In free poker tournaments where you have less experienced players without the poker skills and knowledge to win frequently or by design consistently, you just have to play solid ABC poker to win many games. Against experienced players, even in some free poker games online and for certain in cash games, ABC poker won't work so well.
You'll need to incorporate new tactics into your play to beat solid players. A tactic that can be highly effective at times when used against more skilful poker players is the light 3 bet.
The Light-3 differs greatly to the normal 'value' 3-bet which is when you raise with a premium pre-flop hand such as pocket aces, kings, queens, or ace-king. With premium hands like those the aim is to get maximum value from the strong hand pre-flop.
The 'light' three bet is a really different sort of move altogether.
Purpose
With the Light-3 bet you are re-raising with a hand that might not the strongest pre-flop but become a lot better later. The Light-3 bet then is a type of semi-bluff, but only semi as the hand is not total rubbish.
You want to win the hand before the flop with your re-raise, steal the hand away from your opponent after the flop, or get lucky and make a big hand.
Even if your bluff attempt fails, you've succeed in affecting your table image and balancing your range. Should you play too tight you will find it hard to get your pay off when you get a Big Hand. But if you Light-3 bet the other players will not think you're a nit.
They won't know whether you have pocket aces or a hand that may be much weaker.
Ideal Opponent
You should not use the Light-3 against weak players. You don't need to get tricky against them when you can easily outplay them with straightforward tactics.
You do want to use the "light" three-bet against a good player who plays somewhat loose. Since the player will play a wide opening range of hands, he'll be playing less than premium hands frequently. Oftentimes, this kind of player will lay down his hand when you "light" three-bet. He wants to steal pots. He doesn't want a confrontation.
Ideal Hand
You obviously don't want to "light" three-bet with the worst starting hand possible. Although, some young online pros have been seen to "light" three-bet with all sorts of trashy hands.
Ideally, you'll want to "light" three-bet with suited connectors or suited aces. Even if you miss the flop, you may pick up a strong enough draw to allow you to continue playing the hand. If you "light" three-bet with 7-2 off suit, it's essentially a stone cold bluff with no real outs.
Summary and Warning
You don't want to "light" three-bet too much and without an idea of the intention of the tactic. You ought to play a generally solid game but still generate enough action to get paid off with your good hands. If you "light" three-bet too much, you'll just become another weak, loose player who bleeds money at the table.
If you’ve not tried the light 3 before practice it when you play poker online free first and work it into your money game repertoire when you feel confident in its use. If you’re a new comer to poker learn how to play poker for beginners first at a free poker tournaments site and learn this kind of tactic as you go along.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment