Several online poker players run into situations where they get push cards that should probably be folded. Some times the cards will appear to be rainbow hands, but they are not. Every time a player runs into one of these situations they need to have a solid poker calculator watching them and noting everything that they do.
Everyone has heard the phrase “itate to learn” before. Just about everyone will admit to having made a mistake sometime. But, what most people do not realize is that they can also be held accountable for their own mistakes. A common mistake that amateurs will make is playing mediocre hands when they are obviously beaten. Many players will mess up by either pushing too hard with what is obviously a bad hand, or calling too aggressively with what is obviously a good hand.
The point is, during a Bolagila calculator test, you are going to find some of the best players at the table making terrible decisions. The sad part about that is that you probably did not make that mistake, but a lot of players make the mistake and they end up losing their stack. When your stack is threatened, you do not want to be making bad decisions. One of the best ways to make those bad decisions is to be making the exact opposite decision as your opponent. If your opponents push all-in with a hand like AK, then you need to call an all-in with AA. The reason behind this is because you need a better edge against them to be able to protect your stack. If they call you, you still have a good chance of winning because you have the best hand.
Probably the number one reason why most players play hands the same way is because they have been playing poker so long that they think that doing the same thing every time is standard. The problem with this thinking is that sometimes what you have to win a hand is not win worthy. You may want to have a 10-15% chance of winning a hand, but if you are going to call 10-15% of the time, you may have a lot of bad decisions in between hands. If you think your hand is really good, you may want to be betting more on the river. The reason for this is because you may be able to pick up a lot more money if you can do a lot more blind steals.
Also, you should be looking at a couple of things when you are picking up your blind. First, is it occupied? Second, is it passive? If you see someone with a short stack and aren’t in the hand, when they pick up their blind, they aren’t in the hand. They may be just checking, or doing a blind steal. Even more than that, they may be putting a lot of money in pre-flop. Take a 10-15% chance and it will be much more profitable.
Another thing that you need to pay attention to when trying to steal a blind is the people that are in the blind. Secret identity is important here, so don’t ever do something illegal by shoving everyone around when you are in late position. Just pick up your blind and go about your normal poker strategy.
Is the person in early position checking or raising? This can tell you a lot. If it is checking, they are more likely to have a good hand. If it is raising, they are more likely to have a weak hand and ended up getting raised.
What about the people in the blinds? Do they play a lot of hands? If the person in early position rarely plays a hand from the blind, you can assume they are playing tight. The people in late position on both sides of the blinds will play more hands, but not necessarily knowing what they should be doing with each hand.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Poker is a lot of luck, but also a lot of skill. Hand reading is basically what you do. You should learn to read your opponents to get a feel for what they have. You don’t need to know what they have to know, just know what they do. The better you know an opponent, the easier it is for you to make decisions against them.