There are two basic styles of play in Texas hold ‘em- “aggressive” and “passive”. Passive is the easiest to describe. A passive player is a “limper”. He stays in as many hands as he can by checking or just calling a minimum bet. A typical form of passive play is called “grinding”. A grinder plays a consistent and conservative game with the idea of making small but steady winnings over a longer period of time. Grinding, by the way, is a good way to survive the cattle call stampede at the beginning of a tournament.

We have all played against a “rock”. He plays a very controlled game. He does not stay in many hands and only continues with what he thinks is the nut hand. He does not bluff and is difficult to bluff. He wins most of the pots that he stays in but runs a risk of being blinded out. Also, when he raises, everybody folds and the pots he wins are smaller than if he mixed it up a little.

Aggressive players can be divided further into two groups- “loose aggressive” and “tight aggressive”. A loose aggressive player is also known as a “lagger”. He stays in many hands and makes, strategic small raises. A tight aggressive player is a “tagger”. He starts only a few strong hands and bets aggressively when he does stay in the pot.

Which one should you be? Well, first, of course, that depends upon your own personality. Are you risk averse or do you like to jump the fence now and then?

Secondly, it depends on the size of your stack. If you are flush, you may want to play a little more aggressively. If you are down to stems and seeds, you may need to play a little more aggressively to avoid being blinded out of the game.

Thirdly, it depends on whether you are at the beginning, middle or end of the tournament. As I said above, grinding is a good way to survive at the beginning of a long tournament when primary mission is, as the old song goes, to “keep your head above water and make a wave when you can.” Buy small pots and the blinds if you can. Limp when you get the chance and avoid mixing with aggressive players unless you have the nut. Survive and build a stake for when the blinds double and double again and the ante kicks in. When the game gets to where the blinds, antes and minimum bets are significant, you will, as a matter of necessity, need to be more aggressive to avoid being blinded out.  

BUT- If you heed Commandment number 2, you will learn to play effectively with all three styles and variations. Maybe, say for example, you play the first session as a limper. After the break, you should come back with a completely different style. Never let them see the “real” you. Keep shaking it up. Just when they think they have you figured out, switch it up on them. Believe me, they will do the same thing to you. (Well, except for the rock. He just can’t help himself. He is usually an accountant or engineer and congenitally risk averse.)

NEXT TIME- ODDS, CHAPTER 2

Ok. You have seen the flop and it is time to start the betting for the turn. Pre-flop, the guy left of the big blind was “under the gun” or first to act. On the turn and river, it is the big blind.  Let’s talk about position. Here is a Wikapedia blurb that describes it in a nutshell.

Position in pokerrefers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategyimplications. Players who act first are in "early position"; players who act later are in "late position". A player "has position" on opponents acting before him and is "out of position" to opponents acting after him. Because players act in clockwise order, a player "has position" on opponents seated to his right, except when the opponent has the button(the dealer in hold ‘em) and certain cases in the first betting round of games with blinds.

The primary advantage held by a player in late position is that he will have more information with which to make better decisions than players in early position, who will have to act first, without the benefit of this extra information. Also, as earlier opponents fold, the probabilityof a hand being the best goes up as the number of opponents goes down.

The blinds are the least desirable position because you're forced to contribute to the pot and you must act first on all betting rounds after the flop. Although the big blind has a big advantage on the first round of betting, it is on average the biggest money losing position.

OK- simple enough. If you are last to act, you have an advantage over first to act. This introduces the Gap Concept. If you are in a late position and several of the players over whom you have position fold, it increases the value of a marginal hand because they have narrowed the field and increased your chance of winning. Example- You have a pair 66 and a bunch of rags. You are in the hijack seat or the cut off seat (the positions just right of the dealer or button who is in the cat bird seat) and the blind makes a minimum bet. If the players who have position on the blind bet or raise, you fold. If they fold to you, you bet. You have now got a narrower field  field that increases your chance of winning. And you have survived to see the turn at minimum cost to your stake.

Now, here are some advantages to being the first to act. It is a great set up for a semi-bluff. A semi- bluff is a large bet on a potentially good but not yet made hand. Suppose you have your pocket 66 and the flop shows suited 3,4,5  with one of your 6’s in the suit. You have a pretty good potential hand but at least one card from made. If the hands you are betting to are not connected, suited or paired to the flop cards, the players holding them are hoping for a minimum bet or fold. If you make a sizable bet, they will look at the flop and assume you have the straight or flush and fold. If they don’t fold and see your bet, you have built the pot if you make your hand on the turn.

This is also a good time for a out and out bluff if the flop has turned your hole cards to rags for the some reason. It is suprising how many times you can buy the pot on a three straight flush in the flop with a confident and sizable bet. If the first one goes, the rest follow like domanoes with fold fever.

Not an entirely different concept here is the probe bet. Just bet the minimum and see who is a player and who is not.

All of this depends on the type of players you have in the game. Are they tight aggressive, loose aggressive or passive. Are they grinders? Are they rocks?

NEXT TIME- PLAYING STYLES TO WATCH FOR

You are now looking at the flop. The only “scientific” information you have is the identity of the three cards in the flop and your hole cards (5 cards out of 52). Now we have to know how to compute the odds of the turn being a particular card. For this we need to learn a new term- “outs”. The “outs” are the number of cards left in the deck (including burn cards and your opponents’ hole cards) that will make your hand. For example, if you have 2 spades down and 2 in the flop and you are going for a flush, you have 9 outs that will make your hand. Your odds of hitting a spade on the turn are 9/47. (13 spades- the 4 showing equals 9); 52 in the deck or in your opponent’s hand or burned – the 3 in the flop and 2 in your hand equals 47). The same math goes for improving a pair to three of a kind. There are 2 outs and 47 remaining cards- 2/47. (This same math works on the turn to the river except the denominator goes to 46 because the turn card decreases the remaining cards by 1).

Now, if you have followed the system before the flop, you have, say, a 2 and 6 of spades in the hole. The flop is, say, 4 and 5 of spades and 6 of diamonds. The turn can bring you a flush, straight or three of a kind. What are your odds of getting one of those three??

Simple- flush, as stated above- 9/47; 3 of a kind- 2/47; inside straight? Well, you need a 3 and there are 4 in the deck so they are 4/47. (If it were a draw to an outside straight, it would be 8/47 because the odds of hitting any particular rank of card not showing is 4/47 and an outside straight could be hit with 2 ranks instead of the one for the inside straight.)

So, the odds of improving your hand to a flush, straight or 3 of a kind are the sum of the numerators over the denominator- 15/47. Now, remember, you always have a chance to improve to 2 pair. What are the odds of that?? Simple. The turn has to be a 2, 4 or 5. there are three of each left in the deck so your chances are 9/47. The odds, therefore of improving your hand on the turn are 24/47 or just better than even. now, one more calculations must be made- subtract the duplicate outs from the numerator. For example, the 1 of the 9 spade outs is also a 3 so it is, in reality only 1 card. This would decrease your numerator by 1. Are there any other duplicate outs??

Now, let's review. You have gotten to the flop with just a call of the big blind. You have modest suited, connected cards in the hole. The flop has given you about an even chance of improving to 2 pair or better with a reasonable chance of a flush, straight or 3 of a kind.

Let's talk about the ace. In the last installment, "the system" dictates a call of the big blind with an unsuited or connected ace. Why? The ace is a magic card. It can go high or low in a straight. It can serve as a "kicker" or "overcard" to your 3 of a kind or 2 pair. It can also be the high card in your straight or flush thereby making it a gut cinch winner over a lower flush or straight. This is VERY IMPORTANT because in hold 'em, the winning hand may be in the common cards on the table and the deciding factor is the kicker in the hole. This happens all the time where every one has the same flush or straight on the table and the winner is determined by the ace in the hole. I have seen many hands come down to everyone's best hand being the same pair or 2 pair or 3 of a kind on the table and the winner is decided by the overcard in the hole. Finally, I have seen big pots go to an ace high card. I think of an ace as a "brevet" pair. It isn't, of course, a pair, but if you have 3 of a kind with an ace kicker, you are going to beat all of the other guys who are betting on the same trips but only have a king or queen for an overcard.

One more thing- It is not really possible to determine by any scientific method, the "average" winning hand in hold 'em. I have seen too many queen highs win and too many full boats lose. But, I intuit that it is a medium pair with a high kicker. Another reason why an ace in the hole is always handy.

So much for odds based on “scientific” evidence except to say, you can hone them a little if you can detect by a tell or a betting pattern whether or not one of your opponents has an “out” in his hole cards. There are a multitude of complex odds formulae, tables and calculaters on the internet. Consult them as you see fit. It is a good idea to memorize a few basic odds and have a very good basis to estimate them on the fly by intuition.

One more thing- what if you get a very ragged flop? (You have minimized this possibility by following the suited/connected rule, pre-flop, but it could still happen.) If the flop doesn't improve your hand at all, fold to the first bet or limp your way to the river if they let you. if you have only 3 to a straight, flush or even a pair, same advice- call a minimum bet if you are last to act and there is no chance of a raise. Compute your odds just like you would if you had gotten a good flop. You will see that they are lousy.

NEXT TIME- POSITION

THE SYSTEM- GETTING TO THE FLOP

A good system should be simple. The mathematics of poker are not, in general, complex. There are 52 cards, 13 of each of 4 suits. The odds of any particular card being dealt off the top are 1 in 52. The odds of a particular suit are 1 in 4 and the odds of a particular rank, say a king, are 1 in 13. If you subtract the visible cards on the table and in your hand and those you are pretty sure others have in the hole from the suits and ranks and all the cards played from 52, you can compute the odds as you play. (You, perhaps, can. I never could. There will be an installment estimating the odds on the fly and rules of thumb.) At the very least, you should always have a good, intuitive estimate of the odds on each card turn. But, the ability to predict what your opponents are likely to do will temper or change the odds and, accordingly, your actions.

In Texas Hold ‘Em either tournament or just a regular game, the first (and, I think, most important) step is to get to the most flops, with a reasonable chance of winning, as cheaply as possible. This means that you will, at least, have to decide if you are going to call the big blind. If you ARE the big blind, this is simple- you have already committed your mandatory bet. If you are the big blind, and it is call all around, all you need to do is check. If there is a bet, follow the betting pattern below.

I (almost) never call the blind unless I have at least connecting, suited cards in the hole. Connected cards are those that are within 5 of each other, for example, 2 through 6. (I am taking liberties with this term as it also means consecutive cards.) Suited means they are of the same suit, for example, spades. So, if I am dealt the 2 and 6 of spades, or better, I will at least call (or “see”) the big blind. This is the lowest value of hole cards I will call on. The only exception is an ace with anything. I don’t usually raise, even with pocket aces, because a ragged flop will screw me and, alternatively, I might scare out the suckers too soon.

If you follow this rule, you will have the best theoretical chance of a pat hand after the flop and it is almost certain that the flop will improve your hand.

Some exceptions to this rule are as follows-

The table is not full and/or the blinds and antes have escalated to the point that folding takes a large bite out of your stake.

Just the blinds and antes are big enough so that a large bet on your pocket aces or kings will scare out the catchers and the size of the pot will justify “wasting” pocket aces on a premature bet. This works if you are to the left of the big blind and first to act.

I might fold an unconnected, unsuited ace if I am the last to act and everyone else has called. Particularly at the beginning when the blinds and antes are low.

I might call on unsuited, consecutive face cards if I am the small blind because half of my bet is already in the pot. This is particularly true if there are only a couple of players left in the hand and/or the blinds and antes are high which makes every folded hand more costly.

I get a wild hair!! Maybe a hunch or you just want to shake it up. This should be done at the beginning when the bets and antes are low and you are trying to establish a false rep as a wild and crazy guy.

NEXT TIME- THE TURN