Imagine, at the World Series of Poker, you have raised on the button with [Ah] [3h] and your opponent has called in the big blind. The flop is [Th] [7c] [6d] and you make a continuation bet once checked to. The turn is now the [Qh] and your opponent checks once more. Your aggression on the flop (your c-bet) has brought you to the turn where you have picked up more equity (a flush draw). This is a great time to continue to bet because even if you are called you have the ability to hit your ace or flush to win the hand at showdown. Sure you may miss BUT you can hit because you have equity. Compare this to reverse where you fire without equity.

When you are out of position you should also use the added equity to your advantage. Players are much likely to check behind for pot control, these days, so the check raise line on the turn may be disadvantageous to you. Players are also much more likely to bluff the river when they check the turn. So aggressive betting, on the turn, is a much better option when you have picked up added equity.

570 players converged on the small municipality situated in Switzerland, contributing to a total prize pool of  €2,764,500. 88 players were destined to receive a paycheck, with the minimum being €7,500 and the maximum being €640,000. It was a five-day event and the line up was scintillating.

The relatively unknown Italian player, Davide Andreoni, was the Day 1a chip leader and the former EPT champion Nicolas Chouity headed the field at the end of Day 1b. Day 2 saw the emergence of Balazs Botond, the EPT regular finishing the day with 646,000 chips, and a commanding chip lead at the top of the table.

Day 3 started with 99 players and ended with the eventual winner, Jannick Wrang, topping the chip counts. It was an interesting and exciting day with no less than six former champions battling it out to become the first ever-double champion.

Day 4 was speed personified with only four hours of play invested before the final table was set. WSOP bracelet winner, Fabrice Soulier, had the chip lead with 3,480,000 but the final table was going to be tough with the likes of Wrang and Olivier Brusquest competing for the title.

The heads-up battle fell down to Jannick Wrang and, arguably the world’s best HU player, Olivier Busquets – Wrang eventually winning after 75-minutes of play.

To experience a similar thrill  be sure to check out http://poker.betfair.com/en/‘s latest promotion: http://poker.betfair.com/en/promotions/choose_your_own_sign_up_bonus.php

In online poker it is important to play the button aggressively; indeed, opening virtually any two suited cards in this position is a basic requirement. Consider a scenario where the small blind is a tight-passive player and the big blind isn’t very skilled post-flop. In this situation any raise from the button is likely to get past these players and earn you some money.

Let’s assume, however, that the player in the big blind doesn’t fold pre-flop and decides to donk bet (bet into the pre-flop raiser) for less than half the pot. In this situation it is very unlikely they have a strong hand because it would be much more conventional for them to check-raise your inevitable continuation bet. Because their bet looks weak it’s, therefore, wise poker decision to call when you have any sort of hand.

If your opponent continues to bet into you on the turn and river then it’s important to plan for this eventuality and decide on your moves ahead of time. At the poker table it’s always wise to allow your opponents to take enough rope to hang themselves.

Indeed, you must always think about the reasoning behind your decision and have a plan for how you will continue on later streets. Being prepared for all eventualities before they happen will make sure that you are never put to an impossible decision. Moreover, it will allow you to create opportunities to bluff your opponent whenever you can credibly represent a strong range of hands.

Poker is a game of forward thinking, not backwards acting.

This is a very important question, and one you should be asking yourself continually during a game of poker. Your understanding of your opponent’s perception of your range will allow you to create a bluffing strategy. Board texture and equity also dictates your bluffing frequency, but your opponent’s perception of your range is key.

Let’s imagine that your opponent’s perception of your range is that it contains good solid hands. You know that your opponent thinks that you are a rock. You are playing in a three-bet pot on a monotone board and you hold the ace of that suit. If you believe they think you are a rock and you raise, then they cannot call your bet because they will believe you can only make this play with the nuts. Anyone looking at the World Series of Poker should remember this.

If the reverse is true then trying this play will be suicidal. You will get called light and find yourself bemoaning your opponent’s call, when in fact is was a good decision based against his perception of your range. So you should bluff more if your opponent’s perception of your range is strong and bluff less is the perception is one of weakness. Fans of poker need to bear this in mind.

“You can never bluff a bad player.”

This is a statement heard regularly and one that contains a good point. Not only do opponents create a perception that your range if strong or weak, but some opponent’s don’t have a perception of your range at all – something else you need to understand before making your move.

When our holdings are a bit stronger it is always handy to pay attention to the WTSD (went to showdown) statistic on your Heads Up Display (HUD). If an opponent has a WTSD of +30% then you want to be betting with good top pair hands.

As that number shrinks so does their bluff catching frequency so it is better to just stick to checking more to induce if they’re bet river frequency is high enough. To use this stat effectively you are looking for the regs stats to be 35% or higher and the fishes stat to be 50%+. Fans of poker online need to remember this.

The reason the % is much higher for the fish is because the bluff catching range is usually much wider than a regs range. Often any pair is good for a call, but if you check, they’ll just check those bluff catchers back and you lose a ton of value.

Another player type to look out for is the player that isn’t showdown prone and has a low river bet frequency. You’ll regularly find players going to showdown 24% and betting the river 24%. Since they’ll rarely bluff catch, and if checked too are unlikely to bluff or bet worse for value, a check/fold line must be given strong consideration.