The pocket card
The method on one page
Print it, fold it, keep it under your chips. Everything the thirty days drill, in the order it comes up in a hand.
Five sentences
- Your number is the average of the two boards. Nothing on one board needs the nuts, or a nut draw, on the other.
- Nobody bet and you have a strong board: bet, from any seat. No strong board: check, even a set from the blinds.
- Facing a bet: real hand or fold. No nuts and no nut draw is a fold, whatever the price looks like.
- Bet and raise in front of you: assume the worst, count only what beats the nuts. Never re-raise a lone nut straight.
- River, safe nuts on one board, nothing on the other: bet the pot. You cannot lose that bet.
The colours
- Red: nuts · 13-out wrap · second nuts · non-nut full house. Enough alone.
- Orange: 8 or 9 out nut draw · non-nut flush · only 2 or 3 hands beat it. Needs help.
- Yellow: non-top set · non-nut straight · 4 or 5 out nut draw. Only helps.
- Grey: two pair · pair · nothing · any non-nut draw. Does not count.
Nobody has bet
- 4 cards: red or orange on a board, or yellow on both: bet three quarters. Else check.
- 5 cards: red on a board; orange with yellow or orange on the other; a straight on both: bet. Else check.
- Turn after your bet: nuts, 8+ nut outs, top set or top two pair, or 30 by the table: pot. Else check.
Facing a bet
- Safe nuts on one board and strength on the other: raise pot. The only raise.
- Red: call, do not raise.
- 8+ out nut draw: call once; fold the turn if it misses.
- Everything else: fold.
- Raised after your bet: safe nuts calls, all else folds.
Bet and raise: the worst case
- Safe nuts 100 · nut straight 50 · else nut outs x4 flop, x2 turn, 0 river.
- Average the boards. Pot bet needs 33, two thirds 30, half 25.
- One-board player: halfway between worst and table. Two-board player: full worst.
River, pot 100
- Nuts both boards: bet big. One caller pays 200 for a pot bet, 150 for half.
- Nuts one board, nothing other: pot. Called by one: +50 whatever you bet.
- Lone nut straight vs a bet: under half pot always call; vs pot need to be alone 1 in 3; never raise.
- Second nut flush vs pot: must be best 2 in 3. Vs half: 1 in 2.
The night
- Say both colours on every flop.
- One bluff a night: button, everyone checked, a blocker, a small pair behind it. One shot.
- Your line of buy-ins, agreed before the first hand. Stop there.
- Ahead? Keep the stack on the table.
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THE 30-DAY COURSE
A plan for your next game.
One lesson. One drill set. A little more clarity at the table.
30 lessons + drill setsPLO4 and PLO5Choose your access duration
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