Pokerton ♠️ News

2021-03-08 15:05:56 ​​What is equity denial?
Equity denial refers to when we make our opponent fold a hand that has good equity against our hand or range. 
This is not a bluff, which is when we make our opponent fold the best hand. We usually have the best hand when we deny equity. Even though we have the best hand, equity denial is not a value bet either, because we don't want our opponent to call. 

Let's give an example to show how equity denial is valuable. 
You have 5 5 and the flop is 9 8 8 .
You have the best hand here a lot of the time, but there are few turns and rivers you want to see. Another heart could make a flush, a 6,7,10 or Jack could make a straight, another nine would counterfeit your pair and any card 10 or higher could give your opponent a better pair, assuming they didn't have one already. If we give our opponent this capped range (on picture)

Against pocket fives your opponent has 55% equity, they are the favourite to win, if they are allowed to realise their equity. That means checking to pot control or bluffcatch would be a disaster on this flop. Much better to bet with the best hand, hoping to get your opponent to fold so they cannot realise their equity. You deny them 55% equity when they fold. 
In comparison, a hand like K T  on a K 7 2   flop might be the sort of hand when checking to induce a bluff is the better option. If you bet you only really get called by strong hands, when you check you are not worried about people hitting draws, the only high card you don't want to see is an Ace and if they do pick up a pair it is going to be second best to yours. 

The example we have picked to demonstrate equity denial is a really obvious example that shows the difference between best hand right now and best equity right now, but equity denial is a concept you should factor in whenever you have a hand for which there are scary turns and rivers.

#strategy #equity Open / Comment

2021-03-05 21:34:29 Equity Denial
It's not a bluff and it is not a value bet either.

In our last article we discussed equity realisation, which is how often your hand gets its rightful share of the pot.

To make money at poker you want to maximise your equity realisation, you also want to minimise your opponent's equity realisation.

The second part of the equation we achieve with a concept called equity denial.

Check our next post to see details

#strategy #equity Open / Comment

2021-03-04 23:06:56 The WSOP will happen in some form
Speculation is mounting about what a 2021 World Series of Poker will look like and we got some hints from poker Twitter legend Kevin Mathers.

A WSOP is definitely happening assuming the COVID-19 situation does not get worse, but it looks certain not to have the usual timeframe of May to July.

So even though the November Nine concept has been retired for several years now, it is feasible we could see a return to a Main Event champion being crowned in the final quarter of the year. Open / Comment

2021-03-03 20:58:58 How about this method?

Buy-in was 50.000$ Open / Comment

2021-03-02 20:59:51 19-year-old wins WPT Russia
While the bricks and mortar game has been running in some form for a while Stateside, European live poker has mostly been a victim of the global lockdowns.

One exception has been Sochi, which has hosted several tournaments recently including the first World Poker Tour in Europe in over a year (after hosting their first American event in January).

WPT Russia had a ₽245,000 (~$3,300) Main Event which attracted 162 entries and 89 re-entries.

It also boasted one of the youngest winners ever to lift a WPT title, as 19-year-old Maksim Sekretarev took it down for ₽11,996,601 ($161,982).

What do you think? Let us know in comment Open / Comment

2021-03-01 21:06:55 Kevin Hart on air, how it is? Open / Comment

2021-02-28 19:57:06 What is equity realisation
Equity realisation is how often can you actually accrue your rightful share of the pot based on a number of factors. Your stack size, position, number of opponents, skill, playability and much more influence equity realisation.

To give a simple example, a small pair. You know that against a lot of Ax hands you will have around 50% equity with pocket 2s, but it is very hard to realise equity with a hand like that, because it is hard to get to showdown.

If you have 2 2 and the board is flop is K Q T getting to showdown is hard, especially out of position. Even if you still have the best hand your opponent likely has a strong draw that will beat you by the river. Realistically you cannot stand one bet, let alone further bets on the turn and river. This is why small pairs work better for set mining and folding when you miss.

If you had a hand like A 9 , however, then you have really good equity realisation. You block strong hands, you have good showdown value, you sometimes have the best hand already, you can hit a monster and you have lots of profitable bluffs. You can actually over realise equity with a hand like this, meaning you will win, on average, more than the raw equity it has against your opponent.

#strategy #equity Open / Comment

2021-02-27 18:00:21 Equity Realisation
You probably understand what equity is in poker at this stage. It is the percentage of the pot you expect your hand to win, on average, against your opponent's range, assuming you both get to showdown.

If you have 50% equity with two over cards against the 50% equity of your opponent with a small pair, all-in preflop, you both can expect to win half the time.

Knowing your equity is important but some people can overestimate it on its own. This is why a common error some players make is overplaying hands they know have good 'raw equity' but that don't realise equity well.

#strategy #equity Open / Comment

2021-02-26 21:56:53 Calling with a Blocker
Today we are going to look at how they specifically can impact whether you call a bet or not.

Let's say we get to the river of a 9 7 2 5 4 board and our opponent bets big. Our read is that they have either missed completely or have a monster. Which of these hands would we be best calling them with?

- A 9

- T 9

- 9 6

Most people would say the A9 is the best hand to call with, because the A kicker means we have the best top pair, but remember we think our opponent either has a bluff or a huge hand.

In this scenario the 96 is the better hand to call with. Why? Because we block the chances of Villain having 86 for the nut straight. When we call with A9 there are potentially 16 combinations of 86 out there but when we call with 96 there are only 12 because we have one of the sixes. Villain is 25% less likely to have the straight when we have a six in our hand.

If you said T9 that is also a mistake, because that hands blocks the chances of Villain having a missed straight draw. If they are bluffing it is likely with a hand like T8 that missed their straight. When we have a ten ourselves it has the reverse impact on our opponent having a potential bluff. There is also the discussion of whether Villain has a missed flush draw and what the clubs in our hand do to make that likely, but we'll leave it there for now.

Blockers are just one consideration when it comes to calling a bet, your reads on how likely your opponent is to be bluffing and how likely they are to have played the sort of hand you are worried about are just as important. But blockers are a concept you really need to think about and study further because long term they will have a profound impact on your bottom line.

#strategy #blockers Open / Comment

2021-02-26 20:48:46 How about that READ? Open / Comment