Posts Tagged ‘calling station’

Are Win/Loss Limits applicable in Poker?

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

Those who play casino games a great deal are probably used to the concept of setting win and loss limits. With these, players set a predetermined amount of money that they’re willing to win or lose before quitting. For example, assuming your win limit was $50, you’d stop playing upon hitting this amount; if your loss limit was $50, you would quit playing after losing this much money.

Now some players wonder if win/loss limits also apply to poker games. After all, poker is a form of gambling – though it has lots of skill elements – so it only seems logical that win/loss limits would work here too. But the truth of the matter is that you’re much better off with sticking to plain ole’ bankroll management, and we’ll explain why.

It’s all about who you play with

The flaw in quitting a poker session after winning or losing a specific amount of money is that you fail to exploit weak opponents in favorable situations. For example, let’s say that you’re heads-up with a calling station who limps into lots of hands. Going further, let’s say that you manage to hit a win limit of $50 while playing against this terrible opponent. By leaving the table when the calling station still has money, you surrender an excellent opportunity to earn more profits. Obviously, the amount of money you earn shouldn’t be the issue here, but rather who you’re playing against instead.

Focus on Time Played

A better way to decide when you should stop playing online poker is when you’ve reached the point where you’re no longer making profitable decisions. For some people this may be after 2 hours, while others can play poker for 8 hours before they have trouble focusing. The more you play, the better you’ll be able to determine when this point is.

As we alluded to before, your opponents will play a huge part in how profitable your sessions will be. So if you’re stuck on a table full of highly-skilled players, a smart idea would be to jump off the table well before hitting any kind of loss limit. Case in point, focus on your opponents and playing when you’re at peak mental condition.

Value Bet Factors

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

If you’re still getting used to value betting in poker – which involves extracting the most value without making opponents fold when ahead – here are a few factors that will help you get the hang of this concept:

Opponent’s Hand Strength – By putting your opponent on a range during the hand in question, while also knowing something about their previous play, you’ll have a good idea about their hand strength. And the better you think this hand strength is, the higher the value bet you can place since they’ll be less likely to fold.

Opponent’s Assessment of your Hand – The amount of money you make from a hand will all depend on how the other player looks at your holdings. For example, if the other player thinks they have you beat, you can make much bigger value bets. To understand this factor, think about how the opponent would view you based on your previous play.

How Likely the Other Player is to fold – You can get even more value out of a great hand when the opponent is a calling station, or has a very difficult time putting something like top pair down.

Now that we’ve discussed the three big factors of value betting, it’s important to note just how important these factors are. After all, the amount of money you make off of value bets will go a long way to determining your success as a player. And assuming you play a lot of poker each month, your value betting edge could mean a difference of thousands of dollars!

Your experience with the stakes you normally play will be a huge factor in your value betting success, so just be patient and keep picking up on what you’re doing right and wrong when it comes to this concept.