Free Online Poker Education Why You Must Stick To Your Gameplan

This latest free poker online games instruction lesson is about how discipline – or lack of it – fundamentally affects poker success?

What should you do if you have a big hand such as A-K or A-Q? Generally players raise with them. Some daring players even reraise them after a reraise. Yet are they strong enough to call raises?

This is a hand reconstruction example that demonstrates the point:

BLINDS 5k/10k

A has 10c-4c raises to 27k

A has trash but decides to raise with it. Maybe because A is an aggressive player? Or might A be representing A-x that is strong enough to steal blinds with, or a big pair? What does B reckon?

B has As-Kc reraises to 87k
A to call 60k

Now B has the dreaded AK. Dreadful both for the owner of A-K and the opponent. If opponent has A-x and the Ace came, unless he has Two-Pair, he will be kicker-crushed by the A-K.

Yet if the Ace or King does not come, B is going to have a difficult time representing what showed on the Flop, since if the opponent bets, generally the opponents cards will fit the Flop, and B is going to leak chips by attempting to buy the Flop by raising, and typically he is is not comfortable to raise with trash (following the opponents raise at the Flop).

B’s raise is good because he can drive out a hand without needing to see a Flop (even pairs J-J or lower can be driven out); he does not want to play A-K riskily. But how does A respond to the reraise?

A reraises to 237k
B to call 150k

So A really is an aggressive player! A has nothing, and decides to reraise again! This might be a sign of AA, KK, even QQ. If B is facing any of these hands he is always an underdog (even with the Q-Q).

Now B has some options:

1. Fold and not waste any more chips. This is he decides that AK is better used against a passive opponent than aggressive.

2. He can call, because he has position, but if no Ace or King fell, A, being an aggressive player, can continuation-bet even with nothing, and B will have a hard time determining if A is still bluffing or not. And even should he call and an Ace or King falls what if he’s facing AA or KK?

3. He could move all-in and throw A out of the pot, but again, a reraise after a reraise is usually the sign of A-A or KK (a very good trap), and B cannot make up his mind whether A really has A-A or KK, or trash.

Therefore the options are in support of his folding, so

B folds

A shows the bluff!

A’s aggression paid off for him. But the lesson of this hand is the discipline. B may have weighed the reasons for each action, and decided that folding is the best option. Of course we can add another reason: If we are in the pot with good players, unless we have good hands, keep out. Wait until you are in the pot with someone you can swipe all the chips from.

Have a go at playing to a determined strategy by practicing your poker on a free poker site like NoPayPOKER where you can get lots of free poker coaching.