What is Hold’em Manager?

Hold’em Manager is a piece of software that automatically imports every hand of poker that you play. Since hands are imported immediately after they are completed, Hold’em Manager can supply real-time statistics on your opponents right on the poker table. Imported hand histories can then be reviewed at a later time, allowing you to plug leaks and tweak your game for maximum profitability.

How Much Does Hold’em Manager Cost?

Not to sound like I’m pushing this piece of software too hard, but you really can’t afford NOT to buy Hold’em Manager. The first time you stack an opponent because your Hold’em Manager heads up display showed you that the opponent never folds to a 4bet (and you 4bet AA, get called, and get the rest in on the flop), you will have completely paid for the software package.

To answer the question posed in the subtitle, you can get current rates here.

When you click the above link you’ll see an option for Hold’em Manager and Omaha Manager, click on Hold’em Manager to see the current prices. They offer a pro version and a less expensive low stakes version that can be upgraded later on.

When you play heads up poker you never play against two opponents that play exactly the same. So I suppose there really is no such thing as a typical heads up session… However, this video should give you an idea of what to expect when you sit down at the tables.

This video was recorded playing 50NL and 100NL tables on PokerStars and includes action from three different opponents.

What is Rakeback?

Rakeback is an offer made by poker rooms used to attract players to their sites. A rakeback offer will pay a percentage of a player’s rake back to them, no strings attached. If you’re looking to build a bankroll or just maximize your monthly earnings, rakeback can be a great way to do it. The percentage of the rake you receive back depends on the poker room. Percentages currently range from 27% to 40%.

How Can I Get Rakeback?

Getting rakeback is extremely simple. Follow this link to the PokerFlix Rakeback site, select the poker room you want to start earning rakeback at, and carefully follow the instructions. You must not have a current account with the poker room you wish to receive rakeback at! Luckily there are numerous offers to chose from, so there will almost certainly be a site available that you do not have a current account at.

How Much Can I Earn with Rakeback?

This depends entirely on how much you play and the particular rakeback offer you have accepted. If you play low stakes at a couple hours a day you are looking at a minimum of a few hundred dollars a month in rakeback. You can use the rakeback calculator located in the PokerFlix Rakeback site to estimate your potential earnings.

Course Objective

The PokerFlix training program will take you from the basic plays to advanced concepts that are needed to beat today’s online poker matches. Courses should be completed in order.

Heads Up: Pure Poker

Our poker training program emphasizes heads up play – a skill that is necessary in order to become successful in any poker format. By mastering heads up play before venturing on to 6-max, full ring, or tournaments, you will gain invaluable skills in adjusting to player tendencies, identifying betting and timing tells, and hand reading. Since you will be seeing so many flops when playing heads up you will accumulate these skills at a much faster rate than you could playing any other format.

Game Objective

In Texas Holdem your goal is to make the best five card poker hand possible by using the two cards in your hand, or hole cards, plus the five community cards that are placed face up on the table. You may use both, one, or none of your hole cards in order to make the best hand. If you aren’t sure about the rankings of poker hands, click here for our Poker Hand Rankings page.

The player that has the best hand at showdown will win all of the chips that were bet during the hand. In poker, however, the best hand doesn’t always win. Player’s are allowed to fold their hand prior to the showdown . Because players can fold, an inferior hand will often win the pot by bluffing the opponent(s) out of the hand. More on this later.

The Dealer Button

A round disk is used to signify the position of the “dealer” for every hand. The dealer button, or button, rotates clockwise around the table after every hand is completed. The player located on the button will act last during every betting round.

The Blinds

The blinds are mandatory bets made by the players seated to the left of the button. The player to the immediate left of the button is designated as the “small blind” and the player two seats to the left of the button is the “big blind”. The two blinds must post a set sized bet determined by the table stakes. In a $1/$2 NL game the small blind must post $1 and the big blind $2. Before the flop the big blind will be the last player to act.

The Action: Pre-flop

Once the blinds are posted each player is dealt two cards face down. The player seated to the left of the big blind (known as the “cut-off”) must act first. The player may chose to raise, call, or fold. If he chooses to call he must match the amount posted by the big blind. If he chooses to raise he must raise an amount equal to or greater than double the big blind. If the player does not want to play he may fold his hand without putting any money in the pot. After the player in the cut-off acts, action goes around the table clockwise until all players have acted. If a player raised, all players will be given the chance to fold, call, or re-raise.

The Action: Flop

Three community cards are placed face up on the middle of the table. At this point the action is on the first player still involved in the hand to the left of the button. Betting continues around the table ending with the button.

The Action: Turn

The turn is the fourth card placed face up on the table. Again, action begins with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button and ends with the button.

The Action: River

The final card, known as the river, is placed face up on the table. This final round of betting continues the same as the previous two rounds. If at least two people are remaining in the hand after all bets have been called there will now be a showdown and the player with the strongest hand wins the pot. In the case of a tie the pot will be split equally.

This is a complete list of poker hand rankings. The list goes from the lowest strength hand to the highest. If you don’t know the poker hand rankings, this is definitely the place to start. Even seasoned players occasionally misread their hand, costing them money. Before you start playing make sure you have this information down to where you know the hand rankings without even thinking about it.

~ High Card ~

In a situation where there is no pair or better, the highest card wins. If the high card is shared by both players the second high card will be used to determine the winner, and so on.

~ A Pair ~

Any two cards of the same rank. The highest pair will win the pot. If both players hold the same pair the “kicker” will determine the winner.

~ Two Pair ~

A two pair hand consists of two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. The fifth card is the kicker and is only relevant when two players hold the same two pair hand.

~ Three of a Kind ~

Three cards of the same rank is considered three of a kind. When determining the winner in a pot where more than one player holds a three of a kind, the highest rank three of a kind wins. If there is a tie, the winner is the player with the highest kicker.

~ Straight ~

A straight consists of five cards in sequential order. The ace may count as a high card as in TJQKA or as a low as in A2345. The ace may not be considered a high and low as in QKA23.

~ Flush ~

A flush is a five card hand containing all of the same suit. When more than one player holds a flush, the highest flush will take down the pot.

~ Full House ~

Three cards of one rank combined with two cards of another rank makes a full house. If more than one player has a full house, the hand that has the highest of the three same ranked cards wins.

~ Four of a Kind ~

Four cards of all the same rank. Four of a kind is a fairly rare hand to see, and therefore, is almost never beaten.

~ Straight Flush ~

A straight flush combines both a straight and a flush in one hand. In order to have a straight flush one most have five cards of the same suit in sequential order.

~ Royal Flush ~

A royal flush is really just the highest possible straight flush, which in poker is the absolute “nuts”.

By categorizing players into specific groups you are able to make certain assumptions about their play. These assumptions will enable you to play closer to an optimal strategy against that player. You need to learn the basic player types and then learn the techniques to punish each player type.

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

   -Sun Tsu, The Art of War

Aggression

When discussing a player’s level of aggression the two primary groups that we put them into are passive and aggressive.

Passive: A passive player generally elects to check rather than bet, or call rather than raise. Passive players do not win pots by making their opponent fold. Because they do not make their opponents fold, they must always have the best hand to win.

Aggressive: An aggressive player is more comfortable betting or raising rather than calling and checking. By playing aggressively, a player will pick up many pots without holding the best hand. This opponent type is much more difficult to play against than the passive player because they will always keep you guessing and cause you to make mistakes either by folding the best hand or calling with the worst hand.

Tightness

A player’s willingness to put money in the pot is defined as loose or tight.

Loose: A loose player likes to play a wide range of starting hands. They also don’t like giving up after the flop and will often call bets with marginal holdings. Overly loose players are seldom bluffed off the best hand, but often lose at showdown.

Tight: Tight players have a very specific starting hand requirement. They are fine folding often before the flop. After the flop a tight player must have a stronger than average hand to continue putting money in the pot. Due to the tight player’s strong starting hands and ability to fold post flop, they will often show down the best hand, but will lose many pots to bluffs.

The Poker Player Categories

Loose Passive (LP): Loose passive players can be very profitable to play against. They tend to call bets with very weak holdings and they seldom bet or raise as a bluff. You should play very straightforward against these players. Bet relentlessly when you have a strong hand and check/fold when you don’t. They key to profit against these players is simply to bet for maximum value rather than trying to get tricky.

Tight Passive (TP): Tight passive players can be frustrating to play against. They fold often before the flop, and must have a strong hand in order to continue after the flop. They seldom bet or raise unless they have a very strong hand. This player type seldom loses big pots, however, they will lose many small pots. In order to beat this player type you must bet frequently in order to pick up pots and be willing to give up when faced with resistance.

Loose Aggressive (LAG): A loose aggressive player will play a wide range of starting hands, and he will play them aggressively. This type of player is difficult to play against because they always put you in tough spots where you are unsure of what to do. This pressure often causes a player to make incorrect decisions. In order to beat a LAG you must pick spots to counter their aggression and sometimes make thin calls with marginal holdings.

Tight Aggressive (TAG): Tight aggressive players play a select group of starting hands. The main difference between the TAG and the tight passive player is that the TAG is willing to bet and make big raises both with their strong hands and as bluffs. This willingness to make bets as bluffs makes the TAG more difficult to play against than their passive counterpart. In order to exploit a TAG’s tendencies, a LAG style can be used. Playing with a LAG style makes it more difficult to read your hand and you can use that to punish a TAG by betting and raising with a wider range.

Remain Flexible

Playing optimal poker means adjusting your strategy in ways that will enable you to exploit your opponent. While a loose passive style may not be ideal against most opponents, it may be perfect when you’re faced with a maniac (a LAG on steroids, and crack). When the maniac continues with his relentless aggression, utilizing a LP style will let him continue betting as a bluff while you sit there calling him down. It sounds easy, but when faced with two barrels and a river shove, and you’re holding second pair, it takes some monster cajones to click the call button.

My next article on player types will discuss specific strategies to use in order to combat player tendencies.

Epiphany

For some unknown reason (laziness) I never really studied my game against short stackers. I did know that they weren’t as profitable for me as players with full stacks, but I didn’t know why.

I recently decided to create a game plan to use against short stackers and see if I could increase my profitability from that opponent type. Since they are, after all, some of the weakest players around they should also be some of the most profitable to play against.

The Short Stacker Mentality

Generally speaking, short stackers are looking to do only one thing: double up. Once they double their 20bb or 50bb they auto sit out and leave you there tilted out of your mind because you just got hit and run by ANOTHER short stacker.

These players are looking to gamble, not sit there and grind for hours at a time. They thrive on action and will make incredibly poor plays to fulfill that need for action.

Short Stacker Strategy

So if these guys want to gamble, let them. Don’t be afraid to get it in preflop with A8s (or worse) against most of these guys. They will call your shove with such a wide range that this play will be profitable.

Play your marginal made hands strong and let them make bad calls. They will call off their entire stack on the flop with only a gutshot because they hate folding.

The reason I wasn’t as profitable playing these guys is not because they are looking to hit and run, rather it’s because I was afraid they were going to hit and run. My adjustment was to play too tight passive and avoid marginal situations where they could double up. By doing this I ended up giving up way too many pots and wouldn’t find a “good spot” before they left me.

Results of My Adjustment

I’ve been absolutely killing short stackers since my strategy adjustment. You don’t always realize just how much money you can make from these guys until you play them for an hour or two, check out HEM and see that you’re up a few buy ins!

I’ll be making a video of me playing some short stackers in the future. I think that developing a strong strategy for dealing with this player type will help anyone new to heads up develop a solid win rate.