Winning Poker Blueprint

Welcome to the forums, glenlivet!

It's true that there are a lot of variables involved in NL and there is often no single "right" way to play.

If you have stats on your opponent, it can never hurt to check them out before you make a decision, as it gives you some info about which type of opponent you're facing and what to look out for. A check-raise, for example, is a relatively fancy move that requires some knowledge about your opponent (namely that your opponent likes to make c-bets on the flop). About calls on the river, you'll find this article useful. Having stats can help you put your opponent on a range in this case, but getting information from his former actions is even more important.

Also, please note that a part of a successful poker strategy is to avoid getting into too many tough spots in the first place. This is why you want to play in position when possible, avoid easily dominated hands, and avoid giving away free cards on a draw-heavy board, among others. A lot of this comes with experience.

Originally posted by glenlivet83
Does anyone have routine that they go through before making a decision or play during a hand?

Hi, glenlivet83
(great name, btw -- if we all named ourselves after single malts, I want to be Highland Park!)

Welcome to the forums!

Quite some time ago, while going through the book "The Mental Game of Poker" by Jared Tendler, I came up with the mnemonic "PHASER SHOT".

The PHASER part covers pre-flop, the SHOT is for post-flop.

The explanation is here...
Phaser shot

It doesn't REALLY matter what trick you use, as long as you DO actually stop and think before firing chips into the middle.

Best of luck,
--VS

Thanks for the responses. The PHASER SHOT is an interesting concept. I may have to give it a shot. VorpalF2F do you use a hud? If so is it set up for phaser shot? I use a hud, but again I don't really know what to look for other than the basics to profile the players (pfr, c bet, vp , 3bet etc) is there any way you should set up your HUD? I play NL 25 6 max so not a lot of imaginative plays there. Seems pretty straight forward poker.

On a side note i am poor with the math. i have challenged myself to not only understand it, but to implement it into my game. i understand the basics, odds, equity, ev etc. the calculations are what mess my head up. Any help or articles you can recommend would be appreciated.

Thanks again

I use a HUD, but it is nothing special.

I steal a lot, so the steal #s are prominent, as are the RFI (raise first in) stats.
I check the stats as part of both PHASER and SHOT (the "s" could mean stats).
There is nothing in the HUD that I put there just because of the mnemonic.

I have not played any NLHE this month at all, but when I do it is NL 5€ zoom.

For most poker math, the best you can do at the table is a good approximation.
If there are people who can do 2 decimal places in their heads while 4-tabling I've never met one. Now that I think of it I don't WANT to meet one -- at least not as an opponent.

Whether you use PHASER SHOT or some other tool to help you remember to examine everything doesn't matter.

What DOES matter is that you do something.

Cheers,
--VS