Positives: Andy ‘Stacks’ Tsai and Cedrric ‘Poker Traveler’ Trevino
Craig Tapscott: Can you share the best way to play multiple flip combinations after being a Razer Preflop? When is it better to be aggressive and when is it better to be careful? How does the type of opponent you face affect?
Andy Stax: There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for continuous betting being the pre-opening in position. Your strategy should always take into account the current table picture, your opponents, and the general game flow at that time. The general rule I follow is to bet according to your perceived range rather than your actual hand strength when flipping. This will allow your strategy to be well balanced and make it difficult for your opponent to determine the strength of your holdings.
One of the main factors I keep in mind when making the third bet is determining whether the board is dry or wet. For drier flips with one or more Broadway cards that prefer the range I imagine, I tend to bet on c frequently, using smaller volumes with my full range. On wetter, more connected boards that prefer a connected perceptive range like 5-6-7, I tend to check when I flop with little or no credit and use larger bet sizes on wet boards when I’m failing hard.
Again, keep in mind that this is just a general guide and will depend on your opponent’s inclinations as well as how you think he will interpret your betting patterns. I would deviate from this strategy if I thought it would allow certain adversaries to misinterpret the strength of my holdings.
Whether you want to bet aggressively or proceed with caution depends on what I know about my opponents. If I see it as sticky, and willing to compromise lightly with any piece or drawing, I’ll appreciate betting more aggressively on swings and on the subsequent streets. I will tend to cheat less and check when I fail with no equity. This means giving up some of the paintings they are likely to call out on several streets.
If I consider it sticky and calling with a wide range on flop, I’ll bet hard on flop and may continue to bluff hard on turns and rivers which is unlikely to improve my opponent’s flailing calling range. If my opponent only continues to have a strong hand like the top pair or a good tie on the flop, I’ll bet hard and proceed with caution on call.
Cedric Trevino: For me, there are two main factors when deciding whether to bet (aggressive play) or check back (passive play) assuming our opponent is not betting (leading) on us. The two decision points are (1) the texture of the board and how it should relate to our perceived range and (2) the adhesion of the opponent.
To keep this simple, let’s break each decision point into two options. Panel texture: (a) the panel is good and should relate to our perceived range or (b) the panel is bad and should not relate to our perceived range. Let’s define stickiness as how likely the opponent is to continue against bet c. So there are only two choices about that (a) it’s sticky: it’s likely to last (b) it’s not sticky: it’s likely to fold.
With these two factors and two options for each, we end up with four possible outcomes when flipping. We can create a simple chart to show what we are likely to do when each of these outcomes occur.
So, as you can see in the chart above, our decision tends to bet on three out of four possible failed outcomes. In general, aggressiveness (betting c in this case) is a winning strategy and puts your opponents in a decision.
One of the most important things I learned about poker is that you can win in two ways, by making the best hand or by making people think that you have the best hand.
Craig Tapscott: Suppose you fumble a hand like the top pair. When do you think about the delayed C bet? And what kind of turn cards would change that plan?
Andy Stax: When I hit a hand like the higher pair on the flop, my strategy will usually depend on how passive or aggressive and sticky my opponent is. Here are some general guidelines that I follow:
If my opponent tends to skim or float passively often, I’ll bet I’ll extract value more frequently. If they tend to pull when they miss but tend to cheat more aggressively on the later streets, I might choose to start with a check, especially using my weaker upper pairs (with weaker kickers), either going for a delayed c bet or planning to use them as cheat hunters.
If my opponent is too aggressive and raises many different types of swings, I may be tempted to go for a delayed c bet and double check my upper pairs on more heavy pullups to prevent lifting them and making it difficult for myself. Access to confrontation with my property rights.
Whether you want to bet or continue to bet on the turn depends on how the specific turn cards react to the flop. If the turn compliments the obvious front door and doesn’t improve my hand, I will frequently check the plan for evaluation and possibly deception with my senior husbands.
On dry turn cards that are unlikely to have improved my opponent and not altered the texture of the flop, I would usually continue to bet my higher pairs for value. In turns that put more draws on the board, I will also continue to bet my top pairs aggressively as this increases the chance that my opponent will be able to continue to connect with an improved balance.
For example, if the plate is Q
6 4
The role brings 3By bringing in additional and direct draw odds that my opponent may hold, I’ll bet the value aggressively.
Being constantly aware of the opponent(s) you face in each hand, their inclinations and how the texture of the board interacts with their ranges will allow you to implement the most optimal strategy.
Cedric Trevino: Two important factors come to mind, the aggressiveness of the opponent and the strength of my superior husband.
Aggressive opponents are more likely to call the late bet. So, in essence, this is the result we look for when choosing a lead-and-turn flip-up check. In my opinion, using this strategy against passive opponents is not productive as it allows the passive player to catch up. I prefer removing this unchallenged bet when flipping against passive players and not using the delayed c-bet strategy.
The strength of our crest pair is easy to explain. Is our higher pair likely to remain the higher pair at the juncture? Is our top pair likely to have a better player against competitors who may have also flopped in the top pair?
Here are some examples of strong top pairs: A Broadway pair with an Ace or King kicker (AQ on high queen flop or KJ on high king flop). Weak overhead pairs usually occur with the appropriate connectors and proper ace combinations, such as 8-7 suitable for a high seven flop, or A-5 suitable for a high five flop. I wouldn’t usually use a delayed c-bet strategy when our top pair lacks strength, because oftentimes our hand is too weak or lagging with too many cards of the turn.
This takes us directly to our next question. What kind of turn cards stop my c-bet plan and which ones give us the green light to continue?
The cards that prevent us from betting electronic are cards that make the scary board more formatted (like the four-pronged card to the straight). Also, larger cards are in our opponent’s range. If we have a 9-8 fit on a 9-6-2 flop and the turn is queen, this is a card in which we may choose to forego our deferred c-bet strategy and opt to reevaluate the river based on the final card and opponent’s action. The cards we will bet on are cards that do not change the texture of the board. ♠
Andy “Stacks” Tsai is one of the most recognizable faces of the high-stakes poker scene in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and is best known for his regular appearances at Live at the Bike! At the Bicycle Casino and Hustler Casino Live at the Hustler Casino. Tsai helped boost poker growth in Asia as a brand ambassador for GGPoker China. You can check out his YouTube channel by searching for Andy Stacks Poker, and he can be found on Twitter and Instagram @AndyStacksPoker.
Cedrric “Poker Traveler” Trevino got his start on $10 mini games with friends. He initially tried to play poker after graduating from college, but ended up spending more than a decade working a job at a company. In 2021, he decided it was time to pursue his dreams, and has since moved on to a full-time professional, documenting his experiences on YouTube and Instagrampoker_traveler. This summer, Trevino ranked 66th in the WSOP . World Series of Poker The main event, the high level of banking professional performance to 121,500 dollars.
