Thursday, June 19, 2008

How To Stop Losing Big Hands

I have something important to share with you.

This single poker strategy that I'm about to reveal is one
of the BEST (and most PROFITABLE) tips that I've given you
in a long time... so listen up:

When it comes to winning poker, most players have "tunnel
vision."

What I mean is this:

They focus only on how to WIN more pots and larger pots...
whether it's through bluffing, calculating odds, or reading
poker tells.

But what they DON'T FOCUS ON... (what I'm about to show
you)... is actually MORE important than 90% of all the other
"stuff"... and can both INSTANTLY and DRAMATICALLY increase
your poker winnings over the long term.

And that secret is this:

How to STOP LOSING big pots.

You see, there's a lot of strategies out there for how to
WIN hands... but very rarely does a player focus on
strategies on how to NOT LOSE big hands.

Why?

Because they blame THAT PART of the game on luck and other
forces "out of their control."

The reality is, you can win tons of great hands and gain a
chip lead, but it doesn't mean ANYTHING if you don't know
how to keep it.

Think back to when Greg Raymer won the World Series of
Poker... what was the key to his success at the final table?

The key was he had a huge chip lead AND he knew how to keep
it.

He didn't lose big hands, which is what allowed him to keep
his gigantic stack of chips and bully the other guys around.

The concept is equally (if not MORE) important for players
who AREN'T in the chip lead... because no matter how many
pots you win, you won't win a game or tournament if you LOSE
a lot of big hands.

Notice the "catch" here...

I didn't say, "Stop losing hands."

I said, "Stop losing BIG hands."

Because those two statements mean two TOTALLY different
things.

You CANNOT stop losing ALL hands... it's just not realistic.

But you CAN use strategies to stop losing BIG hands...
AND... those are the more important "turning points" of a
game anyway.

So... what's this "hidden" secret strategy that most players
overlook that will allow you to STOP losing big pots?

I thought you'd never ask...

Preventing major losses is a very complicated and
"multi-layered" concept, as I explain in my course...

However, one of the MAJOR components and "core" strategies
behind it can be summed up in one simple, 12-letter word:

ANTICIPATION.

That's right... you can literally cut down on the number of
big hands you lose by simply ANTICIPATING better...

And I don't mean anticipating the CARDS.

I mean anticipating THE BETS, based on what cards COULD come
out of the deck.

Here's an example that will make it clear...

Let's say you're on the button and dealt AJ off-suit. The
blinds are $1-2 and Aaron (a very tight player) makes it $15
to play. Everyone at the table folds and the action is to
you.

This is the best hand you've seen in awhile, so you call the
bet without much hesitation.

That is where you made your FIRST MISTAKE.

You KNOW that Aaron is a very tight player that only makes
pre-flop raises with monster hands.

But you called the bet anyway... because you didn't
ANTICIPATE what YOU would do, even if you hit your Ace on
the flop.

OK, so the flop hits, and the cards are: A,9,2.

Aaron comes out firing with a $30 bet right away...

Now what do you do?

You have to put him on AK, AQ, AA, KK, or QQ. These are
pretty much the only hands that Aaron will make a pre-flop
raise with.

Of course, he didn't check to you, so he probably doesn't
have the cowboys or queens.

So now you think about what Aaron is holding... You put him
on hands that beat yours, but instead of folding you decide
to see another card for $30.

This is where you made your SECOND MISTAKE.

You felt pot-committed and only thought about the $30 bet.

What you SHOULD have been doing though is ANTICIPATING what
Aaron was going to bet after the turn card.

Let's face it... you have to figure he's going to fire
again. Are you prepared to call ANOTHER large bet after the
turn with your AJ?

Of course not... and what you've done here is simply dug
yourself into a big hole because you played only to win.

You got dealt a good hand and flopped the top pair and then
stuck it out in hopes of a better card... when what you
SHOULD have done is ANTICIPATED Aaron's behavior and folded
your cards before the flop.

Hands like these happen to even the best poker players, and
you MUST develop the discipline to fold that AJ and fold
that top pair when you've anticipated what's coming next.

Think about what your opponent is going to bet.

Think about what you'll be WILLING to bet.

Then think about what will happen after the next cards...
and then the ones after that... and then the ones after
THAT... and so on.

It's all about anticipation. If you anticipate the different
scenarios BEFORE they happen, you will prevent big losses.

And when you stop losing big hands, you'll get to KEEP the
chips you win.

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