Smart Poker Study

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Reg-infested Tables, Poker Podcasts & PLO | Q&A | #31

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I answer three questions in this Q&A podcast about reg-infested tables, learning PLO on YouTube and other poker podcasts I’d recommend.

In episode 26 I helped one listener fix his leak of not having a plan for defending pre-flop 3bets pre.

Reg-infested Tables, Poker Podcasts & PLO | Q&A | #31

The first question is from LTUMaximus:

Hi Sky 🙂

I’m playing on 888 Poker at the moment and there are so many East European Regs, would you recommend to skip that session when so many regs and just study or play but play a tighter game. Sometimes when i see there are so many regs I play on Carbon at the same time, mixing up both – getting 2-3 weaker tables from 888 Poker and 2-3 tables from Carbon.

I’m always looking for tables where I could have an edge on the players 🙂 that’s Nick’s suggestion 🙂

Best Regards,

LTUMaximus

Answer: Table select well and have multiple poker clients open at once if necessary.  Also, if there’s only regs there, do an hour or two of studying instead.

Plus, you can find Nick Wealthall at Transform My Poker.

 

Next question from Ben:

Really enjoy your podcasts and just recommended it to a good friend of mine.

Are there any podcasts you’d recommend to a cash player? I have the Thinking Poker podcast, the Post Flop Poker podcast and the Red Chip podcast already.

Thank you

Ben

Answer: I recommend the Carrot Podcast, Thinking Poker, Red Chip Poker Podcast and Post Flop Poker Podcast.

 

Final question from LTUMaximus:

Hi Sky,

just quick question, do you know any good youtube channel about Omaha? I’m asking because my brother just started playing omaha now and I want to really suggest to him to study a little bit because he just started and thinks he is good 🙂 but never like that 🙂

Thanks!

Best Regards,

LTUMaximus

Answer: Visit the PLOQuickPro channel on YouTube.

Podcast Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: Practice your table selection.  Find tables that have at least 2 juicy spots at it.  If you’re surrounded by regs, get off of that table as all you’re doing is treading water and paying the rake.  Open up multiple poker clients if necessary, or just spend some extra time studying.

10 Poker MED’s and Poker Training Sites | Q&A | #24

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I answer two questions in this Q&A podcast, one about poker MED’s and another about recommended poker training sites.

In case you missed it, in episode 23 I showed you how to learn from Skill #2 in Ed Miller’s book ‘The Course.’

10 Poker MED’s and Poker Training Sites | Q&A | Podcast #24

One question today, from two different peeps: Greg & Ben

Hey Sky,

First off thanks for creating such a frequent and informative podcast. It has really shown growth from the first info episode to what it is now 🙂

Just a little about me. I’m returning to poker after a long break (10-15 years) now juggling a full time job wife and child along with a very fluctuating bankroll! I play some double or nothing, as many cheap MTT’s as I can and some standard SNG 9 seater games.

So I figured I could ask a specific question and get a good answer to help one point of my game, but as per the saying give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach him to fish and he will never be hungry. I would like to ask if you had a development plan, as in an order of what to learn and to what level, I’m currently at the conscious incompetence stage of learning (but I’m sure there are lots of concepts I’m not aware of) . I also would also like your opinion on which of the numerous training websites are the best investment of my chips. (I understand that the second question may not be able to be answered in the podcast).

May your bad beats be cheap,

And your pots be massive.

– Greg

 

Another listener named Ben sent me an email shortly after Greg’s that asked about the same thing.  He called them MED’s, or minimum effective doses.  These are the concepts that give you the biggest bang for your buck, they’re the concepts that if understood fully, will yield greater improvement than others.

Here’s my list of 10 MED’s:

  1. Opening theory and ranges
  1. Stealing and the math associated
  1. 3bet theory
  1. Blind Play
  1. Player types and their tendencies
  1. Cbet theory (both making and defending)
  1. Check Raise and Donk betting – how to defend OOP vs a pfr
  1. Ranging opponent’s
  1. Board textures and how different ranges react/hit different boards
  1. Double-barreling and going for two streets of value (flop & turn play)

Alrighty, so that’s my list of poker MED’s.  Be on the lookout in March/April for more podcasts on each of them in a humongo series.

About training sites, I can recommend both Tournament Poker Edge and Cardrunners.  What I would do if you’re trying to decide is hit each training site you’re considering and devour all of their free content.  Pick the one that you enjoyed studying from the most and subscribe for 3 months.  Don’t lock yourself in for a year unless you know you like that site.  It might not be the best fit, but no biggy.  Just move on at the end of your term to another site.  Don’t consider it like some momentous decision.

Podcast Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: Look at my list of MED’s and see what you need to study next, and devote an entire week to it.  Watch videos, read articles, journal your thoughts, play FOCUS sessions devoted to understanding that concept and do HH reviews with that concept in mind.  Take your knowledge of that concept from whatever level you’re at now, and 10x it, baby.  If you know 2 things about cbetting, get that knowledge up to 20 things.

LAG’s, HUD Stats & Poker Math | Q&A | Smart Poker Study Podcast #17

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Two questions about LAG’s, understanding and using HUD Stats in-game and some poker math discussed today…

In case you missed it, in episode 16 I showed you how to make a list of poker weaknesses and leaks that you’ll systematically tackle for improvement, and to learn ways to exploit opp’s with these same weaknesses.

LAG’s, HUD Stats & Poker Math | Q&A | Podcast #17

Two Q’s today from Mr. Happiness & eroc93:

Q1 from Mr Happiness:

Hello Sky,

Thanks for your help, I truly appreciate it. I just finished listening to your podcast #2 and it was the second podcast I have ever listened to. Your podcast #1 was the first. I’m 62 years old and I am not good (gross under statement) with computers.

He says some very nice things here (about me and himself), but I left it out for time considerations.

I was checking out your sheet on 7 characteristics of a poker player and I had a question for you. Under the Loose Aggressive (LAG’s) type it says “chase only strongest draws against his post flop aggression (nfd or high oesd or pair+ draw)”. Could you please explain that to me in laymen’s terms?

Once again I appreciate everything you do for me.

Sincerely,

Mr. Happiness

  • Thank you so much for the question and for all the kind words.
  • LAG’s can often barrel to push you off your hand.  You’re better off chasing the strongest draws like nut flush draws, high open-ended straight draws and good pair+draw hands.  You want to have the best odds possible of hitting your hand if you’re going to be paying multiple streets for it, plus you want to be drawing to a nutted or near-nutted hand.  Drawing to weak fd’s (56s on AQ7), weak oesd’s (like 56 on 78J), weak gut-shots (like 78 on TJK) or weak pair+draw hands (like 56 on 589 board).
  • Everything is situational, so if you know the LAG’s you’re up against always bet flops but only barrels the turn w/a made or strong hand, then you can float with the intention of taking it away IP on the turn after he checks, or the river if you’re OOP and he checks behind the turn.  So if you have a plan, you can have ATC (any two cards) and continue in the hand, but having solid draws gives you equity when your planned bluff gets called.

Q2 from eroc93:

One of the things i still struggle with is using my HUD stats effectively in real time. I am pretty solid at reading ranges using VPIP,PFR and 3 bet stats. I am talking more the math of being able to exploit villians who fold or call too much in certain spots postflop. I understand the theory behind it but still for some reason draw blanks when trying to make math decisions while multi tabling in real time. Math was never one of my strong suits but i know to be the player i want to be i am going to have to get better at it. I am also currently reading a book called “Poker Math that Matters” by Owen Gains to try and simplify some things in my head. What helped you out in being able to effectively use all the combo hud stats?

Thanks, eroc93

Thanks much for the question.

  • I became proficient at using stats by utilizing four different methods:
  1. Warm-ups – podcast #5 – As part of my nightly warm-up I include 2 strategy focuses to keep in mind as I play.  Over the course of a few months I systematically chose one stat each night to pay attention to in every hand I played and for each decision where that stat could help me.
  2. Focus Sessions – podcast #8 – I would really drill down on HUD work with Focus Sessions where I played just 2 tables and really used the stats before every decision, even before folding Q5o.
  3. HH Reviews – I always do this as I’m reviewing hands, but the key is to try and dissect your opp’s plays with regards to their actions and stats combined.  Off the tables you have more time to consider all the info available to you, so you should see if your opp’s stats could’ve choreographed his moves.
  4. Creating my own HUD’s and Popups – Getting in there and making my own HUD’s and Popups really helped my understanding of the stats.  Also, making my own color coding for stat numbers helped in my understanding and in-game usage of the stats.  You can find some of my HUD and Popup videos on my YouTube channel.
  • Regarding poker maths and stats, you need to make sure you know is how to calculate break-even %’s (article here).
  1. Calling Break-even %’s – how much you have to call and how often your hand has to win to break-even
  2. Bluff Bet Break-even %’s – how often a particular bluff sizing has to succeed to break-even
  • Compare these %’s to how often you think he’s doing what he’s doing and make a decision.  The best way to practice this is to find a situation you have difficulty with and filter your database for it.  As you review each, think about:
  • What is my bet trying to accomplish? Bluff, value, something else?
  • Thinking about his stats and any reads, is he likely to fold or call my cbet?
  • If going for value, how likely will he call and what could he call with on that board?
  • If making a bluff or semi-bluff, how likely is he to fold to the bet and if he calls, what will I do on the turn?
  • Regardless of what I’m trying to accomplish, what will I do if he raises? What will I do on the turn if he calls?
  • If the math is what you’re trying to drill into your head, run the math for every hand you review. How often did it have to work (as a bluff) or how much equity do I need to call?

Final Conclusion: deliberate study with one specific idea at a time will get you what you want.  Don’t try to study bluff sizing, calling with outs, 3bet resteals, cbets and river bet sizing all in one session.  It takes FOCUS (Follow One Course Until Success), so pick one thing and run with it each session.

Tilt & Bad Sleep | Q&A | Smart Poker Study Podcast #10

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Bad sleep can come about because of tilt and negative emotions surrounding poker.  I help one of you get to sleep better at night and work on your tilt issues.

In case you missed it, in episode 9 I talked about how volume sessions are important, how to increase the volume you play and I give you great strategies into how to get the most from each volume session.

Q&A – Bad Sleep & Tilt | Podcast #10

Today I answered LTU Maximus’ question sent in via email:

Hello Sky,

It’s me again, I have few mental issues at the moment :

After longer sessions (during the weekends), I mean 4 hours play at least at evening 20:00 – 24:00, i am really struggling with the sleep. I am dreaming poker, cards, situations and etc all night and my sleep is so bad and it’s really keeps me tired in the morning. It doesn’t matter I have good or bad sessions, might be worse after bad sessions. Any suggestion to clear my mind before sleep and get better sleep? 🙂

Another problems is about Tilt, if I’m loosing big pots no matter against donk with good hand and if I’m ahead, or against very tight NIT and with premium hands, I am starting damn chatting in the chat box. But it happening for 3-5 min after lost… And the worse happening i start feeling bad why I wrote like that and etc…

My main problem and I’m working on it now is to learn how to fold AA, KK, QQ or AK after flop against good tight players or nit… when they reraise me after flop or Turn, it’s big leak and I know that in that level 10 NL nearly nobody is bluffing just few really few players capable to do that and including me 🙂

Thanks again Sky!

P.S. trying to catch up your podcasts, just listened first two. 

Good luck!

Thanks LTU Maximus for the email and the great questions.

1. Terrible sleep after poker, regardless +/- session

You need to clear your mind before you go to bed.  End sessions by 11:00 to 11:15.  Read a book, watch tv, fold laundry and do something non-poker related.  A lack of sleep can lead to mental fatigue, which can lead to poor decision making and going on tilt quicker/more often.

Also, don’t end your session with review.  When you leave the tables, LEAVE THE TABLES.

You also need to take breaks every hour or so while you play.  Dedicated concentration for too long at a stretch can hurt your brain.

2. Tilting and chatting about it (assuming Maximus is berating the opp)

Read Jared Tendler’s book ‘The Mental Game of Poker’ and dive into your tilt issues.  I think you suffer from Entitlement Tilt (I do as well although I’m working to get past it).  This is when you feel like you deserve to win and you were robbed when you lose.

When you find yourself with a strong hand, don’t think “Yeah, I’m gonna win his stack.”  You should have thoughts like, “How am I going to play this on the flop/turn/river to extract value” and keep paying attention to the action in the hand.  Often you’ll find you can throw away AA on the turn or river if you’re thinking clearly through the hand and determining the likely strength of your opponent.

NEVER CHAT!!!  I can’t stress this enough.  Don’t let him know he made a mistake or that you’re on tilt.  “Don’t tap the tank” totally applies.

3. Can’t lay down good starting hands post flop

Don’t get married to hands. Use those player type tendencies, along with relevant stats and the action in the hand to determine if you’re beat or not.

Do hand history reviews on big pp’s that you lost lots of money with. Look for commonalities in each hand.  What is it that you’re missing that’s causing you to make the mistake of not folding when it’s obvious you’re beat.

Get out of the “I always lose with Aces or Kings” mentality if you’ve got that.

A great general rule of poker is, “Attack weakness, avoid strength.”  Don’t ignore what your opp’s are telling you with their checks, calls, bets and raises.

Podcast Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: If you find yourself in any negative mindset over situations in poker like a “My AA always gets cracked” mentality, study this mindset in your next study session.  Find ways to dispel it like going through your database and finding the truth, asking your poker buds about it, or finding an article or podcast that covers it and do some digging.  Chances are you aren’t the first to have this, and there’s a way for you to fix it.

2016 SMART Poker Goals | Q&A | Smart Poker Study Podcast #6

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I tell you my 2016 Poker Goals in this Q&A!

In case you missed it, in episode 5 I talked about how the incredible book called ‘The ONE Thing’ has revolutionized my life and my poker game.

Q&A – 2016 SMART Poker Goals | Podcast #6

Today I discussed my 2016 Poker Goals at the request of Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous.  Here’s the email:

Hey Sky,

I enjoy your show.  You did a podcast about SMART Poker Goals, and you mentioned one of your goals is getting to an $18,000 bankroll.  What other goals did you set for 2016?  Thank you, Anonymous

Thanks for sending that in, Anonymous!  My goal changed a bit after I posted episode #2, so here it is with my two supporting SMART goals.

My Goals

Goal 1:  By December 31st, 2016 I will be a regular at 200NL cash games online with a bankroll of $20,000, and taking one daily shot at 400NL.

Goal 2:  By December 31st, 2016 I will have spent a total of 520 hours studying poker over the course of the year (10 hours per week). This will not count time spent coaching students.

Goal 3:  By December 31st, 2016 I will have played 225,000 hands of poker across Cash, SNG’s and MTT’s.

Please go back and listen to Podcast Episode #2 to hear all about setting SMART Poker Goals.  Each of the goals above meets the criteria for SMART poker goals:

  • SPECIFIC
    • Goals need to be specific, detailing exactly what you intend to accomplish
  • MEASURABLE
    • If you can’t measure them, how do you know you’ve achieved anything?
  • ACHIEVABLE
    • Goals must be achievable and not impossible; you should feel stretched and challenged by the goal, but it can’t be so obviously out of reach that you were doomed from the start
  • RELEVANT
    • Your goal needs to matter to you. Goals that fit in with your overall aim in poker are more likely to be hit and to be supported by those around you.
  • TIME-BOUND
    • We all know that any task expands to fit the time allotted to it, so a goal without an end date could take years to attain.  Deadlines add a sense of urgency.

Podcast Challenge

Choose a monetary poker goal for 2016.  Remember to make it SMART.  Then make 2-3 additional goals that will help to support that first SMART poker goal.  Right after you do this, email me at sky@smartpokerstudy.com so I can follow along and encourage you with your progress.

Open Limping in Poker Cash Games | Q&A | Smart Poker Study Podcast #4

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We’re talking open limping in the first Q&A!

In case you missed it, in episode 3 I talked about how the incredible book called ‘The ONE Thing’ has revolutionized my life and my poker game.

Q&A – Open Limping | Podcast #4

Today I discussed a hand history sent in by LTU Maximus.  Here’s the email:

Hello Sky,

I had one situation last day, just very short description about the players – bolut81 (utg+1) is so bad vpip62, pfr2, cbet 100 flop and Turn. benwi78 (BB) – vpip12, pfr1. I’d really appreciate if you let me know your thoughts, would you call river allin? But I think in that kind of situation – it’s inevitable 🙂

Thanks for sending it in, LTU Maximus!  I was a bit critical, but honesty, being straight-forward and cutting to the chase is my game.

And here’s the replay of the hand to follow along:

http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/view.php/id/7224920

Street by Street

Pre-Flop – gotta come in for a raise, NO OPEN LIMPING (more on this below).  Your limp caused a chain reaction where it’s now a 6-way pot.  You’re relying on hitting a set or a straight to win the pot with so many players.  Give yourself an additional way to win it with fold-equity by opening pre, limiting the players in the hand, and taking it down with well-placed cbets and barrels.

Flop – Your check is just fine on the A63 board, and I assume you were planning on check/folding to any bets.  If anyone bet into 5 other people, he’d most likely have at minimum and Ace.

Turn – Now that you’ve hit your set and have likely the best hand, limit the field with a good sized 3x+ 3bet.  Your call just entices any draw (fd, gs, 2p) to come in behind.

River – You’ve hit the under full-house and folding to the BB bet isn’t an option.  But, I think just calling is best here as he’s displaying strength by betting, so you need to be more cautious here and just call.  A call would’ve netted you a 50bb pot barring any other action.  The way the action went down with these two really passive players committing so many chips, you’ve got to figure you’re beat and just ditch the hand.

Open Limping  in Poker Cash Games

There are so many reasons to come in for a raise in poker cash games, and here are just a few:

  • The best way to profit from weak players is to charge them when they’ve got an inferior hand, and that’s most often pre-flop.
  • Bigger pots = magnified opp errors = more profits.
  • Raising every hand hides the strength of your hand from your opp’s
  • It makes you stick to a strong hand selection pre-flop.  If you’re enticed by T8s, but know you need to raise to come in, you’ll think twice and fold it as you prolly should.

Bottom line: NO OPEN LIMPING IN CASH GAMES

Player Types

I discuss player types a bit, especially Loose Passive and Tight Passive Players.  For more info on this, check out my Poker Player Types Article.  It includes access to an awesome Cheat Sheet for helping you exploit your opponents.

Podcast Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: If you’re a cash game player and you sometimes limp in, DON’T!  If it’s good enough to play, it’s good enough for a raise.  In your next 4 sessions, don’t limp and see how this effects your hand selections and your post-flop play with these, hopefully, tighter/stronger ranges.