Unfolding Poker (Sweeney 2017) PDF

JAMES “SPLITSUIT” SWEENEY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface............................................................................................................................ 6
Making Money In Tight Games ........................................................................ 9
Poker Advice Is Confusing.................................................................................. 16
Should You Play 6max or Full Ring?............................................................. 20
When Do I Hold Or Fold An Overpair?......................................................... 24
3betting More Against Fish................................................................................ 31
Playing In Games With BBJ Or High-Hand Promotions..................... 38
Running It Twice...................................................................................................... 44
Hand Reading In Fishy Games.......................................................................... 49
The Best Way To Study Poker............................................................................ 55
My Flop CBs No Longer Work...HELP!............................................................ 66
Maximizing Value Against Fish........................................................................ 73
Should You Play Looser?...................................................................................... 78
The Leveling Game.................................................................................................. 84
What Is Wrong With 50bb Poker?................................................................. 88
CBing The Flop In MW Pots................................................................................ 94
Range Advantage Against Weak Players.................................................... 102
Should I Just Wait For A Better Spot?........................................................... 105
When Should I Change My Bet Size?............................................................. 109
How To Use Your Table Image.......................................................................... 118
Wrap Up........................................................................................................................ 123
Your Next Steps.......................................................................................................... 125
Glossary......................................................................................................................... 126
Bonus Offers................................................................................................................ 132
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UNFOLDING POKER
PREFACE
Over the years I have had the privilege of working with

more than 500 students. I have released hundreds of
training videos. I have posted more than 10,000 times in
various poker forums. And I have received more poker
questions via email than I could ever count.
My goal with this book was to compile some of the most
frequently-asked poker questions and answer them as
clearly as possible. I want to be able to point players who
ask any of these questions directly to this book so they
can get themselves a definitive answer ASAP.
On top of that, I also added an additional challenge to
the writing process: I wanted to write this entire book
in just seven days. And, to make it tougher, I wanted to
live stream the writing process on Twitch. This proved to
be MUCH tougher than I could have anticipated (trying
to write and answer questions from the chat box at the
same time was very difficult for me).
But I ended up hitting the goal and the end-product is
that much better since the Twitch audience helped flesh
out certain ideas, challenged original assumptions, and
even helped craft some of the exact sentences in this
book (thanks again Unfamilia!) If you tuned into any of
the streams, please know that I am extremely grateful
that you made time to hang out ♥
Now you may be wondering if this book is right for you. I
6
would say this book is right for:

• Beginner-intermediate players. The concepts
in this book are not overly-advanced and I tried to
minimize the jargon to make things easier to un-
derstand whenever possible.
• Cash game players. I rarely touch on tournament-
specific concepts in this book and while some an-
swers in this book are applicable in tournaments
(like 3betting more against fish and CBing multi-
way flops), tournaments are not the main focus.
And one final note. If you come up with any questions of
your own while reading this book, please feel free to ask
me. I have a dropbox available 24/7 and if I get enough
good questions I may write a follow-up to this book. Just
go to www.splitsuit.com/ask and feel free to bookmark
that link if you come up with more questions in the fu-
ture.
With that said, jump into the first chapter and enjoy the
book!
7
1
“I was playing 6-handed and surrounded

by 5 TAGs. Given their tight nature I was
not able to win any big pots and they kept
folding on earlier streets. How am I sup-
posed to make money in this game?”
This is not an uncommon game whether you play online

or live. You will occasionally run into a table populated
by a bunch of nits or TAGs - players who are not getting
involved in many pots and are more focused on their own
hand strengths than fighting for pots with air. This situa-
tion leaves a lot of opportunity for us, but most nits/TAGs
end up missing out because they simply are not willing to
get outside of their own comfort zone.
You Will Not Hit Homeruns In This Game

When playing with nits and TAGs who are card-focused
and looking to hit big hands and get paid off—it should
be clear that you won’t win many homerun pots. These
players aren’t looking to run big bluffs, make big pots
with second-pair, or even semi-bluff as often as you and I
might. They won’t be building big pots unless they’ve
been dealt or have flopped a big hand that justifies it.
If you’re keeping that same mentality (not creating a
huge pot without a huge hand), it should go without say-
9
UNFOLDING POKER
ing that most pots are going to be small-medium sized.

Homerun pots (ones that are 100bb+) tend to be reserved
for nuttish vs nuttish hands—something that just does
not come up that often.
Therefore, the strategy of waiting around for a huge hand
at this table and hoping to get paid off is going to be futile
and frustrating. Do NOT fall for this trap.
Making Money In This Game

Since the other players are only looking to get involved in
huge pots with huge hands, we can threaten large pots
and get them to relinquish any hands that are non-nut-
tish. Of course most hands in a range are far from the
nuts, thus there should be many opportunities to create
folds.
In this dynamic, my major focus is picking up lots of small
pots uncontested. My opponents are focused on trying to
hit big hands, and my focus is picking up the pots where
they don’t. This can be done both preflop and postflop.
Here are three things I look to do constantly in this game:
Steal The Blinds
Fighting for the blinds preflop may not seem like the most
profitable endeavor, but the small pots that consist only
of winning blinds add up. I am always looking for steal
opportunities when my opponents prove that they don’t
want to resteal or even contend for their blinds. You
don’t need a real hand when your opponents are
constantly folding more than 80% of the time when
facing a steal, so be diligent looking for these spots
especially when you’re on the button and in the SB.
10
Stealing is the first of my three major tips for

making more money against nits. Check out the
other two tips in this article...
WWW.SPLITSUIT.COM/UNFOLD1
3bet With More Air

Tight players hate giving 3bets action with marginal
hands, especially when they’re not sure if you’re a
maniac. So look for spots where the gap between their
open-raising range and their give-a-3bet-action range
is wide. Even though this type of player has a relatively
tight range, he still has plenty of “non-monsters” that he
is willing to fold if you can convince him you have got a
big hand yourself.
For instance, if they open 22+/AJ+/KQ (a mere 11% of
hands) and would only give your 3bet action with QQ+/
AK (2.5% of hands); they would fold 77% of the time when
you 3bet. You do not need a strong hand to exploit some-
body who is folding that often.
Use this handy chart and pay attention to situations where
your opponent is folding more than 75% of the time. If
they are, heavily consider 3betting those napkins!
VILLAIN OPENS WITH CONTINUES WITH FOLD %
77+/AK QQ+/AK 50.00%
22+/AK QQ+/AK 64.29%
22+/AK TT+/AQs+ 42.86%
22+/AJ+/KQ QQ+/AK 77.27%
22+/AJ+/KQ TT+/AQs+ 63.64%
22+/AT+/KJ+/54s+ TT+/AQs+ 75.00%
22+/AT+/KJ+/54s+ 88+/AQ+ 65.00%
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UNFOLDING POKER
OPENS WITH CONTINUES WITH FOLD %

22+/ATB/54s+/86s+ TT+/AQs+ 80.95%
22+/ATB/54s+/86s+ 88+/AQ+ 73.33%
22+/ATB/SC/SG/Axs TT+/AQs+ 83.33%
22+/ATB/SC/SG/Axs 88+/AQ+ 76.67%
Not sure how to build a preflop range?

Use this guide to figure out what your opponent
open-raised with preflop.
WWW.SPLITSUIT.COM/UNFOLD
Check-Raise More Air

While preflop aggression is great, there are plenty of
spots where you can be aggressive postflop as well. One
of my favorite things to do against weak/tight players is to
check-raise them postflop, especially on flops and turns,
to apply maximum pressure to their ranges.
To do this, I consider two major things. First, what would
they bet with on this street. And two, what would they
give my check-raise action with?
Take a spot where a TAG CBs this flop.
9 4 2
You think they would CB with any pair, sets, flush draws,
Ace-highs, and backdoor draws with overcards like K♦J♦.
(Many players will CB even more often).
You also think that if you check-raised, they’d only give
you action with top pair or better and flush draws.
12
This means they’d be folding around 2/3 of the time

against your raise. And that’s not even factoring in the
fact your hand could have some equity, that your op-
ponent may not hold on with 9x if you continue betting
turns and rivers, etc.
Remember, whenever there is a wide gap between the
hands a player has and the hands they’d give action
with, there’s a profitable opportunity to bluff. Take ad-
vantage of the fact your opponents only want to give
action with big hands and apply pressure to the weaker
(and often more plentiful) part of their range.
♠
Notice that none of these tips include going to showdown.
Since your opponents only want to go to showdown with
nuttish hands, it is your goal to fight for all of the pots
where they don’t have nuttish hands.
Use this to your advantage and bluff at all of the pots they
don’t have interest in. This is a fairly boring strategy, but
there is easy money to be won here if you’re willing to
apply pressure at opportune times.
The Dynamic: Now & Later

Left unattended, these games will continue with a table
full of TAGs trading small pot after small pot. But if you
jump in there and start fighting for pots and being ag-
gressive, the dynamic will almost certainly shift in time.
There are three ways that tight players tend to respond
when you start implementing an overly-aggressive strat-
egy:
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UNFOLDING POKER
They Leave
Some players just do not want to play against a ton of ag-
gression. That is totally fine with me though. If that kind
of player leaves, it opens up a seat where a weak
player can join the game. Wish them well and show
them the door.
They Keep Playing Weak-Tight
This is my favorite player since they really don’t adjust at
all. They keep playing tight, they keep folding to aggres-
sion, and they never challenge me for pots. These players
are waiting to hit their monster to get back at me, and you
already know how often the monsters come. Just keep
fighting for pots and picking up the money they don’t
want to contend for (and make sure to fold when these
players finally do show interest in building a big pot).
They Loosen Up & Fight Back

At some point, the average player will catch on that
I’m up to something and adjust by not rolling over so
easily. This is fine. First, I’m more comfortable playing
loose and aggressive than the average TAG. So I get to
stay in my comfort zone and they’re forced out of theirs.
Second, it is easy to identify if they over-adjust and start
playing way too loose and way too aggressively. When
they adjust this way, I can re-adjust to them by sitting
back, playing a more straight-forward game, and letting
my table image work in my favor. See Chapter 19 for
more information on this.
♠
14
Keep in mind that the dynamic at this table can change

quickly.
If you are at a full-ring table that just happened to have

6 players at it, new players can fill the empty seats and
change the dynamic in a heartbeat. Be diligent and re-
member that the changing table dynamic may force you
to take your foot off the gas at some point. Don’t force
bluffs in bad spots. Situations where you can bluff with
impunity are easy to spot, and if you pay attention,
you’ll know exactly when bluffs are less likely to work.
Have fun in these games, enjoy the free pots while every-
one is being weak-tight, and keep your finger on the pulse
of the dynamic, so you can always be one step ahead.
15
2
“I get very confused when watching poker

training videos. One coach says to play
tight, another coach says to play loose; and
the advice seems to contradict itself.
Who should I listen to and why is this so
confusing?”
Most students are looking for clear-cut answers in poker.

They want a clear rulebook that states “always do x” or
“never do y” with no exceptions. I understand this, and it
would nice if it existed, but poker is far too gray for that.
There are very few black and white answers in poker.
Sure, you know to never fold AA preflop in a cash game.
You know to always bet the nuts on the river if you are
last to act. But shy of those rare situations, almost every
other poker decision exists in the gray. There are many
times where multiple ‘correct answers’ exist to given situ-
ations depending on the exact assumptions being made.
What Happens When You Assume?

Poker is a game of information. You then use that infor-
mation to create +EV lines to exploit your opponent. But in
the process of taking information and turning it into +EV
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lines, you need to make some assumptions. Given this is a

game of incomplete information, you make assumptions
all of the time:
“How would they play AA here?”
“Would they raise the nuts on the turn?”
“Would they bet 1/2 pot with a semi-bluff here?”
Now in a given situation you can have two coaches look at
the exact same spot and draw two very different conclu-
sions. One coach says raise, the other says call. But who
coach is correct?
First, you should try to understand why each coach is giv-
ing that specific advice.
One coach says to raise, apply pressure, and pick up the
pot uncontested. They assume villain will overfold his eq-
uity and they want to pick up the pot now.
The other coach says to call. They assume villain has a
medium-strength range and they plan to call down on a
most runouts.
Both coaches share +EV lines based upon the exact as-
sumptions they’re making. Of course, neither coach has
the exact info on the villain (their range, their fre-
quencies, etc.), so they make assumptions and choose
lines that create profit against those assumptions.
Are They Really Contradicting?

Poker decisions should be logical and use the informa-
tion at hand. Two coaches can present opposites lines, but
both lines can be logical and correct. How does this hap-
pen?
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UNFOLDING POKER
One coach plays in tight games and is used to players

folding at high frequencies. They review a hand and use
the assumption that their opponent is going to fold often.
They suggest bluffing more based upon their information
and the play is logically consistent.
Another coach plays in wild and fishy games where play-
ers fold rarely and bluff often. They review the same hand
and use the assumption that their opponent is never fold-
ing. They suggest bluffing at a lower frequency and value
betting thinner based upon their information and the
play is again logically consistent.
If you looked at this on the surface, you may assume the
coaches are contradicting themselves. But when you dig
a layer deeper, you see that both lines are actually
logical, they just differ because the info and assumptions
are different.
Ask When Given The Chance

The best way to get the answers you are looking for is
to ask. Ask the coach or author what assumptions they
are making when they give advice on how to play a hand.
Strong players are both logical and very aware of their
own assumptions.
Know that all coaches won’t suggest the exact same line
in every situation. Coaches who play in tough games will
have a different set of assumptions than a coach who
plays in fishy games. You can have ten strong coaches all
analyze the same exact hand, and it wouldn’t be
uncommon to have two or three proposed lines that are
all valid given the individual assumptions of each coach.
18
If you can’t ask the coach for clarification, do your

best to suss out the coach’s rationale and assumptions
when studying their material. If you consistently find
issues in both their logic and assumptions, you may
want to find new material to study. If you just find
issues in their assumptions but the logic is still sound,
then learn from the logic and input your
own assumptions into that framework later.
This gets easier with time. In the beginning, ask many
questions and try to understand the logical framework
before the assumptions. You’ll use a logical frame-
work in all hands over your entire poker career. On the
other hand, assumptions will be in flux because the game
is always in flux.
19
3
“When playing online, what are the differ-

ences between 6max and full ring games?
Which should I be playing?”
One of the first decisions you make when you login to

your favorite online poker room is whether to sit in a full
ring or 6max cash game. The next few pages will ensure
you are making the right decision for your skillset and
goals.
Full Ring
Full ring games have seven or more players. The more
players there are the tighter the game tends to run. This
does not mean that you will not find fishy players, or
those playing way too many hands. It does mean that your
VPIP/PFR will commonly be tighter in full ring games
than 6max games at the same level.
This is a plus for newer players. Playing tighter keeps your
ranges stronger and keeps you out of trouble more often.
The major issue with full ring is the ceiling. Full ring
games just do not run as high as 6max games can run
online. If there is volume at mid-stakes and high-stakes
on the site you play, it is more likely to be on heads up or
6max tables. So if you are looking to set the online scene
20
ablaze and move to the highest levels quickly - full ring

may not the best starting place.
But full ring is a great option if you are looking for a game
condition that allows you to get familiar with online pok-
er while playing a bit tighter and with more control early
on as you learn.
This is also a nice condition for building basic LAG skills
and testing things in a tighter environment. Of course,
there are more players to contend with when trying
things from early and middle position, so make sure to
pick your spots accordingly.
Also, if you primarily play live cash games I would sug-
gest starting with full ring games online. The 6max online
dynamic does not match the live cash game dynamic in
my experience. So stick to full ring, use it for practice, and
take your upgraded skills to live.
6max
6max games are capped at six players, and are also
known as short-handed tables. With fewer players and
the blinds constantly coming around faster - these games
tend to play looser and more aggressive. This is a key dif-
ference between full ring and 6max.
That is not to say that full ring games are never aggres-
sive, nor that they are never more aggressive than a cer-
tain 6max table. But in general 6max games are more ag-
gressive, players have higher VPIPs, and players are more
willing to contend for pots in spots where full ring play-
ers would otherwise surrender.
For newer players, this higher level of aggression can
be intimidating. Facing more 3bets, getting called down
21
UNFOLDING POKER
more, and generating less folds overall can be a tricky

proposition. This kind of environment forces growth.
The good news with 6max is that you can use that growth
to move up into much higher 6max stakes than you could
playing full ring. This allows you to progress through the
stakes playing the same format.
6max games, in general, will force you to adapt, hand read
better, and learn to apply aggression correctly. While the
learning curve can be steeper than full ring games - the
long run benefit is huge.
What Are Your Poker Goals?

Many players fail to consider their goals when choosing
whether to play full ring or 6max. But my opinion is that
you should consider your goals to help guide this deci-
sion.
Full Ring: If your goal is to get started with cash
games, start here. The learning curve is easier and you
can make money faster.
6max: If you are thinking long term and are com-
fortable with a steeper learning curve, start here. The
complexity of 6max will garner more growth and will
have longer term benefits even though there could be
more losses in the short term.
If you have not chosen a format yet, take this time to con-
sider your goals and make the appropriate choice for
your situation.
Can You Change Your Mind Later?

Of course you can! I normally make the suggestion that
22
players start with full ring if they are new to poker. Full
ring is a bit more simple, less aggressive, and an easier in-
troduction to online cash games. But, after a certain point
I suggest they look into switching over to 6max.
Learning to handle the aggression in 6max games is a
huge help as you move up and play against better play-
ers. And even though full ring and live cash games typi-
cally play 9 or 10 handed - 6max skills can go a long way
towards developing a larger live edge. Knowing when to
fight for pots and how to adjust vs aggressive players is a
skillset that you will need throughout your entire poker
career.
23
4
“When I am holding an overpair and face

aggression on the flop, how do I know
when to hold on and when to let go?”
This is a spot that comes up quite often - and it is vital

that you know when to hold on with one pair, and when
to dump it.
The good news is that this process will actually help you
decide not only when to hold on to an overpair, but also
top pair, middle pair, etc. Let us explore the process...
Build Their Range First

Everything in poker boils down to math and hand read-
ing. This situation is no different, though many players
abandon both simply because “OMG I Has Overpairz!”
Our goal is to understand an actual process that can be
used in every spot where we have have an overpair and
face a raise.
To start, build their range. What would they raise with in
this situation? If you always boil back to that answer it
will guide you through the decision matrix with ease.
I ask myself a few different questions here:
Would They Raise The Nuts Here?
24
There normally are not a ton of nuttish combos available.

There are 3 combos of each set, 9 of each two pair, and
that assumes that all the two pair combos are all actually
reasonable. For instance, if a player calls preflop with 22-
TT/AT-AQ/KJ-KQ, 54s-QJs and the flop is:
K O 4
Sets: 3 (most opponents 3bet with KK and QQ preflop
and thus they can only catch a set with 44 here)
Two Pair: 9 (most villains fold rather than call pre-
flop with K4 or Q4, and thus they can only make two
pair with KQ exactly).
Not that all situations will have this exact combo break-
down, but the number of nuttish combos is far lower than
most players assume.
Not 100% sure how to count combos and factor

in blockers? Watch this video ASAP.
Would They Raise With Two Pair Here?

There are some players that normally raise with top pair,
slight overpairs, etc. I always start by dissecting this part
of their range first since it can comprise a good density of
a raising range and these are all hand strengths that my
overpair crushes.
Tighter opponents are less likely to raise top pair hands.
25
UNFOLDING POKER
They tend to approach these hands from a showdown

value mindset, and as such raise them less often. How-
ever, certain textures and SPRs can induce them to raise
these hands - so keep an eye on these factors as well.
SPR is a flop metric for how committed (or not)
you are to a pot. This is a crucial concept that
both cash game and tournaments players need.
Other player types will raise top pairs and slight over-
pairs for a variety of reasons - but all you need to deduce
is a.) would they raise these hands and b.) if yes and you
re-raised them, would they continue with them?
Most players are comfortable answering the A part of
that, but do not focus enough on the B when deciding if
they should just call or re-raise. A player that raises but
will not continue against your re-raise is someone you
could call and induce bets from them on later streets.
Remember, if you think your opponent would normally
just call with these kinds of hands - they are not going to
be in their aggression range and thus what are they actu-
ally aggressing with?
Would They Raise With Draws Here?
Next I consider draws. Would they raise in this situation
with flush draws? With any flush draw, or just nut flush
draws? Would they raise with OESDs? What about a gut-
shot with a single overcard? Consider the full plethora of
draws and deduce if they would raise or call with them.
In general, the more aggressive a player is, the more they
are going to raise their draws. Especially big draws like
26
flush draws and OESDs, but even gutshots will be strong

candidates for them. Passive players are the opposite,
more likely to just call the flop and see what develops on
future streets.
The thing to remember with draws is that they do not
usually comprise a large density of combos. Flush draws
can make up a dozen (or so) combos, same with straight
draws - but keep their preflop range in mind. If they play
very few drawing hands preflop, they will have even few-
er draws on the flop.
Would They Raise With Other Hands Here?
“Other hands” can be anything from middle pair to total
air. The thing to remember is that if they are not raising
the top pair and draws but are actually raising this spot
quite often - this is the largest density of combos to draw
from and your overpair crushes it. This is why you go
through these questions in order to deduce the number
of likely combos and their density in the overall range.
When You Have No Answers
Of course, you will never have perfect information when
answering those questions. But you still need to make
some assumptions because you cannot just yell “I DO NOT
KNOW WHAT YOU RAISED WITH!” and start crying at the
table.
Aggression vs. Passivity
It should go without saying that aggressive players raise
more often and thus your overpair performs better and
better. Passive players are less likely to bluff here, and
typically call more often with draws, top pair, etc. If you
constantly fold overpairs against aggressive players here
27
UNFOLDING POKER
you will find yourself folding far too often.

Use Live Reads
If you are playing live make sure to use available reads.
Is this an old person raising you who is less likely to be
bluffing? Is this a young kid who looks overly-aggres-
sive? Is there hand physically shaking telling you some-
thing about their range? Use any context clues available
to refine their range as best you can.
The best resource for live tells is Elwood’s book

“Reading Poker Tells”. Pick it up today.
Use Stake-Level Reads

Think about how the average person at this stake might
play. Are they typically very aggressive, or passive? If you
have experience at a stake and can develop a default idea
on how players in the game tend to play, this is better-
than-nothing starting point when making range assess-
ments without other present information.
Compare Your Hand To Their Range

Think about how your overpair performs against the
range that you have assigned. Are you crushing their
range, or getting crushed by theirs? Unless your oppo-
nent is very nitty, chances are you not crushed. And the
wider they raise, the better and better your overpair per-
forms.
Take a spot where you have KK on T93. You bet and face
a raise on the flop.
28
If they only raise with sets and T9s, you have 15% eq-
uity
If they only raise with sets, T9s, and reasonable flush
draws, you have 33% equity against their range.
And of course, the more hands you add into their raising
range, the better your KK performs.
Remember, you do not need to be ahead equity-wise to
justify giving action when the pot odds are right.
Consider Playability
Also consider how the hand is likely to play out if you call
or 3bet against their raise.
Do future cards benefit you or them more often?
Do you think they shut down with bluffs?
Do you think they continue semi-bluffing?
Answering questions like these will keep you focused on
making +EV plays when you just decide to call their raise.
When you decide to 3bet, this is normally a committing
action baring deeper stacks. Have a plan and really think
about which hands from their raising range they commit
with you. Could you make more money from their raising
range by calling and forcing them to play turns and rivers
against you?
To correctly answer questions like these requires a good
deal of off-table study - but it will help you make far bet-
ter decisions in real-time.
Should You Fold?
29
UNFOLDING POKER
Likely not. Too many players fold more than they should
in this spot.
Truthfully, if they raise any non-nitty range your overpair
performs plenty well enough to continue. Will you win
every single time you give their raise action? Of course
not. Will you win often enough? Almost certainly.
An important thing to keep in mind is that if you are
folding hands as strong as overpairs against flop raises,
chances are you are folding far too often. This makes you a
huge target against aggressive opponents and forces you
to relinquish the best hand more than you ever should.
Are you folding too much? Read this article
where I breakdown why folding too much is a
huge leak in a player’s games.
Unless you are ultra-certain that your opponent is only

raising with the nittiest of ranges, look to continue on-
ward with that overpair.
30
5
“Lots of coaches talk about 3betting more

often preflop. But I play in a game with a
ton of fish and do not think 3betting with
96o is a great idea. So what should I do?”
There is some advice that gets shared that may seem

to conflict with your exact game condition. Aggressive
coaches and players will tell you to bluff 3bet more often.
And while that advice may work well in their game - it
may not work as-described in yours.
3betting More Overall

Most players 3bet far too rarely. If you only ever 3bet with
QQ+/AK, you are 3betting too rarely. I want to challenge
you to 3bet more often, but not just for the sake of 3bet-
ting. Rather, 3bet with a clear idea on profit and an un-
derstanding of the situation you are creating.
When you play in games where players only give 3bets ac-
tion with nuttish hands, you should 3bet a ton of air. This
exploits their folding frequency and allows you to pick up
a ton of uncontested pots (your winrate will thank you).
But fish do not suffer from that leak. In fact, they fold
far too rarely (or at least preflop). However, this does not
31
UNFOLDING POKER
mean that we only 3bet them with QQ+/AK. It just means

that we choose a different range to exploit their frequen-
cy issues.
3betting Air
You are 100% correct that 3betting 96o vs a fish is not a
great play. Fish hate folding and love seeing more flops.
Why would we want to bloat a pot with minimal preflop
fold equity when holding a hand like 96o?
When 3betting vs fish you do not just say “I am only go-
ing to 3bet the nuts” nor do you say “I am going to 3bet
them with a ton of air”. Instead, you ask yourself which
hands would perform better by 3betting than just calling
against them?
3bet Differently
3betting fish with nuttish hands makes sense. Fish fold
less often, and thus they continue against 3bets with a
great deal of marginal hands. We 3bet hands that domi-
nate their continuance range and the basic hands like QQ
and AK fit the bill.
But what about expanding your 3betting range to include
hands like TT, AQ? What about 88 and AJ?
I do not want to bore you with a ton of complicated eq-
uity breakdowns - but consider this...
If the fish were going to give your 3bet action with a 20%
range of hands (JJ-22,AQs-A6s,K9s+,Q9s+,J9s+,T8s+,97s+,8
6s+,76s,65s,54s,43s,AQo-A8o,KTo+,QTo+,JTo), these hands
would have the following hot/cold equity:
32
THEIR RANGE HAND HAND’S EQUITY

TT 67%
99 62%
88 58%
AQ 61%
AJ 59%
AT 56%
KQ 53%
Notice even KQ, a hand that is often dominated when a

player gives your 3bet action, has an equity-edge given
how many worse hands the fish would give a 3bet ac-
tion with. And if your opponent is even looser, your hands
perform even better.
Rather than expanding your 3bet range against fish to in-
clude hands like 96o, look to depolarize your 3bet range
- meaning instead of pure air you would use other hands
from the upper-left hand corner of the starting hand ma-
trix. Instead of always calling their preflop raise with AJ,
think about 3betting it. The wider they give your 3bet
action, the more valuable it becomes to 3bet hands you
would have otherwise called with in the past.
The Other Factors

As always, there are some caveats here. Keep the follow-
ing points in mind before 3betting:
Your 3bet Size
While fish are typically inelastic (meaning they give ac-
tion at roughly the same frequency regardless of the bet
size they are facing), consider just how inelastic this spe-
33
UNFOLDING POKER
cific fish is.

If they would give your 3bet action with tons of domi-
nated hands if you used a 3x size but would only continue
with some dominated hands if you used a 5x size - think
about which size accomplishes your goal. In the earlier
example I might use 3x with AJ and 5x with AA - some-
thing I could not get away with against a thinking player
but something a fish would not be aware of.
Stack Sizes
In an ideal world I would have deep stacks, the fish would
have deep stacks, and there would be tons of playability
going postflop when I 3bet them. But the real world is not
always ideal - and thus we need to think ahead here.
Shallow stack sizes mean we are closer and closer to
commitment. Even if you have 600bb but your opponent
only has 50bb, you are making decisions based upon the
50bb effective stack. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the
effective stack the more focused on pure card-strength
you want to be.
This is largely a function of the fact that committing deci-
sions will either happen preflop or on the flop as the ef-
fective stack gets smaller.
Take this example:
Effective stacks 35bb. Fish opens in MP to 3.5bb and you
are in the CO with KQ. A 3bet would be committing - even
if you only went to 11bb you would be getting a decent
price if the fish went all-in preflop.
34
E YOU M FISH
E TAG
P
3 460 P
1 35bb M BORING TAG
P
2 340 OPENS 3.5BB
P
2 850
K O
E SOLID TAG YOU
785 125bb
P C
1 O
B STRONG TAG UNKNOWN B NIT

400bb 90bb 100bb
S U
B B T
Rather than commit 35bb preflop, I would just call the

original 3.5bb raise and play the hand out. The factors in-
volved in making this decision include the effective stack
size, how I would react to a re-raise, if my opponent just
called my 3bet what the SPR would be and how I expect
to perform in it, and my edges in both 3bet and single-
raised pots.
The Other Players
Unless the only two players with cards are yourself and
the fish, you want to be aware of the situation as a whole.
Look around, think about the other players BEFORE you
3bet, and then decide which line would be the most prof-
itable.
Look For Other Regs
A fish opens from MP and you are on the button with KQs.
You look behind you and remember that the BB loves to
squeeze preflop. What should you do?
35
UNFOLDING POKER
E YOU M FISH
E TAG
P
3 460 P
1 150bb M BORING TAG
P
2 340 OPENS 3.5BB
P
2 850
E SOLID TAG YOU

785 125bb
P C
1 O
K O
SQUEEZER UNKNOWN B YOU
105bb 85bb 130bb
B S U
B B T
Most players make the mistake of not even thinking ahead,

which is a major no-no. If you see a notorious squeezer
behind you, consider just 3betting this spot yourself. Why
call the open-raise, face a squeeze, and now have to make
an odd decision in a bloated pot with KQ? Instead, you
could 3bet the fish yourself, apply pressure to the squeez-
er who likely does not want to cold-4bet you, and get the
fish to heads up to yourself.
In this same spot could you just call with KK to

try and induce the squeeze from the BB?
Take another situation where a TAG opens in MP, a fish

calls in the CO, and you are in the BB with TT. Some play-
ers just call here and try to play the pot out. I personally
look to 3bet this and choose a size that reduces the chance
that the TAG wants to give me action.
My goal is simple. Play TT vs the fish in a HU pot. Playing
TT OOP in a MW pot without the lead is going to be a tough
proposition. Playing TT OOP in a 3-way pot with the lead
36
is going to be a tough proposition. Playing TT vs just a fish

OOP with the lead is a far more profitable proposition.
So if 4x gets rid of the TAG and keeps the fish involved
with whatever hands they deem not-foldable - 4x it is.
Sure, not all postflop spots are going to be easy. But are
you going to make much better decisions than the fish in
this spot? I think you will...
Look For Other Fish
A fish opens from MP and you are on the button with a
hand like 88. You are considering 3betting but you look
behind you and see that there is another fish. Should you
call or 3bet?
This is a great spot to just call, get the other fish involved,
and use your position and skill edge to your advantage
postflop. Sure, you could just 3bet and fight against the
first fish preflop. But calling and getting two fish involved
can be a much sweeter proposition.
♠
As a default, most players 3bet very incorrectly against
fish - either 3betting too tight or 3betting too wide and
with the wrong hands. While the hands I mentioned in
this chapter are good candidates for 3betting fish, make
sure to consider the exact situation you are in. Stack sizes,
future SPR, and the other players left to act in this hand
are factors that will guide your decision.
Be diligent, think about your goals, consider your skill
edge in single-raised vs 3bet pots - and you will be choos-
ing better 3bet ranges far more often.
37
6
“My live room runs several high-hand

and BBJ promotions that induce players to
call with much wider ranges preflop. How
should I play in this kind of game?”
In rooms that run high-hand or BBJ (bad beat jackpot)

promotions, or any similar promotion that encourages
action, it is common to see players adding extra hands
into their preflop ranges. Before you start adding the
same hands into your own ranges, make sure to read this
entire chapter.
Since a BBJ qualifier is usually “quads beaten by straight
flush”, you will typically see players add two major hand
types into their ranges:
• They take pocket pairs to the flop more often in an
attempt to quad-mine
• They take more suited connectors/gappers to the
flop to try and hit the straight flush vs quads
For high-hand promotions, which vary massively in terms
of qualifiers and payouts, it is not uncommon for players
to try and see any flop. They are just trying to smash a
big flop, but just end up playing too loose and either a.)
playing too fit-or-fold postflop or b.) getting sticky with
38
too many weak hands postflop. Both mistakes are easy to

identify and easy to exploit.
How Should You Play In These Games?

Given the assumption that this game plays looser than
normal, you might first think that tightening up and play-
ing straight forward is best. Truth be told, that strategy is
profitable and easy - but not always optimal.
For instance, if you find one or two players who need to
see every flop but they play fit-or-fold if they do not flop
a BBJ candidate - there is a tremendous opportunity to
play extra hands preflop and fire CBs relentlessly. This ex-
ploits the gap between the hands that see the flop and the
hands that continue against a bet.
If you find one or two players who need to see every flop
but they also need to see the turn to ensure they whiffed
a BBJ candidate - there is still tremendous opportunity.
In this dynamic make sure to barrel often and watch all
of those hands that “had to see the turn” melt away to yet
another bet.
But not every game will play like this.
I have played in many high-hand games where nearly ev-
ery hand was a limped family pot. In these games I be-
come the player they hate. I start attacking those limped
pots preflop, and for large sizes. This applies maximum
pressure and makes them really decide if T7s is worth
limp/calling preflop.
This strategy will not always work with weaker hands.
Sometimes the players really do need to see the flop, and
refuse to fold to large isolation raises - and worse, multi-
ple players are doing it at the same time. If that is the case,
39
UNFOLDING POKER
make sure to punish them with large sizes when you have
monsters and consider limping behind with the marginal
hands and using your postflop skillset instead of forcing
action preflop when there is not enough fold equity to
mash hands like KTo through the pot.
What About Postflop?
As a default, stick to your normal postflop plan. If most
flops are multi-way, veer away from firing bluff CBs with-
out a clear profit plan (see Chapter 15 for more informa-
tion). And since most pots in this game will be multi-way,
you really need to focus on when to stab and when to just
check and hope to get a free card.
One of the biggest questions I get about postflop in these
games is “should I be slowing playing?” I do not in most
situations. The rare situations where your opponent has a
BBJ-candidate combo in their range would likely give you
action whether you fast or slow play. So rather than focus
on a single combo in their range - focus on the other 98%
of their range and get money from those hands as well.
Will fast-playing sometimes force them to fold out a hand
that would have otherwise hit runner-runner perfect for
the BBJ? Sure. Will it be often enough to worry about it?
Not even close considering many players will still draw
for at least the first part of the runner-runner anyway!
Should You Play Hands That Can Hit The BBJ?

Going back to preflop, should you also be trying to see
more flops with the primary goal of winning a promo-
tion? Here are three common spots and my reasoning for
them:
Quad-Mining In A Re-Raised Pot Preflop
40
You raise with 77 preflop, your opponent 3bets, and you

are deciding if you should call the 3bet. When the BBJ is
active most players will call with the rationale “I could
win the BBJ!” Well, how is that going to happen?
Most rooms use a “quads beaten by straight flush” quali-
fier. This means you not only need to get quads, but your
opponent needs to hit a straight flush at the same time.
Besides the fact that you normally only get half the BBJ
when this happens (and do not forget Uncle Sam wants
his cut of that too)...consider your opponent’s range. Did
they 3bet a ton of hands that could hit straight flushes?
Or did they realistically only 3bet hands like AKs that
have straight flush possibilities?
Even if they happen to 3bet many combos that could
hit straight flushes, you need extremely specific boards
to come up - and of course those are very rare. And the
lower your pair, the more often your improvement cards
reduce the likelihood of your opponent being able to hit
their straight flush.
So while you do get a slight bump in EV by trying to quad-
mine for the BBJ, it is almost never enough of a bump to
deviate from your normal preflop strategy when facing a
3bet and holding a marginal pocket pair.
Playing More Suited Gappers Preflop
There are plenty of spots where you should already be
playing suited connectors and suited gappers. But add-
ing these hands into your range in -EV spots (like from
early position or calling huge preflop 3bets) thinking that
the BBJ is going to make them +EV is where players get in
trouble.
41
UNFOLDING POKER
Again, you need very specific boards and your opponents

to have very specific combos to hit a BBJ. And in most BBJ
situations having the straight flush is worth between
20-25% of the BBJ (before Uncle Sam gets his cut). Given
the rarity of the BBJ getting hit, it is not going to be a big
enough incentive to offset obviously -EV plays.
For instance, you might see players frequently calling
3bets and getting involved in small SPR pots with medi-
um suited connectors. These plays are typically -EV and
the BBJ will not make them worthwhile. Same thing with
drawing to any backdoor straight flush draw on small-
medium SPR flops. The added increase in BBJ-value rare-
ly offsets fundamentally bad plays.
Playing ATC During High-Hand Promotions
During high-hand promotions it is not uncommon to see
players trying to see 100% of flops with the hopes of hit-
ting a high hand that often times is only valued at a few
hundred bucks. High-hand promotions are based solely
on the final-hand strength where full houses rarely win,
quads normally win, and straight flushes are almost
mandatory for busy cards rooms that have long-period
high-hands.
Please do not fall for the trap of playing ATC during high-
hand times trying to win the promotion. Again, you will
win it rarely and winning the promotion almost never off-
sets the -EV of playing the hand. Especially when it comes
to calling preflop raises and 3bets with junky hands - you
will perform better by defaulting to your normal strategy
and ranges than by trying to win a small high-hand pro-
motion.
Overall
42
Most of this advice boils back to “the extra EV of the pro-

motion rarely offsets the value lost by making -EV plays”.
You can take advantage of other players who fall for the
trap of thinking these promotions make their -EV plays
worthwhile though. Look to attack them with raises and
apply pressure to players who just want to try and see
cheap flops. Look to use aggression to exploit players who
refuse to fold preflop, but are playing fit-or-fold postflop.
And whatever you do, do not fall into the trap of trying to
play every hand preflop in hopes of hitting a promotion.
Let your opponents make that mistake instead!
43
7
“What does it mean to “run it twice”?

Should I be doing this?”
The concept of running it twice (also known as “doing

business”) is quite simple. Take, for example, a situation
where you get it all-in on the turn vs one player. You both
decide to run it twice. What happens?
Two rivers will be dealt.
Half of the pot is awarded to the player who won the first
river.
The other half of the pot is awarded to the player who
won the second river.
POT: $840 7 WINNER
J 9 6 O
TAKES $420
3 WINNER
TAKES $420
This means you could end up winning the full pot, half
44
the pot, or none of the pot if you lose on both runs.

Not too complicated, right?
Running it twice is not an option in all rooms, so be sure
to ask the floor (or check your site’s rules) before jump-
ing into the action. In select spots you may be able to run
it even more than just twice (three, four, etc. times) - but
these are the exceptions NOT the rule.
The Upside To Running It Twice

One of the major upsides to running it twice is that you
lower your variance. What does this mean? Take a simple
situation where you flip a coin. If you flip it once and guess
heads, you have a 50%-50% shot of winning the coinflip.
But because you only flip it one time, you will either win
100% or 0% in this single run.
Flip that same coin twice, and you get closer to expecta-
tion. When you flip the coin once you either win or you
lose. When you flip the coin twice you can lose both, win
both, or win one. Getting you closer to the long term ex-
pectation of a 50/50 coin flip. This decreases your overall
variance which is welcomed by this author.
On top of lowering variance, players may be more likely to
get it all-in with less equity when they know you will run
it twice. Unstudied players think their chances of win-
ning the pot go up as they run it more times - this simply
is not true based upon what we already spoke about. So if
running it twice can encourage that same player to get it
all-in with a weaker hand - that can be a benefit.
The Downside To Running It Twice

First, you increase your variance when you decide to
45
UNFOLDING POKER
run it once. By running it once you will either win the

pot 100% of the time or 0% of the time, even though your
equity in the pot may be between those two numbers.
Of course, your bankroll should be able to weather the
storm of variance - but that is another conversation for
another day.
Not sure how big of a bankroll you should use?
Check out my quick video with tips on bankroll
size, pro vs hobby players, and taking shots.
The biggest thing that deters me from doing business is

the proficiency of the dealer. A strong dealer can run it
multiple times, keep clear track of the pot, and keep the
game moving without a hiccup. If you ask a weak dealer
to run it twice, you run the risk of it taking them 9 min-
utes to figure out what that means, and another 17 min-
utes for them to figure out how to split the pot.
Ultimately, this can slow the game to a crawl. And if you
are playing a game like PLO or Big O that already has low
hands/hr - this can be excruciating.
Along that same line, it can take time to negotiate this in
a live setting. Especially when trying to explain to an un-
studied player what the running it twice even means - this
takes time and slows down the game. Since live games are
already so slow - it is often better to run it once this time,
explain to the other player during the next hand what
running it twice is, and then let them decide the next time
it comes up.
My general rule of thumb is that if it would take more
than 1 minute to explain and negotiate running it multiple
46
times - just avoid it and run it once. And of course, if you

are playing online and have the option to run it multiple
times, slowing the game down is not a factor.
There are some players that feel it is better to only run it
once to apply maximum pressure to a player with a short
bankroll. The idea is to apply pressure and put their bank-
roll at risk if they run bad in a few key pots. A few things
to note about this:
1. Good players use bankroll management and thus
this does not really apply against them.
2. If a recreational player loses their bankroll, they
may leave poker altogether.
3. A player who would fold their equity share incor-
rectly unless given the option to run it twice likely
has huge leaks in their strategy. Applying pressure
by denying them the option to run it twice is just
one insignificant way to exploit your edge against
them.
I do not want this to turn into a conversation about the
poker ecosystem and ways to preserve it, but denying a
player the chance to run it twice rarely has the intended
effect. A bad player is going to lose money over time and
introducing them to an earlier exit in poker does not ben-
efit anyone.
Do I Run It Twice?
As a pure default, yes, I do run it twice. In fact, give me
the option to run it even more times and I do that as well.
I very much enjoy lowering variance and I find it keeps
the game more social. To that end, I either decide to run
it twice in all spots vs all players at that table - or I decide
47
UNFOLDING POKER
to to only run it once in all spots vs all players at the table.

Especially in live games it can be very socially awkward
to choose to do business vs one player but not another -
and it can create a social rift that does not favorably im-
pact the game.
Now, the time factor mentioned earlier is vital. When I play
live cash games (especially at the WSOP where there is a
higher-than-normal percentage of new dealers) I make
the decision within the first couple hands of a down if
they could handle running it twice. I never want to be the
cause of the game slowing down, especially when play-
ing slower games like Big O - so time management is a
primary concern. I would suggest only running it once if
the dealer seems weak and likely unable to handle doing
business.
There really is only one player type who I massively dis-
like when it comes to running it twice, and that is the
player who gets it all-in on the turn and will run it twice
when they have a flush draw vs their opponent’s set. But
in that same spot would only run it once when they have
the set vs a flush draw. Do NOT be this person.
Make the decision to do business in all spots, or do not do
business at all.
Shy of that, if it lowers variance and does not slow the
game down - feel free to run it twice with me!
48
8
“I play in very weak games where players

call preflop raises, call 3bets, and get VERY
sticky postflop. How am I supposed to hand
read these players?”
Hand reading is easy, or at least easier, when ranges are

tight and predictable. But when ranges get wide, players
tend to get confused quickly. Some players even make the
mistake of abandoning hand reading altogether when
ranges get too wide. Do not be that kind of player.
Start With Frequencies

To start, make sure you understand frequencies. A fre-
quency tells you how often a player does something. A
player with a large 3betting frequency 3bets often when
given the opportunity (when compared to the average
player). A player with a low turn bluff frequency bluffs
very rarely on turns. Frequencies are everywhere and
they are the lifeblood of range building for players who
focus on them.
When dealing with players who have wide ranges, this is
just a function of them having high frequencies. They get
involved often, either in certain situations or many, and
thus they have high frequencies and many hands in those
49
UNFOLDING POKER
ranges. While it may be tough to narrow this range down,

it is not impossible.
Learn how to turn frequencies into real hand

ranges by taking my free webinar today.
For instance, say a player calls preflop raises a ton of the

time. They 3bet rarely, fold sometimes, and flat the rest.
We can still turn this information into usable ranges. First,
start by assigning frequencies. As an example, say they
fold 30% of the time, 3bet 2% of the time, and call 68% of
the time when facing a preflop raise.
We can actually take every starting hand and put it into
each of the buckets.
I would personally build the range this way:
Notice they are folding about 30% of the time (pink hands).
50
They are 3betting about 2% of the time (green hands).

And everything else gets called.
Now truth be told, they may actually call with Q6o and
fold 52s - but the overall framework gets me in the right
ballpark. Being close here is crucial - but being +/-5% is
totally reasonable especially when ranges get really wide.
This same idea carries over to all actions.
Say a player calls flop CBs a ton of the time. You actually
think they call CBs about 80% of the time. You raise pre-
flop, they call with the range we assigned earlier. The flop
is J52, they check, you CB, they call.
If we bring that range into Flopzilla and compare it to
the board, we need to include not just any pair, any rea-
sonable draw, and even Ace-high - but we need to also
include many of trash hands to get up to an 80% contin-
uance. Always ask yourself if villain would raise any of
those hand types (sets, two pair, draws, etc.?)...and if the
answer is “yes” then make sure to remove them from this
range AND refill the 80% with other hands (in this spot
the only hand category left is trash hands).
Notice that we are taking frequencies, even very high
ones, and turning them into real ranges. This requires
some practice, but with enough off-table exploration it
becomes second-nature.
How Strong Are They Really?

When it comes to hand reading you want to have a firm
grasp on combos. I always keep a mental running tally of
the number of two pair (or better) combos that are possi-
ble in my opponent’s range. Comparing this to their over-
51
UNFOLDING POKER
all range really showcases how rare nuttish combos are.
Counting combos is easy. Watch this quick video

and see how to do it in less than 10 minutes.
The major thing to note is that nuttish combos are rare.

You cannot add extra nuttish combos - so every extra
combo you add into a range inherently gets weaker and
weaker. This is especially noticeable postflop but applies
preflop as well.
For instance, looking at the example from earlier, there
are only 11 combos of two pair or better that villain could
flop. To repeat, only 11 combos. Compare that to the 713
combos they got to the flop with and you see how rare
nuttish combos really are.
In order to expand up to the 80% continuance range that
villain would call the flop with, we have to continue add-
ing weaker and weaker combos. And since the range is
SO wide we actually have to add weak hands like King-
high, backdoor straight draws, etc.
This is NOT the case when playing against tighter players,
but is most certainly the case against players who rarely
fold.
Just remember these two things:
1. Can you remove strong combos from their range?
If they would raise the flop with two pair plus, then
their calling range would not contain them.
2. When the board texture minimizes the number of
nuttish combos but villain continues calling often
52
- they inherently must have weaker hands in their

range.
This is a great thing when value betting. This same thing
also makes single-street bluffing more difficult.
Notice that I did not say we should remove ALL bluffs
from our range. Rather, we should ask ourselves this im-
portant question:
“If I bluff now and they call, will they continue calling me
down on future streets?”
Much of their flop continuance range is going to be back-
door draws, Ace-high, etc. If you bet again on the turn,
are they still calling with it? Or are they folding it? If fold-
ing - you should be planning to barrel.
On a very related note, too many people miss value bets
against these players, especially on the turn. If you find
yourself constantly checking the turn behind (or even to
them) with middle pair or better - please reconsider this
strategy. Take advantage of their large continuance fre-
quency which is often times going to include hands far
weaker than you might otherwise guess.
Never Abandon Hand Reading

Yes, wider ranges are tougher to narrow down. And often
times you will not be able to narrow with much precision.
This is just a function of dealing with wide ranges.
Rather, focus on these two things:
1. The depth of their range (how wide their range
currently is)
2. The density of their range (what percentage of
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UNFOLDING POKER
their range is strong vs weak)

Fishy players fold less and thus have wider range depths.
And because there are so few nuttish combos available
most of the time, most of their range density is very weak.
Players get in trouble trying to blindly stab at pots against
these players. Of course, they do not fold often to single
shells - so either continue value betting thinner or bluff-
ing multiple times.
DO NOT DO THIS BLINDLY.
Make sure to spend some time with Flopzilla and explore
how wide ranges actually hit the flop, and how the hands
that would call on the flop would hit on runouts.
54
9
“I have been playing poker for a while but I

am new to studying it. How should I study
in between sessions to improve the fastest?”
Not everyone learns the same. Some people learn better

with audio sources, others by reading, others with video,
and others with a more hands-on approach. I personally
need a hands-on approach in order for things to sink in
deeply.
How Do You Learn Best?
If you are not sure what kind of learner you are, do a
quick Google search for “what kind of learner am I?” and
you will find many resources.
Once you know how you learn best, choose the study
methodology that best aligns with your learning style.
Training Videos
Videos are one of the most powerful ways to learn any-
thing, and poker videos are no different. That being said,
I hear students all the time say “I watch a ton of poker
videos, but I have not improved enough yet.” The problem
typically stems from the way in which they watch videos.
I want to explain how to get the most out of any poker
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video you watch, using these easy strategies:

Watch Actively
Turn off your email, lock yourself in a room, and prepare
to learn something. If you want to get the most from a
poker video without having to watch it 40x, make sure
to turn your brain on and turn off the social media and
other distractions.
• Set aside a time slot to watch your video
• Turn off distractions
• If you zone out, rewind and focus again
Take Notes
It is not very sexy taking notes with pen and paper (or
jotting into a Word document), but this method helps you
organize and retain the things you have learned. Taking
notes also ensures that you are actively watching the vid-
eo (hint hint), so stay vigilant here.
• Start a new document/sheet for each video
• Write down new plays that you learn
• Write down new concepts/terms that you learn
Ask Questions (& Find Answers)
When actively watching a video, your brain is going to
develop a ton of questions. “Why did the coach do this?”
“What does this term mean?” “Why did he assign that
range of hands?” Write these questions down and look
for answers through the rest of the video. Poker is a non-
stop series of asking and answering questions - and you
can practice that skillset while watching videos.
56
• Ask yourself questions while watching the video

• Write down questions that seem important
• If you have a question on a term, pause the video
and Google it
• Look for answers throughout the video and write
them down
• If you do not find an answer, share the question in
a respected poker forum
Look For The Logic
Even though poker is vastly complex, all good plays are
based in logic. Good players assign logical ranges, use
math, and create lines that logically exploit their oppo-
nent’s weaknesses.
When watching a video look to understand the logic the
coach is using given the assumptions the coach is mak-
ing. Understanding this will allow you to build a logical
and profitable framework for both analyzing and playing
hands better.
• Ask yourself WHY the coach made each play
• Ask yourself WHAT assumptions the coach may
have been making
• Ask yourself WHEN one line is better than another
Poker Books
Learning with poker books is very similar to learning
with videos. The same concepts will apply.
1. Set aside the time to read X amount of pages
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2. If you find yourself glossing over the words, re-

read that section
3. Take notes at the same time to force active learning
4. Look for the logic in the decisions - especially when
reading poker hands or more subjective topics
5. Ask questions when you get stuck
Notice this list is not just “read the book cover to cover
and be done with it.” The focus is to be actively engaged in
the material, to digest as much of the content as possible,
and to rack your poker brain all the while.
Expand Your Poker Network

Whether you decide to learn with poker books or videos,
you should be asking questions. Now, if you were a very
advanced player you could answer most of those ques-
tions yourself. Either off the top of your head or with
some research. But when you are new to poker, you do
not know what you do not know. This is where a poker
network comes into play.
You want to find a group of players that you can discuss
hands, concepts, and have conversations with. You play
poker as a lone-wolf, but you learn quicker in a commu-
nity setting. These are the two greatest resources I have
found for expanding your poker network and finding
players that can help you grow faster.
Poker Forums
A forum is an online community where people post poker
questions and thoughts and a group-discussion begins.
There are a large number of poker forums on the internet
that range from very small and niche to very large and
58
overwhelming. When choosing a poker forum, keep the

following in mind:
• You want to make sure the community vibe is right
for you (who wants a ton of trolls?)
• You want to make sure there is enough volume
from other posters (why post when nobody is ever
going to respond to you?)
• You want to find a forum that discusses the same
games you play (do not post on an MTT-only forum
if you only play cash games)
I have personally posted on a number of forums and have
had varying success. Now I post pretty much exclusively
on my co-founded forum at Red Chip Poker and happily
invite you to check it out and see if it is the right commu-
nity for you.
Join us today at www.redchippoker.com/forum
Remember, your goal is two-fold. First, get direct answers

to your questions or find related threads that help you
find answers on your own. Secondly, find like-minded
poker players that you can befriend (even in just an on-
line setting) and help each other along.
Masterminds
Eventually you will want to expand your poker network
in a more private setting. Forums are very public, and a
great place to discuss poker and find like-minded players.
But at some point you may be interested in creating/join-
ing a private group full of super-dedicated players that
want to grow at an accelerated pace.
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This is where masterminds come in.

These private groups can be player-lead or coach-lead
and offer a small-medium sized group a chance to hone
their craft together. I actually did an entire podcast ep-
isode on this, and would suggest checking it out if and
when you are interested in this option.
Learn about poker masterminds and see if now

is the right time for you to join one.
Hand Reviews
One of the best resources for studying poker in between
sessions is reviewing hands that you have played. Too
many players avoid this, for a number of different rea-
sons, and miss huge opportunities to spot and fix their
own leaks.
Make sure you are saving your hands. If you play online,
this is simple using software like PokerTracker. If you
play live, you are responsible for writing down your own
hands.
Here are my guidelines for reviewing hands:
1. Review at least 1 hand every single day. This builds a
study habit, and helps keep your poker brain active. You
do not need to play every single day in order to review a
hand each day. And in the event you run out of your own
hands to review, you can always jump on the forum and
review somebody else’s.
2. When reviewing a hand, break it down action-by-ac-
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tion. Do not skip ahead and do not assume that any action
is too standard to at least question. This is the benefit of
off-table study. You have all the time you need to analyze
the hand, and if you do it properly you can find many oth-
er +EV lines and opportunities.
3. When analyzing an action in a hand, stop and ask your-
self “why” three times. This constant asking of why is
meant to help you really understand your decision mak-
ing process. It also shines a huge light on any areas where
you are making decisions with poor rationale.
Say you review a spot where you check-raise the flop
with a flush draw. I would start by doing this (and these
are hypothetical answers):
1. Why did I check-raise this? Answer: I had a flush
draw.
2. Why is a flush draw worth check-raising? Answer:
It has a large amount of equity and I want to be
more aggressive.
3. Why is playing aggressively in this spot better?
Answer: ???
Notice that these decisions were made solely-based upon
Hero’s hand and did not focus on villain’s range, texture,
etc. Whenever you answer questions and there is little to
no conversation about villain, ranges, math, etc. you have
uncovered a very obvious (though not uncommon) leak.
Start with those leaks when studying other material like
books, videos, or posting on the forum.
Over time you may find asking why only 3 times is not
enough to get deep into the logic. When that becomes the
case (and it will for serious students), start asking why 5
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times.
4. When you find a spot where you do not have a clear
answer, it is time to get another point of view. This is the
benefit of a forum, and even moreso of a mastermind.
Once you find a spot where you have no clear idea on the
best play or you are unsure about your exact logic - post
it. Ask for help, ask for information that would help you
find the best play. You can always start by looking for ma-
terial (a book, video, etc.) on the topic, but if you cannot
find an answer within 20 minutes, post it on the forum.
5. Do NOT just review your biggest losing hands! Too many
players do this and end up missing the bigger picture.
First, just because you lost a pot does NOT mean you
played it poorly. Second, just because you won a pot does
NOT mean you played it perfectly. There is just as much, if
not more, to learn from pots you won - so do not exclude
them from your study time.
If you are unsure where to start, do this:
• Analyze any hands you marked for review first.
If you decided in real-time that a hand need to be
analyzed later, start with it.
• Review your 3 biggest losing hands from your last
session.
• Review your 3 biggest winning hands from your
last session. (You might have conveniently forgot
that you got all-in as a huge underdog in a hand
and sucked out for the win. What decisions led to
you getting it in badly?)
• Review 4 random hands where the final pot was
62
between 20bb-100bb from your last session.

If you are only reviewing 1 hand per day, you will never
run out of hands to review. Eventually you should get to
the point where you review 2-5 hands/day and this en-
sures you have many spots to review.
6. Start with broad topics and get more detailed as you
improve. When you are newer to studying you would
benefit more from understanding checking vs betting
middle pair than you would from analyzing the differ-
ence between 60% and 70% pot-sized bets. Study spots
that impact your winrate the most, and overtime focus on
the finer details like bet sizing, exact frequencies, creative
lines, and refined exploitative strategies.
If you are new and not sure where to begin, focus on
taking higher EV lines with overpairs and top pair. Then
focus on single-street bluffs. These spots heavily impact
your winrate at first and will keep you on the right track.
Get A Poker Coach

It is very common for a player to read a couple books,
watch a few videos, and then decide they need a coach.
Coaching can be a GREAT way to study, but please do not
think that getting a coach is the ONLY study you will do
between sessions. I have worked with many students that
have made this mistake, and I do not want to see you make
the same one.
If you are considering getting a coach, please listen to my
podcast episode all about it first. You will learn what to
look for and how to gauge the value of a coaching in your
off-table study regimen.
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Listen to this episode BEFORE looking for a

coach. It could save you a ton of money!
The newer you are, the less you need a coach right now.
You can learn a ton of the front-loaded poker concepts on
your own and for far less than the cost of a coach.
Make Studying A Habit

If you are serious about improving as a player, you need
to make studying a habit. You can study with books, vid-
eos, hand reviews, forums, coaching, etc. - but you really
need to be doing this multiple times per week to continu-
ally improve over time.
Remember, the game is always maturing and getting
tougher, and studying will keep you one-step ahead.
Here is my suggested weekly plan if you need one:
1. Each week choose a new topic you want to explore.
Ideally, this should be a topic that you know you
need work in and one that most heavily impacts
your winrate.
2. Read 1-2 articles that week on that topic.
3. Watch 1 YouTube video that week on that topic (if
you have a membership to a video training site,
look for videos in their database first). There is a
free trial at Red Chip Poker if you are looking to get
started today. Just visit www.redchippoker.com/
membership
4. Post one hand/question in the forum related to
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your topic.
5. When playing, spend some extra energy focused
on that topic.
6. At the end of the week, write down what you have
learned.
7. Choose a new topic and start again for the next
week. Rinse/repeat.
Studying is not the sexiest topic. But it is crucial for growth
and improvement.
Remember to keep an open mind while studying and al-
ways challenge your own assumptions. When in doubt,
ask for help. And remember, other players are asking for
help in the forums too and you may be able to assist them.
Jump in, share your thoughts, and enjoy the journey.
65
10
“I understand that I should continuation

bet when I am the preflop aggressor. But
players keep calling me and I keep having
to check/fold the turn. What should I do?”
This is a very common question. A player reads that when

they are the preflop aggressor that they should be con-
tinuation betting (CBing) pretty much all of the time. But
eventually that strategy breaks down and your opponent
simply will not fold to each CB. Now what?
Was The Flop CB Any Good?

Before you consider barreling, CBing less, or even chang-
ing your CB size - think about how good the flop CB was
in the first place. If you are auto-CBing the flop without
any consideration of the texture, your opponent’s range,
and likely continuance ranges - you are setting money on
fire. Sure you will pick up the pot sometimes, but you will
find yourself losing more pots over time as the game con-
tinues to mature.
The definition of a CB is often times confused, but really a
CB does not imply that your hand is weak, strong, or any-
thing. A flop CB is simply a flop bet from the preflop ag-
gressor; it does not matter if you have the nuts or total air.
66
When bluff CBing, either on the flop or on any other street,

you want to ensure your opponent is going to fold often
enough, either now or later. Many players who auto-CB
are hoping their opponent folds often enough right this
moment to show outright profit on the bet. Given com-
mon CB sizes of 1/2 or 2/3 pot, they need their opponent
to fold between 33% and 40% of the time.
Learn how to calculate and use breakeven math

with this quick video...
Is your opponent going to fold that often?

Take a spot where you think your opponent calls your
preflop raise with ~20% of hands preflop. This includes
small-medium pocket pairs, non-nut Broadway hands,
suited connectors, suited gappers, and suited Ax hands.
If the flop is QT6r, are they folding often enough if you
fire a 2/3 bet out there?
If you assume your opponent is going to continue with
pairs, draws, and some backdoor/weak draws as well;
they are certainly not folding often enough to make this
an outright profitable bluff. Therefore, if you were to au-
to-CB it with no intentions of barreling, you would just be
giving away money.
Knowing whether a flop CB is good or bad is heavily de-
pendent on two things:
• Hand reading skills
• How your opponent would continue
You need hand reading skills to assign a range to their
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preflop action. Then you take that range and compare it

to the flop. Think carefully about the hand strengths they
would always, mostly, and never continue with if you CB.
Some players will continue vs a CB with any pair, any rea-
sonable draw, and as such are folding rarely. Others will
continue with middle pair or better, and only OESDs/FDs.
That player is folding more often and thus bluffing the
flop for one street makes a ton of sense.
One final thing to note here is whether or not your pre-
flop ranges are too wide. Most hands are going to miss
the flop, even AK only catches top pair or better and de-
cent draws about 1/3 of the time. But if you are constant-
ly missing the flop, especially against players who rarely
fold to a single CB, you may want to reexamine the ranges
you are being aggressive with preflop.
So...Should I Even CB?

When a player continues auto-CBing and it begins to fail,
they tend to adjust in one of three ways:
• Do not adjust. Keep auto-CBing, keep getting called,
and keep giving up on turns/rivers.
• Adjust by CBing the flop less (normally by remov-
ing some bluffs)
• Adjust by continuing to CB the flop, but being more
diligent with double/triple barrels.
Obviously, the first option is awful. Before you began
reading this chapter you likely already know that and
thus I will not waste your time talking about how bad it is.
The second option can be correct. This is a common way
that I adjust when playing against fishy opponents who
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do not fold often now or later. Against these players I

strengthen up my CB range to capitalize on their leak.
They call down too wide, and thus I value bet thinner.
Bluffing is more difficult and I do not need to balance my
ranges vs these players.
The third option is the one you should heavily focus on.
Just because a single bet will not get the job done does
NOT mean you abandon betting altogether. Instead, think
about how often your opponent would fold against your
flop CB. Then ask yourself the following question:
Of the hands that would call my flop CB, how many of
them can handle a barrel?
Notice that this takes the focus away from “what is my
hand?” and instead focuses on “what is my opponent’s
range and how can it handle pressure?” This is a huge
mindset shift for newer players, and while being compli-
cated, it is the basis of making +EV decisions.
If you are new to barreling, start with this quick guide
and make sure to download the checklist at the end. Prac-
tice analyzing some hands with the checklist and the pro-
cess will become second-nature over time.
Download the free double barrel checklist now
Take the same example from earlier where you bet the
flop and villain would continue with pairs, draws, and
some backdoor draws. How often is that range going to
enjoy facing a barrel when the turn is the 5♣?
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Well this takes some hand reading and estimating, but

it is totally possible to determine the answer with a little
work. That flop continuance range only has top pair or
better and decent draws about 40% of the time on the
turn. If you thought you could barrel and get everything
else to fold, any bet under pot is outright profitable.
This kind of situation comes up WAY more often than the
average player realizes, and it becomes easy to spot with
off-table practice. Use a tool like Flopzilla or Flop Falcon
when studying to help you understand these spots.
Remember, just because a player does NOT fold to a flop
CB often does NOT mean that we should fear bluffing the
flop. Think ahead and consider how often they will be
able to handle turn and river pressure. There are plen-
ty of opportunities to barrel bluffs on the turn and river
when you know what to look for.
What Should You Do?

Building a double and triple barrel skillset is a huge asset.
If I were going to build mine from scratch today I would
do the following:
Work on hand reading. Being able to estimate your oppo-
nent’s range is the basis of everything in poker. When you
know what they have to a reasonable degree it becomes
easier to find bluffs, thinner value bets, etc. This is a com-
plex skill, but one worth pursuing.
New to hand reading? Start with my free hand

reading email course today.
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Understand how common ranges hit common flops. Open

up Flopzilla, and assign a range you think players in your
game call with preflop. Then check all the hand strengths
you think that player would never fold on the flop facing
a CB. Next, plug in a flop and explore how that range hits/
misses the flop. Then do this for 10 more flops.
Continue this same process for other ranges players in
your game might use and jot down your findings. This
kind of work takes time, but is invaluable for developing
a real-time intuition.
Of course, you need some basic math skills. The good
news is that when you are bluffing a simple breakeven %
will do the trick. This breakeven tells you how often your
opponent must fold for your bluff to be +EV.
Breakeven % = Risk / (Risk + Reward)
• Risk = How much you are betting for
• Reward = The size of the pot you are fighting
for BEFORE your bet
So if you were to bluff for $20 into a $45 pot, you would
need villain to fold more than 31% of the time for your bet
to be +EV. Practice a few of these calculations and you will
have them memorized shortly.
Remember, a play can be +EV even if a single bet with-
in that play is not outright +EV. Bluffing the flop when a
player will rarely fold to the CB may seem like suicide -
but if they fold to barrels a ton, the overall play can be
profitable.
Stop Auto-CBing Without Thinking

There was a time when you could simply raise preflop,
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get called, and profitably CB every single flop. This was a

function of players folding FAR too often against CBs.
As the game continues to mature, players are used to fac-
ing more CBs and thus fold less. They understand that the
CB is often a bluff and have widened their calling range,
up to and including calling with near-air, hoping that you
give up on the turn and a bet from them will take the pot
away. This still leaves room for barreling, but makes the
outright profitable auto-CB a thing of the past. Before you
fire out that CB, make sure to really consider how good a
single-bet is and always consider the value of following it
up with multiple bets.
Of course, sometimes a CB just will not work, nor will the
barrels. Checking is certainly an option and some play-
ers/textures will dictate checking more often. That’s a
conversation for another day, but you should not ever feel
like you have to CB every single flop.
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11
“What is the best way to maximize value

against fish postflop? I get that I should bet
my strong hands - but is there anything
else I might be missing?”
Playing against fish is pretty simple. They do not fold very

often and thus we should focus on value betting against
them relentlessly. This is not to say that bluffing never
works against them, but forcing bluffs against players
who rarely fold is a great way to set money on fire.
With that in mind, always ask yourself just how thin you
can value bet them. Sure, betting TPTK or two pair against
these players is fairly obvious. But there is plenty of value
to be had when you hold top pair with weaker kickers,
middle pairs, etc.
This is a function of the fact that fish love continuing with
second-best hands. They make their continuance deci-
sions based upon their absolute hand strength (which
sometimes is as archaic as “any pair is good enough”), or
some misguided notion of potential hand strength and
end up calling down quite often. If they are constantly
giving your bets action with bottom pair and Ace-high, it
is easy to see that you can value bet middle pair against
them.
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You do not need TPTK+ to value bet against fish.

Your hand just needs to beat enough of their
continuance range.
On a very related note, too many players check the turn

against fish far too often. The turn is the a huge opportu-
nity to maximize value against drawing hands. Whether
they are drawing with bottom pair trying to hit two pair/
trips on the river - or if they are drawing to a straight or
flush - the turn is the time to punish them. Do not check
and give them free cards nor miss an easy opportunity
to generate value from not just from the draws in their
range, but from the other second-best hands that refuse
to fold.
Remember, a value bet means that you are ahead of
enough of their continuance range. But this does NOT
mean that you will win the pot 100% of the time. The thin-
ner you value bet, the more often you will lose showdowns
to hands that beat you. This does not necessarily mean
you made a mistake. Plenty of bets are good and you will
just happen to run into the stronger part of your oppo-
nent’s range, and of course sometimes they will hit their
card and suck out on you. So long as you beat ENOUGH of
your opponent’s range when they call you down, the bet
can totally be +EV.
Bet Sizing Is Everything

You already have a game plan when it comes to betting
against fish. They fold rarely, you value bet as thin as you
reasonably can, and you make money. But the real profit
potential comes from sizing your bets properly.
74
This does NOT mean that you always bet 2/3 pot. The no-
tion of always betting 2/3 pot is partially due to the fact
that it is easy to calculate and remember. And when play-
ing against strong players you will not want to bet full
pot with big hands and 1/2 pot with bluffs. Strong players
would pick that strategy off and make your life miserable.
Fishy players do not think like that. They are focused on
their own hole cards and how those cards connect with
the board. The things you consider like math, ranges, and
frequencies are things they unaware of. You do not need
to balance your bet sizing against fish.
Since your betting ranges will be so much stronger against
these players, consider using larger sizes a default. Bet-
ting 80%-100% pot is very standard against fish since they
tend to be more inelastic with hands they deem strong
enough to call with.
Learn how elasticity and inelasticity are the crux

of exploiting your opponents with bet sizing.
I am going to be totally honest with you. There are plenty

of times where against a fish I use different bet sizes with
different parts of my range. For instance, I may bet pot
with nuttish hands, 80% pot with TP, and 60% pot with
the thinner parts of my range. You may look at this and
say “well, that is exploitable.”
And you would be 100% correct.
The thing is, fish are not able to identify exploitable situa-
tions. And even if they could, they likely would not know
how to adjust properly. So while I do not suggest imple-
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menting this strategy against thinking players (who

would likely raise me anytime I bet 60% pot), there is
merit for using a strategy like this against fish.
Another reason why I might bet a bit smaller with the
thinner part of my range is to induce the fish to continue
with even more second-best hands. Of course, this is de-
pendent on exactly what level of inelasticity they have -
but it is a great starting point when choosing an exact bet
size.
One final note here is that you should heavily consider
overbetting against fish far more often than you current-
ly are. Not that every overbet needs to be a shove for 6x
pot, but there are plenty of spots where you can bet 1.5x
pot and easily get called by second-best hands.
Remember, if your opponent is very inelastic and they
will continue with a large density of second-best hands
regardless of your bet size, use a large size to punish
them. There are plenty of times when I overbet against
fish with two pair because there is no way they would
fold top pair, even for 1.7x pot. Keep an eye on these situ-
ations and you will find them in your next few sessions.
Advice Against Aggressive-Fish

I was going to write a section about playing against pas-
sive-fish, but honestly it would just end up rehashing ev-
erything we spoke about above. But there are some dif-
ferences when playing against aggressive-fish (A-fish).
Against the A-fish, make sure to have a plan of attack if
you face a raise. A-fish are much more likely to raise than
a passive-fish, and their raising range will not always
make much sense to you. They raise for a variety of rea-
76
sons, not all of them appearing logical.

Because of this, have a plan and know what you will, and
will not, give action with if they do in fact raise you. I do
not want to give absolute hand strengths to continue with
since each situation is unique, but if you find yourself
folding more than 75% of the time you are almost certain-
ly folding too often. Folding often against P-fish who only
raise the nuts makes sense, but not as much when A-fish
raise with various amounts of nonsense.
Also, make sure to consider raising A-fish yourself. Look
for spots to check-raise and induce a bluff from them.
There are many spots where they would fold to your dou-
ble or triple barrel, but by checking you induce bets from
all of their bluffs (and then some). This is especially use-
ful on turns when they will fire missed flush draws but
do not have the discipline to fold when you check-raise
them. Build those pots, punish their weaker ranges, and
exploit the fact that they stab too liberally.
Overall
When in doubt, bluff rarely against fish. They do not fold
often enough.
When in doubt, value bet thinly against fish. Their contin-
uance frequencies are wide and wide ranges inherently
have weaker and weaker hands in them.
Bet size on the larger size of the spectrum. Do not always
value bet against a fish for 2/3 pot. Look for bets closer
to pot size and overbets are also viable options. The more
inelastic they are with weaker hands, the bigger you
should bet. This is where you truly maximize your win-
rate against these players.
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12
“I play tight and really only get involved

with good cards. But other players are win-
ning huge pots with weak hands. Am I do-
ing this wrong or are they just lucky?”
When you play in loose games you will see the craziest
things. Huge pots being won with middle pair against
bottom pair and all sorts of weak hands shipping sizable
pots. It is not unusual to ask the question “am I playing
too tight and missing out on spots to win hands with Q6s
or A5o?”
The answer is made even more confusing when your
TAG strategy is not generating the money you would have
hoped for in this game.
Are They Doing It Right?

Truthfully, players in these games are getting lucky more
often than not. And when you get unlucky in this game, it
stings all the more and makes you question large parts of
your strategy. Rest assured, if you continue using disci-
pline, solid ranges, and good value betting strategies - you
will do fine in the long run.
A huge mistake I see players making in this game is think-
78
ing they should be getting involved with any hand pre-

flop. “Everyone else is doing it, why can’t I?” Or “my edge is
so huge here I can play any hand preflop and make mon-
ey.” Your edge in this game is heavily based on discipline
and solid range selection - limping behind with Q7o and
opening 96s from UTG does NOT fit the bill.
Remember, loose players (be it fish or LAGs) will have
some monster winning sessions. When you play a ton of
hands AND happen to hit strong a bunch in that session, it
is tough to NOT make money. But you are just witnessing a
single session of their game. If they continue playing like
that (and they do), they will not always hit strong hands
and they will suffer massive losing sessions as well.
Just because you see one of their winning sessions does
not mean they are crushing it or that their strategy has
somehow cracked the code. You just witnessed their luck-
box getting rubbed vigorously.
Hopefully you enjoyed the show and did not run too bad-
ly against them!
Is Tight Right?
As a default, tight is fine. Not perfect, not awful - but fine.
It is a safe to be tight and implement a TAG strategy. Is it
optimal in all situations? Mostly certainly not.
In a situation where you are surrounded by fish that are
gambling, creating huge pots with weak hands, and play-
ers who will give you action regardless of how much ac-
tion you give - playing tight is excellent. Just sit back, wait
for opportunities to unfold, and do not fall into the trap of
adding junk into your preflop ranges.
To be honest, these games are boring. They are wildly
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UNFOLDING POKER
profitable, but they are boring. You need actual hands

to win pots since showdowns are so common - but real
hands do not come around often enough.
The key to making money in these games is patience.
However, if you implement that same strategy in all
games and at all tables, you will miss tons of +EV oppor-
tunities. If your strategy is tight and you rarely get out of
your comfort zone, please listen to this episode right now.
It highlights everything that is wrong with a strategy that
is too-tight and will help you get out of a nitty shell.
Listen to this episode and learn why playing a

nitty strategy is NOT a great idea...
How Do I Play More Hands Preflop?

In a fishy game, you can play tight preflop and do just
fine. Assuming you do not have glaring leaks postflop
(like constantly barreling Ace-high against fish), you can
make money in fishy games.
But I want you to be prepared to handle other game con-
ditions too. Even if your current game is very soft, you
will eventually play in games where you need a stronger
skillset to compete. If you know your preflop ranges are a
bit too tight, start with these 4 tips taken from my “How To
Play More Hands Preflop” article on Red Chip Poker.
Use Your Position
Good poker is all about using your position. Understand
where you are in relation to the button, understand how
80
easily you can fight for that button, and attack when pos-
sible. This is a staple of TAG strategy, and it is even more
important for a LAG who is playing more hands.
As soon as you sit down at a table, your mission is to fig-
ure out how easily you can fight for the button. If you are
playing on a very tight table, you may be able to get the
button often when you raise from EP. If so, raise a ton of
hands from everywhere since you will either picking up
buttons or blinds a large chunk of the time.
If you find yourself on a table where the players behind
you are very loose, it becomes very difficult to play a LAG
strategy since you will not be generating many folds. The
big difference between TAG and LAG is that a TAG is play-
ing enough hands where he can get value quite often giv-
en the way his range is composed. A LAG, because he is
playing so many more hands, is going to have more weak
hands in his range and thus he will be forced to bluff
more often. If the table will not let you take position or
bluff well, playing LAG could be setting money on fire.
3bet More Often
Remember that the “AG” part of LAG stands for “aggres-
sive”. Do not try to implement a LAG strategy by calling a
ton of preflop raises…instead…focus on how you can open
more, can 3bet more, and can be a bigger pain in the ass
to your opponents.
3betting more often is a great way to utilize your LAG
skills. Start by looking for players who fold too often
against 3bets…and attack them. Just make sure to size
your 3bets well to ensure they do not start looking you up
wider. You will find out very quickly who wants to fight
back with you and who has no interest in playing against
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UNFOLDING POKER
you…which makes your life as a LAG very easy.

Find More Spots To Open-Raise
Similar to the first point about using position…find extra
spots to raise more hands preflop. Playing LAG is not sim-
ply just raising any suited connector from UTG because
“LOL, LAGs do that!”
Playing solid LAG is finding spots where raising a wider
range of hands is profitable either because it is going to
pick up the pot often preflop, or it is going to create a prof-
itable postflop spot if you get action. This does not mean
that you will win every hand that you play - but the goal is
to put yourself in as many +EV opportunities as possible.
Start by looking for spots where you can raise more hands
from LP…then MP…then EP. Understand that a good spot
either picks up the pot preflop or creates a +EV spot go-
ing postflop. Maybe a player calls often preflop but then
folds a ton if he does not flop TP+ on the flop? Great - raise
hands PF, and enjoy when he folds to your CB a ton of the
time.
Think ahead, and pull the trigger when you find good
spots.
Work On Your Postflop Strategy
Most players think “I will just focus on my preflop play
first…and then I will work on the flop, then turn, then
river”. But in reality, I think it is better to first work on
postflop play. If you know how to handle postflop spots
(especially top pair, second pair, and total air)…you will
feel more comfortable adding extra hands into your pre-
flop range. This way, if you get action preflop you will not
be totally lost when the hand goes to the flop.
82
Keep studying your poker strategy away from the table

and challenge yourself to play common hand strengths
better postflop. Learn how to handle various hands on
various textures, learn how to handle being IP vs OOP,
and all of the sudden postflop is not so scary. And when
postflop is no longer scary, it is much easier to raise that
KJs from EP and that 75s from MP.
83
13
“How do I know what level my opponents

are on? I constantly run complicated plays
against unsophisticated players and I lose
many pots because of this…”
You are not alone here. There are many players who have
read books, studied hard, and developed a playbook of
their own. They know the value of bluffing and they try
to run bluffs in some spots where bluffing is simply futile.
Oddly enough, this is something that happens less often
to new players and more to players who have actually put
some work into their game. By increasing their knowl-
edge, sometimes their confidence gets a bit too high and
they overestimate their ability to get certain plays to work.
If this is you, read on.
What Are Levels?

We should start by defining what a level is. A level is
simply what plane of thought process a player is on. Be-
ginning players are closer to level 0 or 1, while more ad-
vanced players could be closer to 4 or 5.
Here are the basic levels in poker:
• Level 0: I am not thinking
84
• Level 1: What do I have?

• Level 2: What does my opponent have?
• Level 3: What does my opponent think I have?
• Level 4: What does my opponent think that I think
that they have?
• Level 5: What does my opponent think that I think
that they think that I have?
It is easy to see if that you think too many levels above
your opponent you can easily make some bad plays. Us-
ing a play that would work against a level 3 player, like
trying to run a bluff to represent a certain hand, is a great
way to set money on fire against a level 0 player who is
not even thinking about what hand you might have.
Think One Level Above (Not 20)

There is a beautiful term that we use in poker: fancy play
syndrome (FPS). This describes taking an overly-compli-
cated line and applying it in a vastly incorrect situation.
For instance, say you have AA and your opponent is a
calling station. Your default line would be to bet the flop,
turn, and river for pure value. An FPS line might bet 1/4
pot on the turn to try and induce a raise. Another FPS line
might check the river to try and induce a bet from the
calling station.
Notice that the FPS lines could be valid. But against a level
0 or level 1 calling station, these FPS lines typically leave
money on the table. FPS can involve a-typical bet sizing,
creative lines, and targeting ranges that are not applica-
ble in this exact hand.
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UNFOLDING POKER
If you constantly find yourself implementing overly com-

plicated lines and ideas against low-level thinkers, you
have some FPS in your game that needs to be cleaned up.
This is not a unique thing though. There are many players
who watch high stakes poker and digest strategy from
top-tier coaches. But putting lines that primarily apply
in unique high stakes dynamics to use in micro-limit on-
line games (or even $1/$2 live) will negatively impact your
winrate quickly.
Identify your opponent’s level, and then be one level
above them. If they only think about the absolute strength
of their hand, you just need to be at level 2 when crafting
lines against them.
What Level Are They On?

The complicated part of this is actually figuring out which
level your opponent is on. There is no perfect formula for
this, but here are some of the major factors I use when
making this assessment:
What Stake Are You Playing?
The lower the stakes you are playing, the lower average
level your opponents likely are. I would never assume the
average 5NL player is a level 4 thinker nor would I ever
assume the average $25/$50 player is a level 0 thinker.
Have Their Actions Indicated Anything?
There are some lines that are so obviously bad that a good
player would pretty much never take them. Min-3betting
comes to mind. Betting $20 on all three streets while play-
ing $2/$5 comes to mind.
When you see players consistently taking bad lines, they
86
are almost certainly at level 0 or 1.

Are You Playing Live Poker?
Make sure to listen if you are playing live poker. Players
love to discuss their thought process about hands they
played or hands they are judging other players for. If they
frequently use phrases that are solely-focused on their
own cards/hand strength, they are likely not above level
1. However, a player who is talking about what the oppo-
nent could hold indicates they are level 2 or above.
Have Any Hands Gotten To Showdown?
Showdown is where confirmation happen. When you see
a player’s hand at showdown, you can reverse-engineer
the hand to estimate what level they are thinking at. If
they are calling down to showdown with bottom pair in
huge pots, chances are they not thinking at a deep level.
Overall
Notice that it is far easier to identify a low level thinker
than a high level one. It takes more showdowns and more
confirmations to identify the level of a player who is be-
tween 2 and 5. But being able to identify fish is impor-
tant (so you can curb your bluffing frequencies and focus
more heavily on value against them), and being able to
identify players who can “think just deeply enough to get
this bluff to work” is invaluable.
87
14
“I am currently buying in for $100 at my

$1/$2 games and doing well. But you al-
ways talk about buying in for at least
100bb. Why is 50bb wrong?”
There are many opinions regarding what you should buy

in for. Should you buy in for the max at a table? The mini-
mum? Something in between? Should you play in a game
that has a shallow max-buy in?
The answer can be complex, so let us break it down.
Is Buying In For 50bb ‘Wrong’?

No.
Is 50bb optimal? Likely not.
First, is your 50bb buy in a limitation of the game? For
instance, you may play in a room that caps the buy in at
50bb. In this case, buying in for the maximum is my pre-
ferred strategy.
If you are buying in for 50bb in a game that allows you
to buy in for more, why are you buying in short? There
are some players who have a solid edge at 50bb effec-
tive stacks. For these players, ones who have honed their
88
skill at this stack size, that makes sense. If you play bad-
ly deeper stacked but have an edge at 50bb, then 50bb
would be a better decision.
However, I am not letting you off the hook that easily.
If you actively decide to buy in short and use the ratio-
nale that you have a greater edge at 50bb vs 100bb+ stack
sizes - I would ask you why you are not working hard
to improve your 100bb+ game. If nothing else, when you
double up at 50bb you are going to be sitting there with
100bb+ anyway.
Purposefully buying in short is typically a crutch for play-
ers, whether or not they want to admit it. Using the ex-
cuse of “I have a short roll” or “I am better at 50bb poker
anyway” is typically just lip service for “I do not want to do
the work to get proficient at 100bb+ poker.”
I do not say this to take away any of the effort a player has
put into becoming a solid short stacker. Rather, I want to
challenge the assumption that solid short stacking is as
longterm profitable as developing a strong 100bb+ strat-
egy. It could be, and in some cases, it is. But not as often as
you may assume.
And any player who claims “buying in short gives me
more bullets per session” is normally a losing player. Sorry.
The question is not whether 50bb, or any shortstacking,
is ‘wrong’. The question is “is shortstacking the most prof-
itable thing for me to do right now AND for the future?”
Short stacking profitably forces you to develop a very
technical skillset. Your decision matrix is simplified since
you rarely have decisions to make on turns and rivers,
and thus you make your committing decisions preflop or
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UNFOLDING POKER
on the flop. These decisions are very math-based and do

require a good deal of technical exploration away from
the table. This is a massive benefit to tournament/SNG
players who want to hone this skillset in a cash game en-
vironment.
100bb+ stacks require you to develop turn and river skills.
While these streets can be complicated, your edge differ-
ential can allow you to truly maximize profit. This skillset
is tougher to cultivate, but it has long term benefit and
prepares you for playing in games where turns and riv-
ers are the norm. You will need a technical skillset for
these games too, and if you play with short stackers in
your game, you will naturally end up doing some of the
short stack math anyway.
Of course, if your game caps you at a short stack, just
work within the confines of the game and consider look-
ing for other games to frequent.
Why Do I Say 100bb+ Is Best?

The ‘best’ is massively subjective here. It is my person-
al opinion, and experience, that developing a skillset at
100bb+ is going to benefit you more in the long run. Again,
short stacking is not ‘wrong’, but it could easily be subop-
timal.
I personally suggest 100bb+ for three major reasons:
If you play short stack and double up, you will be
at 100bb+ more often than not.
Unless you can buy in short, double up, leave the table,
and rebuy somewhere else for another shortstack - you
will be forced to play 100bb+ at this table anyway. You
know how they say “dress for the job you want?” Well in
90
poker you want to prepare for the stack size you want.
The greater your edge, the deeper you want effec-
tive stacks
You can have an edge short stacking. There is no argu-
ment about that. But how does that edge compare to the
edge of playing 100bb+?
I always want the deepest stacks possible when my edge
is greatest. I can apply the most amount of pressure, I
have all options available to me, and I can exert edges on
turns and rivers to maximize profit potential.
Some players will use the reason “losing a pot is cheap-
er when I buy in short”. While true, the fact that you cap
your losses also means that you cap your wins. If you are
a winning player, why would you want to cap your wins?
If you are a losing player, you should be working towards
maximizing your upside rather than minimizing your
downside.
The ecosystem has been pushing out short stacks.
Not so much 100bb+ stacks.
If you have been around poker for over a decade, you
have seen a major shift in stack sizes. Many rooms used
to allow you to buy in for as little as 10bb. Eventually mini-
mum buy in requirements increased - pushing out short
stackers.
The same has not really been the case for maximum buy
ins. Sure, some rooms have gone from uncapped buy ins
down to 100bb-300bb - but that is hardly pushing out
deeper stacked players.
100bb poker is not going anywhere in my opinion. I would
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rather work on a strategy that applies to games that will

available in the future than work on a strategy for a buy
in that may not be available in a few years.
Not 100% sure what to buy in for or when to

cash out of your session? Listen to this.
Thinking Ahead
Here are three final considerations I want you to keep in
mind.
What Do You Have Available Right Now?
If you only have short buy in games available to you, it
makes sense to focus on building up that skillset. But
chances are you have full stacked games available if you
look for them. And remember if you play in a short buy in
game that quickly gets deep - the 100bb+ skillset becomes
more imperative.
Opportunity Cost
You are going to study the game you play. If you choose to
short stack and spend time studying it, each hour you put
towards short stacking is an hour you cannot put towards
full stacked study. The more you see full stacked play in
your future, the more time you should put towards study-
ing it now.
Are You Preparing For Tournaments/SNGs?
If you mostly play tournaments or SNGs, or plan to in
the future, working on a short stacked cash game strat-
egy makes more sense. Tournaments and SNGs require a
92
ton of technical proficiency and the average stack sizes

are 30bb or less. Using cash games to practice this skill-
set and your study time to perfect shorter stacked play is
more beneficial if tournaments are your focus.
93
15
“Should I be bluff continuation betting on

multi-way flops? It feels so weak to just
check-fold AK when it misses.”
Multi-way pots are more common in smaller/weaker

games, although they can happen at any limit and you
need to have a plan of attack for them. With more players
to the flop it can be difficult to bluff, but there are still +EV
bluffing opportunities when you know what to look for.
How Often Will They All Fold?

Since we are looking at this spot through the lens of bluff-
ing, we can assume our major focus in generating enough
folds. Ideally, your opponents will fold enough right this
moment to make your bluff outright profitable. That is not
to say that we ONLY look for outright profitable bluffs, but
they are my first focus.
There is actually a formula for estimating how often EV-
ERY player will fold. Simply multiply all of their folding-
percentage together and you get the percentage chance
that you will pick up the pot uncontested.
As an example, say V1 will fold 70% of the time to your CB,
and V2 will fold 40% of the time.
94
70% * 40% = 28%

So you can expect your flop bluff to pick up the pot 28%
of the time.
An important consideration is just how many players you
have to bluff through. The more players that are involved
in the hand, the less often you should expect to pick up
the pot with just a flop CB. For instance, say you are on
the flop against 4 players. You think each player would
fold a large chunk of the time, say 80%. Plugging the num-
bers in you see:
80% * 80% * 80% * 80% = 41%
So you can expect your flop bluff to pick up the pot 41% of
the time.
Play with this formula a few times away from the table to
develop an intuition and ability to quickly calculate this
in real-time.
Hand Reading
Knowing the formula is great. But you need to know how
to estimate each player’s folding-percentage to get a more
precise output.
The first part boils down to hand reading. While not the
easiest skillset to learn, it is certainly one of the most pow-
erful skills you can develop as a poker player. There are a
few major questions I ask myself when trying to estimate
a player’s folding-percentage:
1. What is the bottom of their continuance range?
2. Does that create many or few folds?
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UNFOLDING POKER
3. Would my bet size change things?

If the answer to #1 is “top pair” then the answer to #2 is
almost certainly “many”. If the answer to #1 is “bottom
pair and gutshots” then the answer to #2 is almost cer-
tainly “few”.
Even if only one player out of all the players seeing the
flop gives action liberally, it can be difficult to generate
enough immediate folds to make it an outright profitable
bluff. Of course, you could still consider firing multiple
barrels - but focus on outright +EV bluffs first.
The third question is something most players overlook.
Like we discussed in earlier chapters, you have options
outside of 1/2 pot and 2/3 pot. Consider what a pot-sized
bet would do to their folding frequencies. If a pot-sized
bet would generate a ton of extra folds, it could easily be
a more profitable size than just defaulting to 1/2 pot.
Bet sizing is crucial and can change two major things.
First, it can influence each player’s folding-percentage.
Second, it changes the breakeven-%. The formula for
breakeven-% is:
Breakeven % = Risk / (Risk + Reward)
• Risk = How much you are betting for
• Reward = The size of the pot you are fighting
for BEFORE your bet
The common ones you need to know are:
• A half-pot bet has a 33% breakeven-%
• A 2/3 pot-sized bet has a 40% breakeven-%
• A full-pot sized bet has a 50% breakeven-%
96
• A 2x pot-sized bet has a 67% breakeven-%

When making outright profitable bluffs, you simply want
the aggregate folding-percentage to be higher than the
breakeven-%. If that is the case, fire away. If that is not
the case (which honestly, is the more common outcome),
continue reading...
Playability On Future Streets

Outright profitability is always my first focus when bluff-
ing. But since that will not always be the case, it is a good
idea to think ahead and plan for future streets.
I will preface this by saying that barreling relies heavily
on math and hand reading. Most things in poker do. So if
you are still building those skillsets, please proceed with
caution before firing off your bankroll on turns and riv-
ers without a +EV plan of attack.
If my bluff CB will not generate enough folds to be out-
right profitable, I ask myself the following questions:
Is there a huge gap between required folds on the
flop and expected folds?
If I bluff for 2/3 pot on the flop (thus requiring at least
40% folds to make it outright profitable) and only expect
the aggregate folding-percentage to be 15% - I need to
make up that gap by winning the pot often enough on
future streets. If I do not anticipate making up that gap
often enough, checking the flop begins to look more at-
tractive.
If my flop CB gets action, is it likely from 1, 2, or
more players?
If my flop bluff is going to get called by multiple players,
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UNFOLDING POKER
can I realistically expect them to fold if I continue bluff-

ing turns/rivers? Everything you read above would still
apply on the turn and river (in terms of hand reading, ag-
gregate folding-percentage formula, breakeven-%, etc.)
If the turn is a brick, can I bluff the turn and gen-
erate enough folds?
This is a primary focus for me when bluffing the flop. If
my opponent would float the flop liberally but only con-
tinue against a turn bet with top pair or better, chances
are I can expect many of folds when I continue bluffing.
This is even better when it happens on bricks since bricks
compose a large density of turn cards for most flop tex-
tures.
Not sure how often your barrel will create folds?

Download the free double barrel checklist now.
If I improve on the turn, can I value bet?

Sometimes our bluffs actually end up improving on the
turn. When that happens, are you able to value bet it? For
instance, if I CB the flop with Ace-high and the turn is an
Ace, would my opponent continuing calling with second-
best hands? The more implied odds there are, the less
valuable turn bluffing may have actually been.
If I bluff the turn as well, can I expect many folds
on the river?
There are plenty of opponents who call flops and turns
liberally, but are much more cautious on the river. Play-
ers who call with any pair and any draw trying to im-
98
prove, but will only give the river action with top pair or
better, are prime candidates to triple barrel bluff. Their
gap between the hands they got to the river with and will
actually call your river bet with is large and thus leaves
opportunity for profitable bluffing.
Answering these questions can seem daunting at first.
Flopzilla becomes your best-friend when trying to find
answers, and the more you use the tool the greater your
intuition will become.
Learn how to use Flopzilla and see how I use it

to study hands away from the table.
One final consideration for me is the amount of equity I

have on the flop. The more equity I have, the less folds I
require (at least right this moment) since I have ways to
win the pot later in the hand. Equity is another way to fill
the gap that I discussed in the first point.
The opposite is also true. The less equity my hand has, the
more focused on outright profitable bluffs I need to be
since I cannot rely on my hand improving and winning
the pot.
Is Check-Folding Really Too Weak?

Players who describe things as being “too weak” are typi-
cally more focused on the ego than the math. A profitable
play is a profitable play, whether or not it is thought of as
“weak” or “strong”.
Does it suck check-folding Ace King high on the flop in a
multi-way pot? Yes.
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UNFOLDING POKER
Can it be the most profitable play? Yes.

When you have the opportunity to bluff CB consider all of
your options. Sure, there are obvious ones like “bet” and
“check/fold”. But other lines are also available. Everything
from check/shove to check/call + donk turn is up for dis-
cussion and exploration.
Never box yourself in and limit your options, especially
when studying spots away from the table. If you only
allow yourself to either bet or check/fold, you will find
yourself unbalanced and easily exploitable when there
are solid players involved in these pots.
So do not focus on check/folding being weak. Focus on
exploiting and avoid being exploited.
If I raise with AK preflop, get called by 3 fish, and the
flop comes T96 - I feel very confident that I am not being
exploited when I check/fold. The aggregate folding-per-
centage would be super low in this spot and these players
are not thinking about exploitation.
However, if I raise with AK preflop, get called by 2 regs,
and the flop comes J42 - I could easily get exploited by
constantly check-folding. The reason for this is that my
checking range would normally be very weak and my
betting range would be predictable as well. Good players
will use this and make my life hell whether or not I check
or bet. THIS is the kind of situation you want to avoid.
The good news is that smaller poker games are not domi-
nated by strong regs who understand when and why to
apply pressure to your entire strategy. Do not overthink
these spots. Just focus on the math, consider outright
profitability, and future plans become more important as
100
the outright folding-percentage drops on the flop.

Study these spots away from the table to develop your in-
tuition and explore lines beyond just check/fold and bet.
And remember, if you are constantly finding yourself in
multi-way pots you may want to reexamine your preflop
strategy. Improvements in preflop aggression and raise
sizing can diminish the number of multi-way pots. This is
another topic for another time, but it is a crucial part of
the equation that is overlooked too often.
Want less multi-way pots when attacking limps

preflop? Give this guide a read ASAP.
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16
“I understand range advantage - but does

this really matter when playing against
weak players? I have made a few bluffs in
spots where I have obvious range advan-
tage but they have failed miserably.”
First, we should make sure we are all on the same page

with the term “range advantage”.
Range Advantage: Describes which player’s range is
currently ahead
Some players use this term to describe which player’s
range has the largest number of nutty combos. Others
use it to describe which player’s range has the equity
edge. For this chapter, we will focus on the equity edge
definition.
Essentially, we can plug our range, their range, and the
board into an equity calculator and see who is coming
out on top. The player with the largest equity would tech-
nically have range advantage.
Flop: K♠ Q♣ 3♣
Me 61.22% equity {22+, AJs+, KQs, QJs, JTs, T9s, 98s,
AJo+, KQo}
102
Them 38.78% equity {JJ-22, AQs-A2s, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+,

T8s+, 97s+, 86s+, 75s+, 64s+, 54s, 43s, AQo-A7o, K9o+,
QTo+, JTo, T9o}
I would have range advantage since my range has
more equity and is ahead of my opponent’s.
This is crucial information when playing against think-
ing players, since you will both be actively trying to put
each other on precise ranges. But weak players are not
thinking about ranges. They think about their own two
hole cards and how those cards hit the board.
For more information on range advantage and

its usage, please read my complete guide.
Range Advantage vs Weak Players

The concept of range advantage is not as important
against weaker players. Since they are not thinking about
your range, they do not care what you represent. Try and
represent a bluff against them just because your range
should be ahead...it will not work. If their thought process
ends at “I have a pair and thus I am not folding” - run-
ning bluffs solely according to having range advantage is
a great way to set money on fire.
However, we do not totally abandon range advantage. It
is great information to know if you are ahead or behind
of their overall range. But truth be told, you are not play-
ing your range against their range. You are playing your
hand against their range.
You do not need to balance against these players. Their
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leaks are glaring and you can get away with playing a to-
tally exploitative strategy against them. They adjust slow-
ly, if ever, and as such you should not feel pressure to let
the thought of “I have range advantage, so I should bluff
here” dictate your actions.
If they will fold often enough against your bluff, fire. But
that decision is based upon their range, their folding fre-
quency, and the math. That decision is NOT based upon
the fact that your perceived range has an advantage over
theirs.
Make decisions accordingly and stop over-thinking these
situations.
Knowing Too Much For Your Own Good

Players who study often tend to amass a great deal of
poker knowledge and concepts, but that is not always the
best thing for real-time decision making. This is a key ex-
ample of that.
Range advantage is an important concept. But knowing
when to apply it is vital. The question asker understands
this term, but is failing to apply it correctly. You need to
know when and how to apply certain concepts, especial-
ly advanced ones, to ensure you are not spewing.
If you find yourself making advanced plays that are fail-
ing often, make sure that you are not leveling yourself.
Go back and re-read Chapter 13 and remember, you only
need to be one level above your opponent. Being 8 levels
above them only gets you into trouble.
104
17
“I tend to pass on spots that are slightly +EV

when I have to risk my stack so that I can
wait for a better spot against that player. Is
this correct? Or should I take every single
+EV spot that I get?”
EV is short for expected value. EV is the lifeblood of your

poker making decisions. Focus on taking +EV situations
(ones that expect to make you money in the longrun) and
avoid taking -EV situations (ones that expect to lose you
money in the longrun).
Simple.
Bookmark this free EV calculator and use it

whenever you need a quick EV check.
Of course, EV can range from super positive to super neg-

ative, and some spots can be downright thin. But should
you pass on spots that are thinly +EV?
Cash Games vs Tournaments

One of the first things to understand is that cash games
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and MTTs/SNGs differ quite a bit here. There are situa-

tions in MTTs/SNGs that are +EV, but when considering
payouts, ICM, etc. they are actually clear folds. This is due
to the one-life-to-live format of the game.
Cash games are different. You can always reload if you
lose a pot and there are no payout jumps to be aware of.
In short, I may pass on some +EV spots in MTTs/SNGs. In
cash games I do not.
Now if you are playing cash games on a short bankroll
you may feel inclined to pass on a slightly +EV spots and
wait for a better one. Your bankroll cannot take the shock
if you happen to lose the pot, and thus you avoid the spot.
This is problematic when it becomes obvious to your op-
ponents that they can bully you to death.
Simply put, do not play cash games on a short bankroll
that cannot handle the normal variance of the game. Ei-
ther move down or continue building a bankroll through
other means.
Do Not Let Your Food Expire

Oddly enough, one of the most common spots I see play-
ers pass on are big pots against fish. For instance, while
writing this book a player asked a question about a pre-
flop spot. He opened, the player next to him who just sat
down ships it for 100bb, and he folded. The exact next
hand he opened with 88, the same player ships it again,
and he folded.
I bring this spot up to discuss the concept of an expiration
date.
Most players only bring a certain amount of money with
106
them to play. They will play until that money is gone, and if
they happened to only bring one buy-in, then the amount
of time you have to get their money is limited.
If you decide to pass on a spot that is +EV, you may easily
miss your one shot to get their stack. If you do not get that
stack, then you risk it getting locked up by another reg
who is not going to willingly give it to you. You only have
so many chances at taking a weak player’s money when
they have a clear expiration either in terms of duration of
their session, or amount of money they are willing to lose.
Maybe calling with that 88 from earlier will be wrong.
Maybe the new player could have just gotten AA twice in
a row. But they also might just be shoving with total air.
Which is more likely? Them getting dealt monsters two
hands in a row or them getting dealt garbage two hands
in a row?
I would rather gamble and find out than fold and give
the rest of the table a chance to win that money before I
somehow find a better hand than 88 to call with.
Be very aware when a weak player is going to expire/
leave. Taking slightly +EV shots at their money is far better
than thinking you can fold and pick up a strong enough
hand before somebody else gets their stack.
My Personal Opinion
Whenever a player tells me that they passed on a slightly
+EV spot in hopes of waiting for a better one - I cringe.
This is almost always an excuse for “I am under-rolled
and couldn’t stomach the gamble” or “I am a nit”.
Regardless of the exact reason, in cash games I implore
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you to not pass on +EV spots. By passing on them, you are

automatically giving up some percentage of money - and
you are also giving other players a better chance at get-
ting a weak player’s money before you can.
Now not every spot is an all-in situation. Sometimes play-
ers fold on the flop when the spot is actually +EV. They do
this to avoid having to make difficult decisions on future
streets. I understand this reason conceptually - but would
challenge you to play the hand out and learn from it, rath-
er than fold and learn nothing.
Simply put, if a good player gets wind that you are pass-
ing on +EV spots, he will bluff you with impunity and
make your life a living hell.
Keep learning, keep building your bankroll, and stop be-
ing a nit. Life becomes much better when you do all three
of those things at the same time!
108
18
“Should I always use the same bet sizing

(e.g. 3x when open-raising or 2/3-pot when
CBing)? If not, when should I mix it up?”
We have spoken a lot about bet sizing in this book. To be

honest, poor bet sizing is a huge leak for most players
and a great area of opportunity for those willing to do
the work. However, this question essentially boils down
to “should I use consistent bet sizing in each situation?”
The simple answer is ‘no’.
Each situation is different and players respond to sizes
differently as well. Bet sizing is an art and a science, and
I want you to walk away from this chapter with a deeper
understanding of what goes into choosing ideal sizing in
various spots. This is not the end-all/be-all resource for
bet sizing, but it will be a great primer with actionable
takeaways.
See how small changes in bet sizes can

massively change the final pot size...
Static vs Dynamic
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A static bet sizing strategy uses the same size in all simi-
lar spots. So a player would always use X size when open-
raising from UTG whether they have AA or 54s, and they
would always CB for Y size whether they flop top set or
a gutshot. The benefit of this strategy is that your oppo-
nents will not be able to gauge the strength of your hand
based solely upon your bet size.
A dynamic bet sizing strategy uses different sizes in vari-
ous spots. So I might CB 1/2 pot with a bluff and 3/4 pot
with a monster. Or I might 3bet to 10bb against a reg and
3bet to 17bb against a fish in that same spot with KK+. The
exact size I choose is dependent on many variables, but it
is done in an exploitative way.
The benefit to a dynamic sizing strategy is that you can
tailor your exact size to maximally exploit your oppo-
nents. It is less simple since you have so many extra op-
tions to consider, but it allows you to maximize value in
the long run.
Elastic vs Inelastic
Another key concept when choosing bet sizes is the elas-
ticity of your opponent. This is an economic term that ap-
plies beautifully to poker.
• Elastic: A player who will continue differently
based upon the exact bet size. So they will give 1/2
pot bets action with a different range than they
would give a pot-sized bet.
• Inelastic: A player who will continue relatively
similarly against different bet sizes. So they will
give a 1/2 pot bet action as often as they would give
a pot-sized bet action.
110
In general, fish tend to be inelastic. They make decisions

based upon the absolute value of their hand and if they
are going to continue with middle pair, they typically will
regardless of your bet size. Now maybe they will not call
a 4x pot-sized bet with middle pair, but they will call 1/2
pot and pot-sized at pretty much the same frequency.
More knowledgeable players tend to be elastic. They make
decisions based upon relative hand value and math. They
need to be “right” less often when you bet 1/2 pot vs 2x
pot, and thus they give action differently based upon the
size you choose. These players may end up being inelastic
in specific situations (where they have a set and refuse to
fold against you), but overall they are elastic when facing
bets.
Some Preflop Advice

To make this more actionable, I wanted to share some of
the ways that I tailor my bet sizing in preflop and postflop
situations. These are key examples of where a dynamic
bet sizing strategy allows you to make more money.
Open-Raising
An open-raise is when the first person to enter the pot
does so by raising. It is common to see players use a 2.5x
size in tournaments, 2-4x in online cash games, and 4-7x
in live cash games. These are typical static bet sizes, but
not always the best.
For instance, say you are in MP with AJ and there are
weak players in the blinds. Sure, you could use your de-
fault open-raise size here, whatever that may happen to
be. But personally, I would choose a slightly larger than
normal size for two reasons:
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1. I want one or both of the weak players to myself.

The larger size is a disincentive to the players be-
tween myself and the button.
2. I have a huge edge in terms of cards, skill, and po-
sition and weaker players are more inelastic. Thus
if they want to continue preflop they will not be
dissuaded because I added a few extra big blinds
to my open-raise size.
There are plenty of spots where you can open-raise
smaller (e.g. when stealing to take advantage of players
who fold too often with non-premiums) and larger (e.g. to
target certain players). Do not automatically use the same
size each time. Each spot is unique and there are plenty of
ways to create more profitable spots with small changes
to your sizing strategy.
Raising Over Limpers
There are many formulas for choosing a raise size when
raising over limpers. Maybe you use 5x + 1x/limper or
something similar - but these are just static sizes.
Personally I have a good deal of variety in my sizing strat-
egy when raising limpers. Here are two spots that come
up for me in almost every session:
1. Three tighter players limp and I am on the button
with KTs. In this spot I raise to 11bb often. This is
larger than any static formula would suggest, but
it allows me to apply maximum pressure to their
ranges. If going to 6bb gets me called, but going to
11bb creates many folds - I will choose 11bb all day
long.
2. Two weak players limp and I am in the SB with KK.
112
In this spot I would go to 12bb. Now, you may look

at this spot and the previous one and say “great,
just raise super large when attacking limpers!” But
the thought process is more reasoned than that.
In the first spot I raise large to apply pressure and create
folds (and if they do not fold, I still have position, cards
that can perform well, and hopefully a skill edge). In the
second spot I also raise large, but to generate more value
against weak players who are likely inelastic when they
limp/call.
Listen to this podcast episode and get a deeper

understanding of how I attack limpers.
3betting
Many players use a simple formula for this as well. Often
times somewhere between 3-4.5x the size of the open-
raise. But again, there is room for breaking away from
the formula with the focus on generating extra profit.
When it comes to 3betting, I almost never use a size small-
er than 3x in cash games. Sizing smaller than that tends
to eliminate fold equity and removes the ability to make
outright profit with the bluff part of my range.
That being said, I go larger than 4.5x quite often. I do this
in spots against tighter players who might give action
with hands like TT, JJ, and AQ if I go to 3.5x, but would
actually fold them if I go to 5x. You will find range contor-
tion like this often against elastic players who dislike giv-
ing bigger sizes action with marginal parts of their range.
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UNFOLDING POKER
And of course you can use larger 3bet sizes with your
monster hands against weak players. Capitalize on the
fact that are inelastic with hands they want to see a flop
with, and punish them when you have huge edges in your
favor.
Most of these adjustments skew towards using larger siz-
ing. There are times to deviate from default sizing and go
smaller - and if you spend the next 20 minutes pondering
them I bet you can come up with at least three +EV situ-
ations.
Some Postflop Advice

I also want to share some key examples where you can
deviate from default bet sizing postflop. Again, look for
the deeper reasoning and understand the underlying
logic in these deviations.
CBing The Flop
Many players use the same bet size whether they are bet-
ting the flop, turn, or river. And many use the same bet
size whether they have the nuts or total air. If you always
CB for 2/3 pot (or similar), I would argue that you are
leaving heaps of money on the table.
Here are a couple of key places where I deviate from bet-
ting 2/3 pot…
When I have a dominating hand in a HU pot against a
weak player I almost always use larger sizing. Why bet
only 2/3 pot if they would gladly give me action with
second-best hands at the same frequency for the larger
size? It is not uncommon for me to CB around pot-sized in
these situations.
114
On the other hand, there are spots where I bet smaller

than 2/3 pot. For instance, if my opponent is going to be
inelastic with the bottom of their range, meaning they
will fold weak hands regardless of the size, I risk less with
my bluffs.
This play is very profitable against weaker regs especially
when they are out of position. If most of their range miss-
es, and they will fold with those misses even if my size is
smaller - why risk more if I do not have to?
Overbetting
While using pot-sized bets is bigger (and sometimes bet-
ter) than just a normal 2/3 pot bet, there are spots where
betting more than the pot is way more profitable. If you
do not use overbetting in your game, I challenge you to
look for either of these two spots in your next few ses-
sions…
Against fishy opponents I use overbetting to maximize
value when they become inelastic with dominated parts
of their range. For instance, if I think their range contains
many second-best hands, and that those second-best
hands would call me down even against larger sizing, I
overbet often. The more inelastic they are, the bigger I go.
There are also spots to overbet and apply maximum pres-
sure to tighter players. If a tight player would call with
second pair or better if I bet 2/3 pot, but would fold any-
thing but two pair or better if I bet 1.4x pot, I would cer-
tainly want to consider the larger sizing when bluffing.
Players who are elastic have a sizing threshold where
they no longer want to give action with certain hand
strengths. When you can identify that threshold (hint, it
is often times near the size of the pot), you can easily bluff
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UNFOLDING POKER
them with impunity.

Betting Smaller To Induce
During this chapter, I have mentioned many ways and
reasons to use larger sizing. However, smaller-than-nor-
mal sizing can also be beneficial. Here are two ways that
I use smaller bets in my game:
Since normal bet sizing is around 1/2 to 2/3 pot, smaller
sizes are under 1/2 pot. I actually use this size often when
trying to induce raises from my opponent. These smaller
sizes are easy to spot and they look weak.
Passive players are less likely to raise in general, and thus
I reserve this strategy for when my opponent is aggres-
sive and more apt to take the bait. Never do this without
a clear plan when you face the raise. I use this strategy
often when my opponent floats liberally and would fold
to a normal bet often, but would feel obligated to fight for
the pot if they smell weakness.
I also use smaller sizes to induce calls from weaker parts
of my opponent’s range. This is super useful against pas-
sive opponents who would not see the smaller size as
weakness, and thus would not raise me. No, these passive
players are looking for an excuse to call and the smaller
size does exactly that.
I execute this strategy with marginal parts of my range.
Notice above that I normally overbet my monster hands
against these players. While a good player would recog-
nize that I overbet my huge hands and bet small with my
weaker hands - these players are not that adept. So rather
than always checking with marginal hands, consider go-
ing for thinner value with a smaller bet when it can in-
116
duce a wider array of calls from your opponent.
Mixing It Up
As you can see, there are plenty of good situations to veer
away from using “default” bet sizes. Sometimes larger
sizes perform better, and other times smaller bets actu-
ally create more profit. Whenever you choose a bet size,
make sure to have a clear reason. A default size is a start-
ing point, but certainly not always the best option.
Too many players get lazy when it comes to bet sizing.
Make sure you are diligent in your sizing, and understand
that improvements in sizing can greatly impact your
winrate. It is not easy at first, but with practice and study
you will be able to size with more precision and generate
more value along the way.
One final note is that some players will argue that you
should always use the same bet size so that your oppo-
nents can never deduce your range based upon your size.
There is merit to this statement, but most of your oppo-
nents are NOT great hand readers.
The lower level your opponent is thinking on, the less you
need to worry about balancing your ranges and sizes.
The lower level your opponent is thinking on, the more
you can focus on purely exploiting them and bet sizing
with precision is a huge way to do that.
117
19
“What are some ways that I can use my

table image to my advantage?”
First, what is table image? This describes how the oth-

er players at the table would classify your play style and
strengths/weaknesses. When you are aware of how play-
ers view your play style, you can certainly use this to your
advantage when crafting lines against them.
Does Your Table Image Matter?

Players who are observant and thinking will pay atten-
tion to your play style. They will notice if you are nitty, ag-
gressive, very bluffy, etc. These observant players allow
you to use your table image to your benefit since they will
adjust to their current view of your strategy.
Most weak players are not very observant. They focus
more on their own hole cards and how those hole cards
connect with the board. They are not paying a significant
amount of attention to you, your style, your ranges, or
much of anything else. Against these players your table
image is unimportant.
Since fishy players will make the same mistakes against
you whether you are playing like a nit or a maniac, you
do not need to rely on your table image. Just exploit them
118
like normal and enjoy the free money.

Since regs are thinking and observing, you need to be
aware of what they think about your game. If they see you
playing tight, will they really want to get involved with
you in huge pots without nuttish hands? If they see you
playing super bluffy, will they really want to fold second
pair when you fire yet another turn card against them?
Some Ways That I Use My Table Image

Knowing when and how to use your table image is a mas-
sive benefit when playing against thinking players. Here
are some clear situations where I use it to my advantage:
3betting Lighter
My table image: Tight and straight forward
Whenever a player thinks I am playing nitty, I focus on
looking for bluff situations against them specifically. One
of my favorite spots for this is preflop. Especially when
they open from a non-steal position, I start bluff 3betting
with a much higher frequency. They are making the as-
sumption that I am tight and thus would not 3bet bluff
often (if ever), and I use my table image to take advantage
of the fold equity they are offering.
Just note that eventually their idea of your play style will
change since they are more likely to remember spots
where you applied pressure directly to them. So while
you may not get eight easy bluff 3bets against them in
this session, finding even just a couple can be great.
Turn Bluff Barrels
My table image: Tight and straight forward
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Notice again that I am looking for players who view me

as tight and straightforward as prime candidates to bluff
relentlessly. Since they adjust to tight players by assum-
ing they bluff rarely, and thus they call down less often,
this is an opportunity to us to barrel more air.
When a player thinks I am tighter and they call my pre-
flop raise and CB, I do not automatically assume they
only have monsters. I assume they float with other hands
like middle pairs, draws, etc. This leaves a large chunk
of hands that do not want to give a tighter player action
with when they face a large turn bet.
As such, continue bluffing with that Ace-high or draw
on the turn and watch them fold far too often. If they see
you as nitty and only want to give you action with nuttish
hands, use this to your advantage.
Thinner Value In 3bet Pots
My table image: Maniac
There are times when my image is maniacal. Sometimes
this is because I went on a heater and picked up a bunch
of playable hands all at once - and thus the table views me
as a manic since I am so active. Other times this is because
I am just playing super loose and aggressive because the
table is allowing me to. Either way, know what the think-
ing and observant players are assuming about you.
When I have a maniac’s image, I look to 3bet wider for
value preflop. Think about it: is a reg really going to keep
raise/folding to my 3bets preflop? Of course not, they will
adjust and eventually give action wider to avoid folding
so much.
Against these players, hands you would have otherwise
120
flatted in the past become great options for 3betting.

Hands like TT, 88, AQ, etc. Remember, the wider they give
your 3bet action with, the thinner you can go for value.
This takes advantage of the assumptions they are mak-
ing based upon your table image and the way they would
likely adjust to it.
Thinner Value On The River
My table image: LAG
When a player views me as an aggressive LAG I start look-
ing for thinner value. Not just preflop when 3betting, but
also postflop.
Since these players view me as aggressive and having a
good chunk of bluffs in my range, they adjust by calling
me down wider. I then adjust by value betting thinner
and bluffing a little less against them. These frequency
changes are mostly imperceptible in the short term and
thus we can capitalize on our image in the meantime.
Rather than constantly checking the river behind with
second pair, or checking to them with top pair no kick-
er, consider value betting thinner. Remember, the lighter
they call you down, the thinner you can go for value.
Overall
There are plenty of situations where you can use your ta-
ble image to your advantage. Just notice that these spots
occur against thinking and observant players. A fish
rarely cares that you have been playing tight and they
will continue calling down at their same frequency. Even
if you feel like you should bluff them because they should
know how tight you have been, please avoid setting mon-
ey on fire.
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UNFOLDING POKER
One final note - please do not force spots. Do not force

thin value when your opponent would not call you down
any wider. Do not force bluffs when your opponent is not
going to fold against you. Think about what they assume
about your play style and how they would adjust given
your play style. I visualize it like this:
• What do they assume about you?
• What strategy would they use against that as-
sumption?
• How do you readjust your strategy against their
strategy?
• When do they reassess their assumption of you?
• Rinse/Repeat
Stay focused, know who is paying attention to your play-
style, and adjust your game accordingly. Have fun and
just stay one step ahead of them!
122
WRAP UP
High-five! You just took the time to improve your poker

game, something that not enough players do. While this is
nowhere near the end of your poker journey, it is a valu-
able step that I am glad you took.
Throughout this book you should have noticed three com-
mon themes:
1. Basics first and advanced stuff later
Do not get ahead of yourself. You do not need an over-
ly-complex playbook or deep GTO knowledge to beat
simpler games. If you are playing micro or small stakes
games, either live or online, you can win by just being a
single step ahead of your opponents.
That does not mean that you will never expand your pok-
er strategy, but trying to bring $25/$50 plays to $1/$2 is a
great way to set money on fire.
2. Always ask ‘why’ and continue to challenge your
own assumptions
Constantly ask yourself ‘why’, both when making deci-
sions in real-time and when studying away from the ta-
ble. If you find yourself unable to come up with a solid
answer, then you have found an area to put time and ef-
fort into during your next study session.
Challenge your own assumptions and remember that this
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UNFOLDING POKER
game is always in flux. There are plenty of group-think

ideas in poker that are suboptimal, and by challenging
commonly-accepted lines and ideas you can find extra
edges.
3. Focus less on your own cards and more on your
opponent’s range
This requires a strong hand reading process, but that is
the basis of your entire playbook. While hand reading is
complex and often times confusing, gains in this skillset
will greatly benefit your winrate.
Of course, there are other themes in this book but those
three will keep you focused for now. As always, keep
working on your game and continue putting in the time
and effort to become the best poker player you can be.
Also remember that you have an open-invitation to send
me questions at any time. Go to www.splitsuit.com/ask
and let me know how I can help you.
Thanks again for reading, and of course - good luck &
happy grinding!
124
YOUR NEXT STEPS
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GLOSSARY
Not sure what a certain term in this book means? This

glossary contains common terms and definitions that are
necessary for understanding this book. If you check the
glossary and do not see the term you are looking for, post
your question on the Red Chip Poker Forum and some-
body will gladly assist you.
%-Form: This is the percentage form of a range. For in-

stance, if you plug a range of 22+/AJ+/KQ into your poker
software it will convert that to a % of all hands. In this
case, 22+/AJ+/KQ has a %-form of 10.7%.
3bet: The first re-raise preflop. As an example, if you are
playing $2/$5 and EP1 open-raises to $20 and the CO re-
raises to $75 - the CO 3bet.
4bet: A re-raise of a 3bet. As an example, if you are play-
ing $2/$5 and EP1 open-raises to $20, the CO 3bets to $75,
and you re-raise from the button to $200 - you 4bet.
Air: Slang for a bluff
All-In: When a player puts their entire stack at risk. Also
known as shoving, stacking off, etc.
Brick: A card that does not change the board texture. An
example would be an off-suit 5 on the turn when the flop
was AKT.
126
Board Texture: This describes the composition of the

community cards.
Broadway Card: Any card Ten or higher.
Broadway Hand: Any hand that includes two Broadway
cards that are not paired. This includes QJo and ATs but
does NOT include JJ or KK.
CB:(see continuation bet)
Check Behind: When the in-position player had the op-
portunity to bet postflop, but instead checked their op-
tion.
Combos (Combinations): This is the number of possible
hands within a range. Most poker software will allow you
to see a range in both percentages and combinations.
Completing: When the player in the small blind just calls
the additional blind to match the big blind (as opposed to
raising or folding).
Continuation Bet: A postflop bet made by the player
who had the lead on the previous street. Commonly this
describes a flop bet made by the preflop aggressor.
Double Barrel: When a player bets two consecutive
streets postflop. Most commonly this is when a player
continuation bets the flop and then bets the turn as well.
Effective Stack: The smallest of the players’ stacks in-
volved in a hand. If one player has $900 and another
player has $500 on the flop, $500 is the effective stack.
Equity: The expected chance a hand will win the pot.
EV: Short for expected value, this is the monetary value a
hand or range has when factoring in how often it wins/
127
UNFOLDING POKER
loses and the magnitude of those wins/loses.

Fish: Slang for a bad poker player.
Flopzilla: A premium piece of software that allows you to
do tremendous range exploration. Learn more at www.
Flopzilla.com
Fork: When a range “splits” and certain hands are
stripped from it. For instance, if a player would always
3bet preflop with TT+/AQ+ - but in this hand they just call
an open-raise, their range is forked and can no longer in-
clude TT+/AQ+. When a player always makes a certain ac-
tion with a certain part of their range, the inverse action
creates a fork.
FPS: Fancy Play Syndrome. This describes a line/play that
is overly-complex given your opponent’s skill level.
Frequencies: How often something happens. A player
who 3bets 1% of the time 3bets at a very low frequency
and a player who CBs 100% of the time CBs at a high fre-
quency.
Gutshot: An inside straight draw such as holding 98 on
T62 where you need one card (in this case a 7) to com-
plete your straight.
Hand Reading: The process of assigning a range of hands
as actions and streets progress.
HoldEQ: A Flopzilla add-on that allows you to sync mul-
tiple Flopzilla instances to do complete range vs range
analysis.
LAG: A loose/aggressive player.
Leads: When a player bets into the previous street ag-
128
gressor. This is also known as donking or donk betting.

Limp: When a player just calls the big blind preflop as op-
posed to raising or folding. Once the pot has been opened
- limping is no longer possible.
Monster: A super strong hand.
Multi-Way (MW): When there are multiple players to a
street. Typically this describes postflop pots where there
are three or more players still involved.
Nit: A super tight player.
Non-Nut. Describes something which is not the best. For
instance, if you have QsQh and the flop is Kh 9h 7h, you
have a non-nut flush draw since it is not the best possible
flush draw.
Nut: Describes something which is the best possible.
Nuttish: Describes a hand/range that is either the exact
nut or close to it.
Open (Open-Raise): The first raise preflop.
Open-Limp: When the first person to enter the pot pre-
flop does so by just calling the big blind, rather than rais-
ing.
Orbit: The number of hands it takes for each person to be
the button once. In a 9-handed game an orbit is 9 hands.
Overpair: A pocket pair that is higher than the highest
board card. KK would be an overpair on T746.
PFR: Preflop Flop Raise. How often a player raises pre-
flop given the opportunity. This ranges from 0-100, where
higher numbers mean a player is raising tons of pots pre-
129
UNFOLDING POKER
flop.
Pocket Pair: When both of your hole cards are the same.
Pot Odds: A mathematical expression of risk/reward. For
a detailed video explaining pot odds, visit www.splitsuit.
com/potodds
Range: All of the possible hands a player could hold.
Reg (Regular): A player that commonly plays a specific
game. A reg, while maybe not the absolute best player at
the table, is commonly not a fish and has some strategy.
Resteal: A 3bet made specifically against a steal.
Speculative Hand: A hand that has lots of drawing po-
tential postflop, such as 76s, 97s, and A4s.
Spewy: Describes a player who is making many -EV plays.
Steal: A preflop open-raise made specifically from the
CO, button, or SB.
Squeeze: A specific kind of 3bet made after a preflop
raise gets one or more callers.
Suited Gapper: A suited hand with one gap between the
cards. Typically this refers to hands like 86s and J9s.
TAG: A tight/aggressive player.
Target: The weakest player at the table that everyone is
actively aware of and trying to stack them as soon as pos-
sible.
Trap: Refers to slow-playing a hand in order to induce
action.
Villain: Slang for ‘opponent’.
130
VPIP: Voluntarily Put $ In Pot. How often a player volun-

tarily puts money into the pot given the opportunity. This
ranges from 0-100, where higher numbers mean a player
is involved in tons of pots.
131

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JAMES “SPLITSUIT” SWEENEY

Over the years I have had the privilege of working with

would say this book is right for:

“I was playing 6-handed and surrounded

This is not an uncommon game whether you play online

You Will Not Hit Homeruns In This Game

ing that most pots are going to be small-medium sized.

Making Money In This Game

Stealing is the first of my three major tips for

3bet With More Air

OPENS WITH CONTINUES WITH FOLD %

Not sure how to build a preflop range?

Check-Raise More Air

This means they’d be folding around 2/3 of the time

The Dynamic: Now & Later

They Loosen Up & Fight Back

Keep in mind that the dynamic at this table can change

If you are at a full-ring table that just happened to have

“I get very confused when watching poker

Most students are looking for clear-cut answers in poker.

What Happens When You Assume?

lines, you need to make some assumptions. Given this is a

Are They Really Contradicting?

One coach plays in tight games and is used to players

Ask When Given The Chance

If you can’t ask the coach for clarification, do your

“When playing online, what are the differ-

One of the first decisions you make when you login to

ablaze and move to the highest levels quickly - full ring

more, and generating less folds overall can be a tricky

What Are Your Poker Goals?

Can You Change Your Mind Later?

“When I am holding an overpair and face

This is a spot that comes up quite often - and it is vital

Build Their Range First

There normally are not a ton of nuttish combos available.

Not 100% sure how to count combos and factor

Would They Raise With Two Pair Here?

They tend to approach these hands from a showdown

flush draws and OESDs, but even gutshots will be strong

you will find yourself folding far too often.

The best resource for live tells is Elwood’s book

Use Stake-Level Reads

Compare Your Hand To Their Range

Should You Fold?

Unless you are ultra-certain that your opponent is only

“Lots of coaches talk about 3betting more

There is some advice that gets shared that may seem

3betting More Overall

mean that we only 3bet them with QQ+/AK. It just means

THEIR RANGE HAND HAND’S EQUITY

Notice even KQ, a hand that is often dominated when a

The Other Factors

cific fish is.

B STRONG TAG UNKNOWN B NIT

Rather than commit 35bb preflop, I would just call the

E SOLID TAG YOU

Most players make the mistake of not even thinking ahead,

In this same spot could you just call with KK to

Take another situation where a TAG opens in MP, a fish

is going to be a tough proposition. Playing TT vs just a fish

“My live room runs several high-hand

In rooms that run high-hand or BBJ (bad beat jackpot)