Mark Warner

Blog Info Blog - Exceptional Poker.com
Blog Info Smart Poker Study
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Stats Has written 42 posts about poker strategy

Jan 07 2022

The Third Goal of Hand Reading: Put *Ourselves* on a Range & Line

Jan 07 2022 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  r is for reading

The third primary component to hand reading is part of so-called “level-3” and above poker thought, or “reverse reading.” This is the process of determining which range and line the Villain is putting us on during the play of a hand. At low-stakes poker games, level-3 hand reading isn’t very important. This is because the majority of players at those stakes are not...

Jan 06 2022

The Second Goal of Hand Reading: Put the Villain on Line

Jan 06 2022 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  r is for reading

The second key goal of hand reading is determining what the Villain is trying to accomplish with their cards in the current hand situation. We call this intention—and how they go about trying to accomplish it—their “line.” We may, for instance, have determined that an opponent has predominantly small and medium pocket pairs in their current range. One type of opponent may treat...

Jan 05 2022

The First Goal of Hand Reading: Put the Villain on an Ever-Decreasing Range of Possible Cardds

Jan 05 2022 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  r is for reading

Without question, the most important aspect of hand reading is determining which cards our opponent (a/k/a “the Villain” in a hand) likely holds. But there’s a key distinction to understand: when hand reading, we don’t actually attempt to put the Villain on a specific two-card combination, like A♠-K♥ or 7♣-8♣. It is essentially impossible to be this precise in poker. Instead, our goal...

Mar 31 2021

Sky Matsuhashi Is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong about HUDs! Well, kinda...

Mar 31 2021 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  r is for reading

I wrote a guest post for the Smart Poker Study website on the dangers of HUDs:...

Sky Is Wrong: HUDs Are Bad For You. Kinda.

Mar 31 2021 Published at Smart Poker Study under tags  guest posts poker hud

"Occasionally, you need to just turn off all the technology and GTO and HUDs and software and all the other damn crap, and just play some real poker." -Dave "Memphis Mojo" Smith TL;DR Executive Summary: Using a Head-up Display (HUD) can have harmful effects on your poker game in the long-run. Players who multi-table online with HUDs typically can...

Feb 16 2021

Do You Think Ahead About What Could Go Wrong?

“You need to look for spots where you don’t force yourself into a bad situation... ...You need to think about how a hand is going to play out, in all situations, before you make a raise.” -- Jonathan Little You must think ahead before you finalize a decision. This...

Feb 03 2021

The Shortest Distance to Profits is the Correct Poker Line

“Decisions, decisions, decisions. Poker players talk about this all the time. It’s so important, yeah, yeah, yeah. But most people I play with don’t have a clue what this means, let alone how to make those good decisions. They wouldn’t recognize a good line to take if it bit them on the rear end.”...

Jan 18 2021

Think EV When Sizing Bets

“Bet sizing is an art, but its canvas in the mathematics of Expected Value.” -- Valentin Tejera Imagine that we’re on the river and have the mortal nuts. The effective stacks are roughly twice the size of the pot, so there is plenty of maneuvering room vis-à-vis...

Jan 13 2021

Think Ahead With Your Bets

“[A common] mistake [is] in not thinking ahead. Every time you make a decision in poker, you should be thinking ahead about what happens next. When you raise preflop, you should have a good idea how you will respond if somebody reraises, and what you will do on various flops. When you bet the flop, you should already be thinking about how...

Jan 09 2021

Calling Is Not A Compromise Action

“Beginners often think that calling is a compromise between raising and folding. It’s not.” -- Andrew Brokos, Thinking Poker Someone opens for a raise in early position. You’re in middle position and look down at two pretty face cards, or maybe a couple of medium...

Jan 07 2021

Size Bets Based on Board Texture (and Villain’s Range)

“To construct a proper bet sizing strategy, you want to start by structuring your bets not based on the strength of your hand, but rather how strong your range is relative to your opponents.” -- Alec Torelli, Conscious Poker The texture of the board, combined with...

Jan 04 2021

Before Betting, Ask Yourself "Why?"

“Skilled poker players know exactly why they are betting and what they are trying to accomplish.” -- Donovan Panone, Pokerology Okay, we’ve chose a line. Now we need to implement it, and the first step to this is to remember your why. Ask yourself why are you...

Dec 29 2020

How to Study Poker

“There is not, repeat, not a magic one size fits all way to learn to win at poker. Nor is there a single magic step by step roadmap of things to study. Sorry, mate. Poker is too big and you are too different from me to learn it the same way as me.” -- Professional High-Stakes...

Dec 21 2020

9 Ways To Improve Deception During A Poker Game

“You need to understand that everything you do at the poker table conveys information.” -- Daniel Negreanu Poker is a game built upon making decisions that are based on incomplete information. As such, the person who gathers the most accurate information—...

Dec 12 2020

Why Aren’t You Doing More Folding? It Free!

“What’s a good fold? A good fold is one that saves you money… …A penny saved is a penny earned in life and business, and it’s also true in poker.” -- Sky Matsuhashi, Smart Poker Study TL;DR Executive Summary:Struggling poker players often...

Nov 30 2020

Poker Quiz: Aces Facing Flop Jam on Dry Board

Nov 30 2020 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  hand quizzes

The Situation:We are in an online 9-handed $0.25/0.50 NLHE cash game. Everyone has about $50 to start the hand. We’re in early position (EP) with A♥-A♠. The under-the-gun (UTG) player limps into the pot for $0.50. We raise to $2.50 Two players in middle position (MP) call, and the original UTG player also calls. ...

Nov 22 2020

Systematic & Logical Hand Analysis During Play

“We do not rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems.” -- James Clear TL;DR Executive Summary:Poker is complex, with doses of both luck and skill built into its structure. Little if anything can be done about the...

Nov 01 2020

Poker Quiz: Flopped Set Facing Limp-Re-Raise From LAg

Nov 01 2020 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  hand quizzes

The Situation:We’re in a tough $5/$10 No-Limit cash game at a Las Vegas casino. Everyone starts this hand with approximately $1,000 stacks. A relatively unknown villain in the under-the-gun (UTG) seat open-raises to $40. Another villain in a middle position (MP) seat calls, and we also call in the cut-off, holding 7♦-7♥. Everyone else folds and we go to the flop with...

Oct 27 2020

Why Is Poker Study So Important?

“My poker history is I’m 65 years old and have played poker since the age of seven. I’ve played in casinos and tournaments and high-stakes cash games and thousands of kitchen table games. I’ve written books and magazine articles and blog posts on the subject. And the funny thing is that after all that time and effort I only know one real...

Oct 12 2020

Poker Quiz: Call or Fold with Nut Flush Draw?

Oct 12 2020 Published at Blog - Exceptional Poker.com under tags  hand quizzes

The Situation:We’re in a loose-aggressive 6-max $50NL online cash game. Everyone has ~$50 stacks. We are in late position with A♠-K♠. A loose- aggressive player in the under-the-gun (UTG) seat open-raises to $2. We re- raise to $6, and the villain calls. The flop is 3♠-4♠-9♦. The villain checks and we bet $9 into the pot. The villain check-raises us all-in....

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