Floating* There's no simple fix for becoming a winning poker player but there are a handful of simple, easy-to-execute

poker moves that can make a world of difference to yo ur bottom line. By fine-tuning these tactics you'll have more tools to put to work at the poker ta ble. You'll be able to better understand your opponents and how to manipulate them , and that will translate directly to money in your pocket. We already wrote the book on the 10 Essential Texas Hold'em Moves and now we're back to bring you 10 more. Today we're talking about floating the flop, a move that can turn your opponents continuation bets against him. By just calling your opponent's bet on the flop, yo u'll be in a perfect spot to take the pot away when he shows weakness on the turn. The float is an intermediate poker move that requires a strong understanding of the players you're up against but if you can master it you'll be able to win more po ts post-flop, regardless of the cards you're holding. The What: At its most basic, floating the flop refers to calling a bet on the fl op with the intention of betting and taking down the pot when your opponent chec ks to you on the turn. The Why: Floating the flop is a move used to defend against the continuation bet . Because players routinely continuation bet with a wide range of hands, you sho uldn't be surrendering every time someone does it. But instead of simply raising t he flop, floating allows you to pick up more information on the turn before maki ng your move. The Who: You should only be floating the flop against tight-aggressive players w ho do a lot of preflop raising and continuation betting. The When: You should only be floating the flop when you are in position. The Where: Floating the flop is a powerful poker move that can be used in all fo rms of Texas Hold'em but because it requires two streets of action it lends itself more to deep-stacked games. Floating the Flop the Right Way Floating the flop is a bluffing technique so it's important to understand what you'r e doing and why you're doing it to avoid burning money. To make it crystal clear, you are only technically floating when you believe you r cards are worse than your opponent's. If you believe you have the best hand then you would be calling the flop and betting the turn for value. Tom Dwan Like most poker moves, floating works better when youre in position. And because you're bluffing, the conditions have to be just right to give yourself the biggest chance of success. Here are the three most important factors to consider when you're thinking about f loating the flop and betting the turn. Only float when you're in position. Only float when you're in a heads-up pot. Only float against tight-aggressive players who continuation bet frequently

and are able to make laydowns when shown strength. It's important to be in position when you float the flop because you need that ext ra piece of information your opponent will give you on the turn. Because your opponent will be continuation betting with good hands as well as ba d hands, when he checks to you on the turn you'll have one more clue that he's got a ir. If he does bet the turn instead of checking, you need to reevaluate your pla n. It's also only advisable to float the flop and bet the turn when you're in a heads-u p pot. More players mean more variables and a worse chance of succeeding with a bluff. Floating is about telling your opponent a story, one that involves you calling t he flop because you have a legitimate hand. In a multi-way pot your call on the flop doesn't mean as much and your story will be less believable when you bet the turn. Advanced Strategy Tip If your opponent throws a wrench into your plans by betting the turn, all may no t be lost. Many aggressive players won't give up and check/fold fourth street. The y'll fire a second barrel as a bluff to try to blow you off your hand. If you think you're up against a tough, very aggressive player, you should conside r raising the turn. Calling the flop and raising the turn is an extremely strong line and will usually force a good player to quickly lay down marginal hands. This is an advanced move and should only be made with a very strong understandin g of your opponent and his or her behavior. Only Float Against Tight-Aggressive Players Making sure you have position and only one opponent are important factors, but y ou must also consider the type of player against whom you are going to float. Floating does not work against a player that only raises preflop and continuatio n bets with premium hands, for obvious reasons. Floating also does not work against a loose/passive calling station who will fre quently call your turn bet with marginal hands. Look for tight-aggressive players who raise a lot in position preflop and follow it up with a continuation bet a high percentage of the time. These players will be showing up with air a lot, and check-folding to you when you bet the turn. It's much more difficult to float successfully against tough, hyper-aggressive pla yers, however. Try to find players who fire one continuation bet but tend to shu t down on the turn when they don't have a hand. Floating the Flop in Action If you're still not convinced about the efficacy of floating the flop and betting the turn, let Phil Ivey show you how it's done like only Phil Ivey can. In this video Ivey breaks one of our golden rules by floating in a mutli-way pot , and he does it not once but twice. Ivey calls two big bets with seven-high and manages to take the pot away when Pa trik Antonius checks on the river. This hand doesn't even come close to following the easy-to-execute formula we presented above so consider it something to which you can aspire.

Set-Mining*

Today we're talking about set-mining, one of the most straight-forward ways to mak e money in No-Limit Texas Hold'em. By playing low and medium pocket pairs with the sole goal of flopping a set, you can take a ton of guesswork out of your post-f lop game. The What: Set-mining is the practice of playing pocket pairs solely for the purp ose of hitting a set. By calling a small raise before the flop you can win big p ots from players when you flop three of a kind. The Why: Set-mining is effective because three of a kind is usually the best han d on the flop, and stands a good chance of being the best hand at showdown. Sets are also very well disguised so you'll win big pots against premium pocket pairs, strong stop-pair and two-pair hands. The When: Set-mining can be used in any deep-stacked Texas Hold'em game, cash or t ournament, but it's most commonly used in cash games since stacks are generally mu ch deeper than tournaments. The Where: Like most poker moves, set-mining works best when you're in position. L ook for early position opening raises and just call pre-flop with your small and medium pocket pairs. By taking advantage of your position you'll be able to make more profitable decisions post-flop. Set-mining Done Right The single most important concept you need to understand in order to set-mine ef fectively is implied odds. Phil Ivey Because it is so disguised, only the best players are able to spot a flopped set . Because you're only going to flop a set one in eight times it's critical that when y ou do hit three of a kind, you get paid off. Implied odds are a way of understan ding what you stand to win if you hit your hand. An extension of pot odds, implied odds take into account money that's not yet in t he pot, but can be expected to be put in on later streets. Lets take a closer look at the mechanics of implied odds and how they relate to set-mining. The Math of Set-Mining and Implied Odds To illustrate the concept of implied odds, lets look at a simple example: You're in the big blind in a $1/$2 game and the player under the gun raises to $10 . It folds to you and you look down at pocket deuces. Both you and the initial r aiser have stacks of $300. We can use implied pot-odds to help figure out whether we should call the raise and try to flop a set. Because you're out of position and unlikely to get to showdown unimproved let's assu

me you're only going to win the pot when you flop three of a kind. You have to call $8 to win $21. That means that in terms of direct pot odds, you'r e getting less than 3 to 1 on the call. Since you only flop a set one in eight t imes it's clearly not a profitable call, unless you take implied odds into account . Chips When set-mining it pays to go after the big stacks. Because your opponent raised from under the gun it's likely he has premium cards, and because he'll be in position for the rest of the hand it's very likely he'll be pu tting more money into the pot on later streets. That means that when you do flop a set you'll almost certainly be winning more tha n the $21 that went into the pot preflop. That extra money that will be added on later streets represents your implied odd s and if it outweighs the 8 to 1 odds you've got on hitting your set then the call will be profitable in the long run. So in order to profitably call $8 pre flop, you have to win, on average, $64 fro m your opponent. The deeper the stacks the more likely youll be able to get the implied odds you need to call. Three Keys to Successful Set-Mining Just like every poker move there's an endless list of variables that can affect th e outcome of a hand. But if you can master these three bullet points you'll be well on your way to maki ng money by playing your pocket pairs for set value. You Have to be Deep-Stacked to Set-Mine: Because you're only going to flop a s et about one out of eight times, you have to make sure you're making enough money when you hit. Set-Mining Works Best against Loose and Aggressive Opponents: A loose and/or aggressive player is more likely to put money in the pot with a wider range, gi ving you better implied odds for paying preflop to give your pocket pairs a chan ce to flop a set. It's Better to Set-Mine in Position: Just like most poker moves, set-mining wo rks best when you're in position. When you get to see what your opponent does befo re you make a decision you'll be able to extract more money when you hit a set. Set-Mining in Action If youre still unconvinced about the power of set-mining check out the clip bel ow. In this hand the great Tony G wins a $206,000 pot from Hoyt Corkins by just call ing with pocket sixes preflop, and hitting three of a kind on the flop.

Reverse call* Today we're talking about the reverse tell, sometimes called a false tell. It's a mo ve that can disorient your opponents and make it a lot harder for them to make t he right decision.

By mastering the reverse tell you can trick your opponents into mucking when the y have the best of it and shoveling their chips into the middle when they're crush ed. The What: A form of misinformation, reverse tell refers to a deliberate behavior or action intended to make your opponent(s) think they've picked up information a bout your hand. The Why: There are many common tells that poker players look for. By imitating t hese tells in the right spot you can influence your opponent's thought process. The Where: For a reverse tell to be successful your opponent needs to be paying attention, so this move will only work against experienced, thinking players. The When: The most common time you can use a reverse tell is when you have made a big bet or raise and your opponent is deciding whether to call or fold. Reverse Tells for Beginners The essence of a reverse tell is about being able to influence your opponent's beh avior, by feeding him false information. Daniel Negreanu Anyone whos good at spotting tells is susceptible to the reverse tell. If you know your opponent has been reading Joe Navarro's Read `Em and Reap, for exam ple, you can take advantage about what he's learned about poker tells. Navarro suggests that people tend to get closer physically to their cards and ch ips when they have a strong hand, and farther away when they're weak. Next time you're bluffing all-in and your opponent looks like he's having a tough ti me making a decision, lean into the table and cozy up to those cards like they're your two best friends. Advanced Reverse Tells The next level of reverse tells involves setting up your opponents over the cour se of a session or sessions. By making sure the other players take note of a certain behavior or tell, you ca n use that behavior at an opportune time to force a mistake. For example, every time you pick up a monster hand and are value-betting or rais ing, make sure to completely change the topic of conversation, as if to draw att ention away from the hand. If you think your opponent has picked up on it, do the same the next time you're r unning a big bluff. The reverse tell isn't foolproof, but poker is full of times when players are torn between calling or folding in a tough spot. Sometimes all they need is a nudge in the right direction. Five Most Common Tells You Can Reverse For every common tell there's a simple reversal. If the tell normally means you're holding a monster hand, do it when you're bluffing and give your opponent another reason to fold. If the tell usually indicates air, make sure to break it out when you're betting o r raising with the nuts.

Phil Hellmuth If someone hits the flop hard theyll often look away. Here are the top five tells you can reverse: Strong is Weak, Weak is Strong: Most people believe that when a player is ho lding a strong hand, they're most likely to act weak in order to confuse their opp onent. The reverse is true of someone bluffing. Throwing out bets forcefully, st aring down your opponent and speaking with inflated bravado are just some of the ways players act strong. A Shaky Hand Means a Monster: Many players, especially beginners, will be mo re nervous when they're holding a monster hand than when they're bluffing. Hence the idea that when someone's hand is shaking and jittery when they put out a bet, the y've probably got the nuts. Staring at or Looking Away from the Flop: Similar to the `Strong is Weak' idea, when a player looks at the flop and then quickly looks away it indicates he like s what he sees and is attempting to look uninterested. When a player is staring at the flop for a long time it usually indicates he has missed. Glancing at Chips: When a player quickly looks at their chips after seeing t he flop, it usually means they connected with it somehow. Nonsensical Conversation: If a players is normally very smooth in their conv ersation and begins to speak nonsensically or clumsily when involved in a massiv e hand, it's usually means they're bluffing.

Light 3-bet* Today we're talking about the light three-bet. This is another way to pick up pots , even when you don't pick up a big hand. By incorporating light three-betting into your preflop repertoire you'll not only exploit loose open-raises, you'll also balance your range to help you get paid off when you do pick up premium cards. The What: Light three-betting refers to putting in a re-raise before the flop wi th hands that are probably worse than the opening raiser's hand. The When: Try to identify and attack loose players who are open-raising too ofte n. The Where: When you're three-betting light you're going to be in one of two spots, e ither re-raising in position, or from the blinds. It's important to understand bot h scenarios. Tom Dwan All great players are able to three-bet with a wide range of hands. The Why: Loose players who raise too much before the flop can be exploited becau se they'll be forced to fold a lot of their marginal hands to a three-bet. Light Three-Betting Done Right To make things easy, just think about a light three-bet as a semi-bluff. You're raising with a hand that, while not the best hand at the moment, has fold e quity and can become the best hand on later streets. Because one of the first things poker players learn is to be more aggressive, yo

u'll encounter a ton of players open-raising too much before the flop. Once you're able to identify these players you can exploit them by putting in a re -raise, even if you don't have the cards to back it up. It's important to remember, however, that you must harness the power of the light three-bet or it could quickly become a big leak. The biggest risk for beginner players is not understanding how to play the hand post-flop when your opponents do call. Don't let the hand get away from you by automatically firing a continuation bet an d multiple bullets on later streets. One way to deal with this is by only three-betting very good hands, and very mar ginal hands with good flopability. Pro Tip: Polarize your three-betting range to make things easier post-flop By staying away from hands like weak aces and big paint cards, you'll be faced wit h easier decisions later in the hand, and you'll cut down on times when you do flo p something, but are dominated. Good Hands to 3-Bet Light Patrik Antonius Put your chips to work for you. Just because you're widening your three-betting range, doesn't mean you should be re -raising every hand willy-nilly. Going back to the analogy of the semi-bluff, you want to choose hands that have a good chance at becoming the best hand on the flop or on later streets. Small pocket pairs are great hands to three-bet since sets are going to be the b est hand the vast majority of the time. The same goes for small and medium suited connectors. And as we discussed before, when you miss the flop with hands like these, you're l ess likely to get dragged into a big pot holding the worst hand. Light Three-Betting Balances Your Range Balancing your range is a fancy way of saying that just because you're raising pre flop, it doesn't mean you have a premium hand. If you're only three-betting with aces and kings your opponents will catch on, and it will be impossible to get paid when you do pick up a monster. By raising with premium hands as well as speculative hands, you have a more bala nced three-betting range. Imagine you've three-bet light with 8 9 and ended up making a flush on the turn. Whe n you show down that winning hand your opponents will take note that you three-b et with a marginal hand. Then when you do pick up aces, they'll be much more likely to pay you off.

Semi-bluff* Today we're explaining the Semi-Bluff, a move that can dramatically change how muc h money you make from your flopped and turned draws. Instead of banking on your card coming in, learn to take control of the hand and take down the pot even whe n you miss. The What: Semi-bluffing, at its core, is simply betting or raising with a draw. It's not considered a `pure' bluff because you have a hand with good potential to impr ove on the turn or river. By betting or raising you're giving yourself two ways to win. You might hit your draw to make the best hand, or you could win the pot un contested when your opponent folds. The When: Just like the majority of poker moves, the Semi-Bluff works best when you're in position. Because a successful semi-bluff relies so heavily on fold equi ty, it's only effective when your opponent has a high probability of folding. The Where: The Semi-Bluff can be used in virtually every poker variant and forma t, as long as there is a draw or multiple streets of action. Tom Dwan Learn to semi-bluff and pretty soon youll be making this face too. The Why: Semi-bluffing combines the equity in your draws and the fold equity gai ned by the times your opponent folds and you win the pot uncontested. It also ba lances your betting and raising ranges Semi-bluffing mixes up your play, making it difficult for your opponent to deter mine whether you're bluffing or betting a made hand. Semi-Bluffing Done Right Because you flop draws relatively often it's important to know when a semi-bluff i s appropriate, and when it's going to cost you hard-earned money. The key point to remember is that with semi-bluffing you've got two kinds of equit y: Pot equity and fold equity. Pot equity refers to the portion of the pot to which you're entitled based solely on the strength of your cards. If you've got a flush draw on the flop and there's $1 00 in the pot your pot equity is roughly $35, because you're going to hit your flu sh about one out of three times. Fold equity refers to the value you get when your opponent folds and you win wha t's in the pot without having to hit that flush draw. So, naturally, the more of either type of equity you have, the more money you're g oing to make with your semi-bluffs. Pot equity is easy to calculate. Click through to our strategy lesson on the sub ject and learn to calculate your pot equity. The more pot equity you have, the less fold equity you need, since you'll be winni ng the pot by making the best hand more often. Understanding your fold equity, however, is more difficult. There's no simple form ula to follow but there are a few key factors that must be considered. Is Your Opponent Tight or Loose? Is He a Calling Station? Fold equity implies the possibility of your opponent folding so it's not going to

work when you're up against a calling station married to two overcards or bottom p air. William Reynolds "Yes, those two cards there. Fold them now." Target weak/tight players that you know you can push off marginal hands. Board Texture and Table Image Pay attention to the texture of the flop and the hands you consider your opponen t capable of having. The wider your opponent's range the more fold equity you have , since he'll be dumping all his air hands without thinking twice. If your opponents have seen you semi-bluff a lot of flush draws consider your cr edibility on a flop like A 5 2 . Start weighting your behavior more towards value-be tting made hands on these kinds of boards. Pay Attention to How the Board Develops Convincing your opponent to fold is the chief goal when semi-bluffing and in tha t way it's identical to pure bluffing. And just like when you're bluffing with air, the cards that fall on the turn and river are critical to your chances of succes s. Big cards, preferably overcards to the board, are good cards to see when you wan t to semi-bluff. You want cards that weaken your opponent's perceived range and st rengthen yours. Overcards on the turn and river are especially good to bluff at because players' f lop-calling range consists of so many top and middle pairs. For a more detailed explanation click through to our article on firing one, two or even three barrels.

Reading* Today we're explaining the truth about soul reads. What might look like a supernatural deduction akin to a fortune teller gazing in to a crystal ball is actually a well-thought-out series of observations that lea d to the correct decision. We'll show you how to make those big call downs with ace-high or bottom pair. It'll not only impress the other players in the game, it'll make you more money too. The What: When people talk about making a soul read they're referring to making a correct, yet very difficult decision, and doing it with a confidence that goes a bove and beyond the available info in the hand. The When: The big call or the huge fold might be the hallmark of the soul read b ut really it's a process that's been going on from the very beginning of the hand. I t begins as soon as you start assembling the pieces of the puzzle. The Where: Soul reads can be made at any time in any poker game. When you nail y our opponent on exactly what he's holding and why he's making certain actions, you a re reading his soul. The Who: To make a true soul read you need to know your opponent inside and out.

What seems like an impossible deduction to the rest of the table is often possi ble because of what you know about your opponent and the history you've shared. Daniel Negreanu Daniel Negreanu is renowned for his ability to put players on hands. Soul Reads Done Right Understanding how to read souls is especially important because it relies on one of the most important skills in poker: Observation. Poker is a game of information, and the winners are the ones who collect the mos t and assemble it the best to make correct decisions. You must observe everything your opponents do, whether you're in the hand or not. Seeing how someone plays their draws or how they behave when they flop the nuts is crucial to making that huge read when it really counts. When you can make observations and compare that data to what you already know ab out your opponent's playing tendencies, you're ready to take the first step towards soul-reading. You Must Read Hands Before You Can Read Souls The easiest way to think about hand-reading in poker is to break down all possib le hands into broad groups. Those groups are called ranges. A range of hands contains all the card combinations with which a player would ma ke the same actions. For example, bottom set and top two pair are both strong hands and would fall in to most players' value-betting ranges. Ace-high and complete air, meanwhile, would be found in their bluffing ranges. Remember, different players have different ranges. Top pair is enough for some p layers to get their whole stacks in with, while a good player would have no trou ble laying down two-pair in the right spot. Hands can be broken down into four basic ranges: Monster Hands and the Nuts: These are hands that your opponent deems strong enough to bet or raise with, and has no problem getting all-in with. For most pl ayers a set or better is a monster. Made Hands with Showdown Value: These are top-pair type hands that your oppo nent believes stand a strong chance of being the best hand but are probably not strong enough to play for stacks. Draws: Flush draws, open-enders and combo draws that have a good chance of b ecoming the best hand but are not yet made. Bluffs and Air: Hands that have no chance of winning at showdown. Phil Ivey Phil Iveys the only person we know who literally looks into peoples souls to s ee what theyre holding. Once you can reliably put your opponent on a range you'll be able to make vastly s uperior decisions at the poker table. Questions You Should Ask Yourself There's no shortcut to perfect hand-reading but there are a number of basic questi ons you should always be able to answer.

Ask yourself these questions when you're deciphering your opponent's actions: What kind of player is he? Is your opponent loose or tight? Passive or aggre ssive? Is he playing too many hands? The easiest way to tell if someone's loose or ti ght is to watch how often they're putting money in the pot. If someone is playing more than 20% of hands it's safe to say they're on the loose side. Is he calling or betting/raising? If a player is constantly playing hands bu t you can't remember the last time they bet or raised, it's safe to label them a pas sive calling station. If a player is always taking the lead with bets and raises , label them aggressive. What position is he in? Position is huge in poker and most people know it. T he later the position the wider the range. The reverse is also true so give more respect to raises coming from early position.

Stop n go* There are a handful of special moves that, when mastered, can make the differenc e between winning a little and winning a lot. In this ten-part beginner poker strategy series we're going to show you exactly ho w to use these powerful poker moves to make more money. Today we examine the Stop and Go, a move that will disorient, confuse, and ultim ately break even the toughest of competition. The What: At its most basic the Stop and Go consists of just calling a preflop r aise while out of position with the intention of betting (usually all-in) on the flop no matter what cards come. The Where: The Stop and Go is a tournament move that can be used effectively in MTTs and SNGs. The most common scenario involves calling from the blinds against a late-position opening raiser. The When: This move is best used when short-stacked, with between five and ten b ig blinds. The Why: The objective of the Stop and Go is to make your opponent throw away ha nds on the flop that he would have called with if you shoved pre-flop, therefore increasing your chances of winning the hand and staying alive in the tournament . The Stop and Go Done Right The Stop and Go is a powerful move you need to add to your shortstack tournament strategy repertoire. Picture this: You're in the big blind, holding A-J with a 10,000 stack at 600/1,20 0 with a 100 ante. It's folded to the button who puts in a raise to 3,600. The sma ll blind folds and you're faced with a decision. Do you move all-in now, just call , or fold? Even if you're holding a premium hand like A-K, there's good reason to just call. Day 1B The stop and go will increase your chances of survival when stuck on the shortst ack.

If you move all-in, the button will have to call 6,400 to win over 20k, which me ans he's priced into calling with basically anything. In fact, most good players w ill already have taken note of your short stack and will only raise if they're wil ling to call your shove. Because your A-K is going to lose to two random smaller cards about 35% of the t ime, you're better off taking down the pot uncontested. Since that's unlikely to hap pen by just shoving preflop, you need to take another approach. That's where the Stop and Go comes in. Call preflop with the intention of moving all-in for 6,400 regardless of the car ds that come down. When you bet all-in on the flop, your opponent is faced with a much tougher deci sion. Two random cards are going to miss the flop about two thirds of the time. First of all he will fold a lot of hands he would have been right to call with p reflop. Let's look at the hand from before. If your opponent had a hand like pocket threes he's going to be looking at overcar ds on the flop, and will have a harder time calling than he would have preflop. If he called with a hand like K-Q and the flop came T-8-5, he's also faced with a tough decision. By just calling before the flop you not only stand a better chance of winning th e pot uncontested, you force your opponent into tough spots where they can make mistakes.

Triple-barrel* Today we cover the triple-barrel bluff, the gunslinger of poker tactics. Blow ho les in your opponent's defenses by firing bluff bullets on every street, forcing t hem to lay down the best hand. The What: The bones of a triple-barrel bluff involves making bets on each and ev ery street, usually after taking control of the hand by being the pre-flop aggre ssor. The When: While a triple-barrel bluff can be effective against all but the bigge st calling stations, it's a move usually reserved for tougher, thinking opponents. In order to three-barrel bluff effectively you need to be acutely aware of the story you're telling in the hand, and your opponent's ability to follow the plot. The Where: In order to triple-barrel bluff effectively you need enough chips to make increasingly large bets on the flop, turn and river. This means the move on ly works in deep-stacked situations. Forget about triple-barreling if you're sitti ng in an online poker MTT with 20 big blinds. The Why: A big part of succeeding in poker involves winning pots when your hand is worse than your opponent's and no move in poker tells a more convincing story t han a well-executed three-barrel bluff. Not only can you get players to throw aw ay mediocre hands that beat you, you can trick them into mucking hands that have you absolutely crushed. Triple Barrel Bluffing Done Right

Firing three barrels as a bluff is something you should incorporate into your ga me because it will not only win you money when you don't have a hand, it will also help balance your range and get you paid off when you bet every street with the nuts. MG1629ViktorBlomEPT7MADNeilStoddart3 Every successful pro knows when and where to triple-barrel bluff. But if done willy-nilly, without understanding why you're three-barreling, it can become a serious leak. Because we're assuming these concepts are new to you we're going to keep it simple a nd focus on easy ways to decide whether it's appropriate to keep firing at a pot. Fire the Flop Even beginners know that being the aggressor pre-flop is important, but things c an get tricky when deciding whether to continuation bet. Because all three-barre l bluffs begin with the continuation bet, it's crucial to understand what kind of boards you can continuation bet profitably. Since we're talking about three barrel bluffs, and not value-betting three streets , we'll assume you miss the flop. The most basic way to look at flops is whether they are coordinated or not. A fl op like J T 7 is a lot easier to connect with than something like K 8 2 . Look for dry uncoordinated flops to continuation bet. Also consider that as the preflop aggressor opponents will weight your range tow ards big cards, while their range may be weighted more towards medium cards and smaller pocket pairs. Look for flops that match your perceived range and miss yo ur opponent's. Trigger-Pull the Turn Deciding whether to continue firing on the turn is crucial, and it's all about how the board develops. Phil Ivey Its important to understand what turn and river cards are good for barreling. The whole idea is to fire at cards that improve your perceived range, and hurt y our opponent's. Again, look for high cards, preferably higher than the high-card o n the flop. Cards that are bigger than the second highest card on the flop are a lso great second-barrel cards. A huge part of your opponent's flop-calling range is middle pairs and top pairs. A ny big cards make those hands more vulnerable. Cards that pair the board are generally bad boards at which to fire a second bar rel. Long-Rifle the River After three streets of betting, correctly sizing your third bullet is especially important to your bottom line. Remember the concepts we went over on the turn and take it one step further. Big cards, preferably overcards to the board, are good for triple-barreling, while cards that complete draws are not. Another thing to think about is the development of the board on the turn. Often your opponent will be calling with middle or top pair on the flop and pick up so

me sort of extra draw on the turn that allows him to continue in the hand. If the turn put a bunch of draws on board, but the river missed them, consider a third barrel.

Bluffing* Today we're explaining the bluff catcher. We'll show you how, against the right oppo nents, even marginal hands like ace-high and bottom pair can make you big money on the river. The What: The term `Bluff Catcher' is exactly what it sounds like: A hand that, whil e not super powerful, is good enough to beat your opponent when he's bluffing. It's a hand that's not strong enough to value bet, and not strong enough to beat your o pponent's value-betting range, but has showdown value against bluffs. The When: Generally when people talk about bluff catchers they're referring to cal ling the final bet on the river. The Where: Bluff catchers are most commonly found in bluffing games like No-Limi t Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha but the concepts involved are useful in any poker ga me. Tom Dwan Players like Tom "durrrr" Dwan would rather you didnt read this article. The Why: By exploiting players who bluff too much you can turn mediocre hands th at you'd usually be folding into money-makers. Bluff Catching Done Right The most important part of using this poker power move is understanding when you'r e holding a bluff catcher hand, and whether the conditions are right to call tha t bet on the river. Like so much in poker, the right decision depends entirely on what you know abou t your opponent. You must understand his value-betting range, and his bluffing frequency. You mus t understand his behavior. By definition a bluff catcher is a hand that's behind your opponent's entire value-b etting range. So because you can only win against a bluff, it's paramount to be ab le to spot players and situations where bluffing is common. Quite simply, the bluff catcher will never work against someone who never bluffs . To Catch a Bluff, There Must be a Bluff At a table of ABC/TAG players you might as well forget about bluff catchers and focus on getting value out of your big hands. But if you're up against tricky, agg ressive grinders you'll be leaving a ton of money on the table by folding everythi ng except the nuts. Because good players understand that holdings are rarely bulletproof, they're goin g to try to exploit you by firing missed draws, third barrels and straight-up bl uffs on the river.

To use the bluff catcher effectively you have to identify players who are doing this too much, and exploit them by calling with the hands they're trying to make y ou fold. Against the right player, in the right situation, calling a river bet with ace-h igh will make you a fortune over your poker career. In short, you're looking for overly aggressive players that bet and raise more tha n they should. The Math of the Bluff Catcher Lex Veldhuis Lex Veldhuiss only natural enemy is the bluff catcher. The easiest way to think about the math behind a bluff catcher is to put it in t erms of pot odds and equity. Usually when you're calculating expected value you're comparing pot odds and your pr obability of winning a hand by hitting a draw. But since a bluff catcher can only win when your opponent is bluffing, you can s ubstitute his bluffing frequency for the probability of hitting your draw to see whether you're making a profitable call. Let's look at an example to make that point a bit more clear: It folds to the button in a $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em cash game and he raises to $8. The small blind folds and you call with A 3 . Pot = $17 The flop comes down 9 8 Pot = $37 You both check the 2 on bets $20. on the turn, and the 2 hits the river. You check and the butt 3 and you check-call a $10 bet.

Your hand only beats air so if he's got a pair or better you're sunk. Should you mak e the call? To find out whether the call will be profitable in the long run you need to figu re out the pot odds, and compare that to your opponent's bluffing frequency in thi s spot. You have to call $20 to win $57 so the pot is laying you 2.85 to 1 on the call. If you believe your opponent's river bet is a bluff 50 percent of the time you mus t call, since your odds against winning are 2 to 1, and the pot is offering you a better than 2 to 1 price. While putting an exact number on bluffing frequency is impossible, you must do e verything you can to understand your opponents' tendencies and behaviors in common river-betting spots. If you can identify the spots when they're bluffing too much, you're in the right po sition to pick them off with a weak hand you may otherwise have folded. The most crucial skill to master in poker is the ability to put your opponent on

a range and that includes knowing when he's bluffing and when he's value-betting. The more accurately you can estimate the probability that your opponent is bluff ing, the more money you'll be able to make by being there to catch him.

Squizze* Today we're looking at the squeeze play, a move that can increase your winrate reg ardless of what cards you're holding. By leveraging a few key concepts and using y our understanding of your opponents' playing tendencies, we'll show you how to squee ze every cent of out of your poker sessions. The What: The squeeze play is a bluffing opportunity arising when a loose player raises before the flop and another loose player calls behind him. The Squeeze com es in when you put in a big three-bet and blast both of them off the pot. The Why: Because a loose/aggressive player will often be opening with a wide ran ge of hands, and the second player will be calling with a very wide range to see a cheap flop, neither one has a hand that can stand up to a big three-bet. The Who: Look for loose/aggressive opening raisers who are opening too often, an d weaker, passive players who are calling to see cheap flops. Tom Dwan Look for aggressive players opening, and loose players calling. The Where: Squeeze plays can be used in tournaments and cash games but they're onl y effective in big-bet games like No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha. In Limit g ames you can't raise enough to force your opponents to fold. Squeeze Plays Done Right At its core the squeeze play relies on the opening raiser's loose table image, and the calling player's awareness of that image. Just picture it like this: Player A (Raiser): Has a loose table image and a wide open-raising range. Player B (Caller): Is aware of Player A's loose image and has a wide calling range because of it. You have to identify the right combination of loose open-raising and loose flatcalling to get a high percentage of folds. But that's not all that goes into a successful squeeze play: Raise Big Your squeeze play has to be big enough to force your opponents to fold mediocre hands. Your squeeze raise should be at least five times the initial ra ise. Less Players Behind You is Better ew as possible players still to act e likely someone's going to wake up ill to act are tight and not likely Ideally you want to squeeze when you have as f behind you. The more players to act, the mor with a hand. It's also helpful if the players st to call light.

Your Credibility and Table Image How you've been playing and what your opponents k

now about you will affect how light they're willing to call off. The tighter you've been playing the better. All-In Squeeze Plays in Tournaments One of the places you'll see this move most often is when people squeeze all-in du ring a tournament. There are two big reasons this is the easiest and most effective place to squeez e. Rajesh Vohra Squeeze plays are a powerful tool to have in your repertoire. No Post-Flop Play Since you either get called or you don't, it takes the guesswork out of playing three-bet pots after the flop. Added Strength If your opponents are calling for their tournament lives they wil l fold a wider range of hands. All-in tournament squeezes still rely on a loose raiser and a loose caller, but there's another set of variables you have to consider. The size of your chip stack, your opponents' stacks and the blinds all have to ali gn to make this kind of squeeze play truly effective. Just like all squeeze plays you need to have enough chips to force your opponent s to fold, but in tournaments your all-in has to make sense in relation to the b linds as well. Look for spots where you have roughly 15 big blinds. In most situations any less than that and you'll be giving your opponents too good a price on a call.