Handicapping sporting events can be done, but you better not be a math professor to do so. AA’s and two pair have their spots in the deck of 52 cards, with AK and its negative EV when compared to AA’s. When it comes to sports handicapping the cards you play are just tokens. AA’s are the most powerful hands in the deck, since they can potentially win the majority of pots. When compared to premium holdings in the deck, AA’s have more holes and less opportunities to win. As a result, I look at all of my hands as a battle, with my pocket aces in my hand and wanting to bring all of my cards to bear on the battle, forcing my opponents into making tough decisions for their hands. When my aces get cracked, I still have a lot of power, but it can get annoying when it happens.
When I get AA’ed, I like to find a raiser in position and bet them out of the hand. This puts pressure on my opponents to make a decision for their hand, which helps me know I have a very strong hand. When my aces get cracked, however, I like to take more of a wait-and-see approach. I like to be the player that makes my opponent make a mistake and I like to do it with mediocre-weak hands. Timing is very important with hands like A-4, and being aggressive when you have a premium hand is a much better approach than being aggressive with a junk hand.
Raising preflop doesn’t mean you have a quality hand, however. Many players, especially in a big way, will raise the stake on a hand like J-4 to try and get value for their hand. They can’t, in most cases, and thatbetting formulaative is doomed to fail, but raising in a big way on a junk hand can help set up a semi-bluff on the flop.Raising on junk hands has the potential to make a player sit back and wait for a big hand to make a move on. It’s a pretty safe assumption that the player who raises very small with J-4 is not likely to have a good hand, so if you have a nice hand, you can let the opponent keep raising the pot to try and get your opponents preflop folding range limited. A raise of 4x the big blind with hands like Q-6 or K-7 is generally a good idea, the idea being that you need a strong hand to raise or reraise, allowing you to find a Marginale raiser and make a profit.
The plan here is to set up a semi-bluff on the flop. If the low hand hits, you should be good to go, as you can’t bet out of position on the flop. If the high hand hits, you don’t have to be looking for a Marginale raiser to make a profit, as you can check and take down the pot preflop. If you’re called, you still have two choices: fold a bad hand, or continue betting if you suspect your opponent has a weaker hand.
Making a move on the flop
There are certain scenarios you should fire out a bet on the flop, depending on your opponent. Your image of your opponent and the image of your hand are central to making a continuation bet. If you feel your opponent is weak, you should fire out a bet. If you’re called, you can check and take down the pot.
It’s important to understand that when you check on the flop, you’re giving your opponents the impression that you have a weak hand. If you have the image as being a fairly tight player that doesn’tMany hands, especially pocket pairs, should be played aggressively on the flop. This is simply because it’s more lucrative to play a hand aggressively on the flop than it is to call.
Don’t be afraid to bet your hand on the flop. Even if it doesn’t connect on the flop, a continuation bet against your opponent will often win a small pot. If you make a large bet and get called, you still have two live cards. You still have a chance of getting the best of your hand on the flop.
The key to playing heads up pokerace99 is to use your table position to your advantage. If you feel your opponent is making a move on you, in either position, you need to be able to call, raise or fold. If you decide to call, you want to limit your opponent’s range of hands from hitting a strong hand. If you’re uncomfortable with calling large bets, which tend to limit your opponents’ range of hands, consider simply checking or folding.