Week 12: Poker In The Pit

Satellites are now running on Pokerstars.com or you can buy in to the £500+60 event through the website or in person at any Grosvenor or G casino.

I’ll be there along with many other big names from the UK poker scene including Julian Thew and Neil Channing all trying to take down the £200,000 guaranteed tournament.

Now for this week’s questions.

I always get beat by awful cards. How do I avoid this? Phil Johnson, Dinnington

You will always get reckless players at a poker table. Especially on small blind tables and at the early stages of tournaments. If you know someone is a very weak player who will call with any two cards try to sit tight and wait for a premium hand and raise against them. From time to time they will outdraw you and take the pot but most of the time the best hand will stand up. It’s interesting how many players say they hate being dealt Aces simply because they only remember the odd occasion when they were outdrawn. If you play the best hand over a period of time you will always come out on top.

What is a suckout? Adam Thomas, Sheffield

A suckout is a term used to describe a bad beat. If you have a big hand and are a major favourite and your opponent calls with a weak hand and hits the ‘miracle cards’ to win the pot, they sucked out on you. It is not nice at all when it happens to you but fantastic when you’re the one who gets lucky.

What is a ring game? Neil Simmons, Rotherham

A ring game is basically a cash game that you can buy in for various amounts and simply leave the table whenever you feel like times time.

When would you slow play premium hands such as AA or KK? Sarah Blakesmore, Worksop

Never! Slow playing is always a bad idea and you can blame no one else when a player sucks out on you. The only time I would ever think about it is if I was sat in a very aggressive cash game and I was in very early position. If I was 95 per cent certain that a raise and calls would follow I’d flat call then re-raise big when the pot has been built. The only other time would be heads up against an aggressive opponent but all the time my aim would be to re-raise. Never just flat call the raise.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Often a player will put a large over bet (usually pot size or bigger) on the river and this is often a bluff or can be an effective way of playing the nuts. If this happens ask the player if they want a call. Players with big hands will usually stay silent whilst bluffers will often look uneasy and say yes or that they don’t mind either way. If they look weak., they usually are weak.

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO EMAILED QUESTIONS AND MAKES THIS BLOG POSSIBLE. I AM NOW ON TWITTER IF YOU SHOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW @nickpokertyler

Until next week, good luck at the tables.