80-160 Hand

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Hiatus:

The main focus of your strategy should be the bettor since there is only one player behind you and he has already passed. This is the case even if David Sklansky or Ray Zee were in the big blind.

Best wishes,
Mason

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Clark:

Since your hand is suited and if there were loose players still to act (the button and the blinds) I'm not so sure I would fold even against an expert. On the other hand, something like queen-ten offsuit should definitely hit the muck if a reasonably good player limped in.

Best wishes,
Mason

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you in general raising to buy the button a lot? Or are the hands you are raising from the cut-off pretty similiar to the hands you are raising from the button?

[/ QUOTE ]
I raise to buy the button pretty fequently, but one thing I want to work on is getting better at getting physical reads on the player(s) to my left so that I can tell when they are probably folding anyway. I want to work on physical stuff in general because it's one of the poker areas where I am weakest (since I have for years totally disregarded it as being less important than tactical and strategic ideas; that was probably the right thing to do, but I'm reaching the point where I need to focus on it a bit more), and one of the easiest times to get reads is on people who are folding preflop since they often don't try hard enough to conceal their lack of interest since they think it doesn't matter since they are folding no matter what anyway.

[bobbyi]

[ QUOTE ]
UTG likely has the Ace and probably will go to showdown either way so you make an extra half a bet off him by popping the river.

[/ QUOTE ]
You can't rely on a passive player to bet the whole way including the river. For example, if diamonds get there, he might well check the river and you'll wish you had raised the flop because he is loose and would have called you all the way with his ace.