Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Volume 1 (50 page)

You should seldom re-raise the flop in these spots because it is usually a disaster for your opponent to fold a large hand, like 10-10 on 7-6-2, as some tighter opponents will do if you show lots of aggression. He will assume you have a big pair or a set. Also, if your opponent is bluffing, he will fold every time if you go all-in, whereas he might fire again on the turn if you just call the flop raise.

Another example occurs often on the river. Suppose you have the nuts and think your opponent missed a draw. Assume the pot has 50BBs in it and you and your opponent have around 70BBs left in your stacks. Betting around 15BBs will often induce an overly aggressive opponent to go all-in, winning you a ton of chips when a large value-bet would have won you nothing.

Pay attention to stack sizes. Always make sure your opponent can think you will fold to a push. If the stacks are short, it is usually best to go for a check-raise that will get your small stack in. If you are deep-stacked, bet out and push over top of a bluff-raise, as your opponent will probably be pot-committed. Tricking my opponents into bluffing at me might be the most profitable thing I do at the poker table. With a little practice, it will be for you, too.

Play Straightforwardly in Large Pots

I’ve already touched on this concept, but it is so important that I am going to mention it again. It is perfectly fine to bet a small amount of your large stack with a weak hand or in a spot where you are unsure of your equity. But as the pot gets large, deception and advertising value go down and your concern for scooping this specific pot goes up.

Suppose someone raises to 3BBs out of a 50BB stack and you re-raise to 9BBs with A
-K
on the button. The player calls and the flop comes K
-5
-2
. Your opponent checks. Since the pot is already 20BBs, you should bet and not be too sad if your opponent folds.

Be willing to bet even if you miss the flop, such as on 9
-5
-2
, hoping to pick up the pot. In both instances, bet around 11BBs into the 20BB pot. Keep your bets small so you can fold when bluffing. You should still bet around 11BBs with A-A or 8-7 in this situation, assuming you re-raised pre-flop.

While I seem to be suggesting that you bluff when you are close to putting a large stack of your chips in, I am actually suggesting a standard continuation bet after you re-raise. If you take a standard, unexploitable line, your opponents will have a hard time playing against you, winning you many pots that more timid or fancy players would miss.

This concept also applies to throwing out large bluffs, as discussed earlier. Poker tournaments are no place to throw out large bluffs because you will be out of the tournament if even one of them fails. Setting yourself up to lose whenever your opponent gets stubborn and calls is not a winning strategy.

When You Are Re-Raised the Minimum

You will occasionally be re-raised by the minimum amount. Always call except with hands that are usually dominated, such as K-4 and A-2. Suppose you raise with 7
-6
from the cutoff to 3BBs out of your 150BB stack and the button re-raises to 6BBs. While you would normally fold to a standard 9BB re-raise, you should call here and hope for a good flop. People usually have a monster hand when they min-re-raise, which means you have huge implied odds.