The ICM concept (Independent Chip Modeling) is an extremely important tool for playing sit and goes at the $50 level. In essence, it’s a way of calculating your SNG equity during any part of the game, taking into account your stack size, the stack size of the remaining players, and the payoff structure.

All long-term SNG players should take the time to learn ICM, as it increases your expected value by helping you decide when to call, fold or shove against opponents, along with the hand ranges required for doing so.

Calculating Your Equity

Example: You’re playing in a 10 man sit and go, where the top 3 players get payoffs of 50%, 30% and 20%. There are five players left and you have 70% of the chips. What this means is that in a normal SNG where everyone is the same skill, you’d have about 43% equity.

This long term calculation is based on the amount of chips you have, the payoff structure, and the chips of others. Although you have 70% of the chips, you’re still not guaranteed to come first, which is why your average equity is only 43%.

To put this idea in contrast, if the same situation happened in a winner takes all tournament, your 70% of chips on the table would directly represent 70% equity of the prize pool (since that is your chance of winning in the long term if everyone were exactly the same skill).

Importance of ICM in the Bubble

The concept of ICM probably seems confusing at the moment, so I’ll show you how it can be used in your game.  Basically, knowing your ICM allows you to make calculated decisions risking your stack that takes into account the rewards/risks of making a move with complete respect to your equity.  If you risk your stack during an SNG, you need to know whether the rewards in expected equity from a move outweighs the risk taken.

For example, imagine there are 4 players left (including yourself), and the top 3 places get paid.  One of the players has a 1BB stack.  You hold a great hand like AK or AQ and a player with double your chip stack shoves in front of you.  Even if you know you have him beat, ICM will virtually always tell you to fold.

This is because folding here will keep you on a higher equity than calling and risking your stack in the long term. If you fold, the chances are the player on 1BB will go out soon and you’ll be in the money. ICM states that calling would be wrong because even if you were, say, a 60/40 favorite, you are still risking your tournament life. If you lose the hand, you would drop to zero equity.

How to Calculate Your ICM

The best way to calculate your ICM is to use SNG software such as SNG Wizard.  The best way to improve your ICM game is to look through your history and see where the software suggests you played the hand badly.  By scrolling through your hands, you might see you’re calling too often, or not folding enough, not pushing when you should do, or something else – with regards to risk/reward equity decisions.

How ICM Affects Your Decisions

Using ICM affects your SNG play in three main ways.  Firstly, it makes you call with far fewer hands, especially when you’re approaching the bubble.  This is because the negative equity of losing chips is usually greater than the positive equity of gaining the same amount of chips (if that makes sense).

Secondly, because it makes your play much more mathematical, players aware of ICM will be tighter overall, and only call all-ins with stronger hands then they normally would.

Thirdly, ICM makes it much more advantageous to call a player’s all in if you have him stacked, rather than someone with 5 times your stack.  Calling the former means if you win, you eliminate him and significantly increase your equity. When you call the former however, even if you win, your opponent is still in a healthy position (thus your expected equity would be greater if you folded, than if you took the risk of losing you entire stack).

This article was written by MTT Strategy

How Rush Poker Works

As soon as you push the fold button, Full Tilt Poker instantly transfers you to a new table and deals you in instantly. There’s no more waiting in between hands. In fact, you don’t even have to wait during hands. If you start out with a junk hand, you don’t even have to wait for it to be your turn. Just hit the quick-fold button and Full Tilt will move you on to the next table.

To get started, click on the “Rush Poker” tab inside the poker lobby. You’ll then be able to choose from the different games available. Individual tables aren’t listed like in normal ring games. Instead, the rush poker lobby tells you how many people are playing in total and gives you the option to join in.

Once you join, you’ll catch on to what’s going on pretty quickly. You’ll be dealt in to tables just like normal until you fold. As soon as you fold or hit the “quick fold” button, you’ll be taken to a new table. Don’t like the crappy hand you have? No worries – just fold and move on to the next hand.

Rush Poker Strategy

Rush Poker is a different beast than any other type of poker. You can get away with playing tighter in Rush Poker because the other players can’t keep as close track of you. On top of that, you can play tight and still make a decent hourly return because as soon as you fold, you are taken to a new hand.

At the same time, you can also get away with stealing more. The other players aren’t as tempted to defend their blinds or play crappy hands because they know they can always fold and move on to a new hand. In Rush Poker, there are a lot of blinds up for the taking.

One thing I would suggest you do is invest in Holdem Manager so you can keep stats on your opponents. The games move so fast that you’ll see familiar names but not remember anything about those players. With the aid of Holdem Manager, you’ll eventually get a basic idea of how some of your opponents are playing.

Rush Poker and Bonuses

Players who don’t already have an account at Full Tilt can sign up for a $600 deposit bonus. The bonus was already easy to clear but it’s now even easier thanks to Rush Poker. You can play many more hands per hour in Rush Poker and earn Full Tilt Points much faster than normal.

When you sign up and make a deposit at Full Tilt Poker, you’ll be asked for your Full Tilt Poker Bonus code. Use the code BeatNoLimit and you’ll be tracked to receive a 100% bonus on your first deposit there. There’s no easier or faster way to double your money than by getting a bonus and clearing it with Rush Poker.

Visit Full Tilt Poker Now

Hundreds of tournaments run every day at PokerStars and they come in a wide range of buyins and tournament types. There are the usual freezeout tournaments, satellite tournaments, freerolls, step tournaments, guaranteed prize pools, deep stack events, turbos, hyper turbos and many more.

The two areas in which PokerStars excels, in my opinion, are in guaranteed prize pool tournaments and satellites to major live events. Guaranteed prize pool tournaments such as the Sunday Million (with its $1,500,000 prize pool) run every week. On top of that, no other poker site has sent more players to the World Series of Poker than PokerStars.

Step satellite tournaments are another cool feature at PokerStars. These are 9 person tournaments that start out at just a few dollars. Instead of receiving cash, the players who do well in step tournaments get to move up to the next step. At the top step, the player who finishes first place receives a complete prize package to a major live poker tournament.

You can check out the PokerStars tournament scene for yourself by visiting the PokerStars website and downloading the software. If you sign up for an account, you can even check out some of the freeroll tournaments PokerStars hosts every day. Remember to use the marketing code PSP11467 when you sign up and the bonus code Stars600if you decide to make a deposit.

Notable PokerStars Tournaments

The Sunday Million

The biggest regular tournament at PokerStars is the weekly Sunday Million. This tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of $1,500,000 with a first place prize of about $225,000 every week. Think about that – someone wins $225,000 every single week in this one tournament alone. That is some seriously life changing money.

More about the Sunday Million

Super Tuesday

The PokerStars Super Tuesday has a guaranteed prize pool of $250,000 but it regularly blows that prize pool away. Not as many players participate in this tournament so the buyin is a hefty $1050. Only about 400 players play this tournament so the high buyin fee is countered by the smaller fields. You can always win your way in for cheaper with satellite tournaments.

Wednesday Quarter Million

The Wednesday Quarter Million tournament is held every Wednesday and guarantees a prize pool of at least $250,000. About 1000 players join this tournament each week so the tournament can last late into the night. Of course, if you stay up late closing this thing down, the tournament’s average $50,000 payday for first place will make it easy to get up for work the next morning.

More about the Wednesday Quarter Million

World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP)

This is a series of poker tournaments that PokerStars holds every year, sort of like the internet’s World Series of Poker. Last year’s WCOOP guaranteed $40 million in prize money and ended up handing out over $50,000,000 after everything was said and done. The winner of the main event took home $1,715,200. Yes, that’s right – someone won nearly $2 million in an online poker tournament.

When you first make the switch to live poker, you’ll notice a few differences that might trip you up. I can still remember the first time I played live. I was a mess. I was nervous, I acted out of turn, knocked my chips all over the place, lost track of the size of the pot and more. The funny thing is that I was used to having $8,000 or more on the table at a time online but as soon as I bought in for $200 in a live game, I became a nervous wreck.

Once you get used to the way live poker flows, you’ll improve dramatically. In fact, you’ll find live games to be ten times easier than online games. The general quality of play online has improved greatly in recent years. Live games are still extremely soft, though, so it’s worth getting used to live play and checking out the live poker games every once in a while.

1. Learn how to play live at lower stakes

You’ll do a lot better live if you start out playing lower stakes than what you’re used to. You can consider the first couple times playing live as learning sessions. Use these first sessions to learn how to keep track of the pot size and how to avoid acting out of turn. If you’re used to four color decks online, these first few sessions will be good for you getting used to two-color decks.

With all the new things going on, starting out at lower stakes is a smart idea. Your goal in the beginning isn’t to make $400 an hour. All you need to worry about is getting to understand the general structure and etiquette of live games.

2. Don’t overemphasize tells

Tells aren’t as big a deal in live poker games as the movies like to make them out to be. Tells are fine and all, but they aren’t good for basing entire decisions on. Like all other sources of information, tells are just one piece of the overall puzzle. When making decisions, don’t forget the basics: position, table image, stack sizes, betting patterns, notes and recent history.

Now that we have that out of the way, here are a couple basic tells that weak live players often exhibit:

• Shaking Hands – When a player’s hands shake after making a big bet, it’s not because that player is bluffing. It’s because that player has a big hand and is nervous/excited at the same time. You’ll know what I mean the first time you get a big hand in a live game.

• Strong Means Weak – If a player makes a big bet and then stares you down as if challenging you to call that bet, it means that player is weak. If that person really had a strong hand, he wouldn’t try to stare you down and intimidate you out of calling.

• Weak Means Strong – When players go to exaggerated lengths to appear weak, it’s usually because they have strong hands. Some players will sigh loudly and then place a big bet. Others will place a big bet and then look down at the flop with big, scared puppy-dog eyes.

Just remember that no tell is a 100% thing. The above tells are common among new players but that doesn’t mean they are correct very often. You have to note what kinds of hands your opponent show down and then look for patterns in their mannerisms. Even when you do pick up a tell, remember that it’s just one piece of the puzzle.

3. Don’t give off tells

The easiest way to avoid giving off tells is to practice turning into stone after betting. Choose a point somewhere in front of you and stare at that point every time you make a big bet. Concentrate on keeping your breathing in control so that you breathe the same way whether you have a monster or a complete bluff.

Some players will try to talk to you or ask questions after you make a large bet. You don’t have to answer those players or acknowledge them in any way. Just practice your stone face and let them decide. Witty little responses won’t help you any more than remaining completely still and unreadable.

4. Remember that live players are fishier than online players

For the most part, live games are way softer than online games. You don’t have to be very tricky in live games to make a profit. A simple, straightforward strategy will take you a long ways in most live games. Fold your weak hands, bet your strong hands and stay away from weak draws.

If you play an extra tight game and are worried people will notice, try talking to the table. A little table conversation will make you look like a fun, possibly loose player. When you talk, don’t draw attention to the fact that you play tight with comments like “I’m not getting anything tonight!” Just stick with whatever you consider normal conversation.

Live players tend to play with an extremely passive style. If they catch something strong, they won’t always bet it right off the bat. Sometimes they’ll catch a hand like top pair and just call all the way down. You have to be careful with your marginal hands against these players because they will occasionally surprise you with something stronger than you expect.

Don’t even think about bluffing live players unless you know for sure that it’s against a person who knows how to fold. Most live players are so passive that bluffs are a –EV play. You’ll just end up losing money trying to bluff complete fish.

Value bets will take you a long ways in live games. Every time you catch a decent hand, use value bets to make the most money possible. Live players make big calls more often than online players so go ahead and bet with every good hand you get. Just be careful when betting with marginal hands – those live players will sometimes call down with very strong hands and let you hang yourself.

5. Keep a healthy bankroll

Live play requires a huge bankroll because the games are fishier (which means higher variance for you) and because you play fewer hands per hour. A 10,000 hand downswing online might only translate to two weeks of poor earnings. A 10,000 hand downswing in live poker will last for 42 days, assuming you play 8 hours a day.

The fishy players in live poker will also put more stress on your bankroll because they’ll hit you with more bad beats. You’ll make a lot of money off these players, but your earnings will fluctuate widely in the short term. A larger bankroll will provide you with plenty of cushioning to deal with the days/weeks where things don’t go your way.

Practice online first at my favorite poker site: PokerStars

Related Articles:

• The Fish Are Not Your Enemy
• 10 Live Poker Tips
• Building Pots with Made Hands

2010 WSOP Champ Joe Cada and former WSOP Main Event champions such as Chris Moneymaker, Peter Eastgate, Greg ‘Fossilman’ Raymer & Joe Hachem are part of the team that you can play against. All you have to do is sign up at PokerStars.

Other PokerStars Team Pro players you can play against include Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Bertrand Grospellier, Gavin Griffin, Dennis Phillips, Tom McEvoy, Hevad Khan, Alexander Kravchenko, Marcel Luske, Dario Minieri, Humberto Brenes, and plenty more. If you want to test your skills against some of the best players in the world, this is your chance to do it without breaking the bank. Railbirds can also chat with the pros without even playing.

PokerStars Outlast the Pro Tournaments

Every Tuesday until December 29th, PokerStars will be running two tournaments with just $11 buyins, starting at 13:00 ET and 20:00 ET. An extra $1000 will be added to the prize pool and split evenly amongst the players that outlast all of the PokerStars pros. For example, if the last pro busts out in 51st place, the remaining 50 players will collect $20 each – pretty cool.

To find the PokerStars Outlast the Pro Tournaments, click on ‘Tourney’, then ‘All’ in the PokerStars lobby. You’ll see them listed as ‘Team Pro Tuesday: Outlast the Pros’. Click on the listing to register.

Players start with 1500 chips, and the blinds go up every 10 minutes. These are freezeout tournaments, so there are no rebuys or add-ons.

Finding PokerStars Team Pro Players

There is a button located at the bottom of the PokerStars lobby that says ‘Team Pro’. Click on that button and a list of all the pro players currently playing will pop up. Click on any player to see what tables they’re at, then click on the table to view it.

If you don’t have already have an account, get a 100% bonus up to $600 by using PokerStars promo code (marketing code) PSP11467 and bonus code Stars600. You’ll need these codes during the sign up and deposit processes, so be sure to write them down.

Download PokerStars Now.

If you plan on playing at multiple poker sites and bonus hunting, I recommend you set up an account with an e-wallet such as Neteller or Click2Pay. Once you have an account with one of those e-wallets, you can move your money quickly from one poker site to the next. You don’t have to wait for your money to cash all the way back out to your bank account. Additionally, you can use e-wallets to keep your poker bankroll separate from your personal finances.

Casual poker players who just want to get online as quickly as possible can deposit with credit cards or e-checks. Both methods are fast and reliable. There are no frills or extras but that’s OK because credit cards and e-checks get the job done. E-checks are especially nice for cashing out because the money is sent straight to your bank account.

Cash transfer services require a little more effort because you have to physically visit a cash transfer station to send and receive your money. Paranoid players will like this method, though, because it doesn’t require you to send any of your banking info to a poker site. All you need is the cash in your wallet.

Here are the top UK poker deposit options:

1. Visa / MasterCard / Diners Club International

Any credit card or debit card with one of these names on it can be used to deposit at just about every online poker site. To deposit with your credit card, visit one of the poker sites listed below and download the software. After you do that, you can create an account and then visit the cashier to make your deposit.

Banks in the UK occasionally restrict credit / debit card deposits to poker sites. If your credit card deposit is rejected, just try a different card or use a different deposit method. Banks always find a way to be annoying, don’t they?

UK credit / debit card poker sites:

• All poker sites

2. Neteller

Neteller is one of the oldest e-wallets in the poker business. It works in much the same way as PayPal except it’s accepted at most poker sites. After you create an account at Neteller, you can use that account to send money to any online poker site. This deposit method is one of the fastest out there. If you plan on trying multiple poker sites, Neteller is probably your best bet.

Neteller poker sites:

• All poker sites

3. Click2Pay

Click2Pay works like Neteller but it doesn’t have to be funded before you make a deposit. When you sign up for a Click2Pay account, you will be asked to choose a favorite deposit method. Then when you make a Click2Pay deposit at a poker site, Click2Pay automatically moves the funds from your bank account via the deposit method that you selected earlier. Alternatively, you can fund your Click2Pay account first and then use that money to deposit online.

Click2Pay poker sites:

• All poker sites

4. ClickandBuy

ClickandBuy is yet another e-wallet that UK players can use to fund their poker accounts. There’s not a whole lot more to say here. ClickandBuy is a large, well-known company that is accepted by 7,000 merchants in 20 currencies. You can fund your ClickandBuy account easily and cashing out is a breeze.

ClickandBuy poker sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Party Poker
• Aced Poker
• Carbon Poker

5. Moneybookers

Moneybookers is an e-wallet similar to all the rest. With Moneybookers, you have the option to either fund your Moneybookers account first and then transfer or you can use Moneybookers to facilitate deposits directly from your bank account to your poker account. You can visit the cashier and click on the Moneybookers option to get started quickly.

Moneybookers poker sites:

• All poker sites

6. Entropay

Entropay is virtual Visa card that you can use to purchase items online. You can use your virtual Entropay anywhere Visa cards are accepted, including poker sites. Unlike normal Visa cards, you can cash back out to your Entropay card when you’re ready to take some of your winnings to the bank.

Entropay poker sites:

• All poker sites

7. Maestro / Solo Debit Cards

If you have a debit card issues through Maestro or Solo, you can use it to purchase funds at most online poker rooms. Making a deposit with your Maestro or Solo card is as easy as purchasing anything else with your debit card. Just visit the cashier, input your number and tell them how much you wish to deposit.

Maestro / Solo poker sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Party Poker
• Aced Poker
• Sun Poker
• Doyles Room

8. Money Order / Cashier’s Check

PokerStars accepts checks straight from your bank. You can find detailed instructions by visiting the cashier and selection this deposit method from the list available methods. They will also send the instructions to your e-mail address.

Money Order / Cashier’s Check poker sites:

• PokerStars

9. Bank Transfer / Wire Transfer

A bank transfer is a transfer straight from your bank account to your poker account. All poker sites accept bank transfers of some sort. With bank transfers, you must initiate the transfer from your bank either by visiting its website, calling the bank or visiting in person. It’s kind of a pain visiting your bank in person but once you get that out of the way, the rest is lightning fast.

Bank / Wire transfer poker sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Party Poker
• Aced Poker
• Sun Poker
• Doyles Room

10. Ukash

Ukash is a deposit method where you can use cash to deposit to a poker site. With this method, there’s no need to give your credit card number of banking information to anyone. All you do is purchase a Ukash voucher at a local Ukash station and then when you get back to your computer, you can log in to your poker site and type in your Ukash voucher.

Ukash poker sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Party Poker
• Sun Poker

11. Paysafecard

The Paysafecard is a prepaid debit card you can purchase at a local store and then use to deposit online. Just like with Ukash, there’s no need to divulge any of your personal financial information to the poker site. Just purchase a Paysafecard, visit the poker site cashier and type in your PIN code and you’ll be ready to play.

Paysafecard sites:

• PokerStars
• Sun Poker

12. Other Deposit Methods

New deposit methods pop up all the time and many are country specific. There many other deposit methods out there including GiroPay, Netcents, Instadebit and so on. I can’t keep up with them all so I’ve only included the most popular deposit methods here. You can always visit your poker site’s cashier to find out which deposit methods are accepted from players in your area.

Players in the United States don’t have as many poker deposit options as players from other countries thanks to heavy handed banking legislation that was passed in 2006. The law attempted to force banks to identify transactions to poker sites and block them but it was a complete failure.

Today, millions of Americans play online poker and are still able to deposit and withdraw to dozens of online poker sites. There might not be as many deposit options in the US but the ones that do exist work very nicely. Here’s a quick overview of the major US poker deposit options:

(Note – these deposit options can change at any time. Visit you poker site’s cashier for the most up to date list of deposit options.)

1. Visa and MasterCard

Most US poker sites accept Visa credit cards, Visa debit cards and MasterCard credit cards to make deposits. You can even use prepaid gift cards if they are issued by Visa. Not all gift cards are accepted, though, so you should probably e-mail your poker site’s support team before purchasing a prepaid gift card.

Some banks automatically block Visa and MasterCard deposits to poker sites. If that happens to you, you can either try a different card or use one of the US poker deposit options listed below.

Visa / MasterCard Poker Sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Aced Poker
• Carbon Poker
• Doyles Room
• Bodog Poker

2. eChecks

eChecks have come and gone since the UIGEA was passed in 2006 but they are still an option at sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. With an eCheck, you simply input your account information and choose a deposit amount. After you make one successful eCheck deposit, you can then withdraw your funds via eCheck as well.

The eCheck is my favorite deposit method because it’s simple and extremely fast. There’s no need to bust out the credit card or sign up at a third party e-wallet. All you have to do is fill out your information and you are on your way. Cashing out with eChecks has always been super fast for me.

eCheck Poker Sites:

• PokerStars
• Full Tilt Poker
• Aced Poker

3. eWalletXpress

eWalletXpress is an electronic wallet that functions similarly to PayPal. After you sign up for an account with eWalletXpress, you can fund that account with money from your bank. When you’re ready to deposit at a US poker site, you can then use eWalletXpress to make the transfer.

E-wallets are great for extra paranoid players because they can be used to deposit at multiple poker sites without requiring you to give out your banking information each time. All you do is send your funds straight from your e-wallet to the poker site of your choice.

eWalletXpress Poker Sites:

• Aced Poker
• Carbon Poker
• Doyles Room
• Bodog Poker

4. Cash Transfer

Cash transfer deposits use services like MoneyGram and Western Union to send money to your poker site of choice. When you visit the cashier, you’ll be given instructions on sending the money. Then you will visit your local cash transfer station, fill out the form and send your cash. The cool thing about cash transfer deposits is that you can actually fund your poker account with cash. There’s no need to go through a bank or use your credit card.

Cash Transfer Poker Sites:

• Full Tilt Poker

5. PIC-Club

PIC-Club is a US friendly deposit method that is kind of like an e-wallet but not exactly. PIC-Club was set up to be compliant with the UIGEA. Every time you fund your PIC-Club account, $1.00 of that deposit goes towards a common shares fund. You cannot use that $1.00 to play poker but the rest of the money may be used to play online.

It’s sort of a strange loophole but it works. Once you have a PIC-Club account, the depositing and withdrawal process is basically the same as any other e-wallet. The fees are among the cheapest in the industry.

PIC-Club Poker Sites:

• Aced Poker
• Doyles Room

6. Bank Draft

You can also deposit via a Money Order or Bank Draft at some poker sites (but only at 1 US poker site). This deposit method is slower than the others but if you’re determined to play poker online for real money, this is a surefire way to get your funds loaded and ready to go. When you choose the bank draft deposit option inside the cashier, you’ll be presented with instructions for initiating this type of deposit.

• PokerStars

7. Diners Club International

Diners Club international credit cards aren’t very common in the US but PokerStars still accepts deposits made through Diners Club. To make a deposit with your Diners Club card, visit the cashier and click on the Diners Club option. Fill out the required information and you’ll be on your way in no time.

Diners Club Poker Sites:

• PokerStars

It’s understandably frustrating at times to play against fish but remember that the fish are not your enemy. The fish are your friends. These are the people that make poker a profitable game for those of us who play it more than just recreationally. The fish are your entire source of profit. Without fish, poker would be a highly unprofitable waste of time.

Getting Sucked Out On

When you play in fishy poker games, it’s true that you get sucked out on more often. There are more players calling your bets and chasing their draws so you’ll see more suckouts. It might sound crazy but that’s actually a good thing! You want people to chase their draws against the odds and make stupid plays. The math eventually catches up to them and it sends their money in your direction.

Sure, you have to deal with suckouts in fishy games but that’s made up for the fact that you win bigger pots more often. In fishy games, you get more action on your strong hands. In non-fishy games, people are more likely to fold to your bets. I can’t think of many other ways to win money in poker other than to get people to call your bets.

The Schooling Effect

Sometimes there is so much fishiness in a game that it actually creates a schooling effect. What that means is when enough players chase draws at the same time, it becomes mathematically correct for them to call because there is so much money in the pot. It’s sort of like the fish are accidentally colluding with each other to give themselves the right odds to make the calls they make.

This does not mean you shouldn’t bet your hands. On the contrary, you should bet your strong hands even more aggressively when lots of players are calling. With strong hands, you want to build big pots and win lots of money! Yes, you will get sucked out on occasionally but that’s how poker goes. As a serious poker player, it’s necessary for you to learn how to shake off bad beats.

Moving Up to Avoid the Fish

I also hear a lot of players say that they feel like they should move up in stakes to where the opposition knows how to fold. This is a flawed idea because you make money in poker by getting players to call when you have strong hands. Every time you move up in stakes, the competition gets a little tougher. These players are less likely to call when you have strong hands.

On top of that, you should never move up in stakes if you can’t beat the stakes at which you play now. If you can’t beat the stakes you play at right now, it means your game isn’t quite ready for you to move up in stakes. The only thing moving up will do is put strain on your bankroll.

How to Beat the Fish

Before you can learn how to move up in stakes and beat the players there, you need to learn how to beat the fish at your current level. The fish are the easiest players to beat but don’t feel bad if you’re having trouble beating them. Everyone has to start somewhere. The first time I played poker, I barely knew which hand beats which.

In order to beat the fish, you need to play a tight, patient and straightforward game. Bluffing is pointless in games where nobody folds. Just sit back, wait for strong hands and bet them when you get them. That’s all there is to it.

I still sometimes hop online and play micro stake games and if you watched me, you’d laugh at how straightforward I play. All I do is sit back, wait for strong hands and then bet when I get them. That’s all there is to it. Anyone who knows basic poker strategy can beat small stakes games. It’s not so much a matter of knowledge as it is a matter of discipline and patience.

Fishiest Poker Site:

These 10 common mistakes are geared more towards players who have a basic understanding of poker rather than complete newbies. This is not a list that includes things like “you are chasing too many draws.” Most of you already know it’s bad to chase too many draws. These mistakes are harder to catch and are therefore much more dangerous in the long term.

In the spirit of The Rich Jerk, I present to you the 10 reasons why you suck at poker. Don’t be a wimp, I’m only kidding. Read this article, laugh at it and learn from it. Enjoy.

10. You make too many continuation bets

This is a mistake that plagued me for a very long time. I knew how to play poker, I knew that continuation bets were important but I didn’t know how to properly utilize them. I played an aggressive style and made continuation bets every single time I raised before the flop. The only time I skipped a c-bet was when 3 or more people were in the pot with me.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and make a continuation bet every time but you shouldn’t be doing that. Pay attention to your opponents’ playing styles, your table image, your cards and the board texture to decide when you should place c-bets and when you should pass. Although you should bet the majority of the time you raise before the flop, you shouldn’t bet every time you raise before the flop. Check out this useful article about continuation betting.

9. You don’t make enough continuation bets

Whereas some players make too many continuation bets, you don’t make enough. Some of you only bet on the flop if you hit your hand. That strategy might get you by in small stakes games but it’s hardly optimal and it’s probably costing you all kinds of potential earnings. If you miss your hand on the flop, it’s OK to take a stab at the pot.

You can get more details about continuation bets in the article I linked to on number 10 up there but here’s a very quick guide for betting on the flop if you were the raiser before the flop:

• Bet if there is only 1 person in the pot against you

• Don’t bet if there are 3 or more people in the pot

• If there are 2 people in the pot, bet if you are in late position and they both check

• Look at the board texture. If it looks unconnected, bet. If it looks like it could have hit the types of hands people like to play (such as AT, KJ, TJ, 89, etc), don’t bet.

• Bet if there are two low cards and an ace. You will look like you just connected with your AK.

8. You play pocket pairs like a fish

Pocket pairs are sweet hands and they are even sweeter when they turn into sets. But even the possibility of hitting a set doesn’t make it worth playing pocket pairs every single time you get them. There’s a common myth that you can call a raise up to 10% the size of the smallest stack between you and the raiser.

Stop playing your pocket pairs just to hit sets. If you limp in with a pocket pair in early position, you are playing that pocket pair wrong. Either come in with a raise or fold it. In late position, you can limp in behind other players. Don’t call raises from late position stealers with pocket pairs and then fold if you miss your set. Those people are trying to steal the blinds and they probably don’t have much. Either re-steal the pot or get out.

Check out this article about pocket pairs.

7. You play when you’re drunk, depressed and unfocused

Your mindset has a profound affect on how you play. Whether you’re playing after a night of partying or first thing in the morning in a dirty, cluttered room, you’re not playing under optimal conditions. Before you start a poker session, clean up the area around you, clear your mind and take a shower. Yes, I just suggested you take a shower before playing online poker.

It sounds crazy but trust me, poker is not the same as playing video games in your underwear on Saturday morning with a bowl of cereal in your lap. Poker is a form of self-employment. I know all about being self-employed and let me tell you that it’s vital that you treat it like a real job (that you enjoy). Take a shower, get focused and play under the right mindset.

Remember also that your mindset can change randomly in the middle of a session. I’ve even had it happen during great sessions. For example, I got off to a great start one time and couldn’t shake this feeling that I was about to suffer a bad beat. I quit the game. Not because I’m superstitious but because I knew it was affecting my play. If you get a bad feeling that you can’t shake or start surfing the web while you play, you need to quit the game.

6. You turn into a mindless robot

After a while, poker turns into a grind and it’s easy to become a mindless robot, no matter how much money you have sitting in front of you. The same situation comes up time and time again and you can play 8 tables without breaking a sweat. The robot part comes into play when you stop focusing on your tables and just start making decisions because you’ve seen the same situations so many times.

In one way, this could almost sound like a good thing but it’s not. Poker is never a concrete game, no matter how many times you see similar situations. You need to stay sharp, watch your opponents and take notes. There’s no way to quantify how mindless play affects your bottom line but it does. You need to stay aware and awake at all times.

5. You spend your money like a teeny bopper at the mall

A large determinant of your success in poker is how well you manage your bankroll. Not only does this include playing at the stakes for which you are properly rolled, but it also includes how often you cash out and what you do with your poker money.

If you like to make cashouts to buy bottle service at cheesy clubs and mad bling to show off to your poker-newbie friends, you are absolutely destroying future earnings. It’s OK to make the occasional withdrawal to reward yourself but you should keep it at a minimum. The money you save can be used to move up in stakes and earn even more money. Every time you make a withdrawal, it has consequences that extend far into the future.

4. You can’t control your temper

In poker, a temper problem doesn’t have to include things like punching the monitor, kicking the puppy or going all-in every hand. A temper can cause you to make other costly mistakes such as playing for revenge, failing to leave bad tables and not quitting when you should.

Call it “soft rage” if you want. What I’m talking about isn’t as obvious as holes in the wall. This soft rage is more like a slowly burning cigarette stuck in your gut. You don’t feel super pissed, but you make decisions that aren’t optimal. You can be anything you want outside of poker but when you’re sitting at the tables, you need to be as emotionless as a brick wall. If the game sucks, move to a new table. Don’t stick around to prove it to anyone or to get your money back from someone.

3. You tell the fish how to play better

OK seriously, this belongs on the “Top 10 mistakes for newbies list” but you just can’t quite seem to get it right. You probably already know what this bullet point is all about but here it is anyways: if a fish makes a stupid play, don’t berate the fish! Why do you want the fish to play better? Are you trying to make the games worse for everyone else, including yourself? Speaking of which, why do I even run this strategy website?

It’s frustrating to lose a pot to poor play but remember those are the dues you pay to keep the fish coming back for more. If the fish never got lucky, they’d never play. Instead of inflating that vein on the side of your neck and smashing out poorly-spelled obscenities on the keyboard, try congratulating the fish for winning a nice pot. That will probably encourage them to give the money back faster than rattling off a bunch of math stats.

2. You suffer from a disease called Fancy Play Syndrome

Fancy Play Syndrome, also called FPS, is a common mistake in which poker players play strong hands with too much of an emphasis on needless deception rather than betting for value. One of the most common forms of FPS is slow playing strong hands.

It’s OK to slow play strong hands for a street or two if the board looks like crap but most of the time you should bet your strong hands. Why? Because the object of poker is to win money. It’s a proven fact that if you have a strong hand and get money in the pot, you’ll usually win that money. Also, sometimes the most deceptive tactic is to play your hand straightforward. That way it will be difficult for your opponents to distinguish between your bluffs and your strong hands.

1. You lie to yourself

Honesty to others isn’t exactly a winning virtue at the poker tables but honesty to yourself most definitely is. Be honest with yourself when you analyze your current state in poker. Are you sure you’re a winning player at the stakes you play at? After moving up, it can be difficult to admit the fact that you’re being outplayed. This also applies to other situations such as playing heads up matches against better players or differentiating between bad luck and poor play.

Be critical of yourself at all times. It’s OK to admit that you’re not the best player in the world and need to improve in certain areas. Nobody is the best player in the world. It’s not possible to be the best player in the world. You can always improve and there will always be someone who can beat you. Admit it to yourself and then move on with your life. When you learn to be 100% honest with yourself, you’ll feel liberated. Who cares how many people are better than you when you’re swimming around in cash and can buy a new car whenever you feel like it?

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