My latest poker strategy articles, Debunking Myths About Implied Odds, has just been published in the June 2009 issue of 2+2 Magazine. The article explores one of the most important and misunderstood concepts in big bet poker:
“Calling a late position raise with a suited connector when you have the button is a good example [of implied odds that don’t depend on making a strong hand]. Since the pre-flop raiser probably has a wide and not particularly strong range, you can’t count on winning a big pot on the rare occasions that you make two pair or better. Because his range is so wide, though, you will often be able to steal the pot when you flop a weak draw or even a scary board texture. Whether you want to call it implied odds, bluff equity, or something else, this is as much a justification for taking slightly the worst of it on an early street as is drawing at a monster hand.”
Read more about this and other misunderstood aspects of implied odds in the 2+2 Magazine!
Loved this article. I LOL’ed here:
“be aware, though, that any time you refer to the first raise as a “re-raise”, a kitten dies”
For a little bit more in-depth discussion of myth #1, here’s a post of mine from a while ago:
http://spritpot.blogspot.com/2008/06/dont-call-3-bets-to-set-mine.html
-bruechips
Yeah, that line made me smile. Nice article (…you too Bruechips).