“…the best way to keep up with the action is to look for hands you can fold automatically.”

Most players eventually realize that it’s fun and fairly easy to play at multiple online tables at one time. Early in my career, I played as many as eight games at once on a daily basis. Here are some tips and instructions for playing multiple games:

1. Increase the resolution on your monitor. You can do this by right clicking on the desktop, then clicking on Properties, then clicking on Settings. You can then grab the arrow in the Screen Resolution area and move it to a smaller resolution.

If possible, use the 1,600 x 1,200 setting to get up to four games on one screen without overlap. In order to maximize your screen area, make sure your video card and monitor support higher resolution settings.

2. Once you get into playing more than one game, the best way for you to keep up with the action is to look for hands you can fold automatically. Use advance actions. That will help you pay more attention to the game you have a real hand in.

3. Play the same game at every table. It will help you avoid mistakes in reading and playing your hand, and you’ll find it easier to get into a good rhythm.

4. Most importantly: Track who has raised the pot. Make sure you make a mental note of this since it is the key to how you will play your hand later. It sounds simple, but it is easy to get in a pot and not recall who raised when you’re playing more than one game.

5. Make sure you take some breaks. When I used to play eight games, I was an animal. I would run to the bathroom and every screen would be beeping at me. Take a few breaks. The games will still be there when you get back.

Playing multiple games is a lot of fun and I hope to see you at the table. Or tables.

Erick Lindgren

There’s lots of choice when it comes to poker networks including the iPoker Network, Microgaming Poker, Chico Poker and WPN Poker Networks. Check out the latest poker room reviews or the poker room showdown before you decide where to play your next hand of poker.

AN ONLINE POKER TIP FROM POKER LEGEND DOYLE BRUNSON 

There is more than one theory about how to play early in an online tournament. But I believe there’s just no reason to risk getting knocked out in the first round.

I’ll usually take a few stabs at a pot, maybe leveraging a hand or even bluffing, but in either case, I won’t get much money involved. I think this philosophy is especially wise online, because many players move all-in too recklessly. This all-in tactic might sound like an easy road to profit, but in truth, you’re going to be tempted to move all-in yourself with only a small advantage – which is not a good idea. Yes, it can be profitable, but you risk getting busted out with a hand that just didn’t warrant that kind of risk. There’s more profit in letting the loosest players attack each other and reduce the field. Early in a tournament, you can afford to wait for a major advantage before committing a large share of your chips or even all of them.

What usually happens early in an online tournament is that some weak players will double up or even increase their chip stacks by more than that, while many other reckless players get eliminated early. I try to survive and build gradually during the early rounds. If I get a hand to go to war with, I will. But, unless that happens, I’m not just willing to get knocked out early.

The most successful strategy I know is to survive and to build gradually through small pots until the cards give you the opportunity to win big. There’s no rush – in online or in real – world tournaments.

Later in the tournament, the stakes will get so big in comparison to the chips on the table that you’ll have to gamble. You’ll have to take chances sometimes, even be a little reckless and hope for the best. But my advice is not to do that until you must.

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Erick Lindgren kindly shares some pearls of poker wisdom…

In tournaments, I play lots of hands. I’ll put my money in with all kinds of connected cards, especially when in position. I might limp, I might min-raise or raise a little more than the minimum, depending on the circumstances. I’m looking to keep my table off balance so they don’t know where I’m coming from.

My overall goal is to pick up a lot of small pots without a lot of resistance. I might raise in position and hope for a call from one of the blinds. If I raise pre-flop with something like 6-7, I might miss the flop entirely, but the raise puts me in control of the hand. On the flop, I’ll likely bet if checked to, even if I miss. That small bet on the flop will usually win me a small, but helpful pot.

Of course, sometimes it won’t work out. I’ll bet and get check-raised on occasions. But that’s okay, because I actually don’t lose much in the hands that I have to surrender. Overall, I get to gradually add to my chip stack by chopping at small pot after small pot.

The other major advantage to my style is that, occasionally, I will hit a flop hard. If I do happen to flop a straight, it’s difficult for other players to put me on something like 5-7 or 6-8. If one of my opponents also gets a piece of the flop, I’ll get paid off in a big way.

By adding to my stack early, I have a real advantage over players who play a cautious, tight game. The extra chips that I accumulate allow me to survive some tough spots. So, if I happen to get involved in a race with A-K or a pair of Tens, I can withstand a loss. An opponent who’s playing tight will likely be on the rail after losing a single race.

New players often ask me how they can learn to play more pots. I always suggest that they drop down significantly in stakes and practice. If you’re playing $2-$4 no-limit, drop down to $.50-$1 – a level where some losses won’t hurt you.

Once you’re at that table, try to play eight hands out of 10. Play everything but 2-8 or 3-9 – hands that are entirely unconnected. When you get yourself involved with this kind of frequency, you’ll have to concentrate more on your opponents than on your own cards. You’ll have to be on the lookout for opportunities to take down pots with well-timed stabs. You’ll also learn how to proceed in situations where you flop a good, but dangerous hand.

By dropping down and playing a lot of hands, you’re going to learn a lot about poker. You’re also going to have a lot of fun. In my opinion, playing 50% of the hands is a whole lot more entertaining than sitting around waiting for Aces.

If you look at the success that Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu and myself have had over the last couple of years, you’ll see that being active can be an excellent way to score big in tournaments. It takes practice to play this style, but it can lead to great results and be a lot of fun.

Erick

There’s lots of choice when it comes to poker networks including the iPoker Network, Microgaming Poker, Chico Poker and WPN Poker Networks. Check out the latest poker room reviews or the online poker room showdown before you decide where to play your next hand of poker.

Poker musings by Paul Wolfe, Professional Poker Player. 

During this year’s World Series of Poker, I talked with a number of pros about the problems that so many online qualifiers had playing Big Slick during the early blind levels. It seemed to us that a huge percentage of the field – we estimated as much as 70 percent – was more than willing to go broke with this hand if they hit a pair on the flop.

But many pros, myself included, feel that Ace-King is a very difficult hand to play in the early levels of big buy-in tournaments, when the stacks are deep compared to the blinds. The fact of the matter is, top-pair/top-kicker is probably no good if another player is willing to risk all of his chips. This isn’t always the case – you may find an extremely weak player willing to go broke on K-Q, but that’s the rare exception.

The real problem with A-K early on is that it’s very difficult to get an idea of where you’re at in a hand. Even on an innocuous looking flop of something like K-9-2, you may think your hand is good. But you can’t be sure.

Say that you raise pre-flop with A-K and a late-position player calls. The two of you see a K-9-2 flop. You bet strong on the flop and then again on the turn. He calls on both streets. What now? Do you bet the river and pray that you’re not raised? Or do you check and hope that your opponent does the same? It’s a difficult spot and there are no great options.

Playing the same hand in position is a little easier, but it’s still tough.

While the blinds are low in a big buy-in tournament, I’m actually looking to see flops against the players who overplay top-pair/top-kicker. When I’m in position, I’m happy to call a raise with something like a small pocket pair, 5-6 suited, or even 8-T suited. I’m looking to flop a big hand or a big draw.

If I flop a set, I have a good chance of wiping out the guy with top pair. If I flop a draw, I have a chance to see if my opponent will give me a good price to hit my hand. The beauty of a suited hand like 5-6 or 8-T is that there’s no way I’m going to get in serious trouble playing them. If I flop anything less than two-pair or a quality draw, I’ll fold, having lost very little.

I think there are two major reasons many players over value Ace-King.

First is that in online tournaments, where the stacks start relatively low, Ace-King is usually worth playing aggressively. Players who win online satellites do so by playing Ace-King fast, so they come to big tournaments feeling good about this starting hand.

The second reason is that many people have seen TV commentators crow about Big Slick, calling it a “huge hand.” At a six-handed final table, Ace-King is a very big hand, but you need to realize that short-handed final-table strategy differs greatly from early tournament play.

When you’re playing in deep-stack games, learn to play A-K cautiously. The pros don’t like to go broke with this hand and you’d do well to follow their example.

Paul

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Is it possible that some players have hands that are simply lucky and/or unlucky in their hands?

Consider today’s evening freeroll at iPoker – where I was signing on at bet365 poker battling it out against 7,000+ other eager participants over about 90 minutes.

During the course of the action I was dealt “pocket kings” four times – and despite doing the “right thing” and bidding them up and being able to isolate the play down to one other player … I was beaten three times by inferior hands.

This is not a “Bad-beat” sob story – rather an investigation into the phenomena where you just know what is going to come on the river.

Consider :

Hand 1 : KK vs A8o – early in the tournament half stack before the pot – all in after a low flop – as I’ve got a bigger stack. He gets a river ace and wins the pot.
🙁

Hand 2 : KK vs 74o – I called the big stacks all-in – and based on those cards he was obviously bluffing. Nothing comes up as a danger and this time pocket kings actually do win.
🙂

Hand 3 : KK vs A10 – Blind 200, I bet 1000, and Tiger Lilly goes over the top to 3000 – I push all-in for 7,000 as bigger stack and she calls. A ten on the flop gives here more outs – and an ace on the river wins it for her.
🙁

Hand 4 : KK v J4c – Mortally wounded and down to just 1500 chips (4xBB) I wait for a hand – get KK again and have to try it. All-in and I get called by the big stack who does have much. A Jack on the flop gets me nervous and a four on the river means I’m out of the tourney.
🙁

So I get good fortune to get dealt KK four times – and play them (as you surely must) yet by the fourth hand I just “knew” that Lady Luck was making sure they were not going to hold up.

Has that ever happened to you? Do you have a lucky/unlucky hand?
Send in some feedback in the comments section and let me know.

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Having played at bet365 Poker for years we really enjoy and recommend them highly. bet365 is the lead member of the Playtech iPoker Network. Sorry, bet365 does not accept players from USA, France, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain, South Africa or Turkey.