5. Getting to know Your Opponents is Very Important
You need to stay tuned into the card game every minute, watching the other players, looking for their unique mannerisms, and noting the hands they turn up at the show-down. Your mission is to get free information from them. Later in this Book we discuss some ways that you can identify your opponents' betting patterns and special behaviors so that you can play correctly against them.
6. The Button Is the Position of Power
The button, the player poker that holds the dealer's seat and is the last to act, is the position of power in no-limit holdem. As you put more mileage under you belt, you will learn how to wield that power to bully your opponents and win some pots "without a hand" (with inferior cards), especially after the blinds have increased.
When you are the last player to bet, you are able to observe your opponents and therefore, make a more informed decision. For example, suppose you flop the nut hand. On every betting round, the other advanced poker players must act before you do. Based on their actions, you can choose the best way to get the most money out of your hand.
Some people think that whenever a raise comes from the player on the button, the button always has a weak hand. If an opponent thinks you're trying to steal with a weak hand, he is likely to reraise you. You need to recognize which players have that mentality so that you can use it to your advantage. For example, when you catch pocket aces or another high low poker pair on the button, you can raise knowing that your opponent(s) is probably going to reraise. His reraise then allows you to get maximum value from your good hand.
7. The Bluff Is an Important Weapon
In limit holdem poker game, bluffing can get you into a lot of trouble because you are usually going to get called. This is particularly true in low-limit games in which the pots are usually multiway. Often your limit holdem opponents are correct in calling at the river, even if they suspect they may be beaten, because it costs only one additional bet to buy the chance of winning a pot that is giving them the correct pot odds. In no-limit holdem, the bluff is an important strategic weapon that you can use to shut out an opponent who may have a better hand than yours. In part Six we explain when and how to bluff. In Part Nine you will find bluffing practice hands.
8. Don't Despair When You Get Behinds
In no-limit holdem, it is far easier to "catch up" when you become short-chipped than it is in limit holdem introduction. If someone has two or three times your chips, all you have to do is go all in with him on one hand and you'll double up. Then you will be even or have more chips than your opponent. When a player has exactly a three-to-one advantage over you in chips, you're only two hands away from breaking him. You have to look at your whole stack as though it's one bet. That's why you don't push the panic button if you get out chipped by the opposition.
"When I wan the World Series in 1991," Brad relates, "I was heads up at the championship table with Don Holt, who had about $2 million to my approximate $200,000. At that point all I was doing was looking for hands to double through with, and then double thinking shifting again.
"Fortunately for me, I was able to double through to approximately $400,000, then to $800,000, and then to winning poker ruling a 1.6 million pot on the last hand when I held the K ? J ? and flopped a pair of jacks for the win. So, don't give up when you are behind-spend your time looking for hands that you can double up with. Pretend that you are chopping down a tree with an axe-one chink at a time-until it falls down. "