The conventional wisdom is that position is critically important to hold'em without limits, and that the more your position is late, better you are. Though I often say that the conventional wisdom is to conventional minds, this intuition button most of the time in the mile. Nevertheless there are moments where the position has no importance; moments, in fact, where an advanced position can help you steal pots that escape you.
By John Vorhaus
The conventional wisdom is that position is critically important to hold'em without limits, and that the more your position is late, better you are. Though I often say that the conventional wisdom is to conventional minds, this intuition button most of the time in the mile. Nevertheless there are moments where the position has no importance; moments, in fact, where an advanced position can help you steal pots that escape you.
Consider this example: in a Hold'em game ' with a price fixed and low input (say $ 100 or $ 200 maximum), you are in the big blind with... good for this shot, what you have is really not important. For the purposes of the conversation, say that l is simply gives you a - 2-7 offsuit - total brick to demonstrate that sometimes the cards that you also have little importance that your position.
Everyone goes to the button. You expect that he raises is not it? And it does. Why not? It has more than the small blind and you, and you both random hands. From his point of view, if you lie, it is, but so far, it is not against induce an action on the part of your random hands, because he thinks you take the pot on most flops. He is right on the first point, but wrong on the second, as he will soon discover it.
The small blind, a spirit conventional if, folds, leaving you free to decide how play your 7 - 2o. Remember, your opponent puts you on a random hand. In other words, it has no idea of what you have! What do you have? He raised the button of the precious button, where any hand of second order is pretty good for a raise if person has already entered into the pot. Place it so exactly on it: a hand of second order. Maybe K - T. May 6-6. Perhaps a few real poor hands like 6-9 suited, but probably something a little more coordinated than that. He still wants to have a little something to fight with on the flop if you follow; and this is what you do.
And that is nice. Regardless of the flop, he is likely to miss. Do you know? Are you aware? Whenever a player holds two cards which do not not hit a pair, he will find a pair in table wholesale once on three. So, more than two times out of three any given player will lay a coup d it on the flop and will miss completely. This is crucial to understand what comes next, because while it is true that you also miss you most flops, your position gives you the first take on it!
What you are looking for here is some variety of "orphan flop", the kind of flop that your opponent will be probably unaffected, and that does not propose much as attractive prints. 8-8-3 is an orphan flop; He is also 6-T-2 rainbow. TC-9 c-8 d is not an orphan flop as a preflop raiser could easily be there with A-8 or A-9, even 8-9 or a valet, accompanied or not. If you bet on this scary flop, or another of the same kind, you ask just to be pushed, and this isn't what you want.
What you want, it's bet on a flop that is not scary, and bet as if it were you. Remember, your opponent puts you on a random hand. And what kind of flops random hands touch them? Random flops, of course! You, however, you can place it on a somewhat less random hand. You can credit it with one hand the least bit coordinated, and coordinated hands hate flops which are not, especially when they the coat completely as would be the case for your opponent two times three!
So, go ahead and bet. Bet about 2/3 of the pot. This is a high enough to be taken seriously, and not have the air of a low flight attempt. It is also large enough to prevent it to have favorable ratings for some prints that could hang out there. However, it is sufficiently low, if it comes to the load, to be able to get out of hand at a lower cost. Learn how to use this update to 2/3 of the pot. It kills a lot of work and should be a standard weapon in your arsenal.
Could you do a check - raise in bluff here? Sure, why not? Many players are fans of the continuation bet, and consider it a moral obligation to build on any pot that they were raised before the flop. You go, put it, you raise, he folds, and l case is classified: skips to the next hand! But I prefer my way, for several reasons. First, you minimize financial risk by minimizing the number of money you invest in your bluff. Then, he could also checker also behind you, giving it a free chance to touch his hand. Thirdly, if you have two checke, if you bet on the turn, it can most certainly read you on a bluff.
Fourthly, and most importantly, your goal here is to make money that is already in the pot. Be pleased to do that. Go ahead and bet into this flop in tatters, knowing that most of the time, your opponent in conventional mind cannot follow, and that the times where it will follow, you can confidently put on a good hand and stop your attempted theft. For more, if you show a player to the button that not only you call the big blind, but also wager on the flop, it take long for him to conclude that there are better players than attacking you. This avoids you d be attacked on your big blind when he has the button, and what is there of unpleasant to this?
One last thing: while you may be tempted to show him that you have stolen the pot with a lousy hand like your 7 - 2o, make is it you please to resist this temptation. You may want to use this tool again at one time or another. Let your opponents think that you still have the chance to end up with a big hand on the big blind and that their precious button will become unspeakably unnecessary.
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