Poker is a unique game and the best players use a combination of math, skill and observation to win.
It takes a brilliant mind to understand and win at poker – and an even more powerful mind to come up with a basic strategy that becomes a reference.
These geniuses go to great lengths to solve poker puzzles and figure out the best way to act in certain situations.
However, poker has evolved a lot in the last decade, and it will continue to evolve. What seemed to work well ten years ago may be stupid now. Similarly, winning strategies now may be ineffective ten years from now.
Below you will find five tips, recommended by some of the most famous names in poker, that have worked very well in the past, but are now past their sell-by date.
1: Re-raise with small pairs preflop in limit hold'em
Author: Phil Hellmuth
Book: Play Poker Like the Pros
Tip: When the pot is raised and it is your turn in a Limit Hold'em game, if you have a small pair, it is better to 3-BET than to call the original raise. This way, you can represent any hand when the flop comes.
Why this tip is bad: The problem with this tip is that he is writing a book for beginners, and beginners will play micro and small stakes. People at these levels play hundreds of hands.
You won't be able to represent anything on the flop because people will just be playing all sorts of hands. They don't care if you 3-bet preflop. They only care about their own hands, and if they hit top pair, they won't fold.
You just end up spending more chips in the pot with no chance of getting them back unless you hit a set.
Ideal thinking: In limit hold'em, especially at low stakes, you should just call because then you can have other players enter the pot after you. Play the hand to try to get a set, if you don't hit it, it's easy to fold.
2: A 4-BET means a pair of aces
Author: Phil Gordon
Book: Little Green Book
Tip: “A 4-BET always means a pair of aces.”
Why this tip is bad: The tip is not necessarily bad, but it is outdated and wrong.
Today’s players can easily 4-BET with a wide variety of hands.
To be honest, nowadays even a 5-BET or 6-BET might not mean pocket aces.
Ideal thinking: Treat players individually.
For some players a 4-BET actually means a pair of aces, for others it might just be a pair of any two cards.
3: If you are playing with low connected cards, they do not need to be suited
Author: TJ Cloutier
Book: Championship No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em
Tip: Low connectors do not need to be suited in multi-way pots, where there is a good chance that someone else will have higher cards of the same suit as you.
Why this tip is bad: It is simply impossible for a pair of unsuited cards to be better than suited cards.
The thought that suited cards of this type will do more harm than good is ridiculous.
Yes, occasionally you will make a flush and encounter a higher flush than yours, but we also have to think about the countless times you will make the flush and win the pot, as well as have extra outs with a backdoor flush draw.
Ideal thinking: Having suited cards gives you more chances of winning, it's that simple.
4: Raise to gain information
Author: David Sklansky
Book: Theory of Poker
Tip: Sometimes you want to raise to know where you are in the hand and get information from your opponent.
Why this tip is bad: It's bad because generally the information you get isn't good and doesn't help much.
For example, you raise and your opponent folds. This is bad. There is a chance that he folded a bluff and you probably wanted him to continue the hand by trying to bluff you so that you would gain more chips.
Another example, you raise and he calls. How much information does this call really give you?
He could have a draw, he could be slow-playing a hand, he could be beating you, or he could not!
If he re-raises you, you may be losing. He may also be rushing a strong draw or a worse hand.
Ideal thinking: There are several ways to define a hand, but generally raising is not a very good way.
Pay attention to your opponents and their previous plays, so you will have a good idea of who you are playing against.
Always think about putting your opponent on a range of hands, and with each new piece of information you will get closer to your real hand.
5: Vary the size of your preflop raise
Author: Dan Harrington
Book: Harrington On Hold'em 1
Tip: In a tournament you should vary your raise amount between 2x and 4x randomly to try to make it harder for your opponents to read you.
Why this tip is bad: The only reason you would need to vary your opening raise amount is if you were already doing so previously.
If your opening value is always the same, it is impossible for your opponents to find out any kind of information about your hand, considering that your bet never changes.
Ideal thinking: If you are playing tournaments, there is no reason to raise 4x – ever.
Keep your raise values between 2.25x and 2.5x and stay that way. This way you risk fewer chips and have the same efficiency.
Raising 4x is just a way to waste chips.
Article translated and adapted from the original: Five Pro-Endorsed Strategy Tips That are Terrible by: Daniel Skolovy
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