No-Limit Beginner's Course with confidant91 [2017 edition]

Originally posted by Arnusen
I assume its all about the implied odds you have with set-mining.

Yes I believe so - they have to have a big enough pot to win due to the % of times we win to make it +EV (something like that anyway).

What about the raise is reraised: ....
well if Vil2 has 9BBx20=180BB and you too then you can call it.

Yeah - going on the Call 20 rule - it seems there will be fewer opportunitys to call re-raises as to have 20x means deep pockets. I did hear Confidant91 mention something about Call15 especially in multiway pots, so hopefully he will elaborate (unless it is too advanced for us noobs).

With the betsizing i think one cent will not change anyones mind in NL5.

This was my thoughts too, but you never know - I wonder if anyone has done a study over a large sample size to see what the difference is?

Im a noob and tried to explain it the best i can. Seeya

Good for you. I think trying to explain something to somebody else is a really good way of seeing how well you understand it, so keep going for it.

Time for bed now - not too successful tonight - need to improve my post-flop game massively.

Be good (or if you can't be good, be lucky)!

FNS1978

Hey guys, great to see u all active and discussing different topics

@confidant91: Will you add Full Ring Ranges too? Or any kind of equations to tighten them up for full ring? - Im just curious, because personally i just feel more confidant on them.

I dont plan to teach you how to play FR. I cna probably create some ranges once i get back home tongiht sinec you just make utg range a bit tighter for early positions than in 6 max.
I would recommend playing 6max rather than full ring since there is higher traffic and it is easier to find a fish. On the other hand i see that tighter fr games are easier at the beginning but i still believe that playing 6max is better for long run.

Regarding the Call20 rule - how do we play if a raise before us is called before us? Do all players in the pot have to have 20x raise to make it profitable? How about if the raise, is re-raised before us? If we still have 20x, is it still profitable to play even if we are calling potentially 7 - 10 BBs?

if the raise is called before us we call as well as long as at least one of the players has 20x behind ( we prefer that original raiser has that, since his range is the strongest and if we hit a set he will usually pay us of). We like the call infront of us since we are getting better odds for a call there fore we dont need to hit our set that often to be plus EV.

If there is a reraise than just move in with QQ+ and AK. Everything else is a fold. Cold calling 36bets is not profitable even with JJ in those situations.

Is it worth starting at NL2 to learn strategy with lower risk even if we have BankRoll for NL5? Or is that just unnecessarily playing at a lower level?

I would start at nl2 till i prove myslef that i can beat the limit. u should aim for at least 30k hand sample (super small still, but better that 500hands ). If u are winning than i will start shooting higher.

If we are playing NL5, what does a 2.5BB look like 12cents or 13cents - I have been going 12cents to try to steal as cheaply as possible, but does the slightly lower amount mean more people will call as it is close to a min-raise?

doesnt matter that much but i would go for 13 cents sine we want to build up a pot preflop and také it down withc cbet, so this way we make a bit more dead money.

What about the raise is reraised: Than you have to use the calculation with the reraise, example Vil1 Raised 3bb Vil2 Reraised 9bb -> Hero has to decide "should i call with 66?" well if Vil2 has 9BBx20=180BB and you too then you can call it. - You still have to fear a 4bet, maybe?! but either Vil1 will fold or call and give u more money when u hit.

We fold in those situation exactly becasue there can be still a 4bet plus our hand doesnt have any playability postflop. We cannot go broke on low boards neither when there is an overcard, so unless we hit a set we cannot continue. Therefore we just shove or fold preflop.

Call15

in theory you excpet to see a set on the flop 1:7,5. So if u expect to get paid of every single time you hit your set than you need only call 7,5. But at the tables this almost never happnes so we came up with call20.

for example in 3bet pots the ranges are stronger so i expect to get paid of more oftne so we can call 3bets with call15 rule.

Hope that it make sense. Feel free to ask questions or post hands

Originally posted by confidant91

I dont plan to teach you how to play FR. I cna probably create some ranges once i get back home tongiht sinec you just make utg range a bit tighter for early positions than in 6 max.
I would recommend playing 6max rather than full ring since there is higher traffic and it is easier to find a fish. On the other hand i see that tighter fr games are easier at the beginning but i still believe that playing 6max is better for long run.

Hey, thanks for that. Since you say its easier to beat 6 max then im in. I think it might fit me more because i got already replys on my hand beeing to aggressive wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich is maybe better on 6max than FR. Still i just posted my ranges for FR on my blog, do u mind checking them out? - i will try to slowly move back to 6max. (esp there is campoker on 888 6max)

Btw. how was it later for you? I mean after the bottom of the bottom NL2-10 did you actully stay with 6max or changed that with the stakes?

Thanks and cheers!

i actualy started playing nl2fr back in the days. After that i switched to 6max and never looked back.

Lesson 2: Getting started with the [SH] Big Stack Strategy Part 2 - Post-flop

Here you will learn:
• Your hand strength on the flop
• How to play different hands
• Several special rules

Step 1: Determine the category of your hand on the flop

The first thing you need to do once the flop is dealt is find out which category your hand belongs to. Basically, the following categories exist:

Made hands: These are hands that improved to a top pair or over pair on the flop.
For example, you're holding A :diamond:J and the flop is J :diamond:9 :heart:3

Special rule - Re-raised/3-bet pots: If you're holding a red hand (see our charts) in a 3-bet pot, you should treat each top pair and over pair like a monster!

Monster: You're holding a monster whenever your hand is better than a made hand. This includes any two-pairs, trips, straights, flushes etc.

Strong draws: This category includes flush draws, meaning you're holding two cards of the same suit and there are two more cards of the same suit on the board.
For example, you're holding A :heart:Q and the board is 2 :club:3 :heart:K
The second strong draw in this category is the so-called open ended straight draw, meaning you're holding a nearly complete straight with four connected cards and only one more missing.
For example, you're holding J :club:9 and the board is 4 :spade:8 :heart:T (any queen and any seven would complete your straight)

All other hands fall into the category "trash hands".

Step 2: Determine how to play your hands

Step 2.1: You've raised before the flop

Made hands should be bet on the flop, the turn and the river, always with a bet size of roughly 2/3 of the current pot. However, if there is a raise after you've bet, you should say goodbye to your made hand and fold.

Monsters are stronger than made hands and you should be ready to risk everything with them. Simply bet them just like made hands on flop, turn and river with the same bet size of 2/3 of the pot. If there is a raise after you've bet, you should re-raise to 3.5 times that raise and move all-in against any subsequent aggression from your opponent(s).

Strong draws should also be bet on flop and turn with a bet size of 2/3 of the pot. If an opponent decides to raise, you should only call if the raise size is the minimum amount (twice your original raise), otherwise you should fold. On the river you will have to say goodbye to your strong draw if you don't hit. Simply check and fold if your opponent bets.

Trash hands should only be bluffed against a single opponent on the flop with a bet size of 2/3 the pot. If your opponent raises, you should definitely fold. If he decides to call your bet, you should continue to play check/fold if you don't improve from the turn onwards.

Special rule - Your opponent bets first (donk bet): Against bets of at most 2 BB you should simply continue to play as if your opponent hadn't bet at all. You should, however, make sure that your raise equals at least 4 times the donk bet of your opponent (in case a raise of 2/3 of the pot is smaller than 4 times your opponent's bet). If your opponent bets more than 2 BB, you should only continue to play your monsters with a raise to 3.5 times your opponent's bet. Anything else should be folded.

Special rule - Nobody raised pre-flop: You should still play according to the different hand categories and continue as if you had raised before the flop.

Step 2.2: You've only called before the flop

Made hands should be checked and only called ...
... on the flop against a bet of at most 3/4 pot size. If your opponent checks on the flop, you should bet 2/3 of the pot on the flop, turn and river.
... on the turn against a bet of at most 2/3 pot size. If your opponent checks on the turn, you should bet 2/3 of the pot on the turn and river.
... on the river against a bet of at most 1/2 pot size. If your opponent checks on the river, you should bet 2/3 of the pot.

Monsters should be bet directly on the flop, turn and river for 2/3 of the pot. If there is a raise after you've bet, you should re-raise to 3.5 times that amount and move all-in against any other subsequent aggression.

Strong draws should be checked on the flop and turn and only be called with against a bet of at most 2/3 the pot. On the river you should give up your draw if you've missed and switch to playing check/fold.

Trash hands should be checked from the flop onwards and you should definitely fold them against any bet.

Special rule - Your opponent checks against you on the flop: If your opponent checks on the flop despite raising pre-flop and you are heads-up, you should bet any hand that you're holding for 2/3 of the pot and then continue to play it according to the respective hand category.

Thanks for the second part!

Btw. what are hands that we can call with? do we have some kind of calling range or is everything just raise fold?

Cheers
Arnusen

Originally posted by Arnusen
Btw. what are hands that we can call with? do we have some kind of calling range or is everything just raise fold?

Let me see if I can help with this (hopefully this will test my own understanding too).

Firstly we obviously have the pocket pairs we can call with using Call20 rule.

The only other hands I believe we can possibly call with are in the BB.

Blue hands we call as long as there is only 1 raiser, that raiser has 50BB+ and the raise is 4BB or less.

Yellow hands we call with the same criteria + they have to be in CO, BU or SB - we fold if the raise comes from MP or UTG.

And, of course, we might have those hands that have been checked to us in the BB, I guess, but they have their own rule above.

Hope that helps and I have the right idea. I'm sure Confidant91 will put us right if we're not.

Be good (or if you can't be good, be lucky)!

FNS1978

hello,

spidey is completely right. Once u learn the basics u definitely will have calling range from every position, but so far we call only couple of hands from bb.
So far i want u to focus only on playing as a preflop aggressor because tats where u gonna make the most money.

First of all, thank you for making this course. I have been following the previous one with great results so far. Currently implementing the updated ranges for the preflop part.

I have just one question about the postflop play when we are the preflop caller. Are we supposed to donk/raise the flop or is it meant to be a check/raise?

Thanks.

u can go with both lines. More standard is check/raise on drawy structures, but if the limit is passive and people dont cbet much than donking make more sense.

In lesson 2 is mentioned donk/shove line but u can play c/r as well. Feel free to post hands if u would like to speak about specific situations.

Arg today i tried to play very hard after the course - broke now

I had the feeling i wasnt folding enough before following it, now i had the feeling i folded to much spots. Whenever i thought i had a monster, someone had something bigger.

Down to $1,3 now. - Ill keep it up for the last table now, hope it works for me there.

over folding is completely fine and really good exploitative strategy for those limits. But dont expect to start winning immidiately, after couple of weeks into the course it is good if u can be BE. In poker it is not possible to crush without putting serious work into it.

So i wish u gl and even if u bust out i hope that u will try again sine poekr is great and there is still lots of money to be made.

Thanks pal. Happens i think, beeing BE would be totaly fine for me - since playing is such a fun for me i even skip other hobbies like gaming for it.

Never give up, someone told me learning early how to come out of downs can make me just better. - Lets see what i can make with my last $3 ^^

Thanks for the post-flop lesson - unfortunately, I couldn't make the live coaching again (hope to make the next).

I have watched the theory part of the coaching on Twitch and have some questions again (sorry if you answer any of these in the live play).

• Firstly, would you only class 2pair and trips as Monsters if you use both hole cards? If so, can I assume you would count the ones where the board is paired as made hands or trash depending on if you are top trips or not?
• Again, if you have a flush or OESD draw but only use one card from your hand, should you play differently?
• Continuing with draws, if I called a min-raise on the Flop and then was min-raised on the Turn, would you still be looking to call (pot is presumably getting pretty big at this point)? Calling for value if the draw hits?
• You said to C-bet 100% of the time which I understand, later though it says to only c-bet trash with 1 opponent. Is it still profitable to c-bet 100% with more than 1 opponent in this situation?
• Finally, if I have called pre-flop in BB and then called Opponents C-bet on flop, am I right to bet Turn if villian checks?
  Here is a hand to illustrate what I mean:
  Poker Stars, $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
  Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

  SB: $1.41 (70.5 bb)
  Hero (BB): $2.21 (110.5 bb)
  UTG: $2.20 (110 bb)
  MP: $0.89 (44.5 bb)
  CO: $2 (100 bb)
  BTN: $2.05 (102.5 bb)

  Preflop: Hero is BB with J♣: A♠:
  4 folds, SB raises to $0.06, Hero calls $0.04

  Flop: ($0.12) T♥: J♥: T♠: (2 players)
  SB bets $0.07, Hero calls $0.07

  Turn: ($0.26) 9♣: (2 players)
  SB checks, Hero bets $0.17, SB folds

  Results:

  Spoiler

  $0.26 pot ($0.01 rake)
  Final Board: T♥: J♥: T♠: 9♣:
  SB mucked and lost (-$0.13 net)
  Hero mucked J♣: A♠: and won $0.25 ($0.12 net)
  

That is is for the minute I believe. I will come back with more questions, no doubt, after I have watched the rest of the coaching. So far, mixed bag with the strategy, need to play many more hands to see how I am doing. Think I may be c-betting too much when more than 1 oppo, but I will look into that and ask questions regarding that in the future.

Be good (or if you can't be good, be lucky)!

FNS1978

lots of great questions, kep them coming

Firstly, would you only class 2pair and trips as Monsters if you use both hole cards?

Yes that is much stronger than if u use just one card. But for example if u have top trips and u used just one card it is still pretty strong. Basicaly trips with just one card u can always count as made hands.

Again, if you have a flush or OESD draw but only use one card from your hand, should you play differently?

not really unless your draw is weak. If u hold K or A of that colour than your draw is strong enough. And yes i would call, but always depends on board textures. A of that colour should be always call since u are drawing to nuts and u are getting good odds for a call.

Is it still profitable to c-bet 100% with more than 1 opponent in this situation?

u should be cbetting less in multiway spots because u have lower fold ekvity sine more players are defending. But still there is lots of dry structures than u can easily keep overcbetting even versus more players.

Finally, if I have called pre-flop in BB and then called Opponents C-bet on flop, am I right to bet Turn if villian checks?

i would play the same, WP

Lesson 3: Success through community activity

In this lesson you will learn about the importance of being active in our forum and seeking discussions with fellow poker players - for instance in the working thread of the [SH] beginners' course.

Essentially, we'll be showing you around the vast and great community that is PokerStrategy.com.

Questions to be answered:
• Why should I discuss poker hands, especially my own, in the working thread of the [SH] beginners' course?
• How can I post my hand in the working thread?
• What do I have to take into account when posting and discussing a hand?
• Where and how do I improve my poker knowledge at PokerStrategy.com?
• How do I record my progress and motivate myself and other PokerStrategists? (Blogs and their advantages)
• What's on offer besides poker at PokerStrategy.com?

Why should I discuss hands in the working thread of the [SH] beginners' course?
Ambitious beginners should always perform a so-called session review after each grind at the online tables. In these reviews you'll analyse tricky situations and hands that you were unsure of in real time.

However, a beginner usually won't notice most of their own mistakes on first glance, which is why it's important to post and discuss your hands in the working thread. Our coaches and other PokerStrategists will help you find the optimal play in those tricky spots, and point out flaws in your game that you didn't notice yourself.

Nothing is more effective than reviewing your mistakes within a practical example.

Apart from that, you can also post and discuss your hands in the open discussion forum with all members of our community:
Open hand discussion forum for No Limit

Additionally, you can discuss hands in your own personal blog (more on that later on).

How can I post my hands in the forum?
First of all, you'll need a tool that saves and tracks your played hands.

Holdem manager 2 or Poker Tracker 4
Getting HM2 or PT4 is essential for every serious poker players. You can try both with 1 month free trial verison. Both can be found on pokerstrategy.com in poker tools:

While you're downloading the application you can have a look at our guide for the tool.

During the coaching you are going to learn how to access your hands in order to post them in our forum. How to analyse your hand and how to find most costly leaks in your game.

What should I take into account when discussing hands?

• Posting the hand in the correct forum:
  The first option is to post your hand in the working thread of the [SH] beginners' course:
  Working thread

  You can also use the open forum for No Limit hand discussions:
  Open hand discussion forum for No Limit

• Choose clear thread titles for the open No Limit hand discussion board:
  The clearer the title of your thread, the more users will look at your hand and take part in the discussion.
• Example of a sub-optimal title for a hand discussion thread:
  
  The only thing you can really learn from that title is the limit the hand was played on. People who are used to the term "Pockets" may also guess that it's about a hand in which the active player had a hand within the category 22 to AA. But that's not enough.
• Example of an optimal title for a hand discussion thread:
  
  In this case, you can clearly see the played limit, hand and situation the discussion will revolve around. Other users will know right away what this thread will be about.
• Don't include results in your hand discussion thread:
  Even if other users might be curious, results shouldn't be included in hand discussion threads, not even in a spoiler! Posting results can lead other users to discuss a hand in a results-oriented manner, which should always be avoided when trying to assess whether a poker hand was played correctly or not.
• Information that should be included in a hand discussion thread:
  It's important to explain the thoughts you had regarding the hand that's up for discussion when you were actually playing it. Without your personal reflection, other players will struggle to elaborate on any possible mistakes you might have made. Their experience and knowledge will help you to prevent errors in the future, so don't be shy to provide information on:

  • Which hands you put your opponent on
  • The playing style of your opponent and whether you adapted your own play accordingly
  • Being overwhelmed by the situation and not really knowing what to do
  • If you'd have played the hand differently in hindsight

Sample of a hand discussion post:

Success through community activity

Want to get free pokerstartegy points, get higher status and open up new poker content for free? Join hand discussions and ear all those benefits while learning new things while hand judging.

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Videos:
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Relevant videos for beginners:

A Productivity Framework For Poker Players
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Through The Stakes - NL10 - Strategy & Tips
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Strategy articles:
Since you are taking part in an interactive beginners' course for the [SH] BSS (Short-handed Big Stack Strategy) that YOU can help shape, the most important articles can be found in our forum:
[SH] BSS for beginners - Lesson 1: Pre-flop play
[SH] BSS for beginners - Lesson 2: Post-flop play

Of course, there are hundreds more articles available at PokerStrategy.com, all of which can be found in our strategy section (which is also accessible via the main navigation of our website).

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"Poker Basics" strategy section at PokerStrategy.com

The two most important articles that beginners should read and understand are:
The Basics: Odds & Outs
The Basics: Implied Odds

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Do it the right way: Your personal poker blog and its advantages

Your Poker Blogs

Many successful poker players have recorded their progress in a personal poker blog. Doing so as well offers you a drop-in center where you can ...
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Of course, it's not only helpful to run your own blog. Having a look at the blogs of other PokerStrategists can help you as well when it comes to further developing your own game. Bad beats, real life stories, interesting winning graphs and hand discussions - all these things can be found in users' blogs, making learning poker a piece of cake!

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Apart from poker: Recreation - Relaxation - Other Topics:
PokerStrategy.com has more than 7 million registered members world-wide and a lot of them are from England and active in the english community forum. So what else is on offer there apart from poker strategy and hand discussions?

We have a section for general topics at PokerStrategy.com which beginners should explore if they have any questions, want to introduce themselves to the community, or submit feedback and ideas.

General section of the PokerStrategy.com forum

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