[crazypete]

how do u counter this, because i often bluff big and take down medium to large sized pots, but now my oponents aren't betting their flush, and checking to me on the river w/ the nuts....
is there any way to get information by betting, if so how big should the bets be compared to the size of the pot/size of the blinds.... any help would be appreciated... thanx

[crazypete]

It sounds like you may be too predictable. If they have picked up on the fact that you are bluffing a lot then waiting for a big hand and snapping you off is the correct strategy. You need to adjust by tightening up a bit, and not bluffing as much or pushing your bluffs as far.

As for the amount to bet, I would consistantly bet 3-5 times the big blind, regardless of the strength of your hand (unless you just call of course). That will help keep people from reading your hand based on the size of your bet. On the flop generally bet about the size of the pot. This will usually work as well as an all in if he has no hand, without the risk. And again always betting about the same amount will make your hand hard to read.

If your opponent calls both a pre-flop raise, and a pot size bet on the flop, think hard about firing off another bet. What could he have to stay in? At that point discretion may be the better part of valor. You may want to check and give it up if he bets into you. Don't look at it as a loss, look at it as a saved bet. If you really want to out trick the trickster, you can do that a couple of times, then check the turn when you do have a monster, and turn the tables by raising when he bets into you. I have had success with that ploy a number of times.

[pritz]

yups, mix it up, bet when you got nothing, conservative players hardly ever win. can wait for cards to come out, just gotta bet at a pot and put others to the test...if they got the guts to play with you. so no matter what you got, just play the player. the he plays at you, play back at him, and you'll catch him with his hand in the cookie jar.

[johnf]

Works every time but one. Sooner or later you will run into someone with a real hand who will snap you off and take your entire stack. Which I believe was what this post was all about. Playing the player means knowing when to get out of a pot too. IMNHO, while overly agressive players can be dangerous short term, in the long run they are easier to beat than overly conservative players.

[razor]

unless you are up against a smart conservative player who will wait for the aggressive player to make a mistake and then call him on it with less than a top hand.

[norshvind]

Heres something I have been doing for around 2 months now, I play loose aggresive the beginning of a SNG, when the blinds are from 10/20-25/50, Id say 70% of the time, I build up a stack, if not, then I sit and wait as the blinds go up for a monster, and then take my shot, which usually doubles me up. Then I turn to tight aggressive mode, and steal pots that are stealable, Ill throw a raise in preflop, and If i get called, and dont hit it big on the flop,(top pair, straight draw, flush draw, or two pair) then I throw one more shot, and see what happens, after that I may or may not slow down, depending on the player. I usually like to show down one big bluff per tournament, and one monster.
After that I usually get into the money with the chip lead, and then just limp in with everything, except monsters (AA,KK,QQ, AKs, AQs)
When it gets to heads up I check everything, hoping they make a mistake, which most players do, and boom more money in my pocket.

[ballen]

As they say, you need to "change gears" to be successful in Hold Em. Dont be predictable and always keep your opponenents guessing. You never want to put u on a hand and spot tells, so you need to mix it up and confuse your opponents.

What i tend to do and it has been very successful.... start off bluffing a lot and if u steal a pot, show your cards to the opponents. Let them see that u are playing loose and crazy... then when u got the nuts, show them again. LOL... this really confuses them and they have no idea when u got it or not.

[BigAl]

There's a similar thread knocking around somewhere, but the best advice I can give you off the top of my head really is to mix play up a little.

You can't become predictable, so make the odd larger raise, perhaps go further with lower cards than you normally would do and so forth. It can cost you a few chips, but in the interests of avoiding becomming a stale and predictable player, you ahve to do something out of the ordinary.