You are at the flop with a solid hand, now what? Postflop play is the weakest aspect of most poker players’ games. Postflop as preflop knowing who you are playing against and adapting your play to combat them is essential.
In poker, there are 4 different styles of player (tight/loose) + (passive/aggressive). In free online poker micro stakes (.02/.05 blinds), each style of player tends to make certain key errors.
In this free online poker lesson we’ll look at how to exploit the Tight-Aggressive style player.
Methods to combat the Tight-passive (TP) “rock”
These players are pretty common at nanostakes games.
They often limp in as opposed to raising, and while they call as opposed to 3betting (reraising preflop) they don’t play very many hands as a standard.
They’ll rarely raise you postflop without a true nut hand (think sets or better, usually) and won’t call down without hitting a strong piece of the board (typically top pair).
Thankfully, their tendencies also make them simple to play against.
Their ranges are typically limited to pocket pairs and high card hands (KQ, AJ+ for example), so a ton of middling flops (T84r for example) can be cbet basically 100% as we’ll get folds a ton of the time. We should basically be cbetting flops very wide and shutting down on turn/river if called on flop without a good reason for continuing.
Continue betting down after the flop if you have a strong top pair or better. Check down until you improve and then bet with your draws, although you will rarely get value in those spots.
They’re really straightforward – they only raise with the nuts and are folding too often, so we should raise a lot and bet a lot of flops to profit against them.
And keep in mind there are degrees of player styles. Some TAGs are almost LAG, some TPs are almost LPs, etc, so you have to adjust your play to your individual opponents, these player types are just a tool to help you do that.
Unfortunately learning how to identify and then make use of known player styles is hardly an exact science.
Yes, sorry to say, plenty of practice is required though if you really focus on this and keep good game notes it will come faster for you. If you’re new to poker do not risk much or even any cash as you learn. Kick off by playing micro stakes or free online poker games and slowly work your risk levels up.
For the big edition of this article which covers all the player styles and adds some further postflop tips see the free online poker training blog at NoPayPOKER.
Filed under london travel services by on Jan 12th, 2012. 
In this free online poker games lesson you will learn how to manage your bankroll when playing online poker for real money as opposed to free online poker games. The same principles apply to free poker and if you are new to the game then free online poker sites are ideal places to practice bankroll management but the focus here is on cash games where how well you manage your bankroll is the difference between solvent and broke.
Bankroll Fundamentals
Some basics first. Your bankroll is the money you have in your poker gaming account. It’s a fact of poker that now and again you will suffer a series of bad beats, therefore you need to have a bankroll that is big enough, in relative terms to the games you play to keep you afloat and able to play when you get hit by a run of bead beats. At the core of the matter is the need to be realistic about how much you can risk per poker game. It is essential not to risk more than you can afford to lose as that inevitably results in frustration which is turn leads you to lose more.
Bankroll Goals
Growing your bankroll is your main objective. The mistake that some players made is to enroll often in tournaments they cannot really afford. The prize pools in a lot of multi table tournaments are very attractive. If we win, our bankroll rises dramatically but this is rarely the case. You will lose all your bankroll in a short period of time if you don’t follow the rules. Then, with no money you will be stuck doing very small freerolls in order to get back again and that is a long and boring road.
Bankroll Principles
It is recommended to bring only 5% or less of your total bankroll on Cash Game tables and around 2% Buy In or less for tournaments (Sit n Go and Multi-table). If you play the recommended percentage, you will see your bankroll increase more slowly but surely. The mistake of some peoples is to enroll in tournaments beyond their means and where lot of players go away without any gain.
It is impossible to win every time. That’s why when things do not go well at all, it is preferable to stop play for 1 hour and do something else. When you will return, the game may be in your favor. Any negativity must be left aside, there is no place for anger or frustration on a poker table. The other players will know quickly that you are vulnerable and will not hesitate to take advantage of this weakness.
Cash Game:
The main game many play is the Cash table. They can be long duration and boring at times and you will find all styles of player in them. We must know how to adapt to each of these players in hopes of winning out as often as possible. Overall cash games will pay you more money in the long term than tournaments. The important thing is not winning big but winning often.
Even if you only scalp a small win the key is to leave with a profit. In cash games, the funds go up and down slowly, you must be disciplined. Never risk more than 5% of your cash in a cash game. If you want to play on 2 tables, take 2.5% of your funds at most for each table. Playing on more than 2 table is not recommended because you will start to play your cards without real focus on the game of your opponents.
Sit n Go:
Sit n go’s (SNGs) can be good earners when you play the right type. Find tournaments where there are large stacks and the play is normal speed, by this I mean Blinds increase every ten minutes or so. These tournaments will let you see more pre-flop so you can play only the good hands. When the blind goes up quickly (Turbo games), luck becomes a factor more than strategy. In this case, playing bingo would be the same.
Multi-Table:
Multi-table tournaments are tournaments which look attractive but where a lot of players go away without a profit. Luck can sometimes be on your side but it is best not to abuse it because in this kind of tournament as you will learn, your money can go down quickly. The variance (swings of fortune basically) is too high, I advise you not to risk your money on them. Perhaps play them occasionally if you feel luck is with you but just for fun using a little bit, maybe 1%.
Essential Tips:
The first rule is always to have fun. Poker is mainly a game of luck blended with probability, few things are certain. If you have no fun, you better stop for a moment, your money is not going to disappear. It is better to reload emotionally before reloading monetarily. And rehearse your bankroll management on free poker sites and take advantage of all the free online poker coaching you will find there, this can help your massively when you find yourself playing for real cash.
Filed under london travel services by on Aug 11th, 2011.
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