The 10 Best Poker Starting Hands Finally Revealed

Do you have a favorite hand in poker? How about a lucky hand that you always seem to win with? Many people have superstitions like this about what is the best poker starting hand.

However, the truth is that there are clear winners and losers in terms of the profitability of certain hands. In other words, some poker starting hands tend to win much more often than others.

So in this article I am going to break down the top 10 best poker starting hands so that you can finally start playing in the most profitable way. 

The Two Absolute Best Poker Starting Hands

Now despite what some people might think there are actually two poker starting hands that tower above all others in terms of profitability. 

I know this because I have checked my own database of millions of hands many times over the years. If you use a program like PokerTracker this is very simple to do. 

And again, this might be a big shocker to some but the two hands that are far more profitable over the long run than any others are, AA and KK. 

From my personal experience as much as half of all my winnings come from these two hands alone. Which is completely insane.

Go ahead and check it for yourself right now and let me know your results in the comments! 

The problem with these two hands though is that many people almost expect them to win every single time and this is frankly just not reasonable. 

In fact even the very worst hand in poker (72 offsuit) has nearly 13% equity versus AA before the flop.



And when you start adding a few more people into the mix with a few random suited connectors, you can see that your equity with pocket aces drops dramatically, all the way down to nearly 50%.

Yes, a virtual coinflip!



However, what many people fail to realize is that these two hands hands (AA and KK) still have a much higher chance of winning the pot than all the others. 

Also, the chance to cooler someone (they have a really good 2nd best hand like QQ or JJ) is very high with pocket aces and pocket kings.

So for all these reasons I think you will almost certainly find that these are the two best poker starting hands in the game. And by that I mean the most profitable!

These 3 Poker Hands are Also Hugely Profitable

The next three most profitable poker starting hands are as follows:

• QQ, JJ and AK

In my experience (once again checking my own database of millions of hands) these are always the next 3 most profitable hands for me. 

And it only makes sense.

Pocket queens and pocket jacks, again despite what some might think, are actually extremely easy to play and among the very best poker starting hands that you can be dealt. 

Just like with AA and KK, they are going to lose frequently though especially in large pots with multiple players. But your chances of making an overpair or coolering someone are still very high.



And ace-king is another excellent hand as well. While it is true that you will only flop an ace or a king 1 in 3 times, you need to remember that those times when you do hit, you often win a big pot. 

This is especially the case when another ace hand is involved such as:

• AQ, AJ or AT

These hands are in big trouble versus AK when the ace comes on the flop.



So once again it is important not to be fooled by short term results with these hands. Yes, sometimes you will lose the pot with QQ, JJ and AK several times in a row. 

And believe me I know, it sucks. But overall these hands are still absolute killers in the long run. 

These are the 5 Next Best Poker Starting Hands

The final 5 top poker starting hands are as follows:

• TT, 99, 88, 77 and AQ

Here's the thing. Pocket pairs rule in No Limit Hold'em.

This is a simple fact. You can once again go load up your poker tracking program and double check this for yourself right now.

If you are a winning poker player then it is very likely that you are showing a profit with every single one of them. 

And the middle pocket pairs like TT, 99, 88 and 77 are some of the best.

Now of course, you are going to lose with these hands even more often. In fact with a hand like 77 or 88, the board on the flop is going to really suck at least 50% of the time. 

Many times with these hands you will simply be forced to check and fold. There really is nothing that you can do with 88 for instance when the flop comes:

• AQT

And the guy starts betting or raising you.

However, the power of hitting a set with these hands is so important in a game like No Limit Hold'em where the stacks in a cash game are often 100 big blinds deep.

Just imagine what happens when you have 88 versus a bad poker player with AK and the flop comes:

• A83

Ya, he is going to lose all of his money to you.

This is especially true if you are betting and fast-playing your hand correctly as I talk about at length in Crushing the Microstakes. 

And lastly, AQ is also a very good hand that will win you a lot of money over the long run. You can make a very strong top pair with it. 

But also, and like with all of the hands on this list, you need to remember that you will almost always be raising (or re-raising) preflop with them. 

Therefore you can often take down the pot on the flop with just a simple CBet. In other words, you don't always have to connect with the board in order to win the pot with a hand like AQ.

Suited Connectors are Bad Poker Hands (But You Should Still Play Them)

You may have noticed that everybody's favorite (suited connectors) are nowhere to be found on my list of the top 10 best poker starting hands.

By the way these are hands like:

• 65s, 76s, 87s, 98s, T9s and JTs

What's the deal with this you might be asking? Well, they aren't mentioned because they absolutely suck! 

Go ahead and fire up PokerTracker once again and check it for yourself. I am willing to bet that even if you are a winning poker player, you are still losing with all of your suited connectors.



The reason why is that these hands really only win a big pot when you connect with the board extremely hard such as making two pair, a straight or a flush. 

And of course, these hands do not come around very often at all. 

What's worse is that many people will hit top pair with a hand like T9s and end up paying off one of the better hands that I already listed above such as QQ when the flop comes:

• T62

Now ironically though, this doesn't mean that you should stop playing suited connectors. They do still have a very key function. And that is that they give your starting hand range a lot more depth. 

You see logically many people would conclude, well if only around 10 hands are really big winners in poker, then I will just play those 10 hands only. 

And yes, logically that argument seems to follow. 

But in practice this is a recipe for disaster. The reason why is because these top 10 hands come around so rarely that even the drunk fish will be able to tell that you are just sitting around waiting for the nuts all day.

Therefore, he won't pay you off when you hit like he will against the other players who are much more active. 

So what these hands like suited connectors (and also suited aces) do for you is add depth to your poker starting hand selection.

They essentially make you a much harder player to play against. And that is because it makes it that much harder for them to put you on a hand.

What this does is make sure that you get lot's of action when you do finally get one of the best poker starting hands that I talked about above. 

Should You Have a Lucky Poker Hand?

What about having a lucky poker hand or a favorite poker hand though? Some people will swear that they always win with some wacky holding like 85 suited. 

Heck, I am guilty of this too!

I go by the screen name "BlackRain79" in online poker. So you can probably already guess what my favorite poker starting hand is.

However, once again the evidence just doesn't support the idea that having a lucky hand like this in poker is a good idea. 

85 suited and 79 suited are both going to be losing hands for you in the long run. And I don't care if your name is Daniel Negreanu or Phil Ivey. 

So when people ask me what my favorite poker hand is I alway say it is AA. Because while I don't win every time with it, I seem to get a lot more "lucky" with pocket aces than any other hand. 

Final Thoughts

So here are the top 10 best poker starting hands.

1. AA

2. KK

3. QQ

4. JJ

5. AK

6. TT

7. 99

8. 88

9. 77

10. AQ

Does this mean that these are the only profitable poker starting hands though? Absolutely not. 

As a winning poker player you should also be showing a profit with many more hands like small pairs, worse aces and many broadways as well.

And there will also be many other hands like suited connectors and suited aces which are not winning hands. However you should still play them in order to add depth to your starting hand selection range.

You need to make sure that you are playing these hands from the right positions at the poker table though. The "Starting Hands Cheat Sheet" which comes as a free bonus with any of my poker strategy books can help you out with that. 

Let me know your favorite poker hands in the comments below. Do you have a lucky poker hand?

Lastly, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker guide if you want to know my complete strategy for crushing the micro stakes games.

Source: blackrain79.com

Is PokerStars Rigged? Here Are the Facts

 People still ask me all the time if PokerStars is rigged. Or if online poker in general is rigged.

And I have never written an article about it before because I think this just legitimizes what to me seems like a pretty ridiculous question.

But I know that the emails and the comments about online poker being rigged won't stop. And therefore hopefully this article will solve the Great Debate once and for all!

Is online poker rigged? Are we being invaded by Russian bots? Are there mysterious ninjas hired to create another rigged river card just for you right before the final table?

I gotta be honest. I can't possibly answer all of these earth shattering questions in a tiny little blog post like this.

However, a little bit of common sense should tell us that of course there is some nefarious behaviour going on when anything important (such as money) is on the line.

Humans rig the stock market, they rig elections, they lie on their resumes and they cheat on their high school exams as well. Heck a decent chunk of them even end up cheating on the person that they swore their wedding vows to!

So in short, yes of course there are certain poker sites and individuals out there who are trying to rig the system in their favor when it comes to online poker. You would have to be incredibly naive not to realize this.

But is there widespread cheating going on across the entire industry, and specifically at the biggest online poker site in the world, PokerStars?

Probably not. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. PokerStars is a Money Making Machine

The first and most highly obvious reason why PokerStars is probably not rigged is because they are an absolute money making machine.

As I have said many times before on this blog the house is always by far the biggest winner in poker. And PokerStars takes this to an entirely new level.

They are estimated to be bringing in 500 million dollars in pure profit each year. And therefore god only knows how much they were hauling in 5-10 years ago when poker was really booming.

So common sense should once again beg the question: Why on earth would you possibly want to screw that up?

When you are already making absurd amounts of money and dominating the entire industry what possible incentive could you have to want to rig something?

PokerStars is one of the most successful and profitable brands the industry has ever seen. And no matter what you think of their new ownership, they continue to crush it in every possible way from a business point of view.

So there is simply no plausible motive here.

In fact they have every reason in the world NOT to rig it and just keep playing a winning hand over and over again.

 

2. You Can Simply Go Check it For Yourself

The second most important reason why PokerStars is probably not rigged is kind of a biggie as well. And that is that you can actually just go and check it for yourself!

PokerStars is one of the few poker sites out there who are very open about what they do. They will in fact actually send you every single hand history that you have ever played on their site.

I know this because I did it myself once. I requested close to 8 million hands that I had played on PokerStars from them. Within 24 hours I had the links to download them all.

This means that I could then go stick those 8 million hands in a tracking program like PokerTracker and run extensive analysis and tests looking for statistical anomalies.

This is one of the biggest reasons why I am not a big fan of a recent trend in online poker towards anonymous poker sites and/or those who do not provide hand histories.

"Open source" poker sites like PokerStars are much better for the industry in my opinion because they allow us to essentially police the games for ourselves.

 

3. There is No Actual Evidence that PokerStars is Rigged

So given the fact that we can actually run our own tests and search for statical anomalies over massive sample sizes you would think that all the people who are so certain that PokerStars is rigged would have overwhelming evidence to support their claims.

Nope, nada, none.

There has never been one conclusive study that I have ever seen, based on a statistically relevant sample size, which actually proves that there is any rigging going on at PokerStars.

Their standard arguments instead usually go something like this:

"OMG...My AA got cracked 3 times in a row by some stupid fish!!!...I told you JOKERSTARS is rigged, rigged rigged!!!"

The main problem with these "arguments" is that they fail to account for even the most basic variance in poker and they are completely lacking in a statistically significant sample size.

A sample size of 3 hands is completely meaningless in poker. And so is a sample size of 300 hands, 3,000 hands or even 30,000 hands.

You need to be working with millions and millions of hands in order to get to the point where you can mathematically rule out variance. Anyone who has actually played this many hands of poker knows exactly what I mean by this.

I have never seen a real legit study based on this many hands which conclusively proves that there are widespread statistical anomalies going on with the RNG on PokerStars.

Because if such a study like this actually did exist, believe me you would have heard about it by now. And it would be an absolute bombshell within the poker industry.

 

4. Human Bias and Defence Mechanism

The next reason why many people are convinced that online poker is rigged is because most people lose at this game. And that unfortunate little reality isn't likely to change any time soon.

Once the poker sites and the winning poker players take their cut there just isn't much left over for everybody else. In fact I would estimate (conservatively) that 70% of poker players lose over the long run.

And the other thing that we know about poker players is that virtually all of them think they are pretty good, or at least above average. Poker is kind of like driving, nobody will ever admit they are bad at it.

So this naturally leads to a situation where many losing poker players will look to either repress this reality or simply shift the blame to something else for their lack of success.

In fact, Sigmund Freud (the father of modern psychology), even created a name for this very common unconscious process. He called it a defence mechanism.

When you aren't winning at poker the easy solution is just to blame it all on your bad luck or convince yourself that the whole game is rigged against you.

This is an absolutely crucial reason why poker continues to be so profitable.

Losing poker players have an easy out. They can just continually convince themselves that their lack of success is due to some outside force beyond their control.

And therefore, they never even think to address the real reason why they keep losing, which is their own lack of skill and lack of tilt control among other things.

There is no other game on earth that I have ever seen that inspires such incredible levels of self delusion. And quite frankly, it is an absolutely beautiful thing.

 

5. Variance and the Speed of Online Poker

The final reason why many people swear that online poker is rigged is because they don't realize how the speed of the online game changes everything.

A lot of the people who claim that online poker is rigged come from a live poker background. Or they have played a statistically insignificant amount of hands online (less than 100k).

Therefore, they simply do not understand that the speed of online dealing (often 3 times as fast as a live game), coupled with the ability to multi-table, means that bad beats and coolers are simply bound to happen far more often than what they are used to.

This doesn't mean that anything is actually rigged. It just means that you are now experiencing the acceleration of a Ferrari instead of your old Toyota.

Yes it is going to feel weird at first. It won't even seem believable at times in fact.

And if you try your hand at something like Zoom Poker (which deals hands upwards of 10 times as fast as a live poker game), it might just blow your mind completely!

You really have to understand that online poker is a completely different experience from live poker. Yes it is the same game with the same rules, but all of the similarities end there.

The speed at which the online version of the game is dealt means that you are going to get to the long run far quicker than you are used to. This also means that you will see the true depths of statistical variance much more vividly.

And when you add in the ability to multi-table into the mix as well, you better buckle up. Because it is going to be downright crazy and quite simply not believable at times.

 

Final Thoughts

The debate about online poker being rigged or not will rage on no matter what I say here.

And I know a few people will probably even accuse me of being a "shill" for PokerStars even though anyone who reads this blog knows that I have actually been recommending that you DON'T PLAY there for many, many years now.

And that is not because I think there is any rigging going on at PokerStars. It is simply because there are many far easier poker sites (softer games) available to play at in my opinion.

But hopefully some of the points discussed in this article will help bring some sanity back to the discussion. Obviously online poker faces many challenges and the integrity of the games will always be questioned as well.

Humans like to cheat at stuff after all. The sky is blue as well!

But the idea that there is any widespread rigging going on at PokerStars in particular is pretty absurd in my opinion. I have won a lot of money on that site over the years by simply playing a solid fundamental strategy.

Furthermore, they have absolutely no reason whatsoever to risk their enormous cash cow. When you are already making money hand over fist the legit way, you have absolutely no incentive to ever screw that up.

Lastly, since PokerStars is one of the most open and transparent poker sites out there in my experience, you can simply just request the data and determine how rigged they are for yourself!

Source: blackrain79.com

GPL India partners with PokerStars; Platinum passes on offer for the winners

BY Lee Davy ON April 23, 2018

The Global Poker Index (GPL) India has partnered with PokerStars.in to act as online poker host for the first season and have reacted by promising $30,000 Platinum Passes to the winners.




It’s taken a while (raising $27m in funding for an entirely different project tends to take your eye off the ball), but the Global Poker League (GPL) is the newest poker present set to delight the Indian audience.

A press release received from the GPL has thrown more light on the future of the league in India, four months after the GPL’s parent company Mediarex Sports & Entertainment entered into a multi-year deal with Kwan Entertainment.

We know the league format works. The Montreal Nationals won the first GPL in December 2016. And the Chengdu Pandas won the first GPL China in December 2017. Now it’s India’s turn to shine.
Season 1 of GPL India will consist of six teams of five players. Two of the players will arrive via online satellite qualification, and the team manager will select the other three players via a live draft pencilled in for September 2018.


Here are those teams and respective managers:

Chennai Sharks – Manager Vikram Kumar
Delhi Diehards – Manager Muskan Sethi
Ahmedabad Alphas – Manager Abishek Rathod
Mumbai Jetsetters – Manager Kavin Shah
Kolkata Creators – Manager Aditya Agarwal
Bengaluru Hackers – Manager Vidwath Shetty
The online qualifiers run from May to August. The top four teams in the qualifying groups make it to the finals. The finals take place in November. The format will be 6-Max, and Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em played online and live at GPL India’s studios. The GPL will stream the two-day final. 

PokerStars Continue to Grow Brand Awareness

PokerStars will become a GPL India partner.

All the online action takes place at the Sachiko Gaming’s PokerStars India online poker room. PokerStars launched the new site last week, and immediately hired the Delhi Diehards team manager, Muskan Sethi, to become a brand ambassador. Kolkata Creators team manager, Aditya Agarwal, is also a PokerStars ambassador.

The winners each receive a $30,000 Platinum Pass to compete in the $25,000 buy-in PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship, due to take place in the Bahamas in January.

GPL India doesn’t stand alone as a team concept in the second most populous country in the world.

India’s Poker Sports League (PSL) is about to enter into its second season and recently announced RunItOnce (RIO) coach Dylan Linde as the first of many wildcard picks. The Match Indian Poker League (MIPL) recently finished their second season.

Source: https://calvinayre.com

Playing An Overpair On The Flop - Transform My Poker

A nice video, with advices about how to play an overpair, with flopzilla analysis.

How to Get Your First $1000 Dollar Bankroll in Poker - by Blackrain79

For many people playing the micros stakes online getting to their first $1000 bankroll is a major target and milestone.

And the reason why it is so important is because it allows you to start playing in the games where you can finally start making some significant money both at the tables and with rakeback as well.

What I really mean by this is stakes like 10c/25c blinds online (aka NL25) where the top players can very easily make $1000 a month playing poker or more.

So in this article I am going to provide you with your step by step game-plan to making your first 1k bankroll at the micro stakes online poker tables.

1. Start From the Lowest Stakes

For most people, I always suggest starting at the lowest stakes cash games online which is usually 1c/2c, also called NL2. The reason why is because these games are still very easy to beat and this means that you will start winning right away.

I think one of the #1 reasons why many people fail to achieve their goals in poker is because they play in games that are too advanced for them, or that don't have fish in them. This means that they don't see real results for a long time, if ever.

This is debilitating and saps your will to play and learn more.

On the other hand, when you start winning right from the get-go in your online poker career (which playing at NL2 allows you to do), this will give you the confidence to keep playing more and learning more and ultimately moving up the stakes to the higher limits.

2. Start With a Proper Bankroll

So how much should you actually deposit to start playing in the NL2 games?

Well, I always suggest having at least 30 buyins for any game you are playing these days and so at NL2 this would mean a minimum starting bankroll of $60. But if you want to play it even safer (which I would suggest), then having 40 buyins or even 50 is better ($80 or $100 in this case).

What this does is prevent you from ever having to worry about routine downswings of 10 buyins for instance that will happen to you regularly along the way in poker.

One of the biggest hurdles that many newer poker players face is the first big run of bad cards (downswing). Downswings are already hard enough to handle without having to face the psychological challenge of losing half your bankroll.

So this is why I always suggest just starting off the right way in poker and ideally depositing $100 to start your poker journey in the NL2 games. $60 bare minimum though.

3. Tight and Aggressive is Still the Right Strategy

Now the next thing you are probably asking yourself is what strategy do I need to use to beat these games. Well, this is pretty simple as well: tight and aggressive, also known as TAG.

The simple TAG strategy for the micro stakes that I talk about all the time on this blog and in my books and videos could be broken down to a few basic principles:

• Be selective about what hands you play preflop (top 15% in full ring, top 20% in 6max)
• Pay special attention to your position at the poker table (play the majority of these hands on and around the button)
• Make a continuation bet on the flop frequently and sometimes on the turn/river depending on the opponent and the situation
• Value bet your good hands heavily
• Don't run big bluffs
• Control your emotions (don't tilt)

Now obviously this is a very simplistic breakdown. 

If you want a deeper understanding of exactly what hands to play preflop and what hands to bet on the flop, turn and river for instance, then go pick up a copy of my free ebook, Massive Profit at the Micros. 

However, this really is it. This is all you need in order to have consistent success at NL2. The biggest problem that most people face is overcomplicating this process. 

 

 

4. Table Selection is Key

 

Now there is another key to this process though which involves playing in the right games. You see, the simple TAG strategy that I just suggested above works the best in loose/passive games against bad regulars and recreational players. 

Now luckily these days at NL2 most games still play like this. But not all do. This is why it is important that you are always table selecting while you are playing. 

The first thing that I always suggest for this is simply playing on the easiest poker sites in the first place. These are the poker rooms which tend to have the most recreational players on them (fish). 

Secondly, you want to make sure that there is always at least one rec player at your table. How do you know who a rec player is though?

 

Here are the common signs:

• VPIP of 40%+ and a single digit PFR (your HUD stats will tell you all this)
• Limping a lot
• Min-betting after the flop
• Never folding, chasing every draw
• Short stack, not refilling
• Only playing on one table

 

These are just a few, there are many more.

Below is a typical example of a fish on your HUD at the micro stakes. Note the 40%+ VPIP and the single digit PFR.



 

If you don't know what a HUD is by the way, or you want to download and use my actual HUD above, check out this article of mine.

The bottom line is that it is absolutely vital that there is always one of these players at your table because they lose their money way faster than everybody else. Therefore, a large amount of your profits will ultimately come from them. 

Don't ignore this important point or you will not achieve the success that you truly want at the poker tables. If you choose to play in tough games against good players it is going to take you way longer to get your first $1000 bankroll.

 

 

5. Consistently Move up the Stakes

 

The next thing you need to do in your journey to a 1k bankroll is consistently move up the stakes. How do you know when it is time to move up though?

Well, this is pretty easy. You should move up when you have at least 30 buyins for the next limit. However, remember that more buyins is always better. 

So in this case the next stake after 1c/2c is usually 2c/5c, also called NL5. You should have a bare minimum of $150 in your bankroll before playing in this game. 

But furthermore you should only move up when you yourself are personally ready. Many people make the mistake of moving up too fast just because they have the bankroll for it.

Remember that getting to your first $1000 bankroll in poker and beyond is not a race. The games aren't going anywhere and it doesn't matter if you achieve this goal in two months or if it takes you a year or more. 

The point is simply that you do ultimately get there!

So you should take your time and only move up when you are feeling confident about your game. You should feel like you are clearly better than the competition at your current limit and your results also prove that (i.e. strong winrate).

You should also never move up if you are in a downswing (running bad, poor luck). And lastly, I always suggest moving up on a weekend when the games often tend to be a little bit better and of course you should table select heavily as well. 

 

 

6. Don't Touch Your Bankroll

 

Now another key along your path to a 1k bankroll is not withdrawing money. And this one should be pretty obvious. This is because any money that you withdraw from your bankroll along the way will directly harm your progress. 

This is why I always suggest completely separating your poker money from your personal "real world" money. The amount that you deposit to play online poker should be seen as a capital investment or like purchasing a stock.



You are investing this money now in order to produce long term sustainable returns in the future. If you need to constantly withdraw money for personal expenses out of your tiny bankroll, then you perhaps shouldn't even be playing poker yet in the first place. 

And I don't mean to sound harsh when I say that. I say it to be real with you. Your poker money has to be your poker money, that's it, period and end of story. 

Many, many years ago before I became a poker pro I made this mistake again and again. This is the #1 reason why I am known for having played absurd amounts of hands at the micros (millions and millions of hands). Because I never allowed my bankroll to properly grow!

Don't do what I did. 

If you want to achieve your first 1k bankroll and go on to make the really big money in this game, then you need to leave your bankroll alone until you are finally playing with the big boys (e.g. much, much higher limits than I am discussing in this article). 

 

 

7. The Long Winding Road to a 1k Bankroll

 

The last thing that I want you to know is that the road to your first 1k bankroll and beyond will not be an easy one. There will be many hills and valleys along the way. 

You should expect to go through downswings where you lose 1/3 or even as much as 1/2 of your bankroll along the way. This is often very tough to handle especially for newer players. There is no way to sugarcoat it.

But the real key is that you stay focused on your longterm goals in this game and getting to a 1k bankroll and beyond. 

Poker is a game with a huge short term luck element and you can't always control what is going to happen in one session or even a week of sessions. 

When the big downswing inevitably happens it is important that you:

1. Take a step back from the games for awhile and do some in depth session reviews

2. Drop down to a lower limit for awhile in order to regain your confidence and winning ways

Dropping down in stakes is probably the hardest thing to do for many people. It is a direct shot to the ego after all to have to return to a lower limit that you have already beaten. 

But you have to understand that it happens to the best players in the world all the time. Everybody goes through big downswings in this game at some point and they have to drop down to lick their wounds.

We only hear about the big tournament scores or the big cash game winnings though. We never hear about the months (and sometimes years) of struggling that a lot of the best players went through in order to achieve those results.

But this is also a part of the process. You can't have the good without the bad in this game. 

Know that there will be many ups and downs, but if you play solid poker, table select and control your emotions during the tough times, the results that you want will be there in the end. 

 

 

Conclusion

 

 

Reaching your first $1000 poker bankroll at the micro stakes is a major milestone that you should be focused on if you take this game seriously. 

At this point you will have 40 buyins for NL25 where the best players can pretty easily make 1k a month especially once you add in the rakeback. And of course the potential amounts that you can make only go up considerably from there as you move up to higher stakes.

It won't be easy though and that is why is it is important that you start at the lowest limits with a solid game-plan to succeed. 

You should stick to the tried and true simple tight and aggressive strategy. You should also move up once you have at least 30 buyins for the next stake and you are confident in your play.

You also want to make sure that you are focused on table selection which translates to always having at least one fish at your table. Lastly, it is vitally important that you do not withdraw from your bankroll and simply allow it to grow naturally.

Let me know in the comments below how you got your first 1k bankroll in poker.

21 Proven Strategies That Will Double Your Poker Winrate in 2018 - Blackrain79

With the new year already well under way this can either be the year that you finally start making it happen for real in poker or continuing along with mediocre results like most people do.

I know that for me personally I play this game to achieve the highest winrates possible. Basically my goal is always to absolutely crush the games. 

Poker is not only a lot more fun to play this way, but much more profitable as well. 

So in this article I am going to give you my top 21 proven strategies that will at least double your poker winrate at the micros in 2018.

No more breakeven. No more flatline graphs. Let's go!

1. Hammer on the Nits

A "Nit" is an overly tight and generally fearful poker player. You see them absolutely everywhere at the micros these days online especially at stakes like NL2, NL5 and NL10. 

They will have HUD stats of something like 11/9/2 in full ring and 17/15/2 in 6max. 

Now you are never going to really "crush" these players because they simply play too tight to ever make that many huge mistakes. But many people still miss out on so much extra value versus them. 

You should be absolutely pounding on the Nits and what I mean by this is constantly stealing their blinds, light 3Betting them, CBetting them and so on. 

Basically just keep applying pressure again and again until they finally take a stand and fight back. At that point, you give them credit and back down, unless you have a huge hand, because they usually aren't messing around.

2. Hero Call the TAGs

Now as you climb up the micros a little bit more you will start to encounter some better players such as TAGs (tight and aggressive) and even LAGs (loose and aggressive) too. 

These players will be more active, playing more hands, and they won't be as timid as the Nits either. This means that they will have a lot more bluffs in their range. 

And quite frankly these days, often it is too many bluffs. So what is the answer here? Start hero calling them more often with hands like top pair or even middle pair. 

Everybody gets dealt the same amount of good and bad hands in poker. When they are constantly betting and raising, they simply can't have it every time.

This also lets them know that you aren't like every other weak reg out there who is just going to allow them to run you over. 

3. Abuse the Fish

As I have discussed on this blog many times, you need to be absolutely abusing the heck out of the fish these days as well. 

This means that you should be isolating them almost every time they limp and then sticking a CBet in their face. 

Now you can't just bet, bet, bet against them though like the Nits because the recreational players love to hit their call button. In fact one of the biggest thrills they get in poker is catching you in a big bluff.

But you also have to remember that you will miss the flop 2 out of 3 times with an average hand. Therefore, most of the time they don't actually have much of anything. 

Get involved with the fish as much as possible, apply pressure in the right spots and watch your winrate skyrocket.

4. Get on Tables With the Rec Players

Anyone who reads my blog regularly also knows that I beat this next point to death all the time. And for good reason. You can't abuse the fish and create a massive winrate at the micros unless they are on your table in the first place!

In fact, playing against recreational players is the entire reason why this game is so profitable. They lose their money at least 5x faster than the very worst regs. It doesn't take any kind of a math whiz to see why they are so good for your winrate then.



Make sure that you are taking table selection very seriously in 2018. You simply cannot afford to ignore this anymore. 

And as I talked about in last week's article, playing Zoom is NOT an excuse anymore either. I outlined in that article exactly how you table select in fast fold games like Zoom, Snap, Fast Forward etc.

Bottom line, if you truly want to start winning big in poker, then you will put in the effort.

5. Don't Miss Value Bets

One of the biggest technical problems that I see many micro stakes players making is missing value bets. This is especially the case on the river. 

You have to remember that with the best winrates only being 5bb/100 in some cases these days especially at NL25+, every time you miss that 5bb bet on the river (that they would have called), this is literally the difference between you being a break even player versus an elite winner.

If you think that there is any chance they make a call with a worse hand, make the value bet. You don't need to bet big, 1/3 pot will often do just fine. 

6. Start Thinking Meta-Game

Many micro stakes players fail to realize that every decision that they make at the poker tables has large implication on future hands as well. 

For instance, by making more value bets like I just discussed you immediately give yourself a much more aggressive table image. 

Anyone who is using a HUD will immediately start seeing that your AF (aggression factor) is rising. What does this ultimately mean? They think that you are betting too often which means more loose calls in the future when you want it!

Always remember to think about the meta-game especially versus the regs in 2018. Always be selling the story to them that you are a bit of a loose cannon and you will get more loose calls in the future when you want them. 

7. Stop Overplaying Mediocre Hands (Use a Polarized Range Instead)

A huge problem that I see lower stakes players continually making is overplaying hands like middle pair or a weak top pair. 

You do not need to balance your range perfectly at the micros in order to succeed. Most of the time when you are betting or raising you should have a polarized range consisting of really strong hands or semi-bluffs.

With your mid range hands like top pair no kicker and middle pair, you want to be check/calling and bluff catching instead.



Make it a point this year to stop getting yourself into crazy situations in hugely bloated pots with mediocre hands where you have no idea where you are at.

You accomplish that by pot controlling more often with these hands and either seeing a cheap showdown or folding.

8. Read the Situation Better Preflop

The same thing goes for preflop. I see so many players auto-3Betting with hands like JJ or TT and I would be willing to bet that they often don't even know why. 

There are many preflop situations, such as when a Nit raises in EP (early position), where re-raising with these hands is actually about the worst thing that you can do. 

The reason why is because all you do is fold out all hands that you crush and get re-raised by all hands that crush you. In other words, it's a lose/lose result for you.

You want to try and avoid situations like this in poker at all costs!

So make sure that you take your time with preflop situations and really assess the ranges. Do not just auto-3Bet or auto-4Bet because you have a really strong hand. It might be better to just call it this particular situation.

9. Flat Wider Preflop

Another strategy that is highly effective these days at the micros is flatting wider especially in position versus the bad regs (Nits, TAGfish etc.) and then outplaying them after the flop. 

In fact, I think as much as half of my new book is probably devoted to this topic because I feel like this is such a massive new profit source at the lower stakes these days.

So what do I mean by flatting wider?

I mean that any time I see a weaker reg (or a fish of course) open in early or middle position, then I am going to be flatting them in position with all sorts of highly speculative hands like:

• Broadways
• Small and Mid Suited Aces
• Suited Connectors
• Suited One Gappers
• Suited Two Gappers

This is in addition to everything else which is more standard to call with like small and mid pairs, big aces etc.

Bottom line, there are so many regs in today's games that you simply have to get involved more often with them in order to create truly elite profits in these games. You can't do this by folding.

So opening up your range a bit especially in position is a great place to start. 

10. 4Bet Bluff the Good Regs

Something else that I also talk about a fair bit on this blog and in my books is creating a 4Bet bluffing range versus the better regs like the TAGs and LAGs.

Once again, if they are going to be betting and raising frequently, then we know that they simply can't have it every time. A little bit of pushback in the right spots is therefore often all it takes to win some easy pots against them.

So this is why I am a big fan of turning hands like small suited Aces into a 4Bet bluff against them sometimes.

Not only do these hands block other ace hands but they can also make the nut flush, the wheel straight and of course top pair as well.

What this means is that even if you happen to run into a strong pair like KK, QQ or JJ you are still going to have well over 30% equity.



This is a lot better position to be in than a hand like TT for instance which barely has 20% equity.

11. Float the Flop Like a Champion

Long gone are the days where you can expect to crush the micros with a Fold to Flop CBet% of 70+. You still see many Nits and TAGfish playing like this, but virtually no top winners do. 

The biggest winners these days at the micros are folding much less often, as low as 40% in some cases. 

Now the best hands to starting floating the flop more often with are hands like:

• Two Overs
• Backdoor Flush Draw
• Gutshot Straight Draw

Basically you just always want to make sure that you have a little bit of equity in your back pocket. You can't win in poker by folding. You have to start calling more often and playing a little bit of poker.

12. Bet When They Check

So what happens after you float the flop with your gutshot straight draw, totally brick it on the turn, and they check to you?

You bet!

Many micro stakes regs these days forget that the entire point of a float on the flop is to bet the turn when they check to you. It literally does not even matter what you have. 

You can't win in poker by checking and waiting to make a hand either. When an opportunity is presented to you to win a pot, take it. 

13. Play the Player

Something else you should be doing though is tailoring your decisions to the player you are playing against. This is why I constantly talk about how important using a HUD is these days at the micros. 

I don't really want to be floating wide versus a guy who CBets the flop, turn and river 50%+ for instance. Instead I want to look for the weaker reg who CBets the flop and then gives up consistently on the later streets if he doesn't have anything. 

And the same thing goes for any other decisions as well. Always be aware of the type of player you are playing against (i.e. tight, aggressive, loose, passive) and adjust your play accordingly versus them. 

14. Be Unpredictable

Now at the same time, you don't want to allow the other regs to ever get a read on you either. This is why I often alternate between playing a tight and aggressive game and a loose and aggressive crazy style these days. 

This also completely screws with their HUD stats and any notes that they may have on me. They don't know if this is the day that I will be playing tight and betting for value or if I am raising every pot and bluffing them constantly. 

Check out my guide on transitioning from TAG to LAG for more on this. 

15. Mess With the Regs

Another slightly controversial suggestion that I have made before on this blog is to basically screw with the regs and piss them off. 

So what this means in practice is that I will pick one reg (usually a weaker one) who I happen to have position on on several tables. 

I will then just go ahead and start 3Betting or 4Betting him every time he opens the pot and constantly bluffing and raising after the flop as well. I will even show a few bluffs.

He will eventually adjust and I will tone it down. But they will often remember that I went out of my way to screw with them on this one occasion for a very long time.

I often get all sorts of crazy loose calls (when I want them) weeks or even months later down the line.

16. Put Everyone on Tilt

So it isn't just the regs that I use this strategy against either. My goal at the poker tables these days is to put as many people on tilt as possible. 

In an age when most people play fairly "solid" as they say, then you have to start getting them off their games in other ways in order to really break through.

Luckily, most small stakes regs are still pretty weak in the mental side of the game and you can make them crack pretty easily. 

So whether this is table talk, hollywooding/stalling, constantly bluffing them like I just talked about or anything else within the rules of the game that will piss them off, I am going to do it. 

Heck, if the poker site allows you to use an image, I will often choose something that tilts many people like Justin Bieber and call myself something ridiculous like "#1BiebsFan" as well.

Bottom line: I will take any edge I can get. Poker is mental warfare. Use any and all tools to your advantage. 

17. Slay the Fish

Many micro stakes players to this day are still so charitable to the fish. They let them get off the hook easy again and again!

I literally cringe every time I see some reg only get half the fish's stack when he coolers him with something like AA vs QQ on a raggy board like 55278.

This is literally one of the biggest reasons why they do not have the same winrate as me in these games. I don't let the fish keep 50bb here.

I stack them every single time.

I showed this in the NL2 video series that I put out recently stacking the same fish over and over again in situations where most other regs would let him keep more of his money.

No more slow-playing or tiny bets versus the fish in 2018. They either have something to call you with or they do not. You do not have any control over that.

Your job is simply to always give them the opportunity to make the big mistake. 

18. Learn Through Experience

Another reason why my winrates at the micros over the years have been consistently higher than almost everybody else is because I have simply played way more hands than almost everybody else!

When you play 10 million+ hands of poker you are going to start seeing the same situations over and over and over again. This is bound to make you learn and improve.

It also makes the game much easier to play because you don't need to think so much about common situations. You just "know" what the best play is because it is seared into your brain from memory.

The very best players in the world almost always have one thing in common: they are seemingly always at the poker tables playing poker!

If you are serious about improving your poker winrate in 2018, then you need to develop the kind of world class work ethic that the pros have.

Just grind.

19. Ignore Almost Everyone

There is so much free (and not free) poker information out there these days that it is getting slightly ridiculous. Everybody and their dog has an opinion and their "two cents" of advice for you now.

Unfortunately, not all two cents were created equal though. Most people actually lose at poker in the long run.

My suggestion then is to find a few select resources that you trust and just listen to them. This especially means people who have had proven success at the stakes that you actually play at.

You should also look to network and form friendships or even study groups with other proven winning players.

20. Tame the Tilt Beast

One of the most effective ways to immediately start increasing your winrate at the micros is to simply stop tilting so much. 

In fact one of my most popular articles from last year was how I made $800 more a month at the lower stakes by simply focusing on reducing the tilt and spew in my game. 

My advice would be to take a real and honest assessment of just how much you are losing through tilty play like I discuss in that article. 

You can easily do this in PokerTracker or Hold'em Manager by filtering for hands that you lost which were a substantial size (i.e. 20bb or more). From there you can add up just how much of the losses was due to poor play/tilt versus legitimate bad luck or coolers. 

The number will probably end up shocking you and possibly get you to finally start taming the tilt beast. I know it did for me. 

21. All-In

Confidence is one of the most powerful weapons that you have at the poker tables. All of the top players have it in spades. 

Most of them have an ego bordering on arrogance in fact. You should absolutely believe and know that you are the best player at the table every time you sit down to play. 

This is also why it is so important to go all-in with playing and studying this game like a beast. I really just can't even repeat that point enough.

You can't be a "dabbler" like most people if you want to truly be successful at poker. As I have discussed before, in my first several years as a pro especially, this is literally all I did.

Poker was my entire life.

This builds a level of experience and preparation where the self-belief just comes naturally. I know that I have played way more hands and worked way harder on my game away from the tables than they have. 

This gives me the confidence to make the right play and believe in my instincts every single time. 

Final Thoughts

Achieving real poker results at the micros and doubling your winrate this year in 2018 is by no means some unattainable goal. It doesn't require any sort of magic wand or secret formula either.

The reality is that consistently beating the micros just comes down applying the basics again and again, not tilting and playing against the fish. And perhaps most importantly, simply wanting it more than the next guy.

Hopefully some of the other ideas in this article will also help you increase your poker winrate this year though.


Source: blackrain79.com/