ONLINE POKER STRATEGIES
The stop and go is an advanced poker strategy used specifically for when you dealt a pocket pair and are short stacked in an online poker tournament. This strategy works best when you are in the big blind and face a raise from a single opponent. The best way to illustrate this play is through an example:
You are in the big blind with 9 big blinds and are dealt pocket eights. A player in late position opens the pot for a standard 3x BB raise. Action folds around to you and you simply make the call, however, you commit yourself to pushing all-in no matter what comes on the flop. This is the essence of stop and go, and why it is considered advanced strategy.
There are three reasons why the stop and go technique can be a successful play a high percentage of the time:
(1). If you re-raise and push your short stack all-in before the flop with a medium pocket pair, you are likely to get a call from a large range of hands. A push here will get a call from several pocket pairs that are beating you at the moment, or two over cards which you would be racing against. Neither are situations that you want to get all your money in the middle of the pot with in a tournament situation
(2). If your opponent does have a better pocket pair than you and he faces over cards on the board after you push on the flop he will have a hard time calling your bet. This technique will force him to fold a better hand and give you the pot.
(3). If your opponent has two overcards to your pair and fails to hit one on the flop he will almost surely be forced to fold. Maybe he even has a hand like 10-9 suited on a ten high flop and will have a hard decision on his hand.
By delaying your all-in move until after the flop with the stop and go technique you give yourself a few extra ways to pick up the pot, possibly with the worst hand. Unless your opponent hits the flop hard, they will have a tough time making the call after the flop, whereas pre-flop they may have easily called the raise.
The key to pulling off a successful stop and go technique is committing yourself to the push no matter what three cards fall on the flop. If you were to chicken out and check to the original raiser you leave yourself open to an easy steal with a continuation bet. If you are short, and spot your opportunity for this play, commit yourself fully to the stop and go strategy and hope to gain some extra chips to mount your comeback.
By Tom Bostic
- Poker Expert
The Squeeze Play
One of the newest and most popular "plays" in poker these days is a maneuver called the squeeze play. The "squeeze" was made famous by Dan Harrington in the 2004 World Series of Poker and later in his ground-breaking series of books "Harrington on Hold'em." Although it is a move that is beginning to catch on in the poker community, it is still an important tool to add to your poker repertoire.
First let us explore what exactly a squeeze play is. Imagine that you are playing in a no-limit Texas hold'em tournament (the best time to employ a squeeze). You are at the final table with nine other players. Sitting on an average stack, you have a relatively tight image and have been card dead for the past few orbits. While in the big blind a player in middle position raises to three and a half times the size of the big blind. Then, an opponent two seats behind the original raiser makes the call. Action then folds around to you and you look down at 10-4. Or jack-six. Or even seven-deuce for that matter. Any form of garbage you care to envison. Most players in most situations are mucking their hand without too much thought. But using the squeeze play you make a healthy raise. If a normal raise is two and a half to three times the original bet, now is the time to squeeze—you raise five times.
Sound crazy? Crazy like a fox. Think about it. A raise from early position from a tight player is a scary thing, and most people would give you credit for a strong hand. Maybe the original raiser had a hand like ace-ten suited and the caller had a pair of fives (or hands close to that range). Can either of them really call a large re-raise? You are essentially "squeezing" the two players that have been caught up in the middle. It's a risky maneuver, but the pay off can be huge considering the antes, small blind and the dead money in the pot you are picking up a nice sized pot with little contention.
Now there are certain parameters that you must operate under to perform the squeeze play. First of all you must not have a loose, ultra aggressive image because, if you do, then chances are others may not respect your raise and are more likely to call with marginal holds. Second, you have to be familiar enough with the other players that you know that they are both capable of laying down a hand. Do not attempt the squeeze play against a calling station because it is a sure fire plan for disaster. Third, realize that it is a much stronger play when you are in the later stages of tournament poker where players are less willing to gamble. If you attempt the squeeze play in cash games or in the early blind levels of a tournament you are much more likely to find someone willing to call you down.
The squeeze play is an ingenious formula to pick up some extra chips in very specific situations. As long as it is used sparingly and in the correct situations, it is an excellent tool to squeeze into your poker bag of tricks.
By Tom Bostic
- Poker Expert.
