Ask Evan Jarvis Anything About Learning Poker!

[steventhebig]

Hi,
My question is if you should adapt to lower bet sizing when playing microstakes. I recently started playing microstakes and a lot of the standard sizing for bets preflop does not Get any action unless the opponent has a monster hand. Should I adapt and do minbet minraise as most players do in this level in my experience In order to Get more calls? or should I continue with standard sizing and hope to HIT draws against my opponent tight ranges?

 

[Facubrito90]

Hey Evan hows it going?

I downloaded the Poker Tracker 4 program to know the hud, I saw that it is highly recommended. Is there much difference with the paid license and the free license? Which one do you recommend me? Thank you very much Evan Jarvis for this thread.

 

[AKQ]

Any chance that its cause you're kind of a maniac player and dudes on higher limits know how to deal with agression? I mean 'I can beat any player' that might be your issue. I mean usually people say that AFTER that happened several times. And you are like Yeah i can beat anyone but i'm just unlucky on higher limits. Which is weird.

EDIT
So the problem might be not that you not staying in your limits, but that you cannot properly adjust your game.

I cannot view myself in many ways and you are possibly right.
It is good to listen peers criticism and advice.
Thank you I will definitley keep that in mind and stay humble.
I need to say more often that I know nothing and and am nothing.
EGO has always been my downfall

thank you for your two cents
Hopefully next time It'll be $$$ on the table lol

 

[abgvedr]

Im outa your 250 freeroll the very first hand 99 vs guy with AJ why why do you do this to me Grips i thought we were friends

 

[ShawanG]

How to play Pocket pairs?

Hi Buddy,
I am here again with one more question.
How to play pocket pairs when there is an overcard on the board?
If I bet on the flop when there is an overcard and the villain calls, what should I do on the turn and river?
Like my EP range has 77+ and MP range 22+. The problem I am facing is I am folding too many hands when there is an overcard on the board. Can you please suggest some strategies to play these pairs in the most efficient and +EV way?

 

[okeedokalee]

Most recreational players love Ax.
99 a middle pair is not a hand to be all-in with early in a tournament.
You have a two outer against an unknown range. If the opponent got it in, I would fold.
If you opened and was raised, I would call a small raise, and fold to future turn street action, if the set mine missed.

 

[abgvedr]

Most recreational players love Ax.
99 a middle pair is not a hand to be all-in with early in a tournament.
You have a two outer against an unknown range. If the opponent got it in, I would fold.
If you opened and was raised, I would call a small raise, and fold to future turn street action, if the set mine missed.

Well first of all this is freeroll, i am not giving too much credit to the freeroll playerbase. And also, guy opens 7bb, sign of a player who just wants to get some action fast. So i shoved al in on him with 99. Well that was not a standart play so dont overanalyse it. I was also not in much mood for some 5 hour ride.

 

[AKQ]

My first Betonline Headsup sample starting BR was$1.71 currently 7.92
I'm coming for you Evan!!

 

[AKQ]

I wish I could have another week like this one from last year. You ever take double firsts before. Ruins your ego I promise!! especially when you do it 3 times in the same week.
Thats my BR management lmao

https://www.facebook.com/jett.cramer/videos/2006117352743597

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hey man.
Whats your next goal pokerwise? Are you making any goals or just playing whatever floats your boat at the moment?
Also do you like more cash game or mtt?

Hey abgvedr,
Congrats on 1000 posts and reaching 'Legend Status'!

My poker goals are more career and legacy oriented right now, they are
#1 Become a Team Pro at America's Cardroom (3 month target)
#2 Complete my New Book with D&B Publishing (6 month target)
#3 Grow my stream to 250 Average Viewers (9 month target)
#4 Reach 100k Subscribers on Youtube (12 month target)
#5 Final Table one of the Venom's on America's Cardroom (24 month target)

The nice thing about these goals is that each one supports and builds on the next one.
I'm focusing on doing one thing at a time and being 'all-in' on whatever that one thing is.

I'm enjoying tournaments more these days because they are more exciting and make for better content for the stream. And the more I practice them the sharper I seem to get.

I don't have any goals in terms of monthly hand targets or amount of tournaments played like I used to. These days I'm just enjoying playing poker and using it almost as a form of research to ensure that the theory for the book is on point and that the quality of streams & videos I post to youtube is as good as it can be.

I'm really really enjoying the deepstack hyper turbos on America's Cardroom, as well as their satellites. Ever since I put a little bit of extra effort into working on my satellite game I've been seeing really great results!

Thanks for asking this question, it's always fun to lay my goals out there and remind myself what my top priorities are. (Without checking in on them it can be easy to get sidetracked) :angel:

 

[Evan Jarvis]

I wish I could have another week like this one from last year. You ever take double firsts before. Ruins your ego I promise!! especially when you do it 3 times in the same week.
Thats my BR management lmao

Nice stuff brother

For this thread can we please keep it to poker questions though.

Gotta keep this one on topic for those browsing thru who just want to soak up pure knowledge

 

[Evan Jarvis]

yep did what you told me to do and I am attacking the SNGs.
Heres todays result .
I know that isn't a good sample size but eh I like it so far
finish places 1st 3x 2nd 3x 3rd 1x and 9th once

there you go!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Any chance that its cause you're kind of a maniac player and dudes on higher limits know how to deal with agression? I mean 'I can beat any player' that might be your issue. I mean usually people say that AFTER that happened several times. And you are like Yeah i can beat anyone but i'm just unlucky on higher limits. Which is weird.

EDIT
So the problem might be not that you not staying in your limits, but that you cannot properly adjust your game.

Overconfidence, a big ego, and an underestimation or disregard for our opponent's abilities can certainly lead to a painful downfall and tough sessions.

Some really really great points here, thank you for sharing this abgvedr!

I often find that watching an excess of training videos can lead to this blind spot.

The thinking goes "I've learned all this stuff so I should be able to crush anyone who hasn't studied it, they don't know what I know!"

But... in some cases they do, and even when they don't, a big part of poker is patience and letting the spots comes to you. If someone is trying to constantly force the action, use all the advanced played they learned and basically try to 'take every spot' then it often leads to them getting caught and taking a hit

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Mr. Don Evan Jarvis ... I do not have the pleasure of meeting you but I would like to ask you one of the many questions that I have doubts, my name is 2424 ... here in cardschat As in the pokestar room ... I am a player who likes it. Over 20 years I started to play with play money .. I have always increased my bankroll .. I have played real money for a year and a half and for about 8 months now I have been seeing the professionals in you .. copying strategies and movements that they have done .. I think it's good for my game ... nevertheless I have been joining many freroll that they give us to enlarge the banrool ... ask in this type of events my strategy does not work ... the competitors pay with any game they have ... It is useful when looking at what happens. And no matter how much I study and practice the movements are difficult for me. What strategy should I use ....a little confusing the question but that's what happens ... and I love poker ... greetings and grateful for this space ... luck ..

Cheers 2424, it is nice to meet you and I appreciate you playing in our regular games.

Understand that the more entrants in an event, the more luck it will take to come out on top. We simply need more good fortune to make a run in an event with 400 people than we do to win an event with 40 or even 4 people.

My advice for freerolls is usually to just stick with solid ranges, make larger than usual bets, and hope that variance is on your side.

The more games you play, the more likely you'll eventually catch some good luck to balance out with any bad luck you experienced in other games.

The challenge with my freeroll though is that because there are optional rebuys you need even more luck to top the field with just the starting stack. And this is why when playing rebuy or addon games it's worth having some money aside to at least take the addon (15k chips) to have the best chance to compete.

Keep playing, find as many different freerolls as you can so that you have more chances to win, and as long as you are playing with good technique and no fear you should see yourself hitting some scores eventually.

Also, we just made memberships at http://gripsed.com/ completely free, so if you want to go thru some of the challenges, and final table reviews, they will certainly help out a lot!

Good luck and Happy Stackin mate

 

[Evan Jarvis]

I downloaded the Poker Tracker 4 program to know the hud, I saw that it is highly recommended. Is there much difference with the paid license and the free license? Which one do you recommend me? Thank you very much Evan Jarvis for this thread.

Hey Facubrito!

I certainly recommend investing in the paid version if you're serious about your poker game. It's nice because it's only a one time payment and when used properly it will pay for itself many times over.

This is the best video I have on how to set up a solid HUD (having the right stats and knowing how to use them is a total gamechanger). Start simple though, just use VPIP / PFR / 3-Bet / Fold to 3-Bet and then slowly add more stats as you get comfortable using those ones.

Hope that helps and good luck on the tables!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi,
My question is if you should adapt to lower bet sizing when playing microstakes. I recently started playing microstakes and a lot of the standard sizing for bets preflop does not Get any action unless the opponent has a monster hand. Should I adapt and do minbet minraise as most players do in this level in my experience In order to Get more calls? or should I continue with standard sizing and hope to HIT draws against my opponent tight ranges?

Hey Steven,

I actually tend to go with larger sizes when playing in smaller games.

remember that although when you get dealt a strong hand you'd like action, getting dealt a strong hand is only half the equation

The other half... is having your opponent be dealt some playable/good but just not as good as your hand.

So the reason I go bigger is that on the occasions I do get action I prefer to get a lot of action and play a big pot. I accept that I won't get action most of the time, but that has nothing to do with my bet size, it has to do with the fact that most of the time the opponent doesn't have a very strong hand.

So start thinking in terms of "if my opponent has ... x hand (maybe its' middle pair, maybe it's 2 pair) ... what bet size would they be willing to call"

and in doing so you'll be making sure you get the big payoff when your opponent has a strong hand. Don't worry about the times they have bottom pair, or nothing, because they won't call any bet size anyway.

Focus on getting more value when 2 big hands collide, not so much on how to get more action from really weak hands.

Hope that helps

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Most recreational players love Ax.
99 a middle pair is not a hand to be all-in with early in a tournament.
You have a two outer against an unknown range. If the opponent got it in, I would fold.
If you opened and was raised, I would call a small raise, and fold to future turn street action, if the set mine missed.

Against strong opponents with deep stacks this is certainly true.

In a freeroll though there are plenty of players who will get it in with any pocket pair, any face cards, and in some cases even any ace. (not cardschat guys, they are freerolls pros!)

Vs that range, 99 is doing just fine and is a fair hand to get all in with, about a 60% favorite!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi Buddy,
I am here again with one more question.
How to play pocket pairs when there is an overcard on the board?
If I bet on the flop when there is an overcard and the villain calls, what should I do on the turn and river?
Like my EP range has 77+ and MP range 22+. The problem I am facing is I am folding too many hands when there is an overcard on the board. Can you please suggest some strategies to play these pairs in the most efficient and +EV way?

Hey Shawan,

What makes you think you are folding "too many hands", where is that standard coming from?

My general strategy with these hands is to bet on the best dry boards Kxx, Qxx, Jxx, Txx where there are not many draws possible, and if called just give up/check down/showdown

If there aren't many draws possible then when you are called on the flop you are either way behind (2 outs vs the overcard) or way ahead (fading 5 outs vs the undercard).

Most opponents will not be turning mid or bottom pair into a bluff in these spots, so you can check down and expect to win at showdown often, and if faced with a bet, you rarely have more than a 10% chance of winning so there is no issue with folding.

The more draws (gutshots, flush draws, straight draws) that are present though, the more hands your opponent may bluff with on the end. In which case checking back and calling river becomes a bit more appealing (but depends on bet size, and the opponent type... are they someone who bluffs missed draws/turns pairs into bluffs etc.)

There are always better hands to multi barrel bluff with if you want to keep betting. draws, even bottom or mid pair are better because they have 5 outs to improve rather than 2. So you don't really need to overthink it or try to overplay these pocket pairs.

Accept that most of the time these pairs will win a small pot only, and your goal with them should be to keep the pots small and try to win a cheap showdown (and being ok with just folding if your opponent is trying to play a big pot).


Now, if you are talking about playing out of position, then just do a lot more checking on the flop. You'll often be up against a pretty solid range when you get called by someone in position and therefore shouldn't be trying to build the pot.

Sure, if your hand can use protection then consider betting once, but don't be in the habit of always betting just because there's only one overcard. Get really specific on the board texture, your opponents range, and the player type (how aggressive they are) to determine your plan.

Sometimes check/call one and fold to further action.

Sometimes... check/fold as you have hand with more equity that can play on (remember, if your hand is second best right now you'd actually rather have a gutshot than a pocket pair... and thinking about it like that may help you navigate these situations. :joyman:

Hope that help!

 

[abgvedr]

This sure helps big time, i also have hard time deciding whether to fold or do what.
Another question about playing short stack like 10-15bb in some mtt, heard some people saying its just a push fold play, but i think im not really doing it successfully. I think im more successfull it just opening like 2bb and then overbet shoving 10bb on the flop. What do you say? Im talking about hands like 22 A4 or some KT of some sort.

Hope that help!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

This sure helps big time, i also have hard time deciding whether to fold or do what.
Another question about playing short stack like 10-15bb in some mtt, heard some people saying its just a push fold play, but i think im not really doing it successfully. I think im more successfull it just opening like 2bb and then overbet shoving 10bb on the flop. What do you say? Im talking about hands like 22 A4 or some KT of some sort.

You are correct that there is more play in 10-15 bb stacks than many players think

Playing a push/fold strategy is fine, and will not be a losing strategy, but it also won't be the strategy that wins you the most money.

Since we want to minraise some of our very strong hands (like AA, KK, QQ etc.) We also want to raise with some hands that are ok with folding, like A9o from early position or A5o from middle position or K8o from late position.

The idea is we are raising small with our best hands because we want players to defend the big blind, make a second best pair, and maybe feel committed to stacking off. But to not be predictable we also want to raise some hands that can just fold to a shove.

As we get in later position though we are shoving most of the hands we play off 10bb. However when we have 12 or 15 big blinds there are lots of hands that prefer to min raise over open shoving (according to GTO).

Small + Medium pairs are generally shoved or folded though, it is the broadway hands (that can make top pair) and the strongest hands that will be used as minraising hands.

For this sort of thing I can't recommend the Pokercoaching Premium preflop charts tool enough, it is absolutely incredible and worth every penny. With one click you can see how the range changes as you go from 10 to 12 to 15 bbs, or some ep to mp to lp.

If you really want to get the ranges down I highly highly recommend it.
Here is a link to get 50% off your first month http://pokercoachingoffer.com

and once you have a membership this is the direct link to access the tool --> https://pokercoaching.com/preflopcharts/
(It's not to be used while playing but it is INCREDIBLY USEFUL for studying, so so worth it!).


As for flop bet sizing, whether to overbet or bet small, that will depend on board texture, what type of hand yo have (strong draw, weak draw, pair, air) and who your opponent is.

Hard to summarize it all in just one post :angel:

 

[AKQ]

i was looking at flights MTT events.
And am a litle confused..
it says largest stack plays next flight?
i was wondering if you could explain it to me as if i was retarded xD

 

[AKQ]

If opponents properly switch gears wouldn't huds be counter intuitive?

 

[Carlo35]

Getting FT

Do you think its necessary to go all in a couple extra times during tourney if if you want to reach the ft ? Take more risk? Getting itm im not complaining about that , but im tired of finishing place 87 or something all the time ,and whats the time to take more risk? The bubble? Are there more opportunities? I play micro stakes mtt on stars.. thanxs

 

[Evan Jarvis]

If opponents properly switch gears wouldn't huds be counter intuitive?

Yes, if your opponents know how to change gears then hud stats can be misleading

But, you can also set your HUD to only show the stats for that table, that session, and therefore you'll get an accurate picture of how they are playing on that day.

Many players stick to their style of play though and don't change gears all that well, and this is especially true for the weaker players in the pool who tend to stick to their guns or lack there of.

If you want to make the most from players who have a large sample of stats on you a fun exercise is to change your style of play each day of the week so that players who are strictly going by your HUD stats will make some mistakes.

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Do you think its necessary to go all in a couple extra times during tourney if if you want to reach the ft ? Take more risk? Getting itm im not complaining about that , but im tired of finishing place 87 or something all the time ,and whats the time to take more risk? The bubble? Are there more opportunities? I play micro stakes mtt on stars.. thanxs

Hey Carlo, fair question

The important thing is to have realistic expectations...

If you're playing in tournaments with 500, 1000, 5000 players then yes, you're going to need a fair bit of luck to make it to the final table. The odds are stacked against you when the field size is so large.

If you want to make the final table more consistently then practicing with smaller field tournaments like 45 man, 90 man or 180 man sit n gos is a great approach to take.

That being said, you are indeed right, the best times to take on some extra risk and take extra chances is on the bubble when players are thinking about getting in the money.

Here is a video I did on the main mistakes players make in MTTs

Generally speaking if you want to make more deep runs, and final tables, you have to be willing to take a lot more chances and put yourself at risk more.

Amir Vahedi said it best, that when it comes to tournaments
"In order to live, you must be willing to die"