the thing i will gonna make is a small guide to improve your poker strategy, and base it on the stake you are playing.
since there are so much things that are important about strategy i’ll explain a few things first:
- this guide will probably improve your game if applying the strategies well. however it are only a few important guidelines, the true way of improving yourself is to take everything in consideration.
- since this is based on stake, using some stuff in lower/higher stakes then mentioned can help you or not, it’s dependant on what the strategy is, some stuff will only help you in a specific stake and some things will help you always.
- always keep improving your game like you would do always, just take this as a extra tool.
ok here the strategies:
- 1/2 - 5/10 ring games:
these games are the lowest stakes on replay, which means here are all the very worst players and players who don’t care. the flip side of this is that there are also sometimes players with fairly good play. you can click on everyones name and you will see a number. if it’s a number of 6 figures or more, this are probably bad players, so profit from them. another way is to look at how they bet. if you see someone go all-in or overbetting (betting higher then the pot size) often, this are certainly bad players. also if you see someone almost always call to any bet, this are also bad players. so this means there are many players who like to bet a lot and very high and many players who call a lot. both of these things mean you should do the opposite and play only strong hands. these strong hands are often AJ+, KQ and 77+. if the pot is still low preflop and are one of the later people to act, also include A10, KJ, QJ, and all pocket pairs. simply said play the strongest hands and fold the rest when playing these stakes, don’t be afraid when someone put you all-in when he does all the time when you get these hands. also call often against someone who bets a lot and bet often against someone who calls a lot.
conclusion: play only strong hands and don’t be afraid to play them strong too. and almost never bluff.
- 10/20 - 50/100 ring games and 1K - 5K tournaments:
most of the all-in maniacs wil probably be gone by now, but there are still a lot of calling stations (people who call too much). there are also a lot of bad players that have no clue about how to play well. you make advantage of this by still playing tight aggressive, which means playing a few hands but play them strong, just like explained before. also there might be some players who fold a lot of hands, you can handle these players by bluffing often, however only do this when this tight player is the last one to act after you. if there are also loose (plays a lot of hands) players after you
the bluff won’t work since you need him to go away too. it’s also important to know that you shouldn’t overestimate draws. they are great when you hit, but you will not hit more often then you will. so if the bet is small then call. if it’s big then fold. for now fold if it’s more then 2/3rd of the pot. there are way more things to consider but for now this will help you most cases. and one of the most important things will be to apply bankroll management. this means you only use a small part of your chips to play tournaments and ring games. this is because poker has an element of luck, it’s 100% sure you will lose from time to time, this means you can’t get full consecutive profit, instead it will go with ups and downs, to control the downswings and profit in long term, you need to use bankroll management to keep profiting and increase your bankroll. in general great bankrol management will be about 1/20 for ring games, 1/30 for SnG’s and 1/50 for MTT’s. since you are still very low you don’t have to play this tight. start playing about 1/5th for now but tighten up the furter you come in stakes, if you don’t know for sure how tight you should be, then stick to the tightest bankroll management.
conclusion: keep playing straightforward tight aggressive play, not many people will find out your game anyway. and only play draws when the price is right. and ALWAYS use bankroll management.
- 100/200 - 200/400 ring games and 10K - 25K tournaments
players are starting to get tougher here, and also vary a lot. you can find a player who knows his game very well and players who still play very poorly. if you play well you are still able to profit from the very most of them. just only just can’t fully rely anymore on maniacs and calling stations. if you find them anyway, keep playing like mentioned, if not alter your play to the opponents. if the majority of the table plays loose, you play tight. if the majority plays tight, you start playing looser and bluff from time to time. if you bluff only do it sometimes and never risk too much on a bluff, if you feel too much resistance, don’t be afraid to let go of the bluff. it’s always better to not bluff at all then to do it poorly. you should also try to consider your position now. position means the later you act the better your chances of winning but also to maximizing profit and minimise losses. all of this is purely because of information, if you can see how the other person(s) will act, you know something about them they won’t know about you, and in poker, information makes money. because of this you can loosen up when you play in late position. another good thing to consider from now on are pot odds. this means you will calculate the odds you have to pay to what you can win vs the odds you have to hit your hand. the most common example is when on a draw, first thing is counting your outs (cards that turn a losing nito a winning hand) say you have Ad10d. and the flop is 9d 2d 5h. there are 13 cards of each suit in the deck and 4 of tehm are already in game. so there are 9 outs left. next thing is using the rule of 4 & 2. this is an very easy calculation to turn outs into odds, not 100% accurate but it is very close. if you want to know the odds of 1 card to come, you multiply the outs by2. if you want to know the odds of 2 cards to come you multiply by 4. however note that 4 is only applying by an all-in situatioon on the flop. since if you’re not all-in you only need to know the turn card odds, since you will have to pay again to see the river. so you use the rule of 2 with your 9 outs, so you have about 18% to hit. if your opponent bets 100% of the pot you need 33,33% equity to call. confused? see this: you don’t need 100% since there is already a pot, say he bets 1000 in a 1000 pot, you have to pay 1000 to win the pot. but the pot also isn’t 1000, it 2000. this because his bet is already a part of the pot. so you risk 1000 to win 2000. but if you call this is also a part of the pot. so in a pot of 3000, 1000 is yours, which is 33,33%. so for 18% chance of winning you have to pay 33%. which means you should fold. if the winning odds were higher you should call. also note that if it’s close but just not enough you can also call because of implied odds (will be explained later).
conclusion: do you see very bad players. play like you always did. but always consider table image, position nad pot odds whenever possible. and if you manage to do all this, also consider player image (image means is he tight or loose)
- 500/1K - 1K/2K ring games or 50K - 100K tournaments.
from now on most people will be aware of all things mentioned above. so to get a good edge you should apply all these things well and more. the best thing to add is considering the player image too, if someone plays tight lok for good spots to bluff them off, this might be boards that are not likely to get hit on like Q2Q but also things that make sense, if you raised and he called and an ace comes on the flop he might have an ace but not a big ace, even if you don’t have an ace at all you might play liek you got a big ace and play strongly, most times he will fold eventually. if you are playing to a loose player. be aware if your hand is strong, but even if it isn’t look how he reacts if you raise back, is he the kind to back off when you do, this might be a powerful tool to get good money, if he won’t you make even bigger money when you pick up a strong hand but lose a lot if you kepp bluffing into him. also considerering implied odds can be important too now. this means instead of calculating if it’s profitable now to play, you use his image and betting patterns (the way he plays with certain hands) to consider if he will pay you more in later rounds. lets say you put him on top pair top kicker or even more. he will probably pay you off nicely when you hit your draw. while if you think he has something like middle pair he probably won’t pay much more. be also aware of your own image, if you raised and bluffed a lot, people won’t be respecting your raises so much, which will apply in less succesful bluffs but more profit in strong hands, while a tight image would do the opposite. because of this try switching it up from time to time, this way you will get the best of both and people won’t read you so easily anymore.
conclusion: be aware of the image of players, use implied odds and use your own image to your advantage.
- 2K/4K - 5K-10K ring games and 250K - 500K tournaments
opponents are getting tougher again, most people playing here are aware of lots of poker strategies. so you should be too. assuming you made it here, you already know much of poker, keep using everything you know and use it as effectively as possible. so to improve even further and get an bigger edge over these players you should try to think like them and react on it. when bluffing but also when betting for value, try to think what you think they think you have. this will help you because almost all these players are capable of putting you on ranges. here is an example to make it more clear: you hold Ks8s and play in EP. you make a 3BB raise and got called by 2 people. flop is Ad 8c 10s. you make a Cbet of 60% of the pot. one person fold the other one called. since you have bet preflop and the flop, it looks like you hold an ace, so he might think you hold an ace now. turn 4s. since he hasn’t raise you and you have hit your a draw, you semi bluff 80% of the pot, with this betsize it looks like you don’t want to see a third spade and he might fold because he didn’t raise you on the flop, even if he calls you might pick up on a big pot if the 3rd spade comes since he won’t put you on spades. he thinks for a while and with a few seconds left he calls. river is 5s. you have hit your flush. if you bet again he can likely call because he already did twice. and if you check it might look like you gave up the pot because of the 3rd spade or because you just had a weak ace. both may be a sign to bluff you out. also it might get him to bet for value because he must have something to call big bets twice. so if he plays careful you might bet small here to get value from top pair hands, if he likes to bluff or bet out with good hands you can check here for a check-raise. you decided to check, and he bets a half pot, this size looks more like a valuebet then a bluff, so check-raising will probably pay off, but also you can’t put him on a flush here, so raising too hight won’t be good either. so you raise 2,5 times his bet and he quickly calls. you show your flush. he shows A10. long story short, try thinking about the range he puts you on and it will give you a great advantage in this level. what also might help is to know stuff that won’t be used often but does work well, in these stakes light 3betting and check raise bluffs will be very profitable when used well. both because you show a lot of strength with these things, and both wil rarely be used on replay. and since most of these players already know that this means big strength they will probably respect it and fold when used well. obviously you should not be raising the whole time because that will be noticed. light 3betting will be often best when using it as a squeeze or after a position raise. squeezing means there is 1 aggressive player who often bets, and (optionally) 1 player who called the bet. the raiser probably won’t have a strong hand because he does that often, and the caller may be aware of this and also didn’t 3bet himself so he won’t have a greatly strong hand either. so 3bet with a poor hand and scare them both away. the best hands to light 3bet are suited connectors, A2-A5 suited and small pairs. these 3 hands have decent equity when you got called in case they won’t fold. suited connectors are rarely dominated since a 3bet caller will probably hold high cards, and the low value is partially compensated by draws. A2-A5 suited have more probability to be dominated by bigger aces, but do have decent equity, but the main part is that the ace is a blocker for other aces. the small pairs have good equity since they flip with almost all non pair hands (which is very good when you already got good equity of your bluff). when doing this into a position raise you are restealing, the LP is very likely to try stealing the blinds so he won’t want to get raised, same rules apply for the rest. as for check raise bluffing. this will be most effective when you are out of position to the preflop raiser, the PFR will probably Cbet with a wide range, and after you showed so much strength he knows he is beat (or he thinks so
). of course always keep an eye on the board and look if your bluffs make sense, if not then don’t try it unless you have some kind of great read on him it will work.
conclusion: you need quite a lot of poker knowledge. try to think in their shoes, and switch it off sometimes with more complicated strategies.
- 10K/20K ring games or 1M tournaments:
the 1M tourneys are the biggest tournament on replay that is here on a daily base, so the best tournament players of the sie will be here. on the other hand, the 1M tourneys and 10/20K ring games will actually look a lotlike the ones mentioned before. they is only slightly better average in it then before. some same strategy applies, just increase the skill slightly. the only reason i have made a seperate category of this one is because you might find more highest stake players because it’s the max buy-in. and you wil feel a slight difference in the 20K rings in comparison wiht mentioned before.
conclusion: keep practicing everything you know already like you should always do, when you feel improvement then start these stakes.
- 20K/40K ring games and 2,5 - 5M tournaments.
these tournaments are the highest that replay offers, nowhere there is a higher tournament and these are only played once a week. so only the best tournament players of replay are here. as for the 20/40K rings. often this is the highest stake that will be played unless the absolute top of replay is online. because of this this will also attract the best players of replay, sometimes even players of the top 10 join the table when there is no elite table open. so for both you need your best skills. almost all these players will find out your play quickly, so you need to be able to switch gears often and also be able to notice the same thing of your opponents. when you caught someone bluffing, he probably won’t do it twice the same way anyway so you should try to look for a general guideline, and use the less obvious tells to your advantage, there are also some very aggressive players here, but these are nothing even close to the maniacs in the beginning, they know when they can raise profitably, or bluff into your bluff because they found out. or there are much tighter players who will maximise profits with the better hands and try to trap you in smart ways. you can still sometimes find players raising oddly or a high stake maniac coming up, but this is way more rare then in the beginning. the good news for you however, is if you compare these strong players to actual pro’s, the actual pro’s are even way way way higher skilled then the players here, which means there is still a lot of improving space between them and you. so the best solution handling this is to carefully watch how everyone plays. and use the information to make as much as possible good plays. you should also be able of making good laydowns when it looks like someone trapped you with a monster, you should also have the guts to play a massive pot with middle pair when you almost know he bluffs you. and try making these plays yourself too, and of course to the right opponent(s).
conclusion: try reading everyone even way better then before, be capable of making big laydowns but also dare to play massive pots with hands you almost know he bluffs at you. but obviously in general, play your strong hands and fold the weak. the diference is knowing when not to.
- 50K/100K - 500K - 1M ring games
at last the final goal to get on replay poker except for being number 1: the elite stakes. here only play the best of the best of replay. even on the lowest elite stake you will find probably only players in the top 100 or better. in the highest you probably only find the top 10 or better. even the nr 100 should have a bankroll of about 150M. and the average buy-in of 50/100K is 12,5M. which means even the nr 100 would play on the loose side in terms of bankroll management. if you find people above 100, they might play on scared money and are easier to play, besides of that, since the elite tables aren’t even open from time to time it also means there are just a few playing it. so the very best thing you can can do on these stakes is to actually know how the specific players themself play. if you have a long term read that lets say number 8 is plays hands very aggressive mostly, you can fold bye the first bet even if it’s small now, because you can expect the pot to be blown up later. of course this can also be found out on the table, but the core idea is to actually know the player, so not reading him for the moment but actually knowing his style and keep using it against him even days later. besides this, as usual expanding all your strategies and improving them should be your core goal no matter the stakes.
conclusion: these are the hardest games on replay but also contain very few people, try knowing their personal style of play and remember it for the long term. also keep improving every poker skill you know and keep learning them.
now all things wil get a short version to remember eaiser:
- 1/2 - 5/10: extremely easy. play straightforward and you win
- 10/20 - 50/100 and 1K - 5K: easy. start using bankroll management and keep playing straightforward tight aggressive
- 100/200 - 200/400 and 10K - 25K: fairly easy. keep an eye out of the table image and play on that, sometimes you mix up to keep the surprise element in game. also consider pot odds and position
- 500/1K - 1K/2K and 50K - 100K: medium. keep an eye on player image and your own and anticipate on that
- 2K/4K - 5K/10K and 250K - 500K fairly hard. try imagining how your opponent put you on a range. know much about poker. and switch off from time to time with complicted strategies
- 10K/20K and 1M fairly hard. looks much like above but more strong players are here. use the same stuff but be better in it then before
- 20K/40K and 2,5M - 5M: hard. reading becomes even more important. be also capable of making very hard moves like herocalls and big laydown when you have to.
- 50K/100K - 500K - 1M: try to maximize everything you now, and try to know the actual players coming in here so you can use it against them in long term.
another good point of information to know, is that even on the very high stakes there are several people who will pay you off with fairly straightforward play when you hold a strong hand. even here there will be several limpers, and people who will call off your bets with lesser hands then you hold (assuming you hold a strong hand). however don’t forget to always look at how the other people play, besides the straightforward players and too aggrressive players, there are also players who are having a strong level of play in the high stakes. the biggest key is seeing the difference, and play the right play to the right player.
long story short: don’t try to make too much fancy plays, even in high stakes. only do this when you see a player who plays very well and have reason to assume this will be more profitable. (credit to 1warlock and joedirk on this one)
at last: i know i have already said it, but the most important thing is to keep improving your strategies, this forum will help you in the right way and also let you know more about the replay stakes. but what it not does is learning you all strategies. the ones mentioned is only a very small part. the only big part is about how to play stake based.
the best advise about strategies i can give is to keep playing poker, reading about all kinds of strategies and watching pro poker on youtube. the combination of these three things is thje best way to improve yourself.
if anyone has questions, comments or feedback about this. feel free to mention/ask.
good luck on the tables. yiazmat.
. i’m capped at i think he thinks i have (3rd thinking level). but 7, that would be insane 