The Minimum Bet – What to do?
I’ve played enough poker to know when somebody minimum bets that they have a big hand. I mean we see that at the poker table all the time. Whether it’s at a MTT, SNG or a ring game, we see the nits min betting their monster hands.
So how can we combat the evils of min bettors? Well I’ve devised a plan.
Use the notes feature when you’re playing online. This feature is a
gold mine. When I’m playing long sessions against regulars, I take
notes. I make sure I get a picture of playing tendencies. Once you’ve
identified these min raising nits. You can now play against them.
Minimum bettors or raisers usually have a big hand. If it’s preflop you can pretty much be sure that they’re holding either a big PP or two face cards at least. Their range of holdings is very narrow.
Another thing that I’ve observed is that these min bettors usually can’t lay down their monster hands. So if you’ve hit your set, straight or two pair for example you can usually stack this guy off. So don’t be afraid to bet strongly against this type of player because you he’ll pay you off. Heck at times I’ll shove against them because I know they’ll pay me off because they can’t lay down their big PP.
Gamble it up. Call them with good speculative hands like small suited connectors etc. You have the advantage because you know that he’s got a strong hand and you can narrow down his holdings. So sometimes I’ll play a very good speculative hand like 56 suited. Why? Because I know that when the board comes out low and I hit two pair, trips or a straight etc. I can stack this guy because he won’t be able to lay down his AA or KK in that situation. The key is that you can play these hands cheaply for big value. I’d rather not play spec hands like KQ suited or A10 suited against these min raisers/bettors because that will put you in a world of trouble for obvious reasons. They will allow you to see flops and turns cheaply so if you have a potentially good cracking hand go for it.
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Don’t bluff the min raisers with air. It won’t work most of the time. You’ll be surprised at how often they call you with meager holdings on a dangerous board.
Use the min bet against them. You can get some folding value just by minimum betting yourself against these players. Usually min bettors are super passive and if they’re min raising PF with A/K for example and they miss, they usually won’t call a bet. I like to use this especially if I’m acting first against a min bettor. If he has nothing he’ll usually fold (although sometimes they’ll still call you with AK hoping to spike an Ace or a King).
Minimum betting/raising is part of your poker arsenal and you should mix up your game but if you encounter somebody who consistently does it that’s a leak and one that you can take advantage of.
Related posts:
- Preflop 3-Betting in Micro Stakes Cash Games
- Some Keys to Micro Stakes Online Play
- Playing Aggressively at Micro Stakes Tables Against Passive/Weak Players
- Why Call When You Can Raise?
- My SNG Play
Categories: Poker Strategy
