FullTiltPoker

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What to look forward to at Fulltiltpoker.net

• Texas hold'um
• Omaha High
• Omaha hi/lo
• Seven Card Stud
• Seven Card Stud hi/lo
• Limit, no limit, and pot limit

August 15, 2005

In this fulltiltpoker series, I have discussed the subject of blind play, and shared with you the considerations and reasons why you should defend or not- and if you do, how you should continue from there on the later streets. Even though lots of writers don't like to focus on blinds defense (because it is so "personal", and requires "feel" more than anything else), I have done my best to give you some sort of guide map, a reference to rely on when facing the question: should I defend or not? For additional questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at any time.

The jack-seven offsuit is not just a bad hand out of position in a heads up situation; in a multiway pot it is equally bad. This is: a) because you cannot make the nuts, and b) because you are holding cards in the playing range of your opponents- and on top of that, slightly worse. It is for this reason the jack-seven types of hands often have negative implied odds: you are simply more likely to lose money after the flop with these Fulltiltpoker cards, than to win some additional money with them.

Contrary to what most Fulltiltpoker players do, I usually don't even complete my small blind with these cards in unraised pots, let alone I will defend my big blind with it against a raise. Regardless of the situation and whether or not the raiser is likely to have a big Fulltiltpoker hand, if he catches me in the blind with this type of holding, the pot is his.

The Disclpline to Fold a Monster

1. I always treat the aces for what they are: the best possible starting hand in the deck, and I will therefore try to get as much money into the pot with them as possible. Because your opponents will often hope you have ace-king or ace-queen rather than aces, and thus will call you down after the flop with any pair, I think it is best to always bet the hell out of your aces- even though in some cases, like in this example Fulltiltpoker hand, there is something to be said for just calling to make your move later.
2. If players know you are less likely to make this three-bet play with aces or kings, they may call or even raise you with hands like 99 or AQ- hands they might have folded if they figured you for aces or kings. Now, you definitely don't want this to happen. You don't want to be sandwiched between an aggressive player who might bet with anything, and someone behind you who has shown strength, and who may or may not have you beat. You don't want this: you want all the Fulltiltpoker players behind you to simply fold).
3. Because so many situations come up where you would play a hand like ace-queen or even ace-jack as if you had aces (for instance, by three-betting an early raiser who is on your immediate right -and who is known to raise on light values- with a relatively marginal hand like ace-queen offsuit. You three-bet, hoping to get rid of all players behind you to play heads-up, in position, with a hand that figures to be best), because of this I think you should also play your aces like aces, and raise and re-raise with them wherever you can. (Continuing with the AQ / AJ from above.

Having said that, I usually like to play my aces straightforwardly. Because I sometimes play my Fulltiltpoker hands in a manner as if I have aces, I don't think it would be right to do things differently when you finally get them. Your opponents will certainly notice if you are someone who likes to play his premium hands deceptively, so next time you will try to represent aces, they will be less likely to fall for it. Even though quite a few good players I know do things differently than me, I always raise with aces before the flop- in any type of situation, in any position, regardless of the action in front of me.

Well, actually in this case there is something to be said for just calling. After all, your call closes the betting, as there are no players behind you that you will either have to force out, or make pay for the privilege of seeing the flop. So, just calling may allow you to trap your only Fulltiltpoker opponents on the later streets, as he will probably give you credit for all types of Fulltiltpoker hands, but not aces.