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Smart Poker Study Podcast

Sky discusses poker play and study strategies for a variety of No Limit Holdem (NLHE) poker games: LIVE and online cash games, MTT’s and SNG’s for all poker stakes. Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker author, coach & player Please visit and learn more at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com
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Now displaying: July, 2016
Jul 30, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod84

I answer 3 listener Q’s about playing in bounty tourneys, barreling your opponents off their hands and the perils of showing your hand unnecessarily.

Question 1 from Mike (3:00)

Good Afternoon Sky!
I am hosting a bounty tournament this weekend. I have never actually played in one, but have been thinking about the strategic implications of the bounty in relation to overall tournament “equity” (buy-in vs payouts) and ICM considerations. Do you have any thoughts on KO Bounty Tournaments and how to adjust?
Thanks

Question 2 from Ed (8:00)

Hi Sky,
Any thoughts on how far to take a c-bet?
When I open a pot I usually c-bet even if I miss the flop. If I get called I will barrel the turn and if called again, do I barrel the river? Or shut down by checking and folding if villain bets?
Ed

Question 3 from Tim (15:45)

Hello Sky,
I’ve been trying to play in a lot of small stakes daily NLHE tournaments at my local casino. Low buy-ins with lots of the same faces playing. Last night I felt like I was playing well until one hand and it got in my head. I kept dwelling on it afterwards and thinking about my table image and went all-in with a weak hand for 19th outta 50.
Here’s the hand that set me off: I was in late position. Blinds were 75/150. Four Limper’s ahead of me. I raised to 450 with QQ. Big blind and one other called. I flopped a set. I bet large, 2,000 because there were two clubs on the flop. The BB hesitated but called, the other guy folded. The turn was a club. The BB bet 4k.
I started thinking he caught the flush and I did end up folding. That might have been a mistake but for sure my mistake was showing my fold. I thought I was showing off a big fold to save face and ego or something.
The whole table started saying, “How could you fold that with the river still to come!?!” Even the dealer said he would have played that.
It got in my head and it was all downhill from there. I felt embarrassed.
What do you think?
-Tim

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 20, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod82

I discuss the importance of asking great questions when studying and when playing poker.  Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

Podcast Mission (3:30)

My mission for today is to teach you that the quality of your poker education is a result of the quality of the questions you ask. I’ll give you some great questions to ask yourself when hand reading your opponents, as well as spur you to start asking better questions to help you understand your opponents and their actions.

Asking the Right Questions (4:05)

Questions from 'The Hand Reading Lab'

What’s the worst _______ he’d open here?

 

How often will they fold to a 3bet?

Lots of question to ask on the flop

 

Practicing your question asking (14:10)

Quotes

“Knowledge is having the right answer.  Intelligence is asking the right question.” – unknown

“Ignorance is a temporary affliction, remedied only by asking the right questions.” – Colin Wright: Exile Lifestyle is the blog of author, entrepreneur, and full-time traveler, Colin Wright

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” – Voltaire: Voltaire (real name François-Marie Arouet) (1694 - 1778) was a French philosopher and writer of the Age of Enlightenment. His intelligence, wit and style made him one of France's greatest writers and philosophers.

“He who is afraid to ask is ashamed of learning.” – Danish Proverb

“No one is dumb who is curious. The people who don't ask questions remain clueless throughout their lives.” – Neil DeGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist

Podcast Challenge (16:20)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Make a list of questions that you could ask yourself on the river that will help guide your river approach.  Take a situation of your choice: Maybe the flush completed, the board paired, an over card came, a seemingly unimportant card came, or whatever situation you want.  Now, make a list of at least 3 questions to help guide your actions on the river.  What knowledge will help you make the value bet, the bluff bet, the check raise, the check call or the check behind that’s correct in this instance?  There are plenty of questions you could ask yourself to guide you to the correct strategy.

Send me your river questions via email and I’ll reply with the questions I like to ask myself on the river.  Let’s learn together, you and me, taking our question asking skills to the next level!

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 12, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod80

I show you how to count poker hand combos to aid your mathematical understanding of the game and the ranges of your opponents.

Podcast Mission (3:15)

My mission for today is to teach you how to count combos of hands in poker.

Take the time right now to answer these questions as a quick little test for yourself:

  1. How many hole card hands can you possibly be dealt in NLHE?
  2. How many ways can you be dealt JJ?
  3. How many ways can you be dealt TJ?
  4. The flop comes T92r, what hands have open-ended straight draws and how many combos of this draw are possible?

Total number of possible NLHE hands

Individual hands – possible combos of each

Board Interaction

 

Flush Draws

 

Card Removal or Blockers

 

How to practice combo counting

Podcast Challenge (18:30)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Count the combos your opponent might have in this scenario: You open with 88, he calls on the button.  You estimate his calling range as 30% of hands, but he would normally 3bet JJ+ and AK, so you can take those out of his range b/c he just called your open.  The flop comes down 672r.  What hands and drawing hands might he have and how many combos of each?

  • Sets
  • 2pair
  • Open-ended straight draws
  • Gut shot draws

Send me your answer via email and I’ll reply with my own assessment of his possible combos.  Let’s learn together, you and me, taking our combo counting game to the next level!

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 8, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod79

In this episode I answer 3 listener Q’s about river calling when your gut says you shouldn’t, online rakeback, playing in capped games and practicing counting outs.

Question 1 from Philip (4:35) - River Calling

Question 2 from Michael (7:20) - Rakeback and Capped Games

 

Question 3 from Wendy (13:40) - Counting Outs

 

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 6, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod78

I read a great article from BlackRain79 (Nathan Williams) on how to tilt your weak micro stakes opponents for maximum profit, and give additional insights into exploiting the weak.

'How to Tilt Lesser-Skilled Players at the Lower Stakes’ by Nathan "BlackRain79" Williams

My Thoughts (9:10)

Podcast Challenge (14:55)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  In the next session you play, pick a weak player and purposefully try to tilt them.  Follow what BlackRain79 says here and do the following:

  1. Play IP
  2. Raise with anything playable without agro players to your left
  3. Cbet a ton (especially in the beginning)
  4. Don’t pay off with crap hands when they start committing chips to the pot with bets and raises
  5. Go for lots of value with good hands when they appear to start tilting

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 5, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod77

I show you how to figure out your opponent’s 3bet continuance ranges; the hands they call your 3bets with and what they 4bet with.  We'll cover the HUD stats most useful for this, as well as 3 questions to answer as you use Flopzilla for the heavy lifting.

Podcast Mission (3:40)

My mission for today is to teach you how to logically create your opponent’s 3bet calling and 4betting ranges.

Take the time right now to answer these questions for yourself before we get to the meat of today’s podcast

  1. Why should I consider what my opponent continues with vs my 3bet?
  2. What HUD statistics should help me determine his continuance ranges?
  3. How do I determine what my opponent’s continue with?

Why should I consider what my opponent continues with vs my 3bet? (4:35)

What HUD statistics should help me determine his continuance ranges? (7:05)

How do I determine what my opponent’s continue with vs my 3bet? (12:05)

Podcast Challenge (21:30)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: Run through this exact same process again, but this time we’ll make it a simpler scenario. You’re up against a TAG player who opens 14% from UTG. You 3bet from the BTN. His stats say he folds to 3bets 85% of the time, and 4bets 4% of the time. What does he continue with? Send me your answer via email and I’ll reply with my own assessment of his 3bet calling and 4betting ranges. Let’s learn together, you and me, taking our 3betting games to a new level!

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

Jul 1, 2016

http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod76

I answer 2 listener Q’s about how to start the hand reading journey and where to go for some limit holdem learning.

Question 1 from myself (1:25)

Question 2 from Gerald Pervall (2:45)

 

Question 3 from Angelo (11:30)

 

Hosted by Sky Matsuhashi, poker player, poker coach and author. 

Please visit my poker strategy website at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com and sign up for the Smart Poker Study Newsletter for weekly strategy, study and poker play tips.

Discuss poker with like-minded players at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/discuss

Support my show on Patreon!  http://www.patreon.com/smartpokerstudy

Check out my YouTube Poker Training Channel at http://www.smartpokerstudy.com/youtube

Contact Smart Poker Study:

Twitter @smartpokerstudy

Email to sky@smartpokerstudy.com

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