“Brave call” – the part of Texas Holdem strategy

US players are welcome

Deni “Ansky” Stern is a famous Texas Holdem poker player who prefers to risk and participate in big cash games. At the same time Stern is a perfect teacher of Texas Holdem. And I will introduce you one of his lessons, it is about an importance of a call.

Deni “Ansky” Stern says no-limit Texas Holdem requires concentration and high attention from players. And one of the most difficult things in Texas Holdem game is not to be scared to call. It is crucial to be able to make a “brave call”. Deni talks about situations when a player has card high ace or king, or just one weak pair, like deuces and is not sure to call or not.

“Brave call” does not depend on the strength of your cards. You should only think about your opponent style of play, cards on the table and your own actions. Deni Stern says that Texas Holdem poker is a situational game and any decision depends on a concrete situation.

For example, sometimes your opponent plays aggressively and tries to make an impression that he has good cards. At the same time he doesn’t call at all with high card king or ace. Or he folds with two pairs making simple mistakes. It is crucial to understand circumstances, read the game and be able to divine your opponent’s intentions.

Let’s have a look at the example

Game – No-Limit Holdem. Blinds 200-400. Situation: I – 230 207, opponent – 88 295.

My opponent was inconstant and was playing kind of chaotic. At the same time I noticed that he is a strong player and I cannot outclass him carelessly. So, I had to think all the time and it was not an easy game.

My opponent raised 1200 on pre-flop. I re-raised 4800 having A – 10 ♣ in my hands. My opponent called and the pot reached 9 600. The flop brought 8-4 ♠ and 5 ♣. I raised 7 000 and my opponent had to call. There were 23 600 in the pot. I decided to bet, but it looked dangerous because I only had high card ace. The turn brought 7 ♦ and it was not pleasant news for me. Therefore I decided to check. My opponent did the same. Actually my situation was not good at all. I didn’t have a possibility to bluff because my opponent could have either two pairs or 6. And my opponent could understand that it is very unlikely that I have 6 because I did re-raise on pre-flop. Only a wicked player would re-raise on pre-flop having 6.

7 ♥ came on the river and I checked as well as my opponent. I was glad with this card. It meant that if I had had better cards than my opponent, I still held it with 7 ♥ cause the river didn’t change the situation. For example, if my opponent had flush draw he didn’t collect a needed card.

My opponent bet 8400. It was not a big bet in scales of the size of pot (24 000). And I had to think about my next step. First of all I tried to analyze why my opponent made such bet. If he bet only 1/3 of the pot it means one of the followings:

•  He was not sure about his decision and decided to place a small amount of chips. And in case if he looses he would not lose everything.

•  He was bluffing because he knows that I might have better cards but I am not sure about it. And if I have high card ace I would not call because his 4,5,6,7 or 8 will definitely give him win.

Therefore I decided to call and opened my A-10. My opponent had J-2 and I shoveled in the pot.

So, let’s analyze why I called? First of all my actions were based on concrete situation at the table. Of course, my opponent could bet with better cards and in this case I would lose the game. And of course I make mistakes as other people and sometimes my calls lead to defeats in Texas Holdem.

But it is very important to understand the easy rule of Texas Holdem poker. If my opponent places a bet as in our example, my chance to win the hand is 4 to 1. Therefore even if I lose one hand I won’t be too downhearted. Anyway I need to win every fifth hand to keep my stake positive.

The main conclusion of this lesson is that you should be concentrated all the time. And you should definitely understand why you are going to call or fold. If you can do it you, will be able to call properly. And brave call will become a part of your Texas Holdem strategy.

Also recommended:

1. Bluff is an important part of Texas Holdem strategy
2. The Check-Raise and The Check-Call
3. No-Limit Texas Holdem with blinds $1/$2: which strategy you should use?
4. Make Smaller Raises Against Players Who Call Too Much Postflop
5. Advanced Limit Texas Holdem Strategy for Shorthand Games