In this blogpost i will show you how to calculate the number of outs you have for a given hand. You probably saw it on TV: a player puts all his chips in the middle and then asks the dealer: "just one time!"
He is begging the dealer to give him one of his outs: a card to make his loosing hand the winning hand.
What are outs?
They are the card, or cards, that can hit the board to give a player who is holding a losing hand a winning one.
One basic example:
You have pocket Jacks and go all-in pre-flop. A player behind you calls and shows pocket aces. How many cards in the deck can give you the winning hand?
Pre-flop there are only 2 outs: the 2 remaining Jacks
Lets say the flop is 8, 9 and 10 offsuit. Now how many outs do you have?
The answer is 10.
7 and Q would both give you a straight. There are 4 7s and 4 Qs left in the deck so 8 outs for a straight. Plus the 2 outs from pre-flop which would give you trips or possibly quads.
=> The number of outs can increase or decrease depending on the cards which fall on the flop or turn.
I will post more examples in one of the next posts and show you ways to easily determine the number of out at any given time with any given hand.
Calculating Outs part 2
Showing posts with label preflop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preflop. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Another example for the goals of betting
This time we want our opponent to call or raise our bet.
We are in middle position with poket eights and we raised three times the big blind in pre-flop. The player in the big blind position calls. Lets assume he has A 9 offsuit.
The flop is Ace of spades 8 of hearts and 3 of hearts.
We have triple 8 and our opponent a pair of aces.
How can we bet to get the most amount of money out of our opponent?
We want to makeour hand look weaker than it actually is.
How can we do this?
-If you act first, and your opponent is aggresive make a small bet roughly 1/2 the pot. If hes not aggesive just check and hope that he raises for you.
-If your opponent acts first and checks, you could check to make him think his aces look good.
-If he raises you should just call.
We are in middle position with poket eights and we raised three times the big blind in pre-flop. The player in the big blind position calls. Lets assume he has A 9 offsuit.
The flop is Ace of spades 8 of hearts and 3 of hearts.
We have triple 8 and our opponent a pair of aces.
How can we bet to get the most amount of money out of our opponent?
We want to makeour hand look weaker than it actually is.
How can we do this?
-If you act first, and your opponent is aggresive make a small bet roughly 1/2 the pot. If hes not aggesive just check and hope that he raises for you.
-If your opponent acts first and checks, you could check to make him think his aces look good.
-If he raises you should just call.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Betting Checklist
Before acting on your hand there is a list of questions you should ask yourself. But there is no one right way to play a given hand.
- The size of your stack is one of the most important issues to consider. Its size (relative to the blinds) determine the options you have.
With a very small stack your options are limited to folding and all-in.
A bigger stack (at least 30-times the big blind) gives you the posibility to raise and re-raise before the flop.
- The second issue to consider before you bet is your position on the table. There are some blogposts about that.
- The third item to consider is the size of the blinds and the amount of money in the pot. Remember: when you bet you tell a story. If that story does not make sense no one will follow it.
For pre-flop bets a good rule of thumb is a raise about 3 to 4 times the big blind.
- The action that happend in front of you. By paying attention to it you can determine the strength of your opponents hands. It helps to decide what type of players your opponents are. Are they loose, tight, aggressive or passive?
This is the checklist which you should go through with every bet. And finally: your bet has to serve a purpose. Do you want your opponents to fold or do you want them to put as much money in the pot as possible?
- The size of your stack is one of the most important issues to consider. Its size (relative to the blinds) determine the options you have.
With a very small stack your options are limited to folding and all-in.
A bigger stack (at least 30-times the big blind) gives you the posibility to raise and re-raise before the flop.
- The second issue to consider before you bet is your position on the table. There are some blogposts about that.
- The third item to consider is the size of the blinds and the amount of money in the pot. Remember: when you bet you tell a story. If that story does not make sense no one will follow it.
For pre-flop bets a good rule of thumb is a raise about 3 to 4 times the big blind.
- The action that happend in front of you. By paying attention to it you can determine the strength of your opponents hands. It helps to decide what type of players your opponents are. Are they loose, tight, aggressive or passive?
This is the checklist which you should go through with every bet. And finally: your bet has to serve a purpose. Do you want your opponents to fold or do you want them to put as much money in the pot as possible?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Playing big pairs
Remember: Holding AA, KK, or QQ is no guarantee to win!
But you can improve your odds by following some simple guidelines:
Always raise or re-raise AA-QQ pre-flop.
With that you can narrow down the number of opponents. More opponents = lower odds to win the pot
Especially when you have KK or QQ dont be afraid of running into AA. That can happen but its quite unlikely.
Post-flop it is important to accept that there might be better hands. In that case you may have to throw away big pairs.
In a tournament this might be especially frustrating but depending on the size of your stack, there is most likely a better spot to play.
But you can improve your odds by following some simple guidelines:
Always raise or re-raise AA-QQ pre-flop.
With that you can narrow down the number of opponents. More opponents = lower odds to win the pot
Especially when you have KK or QQ dont be afraid of running into AA. That can happen but its quite unlikely.
Post-flop it is important to accept that there might be better hands. In that case you may have to throw away big pairs.
In a tournament this might be especially frustrating but depending on the size of your stack, there is most likely a better spot to play.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Playing A-K
AK is a very good hand pre-flop. Nevertheless people tend to overvalue its strength after the flop.
It is one of the top 5 starting hands => play it aggressively pre-flop.
Facts that are important for playing AK pre-flop are:
-you stack
-your opponents stacks
-blinds and antes
Try to get the last bet pre-flop because either your opponents fold and you win or the pot is very large and you still have good chances of winning.
If your opponent has a smaller pair your chances are about the same. If he does not hold a pair your chances of winning are far higher.
But against multiple opponents your hand becomes far less valuable in post-flop!
It is one of the top 5 starting hands => play it aggressively pre-flop.
Facts that are important for playing AK pre-flop are:
-you stack
-your opponents stacks
-blinds and antes
Try to get the last bet pre-flop because either your opponents fold and you win or the pot is very large and you still have good chances of winning.
If your opponent has a smaller pair your chances are about the same. If he does not hold a pair your chances of winning are far higher.
But against multiple opponents your hand becomes far less valuable in post-flop!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Middle Position Hand Selection
The middle position allows you to open the pot with a wider range of hands.
Because fewer players sit behind you it is less likely that someone has a very good hand.
When action is folded to you in middle position your opening hand range becomes wider.
- 55, 66
- KQ, KJ suited
- A-10 suited
You can even consider to call an opponents pre-flop raise with these starting hands.
Always be aware of your opponents images and stack sizes.
In middle position you have to ask yourself these questions:
- What if a bigger stacked opponent re-raises you?
- Will you call if a short stack opponent shoves?
- Which players at your table are loose, which are tight?
Remember: Its always better to be the raiser than the caller!
An early position raise usually signifies strength. => yourcalling hand range becomes smaller.
Dont be to attached to your cards after the flop!
Because fewer players sit behind you it is less likely that someone has a very good hand.
When action is folded to you in middle position your opening hand range becomes wider.
- 55, 66
- KQ, KJ suited
- A-10 suited
You can even consider to call an opponents pre-flop raise with these starting hands.
Always be aware of your opponents images and stack sizes.
In middle position you have to ask yourself these questions:
- What if a bigger stacked opponent re-raises you?
- Will you call if a short stack opponent shoves?
- Which players at your table are loose, which are tight?
Remember: Its always better to be the raiser than the caller!
An early position raise usually signifies strength. => yourcalling hand range becomes smaller.
Dont be to attached to your cards after the flop!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
First Poker Cheatsheet for Beginners
This Cheatsheet will teach you how to play during preflop. It will teach you when to raise or when to fold.
The data shown was generated by simulationg 3 million games and analysing their outcomes.
For every hand that won the value for the hand is counted up for every hand that lost the value is decreased by 1. Hence a hand that wins more than it looses will be positive and the other way around.
You can see how strong the pairs and in comparison with other high cards like A-K or K-Q. They are nearly 4 times as strong. But pay attention: these values are only valid for headsup situation.
The data shown was generated by simulationg 3 million games and analysing their outcomes.
For every hand that won the value for the hand is counted up for every hand that lost the value is decreased by 1. Hence a hand that wins more than it looses will be positive and the other way around.
You can see how strong the pairs and in comparison with other high cards like A-K or K-Q. They are nearly 4 times as strong. But pay attention: these values are only valid for headsup situation.
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| Poker Cheatsheet #1 Preflop |
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