FrankWiese
12-09-2008, 02:43 AM
CHAPTER SIX:
Avoid Coin Flips
Whether or not you determine to get into a coin flip situation in poker really depends upon what type of game you're playing. I'm far more likely to take on a coin flip when I'm playing in a cash game rather than when I'm playing in a typical buy-in tournament, and I'm also more likely to do so when I'm playing in a live game as opposed to playing online.
NL Texas Hold'em tournaments are increasing in popularity. With the recent explosion of televised poker tournaments, new poker players are pouring into multi-table tournaments. One reason there is such an attraction to NL Texas Hold'em tournaments, is the chance to make a big win at the WSOP or the WPT. If you can master the correct strategy you'll have a good chance of taking down some big tournaments. These types of tournaments involve a significant amount of luck, because in the late stages massive blinds put extreme pressure on the players. Almost every player will end up all-in pre-flop at some point in the tournament. Often times, it results in a coin flip. It’s almost the same as scratching off a lottery ticket, in comparison.
When playing in a cash game, getting into a coin flip situation can occasionally produce better results beyond simply winning the hand. If you win a race, you can often expect your opponent to become a worse player almost immediately after the hand is over. This should give you the opportunity to take even more money from them over the course of the next several hours. Therefore, you should be more willing to get into a coin flip situation with players who have less control over their emotions after losing a big hand this way.
Early Stages
Ok, let's get to the strategy. Tournaments differ significantly from cash tables. You have to avoid bluffing as much as you would at a cash table, because the chip stacks are smaller in relation to the blinds. Plus, if you win a bluff, you are winning fewer chips than you're risking losing, so it is not a valuable play. Now, obviously you can't just fold your way to the money, so in the early stages you need to play very tightly. The main goal of the early stages is just to maintain your stack and wait for the middle and late stages. The goal of tournaments is just to win pots to stay alive, not necessarily to try and build a huge stack early. At the beginning of the tournament, you should avoid gambling, because the chips that you gain aren't worth the risk.
Now, if you have a hand like Ks-Kd and someone goes all-in before the flop, go ahead and make the call. But you shouldn't be bluffing or making loose calls here.
Furthermore, if the other player wins the hand, their not going to get rewarded as much since you’re not going to play any differently after losing a big hand in this manner. Although winning is extremely important to you, it seems that most players put too high a premium on winning in the short-term, for example, over the course of a session or two. When they fail to win, they become possessed with a sense of shame and depression, but you should remember, playing poker is supposed to be a journey of joy and fun. This resembles a controlled roller coaster ride at times.
Middle Stages
After you ease your way through the early stages, you need to change your playing style during the middle stages. The blinds are increasing, so you need to start making plays at pots to stay alive. During the middle stages, you should be stealing blinds and small pots with lesser hands, and only calling raises with extremely strong hands. Your main goal, once again, is just to survive. Basically, you want to avoid going head to head with someone. You should pick up small pots without being contested, but avoid gambling in huge pots. There is only one exception to this rule. If you have a monstrous stack, you should take advantage of the players who are just trying to survive. You should increase your bet size often, and force people to commit their entire stack if they want to play you. The reason for this is that they're less likely to want to risk their whole stack, and you're only risking part of yours. When you're doing this, avoid people who call too often because they won't even realize what is happening, and will still call with anything.
Considering the other players’ demeanor, one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not you should be willing to get into a race is the amount of money you have invested in the hand. If you have already put some money into the pot and you’re sure it's a 50-50 situation, then no matter how much the other player raises they won't be able to get rid of you. If you fold, then you would be literally throwing away the money that you already put in there, and you shouldn’t get in the habit of doing that.
Late Stages
After the middle stages, you need to start taking gambles. It is during the late stage when you will be deciding if you should get all-in pre-flop in coin flip situations. Often times, the stakes are so high that players should be moving all-in with marginal hands. You should be looking to move all in here with Ace-high kicker and pocket pairs, or, if you are really low stacked, any two face cards. When you have these sorts of hands, its easier to just move all in pre-flop then to try to make a raise and then play a flop. If you try to play too many flops, you'll end up getting bluffed out when you have the best hand.
Here's an example of a typical coin flip situation after the flop. Let's say you have:
Ah-Kh, and the flop comes:
7c-8h-2h.
.
Because you have two over-cards and a nut flush draw, this is a great spot to go on the offensive if the other player makes a bet. If the other player has made top pair with a hand like: 8c-Jh, it's about a 50-50 situation, but you have plenty of outs to justify your aggression.
However, if you raise and your opponent comes over the top of you, you have to suspect that he has a set and you can no longer depend on a king or an ace being an out. At this point, all you have is a nut flush draw and it's no longer a coin flip situation. Unless you're both deep-stacked and think the other player will pay you off if you do hit your flush, you should back off and wait for a better situation. But don't lose your initiative and remember to keep playing smart-aggressively.
Now let's turn it around. The flop is the same, but now you have: Qd-Qc and the other player is the one who has two over-cards and a nut flush draw. You bet, and your opponent raises. How you proceed really depends upon what sort of player you're up against.
Because of situations like this one, you should prefer to be in a live game rather than being online. You always make more accurate decisions in live games. Most of the time you can get a read on the other player and you can always benefit on that. If you feel like they only have two over-cards because they just called your raise before the flop, you should call and see what the turn brings. But if you raised before the flop and the other player re-raised me, then you should throw your queens away because they could very well have a bigger pair than yours.
Your justification for this should completely change in a tournament. In the latter stages of a tournament your chips are worth more than they were at the beginning so your first concern should be protecting them, which often means avoiding coin flip situations. After the money bubble bursts, you get financially rewarded whenever a player gets knocked out so quite often the smartest move is to avoid getting into coin flip situations and waiting for a improved situation.
Like many aspects of poker, the decision of whether or not to get into a coin flip situation depends on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the type of game you're playing and the demeanor of the other player you're playing against.
Avoid Coin Flips
Whether or not you determine to get into a coin flip situation in poker really depends upon what type of game you're playing. I'm far more likely to take on a coin flip when I'm playing in a cash game rather than when I'm playing in a typical buy-in tournament, and I'm also more likely to do so when I'm playing in a live game as opposed to playing online.
NL Texas Hold'em tournaments are increasing in popularity. With the recent explosion of televised poker tournaments, new poker players are pouring into multi-table tournaments. One reason there is such an attraction to NL Texas Hold'em tournaments, is the chance to make a big win at the WSOP or the WPT. If you can master the correct strategy you'll have a good chance of taking down some big tournaments. These types of tournaments involve a significant amount of luck, because in the late stages massive blinds put extreme pressure on the players. Almost every player will end up all-in pre-flop at some point in the tournament. Often times, it results in a coin flip. It’s almost the same as scratching off a lottery ticket, in comparison.
When playing in a cash game, getting into a coin flip situation can occasionally produce better results beyond simply winning the hand. If you win a race, you can often expect your opponent to become a worse player almost immediately after the hand is over. This should give you the opportunity to take even more money from them over the course of the next several hours. Therefore, you should be more willing to get into a coin flip situation with players who have less control over their emotions after losing a big hand this way.
Early Stages
Ok, let's get to the strategy. Tournaments differ significantly from cash tables. You have to avoid bluffing as much as you would at a cash table, because the chip stacks are smaller in relation to the blinds. Plus, if you win a bluff, you are winning fewer chips than you're risking losing, so it is not a valuable play. Now, obviously you can't just fold your way to the money, so in the early stages you need to play very tightly. The main goal of the early stages is just to maintain your stack and wait for the middle and late stages. The goal of tournaments is just to win pots to stay alive, not necessarily to try and build a huge stack early. At the beginning of the tournament, you should avoid gambling, because the chips that you gain aren't worth the risk.
Now, if you have a hand like Ks-Kd and someone goes all-in before the flop, go ahead and make the call. But you shouldn't be bluffing or making loose calls here.
Furthermore, if the other player wins the hand, their not going to get rewarded as much since you’re not going to play any differently after losing a big hand in this manner. Although winning is extremely important to you, it seems that most players put too high a premium on winning in the short-term, for example, over the course of a session or two. When they fail to win, they become possessed with a sense of shame and depression, but you should remember, playing poker is supposed to be a journey of joy and fun. This resembles a controlled roller coaster ride at times.
Middle Stages
After you ease your way through the early stages, you need to change your playing style during the middle stages. The blinds are increasing, so you need to start making plays at pots to stay alive. During the middle stages, you should be stealing blinds and small pots with lesser hands, and only calling raises with extremely strong hands. Your main goal, once again, is just to survive. Basically, you want to avoid going head to head with someone. You should pick up small pots without being contested, but avoid gambling in huge pots. There is only one exception to this rule. If you have a monstrous stack, you should take advantage of the players who are just trying to survive. You should increase your bet size often, and force people to commit their entire stack if they want to play you. The reason for this is that they're less likely to want to risk their whole stack, and you're only risking part of yours. When you're doing this, avoid people who call too often because they won't even realize what is happening, and will still call with anything.
Considering the other players’ demeanor, one of the biggest factors in deciding whether or not you should be willing to get into a race is the amount of money you have invested in the hand. If you have already put some money into the pot and you’re sure it's a 50-50 situation, then no matter how much the other player raises they won't be able to get rid of you. If you fold, then you would be literally throwing away the money that you already put in there, and you shouldn’t get in the habit of doing that.
Late Stages
After the middle stages, you need to start taking gambles. It is during the late stage when you will be deciding if you should get all-in pre-flop in coin flip situations. Often times, the stakes are so high that players should be moving all-in with marginal hands. You should be looking to move all in here with Ace-high kicker and pocket pairs, or, if you are really low stacked, any two face cards. When you have these sorts of hands, its easier to just move all in pre-flop then to try to make a raise and then play a flop. If you try to play too many flops, you'll end up getting bluffed out when you have the best hand.
Here's an example of a typical coin flip situation after the flop. Let's say you have:
Ah-Kh, and the flop comes:
7c-8h-2h.
.
Because you have two over-cards and a nut flush draw, this is a great spot to go on the offensive if the other player makes a bet. If the other player has made top pair with a hand like: 8c-Jh, it's about a 50-50 situation, but you have plenty of outs to justify your aggression.
However, if you raise and your opponent comes over the top of you, you have to suspect that he has a set and you can no longer depend on a king or an ace being an out. At this point, all you have is a nut flush draw and it's no longer a coin flip situation. Unless you're both deep-stacked and think the other player will pay you off if you do hit your flush, you should back off and wait for a better situation. But don't lose your initiative and remember to keep playing smart-aggressively.
Now let's turn it around. The flop is the same, but now you have: Qd-Qc and the other player is the one who has two over-cards and a nut flush draw. You bet, and your opponent raises. How you proceed really depends upon what sort of player you're up against.
Because of situations like this one, you should prefer to be in a live game rather than being online. You always make more accurate decisions in live games. Most of the time you can get a read on the other player and you can always benefit on that. If you feel like they only have two over-cards because they just called your raise before the flop, you should call and see what the turn brings. But if you raised before the flop and the other player re-raised me, then you should throw your queens away because they could very well have a bigger pair than yours.
Your justification for this should completely change in a tournament. In the latter stages of a tournament your chips are worth more than they were at the beginning so your first concern should be protecting them, which often means avoiding coin flip situations. After the money bubble bursts, you get financially rewarded whenever a player gets knocked out so quite often the smartest move is to avoid getting into coin flip situations and waiting for a improved situation.
Like many aspects of poker, the decision of whether or not to get into a coin flip situation depends on a variety of factors, the most important of which are the type of game you're playing and the demeanor of the other player you're playing against.