancies them at the time become a jack of all trades and a master of none.

50) Minimize Your Losses, Maximize Your Winnings. Understand that there will be winning days and losing days no matter how good you are. If the cards run poorly enough Phil Ivey could have a losing day at NL2. It is extremely important that you learn to cut your losses on the bad days by remaining calm or quitting if you find yourself getting frustrated. On the other hand, you should strive to extend your sessions and play as much as you can when you are winning big and feeling great.

51) Don't Concern Yourself With Individual Sessions. This might at first seem to clash with the previous point but it really doesn't. Play more when you are confident and feeling good (this is almost always the case when you are winning). And play less when things aren't going your way. But more importantly, understand that your poker career is really just one big session. Individual sessions don't actually mean anything. Your results after a month, 3 months, 1 year or 5 years are what actually matter.

52) Don't Check Your Results While Playing. One of the best things that I ever did to reduce my tilt and focus more on the process instead of the results was to stop spam clicking the cashier button. Because as I just mentioned, when you really think about it, it is totally pointless. We all want instant feedback and fast results but this just isn't the way that it works in poker. Should Phil Ivey quit poker because he has a losing day at NL2? Don't focus on short term results especially while you are playing. It is a completely unnecessary waste of time. Many pros ignore daily or even weekly results altogether.

53) Know Your ABCs. I know it might sound cliche but solid, fundamental ABC poker is really still the way to go especially at the very lowest limits online. Many people claim to know what this means but they don't in reality. It means having a solid positionally aware understanding of the preflop game, value betting correctly (with the right bet sizes) postflop and tossing in a bluff for the right reasons from time to time. It means keeping your tilt to a minimum as well. I have written about all of these topics at length on this website. I would recommend checking out my "Start Here" page to begin.

54) Develop a Playing Routine. For most people, playing regularly at specific times is probably the best for their game. If you are committed to poker and want to succeed then you can't go about it haphazardly. I have discussed my transition to pro several times before on this website and in interviews. I played every single night after work without exception for a year before quitting my job. I still put in decent volume to this day even though I am not a full time pro anymore. Get a playing routine and stick to it.

55) Develop a Study Routine. The same thing goes for studying the game. As I mentioned before, you should be doing regular session reviews. However, you should be doing the deeper database reviews and analyzing the play of your opponents that was discussed before as well. You should also constantly update your skillset by watching training videos and reading poker books. Make sure that you set aside specific times each week for studying the game.

56) Remove All Distractions. Do not allow yourself to be distracted for any reason besides an emergency while playing and studying the game. If you live with others, close the door. Put your phone on mute. If there is a TV in the room, remove it. Turn off the Facebook, the Instagram and whatever else. Elite poker players treat poker like a job. Get to work by removing all distractions.

57) Be More Patient at the Micros. At the very lowest stakes one of the biggest keys to my success is being more patient than most others. I know that most of my opponents are calling stations and I don't allow my ego to get involved by trying to win every pot. Some pots are simply unwinnable when you are playing against somebody who doesn't like to fold. Learn to just give up more at the very lowest stakes.

58) Value Bet Them Relentlessly. It goes the other way too. When I have a big hand (or even just a good or mediocre hand) against a calling station I am absolutely going to ram it down their throat. One of the other big keys to my success at these stakes is getting the absolute maximum out of my opponents when I have it. Always make them pay.

59) Breathe...Just Breathe. When you bet like crazy with your overpair, top pair etc. against a fish sometimes they are going to hit some ridiculous two pair or a gutshot draw on the river. You will lose a massive pot and you will be cursing the day that you ever heard of this BlackRain79 guy who told you to always make them pay. However, when they miss their ridiculous nonsense (which happens most of the time), then you will win a huge pot and you can send me a Christmas card later.

60) Move to a Different Country. Ok, this one isn't for everyone and it also won't improve your winrate either, at least technically. However, everybody is always concerned these days about making more money at their job, in poker etc. When you go live in a country where the cost of living is 1/2 or 1/3 of where you live right now then you are effectively raising your income or winrate overnight. Thailand has been a popular destination for many online poker players including myself.

61) Listen, But Decide For Yourself. There is more information than ever these days about the game of poker especially on the internet. Everybody will be happy to give you their two cents. The problem is that not all two cents are created equally. As much as 80% of people actually lose at this game in the long run. Listen to those who are proven winners and ignore the rest. But even still, develop your own style and way of thinking about the game. You can't copy somebody else and achieve big success in this game.

62) It is ALL About the Fish. I have beaten the table selection drum to a bloody pulp on this website and elsewhere. Even I am sick of talking about it! Simply put, you will not win big in today's games unless you go find the bad players and play against them on a consistent basis. But just finding the fish and getting the right seat against them isn't enough. It is also important that you isolate the living crap out of them, put them on tilt and value bet them like crazy. It is all about the fish. They bankroll the entire industry. They need to be your #1 priority when playing this game at all times.

63) Confidence Breeds Success. When I sit down at the table in any poker game I already know that I am the best player in that game. If I don't think that I am the best player at the table then I won't sit down and play. Some might see this as bragging, I see it as confidence. And being confident in your own abilities will do more for your winrate than nearly anything else. Confidence comes from huge amounts of time spent playing the game and studying it. But it also comes from simply believing in yourself.

64) Be a Beast at Life. Many of the most successful poker players that I know would probably succeed at anything they do in life. This is because they are positive, driven people with a high degree of belief in their abilities. Most of them also work hard to take care of their mind and body. If you want to kick ass at the poker tables (or in business and life) then one of the best places that you can start is by striving to be the best possible version of you.

65) Have Fun. Poker is a game and games are meant to be fun. You probably started playing poker for that very reason. I know I did. It is so easy to get bogged down with all of the numbers and theories and variance. The reason why the top players are almost always found at the poker tables though is not because they win more than everybody else. It is because they truly love the game. And this makes them also study more in their spare time and therefore achieve even more success. Always remember to have fun when playing poker. That is the whole point of the game. If you work hard and follow your passion, the results will follow.


Source: http://www.blackrain79.com

My Favorite Streamer KomondoDragonJesus Now Online

Let's learn something from a good nl100 6max cash player. I like his thought proccess and I think that every time I watch him I learn something new. Online now here. Enjoy!

Your Preflop Report From The Red Chip Poker Quiz

Hi there again, I just did this quiz about preflop decisions. It was 15 questions about what you do in some preflop situations. I scored 13/15 so 86,6%. When you finish with the questions you give your email and you will recieve a link with the total report of the questions. This report includes the percentage of each answer given by other people, so it's interesting to see how your opponents thinking. It's 5 min of your time and I think it's worth the try!

Are you making these 3 huge mistakes with AK?

 Are you making these 3 huge mistakes with AK? Watch this video to refresh your mindset about how to play AK. Enjoy!

Can I Ever Fold QQ, KK, or AK Preflop? | Ask SplitSuit

Happy New Month

Happy new month with wishes for the best possible winrate!

Time for Training Tuesday

Time for Training Tuesday and live streaming from xflixx from team PokerStars.

In these days Twitch is a great source of free training videos and information.

Try to get the maximum from every free source of information you can find!

Don't Get Left Behind: How to Outplay the Regs and Win More Pots

A new poker article from my favourite BlackRain79.

I know it's hard, but you have to be one step ahead of the other regs. Searching only for fish is not enough.

Here is the article. Enjoy!

A Hand from 0,10/0,25$ 6max with QQ

Here is a video with a hand analysis from my favourite SplitSuit.

I really like his mindset, and the idea to always have a plan for the nexr street.. Enjoy!

Stealing Strategy at nl2

Hi there, in this post there is a fresh video for amateur players from my favourite Blackrain79.

Watch it and get ready to steal the blinds!

7 Reasons You're Not A Poker Millionaire

Hi there, I just watched a video about reasons that you are not a poker millionaire.

The video was small and entertaining. Enjoy!

My Worst Live Poker Experience

Back again with a story from a local casino in Greece.

One night around a week ago, I decided to go to play a live game at a local casino in my town with some friends for fun. The stakes was 2/2€ 10 max table. That was a bad move in relation to my bankroll which is allowing me to play only up to nl25.

I used money for the buy in, from my life's bankroll and not from my poker bankroll because I was considering my move as an game for entertaining. I know that my approach was bad and my move was a mistake. What matters is to learn from our mistakes.

There was one full table, and around 5 players in waiting list. After a while we agreed to open a table and play 6max for some time. I considered all players as weak because they joined the table with 50 big blinds stack. I was the only one with 100 big blinds +. After around 30 minutes the first table broke and 4 players joined my table and 10 max game was started. I played around 60 hands with good decisions on average and one or two small mistakes. I finished with a loss of 15 big blinds but that was not the point.

The point is one hand that left me with my mouth open. No, it's not a bad beat or a bad play or something like that. It was one mistake that dealer did. Watch out carefully:

During a hand, there are two players on the river. The first player bets around 20€. The second player raises all-in and he has bigger stack than the first one. The first player calls around 50€ more and the chips didn't joined the pot! Both players kept the chips in front of them. They opened their cards, second player won the hand, the first player dropped his chips to the middle, and the first one took his bet to his stack! After that, the dealer counted the pot to take the rake without the second players bet! That was so silly and bad mistake from an unexperienced dealer which took my attention! Unbelievable mistake.

Add this to your game today: Floating the flop

Floating the flop is a really effective (and relatively cheap and safe) way to pull off a bluff

It involves calling a bet on the flop in position with a weak hand in order to take it away with a bet on the turn or the river.

It works best against players who aren’t too passive or aggressive, but play their hands in a pretty straightforward manner, and open with a narrow range of hands. These players will often c-bet the flop, as they know that’s what they’re supposed to do, and then give up if they’ve missed.

Take the following hand from a tournament, with blinds at 100/200. You’re on the button and call a mid-position raise with 8♥-9♥. You’ve noticed that your opponent will often fire the flop but he doesn’t double barrel unless he’s got a hand that he wants to take to showdown. You’ve got a hand that could connect well with a flop, but you’ve got another plan if you miss…

The flop comes down K♦-2♠-7♣ and your opponent bets 600 into the pot of 1,200. You call. The turn brings the 4♥. Your opponent now checks and you bet 1,000 into the pot of 2,400. Your opponent folds what is probably the best hand.

It’s a really effective move against predictable players as, once they’ve shown weakness on the turn, they’ve generally given up on the pot. By calling on the flop you’ve convinced them that you’ve got something and you’ll win a lot of pots with a simple turn bet that you can make with more information than if you just raised on the flop.

Keep it simple

It’s also an extremely simple move. Your only job is to work out the right and wrong times to attempt it. We’ve said it works on straightforward players with high c-bet frequencies, but it also works well against bad aggressive players who will always bet the flop regardless, without thinking much beyond that. Here you’ll also have to take their wider opening range into account.

Floating won’t work against good aggressive players, who will sniff out floats, and maniacs who typically c-bet and barrel the turn and even river with made hands or air. You won’t even get the chance to execute your bluff.

You should also avoid trying to float complete beginners, calling stations and passive players who will check-call with top pair-like hands.

The ideal flops to float on are dry ones, such as J♠-2♣-2♥ or K♣-8♦-4♥. There’s more chance they’ve missed your opponent and a flat call from you looks stronger. Flops like T-Q-A are much more dangerous to float.

You also need to take your image into account. If you’ve been caught bluffing it could be trickier to pull off. Conversely, if you’ve shown that you’re capable of calling preflop with a wide range of hands, you can represent a lot more on the dry flops that are perfect for floating.

You should be in position and against a single opponent – floating is possible in multi-way pots, but it becomes a much trickier move. It also helps if your hand has some equity, as you will get called some of the time. If you’ve got the chance to improve on the river (ideally to some disguised straight or similar), it gives you a second way to win the pot. And it’s always good to have a back-up plan when you’re playing no-limit hold’em. Finally, use it sparingly. You can fool most people some of the time, but vigilant players will wise up to your floats very quickly.

Source: http://www.pokerplayer365.com/poker-strategy/add-this-to-your-game-today-floating-the-flop/

3 Ways To Move Up Your Bankroll

Hi there, I saw a very interesting video by Nick Wealthall about growing up the bankroll. It is worth the 25mins of you time in my opinion, if you are searching ways to build your bankroll. Good luck at the tables! Video

How to Become the Best Micro Stakes Poker Player in the World

Becoming the best micro stakes poker player in the world is a little bit of beat and a brag. You make more nickels, dimes and dollars than anybody else but you aren't likely to get rich this way. At one point in time I probably held this title thanks to an infamous website publishing everybody's results whether they liked it or not.

I learned very quickly that everybody and their dog was now going to have an opinion about my poker career (again whether I liked it or not) as well. Due to my results, my profile on that website was getting the same kind of views and comments as Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan for awhile.

I quickly got sick of listening to every anonymous person on the internet telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing with my poker career. And I also got tired of dealing with the little hater kiddies who followed my every move and relished in every downswing that I went through.

Yes, there really are people on the internet who have this much time on their hands.

So this is a large part of the reason why I started this website blackrain79.com. No more anonymous comments and I could have the discussion about my poker career and views about the game on my terms.

And this really ties into what you have to do if you want to be the best in poker as well. You have to simply stop caring what (almost all) other people think.

Most People Lose at Poker

The simple fact of the matter is that the large majority of people who play this game will lose in the long run. But even in the face of this undeniable fact most people think that they are "around break even" or it's just a run of bad luck that is keeping them down.

Poker is much like driving. Most people tend to rate their own abilities much higher than they actually are.

And because of this everybody will also have an opinion about you, how you play, the correct move and so on. They will in fact argue until they are blue in the face about it in places like internet poker forums, the poker table chat box or even just in a chance encounter at a social event.

You Have Got to Learn to Tune The Noise Out

You will eventually drive yourself nuts if you listen to all of these people. You will also waste an incredible amount of time that could have been better spent actually playing and profiting at the game. You can go to poker forums and see people with 10k+ posts in the space of a few years.

They barely even play the game. Getting their point across about some poker hand/theory on the internet to a bunch of random strangers is actually more important to them than playing the game itself!

I would suggest not wasting your time in these places at all. Close the poker chat box, stop wasting your time on poker forums. If you want to discuss the game a bit and get some feedback on your play then finding a small circle of committed winning players and forming a Skype group for instance is a much better idea.

Pick a Few Training Materials and Ignore Everything Else

The same thing goes for poker training materials. There is an absolute massive amount of information out there in the form of video training sites, books, coaches and so on.

Pick one and ignore everything else.

If you try to join every training site, read every book and hire 10 different coaches the only thing that you are going to achieve is a lot of confusion and information overload.

Find an educational resource that you have heard good things about and just focus all of your attention on studying that one thing. The truth is that you don't need to know everything on earth about poker theory in order to beat the micros.

Heck, I can assure you that you don't even need to be some super genius to become the best micro stakes poker player in the world!

Your Success or Failure in Poker is 100% on You

Most people don't even give themselves a chance to succeed in this game. I have said it many, many times on this blog. The one thing that separates nearly all of the elite players from everybody else is this:

They always seem to be at the tables playing the actual game!

They aren't on poker forums getting in flame wars and wasting their time arguing about another close decision. They aren't wasting their time listening to losing poker players whine in the chat box. They aren't reading 28 poker books, joining every training site and looking for that next messiah coach.

No, they are at the tables putting in the work. They are playing millions and millions of hands and learning from their own mistakes.

They probably spent some time in the beginning learning a basic strategy for success and then they built their own game around that.

Do Something Totally Different and Don't Apologize to Anybody About It

That last point really is the most important one.

After you have learned a basic strategy in order to beat the stakes that you play you need to inject your own personality into your game. You need to do things because you think they are right even if everybody else thinks that it is wrong.

Years ago when I used to 24 table the micros all day long I noticed that every time I would raise with my big pairs and big aces the entire table would call me (the good ole' days of online poker).

So I just said screw it, I will make it 10 times the big blind every time then.

People laughed at me and told me how terrible I play at the poker tables and on the poker forums again and again. And yet oddly enough just a few short years later you couldn't sit at an NL2 or NL5 game on Pokerstars without everybody copying my strategy.

They copied it so much in fact that you can't get away with this anymore because literally everybody knows what it means now.

There used to be a famous mid stakes poker player on Stars back in the day as well who did something similar. He would mini-raise open with literally all of his hands preflop. Again, they made fun of him endlessly on poker forums and at the tables. Now the mini-raise is a standard open in many of these games.

The Bottom Line:

Learn some basic strategy and keep updating your knowledge periodically as you rise up the ranks as well. But once you have this foundation learn to play the game your way. Don't listen to the masses of losing players or those too busy talking about the game to actually play it.

The people who are the biggest winners in poker are almost always ahead of the curve in some way. They do things a little bit differently than everyone else.

Expect some pushback. The crabs in the bucket won't like you for it. It's not "standard" after all. But if you find that what you are doing works then ignore them and keep doing it.

Conclusion

I hope that this short piece helped inspire a few of you out there. There really is no reason why you can't get whatever you want from this game.

You won't get there by sitting around obsessing over every new poker theory and listening to every opinion though. That is a sure-fire recipe for failure in fact.

Cut through all of the nonsense and tune 95% of people out. Listen to a select few authoritative resources or friends who you trust and believe in.

Then go put what you have learned into practice at the tables, develop your own distinct style of play and don't be afraid to experiment.

Furthermore, be known as the poker "doer" and not the poker "talker" by consistently putting in the hours at the tables and keeping the chit chat to a minimum.

This really is the only way to real success in this game. Who knows, you might even become known as the best micro stakes player in the world some day :p

Source: http://www.blackrain79.com/2015/08/how-to-become-best-micro-stakes-poker.html

I am a dreameeeer

You Have to Build the Pot For Them

Most micro stakes players are passive. That is, they don't really like to make aggressive actions unless they have a really strong hand. They would rather just limp along or call unless they have the nuts.

This is not the key to winning poker. But it is the Friday night home game mentality that most of us grew up with. And it is also the style of play that we often see in Hollywood depictions of the game.

So this leads many players at the micros into thinking that they have to slow-play their big hands. After all, they don't want to "scare them off" by betting too much!

The reality though is that many micro stakes players love to call if they have anything remotely decent. This is why you are doing yourself a huge disservice by not betting your good hands. I basically wrote an entire book about this very topic.

The biggest mental hurdle here is once again short-sighted thinking. It is focusing too much attention on the times that they folded and conveniently forgetting about all of the times when they called.

The key to changing this mentality is understanding that most of the time when they fold it is because they simply had nothing. There is no amount of slow-playing in the world that you can do to make somebody call when they have 7 high, no draw.

Micro stakes players love to call a lot. But they are not going to call you with two napkins! They have to have something. 

Most of the time in this game nobody really has anything good. So the next time you have aces, make a bet, they fold and you curse BlackRain79 for it please remember this:

You did the right thing. You didn't "scare them out". They just didn't have anything to pay you off with this time.

Source: http://www.blackrain79.com/2015/07/15-mental-tips-that-will-double-your.html

Setbacks Will Happen

Everybody has to deal with downswings in poker. This is basically a period during which you are consistently not making good hands and you are getting coolered and taking bad beats much more often than normal.

There is no rhyme or reason behind when a downswing occurs. The same goes for their length and intensity.

Unfortunately there are many people out there who could have been great players but they faced a period of intense bad luck at the very beginning of their poker career and it was too much for them to handle. This is especially difficult because they had no experience in dealing with it.

On the flip side, how many times have we heard about the high stakes players of today who hit a huge heater to start their career? A huge HU session versus some particular fish. Or they got lucky and hit a big score in a tournament to jump start their bankroll.

Variance (both good and bad) happens to everybody and there is no telling when it will occur. There is a never a good time for a downswing and we will always feel like the heater is simply something that we are owed.

It is better to just stop thinking about it so much. The randomness of variance in poker is never something that will be in your control.

Source: http://www.blackrain79.com/2015/07/15-mental-tips-that-will-double-your.html

The Money Doesn't Really Matter

One of the great things about the micros is that if you have a bad day then you lose a few movie tickets or a nice dinner for two. At high stakes if you have a bad day then you could lose a luxury vacation, a car or even a house.

The money doesn't really matter to most people at the micros. Everybody hates to lose but is it really worth losing your mind over $20? How about $50?

You are going to have losing days in poker. It doesn't matter how good you are. The sooner that you start distancing yourself from viewing the chips as "money", the better off that you will be. And at the micros, this is extremely easy, because the amounts involved are often trivial.

But more importantly, and no matter what limit you are playing, you should learn to view the chips for what they really are, big blinds or simply capital in your business. They are just a convenient way of keeping score like points in a video game.

When you put them back into your bank account, then you can start thinking about them as actual money again.


Source: http://www.blackrain79.com/2015/07/15-mental-tips-that-will-double-your.html

Finally an Update with Results

Finaly an update with reslults at my 2+2 poker forum thread.
The profit was 158$ for these 15 days and as I said I will not give up my goal to nl100 no matter what.

I learned many things these days. I was mostly at the grinding side of game instead of searching for bad players. The most profits from cash games though came from hunting bad players. Also this strategy is more funny and made me enjoy the game more. I didn't follow my bankroll management rules and I played some hands at nl25. I know that I have a very tight BRM so it's not so bad thing. I realized that there is not so much difference to nl16. I will try to play more the next days, when the tables are good. See you at the tables and good luck! (I don't really need luck)

The Dream was Close

The dream was close on Saturday at the VIP tournament for Silver Star+ players at Pokerstars with 100 fpp buy in. The dream was the 1st place with price 3.700$. I managed to hung on until the 59th place of 6176 entries for 45$. Don't worry derek! next time!



The funniest hand was one that I was at big blind with AA and around 17 big blinds stack. One guy opened from UTG with stack 24 big blinds and stats 5/3 in 38 hands! I was happy of this because I though "He is never folding to my 3bet shove here". Of course he called to see AA and chop the pot hehe.

Embrace the Madness

I used to tell people with a straight face that I have probably taken more bad beats than anyone in the history of poker. I don't think that this is true anymore. But the reason that I was able to make this outrageous claim was because at the time I had probably played more hands of poker at the lowest stakes than any one else in history.

You know, the stakes where you see some of the wackiest stuff on earth all the time.

• Chase that gutshot!
• Flush draw or straight draw? We be calling the whole way!
• Middle pair? Bottom Pair? You crazy!? I can't fold that!

When this is the mentality of half the players that you are up against it should not be any surprise that you are going to take all kinds of crazy bad beats. It's just simple math.

However, at the same time, this is also the reason why the top winners at these stakes are able to sport such ludicrously high win rates. The math works the other way too. You see, most of the time when your opponents are chasing their ridiculous draws, they actually miss.

Our brains are hard-wired though to only focus on the few times that they hit. We conveniently forget about all of the times when our opponent ends up whiffing on whatever nonsense they were chasing and we end up winning the pot.

Yes, these kinds of players can be extremely frustrating to play against at times. But this is precisely why the micros are so profitable! You have to simply learn to embrace the madness.

Source: http://www.blackrain79.com/2015/07/15-mental-tips-that-will-double-your.html

Give up is not at my wordlist

After 10 days of uncertainty and full grinding, I finally did some kind of update at my 2+2 thread.
It's just a short update without results but it will come soon. My goal to nl100 will continue no matter what.

Give up is not at my wordlist!

Uncertainty in Greece

So much uncertaintly about economics in Greece last days. Things are going from bad to worst. Debt getting bigger, the unemployment is huge and there is no good mood for anything.  There is a daily withdrawal limit from bank accounts last days up to 60€. Paysafe card stopped offering services to Greece. At least this is not a problem for me because I rarely do any deposit except there is a good bonus offer. But who knows what comes next.

All this uncertainty causes anxiety and may affect your playing quality and decision making. For now we can only wait to see what comes next. Play only when you feel ok and relaxed. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Poker is very demanding and can be a disaster if let it be affected with real life problems. A clear mind is a "must", otherwise the game is lost before it started.

This is not happend

I can't believe what I saw today. I was playing a 6max satellite for Sunday Storm at Pokerstars. First hand of the game a guy called "scared83off" took one really bad call from T9o and a third player called with 83o! I'm still laughing. He called with the hand that scared the opener! Still can't believe how small is the possibility to see this.

Life is full of Rakeback

Funny title isn't it? It is just the truth. Life is full of rake and rakeback as poker. You can call it reward if you like, instead of rakeback. Think that you are going to buy some things at the super market. You use the card you have for the points. You collect points on every payment you make. Then after some ammount of points, you take some money back to buy again from the supermarket. It's like a reward because you chose this super market. This is like rakeback at poker.

The same applies at many stores and services, like gas stations, like bank accounts, e-wallets etc. Even in people relationships in some way. You help someone, and maybe he will help you back if you need something. In life you never take what you give or a standard percent though. At all the other things, it's your job to search and find the best options that suits most to you.

Your Winnings Are Your Money

After 2,5 years of playing poker, after 2 million hands, the same mistake again and again. It's like sometimes I'm afraid to win. If I win 3 or 4 Buy Ins early in the day, I'm willing to lose the winnings so easy. It's like the fishy thinking "It's not my money, I'm playing with the winnings". No! the winnings are now your money and if you gamble with winnings you gamble with your money so your are a gambler.

I'm sure that everybody thought this way sometime in his poker career. You have to think that everytime you sit down and play, your bankroll is changing. Don't think how much your bankroll was yesterday. Thinking that way is a great way to burn your profits and your winrate.

Each time you sit your ass down to play, the variables are different. Maybe it's not quite different, but it's different. You have to think each time you play individually. I'm talking only for bankroll management here. Poker is one long session and the results comes after big samples so you can't think individually about your results for every session for sure.

Just think about your bankroll when you sit to play and not if your are winning or loosing today. Trust me. It doesn't matter. It can only harm your game.

Brand New Poker Challenge Update

Hi there again, I just updated my progress to my poker goal at my 2+2 poker forum thread.

Seems like things are starting work. I hope I will continue the good quality of playing.

I have a goal to achive and I'm not giving up.

Good luck at tables!

Kamikaze Poker Challenge #1 - derek58

Hi there! Here is my ladder challenge. While I'm trying to move up to nl25, I created a side challenge for fun and I call it Kamikaze Challenge. I began with 10$ at nl2 and rules are that everytime I won one BI for the next stake I move up. It's for times I want to relax and do something different. More info at the description and my 2+2 thread!

Why I can't move up stakes

Recovering from a downswing

Recovering from a poker downswing is never an easy thing. You hear those voices "I'm gonna lose again", "I can't hit a thing", "the always have it" all the time. You lose your confidence to your game and you don't know if it's your fault or if it is just variance. Usually the truth is between the two. Some "bad luck" may lead to bad plays and so on.

Downswing most of the times will reduce the fun you find in the game. This is very important, and one advice is to try to find this fun again. You can play smaller stakes or begin some easy challenges to try to find your confidence again. It's not easy to move down stakes, because it's like telling yourself that you are not good player. Most of the times we try to lie ourself and convice us that if we lose, it's never our fault, but it's just bad luck. If you are sure about that, do a database review and analysis. I'm sure you will find so many mistakes. Can you lie to yourself now?

Having a group with poker friends is a "must". You have to be opened to listen different kind of opinions and thougth processes. Breaks are also very crucial. A break will never do a bad thing to your game. Instead if you burn out playing many hours a day, can hurt your game and also your bankroll. For sure putting volume is the king, but you have to be sure first that you are making the corrent plays.

Here is a great article about downswings from my favourite BlackRain79 that inspired me to write this article. I think that will help a lot. Good "luck" at the tables.

Everybody's Changing

Everybody's changing. In life, in relationships, in business, and in poker. The changes are not a bad thing. It's a natural consequence. The changes are bad for those who can't adjust to the new data.

Changes are the weapon of the strong. Only the strong survives. The better the skill, the fastest someone will notice the changes and use them to his own benefit.

derek58 - nl10 to nl100 poker goal

Setting goals is a part of highly importance in poker. You don't have only to set goals, but to write them down, make a plan, and of course follow your plan. This is not only a poker strategy to achieve your goals. The same method can be used in any bussiness. I just updated my poker goal thread at 2+2 poker forum. You can check it if you like. Good luck in everything and dream big.

Poker is a Skill, Mental and Survival Game

 

Skill game because in the long run the luck almost vanishes and the winners are those who has the better skill. The long run is longer that you might think though.

Mental game because even if you the best player in the world in poker skills, if you are tilted and not focused you will lose again and again. You have to be in perfect mental and physical condition.

Survival game because poker is one big session. It doesn't matter if you play cash games or tournaments. It doesn't matter if you win or lose 10 sessions or 100 tournaments in a row. What matters is to survive. To adjust to the changes of the game and your opponents style of play. To work every single day to be better.

Poker Tracker Hud RFI Positional Stats Tutorial

This is a tutorial about how to add to your Poker Tracker 4 hud the RFI (raise first in) from every position like this photo. I suggest not to use color coding with small sample of hands becase it can be misleading and the info will be unreliable.







Step 1.

Select "Hud" --> "Edit Hud Profiles

                                          

Step 2.

Make sure that you have selected
the tab "Table Groups"
at the up right corner.
Choose the hud profile you use.
For this example I will choose
the "Cash - Default".

Step 3.

Click the "New Group" button.
Give a name like "RFI"

Step 4.

Make sure that you have the RFI
group selected. Then, click below
to the "+" button, and click
"Add Statistic"

Step 5.

Find the stat "Raise First In"
and click ok. You can type it
in the search box to save time.

Step 6.

If you done all the steps correct,
a stat will apear in the box.
Make sure that the stat it's selected,
and go to the up right corner
in the tab "Item Properties"
Change 2 things:
At the "Prefix" box type "EP "
Use one space after you type it.
At the "Position" box click
and select "Early (EP)"

Step 7.

Use the same steps to create
for all positions. Just go back
to the stats box, press again
the "+" button and select
"Add New Line". Then go to
the second line click the "+"
button again and select
"Add Statistic". Follow the
same steps, just change the
Prefix names (MP, BTN, etc)
and the correct position below.



I hope this tutorial was easy understandable and would be helpful to some poker players.
The raise first in % it's a very usefull information, but again be careful, you need some reasonable sample size to make this info reliable. Use it with your responsibility.