Raking in Chips Against No Foldem Players - Dominating Multiway Pots

Poker Strategy
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How to win a lot of chips when a lot of players call you, even if you are a total beginner.

We all know that on a site with play money chips, like Replay Poker, a lot of players like to see a flop and limp-call a lot.

This can be frustrating when you raise with a premium hand like AK and hit top pair and players that had bad hands like J,7 offsuit hits a two pair for example. In normal games, this is just bad luck - but when you have like six players that call your raise, their collective equity can get pretty big even with trash hands.

So what is the “secret” to win big in this kind of games (if the stacks are reasonably deep), especially if a lot of players call your raises? It is to play a lot of hands in position that have the potential to make the nuts or close to the nuts.

You don’t win as many hands as you do when you can isolate an opponent with your premium hands.

BUT when you hit a set (especially top set), the nut (or a high) flush, or the nut straight you will win massive pots since players at social poker sites with cheap or even free chips have a hard time folding when they hit something good that you dominate.

Especially the times you overset them, they have a lower flush or straight you often can win their whole stack.

Or when they think they are tricky and slowplay their aces kings and you can see a cheap flop with a low pocket pair, hit a set and they can’t fold the hand they have been waiting for so long just to trap someone.

Thank you Captain Obvious maybe you think. But I see it all the time: either players tighten up too much or they play almost every hand dealt (nothing wrong with that if you just want to have fun and don’t mind losing in the long run).

Position goes up in importance of course since you do want to either see a lot of speculative hands cheap or raise/re-raise your premium hands big.

So what hands go up in value and what hands go down in multiway pots when the stacks are reasonably deep?

Hands that Go Up in Value

1. Pocket Pairs

Pocket pairs, especially pairs over 77, increase in value because they have a better chance of getting paid off when flopping a set, which can win big pots against several opponents who have top pair or draws. Try to only see a flop cheap with the lowest pairs 22-66. Since they almost always have to hit a set to be good multiway.

2. Suited Connectors

Suited connectors like 78s, 89s, etc., gain value because they have the potential to make strong draws to either straight or flushes. The increased pot odds and potential for hitting big hands make them more appealing. The higher the better of course so Suited Broadway cards are very strong multi-way.

3. All Suited Aces - and in position (on or near the button often) also suited Kx and even suited Qx.

Hands that Go Down in Value

Hands like Unsuited Aces with low kickers, low offsuit connectors (e.g., 65o) that almost always have to make a top straight to win big, or hands with no potential for a strong draw or top pair with strong kickers like K9o lose value in multiway pots. The chances of flopping strong hands are diminished, and these hands become more difficult to play effectively.

High Cards that make “just top pair” like AKo, AQo, or KQo, KJo lose value. If you hit top pair, your hand might not be strong enough to compete against multiple opponents who could have better hands. Play them a lot more carefully than if you just have a few opponents or are heads-up.

As always, the better your position the more speculative hands you can play. So don’t go crazy in early positions unless the players are passive pre-flop and almost never 3-bet you off a hand. In a very passive game, you can open up your range in earlier positions since you are almost guaranteed to see a flop.

Conclusion:

In multiway pots, hands with the potential to make strong hands like sets, high straights, and high flushes tend to increase in value because there are more opponents that can pay you off.

Conversely, hands that rely on hitting just one high card for a pair or lack potential for strong draws might lose value because they become harder to play profitably against multiple opponents. As the number of players increases, the value of hands can shift, so adjusting your starting hand selection accordingly is crucial.

Multiway pots are a fantastic opportunity to earn a lot of chips. You don’t tighten up in this type of game to the point where you only play the absolute premium hands - especially not if your opponents not only play a lot of trash but also overvalue top pair and other medium holdings.

6 Likes
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Nice Topic

I like playing the suited connectors and pocket pairs when the blinds are deep as you stated i belive you can find highly profitable spots.

But these hands become basically thrash and have way less playability when the blinds are more swallow other player’s ranges tends to tighten up at this point also.

And in regards to hands that go down in value such as unconnected and unsuited cards i try to avoid playing them at all if possible.

3 or 4 handed i can deal with but when there are 5+ players going to a flop it’s much harder to try and define there ranges so proceed with caution.

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With the exception of the highest stakes tables, players will limp/call with basically any two cards and nearly every pot will be multiway. So generally speaking you have to be much more conservative in your postflop play, having almost no bluffs and a much stronger value range. This can get boring and becomes difficult to maintain the needed discipline for free chips, so I find as a better solution to play smaller tables. 4max is best, heads up would be perfect but not many people are interested in this.

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Very interesting topic, especially in light of the free rolls we play here and on CC. I think I have a tendency to tighten up too much in these games and will try following your advice to play more pocket pairs, suited connectors, and suited Aces in position. I think I tend to get in trouble playing the hands you mention that go down in value like AKo, AQo, and KQo. I whole-heartedly agree that playing more hands in late position is the way to go, but it takes discipline to stick to that. Thank you for your insights!

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Play tight, Bet for value . Easy to beat calling stations .

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The deal most don’t understand, even this author? If players make seeing the flop cheap enough to see it, whether it’s free poker or not, I will see it every time. Any 2 cards can win. Ask Doyle Brunson.(10-2 suited)

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You can always increase your bet size when you raise the limpers if you think it’s hard (or boring) to play multiway pots to an amount that folds out most of the players.

In some Live games, it’s not uncommon to see a 10xBB preflop raise. Do they all still call? How about a 20BB raise?

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You DO raise and re-raise your own premium hands of course.

The point is that you are the one who can, and should, see a lot of speculative hands that can win big pots post-flop, especially in position, if given the chance when players are passive and limp and/or call a lot.

Hands that you normally fold in a tougher game there people often raise and 3-bet more often.

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Yeah, but I’ve been unable to find an open sizing sweet spot from early position that doesn’t result in either zero callers or too many callers on a typical Replay 9max.

In live real money it’s not nearly this slanted towards LP play. On some 1/3 or 2/5 tables I’ll open 6bb-10bb which seems to still get calls from some marginal hands but fold out what would otherwise be 4 other players calling 3bb with trash.

Others have suggested joining party and limping very wide from any position and seeing a lot of cheap flops. The problem is you’re bleeding 1bb per hand which will really add up, and there are tons of reverse implied odds to consider even when you do hit something. I don’t think there’s any serious research done on this strategy, but I have a hard time believing it can be +EV.

Calling stations are easy to beat, but as someone commented in another thread on this subject “they hunt in packs.”

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Open-limping can be done on some extremely passive tables but the strategy I outlined in OP is like all things in poker best done in late position . That way you are almost guaranteed to see a hand that has nut potential. And when you hit or draw to the nuts (or nearly the nuts) you want as many players as possible in the pot.

And in position, you of course have the option to either draw for free or put in an extra raise. Plus is less chance that someone bets or raises you off your hand.

And even on Replay Poker you can sometimes bluff successfully if you get checked to and are last to bet.

I have played online since 2003 and when the games were the easiest (up to around 2013) as “high” as 400NL and 30-60 limit before that.

Today I don’t think you can find a limit game that high online and 400NL is full of GTO wizards that study solvers all day.

The good old days were when almost everybody called you with trash hands. It’s true that folding out equity and isolating has merit, especially against good players. But against players that make big mistakes post-flop it’s often better to keep them in (unless you have a super premium hand and they still call your 3-bets or 4-bets). You win fewer pots, but the pots you win are MUCH bigger than in a tough game.

I think you have to decide if you want to win money (or chips), or if you think it’s more fun when you can bluff people.

I was in it for the money (between 2003-2013). Now I just play for fun, but personally I still rather play against many callers than zero. Seeing flops is fun.

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Multiway pots with many opponents and only top pair top kicker might get you to trouble . In such occasions , in every game I am ready to fold if I notice heavy action from opponents in a dry board .

On the other side ofcourse it’s the dream to hit sth big in a flop or board with many opponents , then it is probable to be paid by one of them , whereas if you hit sth very good against one he might or probably not pay you .

88s or better for me are the pairs that I will go more aggressively , with 22s to 77s I am very suspicious , I also want cheap to see a flop for a set , or else fold them . For 88s or 99s I wonder whether they might join the lower pairs before then and play them accordingly , I think they do not pay me enough , too many times I get in trouble with these pairs …

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Good points.

Pairs, not only big pairs, but also the baby pairs (55-22), suited Aces and medium suited connectors are very very good multiway with big stacks. But you need to have the discipline to muck the hand if you whiff the flop. Making silly calls and floats multiway with air or bad draws is a disaster. For me, from the CO and BtN you should always call all Axs and medium sooted connectors vs 2+ opponents.

Kxs hands are strange hands. In my opinion, at the lower stakes vs fish you should treat Kxs hands like Axs hands multiway. The Qxs hands need some discussion, but the premium of them like QJs, Q10s, Q9s are solid call multiway.

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Great article.
Very interesting to read. :slightly_smiling_face:
As a professional limper​:sweat_smile:, I love watching the flop. I literally need to get into every hand and see what’s delicious there.:stuck_out_tongue:

But of course my favorite is Suited connectors. I love them more than any pair of cards. It’s really an amazing hand that gets to the top so often.
I believe that Suited connectors is the most promising hand.:speak_no_evil::see_no_evil:
Oddly enough, pocket pairs usually let me down. :woman_shrugging:

In any case, in my opinion, you have written a very useful article that will 100% help many people improve their game and develop some control over their game - this is really very important.:slightly_smiling_face:

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Nice topic. Is hard to play like that, when you got call by all (or almost all) preflop😅 with your premium or strong hands. Its a total party. (Clasic freeroll) so You have to be in potencial nuts or nuts in flop, turn to get that huge pot at river. Sets are strong but no when theres flush draws or straight draws with no blockers or high sets. It’s complicated, i don’t think theres a strategy for that situation, just praying for a nuts proyect it’s the best You can do and non Beliebers- call stations players

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multiway pots are unpredictable and even more so if the game is with fictitious chips because no one will have anything to lose and many players will get involved with any garbage card and can send your high pairs or connected cards of the same suit to the garbage in which change in real money is very different although you see many of these types of pots that if you connect a set or a flush draw or maximum straight you will surely get good chips

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Nice and interesting topic!
In my opinion it is always hard to play with play money because there is only a low chance to bluff or make strong value bets and winning the pot because villains are folding before showdown!
So i have to say it is necessary to have strong hands with the possibility of straight draws or flush draws - @playmoney tables i prefer a hand like J-10s or J-Qs these hand are very strong against middle pairs and A-Kos.
If you have a good flop against 3 or 4 villains try to control the pot size make a bet 30% pot size, if nobody raise or shove all in, then go with same tactic @turn if you get no action before you and board is not to dangerous!
@river try to check-raise if you are holding a monster - in case of a small bet you should raise only min-3xbet size thats always good to feed the pot because most players want so see it in the end :wink:

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A very extensive and very good article, I agree with everything, especially the part of playing the connected suites and pairs, I like the strategy of seeing cheap flops to pocket pairs and suied connectors, something strong otherwise fold and that’s it.

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To win more chips when lots of players are in, especially for beginners like me, try playing strong hands in a good position. Things like pocket pairs, suited connectors, and suited aces seem to work well and can lead to big wins. On the other hand, hands with not much potential, like low kickers or relying only on top pair, might not be so great. Just adjust your starting hands based on the situation and you could get more chips!

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The key to winning big in multiway pots is playing hands that have the potential to make strong hands like sets, high straights, and high flushes. These hands tend to increase in value because there are more opponents who can potentially pay you off when you hit these strong hands.

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very true or you pay them off with the boats, the big hand