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Advanced Shorthand Limit
This section will provide tips to help you in certain
trouble situations in a shorthand-limit game:
- When you're dealt a small pocket pair (7s or less)
Preflop:
- Small pocket pairs work best in a large, multi-way
pot (you're hoping to hit another card of your pair and make trips) or
heads-up. Therefore, your preflop strategy should reflect this. If
you're on the button, one guy has raised and another has folded, your
best strategy would be to shut out the blinds and make it heads up. So
in this case, re-raise. However, if you're the big blind and three other
people have already called the big blind, it's best to just check and
hope to hit a set on the flop.
- Note: Don't use the re-raise to make it heads up
against a very tight player. There's a good chance he has a higher
pocket pair. In these situations, your opponent will basically own you.
For example, you do not want to re-raise when you hold 88 and the other
player holds TT. Thus, the re-raise to make it heads-up move only works
if you think your opponent has two unpaired cards or a lower pocket pair
than you.
On the flop:
- If you're in a multi-way pot, the answer is
simple, fold if you don't hit a set, jam the pot if you do. The only
exception is if you hit a weird flop - like 552 or 666 (and you hold
like 77), in which case, you probably hold the best hand and should jam
the pot.
- If you're heads up, it gets a little trickier. If
the flop is mainly low cards, bet at it. Your opponent probably has
nothing. However, if the flop is AJQ, you're probably toast. You can go
ahead and bet at it (in case he has a low pocket pair too), but if you
encounter any resistance, you must fold.
- Flop bluffs
Flop bluffs work best against one or maybe two opponents.
The method is fairly simple. Suppose you raise it up preflop with KQ offsuit,
and the flop comes A95, well you have nothing, not even a flush draw, but they
may have nothing too. Go ahead and bet at it, you might steal the pot right
there. This is called a continuance bet.
If they just call you. You have a decision. They may have
Ace and a low kicker or they may have like K9. Either case, you're losing. You
should generally check and fold. Do this about 80% of the time. However, you
don't want them to be able to crack your bluffing strategy by just calling you
on the flop and then seeing what you do on the turn. Because of this, I
recommend sometimes slowplaying. For example, suppose you have A9 at this flop,
I'd bet at flop, then check-raise at turn. In other words, you must punish them
for just calling. People should never be allowed to just call with a second best
hand if they hope you're bluffing, they should be forced to raise to see where
they are. If you suspect that they just call you with the second best hand. You
should bet until the river when you have the goods, but not always just
bet/check-fold when you don't. You sometimes should bluff on the turn too (most
of the time don't).
- Slowplaying
I'm not a huge slow player because I like to run flop
bluffs, and flop bluffs are only successful if you actually bet with the goods
at the flop. However, sometimes it's best to just wait and jam the pot. I like
to slowplay in multi-way situations when I really have the goods. For example,
If I have AK and the flop is AK3, turn is A, I have the stone nuts. I'll
generally wait for a bet if I think one will happen and then raise it. In other
words, slowplaying and jamming the pot on the turn will often be very profitable
in multi-way pots, but I don't recommend it in heads up situations. Even in this
AK situation with a AAK3 board, someone with a king may call my bet but will
likely not make a bet himself.
One thing to always remember about slowplaying is that it
is successful when you have a super boss hand and you want to let them develop a
hand that is good but not good enough to beat yours. Slowplaying a set when a
flush draw is on board is not a good idea, because you are allowing them to develop a hand
that can beat yours. You should think, "What can they develop that won't beat me
but will still make them bet so I can raise them." Don't slowplay if you just
have a good hand. Slowplay if you have the boss hand but it won't be paid off
unless something develops on the board that won't beat you but will cause people
to think they can beat you.
- Paired board when you have the third card
This is a trouble situation. Say the board is QQA and you
have AJ. You may have the best hand or you may be toast. However, the situation
is pretty simple. If it's checked around to you, check. After all, what will
people call you with? The only thing people will call you with that can't beat
you is A7 or maybe a pocket pair (few would call though).
So, when you're in this trouble situation, you have to
consider two factors: What will people call you with that won't beat you and
what are the chances they have the trip. The higher the two cards, the much
higher the chance they have the trip. AAJ is far more scary for someone with KJ
than 44J. I would treat the first flop with caution and play it passively, while
the second one I'd bet at it and be fairly aggressive.
Which brings up the question: What do you mean play it with
caution? Well, if someone bet at me with the board AAJ and I had KJ, he may have
QJ, so I'd go ahead and call. But if someone bet, I called, someone else raised,
in the muck they go!
- Play against a maniac
Maniacs can be a real pain in shorthand. However, they are
generally dealt best with by just calling (although raise them if you hold a
very strong hand). They will increase the variance of the game, but you will win
in the long run. For example, one game at the 100-200 at an online poker room, I was
dealt QQ, a nice hand. Anyway, someone calls, maniac raises, I re-raise, maniac
caps and there's one other standard player in the pot. Flop comes AK4. I mean,
this is the worst possible flop for me. Anyway, I bet at it, the standard player
folds (thankfully) and the maniac raises me. Normally, I would fold but this guy
is nuts so I just check call to the river. Anyways, I win. The maniac had 35.
- Don't pay them off
Sometimes, when people are on a flush draw and you have top
pair or top two pair, they will wait for you to bet so they can raise. If you
think they were on a flush draw and then the flush card hits on the river, don't
pay them off. Just check it on the river. Think about the math. If you are in
position and just check the river, you save yourself 2 big bets (4 total bets).
If it's a standard hand, there was probably a raise preflop and bet-calls on
flop-turn. So you put in a total of 5 bets. You literally save yourself about
half the money you would have lost using this technique.
Some Quick Don'ts of Shorthand
- Don't go in with an A-rag if someone else has
already gone in. Chances are, they have either a decent pocket pair, A
and a higher kicker, or something like KQ. Any of these hands are a
favorite against you except for KQ. Also, all of these hands play better
than yours in 3-way situations. Fold.
- Don't play above your bankroll. Shorthand has a
high level of variance. Make sure you can bank many hours of play before
sitting in. You don't want to enter a game, have your aces cracked, and
be broke!
- Don't just play your hand. Always remember what
the other player is thinking. While this isn't quite as important as it
is in no-limit, you have to think about what the other player went in
with and what he is calling/raising with. Don't always bank on that he's
bluffing because most of the time he's not.
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