Board reading (no math)

[Wyte22]

It's a skill that as a no limit player it is VITAL that you master this, knowing at ALL times what the nuts are on each board! It is important in Limit but when one wrong decision can cost you your entire stack instead of a few more bets, it is a skill you need to master in that game!!

---> There is odds and %s and +EV values we can talk about here but for the sake of keeping it simple, let's just forgo that <-----

Start off With just finding the Nuts.


Hero: 9 9
Villian: A Q

Board: 9 K J 9 T

While this one is fairly obvious, if your the person with the 99, your going broke. You don't know for 100% certainy that your villian made his Royal Flush. You can guess, and most of the time you'll be right that your quad 9s are good, but in this case, you will be going broke.


Who has the nuts in the following hands? See how quickly you can find the nuts! answers posted below


1. 9 8 8 T T

2. K Q 2 4 5

3. T T T 2 T

4. A K Q J T

5. 5 7 8 2 9

6. A 2 3 4 5



1. Person holding QJ makes an 8 to Queen Str8 flush!
2. 63 is the nuts here. Since we're thinking aces alot, people will look at that and think A3 is the nuts, but it is only 2nd nuts
3. Anyone holding an ace in this situation has the nuts. If you were holding pkt pair, your hand was best until river. GG ace ship your stack to them!
4. There is no nuts, the board had a str8 on it with no draws to a flush. GG split pot!
5. You'll look at this and see 4 to a str8 with a 6 completing it. but 6 is not even 2nd nuts here! Jack Ten is the nuts here making a 7 to Jack str8. 10 6 is second nuts with a 6 to Ten str8
6. Even though the board IS a str8 flush, 6 7 is the nuts here making a 3 to 7 str8 flush. Don't be fooled if someone moves in on you, sometimes they maybe holding the 6 !! All depends on your villian and how they play. Just be careful on these boards!


Hopefully, you can practice this and use it to see what the nuts are and where your hand stands up against it!!

Now you ask, why is reading boards so important? Let's give a sitaution.

Playing .05/.1 HU cash game (I know they don't exist just an example)

Hero (you) have $10
Villian has $10

Villian has been ultra aggressive in the past with you, 3 betting you ALOT and bluffing into pots with scare cards.

Your holding K J

Pre-Flop: Hero raises to .30, Villian re-raises to $1, Hero Calls .30 (Pot $2)

Board: Q T 8 <---Reading this board you have an Open Ended Str8 draw meaning you have 4 9s and 4 Aces to complete your str8 flush. Not gonna count partial outs because kinda pointless.

Hero bets $1, Villian calls $1 (Pot $4)

Turn: 7 <---ok your 8 outs are still here but now you have a potential flush draw on your hands and that card also opened up more str8 possibilites for villian if he is potentially holding 96 or J9 (if he is holding J9 he flopped his str8, if they will be the nuts, who knows).

Hero Check, Villian Check.

River: A <----here's the problem, you made the nuts for your hand, boardway straight (This is T, J, Q, K and A) but now there is a flush draw on the board.

Hero Bets $2, Villian re-raises to $5.


OK we've read the board, a flush is the nuts, we are holding 2nd nuts. We know our villian is ultra aggressive, has bluffed us in the past on the river with scare cards coming out. Knowing this information, this is a fairly safe call. Expect to be good in this situation considerably more than you aren't good. But we read the board the whole way, we know what the nuts are, and what isn't the nuts.

Last little tidbit: Always be aware of your opps styles, their betting patterns when certain cards hit the board and what the nuts are at all times!! Sometimes their betting patterns can give off alot of information on each street, like going from saying, I have an open ended straight draw to, I have the nut str8 on the turn!! Just beware that not all villians play str8 but you just need to read your opps, read the board, read the bets and make sense of it all

Anyone else, feel free to hit spots that I missed on or seem kind of fuzzy about, because I am not the world's best at teaching but I try

Good luck at the tables and make lots of money!!

[liladypokerpro]

As for keeping it simple it looks fine to me.

[frob23]

One of my favorite poker moments is from the Poker After Dark Cash Game.

Phil Helmuth has: 5-5

And the board is: J-T-5

Phil calls a bet, is raised, and then shoves... he then announces, "I think I got the nuts," with bottom set. He quickly is reminded that bottom set is not the nuts when his opponent turns over a higher set (T-T).

Oops.

[phosphorescence]

yeah that was allen cunningham wasn't it? in the cash game.
ahhh phil played soo badly in that game lol

[Vito_Nuccio]

The main theme was presented nicely. "Know your hand strength in relation to the nuts". I am sure beginners overlook this topic. Hell, three aces must be good right? Put 4 trump of the other suit on the board and those aces shrink up in power and hand confidence. The board in holdem dictates what the current best hand may be. Certain hands are disqualified, they can not happen. The rest of the hands fall in line after the nuts and should be ranked accordingly.

As with all poker decisions, take the board read, combine it with all of the other ingredients gathered and cook up the correct action to take.

Thanks, Wyte.

This beginning section is a great addition to the forums. By redefining the basics we are all forced to take a good hard look at our poker foundations. And we all know a solid foundation in anything will help support much more load in the future.

Later,