Hey guys! Welcome to another edition of "How Would You Hold'em?"

As usual, click on the link below to see a video recap of the hand, complete with my audio narration.

Today, we're going to deal with a situation I see all of the time online. You've probably seen this happen at tables of any stakes range on Full Tilt or Pokerstars. I would consider this an Intermediate post.

In this hand, we're dealt AK suited on the button, which puts us in awfully strong position. We've got to raise. The person on the big blind calls right behind us:

We miss the flop pretty badly, but because we were the aggressors before the flop, we have to make a continuation bet or appear weak. Plus, he called a raise before the flop, so it's entirely possible that he has high cards too, maybe AQ. We make a decent-sized bet...

And are suddenly slammed by a large raise. You have a decision to make.

I'm addressing this because too many people simply "call" here and wait to see if they get lucky on the next street. This is foolish. If you don't get lucky, chances are that your opponent will make a bet that will force you to fold.

Therefore, what you need to do is decide RIGHT NOW if you have the best hand or not. If you decide you don't, FOLD. If you decide you do, GO ALL IN.

Personally, I'm folding this most of the time. He could have caught a middle pocket pair or something like 10/9 suited and put us on high cards and is pushing us out. Let him do it, or you may find yourself broke by the end of the hand because you couldn't let go of an AK.

AK is a good hand, but in most cases, it's a hand that MUST HIT THE FLOP in order to be a winner.

Alright, guys! If you have any suggestions as to what kind of hands YOU want to see up here, let us know!

Hey guys, welcome to today's edition of "How Would You Hold'em?" As usual, click on the image below to see a video replay, complete with audio narration.

Today's hand deals with a situation that I see pretty often on sites such as Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars, and Ultimatebet. It's a shady, obvious move known as the "minimum raise" or Minraise for short. I would call this a Beginner lesson. Let's say we're playing $1/$2 No Limit Texas Hold'em on the Internet and we get a decent hand in middle position:

I'm going to raise here simply because it's a stronger move, and I feel like I would have more chance to win if I raised rather than called. I'll go around 3 times the big blind. I get one caller, and the flop comes as such:

Now, it looks like we're sitting pretty here, so I'll lead out with a continuation bet of $4.00 and see what happens. My opponent immediately raises the minimum amount, or to $8.00.

This is usually an indicator of great strength. My opponent wants to increase the size of the pot, but he doesn't want to scare me off. Her figures that I'll think "Well, if he bet four then he'll definitely call eight." That would not be the wise move. He probably flopped a set or two pair, and the pot size will get large by the time the last card falls. I think it's a good idea to let your hand go when you are minraised, as it usually turns out to be expensive when all is said and done.

Alright guys! Remember to chime in with suggestions about hands and situations that you want advice on. See you next time!

How Would You Hold'em 1/27/10

Hey guys, welcome to today's edition of "How Would You Hold'em?"

As usual, click on the image below to see a video replay, complete with audio narration.

I see this situation all the time on Full Tilt and Pokerstars. This is pretty basic but a lot of people don't know exactly how to do this, but I would still call this a Beginner post.

In this situation, we're playing $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em online. We're going to cover how to get the most money possible when you flop a virtually unbeatable hand.

We've got K/J off-suit on the big blind, so naturally we're looking to play for free here. The other players allow us to check. Two other players join the hand:

Jackpot! You need to play this VERY SLOWLY, as the chances that anyone has a decent hand based on this flop is low because you've got all of the matching cards in your hand. I will check here and see if anyone bets. The player in position does, but I'm not going to raise him here because I know he doesn't have much:

I'm going to check here again, and see if he slows down. He does. This indicates that you will need to play the next card very carefully:

You need to bet here, lest you risk not making any more money from your monster hand. We can only hope he hit some kind of two-pair and will think that we're weak and bluffing. Because you've been checking the entire time, he/she may think that you missed a draw. Betting the pot or all-in here will immediately result in a fold, and a very small bet won't help your bankroll much. You need to make a believable bet that the other person has a chance of calling. I like to look at the pot and bet 50% to 75% of it. I'll stick to half. Sure enough, the bet is the right size:

My opponent called with two pair, thinking I was weak, when in fact I was playing with a made hand the entire time.

What type of hands would you guys like to see discussed on this blog? Submit some suggestions, and we'd love to select our favorites and use them in posts.

See you next time!

Hey guys! Welcome to How Would You Hold'em, one of the Internet's leading Omaha, No Limit Texas hold'em, and PLO blogs. Click on the link below to view a video of today's hand, complete with my personal audio narration.

Today's hand deals with what to do if we sneak into a hand and flop top pair while facing some questionable bets. I see this situation all the time when playing on Full Tilt and Pokerstars. We're playing 1/2 No Limit Texas Hold'em, and this hand is an Intermediate hand. We'll be in the big blind for this hand, with a mediocre starting hand, J-8 off-suit:

Naturally, we're going to fold if anybody raises, but no one does, so we see some free cards. We hit top pair right away, but we're going to check,as we have two players behind us that had the confidence to call and may have us kicked. The second player (the one in position) bets. This is a suspicious bet. Many people try to steal the pot in this position, and we have top pair, so we're going to call and see if he hits the brakes:

The next card comes a blank, and we're going to check again. He follows with a check. This usually tells me that this player was trying to buy the pot on the flop, and I'm pretty sure I have the best hand:

The river comes. Essentially another blank. I'm going to check one more time because many people in this position take another stab at the pot. He does.

So: How Would You Holdem? Because I'm calling.

Boom! Caught him. He's using a pretty sloppy betting pattern, checking on the turn and then trying it again on the river. That check on the turn tells me that he was scared by my call on the flop, which makes me think that he was trying to buy the pot.

I'll see you guys next time!

Two Pair on the Big Blind with a Weak Kicker

Hey guys! Welcome back to How Would You Hold 'em?
To view today's video (complete with my audio narration) then click on the link below. Click on the bottom right-hand corner to expand to full screen.



Today's edition deals with what to do when you land two pair out of position (with one pair being on the board) and are facing an opponent who confidently three-bets you. Let's take a look:

We're dealt a pretty awful starting hand, Kh 2d, in the big blind. The only way we're calling this is if nobody raises, which they don't. So, we're on our way to the flop.


This is a potential disaster. We've made top two pair, but our kicker looks awful. We check to see what happens, and the player in Seat 6 makes a nominal bet, $1.50. We're going to call to see if he slows down, given the strength of our hand. Let's look at the turn:

It's a blank, and I'm checking again to see what he does. He elevates his bet a little bit and makes it $2.50. Again, I'm going to call and see if he gets discouraged by the river.



It's another blank, and I'm checking again. This time, he comes out with $3.50. The fact that he's confidently continued to escalate his bets, regardless of our calls, seems to indicate that he wants a call here. I don't put him on the six, as I figure he would have checked the flop and played it slow. He must have a higher king, which is bad news for us.

How Would You Hold 'em?

By not holding them at all. His betting suggests that he wants to be called, and if he wants to be called, then don't call him.


Sure enough, he's got a nice little high king. You've just saved $3.50.

Alright guys, see you next time.

1/2 No Limit Hold 'em: Playing middle pocket pairs, part 1

Hey guys.

Click on the link below to watch the video of the this hand, complete with audio commentary. Click on the full-screen button in the l0wer right-hand corner if you have trouble seeing it.



Today's hand deals with what to do when the flop doesn't go quite your way with a pocket pair in position in a 1/2 ring game. Let's take a look:


We've got pocket tens, which is a good starting hand. The player in seat 6 makes a nominal raise of $8.50. We're definitely calling here. Let's see what happens:


Disaster! We have no idea if the jack ruins us, if we're already dead, or if we have the best hand right now. He bets $12.00, which could just be a continuation bet and doesn't mean that he's got us beat right now. We need to make a read and trust our instincts: does he have a higher pocket pair, or does he have a hand like AQ or AK and is trying to get us out of the pot? I'm going to eliminate the possibility of trips or anything like that, or he would have slow-played us. I'm going to think he missed the flop, and see what he does on the next card.


It's a blank, and he checks. It looks like we made the correct move here, because he may be frightened by the possibility that he's betting into a big hand and has slowed down. If he had continued betting here, I might have laid down this hand. The check here, however, tells us that we're good.


The river is more of the same. He's basically putting up a white flag here. Even if he bet, I would still think we had the best hand, but the check seals it.

How Would You Hold 'em?
I'm going to bet $18.00, knowing that I have the best hand. I would make this move in tournaments and in ring games. Sure enough, he folds.

See you next time!

Two Pair on the Big Blind with a Weak Kicker

Hey guys! Welcome back to How Would You Hold 'em?
To view today's video (complete with my audio narration) then click on the link below. Click on the bottom right-hand corner to expand to full screen.



Today's edition deals with what to do when you land two pair out of position (with one pair being on the board) and are facing an opponent who confidently three-bets you. Let's take a look:

We're dealt a pretty awful starting hand, Kh 2d, in the big blind. The only way we're calling this is if nobody raises, which they don't. So, we're on our way to the flop.


This is a potential disaster. We've made top two pair, but our kicker looks awful. We check to see what happens, and the player in Seat 6 makes a nominal bet, $1.50. We're going to call to see if he slows down, given the strength of our hand. Let's look at the turn:

It's a blank, and I'm checking again to see what he does. He elevates his bet a little bit and makes it $2.50. Again, I'm going to call and see if he gets discouraged by the river.



It's another blank, and I'm checking again. This time, he comes out with $3.50. The fact that he's confidently continued to escalate his bets, regardless of our calls, seems to indicate that he wants a call here. I don't put him on the six, as I figure he would have checked the flop and played it slow. He must have a higher king, which is bad news for us.

How Would You Hold 'em?

By not holding them at all. His betting suggests that he wants to be called, and if he wants to be called, then don't call him.


Sure enough, he's got a nice little high king. You've just saved $3.50.

Alright guys, see you next time.