REM, Commitment Thresholds and Stack-To-Pot-Ratios – Part 1

I’m almost done reading Professional No-Limit Hold ‘em. Overall I’ve extremely impressed. A great book with groundbreaking material!

I read the first 80 pages in a mere 2 hours, but it’s taking me the last two weeks to read the rest of the book! Once past the first two chapters (basics and fundementals), the rest of the book takes considerably longer to read and digest! I probably had to read each subsequent section 3 or 4 times until I had a grasp. The concepts presented in this book have never been written about before!

Now I’m attempting to make notes. Outlining what I’ve learnt the most and reemphasizing those things. This post is basically a list of reminders.

REM (Range – Equity – Maximise):

This chapter wasn’t really so bad to take in.

R is for Range:

I guess the most important point, is that rather than putting opponents on specific hands, you instead put than on a range of hands.

You do this by first eliminating the hands you are fairly sure they don’t have and then you can further narrow their ranges by observing their tendencies.

The more information you can gather on your opponents, the more you can narrow their range and get to perfect information. Observation is key.

E is for Equity:

“Your pot equity is the stake or share you have in a pot, based on the odds of your cards winning at showdown.”

Easy! But how do we calculate equity?

To calculate equity you must first estimate which hand your opponents could have – THEIR RANGES – and how likely each hand in that range is. You can then calculate you equity against each hand individually and determine the weighted average.

EXAMPLE:
An opponent moves all-in preflop and you have AKs. From what you’ve observed you estimate that your opponents RANGE is JJ-AA and AK. Should you call?

You’re have 12% equity against AA, 34% against KK, 46% against QQ, 46% against JJ, 50% against AKs and 52% against AKo.

Overall the weighted average is 42.6%. You should only call if you pot odds are better than 1.35-to-1.

Obviously it’s impractical to do these calculations so quickly at the poker table! In reality you don’t have to be so exact. One of the things I have to help with these calculations is PokerStove software. When reviewing hands I punch in the ranges and let the program tell me the equity. The more of these you do, the better and quicker you’ll estimate you equity at the table.

Also worth mentioning is that you don’t need to have 50% or more equity in the pot to continue. You only need enough to have +EV. So if your equity is 33% against your opponent’s range when he goes all-in, you need pot odds of better than 2-to-1 to call.

Another shortcut is when considering your opponent’s range, think about the hands you are a big favourite over and those hands you are a big underdog to. If there are more hands that you’re a big favourite over, your equity is probably good and vice versa.

Finally, when calculating equity don’t forget to include fold equity! Because few hands make it to showdown, folding equity plays a major roll in most no-limit decisions.

Fold equity varies depending on your opponents’ playing tendencies. Against weak-tight players you have lots of folding equity, whereas against loose calling station you may have virtually none.

Take for example a big draw on the flop where you estimate your equity to be around 50% if you CALL. How much equity might you gain by pushing? That’s why semi-bluffing such a powerful tool. You take the entire pot when your opponents fold and you still have 50% equity when they call.

Using fold equity aggressively can also help when you have a big hand. Say you are very aggressive when you are even-money or a slight underdog. If that aggression leads you to getting a called a few more times when you’re a big favourite, you can gain a lot more positive expectation.

M is for Maximize

Maximizing means choosing the action or series of actions that makes you most money in the long run.

Check, Bet of Fold?

Checking when you are last to act eliminates a round of betting – good it you want to keep the pot small. Check also results in a free card for you or and your opponents – good if you have a weak hand a little folding equity.

Checking also works well when you’re first to act. Say you have top pair and weak kicker against an aggressive opponent who like to steal. By checking the flop, you keep the pot small and let your opponent bet weaker hands.

Whenever you bet or raise, ask yourself: Do you want your opponents in the pot, or do you want them out of the pot?

Value betting is when you think you have the best hand you think you’ll make the most money by betting as oppose to checking.

You goal is to maximize you expectation NOT your chances of being called. Bet the amount that yields the highest average profit!

Bluffing is the opposite of value betting. You bet because you want better hands to fold.

When bluffing bet the smallest amount that will get the job done!

Observing player tendencies is crucial to successful bluffing. You must be able to estimate your opponents range well and know something about how they will play that range. You’re estimating you folding equity.

When maximizing drawing hands, here are the rules of thumb I need to remember most:

If your equity is small (weak draw such as a gutshot), usually avoid semibluff raising. Call if your implied odds are good and fold if they are bad.

If your equity is relatively large, seldom fold. Instead choose between calling and semibluff raising. Call if you implied odds are good and raise if they are bad.

That’s about all. In Part 2 I’ll be making notes on “Commitment Thresholds.”