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Message: [QUOTE="twizzybop, post: 369733, member: 2990"] Are You One Bet From Greatness? There I sit, staring down a player across the table. There is Jason, a new, but fairly strong player staring right back. I think "Well, Jason is pretty aggressive and has been on tilt lately, so I should probably call his raise." I look down at my pocket 10's once more, and call his large pre-flop raise. The flop comes out 8, J, K. Jason leads out with a medium bet. With two overcards on the table, I know my hand is only marginal. If Jason bets stronger, I would fold. But since he only bet 2X the big blind, I cautiously call, still knowing my 10's are weak. The turn is an Ace, and I am really worried about my 10's. Just about any bet will scare me away from this hand. However, Jason is a novice and meekly checks. Sensing weakness, I place a big bet, he folds, and I win the pot. As I rake in my nice pot, Jason flips over a Jack and says, "I couldn't call with just jacks." I quietly laugh to myself as I think about how easily Jason could have won that pot. Any bet would have scared me away from the pot. Instead, Jason showed weakness and lost the pot. The moral of the story? If you are going to succeed playing poker, you need the "nuts to bet without the nuts." The key to picking up hands from loose players is NOT just placing a single large bet. Instead, if you want to win pots against overly aggressive players, you must be willing to bet before the flop, after the flop, on the turn, and on the river. Remember that bad players will often call a large bet on a draw or with a medium pair. However, few players will call 2 or even 3 large bets with a weak hand. Let's say that a player comes out with a large preflop bet. Then the flop comes A, 9, 10- all spades. Now, the player scales back and only places the minimum bet. I put my opponent on a pair of aces, weak kicker, and no spades. Even if I don't have any spades, I will bet like I do. After I make a medium raise, my opponent reluctantly calls. I know now that he is on the brink of folding. The turn is a 4 of diamonds. My opponent checks. In this position, many players would not lead out with another bet if they don't have the flush. Instead of showing weakness, I lead in with a big bet, representing the flush (or an Ace with a high kicker). My opponent stares me down, looks at his cards, and then folds. I rake in the pot as I throw my scraps to the dealer. If my opponent calls down the line, his Aces will beat my rags. I show weakness and check on 4th street, he will bet big on the river, and I won't be able to call. So, if I don't bet big on the turn, I will lose the hand and a chunk of my stack. The biggest difference between players and wannabees is their ability to make multiple attempts at a pot. When you play poker, you cannot be afraid to lose your chips. As the old saying goes, "The second you try to hold onto your chips, you will surely lose them all." *** I should mention here that there are some circumstances when you should play tight and not bet at a pot. The cardinal rule is simple: never bluff tight players. If your opponent only plays solid hands, chances are that he will be willing to call (or even raise) you all the way down the hand. Also, if there are more than two other players in a hand, don't try to buy it. The odds are too great that someone has a solid hand. Also be wary of bluffing bad players. If a player has shown that he is far too loose with his chips, you should avoid trying to buy pots off him. Finally, don't bet for a pot when you are short-stacked. When you are short-stacked, you cannot afford to lose any significant hand on a bad bluff. When you learn how to properly time your bluff attempts and you are comfortable with placing several large bets on a single hand, you will gain a huge advantage over everyone you play. This advantage will allow you to win more pots, whether you are playing in a friendly home game, at a casino, or in a large tournament. [/QUOTE]

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