My latest poker article, Calling for Information, is now appearing in the February issue of 2+2 Magazine. It’s a relatively low-level strategy article, compared to some of the stuff I’ve published, but even more advanced players may find parts of it useful.
My central argument is that if you balance your ranges well, so that you are not revealing too much information about your own hand, then you will not generally need to raise for information. You will be able to determine from your opponent’s actions whether your hand is good enough to continue. Underlying this claim is the often-misunderstood premise that your opponent’s actual hand does not matter.
Please let me know if you find it useful or thought-provoking (or, I guess, if you find it otherwise- but be gentle!).
Nice article!
I think this statement is not precisely correct though:
“If you think you will win the pot (not just have the best hand, as you’ll sometimes get bluffed out on future streets as well) at least 31% of the time, then you should call. Otherwise, you should fold.”
Since there are further rounds of betting, the pots you win may not be the same size as the pots you lose, you have to take that into account when deciding whether to call or raise.
-bruechips
I tend to read your blog and past articles at work. Because of this, I cannot read the articles on Cardplayer, but wait until they are on your articles page. The last few have not been put up on that page. Will you be updating that page with the past articles?
Sprit,
You’re correct, as always. Mathematical precision is not my strong suit.
Anon,
Yeah, I’ve been lazy about that. All I can say is that I fully intend to do it, but with each passing month, the time it will require gets longer and my inclination to procrastinate gets stronger.
Thanks for the prod, though- it really will encourage me to get on this sooner.
Foucault, can you post the article here or on your site? 2p2 does not have the original article in its entirety anymore.
Thanks!