Want to borrow my Ace King playbook?
You raise preflop and unexpectedly get multiple callers. Now you see a flop and totally miss. Should you c-bet the flop multi-way, even though you have a weak hand? Should you bluff on flops with multiple players? It certainly feels weak to keep check-folding Ace-high and weak pairs, but what goes into making a +EV decision here? Continue reading
Gutshots, also known as ‘inside straight draws’ are just one kind of draw you catch in poker. The typical definition of a gutshot is that you have 4 cards to improve your draw, which is only half of the number of outs you’d have with an open-ended straight draw (OESD).
To visualize this, say the flop is QT6. On such a board, 87 is a gutshot that needs a 9 to improve to a made-straight. And AK is also a gutshot, but it needs a Jack to improve to a made-straight.
Note that gutshots can also have other qualities (for instance, AK has a gutshot straight draw AND two overcards on QT6). And in some cases, a starting hand can actually have a double gutshot (aka a double-belly buster). 98 is a double gutty here since a Jack OR a 7 would make their straight.
In this guide, we are going to look at how to play gutshots through the lens of Ace King. This material comes directly from Chapter 11 “When AK Flops A Gutshot” in the book Optimizing Ace King. So without further ado, let’s get into the strategy… Continue reading
Sets are usually pretty easy to play. Bet them, raise them, and build the pot quickly. But what about the times when the draws complete? What about spots where the board gets ugly?
These “bad” spots can create a “tight is right” mentality – and we want to disprove that mindset ASAP. Let’s explore a single hand, one with bottom set, and see how you SHOULD be playing sets against drawing hands: Continue reading
Today we’re going to look at a hand in which Hero has pocket Aces. Usually playing AA in a 4-bet pot at NL10 is pretty straightforward, but here we get an interesting turn spot as a result of a misclick by Hero. So thanks to Lord Kelvin for sending in this hand, and let’s jump right into it: Continue reading
Two thirds of the time with AK we flop Ace-high and little more, but a fairly common draw with this hand is the broadway gutshot. The following hand was sent in by MiamiConfusion and illustrates some common themes when playing Ace King against a strong range.
MiamiConfusion gives us this information to set up the hand:
It’s early in the morning in NL5 Zoom, your average player is a nit, players don’t like getting to showdown with second best, only some regs bluff often enough for you to call light. Continue reading
Ace King creates more issues for players than seemingly any other hand. Today, we’ll explore the question “can we fold top pair/top kicker with AK postflop?” And to spice it up, we’ll explore it through the lens of a 3bet pot. A special thank you to ‘M’ for sending in this 50NL hand history, and without further ado, let’s see if hero-folding AK makes sense here… Continue reading
Second pair is always tough. It’s pretty strong, it’s ahead quite often, but is it worth a bet? Should second pair always go into your check-behind and try to get to showdown range?
In this hand we’ll explore these questions through the lens of a single hand: King Queen on AQ3. Our hero, Alexander, ends up calling a 3bet and villain checks to him on this board. Much of the discussion is about the flop decision, since that sets the entire hand in motion. So let’s get into it and see what goes into making a strong decision with second pair…
Every poker player has leaks. Some are more obvious than others – but we all have them. Yes, even Phil Ivey has leaks in his game. He just leaks in more refined ways than the fishy calling station at your local card room.
A leak is an area in a poker players game that consistently leaves money on the table. Leaks can be aggressive or passive, but ultimately they are -EV plays that negatively impact a player’s winrate.
Today I want to discuss three of the most common leaks that I see today. These are issues that you can see at just about every table you sit down at. It doesn’t matter if you play cash games or tournaments, live or online.
If you pay attention, you’ll spot these leaks.
But the honest truth is that 98% of players who read this will have some-all of these leaks in their game. Maybe slightly, but they are there.
While reading this, think about the last time you made one of the mistakes. Think about the pots you’ve been giving up on due to these mistakes. And focus on ‘The Fix’ at the end of each leak for a clear way to patch that leak using my new course The One Percent.
Let’s get patching… Continue reading
After months of hard work, my new course The One Percent is finally available! This course has one goal in mind – to arm you with a complete strategy that you can use in any game.
The One Percent takes a frequency-first approach to the game, which may sound scary at first glance, but it’s how the best players visualize and attack poker. This complete series is a companion to the popular book “Poker’s 1%” by Ed Miller, who gave me permission to turn his work into a video series that doesn’t just rehash the content, rather it expands and explains all the subtleties that get lost in the original work.
By the end of this course, you will have a crystal-clear idea of things like:
The goal is not just to flood your brain with the right poker theory. The goal is to help you understand the theory, build a model, AND practice it so you can apply it properly in real-time.
Wondering what is covered? Here is the entire video list for The One Percent… Continue reading
Folding is the least sexy topic in poker. Folding is just so…final. Your cards hit the muck, you concede the pot to your opponent, and you’re off to the next hand.
But the honest truth is that poker players fall into two main categories:
1. Players that fold far too often
2. Players that fold far too rarely
There is a third type of player though. A rare-breed of player that folds a correct amount of the time and keeps their continuance frequency right on track.
That’s the kind of player I want you to become. Continue reading