Apr 29 2010

Part 1 – The Benefits of Bankroll Management

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 9:30 am

Bankroll management is how you manage the money that you use for poker or betting. There are certain recommendations that you should follow to keep your money in order but these are not rules and everyone manages their money a little differently. The golden rule of bankroll management is that you should be comfortable with the risk and leave some room for flexibly playing poker the way you want to. When you withdraw money, how much you risk and what you do when you win and when you lose should be pre-arranged.

The only time this type of money management in poker can be ignored is when you are taking part in freerolls or free online poker. If you want to play some free online poker before you get started, visit https://www.bwin.com/free-online-poker and get familiar with the game before you start your bankroll challenge.

Gamcare and Gamblers Anonymous would not exist if people were able to manage their relationship with risk and the potentially addictive nature of poker and gambling in general. Unfortunately people get carried away and by potentially being able to earn money and by nature we human beings want to repeat things that make us feel good or work out well for us. Poker should be enjoyed, but with constant monitoring that things are as they should be and that your relationship with it has not become dependant. If you start feeling like your life is not worth living unless you are playing poker then you probably need to address whether your relationship with poker is becoming unhealthy for you.

I use bankroll management as a way of tightly managing how much I risk at any one time. Carl Sampson correctly pointed out in one of his articles I recently had the pleasure of reading that many players ”have not got the nerve, inclination or ability to play anything higher than the micro-stakes cash games. ” This need not be the case if they can alter their relationship with money and look at it in terms of bankroll and units rather than real money. This allows them to play higher whilst still operating at a certain risk exposure level to their bankroll.

Players must observe when this strategy is no longer useful. At some players will be unable to think of their bankroll as units and start thinking of it as money again. It is naïve to assume we could think of our $2 million bankroll as 20 units of $100,000 when you only earn $30,000 in your normal job, sanity must prevail. Bankroll management demands that you are very honest with yourself on what you are mentally able to gamble. The moment you start playing differently because of the money at stake in a pot, e.g. checking instead of betting, you are playing too high. This could still be at a small amount of money; some people just do not have the gamble in them and even losing a pot worth $0.50 is something they struggle to deal with.

The importance of sensible bankroll management is growing. You can now access real money poker games more easily than ever before even playing poker on the phone at bwin.com if you want to play poker on the move. It would be very easy to simply keep pumping money into your poker account just to stay involved but it is far better to set some money aside specifically for poker. This can actually be a good thing if you are prone to randomly spending money on things you do not need or impulse buy online. At least you are trying to do something with your money, but if you bust your bankroll before re-depositing I think you should always either seek a coaches advice on what went wrong or do some fairly intensive session reviews on your own.

In part 2 of this feature we are going to analyse the rules of bankroll management that will help structure your online poker play. I am following it and it is great fun. Perhaps if you follow a similar challenge you can comment on this article and update us on your bankroll management challenge progress.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Apr 29 2010

Part 2 – The Rules of Bankroll Management

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 9:27 am

Note that the title says “A Solution” and not “THE Solution”. There are unlimited ways to manage your bankroll; even not following bankroll management at all is reckless bankroll management. Providing you are following the key rules then you are somewhere close to how you need to be operating your money. Even the softest poker room demands a bankroll management solution, note that this advice is relevant to online cash games and Online Sit and go poker tournaments.

Whilst I said in part 1 that there are no rules, I believe that the following four pointers are as close to rules as we can get in bankroll management. You can add your own ideas to these rules based on your own tolerance to gambling and ability to control your emotions. The key thing is to be honest with yourself and then your bankroll management plan will be very effective for you. These rules are as follows,

1. Only risk a small portion of your roll at any one time.
2. Never risk more than you can afford to lose.
3. Set a stop-loss and walk away if this is surpassed.
4. When you are winning, book the win!

Rule 1 – Risk only a Small Portion of your Roll

You should never risk more than a small portion of your bankroll at any one time. I use a thirty buy-in bankroll where the buy-in will be the maximum stack allowed at any table. Therefore, on a $2 NL table I need a $60 bankroll to be able to compete within my rules. On a $5 NL table I would need $150. You can go as high or as low as you wish but I would draw the line at anything less than ten buy-ins as this begins to get risky.

Most players have a twenty buy-in bankroll and move up limits to take a shot when their bankroll is large enough to buy-in fifteen times in the next level up in stakes. They also move down in limits and re-build if they reach less than fifteen buy-ins for the current level in which they are playing. Once you have a bankroll you should not re-deposit, the whole idea is that this money grows over time as you win, rather than consistently losing money and busting is less likely even on a bad run as you adjust stakes depending on how much money you have left.

Rule 2 – Risk Only What You Can Afford

As a one-off allocation of your net liquid worth I would suggest setting aside a conservative 10% of what you earn each month and no more. A profitable poker player must be able to win and starting with $2000 rather than $200 will not help you if you are a losing player, the money lost will be more. Gambling scares families who have your best interests at heart, being able to show them that you are responsible and acting prudently will help them adjust to your pursuit. With $200, if you win enough you will get to $2000 soon enough, be patient.

Never chase losses, never gamble more than you can afford to lose and always keep a perspective on the value of money and what else you need it for. Setting aside a bankroll sets you free from these constraints and is another reason why it is a great benefit to your poker game to manage your bankroll very carefully.

Rule 3 – Set a Stop Loss

Tilting when you are losing and playing “one more round of hands” to try and recoup what you have lost can make you feel anxious and desperate. You start calling in marginal situations where folding is best and not playing your best poker game. The poker gods know this is not the right way to play and you will suffer losses doing this apart from the rare occasions you get lucky. Many a bankroll has been lost by chasing what are rather marginal losses and getting caught in the vicious circle that is chasing losses. Most of the classic losing stories where casino players have lost everything in a matter of hours is due to chasing losses. Make sure you do not fall foul of this by setting and following a strict stop loss limit.

Combating this feeling is important to maintaining your bankroll. Set a stop loss for sessions that do not quite work out. I would recommend something like three buy-ins. Take a break if you reach this point and decide if you want to carry on or come back tomorrow. Poker is a long term game and chasing one buy-in will not be worth it when you are aiming to win many buy-ins over the year. Take a long term view and you will see maintaining your best game should help you win over time. Suffering a bad run or bad beat is just part of being a poker player.

Rule 4 – Book the Win

What we are aiming for is a healthy monthly withdrawal from our poker bankroll that bolsters and improves our lifestyle. Keeping a bankroll keeps your poker money and life money separate which should make life easier in many ways. Booking the win turns poker money into real money and you will immediately see the real term benefits from having won it and this feels very good. This should provide you will all the motivation you need to continue putting in the study, the hard work and managing your bankroll ready for next months withdrawal.

Bankroll management is like a safety valve for your poker; it keeps things in order and allows you to focus on controlling your emotions at the table and knowing you are able to play poker without worrying about busting. Taking small losses become less painful and are part of winning poker but you will not worry about them because you are in the top 5% of players who approach poker correctly by using proper bankroll management.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Apr 07 2010

How to Gain Respect Online

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 2:57 pm

There are many benefits to becoming a respected voice within the online poker community. You have to be able to endure endless berating from an opponent who gets the miracle river card then launches into a verbal tirade and then leaves the table with your money. Succeeding in this environment is not easy, but worthwhile. Not just for the money that enters your bankroll but for the respect you gain online as a good poker player.

You can use many ways to increase your profile online and the most obvious is using the Internet Poker forums to increase your notoriety. These forums are frequented by many regular players who respect those who are skilled. Posting your graph will go a long way to instantly prove your credentials and taking part in the debate and offering good advice will also help. People will grow to look upon you as an authority for poker and respect what you say. If your graph is less than ideal they will give you tips on where to improve.

At the table you will see many players both good and bad engage in foul tirades against each other in the chat. The larger poker sites will be quick to ban anyone who does this type of thing too often and I would not recommend players engaging in this behaviour. It makes you appear amateurish and everyone knows you would not do this in a live casino setting. People who hide behind the anonymity of online poker are not respected but you may scare away a weaker opponent. So rather than blast them and call them a fish (or worse), why not say “unlucky” and keep them at your table so you can take their money again in a future hand.

After winning a poker tournament, especially if it is a tournament with a large prize you will instantly be respected in the poker world. What you do with that respect is up to you. You may just enjoy being known as a good player; others take that further and offer coaching and try to get staked for larger events. It all depends on your own poker goals and aspirations as a player.

One of my friends has built up a following on 2+2 after posting many years of playing 1 million hands per year and winning a good amount of money from online poker. He is known as a good player, a good coach and a champion of Internet poker forums. When he set up a blog it gained an instant following, when he wanted people to stake him he was besieged with offers and when he offered players stakes and coaching he had lots of applications. He took his carefully harvested image and reputation online and made it work for him and has turned his poker life into something of a business. He has the respect, now he turns that into dollars. There is nothing wrong with this.

It is possible to be known online if you wish. What you need are good results, a pleasant character and an investment of your time. If you post videos on Pokertube, or answer queries online and take part in discussions showing people your results they will respect your achievements. You will still get the idiots in the chat box, but I always say that the chat is something you should not be looking at if you are serious about focusing hard when playing poker, particularly if you multi-table.

Having fans or a collection of people who respect you as a poker player is helpful if you ever want to launch poker coaching services, or get a stake to either a cash game or poker tournament.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Mar 30 2010

Sometimes Playing Poker is the Right Thing to Do

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 8:24 am

I have written over 500 articles about this wonderful game of poker. I play online poker, I watch television about poker and I read plenty of articles. Often, in the wake of all of these related activities I forget to actually sit down and play some hands. When I do play hands I can get easily distracted by the wealth of related information I have amassed in my brain and almost blind myself with science. I make fancy plays, silly moves, and play No Limit Texas Hold’em the wrong way, but with all the right intentions. So now I am trying a new tactic to beat the game – just play hands.

Each week on my live poker radio show myself and two other co-hosts pick a hand of poker one of us has played and analyse it extensively. My professional poker friend Gary has an excellent way of cutting through the bumpf and jargon and offering a solution to the hands problems that sound amazingly simple, too simple sometimes. But then you stop and think about it and realise that this simple approach demands a true understanding of the game and is only learned through extensive experience.

We have all played a game of online poker or live poker where one person likes to tell everyone at the table why they are playing the game incorrectly. They throw jargon and technical phrases into what are straight forward decisions to look good. This is not necessarily the hallmarks of a good player, but someone who is giving away that they have some understanding of the game. They want recognising for this, but in fact they are giving away their own ability and therefore information to other players. They should just play poker and use that knowledge to beat people, if they can.

Poker can be made to look simple. You either have a strong hand or you don’t and you either want to be called or not when you make a bet. The rest of it is just working out whether an opponent is strong or weak and timing whether a move can work. When you have a strong hand you need to bet, so that is relatively straight forward. When I found myself getting distracted from these simple concepts, known as the ABC of Poker, I sat down and simply played some poker. Certainly some of the plays I know work, but not as much as the foundation ABC poker strategies.

So for those who search for ways to improve, consider that perhaps you are already playing close to your best poker game. There is nothing wrong with making small changes every so often but at some point you will reach a level where you cannot improve on and it then becomes about maintaining what you have in terms of poker strength. Hand history reviews and coaching should far a distant second to gaining experience. I found myself doing so many poker related things and studying the game that actually playing the hands rarely took place. Redressing this balance made me a better poker player straight away because I took what I learned and got used to applying this in practise. It is like a footballer, they can train all week but they really improve in a big match situation. The same goes for poker.

So by all means study, learn and practise. But play your hands as well. Using good bankroll management you can learn without getting cleaned out. Playing poker is what matters so join me at bwin.com and play the poker hands that really teach you how to play poker.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Jan 28 2010

Talking about poker bankrolls part three

Category: Poker strategy — carl @ 5:27 pm

In the third and final part of this series then and following on from part two, this highlights another so called piece of poker wisdom that is wrong and that is that just because a player is playing successfully at $100-$200 Hold’em online for instance, that they can beat all of the levels below that. Maybe they can but chances are that they can’t for the reason that I stated. As I have said many times, there is a lot of rubbish spoken in poker and much of the advice that is bandied about is far too generic for it to be of any use whatsoever.

Because of my very cautious attitude to money then what I had to do was to basically trick my mind into playing with large amounts of money. What worked for me personally was to take $2000 for instance that I had earned down some other gambling avenue and to use it to take a shot in a poker game. If I lost it then I would not play until I had mentally absorbed the loss.

This brings up yet another point of why the slide rule “experts” have missed the point. Let us go back to the case of the 18K poker bankroll. What if you are the type of person that tilts easily or simply cannot mentally absorb a loss until a certain amount of time has passed. If you have lost 1K in the blink of an eye in a big no limit pot with an unbelievable outdraw then you are hardly the type of person that can be entrusted to have another seventeen grand at their disposal immediately can you.

If everyone had to wait until they had the correct theoretical poker bankroll available before they could play at any level then hardly anyone would be playing the game. Here’s another thing, do you really have to play down to the felt and lose all of your bankroll before you admit to yourself or find out that a particular level of poker is too difficult for you. If the “experts” say that you need 12K to play theoretically at a certain level to avoid going bust then what if you stump up the money but are wrong in your assessment of your abilities.

If you are five grand down, do you play on just because you have another seven in your poker bankroll before you say “oh well, better drop down a level but I will have to wait until I have got some more money because I have lost it all trying to prove that I could beat 20-40 holdem”.

This is insane and utter madness. The upshot of all this is that don’t go along with what you hear about poker bankrolls and just do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable because if you are uncomfortable then this will affect your game plain and simple. If a bankroll approach helps you then fine, if you prefer a no bankroll approach then that is fine also but too much rubbish is spouted in this area by people who have never tried to gamble for a living and I think that you know my views on them by now.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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Jan 28 2010

Talking about bankrolls in poker part two

Category: Poker strategy — carl @ 5:15 pm

Carrying on from part one then, this is all well and good with regards to what was mentioned at the end of part one but if the person involved has what is called a “very low attitude to risk” then they should not be doing it. If they are not psychologically inclined to be able to ride the sometimes violent fluctuations in the market then investing in that kind of thing is wrong for them.

Also if the stock market went through one of its steep downward trends like it did a few years ago and this person panicked and withdrew their money through ignorance or fear then they would have lost a very substantial amount of money, I know people personally who did and it was a very sad sight.

How you handle your money has basically an awful lot to do with what suits you as a person and not what someone says that you should do or what I or anybody else has done for that matter. I had a very low attitude to risk when I first started playing, I wanted to play professional level poker but this means playing for sizeable amounts of money and this was something that I found very uncomfortable.

So I had a very serious problem to overcome with regards to playing online poker, I had two parts of my personality that were basically at war with each other. On one side was this person that had a burning desire to play poker at a high level and on the other side was my more cautious and play it safe self holding me back.

A lot of books say that the answer to this is to start playing poker at low levels and slowly work your way up and build a bankroll and taking sign up bonuses along the way to boost it. Once again this is RUBBISH, anyone who plays low level poker and especially Limit Texas Hold’em will be likely beaten by the effect of the rake. It is not so bad in No Limit and this is why I advise players to go down this route. There is a world of difference between a $1-$2 Limit game and a $1-$2 No Limit game.

The Limit poker game will have about an average pot size of 5/6 big bets whereas the No Limit game will have on average at least double that for most games. The best player on the table can be a loser in a low stakes limit game and few players earn decent money out of it even allowing for multi-tabling online. But there is another subtle but highly significant reason why this advice is wrong and that has to do with personal motivation. One of the best pieces of advice that I ever heard about selecting the right level to play at for you went like this,

“Play at a level that motivates not intimidates”

This simple statement highlights a reason why many players fail in poker. They play at a level that is too small to mean anything to them and they end up not focusing or playing properly and basically messing about on the table. This means that they lose money, maybe not all at once but slowly but surely drip feeding it over time.

The level has to motivate you enough to play properly without it scaring you, once you identify this level THEN you have found the correct level to play at and not what any book or anyone else tells you.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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Jan 28 2010

Talking about bankrolls in poker part one

Category: Poker strategy — carl @ 5:06 pm

The subject of bankrolls and how much money to have behind you gets talked about an awful lot and just like anything else, most of it is WRONG. Much of this RUBBISH has been spoken by people who have never played poker or gambled in their entire lives. I have my very own attitude towards bankrolls and financing my playing that has worked very well for me.

Firstly let me state something blatantly obvious, a poker bankroll will not turn a losing player into a winning player. When you hear about big stakes players frequently going bust then so much for bankrolls. But I have always argued that any part time semi-professional player simply does not need one if they have other sources of income that is disposable.

For example, let us take what used to be my bread and butter game of $30-$60 Limit Holdem poker once upon a time. All the books say that any working pro who wins at a rate of one big bet an hour ($60) needs at least 300 big bets to avoid going broke. But that is $18,000 which is a very substantial amount of money to many people. But what if you don’t have that kind of money then does this mean that you can never play 30-60.

But what if you do have that kind of money, does this mean that you can automatically jump right in, I say no to both. What if you have the skills to play 30-60 holdem but not the mindset to want to risk 18K. What if the mere thought of having this mental eighteen grand disturbs you so much that it drags you away from your optimal game. Also, what about the guy who starts off playing at 30-60 with his 18K bankroll and despite being a very good poker player, is down $9000 after a couple of months and then packs it in because the fear of losing it all has affected him.

Any player that does this has not in theory started with $18,000 but actually $9000 and a 9K bankroll is not big enough for 30-60. But the mathematicians in the gambling world make me laugh because they churn pathetic advice out to people that is based on figures and nothing but figures as if Hold’em poker online is played by emotionless robots. Much of what they talk about is unworkable for many people and looks good when seen on paper or in a book.

It is exactly the same principle with financial advice, it would be blatantly wrong to advise someone to transfer money from a much lower interest bank account to an investment that was linked to the stock market all because the FTSE had risen by an average of 10% per year since it was formed and the bank account in question was only providing 3% at best without finding out certain things about the nature of that person first. Look out for the second part of this article elsewhere on the site.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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Jan 27 2010

Risky Bankroll Management

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 10:08 am

Never would I try and persuade people to manage their bankroll less than safely nor would I encourage or dissuade gambling of any kind, it is your choice. Personally I play Texas Holdem with a high regard for money and this allows me to stay in the game and minimise the pain when I lose because the participation in poker is at the limits I am comfortable playing. Whilst I minimise the gamble, many participate in poker in such a way that increases it.

For some players being dangerous with their bankroll is part of the fun. Phil Ivey was quoted recently saying that he enjoys the empty feeling of disaster when faced with a big loss. Phil is therefore happy to play a dangerous game with his money and has no fear of losing it. He does not get a buzz from low limit poker and plays as high as he can because only larger amounts of money mean anything to him due to his vast wealth.

Being conservative with your bankroll is recommended because it is easy to go on tilt and start chasing money. When I worked in the bookmaking Industry I watched people get into a series of losses then start chasing their losses making irresponsible wagers. Their bets got bigger as their losses got bigger, compounding the loss. Sometimes they won and were saved and other times they had to leave with a disproportionate loss.

There is nothing wrong with taking a shot at a higher game in poker. Many players do this within sensible bankroll management. Their normal amount of buy-ins for cash games may be thirty buy-ins and when they reach a point where they have twenty buy-ins for the next level they take a shot. If they lose they move back down and try to re-build and if they win they stay at the higher level until they can move up again or suffer losses dictating a drop. Their sensible approach is maintained by the moving up and down through the levels to remain safe.

Your income outside of poker should be a factor in how risky you are prepared to be with your bankroll. If you have $1000 and you can re-load that amount every month then you can be more inclined to gamble with it than a person to whom that $1000 is everything they have. Many players are prepared to risk $100 each month to try and run it up into something more. Providing this $100 is not required elsewhere then this is fine. Your own personal and professional circumstances will dictate what an acceptable amount of money to play poker is for you.

Note that risky bankroll management is not taking your last $215 and buying into a large poker tournament on a Sunday. That is not risky, just stupid. Risky bankroll management is anything whereby a normal swing in poker could result in going bust, for a winning player. This must be a conscious decision that you are truly at ease with if you play poker this way.

This article is relevant only for those who Play Texas Hold’em and are winning players. If you lose your money will be lost no matter how well you manage your bankroll. Poker players who ignore bankroll management can suffer a standard downswing and be ruined. Bankroll management is poker risk management and very important to staying in the game and allowing the downswings to run their course before returning to profit.

There is no reason, however, that if you wish to be slightly bolder with your bankroll that you cannot do this providing your circumstances allow and the reason for your wish to live dangerously is not just to satisfy a gambling urge. You should always keep the euphoria of gambling under control and make the right decisions for your poker game when relating to your bankroll.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Jan 14 2010

Playing Poker in Position

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 11:12 am

When you play Texas Hold ‘em poker online and started playing some tournaments or cash games you will have noticed the strength that comes with being in position. Opponents respect position and late position especially affords chances to play different hands and exploit the temporary strong place in the action you hold. Everyone gets a chance to be in position so you should be exploiting every opportunity to benefit from it as your opponents will be able to do the same things to you in just a few hands time.

According to where you are sitting at the poker table in Texas Hold ‘em some hands are playable and others are not, unless you decide to bluff. When you are directly to the left of the big blind, known as “under the gun or UTG” you are first to act pre-flop and then third to act post flop if both blinds remain in the hand. Playing a hand without seeing what every other member of the table is doing is obviously a disadvantage which is why recommended poker strategy says you should fold most hands from early position.

In online poker, players began to realise the negative image that under the gun players have. Clever players realised that a raise from under the gun, therefore out of position, looks very strong. Against a tight player you can limp in under the gun and re-raise in a bluff squeeze play to win the pot pre-flop. This requires real knowledge on your part that the opponent you are making the squeeze play on can fold.

Online poker strategy has come full circle as if you are a tight player acting under the gun your perceived hand range is probably AA, KK, AK or QQ when you make the re-raise and if you still receive action you need to be cautious. If you hold Aces pre-flop then a re-raise all-in is the natural play, but what do you do with anything less? Depending on your opponent Queens will probably be played if you feel he could make the play with anything less than a premium hand. Remember your position under the gun signifies strength so having the late position player re-raising or raising your limp narrows his range to stronger hands. You do, however, need to be cautious and becoming creative from early position is an advanced strategy in poker.

Let us imagine you hold JJ under the gun. You limp in for 2 dollars in a $1/$2 no limit cash game and are called by the button. The big blind checks. The flop comes down 3s-5d-Td. The big blind checks to you and you bet out a pot sized bet of $7 and the button player raises to $27 costing you a further $20 to call. The big blind folds, so what do you do? He has limped pre-flop so you can rule out overpairs unless you know he is tricky. He could easily have a suited connector giving a straight or flush draw, or he could have 99 or 88. There is the chance of a set although TT would probably have seen a re-raise. You call the $20. The pot is now $61. The turn is a Qd. Now you can either bet out or check.

In this spot you would love to see what the opponent does before checking. (Of course you could check but as you have checked if your opponent bets this is not as telling as if they acted first). Fearing the flush and set or overpair you check. He bets $45. You feel bad but you fold. Why fold? There are so many hands that beat you and the only thing you are beating is an Ace rag hand and there are now overcards. If they had AQ they are winning, KQ of diamonds is now ahead.

Swap the positions at the table and you would have re-raised with jacks pre-flop after the under the gun limp (assuming he took the same action) and perhaps took down the hand. Any suited connector the opponent held would have really struggled to come up with a reason to play out of position when you are betting big from late position. Notice that once the late position player starting betting in our example things got uncomfortable for us. Remember that when you are playing, position is a big part of winning poker.

By Malcolm Clarke

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Dec 15 2009

The Basics of Short Handed Poker

Category: Poker strategy — malcolm @ 1:30 pm

Short handed poker is a logical choice for the winning Texas Hold ‘em poker player. Money is made playing poker when the winning poker player makes good decisions. As the action is faster in short handed poker there are more opportunities for a good player to make profitable decisions at the table. Short handed poker increases the aggression and exposes players who think they understand the game but do not. Money can still be made at short handed poker.

Most of the live poker tournaments on television are short handed variations of poker so if you want to enjoy success and make a name for yourself, mastering this style of poker should be part of your poker strategy.

Your pre-flop hand range needs to be a little looser because you will be facing the blinds in 33% of your hands. As nice as it would be to wait for premium hands, even at the beginning of a poker tournament you do not have enough time to catch a premium hand and then be paid enough to compensate for the regular blinds you are losing. Also, your hands would be vulnerable against connectors and so on that other poker players will be playing. High suited connectors and low pocket pairs are very playable in short handed poker. With only five other players being dealt to, there is more chance that a hand you would automatically muck like AJ in early position at a full ring table is a hand you should play short handed.

Depending on whether you limped pre-flop you need to continuation bet with top pair most of the time. It is a very strong hand in short handed play more so that full ring games. Re-raise a continuation bettor with these hands. Do not instantly muck second pair because often it is the best hand but opponent knowledge is important here. With a good draw you can bet immediately to try and take the pot there and then and use any opponent re-raising to decide whether you are completely beaten or you can shove to flip for the pot if you believe you may have a chance to win.

One tip from the books published by 2+2 is that when the opening few positions on the table fold the action plays out like a full ring table. This makes sense as the only players left are the late positions and blinds just like in full ring. It just takes less folding to reach this point on a short handed table.

The biggest difference between full ring and short handed poker games is the aggression. You will encounter much more aggression with experienced players knowing exactly how to put you in uncomfortable situations. Your weapons for pushing the action to weaker opponents is bets such as the pre-flop raise, the three bet re-raise, continuation bet and betting out post flop. Passive play will not work at short handed games. Opponents are usually aggressive all of the time so bluffing becomes a real skill which must be used against only certain opponents and be well timed.

All poker sites offer short handed poker in both cash games and poker tournaments and the tables tend to be full at the lower stakes games with some middle and high stakes games being contested at peak times of the day where traffic to these rooms are highest.

If you feel you need to be more aggressive at the poker table, learn short handed poker. There are many short handed poker guides and specific tuition articles online which you would do well to research. Short handed poker is a complicated game that cannot be solved by one article.

By Malcolm Clarke

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