I agree with those who say Celebrity Poker is a little campy but if you
tune in on Phil you will hear what i think is some of the most clearly
expressed poker knowledge available.
Phil wrote this.
Say you're playing in a low-stakes no-limit ring game. The blinds are
$.50 and $1, and it's folded to you in middle position. You find a nice
hand - pocket Tens - and bring it in for a standard raise of three times
the big blind. It's folded around to a player in late position, who
re-raises the minimum amount, making it $5 to go.
I've seen this sort of play repeatedly in the past few months while
researching my next No-Limit Hold 'em book by playing in low-stakes games.
Every time I've been faced with a minimum re-raise, I've been up against a
monster - pocket Kings or Aces.
A player who opts for the small raise may think he's being crafty by
getting me to put a little extra money in the pot while he holds a big
hand. But this is not a profitable play. There are two major problems with
the minimum raise.
I've already mentioned the first problem: My opponent has telegraphed his
hand. And making good decisions is pretty easy when you know exactly what
your opponent holds. The second problem is mathematical. My opponent is
giving me 5 to 1 to call the additional raise. (In this example, my extra
$2 will give me a chance win $10.) When I make the call, I know that I
stand to win a very big pot. My implied odds - the money I stand to make
if I hit my hand - more than justify the call. If my opponent started the
hand with a $100 stack, I could get paid at a rate of 50 to 1.
So I call and see a flop. If there's no Ten on the board, I'm done with
the hand. And if there is a Ten, I'm going to wipe my opponent out. As I
said, poker is a pretty easy when you know what your opponent holds.
What's the proper play when you hold Aces and a player has raised in front
of you? Find the "Bet Pot" button and click it. Put pressure on a player
who you know is starting with a second-best hand. Who knows, if he's got
pocket Queens or A-K, he may be willing to put his entire stack in
pre-flop. If he holds something like Jacks or Tens, your big raise will
minimize your opponent's implied odds.
You should be wary of minimum raises at other stages of a hand, as well.
Say you raised pre-flop with A-K and one player called. You hit top pair
top kicker on a K-8-4 board. You bet out the size of the pot and your
opponent min-raises you. At this point, you need to be very concerned that
your opponent has hit a set. You have to wonder why he'd be raising an
amount that almost begs for your call.
My advice here is twofold: First is that you should all but eliminate the
minimum raise from your game. In some rare circumstances when you hit a
full house or quads, it might be appropriate, but that's about it. Second
is that alarm bells should go off whenever you see a min raise. Your
opponent probably has a big hand and you need to proceed accordingly.
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http://www.igotskillz.com/Full_Tilt_Poker.html
Thank YOU
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Phil Gordon Excellent article !!!!!!!!!!
