Just an example of a tip we may provide to you. Some may be shorter and some a bit longer. Trust me, we have some good ones! You won't want to miss them.

Betting Out of Position: -

Every Hold 'em strategy guide talks about the importance of positional advantage. The standard thinking is that the player who acts last has more information than his opponents, so he'll have a better sense of where he stands in a hand and can, therefore, make better decisions. There's no doubt that this is true, but it's important to understand that the power that comes with position is often granted to the late-position player by the early-position player.

To see what I mean, consider a pretty typical No-Limit hold 'em hand. Say that I'm in the big blind with 7s-8s - a nice, flop-worthy hand. The player on the button raises to three times the big blind and I decide to call. Many players would check the flop under almost any circumstances. But, by checking, you give control to the late-position player. He can bet whether or not he has a hand, putting you in a tough spot if you don't get a piece of the flop.

In a hand like this, I believe it's best to look at the flop and ask, "Is it likely that these cards helped my opponent?" Once I have an answer to that question, I can decide how to proceed.

If the flop is Ah-Kd-9c, I'd probably just check and fold to a bet, as my opponent was likely raising with big cards and caught a piece of the flop. However, if the flop is 9c-5h-2d, I'd probably be more skeptical. I know that in Hold 'em, two unpaired hole cards will fail to make a pair on the flop about 66 percent of the time, and this seems to be a flop that the pre-flop raiser might have missed.

If I suspect my opponent didn't connect, I'm going to take the initiative and bet out about half the size of the pot. Betting here with my gutshot draw offers several advantages. First, I might take the pot down right here, and I'm always happy when a semi-bluff forces a fold. But even if I get a call from my opponent, I've forced him to react. That gives me a chance to pick up a read. If my opponent seems uneasy, I might continue with my semi-bluff on the turn and try again to pick up the pot. Or, if I feel my opponent is strong, I can check and fold to any bet on the turn if I fail to make my hand.

Stabbing at pots when out of position can be very lucrative. In tournaments, I'll open-raise out of position fairly frequently because I think there's a lot of power in being the first one to fire at the pot on the flop. I pick up a lot of small pots that way.

As you work on your Hold 'em game, remember that you don't have to give the advantage in the hand to the player in late position. Look for opportunities to bet out and seize the initiative.

 

Playing Slick in Deep Stack Tournaments

During this year's World Series of Poker, I talked with a number of pros about the problems that so many online qualifiers had playing Big Slick during the early blind levels. It seemed to us that a huge percentage of the field - we estimated as much as 70 percent - was more than willing to go broke with this hand if they hit a pair on the flop.

But many pros, myself included, feel that Ace-King is a very difficult hand to play in the early levels of big buy-in tournaments, when the stacks are deep compared to the blinds. The fact of the matter is, top-pair/top-kicker is probably no good if another player is willing to risk all of his chips. This isn't always the case - you may find an extremely weak player willing to go broke on K-Q, but that's the rare exception.

The real problem with A-K early on is that it's very difficult to get an idea of where you're at in a hand. Even on an innocuous looking flop of something like K-9-2, you may think your hand is good. But you can't be sure.

Say that you raise pre-flop with A-K and a late-position player calls. The two of you see a K-9-2 flop. You bet strong on the flop and then again on the turn. He calls on both streets. What now? Do you bet the river and pray that you're not raised? Or do you check and hope that your opponent does the same? It's a difficult spot and there are no great options.

Playing the same hand in position is a little easier, but it's still tough.

While the blinds are low in a big buy-in tournament, I'm actually looking to see flops against the players who overplay top-pair/top-kicker. When I'm in position, I'm happy to call a raise with something like a small pocket pair, 5-6 suited, or even 8-T suited. I'm looking to flop a big hand or a big draw.

If I flop a set, I have a good chance of wiping out the guy with top pair. If I flop a draw, I have a chance to see if my opponent will give me a good price to hit my hand. The beauty of a suited hand like 5-6 or 8-T is that there's no way I'm going to get in serious trouble playing them. If I flop anything less than two-pair or a quality draw, I'll fold, having lost very little.

I think there are two major reasons many players over value Ace-King. First is that in online tournaments, where the stacks start relatively low, Ace-King is usually worth playing aggressively. Players who win online satellites do so by playing Ace-King fast, so they come to big tournaments feeling good about this starting hand. The second reason is that many people have seen TV commentators crow about Big Slick, calling it a "huge hand." At a six-handed final table, Ace-King is a very big hand, but as Howard Lederer pointed out in his tip, you need to realize that short-handed final-table strategy differs greatly from early tournament play.

When you're playing in deep-stack games, learn to play A-K cautiously. The pros don't like to go broke with this hand and you'd do well to follow their example.

A couple of weeks ago, Perry Friedman discussed the importance of being able to look at factors beyond one's own cards. An experienced player has the ability to think about what his opponent is likely to hold. Beyond that, a top-quality player - a pro - will think a level deeper and consider what he believes his opponent is thinking about his cards.

This summer, at the World Series of Poker Main Event, an interesting confrontation occurred between two Full Tilt Poker pros and bracelet holders, Mark Vos and Chris Ferguson. With blinds of 500 and 1,000, Chris raised on the button to 3,000. Mark re-raised from the small blind and Chris called.

On a flop of A-J-T, Mark bet 12,000 and Chris called. The turn brought another Jack and Vos bet 15K, and Chris called again. The river was a 2. Mark checked and Chris moved in for his last 20K. Mark thought for a time, then turned a Jack face-up, showing trips, and folded.

Mark discussed his thinking shortly after the hand was played.

I was in the small blind with King-Jack suited. It was folded to Chris Ferguson who had about 70K to start the hand. He raised it to 3,000. I decided I could probably pick it up with a little re-raise, take him off of Ace-rag or a small pair. He thought for a little bit and called. I put him on a very strong hand here. He's not likely to defend his button raise with a weak hand. I'd been playing pretty tight.

The flop came out A-J-T. I figured if he had a pair of Queens or maybe a pair of Kings he might lay it down, and if he had a small pair, like 9s or 8s, he'd definitely fold. So I bet out 12K. He thought for a little bit and called. At this point, my hand is totally dead; I'm hoping for a Queen.

The turn came a Jack , which is either a suck-out or a trouble card. I have trips with the best kicker I can have without having a full house. I didn't like the situation, but I felt I had to lead out. Because he could have had A-K or A-Q, or a flush draw. So I bet out 15K, which is pretty weak, because it was about a 40K pot. He called fairly quickly. At that point, my hand is dead. I was half hoping for a King on the river and half not, because it could bust me.

The river was a blank. I checked. He went all in for 20,000. I was fairly certain he had tens full or Aces full, and I folded.

Chris later congratulated Mark on his good fold. He confirmed that he had pocket Aces and had flopped a set and turned a full house.

It takes time to learn to think this deeply about a hand. But if you put in the time and have an open mind, you're game will get increasingly sophisticated and your profits will grow accordingly.