Lesson 2
1. Why are big suited cards much better than big offsuit cards? Show answer
Suited hole cards have 12.3% chance of flopping a flush draw and unsuited cards have 1.1% chance of flopping a flush draw. In addition to that, flopping a flush draw with unsuited cards without the ace of the flopped draw increases the chance that when you make your flush you are against the nut flush.
2. Why is it that A9s is much better than K9s? Show answer
If you flop top pair with your ace, it's always biggest pair. If you flop a flush draw it's, you are drawing to nut flush.
3. When you play a suited connector like 98s, what are you looking to flop and what kind of a flop can be really dangerous one? Show answer
With suited connectors you want to flop flush draw or open ended straight draw in a multiway pot. Any flop with overcards (without you having a straight draw) is a dangerous flop to you.
Lesson 3
1. How likely are you hit your hand if you have a inside straight draw and two overcards in a multiway pot? Show answer
Inside straight draw has 4 outs and two overcards in a multiway pot can be counted as half of an out each, so that makes it 7 outs together. With 7 outs you have 14,9% chance of improving when seeing one card and 27,9% chance when seeing two cards.
2. Why does open-ended straightflush draw have 15 outs and not 17 (9+8)? Show answer
Open-ended straightflush draw adds together an open-ended straight and a flushdraw, but while having the flush draw gives you 9 outs, two of those outs are same as in the straight draw, thus giving you 9+6 outs.
3. You're on the flop with open-ended straight draw, the pot before any betting has $10 in it and there's been a $2 bet and raise to $4 before you. There's no players acting after you besides the two players mentioned as bettors, what should your action be if you think the original bettor will only call? Show answer
You'd have to pay $4 to win $18 (10 pot+2 bet+4 raise+2 call from the original raiser) so you'd need to put in 22% of the pot, and your chances of improving on the next card are 17% so you can't call here based on the pot odds. When calculating effective odds we need to make some assumptions, and I'd like to assume that on the turn the original bettor checks to the raiser who bets and everyone calls (as is typical in low limit games). Now you'd have to pay $8 to win $26 which gives us 30,8% and our chances of improving when there's two cards coming is 31,4%, so we can call here based on effective odds.
4. Same setting as in the previous question, but what if the original bettor is going to reraise? Show answer
Now you'd have to pay $6 on the flop (assuming no 4-bet from the raiser) to win $22 which equals about 27%. Your odds of hitting are still 17% so no call based on straight pot odds. Effective odds say (assuming there's only bet and a call) that you'd have to pay $10 to win $30 which is 33,3% and thus makes it unprofitable for us to call based on effective odds. What if we can assume that at least one of the players will pay 1 bet on the river if we make our hand by then? Here we'd have to pay $10 to win $34, 29,4% and a profitable call.
5. If the pot on the flop before any betting is $8, how many callers you would need for a $2 bet so that you could peel one card with a gutshot straight draw (having 4 outs)? Show answer
Your gutshot has 8,5% chance of hitting when you're seeing one card. You'd need the pot to be $23,5 to be able to call $2 with the gutshot so for the $8 pot you'd need (23,5-8)/2=7,75 ~ 8 callers.
6. What's the minimum number of outs that you need on the flop to be "favorite" ie. having more than 50% chance of hitting if you go to the river, what about if you're only seeing one card? Show answer
14 outs on the flop gives you 51,1% chance of hitting your hand till the river. If you're seeing only one card, you need 24 outs on the flop and 23 outs on the turn to give you at least 50% chance of hitting your hand (on the turn, 23 outs makes it exactly 50% (23/46)).
7. You're playing against a careless player who accidently flashes his hole cards for you to see, he has AcAs and the flop shows 6h9h9s. You have 2h3h in the hole (don't ask me how you got to the flop with that hand), how many outs you have? Show answer
You have 8 outs with your flushdraw. Normally you would have 9 outs but as you now know that the ace of hearts makes your opponent a full house you can't count that as an out.
8. You're headsup against a loose and aggressive player who likes to bet as long as nobody shows any aggression, and calls down all the bets if someone else bets or raises. You're on the flop with 9c8d and the flop is 6s7hAd, pot is $6 and the aggressive player bets $2 (it's a $2/$4 limit game). Should you call him down? Show answer
Based on the straight pot odds, you surely can't call (2/6=33,3% and you hit with one card 17% of the time). Based on effective and implied odds you'd need to pay $6 to win as much as $30 ($6 pot+$2 bet+$4 bet+$4 bet+$4 call), and that makes it an easy call.
Lesson 4
1. Why it's better to act after the opponents than before them? Show answer
When you're acting after your opponents you will have more information, and therefore you can make better decisions based on actions of other players.
2. What kind of situations are those that you'd actually want to be the first one to act? Show answer
When the flop looks very dangerous (to opponent) and you want to bluff him or when you're playing against a player who bluffs too much when checked to, so you can check raise him as a bluff.
3. You have AsJs in the hole, and you that raised in the middle position. Button calls and blinds call. Flop is Ah5s2s, small blind bets and big blind raises. Whats your action and why? Show answer
You should raise. Your raise may drive the button away, but it's a large pot and you would like to win it right here. Even if the blinds will call most of the time, your hand is so strong that you don't mind action as you're a huge favorite in this spot against everything but two pair and set.
4. You have 7h6h and you're on the button. There's three limpers before you and you call, small blind calls and big blind checks. Flop comes 4s5dAc, everyone check to the cut-off who bets, next is you. What's your action and why? Show answer
The pot is surely big enough to give you odds to call (7 bets in the pot), but should you raise here? Raising for value isn't really an option because you probably will drive other players out, but what about raising for a free card? I don't like raising for a free card here, because you will get better odds by just calling and hoping that some of the other players also call and pad the pot for you.
5. Same scenario as in the last question, but the big blind bets and all three players call. What's your action and why? Show answer
Here it's best to raise for value, because there's 5 other players in the pot, you're getting about 2-1 for your investment here which is great. You're also raising partially for the free card here, because if you don't hit on the turn, you should take a free card if possible.
6. You're in the big blind with 6s6d, player under the gun (first from the blinds) raises, player in middle position calls and button calls, small blind folds and you call. Flop comes 2s6cTd. What's your action and why? Show answer
Most of the time you should check to the raiser who will bet very often in this situation even if he missed the flop. You then hope that the other players call and you can raise. You should sometimes bet though, so you don't become too easy to read. I recommend betting 20% of the time and check-raising 80% of the time.
7. If you know your opponent is getting good enough odds to draw and you also know he will call your bet, why it's still better to bet than to check? Show answer
It's better to bet because even if you're giving them good enough odds to call it's still better than giving them infinite odds.
8. How should you play your strong hands on the flop? Show answer
You should play strong hands straightforwardly most of the time. People slowplay too much in lower limits and then complain that they won only a tiny pot with their fullhouse, but if they would have bet and raised from the flop onwards, they might have won much bigger pot. Slowplaying is best when there's some very aggressive players in the hand.
9. You have 8s7d in the big blind and it's folded to the button who calls, small blind calls and you check. Flop comes AdTs9s, small blind checks, you check and the button bets. Small blind folds and it's your turn. What's your action and why? Show answer
You should fold (unless you think the player is very weak and will fold to your raise). You don't have pot odds to call here
10. How should you play on the flop if you raised preflop with big unpaired cards and miss the flop against one/two/several opponents? Show answer
Most of the time against one or even two opponents you should bet out on the flop, against several opponents you shouldn't try to bluff because someone will most probably have something and they will call you down or even raise.
Lesson 5
1. You have AsAc in small blind and have been betting all the way and three players have been calling you down. On the turn the table shows Kd Js 9s 7s, you bet yet again, one player calls and next player raises, fourth player folds. What should you do? Show answer
You should call. Many people will keep raising with their aces here even though it's clear they are beaten either by a flush or a straight. Even though you are probably beat here, you can't fold because of the enormous odds you're getting so calling is right because you happen to have the nut flush draw. If you make your flush, you may be getting huge payoff by someone who holds the king of hearts or even from someone how has a lesser flush but doesn't realize you have the nuts.
2. You are heads up on turn with a (as far as you know) solid player who hasn't made an aggressive move yet (has only been calling), you have Ts9s and the board shows Ks Qc 9d 2h and he checks to you. What should you do? Show answer
Your hand here isn't very strong, but if your opponent is drawing that two of hearts couldn't have helped him. You should bet here and be prepared to fold to a raise because the pot usually isn't that big when it's headsup on the turn. If he calls you here he will probably check the river and you can then check behind. More often than not though, your opponent will fold here and you'll rake in the pot.
3. You're on the river with a solid player and have Ks7s in the big blind position. The board shows As Kd 9s 8h 6c, should you bet for value here? Show answer
You can't bet for value here. What lesser hand can you see calling you if you bet? Maybe an even worse king might make a crying call, but nothing less than that, so you're nowhere near the 50% mark to win when getting called.
4. You're on the river again with same solid player, and have 9s8s in big blind position, board shows Tc Jc Qh 4c 5c and he has been calling your bets on flop and turn. Should you bet the river? Show answer
You shouldn't bet here. He might had been drawing to a flush and then decided to slowplay it (foolishly), or he might have had something like top pair on the flop with one big club, and made a backdoor flush. He might also have been slowplaying (foolishly) the same hand you have or a better straight. Even though you have what is seemingly a strong hand (straight), not many lesser hands will call you here.
5. Why should you call more against aggressive players than passive ones on the river? Show answer
Because aggressive players tend to bluff more and bet more marginal hands in the end. Passive players only bet with nuts or close to it.
6. What's the difference in betting a solid hand on flop/turn and betting it on the river? Show answer
When you bet on the flop/turn, unless you have absolute nuts, you're delighted to see people fold. In the river you want people to call your bet because you only bet if you want to get called (unless you're bluffing of course).
7. How does a "scare card" (a card that makes some obvious draw, like third card of the same suit) affect your river play Show answer
When a scare card comes on the river, you should call more often against players who are cabable of bluffing, because they also see that scare card and may decide that it's a good reason to fire out. Against people who don't think this far, you don't need to adjust your calling standards.
Lesson 6
1. Why it's almost always better to play in a game filled with loose-passive players instead of loose-aggressive players, even though the latter game usually has bigger pots to be won? Show answer
Because in a game with passive players your monetary swings are much smaller than in aggressive games and aggressive games are harder to play especially if you don't have lots of experience.
2. Why should you re-raise with some "weaker" hands against a maniac if you're sitting right on his left? Show answer
Because you want to isolate the aggressive player so you can play against his weaker than average hands heads up.
3. Why it's good to have a loose-aggressive player on your right? Show answer
You can evaluate the hand after his actions thus giving you some idea of your hand against his possible holdings.
4. Why it's better to have a tight player on your left than on your right? Show answer
It will be much easier for you to steal theis blinds and if they they call you have the knowledge that they think their hand is good.
5. Should you steal blinds from loose and passive players? Show answer
No, you don't want to steal blinds from loose players because they will call you down. If you see a flop against these players you can mostly manipulate them to either pay you off when you flop something good or let you draw for cheap/free when you flop a draw.
6. What kind of players should you try to steal blinds from? Show answer
You should try to steal blinds against tight players, more against tight-passive but also against tight-aggressive, just don't get in a raising war with them.
7. You raised before the flop with JsJd and got called by the button who is very tight and very passive player who plays maybe one hand out of ten and raises even less. Flop comes AsKd8h, you bet and the passive player raises, what should you do? Show answer
You should fold here. It's painfully clear that you are beat here as a tight and passive player wouldn't really call a raise preflop without a good or premium hand, hands like AK, AQ, KK or even AA are the most probable holdings for the button.
8. Same situation as in last question but the opponent is very loose and aggressive? Show answer
You might want to raise here to see if he really has something (that's probably the case if he makes it four bets), or if he is just trying to push you away from the hand. If he only calls here, you probably want to lead the turn no matter what comes.
9. A loose-aggressive player raises from early position and two tight and pretty passive players call him from middle and cut-off positions. You have TT in the button, what should you do? Show answer
You should fold. The raise in itself isn't that dangerous because it came from loose and aggressive player, but two tight players calling a raise from early position must mean something, and that something tells us that our pocket tens aren't any good here.
10. A tight and passive player raises from early position and two very loose and somewhat aggressive players call him from middle and cut-off positions. You have TT in the button, what should you do? Show answer
Here the raise in itself is very alarming, but as we have two loose and aggressive players padding the pot for us if we manage to hit the miracle ten on the flop and we have position, I'm leaning towards calling here. Folding isn't that big of a mistake though as it's a close call in my opinion.
