Poker guides
12 short guides to No-Limit Hold’em. Six cover the decisions after the flop that the trainer grades you on, and six cover how to play before the flop from each position.
Decisions after the flop
- How to value betWhen a bet is for value, how to pick the size, and the two mistakes that cost the most: checking strong hands and betting hands only better ones call.
- How to bluffA bluff makes money when your opponent folds more often than the bet needs. How to work that out, which hands to bluff with, and who never to bluff.
- How to call a bluffA bluff catcher beats only bluffs. Two numbers decide the call: the price you are getting and how often this opponent bluffs.
- Pot controlMedium-strength hands win small pots and lose big ones. When to check instead of bet, and what the check costs.
- Betting for protectionA vulnerable hand that is ahead now can bet so that draws and overcards pay or fold. When that works, and when it only folds out worse hands.
- Playing drawsCount your outs, compare the chance of hitting with the price of the call, and know when to bet the draw instead.
Before the flop, by position
- Opening from under the gunHow wide to open from under the gun in a 6-max cash game at 100 bb, why, and what to do when someone has raised before you. With the charts.
- Opening from the hijackHow wide to open from the hijack in a 6-max cash game at 100 bb, why, and what to do when someone has raised before you. With the charts.
- Opening from the cutoffHow wide to open from the cutoff in a 6-max cash game at 100 bb, why, and what to do when someone has raised before you. With the charts.
- Opening from the buttonHow wide to open from the button in a 6-max cash game at 100 bb, why, and what to do when someone has raised before you. With the charts.
- Opening from the small blindHow wide to open from the small blind in a 6-max cash game at 100 bb, why, and what to do when someone has raised before you. With the charts.
- Defending the big blindThe big blind gets the best price at the table. How wide to call and re-raise against an open from each position, with the charts.