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Poker

Hand planning Part 1: Anticipation

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A common problem for good yet struggling poker players is the failure to hand plan.  They make decisions from street to street without considering how the hand will play out.  A few reasons players lose focus on the bigger picture:

  • They were taught to play each decision separately (mostly through watching TV Poker)
  • They get tired and lose their focus
  • They succumb to the pressure of a big pot or a tough situation and lose their feel for the game
  • They rely on common wisdom and make decisions on “auto-pilot” without considering the rest of the hand

The results are disastrous.  Players put themselves in positions they are not prepared for:

  • They get crippled in huge tournament pots with marginal hands
  • They unknowingly pot commit themselves without realizing the effective stacks are shallow
  • They post hand histories about crucial hands they misplayed while requesting “please disregard preflop/flop play; what would you do on the river?”

This is a fundamental poker skill. Lack of hand planning impedes your progress and hampers your results. It’s time to make hand planning a consistent part of your game and to stop leaving money on the table. To help you with this goal I have broken the process down into 3 facets. Once you understand and consistently implement these in your game, you will be well on your way to mastering this fundamental skill.

Anticipation

Anticipation is the foundation to hand planning. You must be able to anticipate how your opponents will act in order to predict the flow of a hand. These predictions will come from your past poker experiences and from close observation of your opponents. From these two sources you will be able to figure out some tendencies that will help you anticipate your opponent’s play.

The greatest benefit to anticipating your opponent’s actions is that it will allow you to make sound decisions without being affected by time pressure or distracted by the stress of being in a difficult situation. When at the poker table, you cannot consider and process every single possible scenario. You must focus on certain types of situations in order to fully use the power of anticipation. You must focus on these specific opponent actions:

  • The most probable actions
  • The relevant actions (no need to play out the scenario where you opponent folds or when he checks behind on the river, for example)
  • The actions that don’t make your decision completely obvious (An example;  your opponent shoves while you have no hand and no draw)

Focusing on these scenarios will greatly increase your powers of anticipation. By narrowing in on these key scenarios, you will leverage the value of observation, reads and identification of tells.

Stay tuned

Next, we will discuss the concept of formulating lines in poker. In the meantime, do you have any comments about the skill of anticipation at the poker table? Please share your thoughts in the comments thread of this post.

 

The real reason you are still stuck at the micro levels

Poker is a frustrating game to learn. Progress is difficult to measure because short term results are practically meaningless. Very few players learn the game quickly; most take baby steps towards their learning goals.

Stories of the latest “online phenom” add to the frustration.  How can these young players  — some of which barely have a high school education –  accomplish in a few months what you have been inching towards for years?

In short, they MASTER THE BASICS.  Mastering the basics allows these players to quickly switch their focus towards the more advanced aspects of poker strategy.  The transition from beginner to advanced player is quick and smooth because they build a strong foundation that they can build upon.

Most poker players take years if not decades to become fundamentally sound.  Here is a short list of reasons why the vast majority of poker players never grasp the fundamentals of poker strategy.

  • Player gets misinformed. As I mentioned here, there are some great poker strategy resources online but there is also an absurd amount of misinformation floating around
  • Player unrealistically seeks a clearly defined systematic way to dominate poker
  • Player overvalues his poker intuition
  • Player is too emotional and unable to distance himself from his play
  • Player seeks immediate feedback (via short term results) and doesn’t understand variance

The next few posts on this blog will feature some of these roadblocks to poker growth. To insure that the topics in this series are as helpful as possible, they will:

  • Represent a very common issue for intermediate players
  • Represent a fundamental  problem that hinders progress considerably
  • Be fixable errors; I will give tips on how to fix these major leaks

The first post of this series will cover the importance of playing lines, as opposed to playing poker situations in a vacuum. If you have any recommendations for topics or any comments about this series, please feel free to mention them in the comments of this post.

Focus on winning

 

DISTRACTIONS ARE PLENTIFUL AT THE POKER TABLE

 

 

 

Competitive Poker is such a strategic battle; it’s easy to lose sight of your primary objective.  In your quest to outplay your opponents, secondary goals often overtake your attention.  Winning no longer matters; instead you seek morale victories and justifications for losing.  It is crucial for those who care about winning to avoid sabotaging their results.  If you play to win, don’t forget the winning part.  Avoid focusing on:

  • Proving your worthiness
  • The worthiness of your opponent
  • What others might think of a specific play you are about to make
  • How others would play your current hand
  • How unlucky you are about to get
  • What excuses you will make for losing if you bust out in the current hand

Many things happen at the poker table that sidetracks your focus. Opponents distract you with trash talk, downswings promote self-doubt and bad beats ignite tilt.  Here are a few pointers to help you through those times when you feel your focus slipping.

  • Tighten up your play:   Keeping things tight and simple should help reduce the severe blunders that can result from lack of focus.  Keep this in mind while you work on bringing your focus back to winning.
  • Tune out your opponents:  Ignore the table chatter while you try to get yourself back on track.
  • Walk away for a minute:  When you feel like your focus is straying; take a break. Sometimes it’s best to get blinded out for an orbit or two versus playing through your funk.
  • Relax:  Pressure can cause even the best players to tilt.  Remind yourself that you cannot control the cards. Empower yourself by focusing solely on what you can control and ignore everything else.

Have thoughts on how to focus on winning at the table?  I would love to hear them in the comments.

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3 Poker Lessons from Rocky Balbo

 

Rocky and poker

He is NOT dead meat

Rocky movies are my all time favorite!!!   A poker buddy often jokes how I base all of my tough decisions on “What would Rocky do?” All joking aside, I know Rocky would make a great poker player and a lot of his boxing tactics translate extremely well to poker.  With this in mind, I present to you 3 poker lessons from the Italian Stallion; Rocky Balboa.

Focus On Performance, Not Results

Rocky understands results are beyond his control.  He focuses on preparation and on making sure he is ready to “bring it” at the opening bell.  He focuses solely on things he can control and makes sure he is not distracted by anything else. A great example of this is in Rocky 1 where his lone goal was to go the distance in his fight with Apollo Creed, the legendary heavyweight champion of the world.   He knew if he gave it his all and did EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO SUCCEED he would come out a winner no matter the outcome. Rocky didn’t even care enough to pay attention to the reading of the official scorecards. He kept pushing people out of his way while searching for his beloved Adrian.

All you can do in poker is prepare for success and put out maximal effort at the table. When you achieve these goals, it stings a little less when someone spikes a 4 outer to bust you out of a big tournament. Knowing that you did everything you could to win will soften the blow and help you bounce back.  By focusing on performance rather than short term results, you set the proper mindset to play great consistent poker regardless of recent suckouts/bad beats/coolers.

Switch Gears

Rocky switched from a southpaw to a conventional stance numerous times during his epic battles. He learned how to dance around the ring in Rocky III to counter Clubber Lang’s overwhelming power.  He trained to build sheer power himself as an aged veteran against the much younger, more athletic Mason Dixon in Rocky Balboa.  Rocky is great at changing gears!!!

Adaptation is vital to poker success. You must know when and how to change gears to be a long term winner.  While avoiding Fancy Play Syndrome, consistently monitor the game conditions and look for opportune times to shift gears and alter your style of play.  Exploit your table image; this is a great way to use deception as a weapon.

Understand Your Opponent

Rocky is kind of punch drunk and is not known for being the brightest; but he game plans well.  He knows if he understands his opponents well, he will know how to counter their tendencies and formulate a winning strategy. In their first fight, Rocky learned that Clubber Lang expended too much energy in the early rounds. He knew that his opponent would not have enough stamina to be effective in the later rounds of their rematch. He exploited this tendency by letting Clubber gas himself out by the middle of the third round – similarly to Ali’s Rope a Dope against Foreman in Zaire – and scored a decisive knockout to win his title back.

In poker, we tend to think our opponents play similarly to us.  We foolishly neglect the fact that our opponents have different playing styles than we do.  To play them optimally we need to stop assuming they are playing “by the book”.  Like Rocky, study your opponent, figure out how he will react in certain situations and exploit his tendencies.

Rocky kicks some serious ass.  A lot of his traits and boxing skills translate perfectly to poker success.  Do you think you could beat Rocky in a heads up match?  Think of any other characters we could learn poker from?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

 

How to take over your home poker league

 

TO BECOME THE BEST, YOU MUST GO THROUGH HIM

Out of pure, unadulterated spite I raised the ante!!  I made a prop bet, pitting myself against our poker league’s dominant player… and friend…“Luke Brox” (fictional name used to protect the sanity of all parties involved).  After calling out Luke, I challenged him and his dynasty as our league’s undisputed greatest; the player with the most points in the last 6 legs of our 32-player league’s season will win the spoils.

If we polled all the league members on who is most likely to win the bet, the results would probably be unanimous.  Some might even say that I have bitten off more than I can chew.  Based on previous league results, Luke is an overwhelming favorite to win this bet.  We all joke about how lucky Luke is at poker, but everyone knows he has earned his tremendous results via fine play and great poker instincts.  Facing a monumental challenge that I take extremely seriously, I have decided to break down Luke’s game and work out my game plan.

Before I go on with my analysis, you might be wondering why I have brought you into this conversation.   The reasons why I have decided to blog about HOW I PLAN TO OVERTHROW THE RULER OF THE LEWISVILLE POKER TOUR are twofold:

1) I think every home poker league has its version of a “Luke Brox”.  The “Luke Brox” of your home poker league probably shares very similar traits with the one in mine.

2) “Luke Brox” is strong but definitely beatable.  Like any poker player he has exploitable tendencies.

Defining HIS Strengths

1) Luke relies heavily on deception at the table. He generally projects a very aggressive image yet plays fairly passively.  He manages all this while still being capable of changing gears when necessary.

2) He plays a very strong psychological game.  He knows how to benefit from confrontation at the table and knows when to retreat to appear almost uninterested in the table action.

3) Luke quietly gathers tons of information on his opponents.  He insists on knowing what cards his opponents mucked  and he is quite good at using this information to profile them.

4) He competes incessantly.  Luke is massively competitive although he projects a non competitive attitude – this is yet another one of the many smokescreens he uses quite well.

5) He intuitively understands poker strategy without giving it any thought, his instincts are often bang on.

His Exploitable Traits

1) Luke doesn’t rely on the “mathematical” aspects of poker. For example,  he has no idea about ICM, he doesn’t consider things like implied odds and has never once been preoccupied with the concept of balancing his ranges.

2) He plays “rushes”.  How well he is fairing very recently affects his play.  Look for him playing loosely after winning a bit pot or two and tight when he is running badly.

3) Luke doesn’t keep track of stack sizes at the table very well.

4) He is very superstitious at the table; this tends to throw off his judgment at times.

5) Luke plays too loosely with a big stack and overvalues “being able to afford the call”.

6) He tends to fall into discernable patterns in bet sizing,  table mannerisms (verbal and nonverbal tells) and decision making.

The Final Analysis – Exploiting These Tendencies

Now that we know Luke’s profile, we need a plan to play him optimally.  Although Luke presents a tough challenge, we have an edge against him if we stick to the following plan:

1) Don’t be fooled by the “crazy, liable to do anything” image he projects.  He has very discernable tendencies/patterns.

2) Avoid fancy play syndrome; sound fundamentals carry a huge part of your edge against Luke.

3) Vary your play.  Luke is very observant and relies on recall in key hands.  Make sure to balance your ranges.  For instance, if you like to over bet shove as a bluff, make sure to do so as a value bet once in a while.

4) Stay focused, Luke plays mind games; see through them and keep your eyes on the prize.  When Luke acts tilted and uninterested he is not.  When he acts strong, he knows this looks weak.  Pay attention to his antics, they give off a lot of information.

5) Keep an eye open for verbal/nonverbal tells.  Luke plays very emotionally and talks and reacts a lot at the table.  While filtering out the smokescreens, be observant; Luke gives away valuable information once you know what to look for.  For instance, while playing a series of heads up matches with him, I found my “Luke” has a tendency to place his hands very close to his cards when he has made a big bet with a strong hand and is awaiting a call or a fold.  Look for these types of nonverbal clues and exploit them.

Time To Play Cards

 

It’s time to finally overthrow “Luke” as the dominant player in your league.  Being the more knowledgeable player, you can outplay Luke as long as you stay focused on your strategic edges.  Make sure to taunt him early and often on your way to victory.  A victory chant is encouraged.  I like reminding Luke and anyone within earshot that THE CHAMP IS HERE as frequently as possible without getting myself punched out.  It is a slippery slope but one that is manageable.

Your Turn

What do you think?  Does “Luke Brox” describe anyone in your league?  If so, what are your thoughts on how to beat him? I would love to hear your opinion in the comments.

 

To show or not to show…

 

Showing off that you can do something crazy is not always a good idea

I played at the local Casino the other night and the following hand got me thinking about showing your hands when winning a pot without showdown.

Young Banger Shows a Bluff

I had been playing for 20 minutes or so when a 20-something guy takes a seat at the table.  His demeanor sports that “poker room rock star” image.  Soon I learn he is a regular player through his discussions with others at the table about having been away from the casino for a couple of weeks, having won $1200 in his last session, and stating he was “Crazy, but not that crazy” when he let go of a hand against a river bet.

The hand starts off with Young Banger (or “YB” for short) floating a fairly passive player who may  have not have spoken 3 words since I sat down at the table.  When passive player checks the turn, YB leads out for three quarters of the pot,  passive player folds and YB shows total air,  no draw, no pair…5/3 off suite.  After he throws his cards down on the felt, he offers a disjointed “that is my last bluff of the night”.

Why did he show his hand?

I believe he did so for 3 key reasons:

  • He showed the bluff to agitate his opponent
  • He was proud of his bluff and wanted to show his poker prowess to the rest of the table
  • He showed the bluff so he can get paid off when he does get a strong hand (people will think he is still bluffing)

Reason 3 is quite interesting because I have thought of using this short sighted tactic before. The logic being: showing a total bluff leaves an impression with the table that we are always “up to something” and the next time we catch a big hand, the players are going to pay us off.  This tactic seems solid at first glance, but it does have some glaring weaknesses.
The tactic of showing a bluff is transparent. Most players can level this attempt at misdirection by looking at the player’s motive. Showing a bluff means the player is looking to get paid off with the goods later on.

The bigger problem with this tactic is the expectation that a “big hand” is coming soon.  Not only are we implying a big hand is coming soon, that big hand also needs to run into a very strong second  best hand.  Moreover, what are we going to do while awaiting for this big hand to happen?  Are we going to tighten up in the meantime?  Play loose/passive? Are we damaging the chances of successful C-Bets and other types of bluffs?  The biggest problem with this plan is that it might  encourage our opponents us a lot tougher than usual.

It’s way too restrictive to follow the old school advice of “never show your cards, never give away information”.  Misdirection is key in poker and showing hole cards strategically can definitely help us confuse our opponents.  While there are definitely situations where showing a bluff can be profitable, the one stated above is not one of them.
Do you agree with me?  Can you think of any situations were showing your hole cards after taking down an uncontested pot can be beneficial?  Let me know what you think in comments below.

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Raising in late position with speculative hands

 

Here is a re-post of an article I wrote in 2007.  I find it still pertinent today.  Let me know what you think.

I remember awhile back, me and my buddy Tim where playing in a cash game early in LPT Season 1. Tim folded his cards and took a peak at mine while I 3x raised from the cut off position. I got 2 callers, and someone pushed me off my hand on a coordinated board. Tim said something to the effect, “You like those?” I remember wanting to discuss the hand with him then, but we were in the middle of a game and I don’t like initiating poker strategy discussions for fear of looking like a know it all.  So I answered “Yeah I do” and we left it at that. Fast forward to a year later, I still like raising speculative hands like suited connectors and baby pairs, especially in cash games. In fact, if I were to write up a document describing how I play NL holdem cash games, Chapter 1 would certainly contain a section on why I like to play this way. So here are the three reasons I like to raise with these speculative hands.

Can You Spare Some Change?

There is something to be said about picking up a number of small pots that no one else wants to claim. When open raising in late position, two profitable things are fairly probable to happen.

You will pick up the blinds and dead limper money. In my opinion, raising in deep stack cash games with the main goal of winning the blinds is pointless, but picking up blinds due to aggressive play is a nice byproduct.

The stubborn limpers will call the raise but miss the flop. When this occurs, a continuation bet will often pick up the pot. To fade the board can be a profitable play against 2 or less opponents.

Your Image Will Prosper, Build It (The Pot) and They Will Come (Eventually)

Sooner or later people are going to notice that you are raising more often than random cards would usually dictate. Limpers get fed up and eventually will play back at you. This, in turn, will help you get paid off when you actually do raise with a very strong preflop hand. Deception is the key here. When people start playing back at you, hopefully they guess at the wrong hand and you get to play a big pot with a big hand in position.

Sudden Movements Make Your Prey Run Away

A very common poker wisdom you keep hearing everywhere you turn is “with small pairs and suited connectors, try and see a cheap flop”. Most assume this means to try limping in the pot with these hands. Trying to see a cheap flop means it’s dangerous to play these hands from early position, but it can never be an awful play to raise them from late position. In addition to the reasons stated above, another benefit to raising with these hands is TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD A BIG POT WHEN YOU HIT A HUGE FLOP. When you hit a set or better on the flop, it will be much easier to entice your opponents to play a big pot with you. Generally, standard bet sizing is directly related to the current pot size. Your standard continuation bet will be bigger and when your opponent bets into you, he will bet more. This pot building effect will snowball on every street right up to the river.

In conclusion, to pick up dead money, encourage action with premium hands, and get paid when lightning strikes, are all good reasons to reach for the “raising pile” when in position. Winning small pots and building an aggressive table image are often more than enough to compensate for putting money in the pot when you are “surely behind”.

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Over focusing on Preflop play

While it is true that preflop tendencies tell us a lot about our opponents, they do not tell the whole story.  Players tend to observe preflop trends (loose or aggressive) and extend them to all facets of their opponent’s play.  Although it is true that the degree of preflop aggression can be a key indicator of how one will play the other streets, preflop play does not translate into a perfectly clear picture of how a poker player approaches the rest of the hand.

Why stop here?

We tend to stop at this phase.  We slap a label on our opponents and figure we can stop observing their play and focus on the other aspects of winning poker.  Laziness hurts us here.  For instance, while it is true that a TAG tends to bet light on the later streets, not all TAG’s will play the late betting rounds the same way.  Does this TAG check/raise bluff often?  Does he double barrel?  Will he semi bluff big draws on the turn or take a free card?  These are all specific aspects of our opponent’s play that can only be determined via direct observation.  The label we slap on our opponent will help determine these tendencies but we must REFINE our impression of our opponent beyond the labeling phase.

Phase 3 –  Refining

Once that we get enough hands in with our opponent, we need to start narrowing down on his specific tendencies.  Gradually we work our way from the label we assigned him towards a finely tuned view of his play.  We build data on how he plays certain poker situations that come up often during play.  We take note of every variable that made this situation unique and try and discern which variables affected his play the most.  The ultimate goal here is to UNDERSTAND our opponent, to know not only how he will act but WHY he tends to act a certain way at the table.

The one striking error I have seen at the refining stage is that players do not focus enough on the reason why their opponent acted in a specific way.  Once we start gaining an understanding of what a poker player is trying to accomplish at the table, we are one step closer to “getting into their head” and playing them optimally.

What do YOU think about player reading?  Do I put too much emphasis on reads and not enough on tells?  Do you agree that the 3 stages of player reading are important?  LEAVE A COMMENT… let’s discuss it.

We need to understand our opponents to win at poker.  Although physical and non verbal tells are important,  understanding our opponents tendencies is far more valuable and more often applicable then tells.

This post discusses the three phases of player observation and provides comments on how they are often misused.

Phase 1 –  Even before the first hand is dealt

We can tell much about a poker player simply by watching him sit down at his table, by greeting him and by engaging him in a pregame chat.   It is ok to label poker players based on their appearance.  Gender, age, social status and general demeanor are all important factors to consider.  They help “paint a picture” of our opponent and give valuable insights about his poker tendencies.  Although this pregame profiling is not totally reliable, it does trump the alternative of working in the dark and to view everyone at your table through the same “average poker player” lens.  Too many poker players skip this step.  They view their unknown opponents as total wild cards.  They miss out on a great opportunity to create a “poker tendency baseline” for these unknown opponents.

Phase 2 –  Labeling

Once play begins, it is now time to start observing player tendencies.   How often do they limp?  How often do they raise preflop?  Do they like to isolate?  Do they ever limp from the button?  Blind Defenders?  Do they Cbet a lot?  Do they play fit or fold on flop?  Do they float?  Do they check raise bluff?  You get the picture.

This is the meaty part of player reading.  Here we gradually adjust our initial speculative perception of our opponent towards a concrete summary of how he plays poker.  Once we get a grasp on how our opponent plays, we compare his play to the numerous opponents we have faced in the past and we label him accordingly.  For instance, if he plays very few hands but plays them hard, we call him a TAG, if he plays very loose/passively we label him a calling station or a showdown muppet.

Once we assign a label to our opponent, we can make decent assumptions on how he will play in certain situations.  Some poker problems are very similar, this allows us to categorize them as we can assume that if he plays situation “A” a certain way he will probably play very similar situation “B: the same way.  There are 2 common errors made in respect to the “labeling phase”.

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215 words that most losing poker players must read

 

Stop it!  Stop telling yourself  and anyone within earshot that BANKROLL MANAGEMENT is the reason you are a losing player.  You lose at poker because you are not good enough…  AT POKER!!!

From the people that blog about knowing how to win but not doing so to those that refuse to think about any of their REAL leaks, I am sick of hearing about your lack of discipline.  The fact is, if it was true that Bankroll Management and game selection were the most significant problems with your game, you would totally rock at poker and easily compensate for these shortcomings with your world class poker skills.

So for those losing players that are convinced bankroll management is a significant reason for their lack of results, SNAP OUT OF IT!  You are in total denial and are NOT focused on improving your game.
For those that use this excuse as a crutch, but have at least a little bit of doubt that they are not being honest with themselves and others, you are not fooling anyone!  Please stop spewing this nonsense.  This act is very transparent and embarrassing.  Give yourself a fighting chance at success.  If you want to improve at poker take inventory of your play, find your TRUE leaks and work on them.
Are you equally as worried about/frustrated with “Bankroll Management-tards?  Want to share your perspective? I would love to hear your comments.

 

 

The easiest way to start improving your poker skills immediately

Today I am sharing my simplest yet most powerful tip.  I am convinced that once you integrate the following into your poker game/routine, you will begin enjoying poker on a whole new level AND tremendously improve your poker skills.

The trick is to grab a friend, a tray of poker chips and a timer; then start playing some live heads up poker freezouts with your best poker buddy.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

Here are some thoughts on some of the variables involved in setting up a Heads Up match.  The key is to make these matches as competitive and enjoyable as possible in order to get the most out of them.

Heads Up Freezouts:  Playing a series of freezouts is the best way to keep these games engaging.  Being able to reset the chips equally after winning or losing a game will keep both parties engaged and ready to compete.

Starting stacks:  The starting stacks should not be too shallow as this would restrict the amount of creative play, but they should also not be unrealistically deep either. The goal is to reproduce situations similar to your standard full table game.   Starting stacks of about 80 to 120 big blinds with 20 minute or so levels should be adequate for most players.

The Stakes:  Stakes should be high enough to keep the competitive momentum flowing, but not too high as to discourage the matches from continuously running.  Make each match be worth fighting for but not enough to hurt anyone enough to make them feel like they have to quit playing before they lose too much.

Side Bet:  Seeing that single heads up freezouts are very small units of play,   you can always turn them into a series of matches.  For instance, all of my heads up games with my buddies are part of “race to 10 win” matches.  We bet a certain amount per individual win plus the first to win 10 freezouts wins an extra bet. This is yet another way to keep things competitive.  Having a constantly running scoreboard helps keep the participants motivated.

WHO TO PLAY WITH?

Here are a few guidelines to consider in finding a heads Up buddy that will help you get the most out of these matches.

A worthy opponent – Your opponent should be a tough challenge for you.  He should not be overly predictable so that you are forced into as many tough decisions as possible

Competitive – The more competitive these matches are, the more you will get out of them.  Try to find a heads up friend that will “fight for every inch” and spark your competitiveness!

Wanting to improve – Find an opponent that is looking to reap the same benefits from these matches as you are. Find an opponent that plays poker to improve and because it is the most enjoyable game on Earth. You need to play with someone that PLAYS POKER FOR VALUE!

THE PAYOFF

Playing these freezouts will help your poker game in many ways.

They will force you to play more hands:  This also means you will play hands that you would not play often under normal conditions.  This will help you figure out those “odd situations” you find yourself in during your regular game.  Experience is one of the keys in poker. Heads up poker is a quick way to gain a lot of MEANINGFUL experience.

They will force you to pay attention:  There is a lot less downtime while playing heads Up poker.  You are in or near the action 100 percent of the time.  This encourages you to examine your opponent more closely.  Heads up poker promotes the habit of profiling your opponent’s tendencies and helps you appreciate the value of studying your opponent for verbal and nonverbal tells.

You will become “battle ready”: Getting much repetition in a very COMPETITIVE setting will benefit you when you need it most.  To maintain your composure while facing a tough decision with something significant on the line is a learnable skill.  Playing these heads up matches will help fight the tendency of ‘freezing” in tough spots during your regular game.

Do you play regular heads up matches with your buddies?  If so, has it improved your overall game? How so?  If you have any suggestions or comments, I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

The 3 phases of player reading

 

We need to understand our opponents to win at poker.  Although physical and non verbal tells are important,  understanding our opponents tendencies is far more valuable and more often applicable then tells.

This post discusses the three phases of player observation and provides comments on how they are often misused.

Phase 1 –  Even before the first hand is dealt

We can tell much about a poker player simply by watching him sit down at his table, by greeting him and by engaging him in a pregame chat.   It is ok to label poker players based on their appearance.  Gender, age, social status and general demeanor are all important factors to consider.  They help “paint a picture” of our opponent and give valuable insights about his poker tendencies.  Although this pregame profiling is not totally reliable, it does trump the alternative of working in the dark and to view everyone at your table through the same “average poker player” lens.  Too many poker players skip this step.  They view their unknown opponents as total wild cards.  They miss out on a great opportunity to create a “poker tendency baseline” for these unknown opponents.

Phase 2 –  Labeling

Once play begins, it is now time to start observing player tendencies.   How often do they limp?  How often do they raise preflop?  Do they like to isolate?  Do they ever limp from the button?  Blind Defenders?  Do they Cbet a lot?  Do they play fit or fold on flop?  Do they float?  Do they check raise bluff?  You get the picture.

This is the meaty part of player reading.  Here we gradually adjust our initial speculative perception of our opponent towards a concrete summary of how he plays poker.  Once we get a grasp on how our opponent plays, we compare his play to the numerous opponents we have faced in the past and we label him accordingly.  For instance, if he plays very few hands but plays them hard, we call him a TAG, if he plays very loose/passively we label him a calling station or a showdown muppet.

Once we assign a label to our opponent, we can make decent assumptions on how he will play in certain situations.  Some poker problems are very similar, this allows us to categorize them as we can assume that if he plays situation “A” a certain way he will probably play very similar situation “B: the same way.  There are 2 common errors made in respect to the “labeling phase”.

Over focusing on Preflop play

While it is true that preflop tendencies tell us a lot about our opponents, they do not tell the whole story.  Players tend to observe preflop trends (loose or aggressive) and extend them to all facets of their opponent’s play.  Although it is true that the degree of preflop aggression can be a key indicator of how one will play the other streets, preflop play does not translate into a perfectly clear picture of how a poker player approaches the rest of the hand.

Why stop here?

We tend to stop at this phase.  We slap a label on our opponents and figure we can stop observing their play and focus on the other aspects of winning poker.  Laziness hurts us here.  For instance, while it is true that a TAG tends to bet light on the later streets, not all TAG’s will play the late betting rounds the same way.  Does this TAG check/raise bluff often?  Does he double barrel?  Will he semi bluff big draws on the turn or take a free card?  These are all specific aspects of our opponent’s play that can only be determined via direct observation.  The label we slap on our opponent will help determine these tendencies but we must REFINE our impression of our opponent beyond the labeling phase.

Phase 3 –  Refining

Once that we get enough hands in with our opponent, we need to start narrowing down on his specific tendencies.  Gradually we work our way from the label we assigned him towards a finely tuned view of his play.  We build data on how he plays certain poker situations that come up often during play.  We take note of every variable that made this situation unique and try and discern which variables affected his play the most.  The ultimate goal here is to UNDERSTAND our opponent, to know not only how he will act but WHY he tends to act a certain way at the table.

The one striking error I have seen at the refining stage is that players do not focus enough on the reason why their opponent acted in a specific way.  Once we start gaining an understanding of what a poker player is trying to accomplish at the table, we are one step closer to “getting into their head” and playing them optimally.

What do YOU think about player reading?  Do I put too much emphasis on reads and not enough on tells?  Do you agree that the 3 stages of player reading are important?  LEAVE A COMMENT… let’s discuss it.

 

 

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    Poker and Social Psychology

     

    In this blog post Barry Carter discusses how Tilt is a common issue to disciplines such as sports betting, trading and of course poker.  I felt compelled to answer this post as I have always found that comparing poker to other disciplines very useful to my understanding of the game.  One of the disciplines I used to be quite passionate about is pool.  Although poker and pool are 2 very dissimilar games, the psychological side of these 2 disciplines draw some interesting parallels.  More specifically, the Social Psychology aspects of poker and billiards are very similar:

    –  In both games you act in front of other players and gradually give away your strategy;
    –  It is very common for the players watching to form opinions about how you proceed;
    – It is commonly perceived that winning players will often take the same strategic route when analyzing a situation

    Pool players who are not accustomed to the added pressure of peer speculation often lose focus on their objective.  For instance, an 8-ball player who lacks confidence thinks about what his opponent will think if he does not choose the correct order of shots to take and fails to clear the table.  This player creates an extra layer to the problem.  Instead of focusing on the best course of action, the following thoughts set in:

    • If I lose, how can I do so without looking foolish
    • How can I win this game in the most impressive fashion
    • How can I play this to leave myself with excuses for losing if I don’t win

    Poker players tend to fall into the same trap.  The pressure of being scrutinized by others sitting at the table can be overwhelming.  This especially holds true when facing a critical decision while playing a big pot.  Pressure opens the door to self-doubt.   Players find themselves trying to determine a play that will help them save face instead of focusing on playing optimally.  Losing their stack becomes acceptable with certain holdings. Profitable bluffs are not executed in fear of having to show an ugly losing hand. Players are focused on their post bust out story instead of focusing on making the correct play.

    How to fix it

    Barry and Jared probably have a more elaborate answer on how to counter this natural tendency.  Personally, I have found that gaining confidence by getting used to playing under stressful conditions helps.  The more you can handle the stress of a tough poker spot, the better are able to focus on the task at hand and not worry about what the rest of the table is thinking.

    I would love to hear your thoughts about this topic and/or this post. I am looking forward to discussing it with you.

     

     

    read Observation and Poker

    In this post I described 3 essential skills of poker and the challenges they present for intermediate poker players.  The first skill, the one of observing and recognizing the situation, seems the simplest but can be the most baffling for struggling players.  What makes it difficult is the immense number of variables to consider.  The noise to signal ratio at a poker table is huge.  It is difficult for beginner and intermediate poker players to focus on the task at hand and not be side tracked by all the distractions.

    The solution to this problem is to prioritize your focus.  We need to dissect what information MUST be focused on versus what information is beneficial yet not essential.  It is impossible to view and understand the tactical impact of everything going on at the table.  To help determine what information to seek out at the poker table, consideration should be given to the following criteria:

    How frequently will the information benefit you?

    The more frequently information will help you, the more you should seek it. For instance,  players should constantly focus on GAME CONDITIONS throughout their poker sessions.  Blind structure, rake structure and table dynamics are all variables universal to everyone at the table.  You will factor in these conditions in most, if not all, of your decisions; which makes this information crucial.

    How reliable is the information?

    Some parts of a poker problem would be great to figure out, however there is just too much noise to make RELIABLE DECISIONS based on them.  This is why BETTING PATTERNS AND PLAYER TENDENCIES TRUMP NONVERBAL TELLS.  Live players need to focus on both, but you should never sacrifice focus on tendencies in favor of nonverbal tells. Player tendencies are much more reliable.

    How valuable is the information?

    Although all information available at the poker table is valuable, it is important to understand that all information is not equal in value.  We must focus on what we can capitalize on most.  For instance, it is far more valuable to gain understanding of our opponent’s preflop ranges then it is to know about his current mental state.  The psychological aspects of poker strategy are intriguing, but skills like hand reading must be mastered and should take precedence.

    Agree with this article?  Have any comments or questions?  Please feel free add your comments by clicking on the comments link below.

     

     

    3 common poker strategy errors overheard at the tables

     

     

     

    DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

    A huge benefit of playing live poker is getting to listen to the constant table chatter. The conversation typically gravitates towards proper poker strategy for obvious reasons. Players feel the need to discuss the proper (or quite often improper) way to play when certain situations arise.

    Having listened to these discussions for the past 15 years or so, I have noticed the same common misconceptions keep popping up.  The top 3 poker strategy misconceptions I overhear the most during live play are:

    1. Betting cannot be wrong when you have a good chance of being ahead

    This one makes intuitive sense but can cost you dearly at the poker table. Being obviously ahead of your opponent’s perceived range does not necessarily mean a bet or raise is in order. For the most part, betting/raising should be done with one of the following goals in mind:

    • a. Getting a worse hand to call
    • b. Getting a better hand to fold
    • c. Trying to win a significant pot uncontested

    There are plenty of situations where you are probably ahead of your opponent’s range yet you cannot achieve any of these goals. For example, 3-betting a loose opponent preflop with a hand like A-Q is often a gross error. When you consider which parts of his range he will fold and which part he will call or 4-bet, quite often you are just setting up your opponent to play perfectly. In other words, you are isolating the top of his range; he will call/raise when ahead and fold when behind. Just calling in this spot is usually more profitable then raising.

    2. Having a huge chip stack means you can afford to make marginal calls

    I often hear this in tournaments and even more shockingly during cash play. A lot of good players misunderstand the value of having a big chip stack.

    The power of having a big stack lays in leverage.   Having a deep chip stack allows you to threaten your opponent’s stack early in the hand. Early hand aggression presents a problem for your opponent; he has to worry that you might put a lot or even all of your chips in the pot in the later betting rounds. A big chip stack allows you to threaten your opponent’s stack without needing to risk much of your own. This constant threat allows you to win a lot of small uncontested pots. Leveraging your big stack has nothing to do with being able to afford taking risks in big pots; it is about putting pressure on your opponent with very little risk involved.

    3. When you flop a huge hand you MUST slow play to extract chips from your opponent

    Most beginner and intermediate players like to slow play when they flop a big hand. However, “letting them catch up so they can pay me off” is often a losing proposition. The problem with slow playing is that the following conditions must exist for it to be profitable :

    a. Your opponent must be trailing in the hand

    b. He must be unwilling to pay you off if you show immediate aggression

    c. He must have a decent chance of improving without taking the lead

    d. He must pay you off often enough to make this risk profitable

    These conditions occur infrequently. In turn, slow playing usually loses money.  Slow playing can be a strong profitable tactic but she be used sparingly, under the right circumstances.

     

    Do you have any personal favorites to add to this list?  Agree or disagree with anything in my list?  Floor is yours, comment away!!!

     

     

     

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      Raising in late position with speculative hands

       

      Here is a re-post of an article I wrote in 2007.  I find it still pertinent today.  Let me know what you think.

      I remember awhile back, me and my buddy Tim where playing in a cash game early in LPT Season 1. Tim folded his cards and took a peak at mine while I 3x raised from the cut off position. I got 2 callers, and someone pushed me off my hand on a coordinated board. Tim said something to the effect, “You like those?” I remember wanting to discuss the hand with him then, but we were in the middle of a game and I don’t like initiating poker strategy discussions for fear of looking like a know it all.  So I answered “Yeah I do” and we left it at that. Fast forward to a year later, I still like raising speculative hands like suited connectors and baby pairs, especially in cash games. In fact, if I were to write up a document describing how I play NL holdem cash games, Chapter 1 would certainly contain a section on why I like to play this way. So here are the three reasons I like to raise with these speculative hands.

      Can You Spare Some Change?

      There is something to be said about picking up a number of small pots that no one else wants to claim. When open raising in late position, two profitable things are fairly probable to happen.

      You will pick up the blinds and dead limper money. In my opinion, raising in deep stack cash games with the main goal of winning the blinds is pointless, but picking up blinds due to aggressive play is a nice byproduct.

      The stubborn limpers will call the raise but miss the flop. When this occurs, a continuation bet will often pick up the pot. To fade the board can be a profitable play against 2 or less opponents.

      Your Image Will Prosper, Build It (The Pot) and They Will Come (Eventually)

      Sooner or later people are going to notice that you are raising more often than random cards would usually dictate. Limpers get fed up and eventually will play back at you. This, in turn, will help you get paid off when you actually do raise with a very strong preflop hand. Deception is the key here. When people start playing back at you, hopefully they guess at the wrong hand and you get to play a big pot with a big hand in position.

      Sudden Movements Make Your Prey Run Away

      A very common poker wisdom you keep hearing everywhere you turn is “with small pairs and suited connectors, try and see a cheap flop”. Most assume this means to try limping in the pot with these hands. Trying to see a cheap flop means it’s dangerous to play these hands from early position, but it can never be an awful play to raise them from late position. In addition to the reasons stated above, another benefit to raising with these hands is TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BUILD A BIG POT WHEN YOU HIT A HUGE FLOP. When you hit a set or better on the flop, it will be much easier to entice your opponents to play a big pot with you. Generally, standard bet sizing is directly related to the current pot size. Your standard continuation bet will be bigger and when your opponent bets into you, he will bet more. This pot building effect will snowball on every street right up to the river.

      In conclusion, to pick up dead money, encourage action with premium hands, and get paid when lightning strikes, are all good reasons to reach for the “raising pile” when in position. Winning small pots and building an aggressive table image are often more than enough to compensate for putting money in the pot when you are “surely behind”.

       

      Articles courtesy of Royal Vegas Poker

      How Would You Play These Hands?

       

      A reader living in upstate New York who plays at Turning Stone Casino asked me to comment on two hands. One was played in a cash game; the other in a tournament. The issues are interesting in and of themselves, and, in addition, help point out some of the major differences between tournament and cash game play.

      SITUATION NUMBER 1
      In a $10 -$20 Texas hold’em cash game, I was dealt pocket Nines and considered raising, but because I was in early-middle position, I decided to call instead. No one raised, and five players saw the flop, which was 4-4-2 of mixed suits. The player in the small blind came out betting. I was considering whether to raise or call, when an opponent to the small blind’s left beat me to the punch. I knew the small blind frequently overplays his hands and likes to come out betting or even raising with mediocre holdings, or sometimes with nothing at all.

      The raiser fancies himself a very strong player, is certain he can always put each of his opponents on a hand, but he’s not nearly as strong a player as he thinks. He has a weakness for suited cards, and will usually play almost suited hand. While I’m fairly certain my pair of nines is better than the small blind’s hand, I’m not sure about the raiser, since it’s difficult for me to put him on a hand. He could have a pair of Queens, Jacks, or Tens and not raised before the flop. He might also have a hand like K-4 suited, or he might even be raising on a draw with A-3 or A-5. A pair of Sixes, Sevens, or Eights, or even A-K are all possibilities.

      There are two players to act after me, and I believe one of them will cold-call the raise and the other will release his hand. Moreover, I expect the small blind to either call or reraise. Thinking I have only two outs and may not win even if I catch another Nine, I decide to fold my hand. Was this the correct play, based on my analysis of the other players?

      MY RESPONSE
      This appears to be one of those situations in which raising or folding is far superior to calling. A call doesn’t help you much, and might even attract additional callers who would probably have throw their hands away if you raised. Moreover, calling does not help you define the hands held by the two players who have already acted.

      Since the small blind plays any two cards under most circumstances, he’s more likely to hold nothing at all, than he is to hold one of the two remaining fours. If the second player does hold a four, he’ll just call if you reraise, planning to checkraise the turn when betting limits double.

      But if you three-bet him on the flop and he checks the turn, you have some options at your disposal. You can bet if you believe neither of them has a four or an overpair bigger than your pair of Nines, or you can check behind them and save a bet if, in fact, you’re beaten. If you’re not beaten, checking the turn might even induce a bluff on the river, which you can easily snap off with your pair of Nines.

      The key to your decision is the trickier player who acts immediately before you do. I would assume he’d have raised before the flop with A-K, or with a pair of Aces, Kings, Queens, or Jacks, so I’d discount the chances that he’s has any of those hands. A pair of Tens is a possibility, and so is a Four that’s suited to an Ace or King. He might also have a pair of Eights, Sevens, Sixes, or even Fives. Since your hand is probably better than most of his potential holdings, my inclination, if I were in your shoes, would be to raise although folding is not a bad decision either. After all, the small blind, whom we cannot put on a hand because he could have anything, might just have a real hand this time. Because it’s more difficult to beat two opponents than just one, folding is a good option too.

      SITUATION NUMBER 2
      I’m in a limit hold’em tournament with 20-minute rounds and blinds that double each round. We’re five-handed at the final table, and I have the second highest stack, when I’m dealt Ah-Qh under the gun. I raise, and everyone but the small blind, who is the chip leader though not by much calls. The flop contains a Jack and two small hearts. The small blind bets out on the flop, and I read him for a Jack. I call, since I have two overcards that can make a bigger pair, as well as a draw to the best possible flush. But the turn is no help and neither is the river. We both check, and he wins the pot with K-J.

      In retrospect, I think I should have folded to his bet on the flop. With only two of us, and each chip so vitally important, this did not seem to be the best time to continue with a draw.

      MY RESPONSE
      If this were a cash game, it’s clearly correct to call with your hand. But this was a tournament, and since you were in second chip position, this was a hand you did not need to play. If you had a substantial chip lead over the player who was third in chip count, it might be correct to call the flop, in hopes of making your flush and having two additional betting rounds to punish your opponent. But once he bet the turn you should have released your hand. At that point your chances for improvement were reduced, and less of an opportunity to punish him if you were lucky enough to make your hand.

      In a no-limit tournament you might have raised him all-in on the flop, if you thought there was some chance that he would have released his hand. Because you raised before the flop, a good player might read you for an overpair and not want to jeopardize his chip lead. But in a limit tournament you probably won’t induce a fold by raising, unless your opponent held A-K and was willing to fold in the face of a raise.

      But all of this is speculative and conjecture. The key issue here is that you did not need to play this hand in the first place, and could have released it with a minimal loss in chips once your opponent bet the flop.
      Conventional wisdom is to attack the small stacks and avoid the big ones. Of course, if you flopped an unbeatable hand, you’d welcome an opportunity to reduce the chip leader’s stacks to rubble, but in this case you were the fox, not the hound.

      In retrospect, you would have been better off waiting for opportunities to punish the small stacks. If this hand were played against a small stack, you would have been justified in raising him all-in. After all, you couldn’t have gotten hurt by bets on the turn and river, and with nine outs to a flush and three additional Queens and three Aces that would presumably vault you into the lead, it’s a play worth making particularly when you realize that each additional player eliminated guarantees you a higher rung on the pay ladder.

        newseal18 onlyresponsiblepayoutsht

        Video Poker Beginner Strategies

        Download the video poker

        Video poker is a popular game in online casinos. Today, video poker machines can be found in virtually any real or virtual casino. The fame of these games is based on their ease of use and the instant gratification that comes from them. If you are considering learning how to play video poker, or are a novice video poker player, you may be wondering how you should learn how to play video poker in order to win more hands.

        Learn the poker hand hierarchy
        Before learning how to play a video poker machine, it is a good idea to learn how to put together the strongest poker hands. In addition to knowing which cards are needed to create certain poker hands, you will also need to know the poker hand hierarchy. This information is important because this hierarchy will be used to determine how much of the prize pool you will receive, if any. You can find tables related to the poker hand hierarchy at many online sites. Virtual casino sites, poker sites, betting information sites will all contain this information. It is a good idea to find an easy to read table of poker hand strength. Once you have found one, you should print it out for future reference

        Learn to Play Only a Few Varieties of Video Poker Machines
        There are dozens of video poker machines out there and each has its own rules for winning. If you are just starting to learn how to play video poker, a good idea is to pick one or two different video poker games to learn instead of trying to learn how to play a variety of games. This will minimize your degree of confusion and grant you the opportunity to master a machine which in turn will allow you to win more often.

        Learning which video poker machines to play
        As mentioned earlier there are many video poker machines to choose from. If you want to get the most out of your money you will need to look for the video poker machine that offers the highest payouts. In general, Jacks or Better video poker machines and Deuces Wild are good machines to play with.

        Taking Time
        The advantage of playing video poker compared to playing real poker is that you have no time limits or pressures to play quickly exerted by other players. With video poker you can take your time and make an informed decision about which cards to play and which to discard. Take advantage of this and really study the cards that are touched on you before making a decision about which cards you want to play.

        Caribbean poker rules and explanations

        Play Caribbean Poker Now

        Caribbean Poker is the combination of two well known games, Blackjack and Poker. Like Blackjack, this game allows you to play against the dealer rather than with other players. Caribbean Poker however, to determine the winner, uses the same card values ​​used for the game of Poker.

        To play
        To begin, place the desired bet in the appropriate “Stake” space. Once the bet has been placed, you can decide to play by clicking the “PLAY” button or cancel the bet by clicking the “CANCEL” button. The “PLAY” button will ask for five cards that will be dealt to the player and one card that will be dealt to the dealer. At this point you can have two options, “CALL” or “COLLECT”

        If you decide to click on “CALL”, the dealer will take the remaining four cards. At this point the “Bet” will be doubled and the hand compared with that of the dealer.

        If the dealer does not have an Ace, a King or higher, the bet will be returned with an amount equal to the stake.

        If the dealer has an Ace, a King or higher, the player will win if his hand beats the dealer. The dealer pays a fixed percentage set as indicated in the Paytable based on the “CALL” bet.

        If the dealer has an Ace, a King or higher and the player’s hand is worse than the dealer’s hand, the player will lose the bet and the “CALL” bet.

        If you do not click on the “CALL” button, you will lose your bet. Finally, the “CANCEL” button will remove all bets placed on the table.

        Progressive Jackpot
        By inserting $ / € 1 or ¥ 100 in the small slot next to the wager, you will qualify to win the Progressive Jackpot.

        Place a Bet
        Left click the mouse and drag the value of the chip you wish to place onto the bet area. To add multiples of the same value, click the left button until the desired amount is reached. To reduce or remove the stake amount click with the right mouse button.

        Single Card 1: 1
        Double Card 1: 1
        Double Pair 2: 1
        Three of a Kind 3: 1
        Straight 4: 1
        Flush 5: 1
        Full House 7: 1
        Four of a Kind 20: 1
        Royal Flush 50: 1
        Royal Flush 100: 1
        Maximum

        How to use the game buttons
        CALL: Double the bet and all the dealer’s cards are shown
        CANCEL: Cancel the bets on the table
        REPEAT: Repeat the same bet from the previous game
        REPLAY: Start a new game

        Search For Bonus Coupon And Tips

        As I stated in part 1 of this post, financial gain is not the only reason people take up competitive poker. We get value out of poker from different angles. Entertainment value does not exclude the value of competition, it completes it. In short, most poker people play poker for VALUE. The goal of this blog is to produce a series of strategy posts that will help players gain maximum value from playing poker competitively.

        Let me conclude this two-part post with three lists; 1) A list of People that can benefit the most from reading this blog. 2) A list of things you can expect to see in this blog 3) A list of things you should not expect to find in this blog.

        • Players who are thinking about giving competitive poker a try
        • Players who are looking to understand the fundamentals of poker strategy
        • Players who have started studying poker but feel frustrated by lack of progress
        • Players who want to learn how to enjoy poker to its fullest

        THE ARTICELS

        Poker Strategy, stripped down to its most basic form…

        1 – You need to recognize what is going on

        2 – You need to know what is the most profitable action according to No.1

        3 – You need to execute from your findings in no.2…

        When looking to improve our poker playing, we are essentially working on these 3 main skills.  At first glance, this statement can make poker seem like the simplest of games.  Unfortunately there are 3 main problems that make poker progress difficult

        The vast number of sub skills included in each of these skills

        The uncertainty of which of these skills are the most important, creating a lack of focus

        Some errors are much more costly then others

        In the next 3 parts of this series, I will elaborate on the three main skills posted above and how the 3 main problems affect each of them.

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