Dynamic Full Ring Poker−Beyond The Basics
About The Author
James ‘SplitSuit’ Sweeney began playing poker in 2004. What started as home games and smaller tournaments soon turned into a business. From grinding live games at Turning Stone Casino, to SNGs, to PLO8 cash games, James quickly began to strengthen his poker theory and strategies. In 2007 James returned to his NLHE roots and began grinding full ring cash games. Interested in not only playing, but sharing his knowledge, he began taking on students.
Over the years his coaching methedologies have only improved, and he has coached over 300 students in that time. He also began making training videos for the once Stox Poker Training, and is now on the CardRunners roster as well. Teaching has been a passion of James’, and poker was the perfect outlet given the various strategic levels the game offers. In late 2010 James finished his first book, and he plans on writing another one in 2011. While poker will always be a semi-professional avenue for him, James hopes to always be teaching at a professional level.
A graduate in Marketing from Syracuse University, James coaches and offers various coaching mediums at splitsuit.com.
Copyright © 2010 DailyVariance Publishing, LLC
Published by DailyVariance Publishing, LLC
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ISBN 10: 0-9824022-9-5
ISBN 13: 978-0-9824022-9-0
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Table of Contents
Dynamic Full Ring Poker−Beyond The Basics
About The Author
Introduction
How This Book is Different
How to Use This Book
Preface
1. The Preflop Warm Up
The Positions
The Player Types
The Stack To Pot Ratio
The Preflop Mindset
2. Preflop Hand Selection
The Power Of Position
The Basic Open-Raise Range
The Steal
The Sizing
The Min Raise
Pros:
Cons:
3. Calling Raises
The Pair Range
The Other Range
The Multi Way Call (With Evil Intentions)
4. Isolating
The Weak-Tight Isolation
The Weak-Loose Isolation
The Unknown Isolation
The Multi Way Isolation
The Facing Of An Isolation
The Attacking Of An Isolator
5. 3-Betting
The Value 3-Bet
The Bluff 3-Bet
The Other 3-Bet
The Size Of A 3-Bet
6. Squeezing
The Open Raiser
The Through Caller(s)
The Hand Selection
The Squeeze Size
The Value 4-Bet
The Bluff 4-Bet
The Flatting Of A 3-Bet
The Art Of Sizing A 4-Bet
8. Preflop Adjustments
The Table Selection
The Seat Selection
The Image
The Stack Sizes
The Reloader
The Preflop HUD Stats
The Preflop Stat Correlations
The Quick Inference
The LAG Transition
9. The Postflop Warm Up
The Pot Geometry
The Elastic vs. Inelastic Calling Ranges
The Hand Reading Basics
The Pot Size Thresholds
The Polarization
The Minimax Game
The Exposure And Mindset
10. Understanding Showdown Value
The Usage
The SDV Framework
The Other Side Of The Coin
11. Continuation Betting
The Mindset
The Textures
The Polarized CB
The Depolarized CB
The Multi Way CB
The CB Size
12. Floating And Calling
The Floating/Calling Considerations
The Bluff Float
The Value Call
13. Check Raises
The Facing Of A Check Raise
The Bluff Check Raise
The Value Check Raise
14.Playing 3-bet Pots Postflop
The 3-Bet Pot Mentality
The Setmine 3-Bet Pot
The Small SPR 3-Bet Pot
The Resteal Pot
The Tricky 3-Bet Pot
The AK 3-Bet Pot
The Big Pair In A 3-bet Pot
The Squeezed Pot
15. Playing Big Hands On The Flop
The Big Hand Considerations
The Donk
The Big 3-Bet Hand
The Limped Pot
The Normal Pot
16. Flop Adjustments
The Postflop HUD Stats
The Postflop HUD Stat Correlations
The Free Play Pots
The Draw
The Facing Of A Donk Bet
The Depth
The Future
17. Barreling
The Barrel Texture
The Bluff Double Barrel
The Semi-Bluff Double Barrel
The Delay CB
18.Value Betting
The Fat VB
The Thin VB
The Best Hand That Checks
The Blocking Bet
The Bets And Their Sizes
19. Turn/River Adjustments
The Sticky Bets
The Timing Tells
The Good/Bad Card
The Bad/Good Card
The Love Of A Pair
The Balancing Act
The Leveling Game
The Hero Fold
The Hero Call
The “OMG I’m Confused” Line
20. Creative Line Composition
The EP Steal
The LRR
The EP/MP 3-Bet
The Special CB
The Massive ISO
The Back-Raise
The Draw And CR
The Database Adjustment
The Lines Of The Future
End Game
Glossary
Recommended Readings
No-Limit Workbook: Exploiting Regulars
Let There Be Range
The Pot Limit Omaha Book: Transitioning From NLHE to PLO
Advanced PLO Play: The Workbook
Auto Color
The Six Figure NL System: Crushing 200nl in 2011
Introduction
by Steve Sundberg
How This Book is Different
A recent popular book stated that the winning style to beat online 200NL 6 max was LAG (loose aggressive.) So of course, I start playing loose and aggressive. At the time, my hand reading skills were virtually non-existent. One of the things the book implied, that I missed, was that to in order to play a profitable LAG style, you need to be a good hand reader. In addition to that, the popular poker forums hype up the LAG style, and imply that nits are a pariah of the poker society. Not wanting to be a pariah, I adopted the LAG strategy, which ultimately would have been described as a �
��LAG-fish” style. Being a tuna in a shark tank, while foolishly thinking I was also a shark, was a recipe for disaster.
Then I was introduced to James’ concept of frameworks presented in this book. This is a technique of breaking down a hand into simple components. Components that can be quickly and easily analyzed during a hand to make a decision. This is the first area where this book is different than others.
Most other books tell you to do Y in situation X. However, we rarely run into EXACTLY situation X when we are actually playing. We run into slight variations of X, and usually optimal play would necessitate variations in our lines and actions. Humans intuitively seek to find a simple set of rules that they can easily apply in poker and life (do “X” if “Y”). The problem is that poker is very complex. So much information needs to be gathered, analyzed, and processed into an optimal line. Which can be especially difficult while playing online, when the decision needs to be made quickly.
Next, this book differs dramatically in the explanation of poker theories. They are broken down simply, with minimal jargon, so that poker players of all levels are able to understand and utilize them. After reading this, you should be equipped with the necessary theoretical understanding to find solutions to your poker problems.
Which leads to the final area where this book diverges from others. Since it explains the underlying theory behind a line, you are able to adjust the application of the theory as the game conditions change.
Most books give strategy based on the game conditions relevant when the book was published. Especially in online poker, game conditions can literally change daily, especially after a popular online coach publishes a new article or video. Within weeks, even the fish seem to be trying the new line. With this book, you have the necessary information to adapt to the ever-changing game conditions.
In a nutshell, after reading this book, you should have the tools necessary to:
Evaluate your hand
Evaluate your opponent (his likely range, mistake propensity, etc.)
Decide on the most profitable line to take based on the above
Evaluate board textures and create profitable lines around them
Optimally adjust your strategy as the games mature and change
How to Use This Book
This book contains too much info to process all at once, especially for the typical micro or low limit player, for whom much of this information will be new or clarified. I would recommend reading this entire book actively, by creating an outline as you read, highlighting any areas that are new or complex.
Then create a plan based on your current strengths and weaknesses, and decide on which strategies presented you are going to focus on first. Reread those sections, and focus on applying the concepts during a session. Then go back and re-read the section. I bet you will be surprised at what you missed or misunderstood. I know when I read the Isolating chapter, I repeated this process 3 times before I finally applied it correctly. Which reminds me… I think I'll review that one more time to be sure it's now in my unconscious competence!
— Steve Sundberg
Preface
My name is James Sweeney and I go by ‘SplitSuit’ or ‘*Split*’ on various poker forums. I began playing this game back in 2004 at college, and I have loved the game ever since. When I began playing I was terrible. I actually read a LHE book while trying to learn NLHE, and would bet because “it was funny.” Since then, I have put thousands of hours into improving my poker knowledge and putting that knowledge to use in a wide array of games.
This book is my first attempt at putting the knowledge I have gathered into an organized piece of writing. I have written many articles in the past, and various scripts for different training videos. But this is the first time I have ever tried to tackle a project this big and comprehensive. I would like to think that I did a good job at it, but of course you will have to be the judge of that.
Simply put, this book is a little different than other strategy books. My main gripe with most other strategy books, and most any strategic medium, is that they preach the “what” rather than the “why.” The “why” is the most vital piece of anything we do in poker, or in life. This book doesn’t aim to give you a play and then tell you to go use it. It aims to talk about what goes into making a play, which parameters are favorable or otherwise, and then why we can use the play. This is the crux of poker knowledge. If you simply ask yourself “why am I doing X?”, then you are giving yourself an automatic edge.
In trying to find the exact verbiage to describe my thoughts on this book, I have decided to quote TheBryce, a player I respect a massive amount:
“There are two parts to every poker decision:
1) making assumptions about what your opponent is likely to do, and
2) making the best possible choice based on those assumptions.
As a coach I feel that far too much time is typically wasted discussing what opponents are likely to do. While I may have suggestions about how I think your opponents are likely to play I feel that ultimately a good intuition for how opponents will play is something that is best learned through playing a lot of poker and can’t be effectively taught. Instead my focus is always to give you a better theoretical understanding of the game and the ability to make better poker choices. This, I find, is something that can be taught well, as for any given set of assumptions about what an opponent is likely to do there is a best choice, and if need be I can use math to prove it.”
The entire thesis of this book is to think. Think about why we are making certain plays. Think about how we can exploit a certain weakness in our opponent. Think about how we can create entire plays based around exploitable tendencies in a player or game. Books, coaches, and videos shouldn’t be training wheels in your poker journey; they should be launch pads for your thinking ability and success.
Before we get to the actual strategy I wanted to thank a few people. These people have aided me in some major way through my poker journey to date, and it would be wrong of me to not acknowledge them in some respect. In no particular order:
— Chris ‘Cwar’ Warren
— Jim ‘Onaflag’ Galfano
— TheDatakid (TDK)
— Steve Sundberg
— Mpethybridge
— Skelm/Dutchin
— Galina Ladyka
— Philip 'RedJoker' Weedle
— Greg Lilley
— Alexander Seibt
— uFR
And with that as my preface, let’s get started!
1. The Preflop Warm Up
When we are building our poker brain, we do so like we build a house. We focus on building a solid foundation and basement, and then build upwards. Consider this chapter the basement of our poker house, aiming to make sure that all readers are on the same page. We all come from different points of view and skill levels, so here we just want to review some of the more basic things.
The Positions
The strategic specifics of this book will be about full ring NLHE cash games. If you play another form, such as 6max or tournaments, certain things will apply, but not everything. So please make sure to keep this in mind when applying this or any advice to your game.
That being said, there are effectively 4 broad positions in full ring. Early position (EP), middle position (MP), late position (LP), and the blinds (SB/BB). Different people will label them differently, but for the purposes of this book, we will consider the first 3 spots at a full table to be EP, the next 2 MP (MP1 and MP2/HJ), the next 2 (CO and Button), and the blinds (SB and BB). Below is a picture.
Figure 1: Full ring table
We can effectively view a table like a stop light. Notice EP and the blinds are in “red” because we want to play the tightest from there. Playing hands from EP increases our chances of being out of position (OOP) for the duration of a hand. And playing hands from the blinds against EP/MP/LP opponents guarantees that we will be OOP postflop. In an ideal world we would always be in position (IP), so w
e want to play only the strongest of hands if our chances of being OOP are large.
Next we notice that MP is in “yellow/orange.” This is because we still have a chance of being OOP if we play a hand from here and get action. From here we can play some more hands, but we still want to be selective. Notice that the hi-jack (HJ) is in “yellow.” This is because the HJ can sometimes be considered an MP or an LP. At some tables we treat it as a late position and are more aggressive, and at other tables we treat it more like an MP and play a bit tighter. How we approach the HJ is really a function of table dynamics, and we'll talk more about that later.
Late position, the CO and button, are in “green.” This is because we want to treat them as our “go” positions. We want to play more hands from here than anywhere else. We have chances to steal, to isolate, and be in position in the event that we go postflop. Because of the positional-advantage, and the fundamental fact that there are less players to contend with, that these positions offer us, we play more hands from here.
The Player Types
There are effectively six player types in poker. Nit, tight aggressive (TAG), loose aggressive (LAG), Aggressive Fish (A-Fish), Passive Fish (P-Fish), and unknown players. Let’s quickly review them: