{"id":1185932,"date":"2019-12-11T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.pokercoaching.com\/?p=1185932"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:42:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:42:20","slug":"poker-in-a-nutshell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-in-a-nutshell\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Play Poker in a Nutshell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cAlex, how do you play poker?\u201d My friend asked me this with a smile while we were on a business call. On my podcast, we have an old joke. Whenever someone asks an extremely broad question, we call it a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/\" title=\"How to Play Poker: Winning Strategy for Beginners\">How to play poker?<\/a>\u201d question. It\u2019s a fun way of saying, \u201cHow much time do you have? This might take a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this time, my friend was serious: \u201cI\u2019m moving to the United States soon. I\u2019ll keep helping you with your website stuff, Alex. But I want to play cards. How can I beat $1\/$2 at my local casino? When I play tournaments with up to $500 buy-ins, how can I win?\u201d I was about to tease my friend about how generic this question was, then it got me thinking: I\u2019m supposed to be a poker coach. I should be able to answer this. It\u2019s a fun challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<font color=\"grey\"><b>Jump to:<\/b><\/font>\n<ul class=\"toc_list\">\n <li><a href=\"#kill\">Go in for the Kill<\/a>\n<\/li>\n <li><a href=\"#choose\">Choose Your Hands Wisely<\/a>\n<\/li>\n <li><a href=\"#attention\">Pay Attention to the Players at the Table<\/a>\n<\/li>\n <li><a href=\"#learn\">Learn When to C-Bet<\/a>\n<\/li>\n <li><a href=\"#reading\">Read Hands &amp; Bluffs<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I started mouthing off. Luckily, I was recording while I did this. This is the clean version of what I told him. \u201cLook, man, the biggest problem everybody has when they play cards for money is that they are too tentative. They never go for the throat. Have you ever watched a chess hustler in Central Park? How do they beat bums? Aggression. They control the center of the board quickly. The tourist is looking for the kill shot. Sometimes it comes. Most of the time, it doesn\u2019t. That\u2019s why the hustler is still sitting there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"kill\">Go in for the Kill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou want to make money in <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-play-poker\/texas-holdem-rules\/\" title=\"How To Play Texas Hold\u2019em \u2013 Poker Rules &amp; Basics\">Texas Hold&#8217;em<\/a>? You attack. You don\u2019t wait for the kill shot. When you bet, so many good things can happen. You can get a better hand to fold. You can make a worse hand pay you. You can slow a guy down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many times, a guy checks with you on the flop. You bet small, and he calls\u2026you just bought a river. He will check with you on the turn close to 100% of the time. You can check back. You can do this on the turn, too. You bet small, they call\u2026, and you can check the river. You just bought the showdown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<strong>The problem low-to-mid stakes players have, man, is that they don\u2019t raise postflop as a bluff<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the hardest thing in the world to teach a poker player. No one wants to raise it as a bluff because at low-to-medium stakes\u2026people don\u2019t like to fold their <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-hands\/\" title=\"Poker Hand Rankings &amp; The Best Texas Hold\u2019em Hands\">poker hands<\/a>. They get caught bluffing a few times. They feel stupid. Everyone eyes them like, \u2018oh look at you trying.\u2019 They never do it again. When I was researching live poker for my book, I had a hard time finding low-to-mid stakes players who would raise as a bluff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis creates a real opportunity for you because you dictate the action if you\u2019re aggressive. If you like your hand, the guy has to play a big pot. If you don\u2019t like it, the pot becomes much smaller. This effect becomes really pronounced in position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Use 3-Bets to CRUSH Cash Games!\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RsRL0yJZegw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Take On 3 Bet Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you come into a pot, you\u2019re raising. Cold calling is death in low- to mid-stakes. The average guy is opening too much and not defending well to 3 bets. 3 bet him! At higher stakes, people will punish you for getting out of line. At this limit, they\u2019ll <strong>whine.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRepop the guy, get him heads-up, and fire.\nIf they raise, they have it. If they call, take your free cards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the whole game, man. Heads-up pots. Heads-up pots with guys who play too many hands. Multiway pots are death. You know why? YOU NEED A HAND TO WIN MULTIWAY. If you cold call someone\u2019s open, you will play multiway at these stakes. The button will be flat. The big blind will flat. But if you 3 bet? No one\u2019s got a cold 4 bet bluff. You gotta play higher to see that one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re cornering these guys who play too many hands in their <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/ranges-in-poker\/\" title=\"Ranges in Poker \u2013 Analyze Your Hands Like a Pro\">range<\/a>. If you open, raise, raise big, and get the big blind to call you. If someone opens from LoJack or later and you have anything playable, you three bet him. Chances are, he has too many hands. If you see him open suited-gappers or unsuited broadways from an earlier position, you three bet him when he opens there, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"choose\">Choose Your Hands Wisely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou need something playable. A suited gapper. Broadways. Small pairs. Something. But you don\u2019t need much because they\u2019re pretty predictable postflop. If they have high cards, they\u2019re folding. Especially out of <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-positions\/\" title=\"Poker Positions \u2013 Know How to Play from Every Seat at the Table\">position<\/a>. That\u2019s why 3-betting is such a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf they open 20-25% of the hands and they flat every 3 bet, then they have high cards 45% of the time or more on any board that doesn\u2019t have two cards nine or higher. You can just bet 3\/4 of the pot if you think that will fold high cards. That bet only needs to work 42.8% of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust bet something bigger than half-pot. People call with high cards when the bet size is normal. If you bet big, though, a lot of guys will fold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf the board comes ace high, though, just bet small. They either have the ace or they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"attention\">Pay Attention to the Players at the Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNow, getting back to the main point, you get it heads-up with a guy who has too many hands. Pretty much anybody opening these days has too many hands. The big blind flatter has too many hands. A nit cold calls you. Leave him alone. Check\/fold. It makes you look nuttier. Don\u2019t 3 bet that guy either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut you get heads-up with a guy who has too many hands, you bet, you get him to fold all the times he missed\u2026that\u2019s a profitable bet right there. <strong>You keep banking those, you WILL MAKE MONEY at No-Limit Hold\u2019em.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"learn\">Learn When to C-Bet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe biggest problem most people have is that four of <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/your-continuation-bets-suck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">their c-bets don\u2019t work<\/a> over two hours, and they go psychotic. They try to triple barrel someone off of a hand later, and bam, they\u2019re negative big time for the session.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you continuance bet, and they call, you have to trust they have a pair 70% of the time or more because, generally, that\u2019s what they\u2019ll have. Nothing is 100% in No-Limit Hold\u2019em. You\u2019re working with generalities. You want to be right the majority of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou should only bet that turn if it\u2019s terrible for a pair. Say 7-5-4 is the board, turn is a six. That\u2019s a card that\u2019s likely to make a pair fold. But if the flop is 7-5-4 and the turn is an ace\u2026that doesn\u2019t mean the guy is going to fold a seven or five, even if the ace is in your range. Many low-to-mid-stakes players hold on there. You want a four-flush board or four straight boards, or just something atrocious. You don\u2019t want to double-barrel bluff much, though. Not while you\u2019re learning. You\u2019ll have to develop that play as you move up in stakes, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhere you make your money in low-to-mid stakes is with your superior pairs. You have a top pair, mediocre kicker\u2026 you go three streets with it. That river bet? 5 or 10 big blinds? There\u2019s your hourly right there. Bank that and the game is won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reading\">Read Hands &amp; Bluffs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRemember, too, they don\u2019t like raising without two pairs or better. They like to fold high cards, call with pairs, and raise two pairs or better. Especially deep stacked. People don\u2019t like raising draws there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s say you have a weak top pair. You don\u2019t want to bet the flop, bet the turn, and check the river. Then you\u2019re telling the guy you have a weak pair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBet something small on the flop. The guy isn\u2019t going to raise it as a bluff nine times out of ten. He\u2019ll call with some extra high cards, that\u2019s it. Then you can bet 35% on the turn. 50% river. Small bets, but you got three streets \u2013 it adds up to a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you can sucker people into that river\u2026they call too much. Everybody wants to see what you have on the river. Curiosity equity is a hell of a thing. And no one understands how bad it is for them to call on the river. River bets are 5 big blinds. 10 big blinds. 20 big blinds. And people just hand them to you! They sometimes hold their cards over the muck, knowing their hand is bad! Kings are worth like four big blinds average on a good day, AND THEY\u2019re JUST GOING TO HAND YOU 20 BIG BLINDS?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd once you understand why you always have to be value betting rivers, you will understand <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/poker-strategy-tips\/\" title=\"Poker Strategy 101 \u2013 How to Win in Poker More Often\">poker strategy<\/a> for No-Limit Hold\u2019em. You will have a game for life. You will be able to make money anywhere this game is spread. You can live off the grid as long as you want. That, my friend, is a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAlex, how do you play poker?\u201d My friend asked me this with a smile while we were on a business call. On my podcast, we have an old joke. Whenever someone asks an extremely broad [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":2515945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[877,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1185932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay-373x210.jpg",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay-746x390.jpg",746,390,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay-768x402.jpg",768,402,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay.jpg",1200,628,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/HowtoPlay.jpg",100,52,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Alex Fitzgerald","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/alex_fitzgerald\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\u201cAlex, how do you play poker?\u201d My friend asked me this with a smile while we were on a business call. On my podcast, we have an old joke. Whenever someone asks an extremely broad [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185932"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2545048,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185932\/revisions\/2545048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2515945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}