Some General Concepts
From: izmet@siol.net (Izmet Fekali)
Subject: Re: Ram and Jam, Bank shots and other no fold'em tactics
Date: 03 Aug 1999 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker
In <7o67q7$grh$1@garnet.tc.umn.edu> Doug wrote:
Also, I would be interested in hearing any other no fold'em tactics that others would like to share. Any hints on how to beat this game would be greatly appreciated.
Suited aces and kings go way up in value, I do not fold them early. Raise late with suited aces on the button when facing limpers, raise with strong offsuit hands (and onsuit hands, of course) even against a full field to punish limpers. These hands (like AQo or AJo) are not in trouble in these situations as pagan S&M gods would like you to believe. Jam preflop with strong pairs or strong suited hands even if you know you are against a better hand if there are several other people in the pot. These poor souls contribute enough to make a profit for two strongest hands in the pot. So even if your hand is second best, you are still making money on your raises, provided there are many callers trapped (your opponent with a better hand is making more than you, of course, but you are still earning money, provided there are benefactors in the pot). In these situations, two stronger hands are forming a kind of partnership to punish weaker hands for their unsound play. This is not collusion, this is good play. However beware, it might look like collusion and you could get in trouble.
Play small pairs for whatever price preflop if there are several people in the pot. Fold if you don't flop a set. Do not continue beyond the flop (unless there are more than about 16-18 small bets in already) and you are closing the action. Raising on the button with small pair preflop is not something I like to do, despite the popular S&M advice. Maybe you know better for your particular situation.
Never slowplay a flopped straight! You'll get plenty of action from pairs and one card straight draws. Get your money in early in case it gets counterfeited, and you have to split the pot.
Never slow play a flopped set! Nobody knows you have a monster anyway, therefore, it is stupid to conceal the strength of your hand. Backing off to a raise and then check-raising on the turn is a valid strategy (although not necessarily best). I do not back off when there is a third suited card on board. I feel that I have enough outs to disregard the possibility of a made flush against me. If you lose with a set, you'll lose a lot of money. If you don't, you are not playing your sets correctly.
Never slowplay a flush. If somebody slow plays a worse flush you'll feel like a sucker when it gets checked around. Anyway, nobody is going to believe you anyway. Most importantly, do not try to check-raise with a made flush. When a flush card hits, players tend to be careful with their bets, so you might not get any. It's probably better to lead, hoping somebody raises.
Read Lee Jones even if his strategy does not appear to be ideal. He is a strong advocate of straightforward play and this is the surest way to win against the fish. Read past posts by Gary Carson and Abdul. Forget about S&M advice on loose games. If Mason came to play in my game with the loosest fish possible, he'd be asking me for a loan in a couple of hours. Anyway, I tend not to trust guys who think a 21st Century begins at Jan 1st 2000.
Izmet
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