Texas Hold'em poker Playing against weak opponents part 2

In the first article we discussed the basics of playing against weak players, we talked about how weak players can be harder to play against because they do not succumb to bluffs and advanced moves easily. We also talked about what to do when weak players check a lot and what to do. In this article we will talk about what to do if weak players bet pre flop then check. We will also discuss how to play monster hands against weak players.

As I have mentioned in my previous article weak players like to play with hands and fold with nothing. This makes it easy to suss them out, as they are predictable in their game play. Where advanced players come unstuck is when they try to over complicate things. Weak players simply don't understand advanced tactics and so you must adopt your game to reflect this.

Let's have a look at pre flop play. As an example lets say your opponent bets, you raise and he calls. From this you can ascertain that he must have a fairly good hand as he called your raise (standard poker theory). The flop comes down and he checks. This suggests that he did not connect with his cards because as I have said on a number of occasion's weak players like to bet hands and like to fold duds. So if he checks you can go for a bluff here. Chances are he will fold his hand.

I feel it is important to mention here that poker is a game of understanding your opponent. If I don't mention this now I'm sure I will have a few people saying, "I put a big bet in and they called and it ruined me". You need to judge your opponent even if he is a weak one and go with your gut instinct. My aim here is to try and identify common traits amongst weaker players, not tell you how weak players will play in every situation. Now that I've got that out of the way we can move onto playing monster hands.

Say you flop the full house on the flop. Normally I would suggest going straight in for the kill with a huge bet. Against weaker players I would suggest slow playing it. The reason for this is you want to give your weaker opponent the chance to draw a card that will help his hand. In my previous article I mentioned that weak players like to play any hand they get, so you are looking for them to hit a pair or better still a 2 pair. If this happens chances Are you can move them all in and take the profits.

If you are new to poker chances are you will recognise a lot of these plays in your own game. By identifying these traits you can eradicate them from your game and become a stronger player as a result. One of the most common mistakes I made in my game when I first started playing was playing suited trash hands such as 8 3 diamonds. It took me a while to realise that these hands rarely come to much and as a result you end up throwing good money after bad.

Poker is a game of playing the player. A lot goes on instinct rather than simple mathematics. There is no magical formula for no limit texas hold'em poker. Sometimes you will get lucky on the river and sometimes you will get unlucky. By following some simple guidelines you can get a better idea of when to play, but there is an element of luck involved. As long as you remember this poker is a great game to play.

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