Harrington: Notes

Question 1

What’s a covered bet?

Answer 1

When you go all-in and your opponent has more chips than you.

Question 2

Fourth street is the: Fifth street is the:

Answer 2

turn and river

Question 3

An out:

Answer 3

card that will give you a winning hand if it arrives.

Question 4

Disadvantage of a short stack:

Answer 4

You can’t raise pot odds high enough to make his bet unprofitable.

Question 5

The most profitable style to play at any moment is usually the ____ of the style of the other players at the table.

Answer 5

opposite. If the table is tight, move out and try to steal a few pots. However, if everyone is aggressive, you want to be aggressive. If everyone is passive, then you want to be passive.

Question 6

Start to push in your chips when your stack gets to ____ times the big blind.

Answer 6

10x

Question 7

Why pay attention to betting in front of you?

Answer 7

Lots of raises means they have stronger cards.

Question 8

Why be cautious when there are aggressive players behind you?

Answer 8

They are more likely to raise you when you are limping in.

Question 9

Why is position so important?

Answer 9

Late position has more information.

Question 10

With AKo, behind a raise, and you want to play: you should typically call or raise?

Answer 10

Alternate in similar situations so opponents can’t get a read on you. But when you have position, you don’t need to play hand as strongly before the flop.

Question 11

What is the “texture” of the flop?

Answer 11

The characteristics of the flop, and the likelihood that it helped each of the different players at the table.

Question 12

After the flop, as three questions:

Answer 12

Did the flop help me? Will they think it helped me (do I usually just play high cards)? Did it help them (do they usually just play high cards)?

Question 13

What is a gutshot straight draw?

Answer 13

a straight draw missing an inside card

Question 14

If you’ve got the nut, and you’re now trying to get as much money out of opponents as possible, what are the considerations?

Answer 14

If you do something out of the ordinary, given your reputation and position, you will arouse suspicion and people will back out.

Question 15

What is a probe bet?

Answer 15

Small bet, between 1/4 and 1/3 of pot, usually an attempt to get some info cheaply, while holding out the possibility of winning the pot right there is no one wants to fight.

Question 16

Why is it good to try to clarify a situation with a single bet?

Answer 16

It could prevent you from losing more money on later rounds.

Question 17

Poker is a game of

Answer 17

Misdirection

Question 18

What styles are appropriate for tournament play?

Answer 18

Start conservative, and progress to aggressive and super aggressive, even as you have chip stack advantage.

Question 19

Conservative play and gap concept means:

Answer 19

If someone opens before you, you’ve got to play a stronger hand than you ordinarily would.

Question 20

Until JZ gets experience, he should play:

conservative or aggressive or super-aggressive

Answer 20

conservative, you dumbass

Question 21

Aggressive play defined:

Answer 21

All pairs, any two face cards, ace anything, suited connectors, all regardless of position.

Question 22

What are the two primary defenses against aggressive players?

Answer 22

The hammer and the rope a dope

Question 23

Best advice re showing cards

Answer 23

Only when you have a good reason

Question 24

Can you play the same style throughout the tournament?

Answer 24

No, you must vary your style.

Question 25

Should you vary the way that you play a certain hand in a certain position?

Answer 25

Yes, this is absolutely necessary. Use a random method with your watch.

Question 26

Be aware of the chip stack sizes, particularly behind you. Why?

Answer 26

Small chip stacks are more likely to call or raise and perhaps get lucky, when you are trying to play a marginal hand. Raising will not deter them.

Question 27

When you think you have a winning hand, and you don’t want anyone else in, you should

Answer 27

Raise enough to give them unfavorable pot odds. Your concern isn’t always just about making more money. It’s also about protecting your win.

Question 28

What are implications of gap concept?

Answer 28

A bet in front of you requires you to tighten up your calling/betting standards. But if player is loose, then no need to tighten.

Question 29

Before deciding whether to call, you should

Answer 29

Check pot odds

Question 30

If there are lots of folds ahead of you, and there is very little in the pot, only the blinds, what does that mean?

Answer 30

Play conservatively, because there isn’t very much to win.

Question 31

If you are going to bet so much that, if you lose, you will be effectively crippled, then you should:

Answer 31

Go all in.

Question 32

What does it mean when the flop contains two cards of the same suit?

Answer 32

There is a flush draw on the board. You don’t want to give anyone a free draw at a flush. Make them draw against the pot odds. Important!

Question 33

If you have a flush draw in Hold’em, the probability to flush the hand in the end is ?? percent if there are two more cards to come, and ?? percent (9 live cards divided by 46 unseen cards) if there is only one more card to come.p

Answer 33

35% for two cards and 20% for one card.

Question 34

If a player in front of you calls, then you raise, then a player behind you raises, he probably doesn’t have a great hand. In middle position me probably has:

Answer 34

A low pair or a drawing hand. He’s probably not slow-playing, to sit tight through two raises and still only call.

Question 35

When you’re in the pot with two aggressive players,

Answer 35

The tendency is to tighten up. But you should try to play fewer pots more aggressively against them. Play good percentage poker.

Question 36

Aggressive play puts pressure on your opponents, in the form of

Answer 36

Worse pot odds for them if they’re drawing to a good hand. So , if you sense they are drawing, and you have a decent hand, be aggressive!

Question 37

Loose, aggressive players should only cause you to:

Answer 37

Cut down on the number of hands you play. But when you have a good hand, you must act decisively.

Question 38

Having good position now, but bad position later (you’re in big blind) can be a good reason to:

Answer 38

Try to finish off opponent early with big raise, because you’ll have bad position later.

Question 39

You want players to fear you. But if you can’t get fear, at least get:

Answer 39

Respect. You want psychological dominance.

Question 40

Against super-aggressive players, you want to

Answer 40

End hand quickly, win or lose.

Question 41

After flop, you have no idea if it helped your opponent. To get info, you should:

Answer 41

Bet. Checking does nothing for you. If you bet and he raises, indicating strength, you can fold.

Question 42

When an aggressive player checks on fourth or fifth Street, you need to be:

Answer 42

Suspicious

Question 43

When the play narrows down to between you and a few players, you should:

Answer 43

Try to guess what they have, based on their style, their position, and their betting

Question 44

Look for physical tells. The most dependable is:

Answer 44

Hand motions. Strong means weak and weak means strong, usually.

Question 45

Betting pattern questions:

Answer 45

How many pots do they enter?
When they have a good hand, do they make strong bets or weak bets?
How about with a weak hand?
When you reraise them, do they back off or fight?

Question 46

An example of a tell using cards:

Answer 46

A player starts to move cards to center of table as people play, but then pulls them back as he realizes that he can steal the pot.

Question 47

Once the table is fully convinced that you are either conservative or aggressive, then it is time to:

Answer 47

Switch things up and play the exact opposite manner

Question 48

If the pot odds are good enough, then:

Answer 48

Any hand would be worth a call.

Question 49

A player with a small stack, who is about to be blinded out, raising a small amount and not going all-in, in early position:

Answer 49

Probably has a good hand and is trying to get some of the opponents’ chips into the pot

Question 50

How do you evaluate how you are perceived at the table?

Answer 50

Ask yourself:
How many hands have I played?
What have I shown?
What would a keen observer think about me at this point?

Question 51

What is you are perceived as loose, even though your plan was to play tight then gradually loosen?

Answer 51

It’s not your fault you’ve had great hands that you haven’t had to show. Go with it and now play right even though you had planned to loosen, because they’re going to call every round.

Question 52

The essence of a good trap is to make a play that looks

Answer 52

Routine for you, to lull them in.

Question 53

Stealing a pot means trying to win with a crappy hand. So,

Answer 53

You want tight players behind you.

Question 54

An oversize raise usually indicates

Answer 54

Hey player who doesn’t want to get called

Question 55

Two things to calculate before you bet:

Answer 55

Your odds of winning (based on what you think he has), and the pot odds.

Question 56

Why raise with a pair of K’s?

Answer 56

If you let someone stay in cheaply, and they have an A, they may draw a pair of A’s on the flop.

Question 57

Make lots of mental notes about betting patterns. For example,

Answer 57

If player, who usually limps in, folds on a 4x raise, you might do a 4x raise when you think you can steal a pot.

Question 58

When do you go all-in?

Answer 58

When you think you have pot odds and you don’t think all in will scare him off ( i.e., he re-raised you).

Question 59

To calculate implied odds:

Answer 59

Multiply probability of opponent calling by additional amount you will win.