Bug's Poker Tip #33

Any Profit is Good Profit*

Is there anything more annoying than folding hand after hand after hand, then finally waking up to Aces in late position, open-raising your standard amount.... and having everyone fold? Well, get over it. While it's tempting to try to slow play a big hand like this if you know the table sees you as a nit, don't do it. Slow playing is almost always worse than just betting and taking down the blinds. I dabble in stock market "swing trading," and the gurus of that field have a saying that applies to us poker players: Any profit is good profit. Don't worry that you got out of the stock too soon, that it went higher yet after you sold... you made money. Be happy. Well, the same is true in poker. If the blinds fold to your raise in LP with you holding rockets or cowboys, so be it. You made money. Yes, it would have been great if the blinds had big hands too, but they didn't. Slow playing your AA just allows them to see--and hit--the flop harder than you, so don't do it. Bet and take your profit.... and be happy. Any poker profit is good profit.

All-in for now...

-Bug

*This Bug Tip is related to Tip #4 (click here)

Bug's Poker Tip #4

If the opp folds, they weren't going to pay you off anyway.

At the micro- and low-stakes tables, you need to bet, bet, and bet some more with your value hands. No fancy play. No trapping. Check-raising is okay, but only if you're very certain your opponent is going to play ball. Otherwise, no slow playing if you flop a set. If you hit a flush, bet. If you turn a straight, bet. If you have top two, bet. The goal with a value hand is to build value, and this is only achieved by getting money into the middle. If you get dealt Aces on the button and the action folds to you preflop, do not slow play; bet it as you would with a steal with J8o. If the blinds fold, then so be it. If the opp doesn't stick around, they weren't going to pay you off anyway. Giving villains a look at free or cheap board cards is a recipe for disaster at the micros. Bet that value hand... and build value.

All-in for now...
-Bug