High Stakes Cash Games
When most poker followers think of high stakes poker they are likely intimidated by the thought of risking so much money. If you are anything like me you've been sharpening your skills by reading all the poker articles and books you can swallow and fanatically watching popular televised poker programs to improve your game. You spend countless hours in front of the computer and at land based casinos playing millions of poker hands to build up a suitable bankroll. So there is no question you are thrilled to be sitting on $100,000 or more in poker profits after putting in all that hard work! Now the question weighing on your mind must be "Where do I go from here?".
A lot of poker players in this situation never make the jump to bigger poker games. Whether or not you should all depends on your determination, personality, and overall financial circumstances really. If you are happy with grinding it out at the $5 and $10 blind tables to make a few thousand here and there then that's likely where you should stay. However if you are confident in your poker abilities and feel that you can easily rebuild your bankroll if you take a few hits it's time to make a go at high stakes poker. After all it is the dream of every poker player out there to become a top pro, and be featured in live tournaments and shows such as "High Stakes Poker". So go for it! In the following paragraphs of this article I will outline key cash game strategies such as how and where to find the juiciest games, how much to buying for, finding your poker playing style for larger stakes, identifying opponents, bluffing, value betting, and trapping! So read up. Then maybe one day you'll be playing sunday nights on GSN!
Finding a high stakes poker game can be challenging at first. Not everybody lives in Las Vegas or L.A. Even those lucky poker players who do will have a difficult time getting started. Most land based high limit games are held in private rooms and are invitation only. So you will probably turn to internet poker for the big cash games. There is nothing wrong with that at all. There are actually many advantages to playing poker online versus a live casino. Full Tilt Poker offers stakes as high as any game you will see on t.v. If they don't have the stakes you are looking for you can even put in a request for them to make you a table! On any given night at Full Tilt you can find pro's playing no limit holdem, and pot limit omaha for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the pro's you can play with are Tom "Durrr" Dwan, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, David Benyamine, and Patrick Antonious among others. When it comes to high stakes nobody does it better than Full Tilt Poker! Unless you are already an established poker pro where else can you play heads up with the best?
Buying in: How much you buying for should depend obviously on what your bankroll is, but also your confidence level for winning in that specific poker game. Another nice benefit of playing poker online is the ability to observe different tables for as long as you want before you ever take a seat. A lot of times you can gain valuabe information and tells on other players who are clueless to the fact that you are watching them play. This will also help you make your final buyin decision. If you feel like you are the best poker player at the table you should buyin for the maximum allowed. If you are unsure there is nothing wrong with the table minimum! Many poker players give more respect to those who buyin short. They perceive you as a tight poker player which will enable you to make a few opportunistic bluffs. When talking about cash game buyins there really is no right or wrong answer. It's all about what you are comfortable with. If you are nervous about losing a specific amount of money you simply won't be able to play your best poker. These are just some guidelines to follow.
Refining your poker playing style for higher stakes can be one of the more tricky aspects of making the jump to the big game. Some players are very tight and play only premium starting hands. Others are very aggressive and will raise with any 2 cards. Equally important to knowing your own poker playing style is knowing what poker strategy your opponents use. For example Daniel Negreanu likes to play suited connectors, keep pots small, and is an amazing reader. Players like David Williams and Tom Dwan are very aggressive. They will raise with any 2 cards. They are also very good at knowing exactly when they can raise you out of a pot and when to throw their hand away. One of the best ways to fill a hole in your poker game is to watch one of these players that are strong in the area you wish to improve.
Bluffing in high stakes poker should be done with extreme caution. Contrary to popular belief the bluff is not the best poker play in the book! Sure it's exciting when you pull off a big one, but even more thrilling is making a great call or reraise against a habitual bluffer. When you have a good read on another poker player and call down a big bluff your confidence is sky high and his confidence is now shattered! So keep that in mind. It's important to have a solid table image before you can pull off any large bluffs. You also need to have a good read on your opponent. How does he/she play poker? Would he call with middle pair? Is he capable of reraising with nothing or ace high? Tight players are for sure the easiest to bluff. They only enter the pot with strong hands and give up easily if the flop doesn't hit them. Under no circumstances should you ever try to bluff an idiot or a calling station! They will call you down regardless of what they have. It's just like throwing your money in the garbage.
The Semibluff: If you bet when you probably don't have the best poker hand at the time, but have the potential of improving to the best hand, you are semibluffing. When you bet marginal hands you simply give yourself another way to win the pot. You might make your hand and get a big payoff, or the other opponents may just fold. Either way it's cash in your chip stack! Lets say for example you hold the 7-6 of spades. The flop comes king of hearts, queen of spades, and 5 of spades. This is a great time to put in a semibluff! If your opponent has a hand like ace-queen he will have a hard time calling a big bet on the flop or the turn. He will most likely fold in this spot. If he does call that's ok too. You have a lot of outs with a flop like this. You could make a flush or even a backdoor straight! If he calls your bet on the flop chances are he's pot committing himself and you might just get all of his chips when you make your hand.
Value Betting is betting when you think you have the best hand. Sometimes you aren't positive if you in fact have the best of it or not, but if you think you do and you bet, you are value betting. In high stakes poker it's important to get maximum value from each of your winning hands to make up for the big blinds you lose along the way and still make a nice profit! You need to pay close attention to how your opponent has played the hand up to that point to know whether or not a value bet is a good move. If a scare card comes such as an overcard, flush, or straight card you will need to have a read on him and decide whether or not that ace or flush card has improved his hand. If you have a good read and feel like you still have the best poker hand go ahead and put in a value bet. More often than not you will take the pot down right there. If he does call and your read is correct you'll just earn more money. Knowing when and how much to value bet is an important part of your poker playbook. A good value bet is typically 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot depending on your opponent. You want to make it almost a must call for him if you are ahead. You want to pick up as much cash as you can so give him at least 2 to 1 pot odds and you will be more likely to get action
Trapping is slow playing a big hand to confuse your opponents. Trapping is a great way to maximize profit if you pickup a big hand against an overly aggressive poker player. If a player seems to play a lot of hands, raises a lot preflop, and is constantly firing out continuation bets he can easily be trapped. Players like this typically don't like to give up a pot even if they know you have a stronger starting hand. lets say you are dealt pocket queens in late position with an aggressive player on the button. You would want to just limp in with your hand and let him bet it. Most if not all of the other players will fold to you and you just make the call. He is going to fire a continuation bet on the flop no matter what cards come out. So don't immediately surrender if an ace or a king happen to come. If this happens and he makes a bet just call him. Then look to steal the pot on the turn. If you were to flop a set instead you would want to just check-call the flop and the turn then put in a nice sized value bet on the river. About 3/4 of the pot is a good bet against an aggressive player. He will probably pay you off if he has anything here. He might even try to reraise you. Cha Ching!
So if you've faired well at low to mid stakes and have thought about moving up go for it! Follow these strategies to neutralize more aggressive poker players and you will do just fine! Before you know it you will have thousands of hands played online. The more experience you get the more confidence you will have. You just might be a top Online Poker Pro yourself in a few months time! Don't just gamble. Gamble To Win!