Annie Duke’s top tips

Be an all-rounder

I encourage people not just to play other games but play
other games as if they’re starting out. I played 50/100 limit hold’em every
day. When there was PLO around, I would play 2/5 or 5/10. So I wasn’t playing
the equivalent. When I decided that there was a lot of value in learning the
other games, I went from playing 50/100 to 5/10 stud. Everyone was like, ‘Oh
she went broke.’ But I figured that if I’m learning a game that is completely
different from the one I’m used to, I need to learn it like I learned hold’em.
I have to start at the appropriate level and that’s something that people don’t
do. Learn the key games, learn a stud game, learn an 8-or-better game and learn
a hold’em game. See what’s different about each game. Don’t have any ego about
it. You should be able to walk into a room and sit down in the best game in the
room. You shouldn’t just be a limit hold’em player and if the limit hold’em
game isn’t good that day and be screwed. Your goal is to become a great poker
player.

Keep it simple

If you’re playing better players you want to keep it
pre-flop. It’s not going to make you a winning player but it will reduce your
loss. The extreme example of that is if you are heads-up with someone you know
is much better than you, it would be proper to move in every hand. That would
get you close to 50/50. I’ve had heads-up matches where I’d rather just play
the match fast. Everybody has people that are better than them – unless you’re
Phil Ivey. I was playing $1/$2 Omaha 8/b on Ultimatebet recently and afterwards
I said to someone, ‘Now I know what Phil feels every time he sits down at a $1k/$2k
game!’

Continuation bets are key

I think the majority of people understand continuation bets
but don’t know how much to bet. What I see from most people is that their
continuation bets are full pot. Even 60% is fine. You’re not going to make a big
bet with a set, so you just take a smaller bet at the pot. What I’ve found is
that most opponents react the same to half the pot as a full pot-sized bet
anyway. A pot-sized bet will sometimes get them to play more aggressively
against you because they read it as weaker, a ‘go-away’ bet. There are times
when continuation bets are inappropriate. You’re in first position in a
multi-way pot. This has to do with understanding what continuation bets are
really for. You have two sevens,
you have two callers behind you, the board comes A-J-3 – you can give up!
You’re not going to win the pot. Why try? Mostly you’ll be using it heads-up;
there are some multi-way pot where you can use it – when players have shown
weakness in front of you.

Position, position, position

If you want to understand the importance of position, look
at two 7-year old girls. Imagine this conversation between them: ‘Do you like
Hanna Montana?’ Does a 7-year old girl answer? The other one goes, ‘Do you?’
And the first one says, ‘I asked you first.’ And they get into a little 7-year
old fight about who answers first. The reason why is that 7-year olds realise
how bad it is to go first. If you say, ‘I like her’ then the other one might
say, ‘I don’t – you’re stupid.’ I find it interesting that a 7-year old gets it
but these poker players who are action junkies don’t. So I always say: ‘I’d at
least like to play as well as my seven-year old.’

Turning point

If you can’t execute a good turn, you’re screwed. Hands
don’t make it to the river very often so river play isn’t that important.
Letting yourself actually get to the turn is very important. Understanding that
the strongest stories are told on the turn and not on the flop. People think
it’s strong to raise on the flop and it’s so not. Once you understand that, you
can make some very interesting plays on the flop.

Cry me a river

I’ll unlock river play in one concept. There are only two
reasons that you bet. (1) get paid off by a worse hand (2) you want the best
hand to fold. What I see people doing all the time is that they bet a hand
which might win but couldn’t possibly get called by a hand which is worse than
it. Here’s a great example: the board is 10-9-7-4-3 and people are betting the
10-8 on the river. Like what? What’s going to pay you off? The Nine? Who’s
paying you off there? River bets are perceived as strong plays because most
rivers are checked. Do you honestly feel like you’re getting paid off by second
pair? The disaster is that you get raised and have to fold the best hand. There’s
the concept of the blocking bet but this is more in situations where it’s
checked to you and you can close the action down with a check.

Online and live

I think there is no differentiation actually. People say to
me at the beginning of bootcamps, ‘Is this going to be good for cash games,
tournaments, online?’ Of course, I’m teaching you poker! When you get down to
it, poker is about how people react to you. How loose are players playing
around you? How willing are they to fold? How are you being perceived? How much
information are opponents noticing? There is no difference between cash and
tournament play. People react to you differently in tournaments. The risk of
ruin is higher. There’s escalating blinds so you’re meant to open your game up
more. You can’t talk about cash game strategy versus tournament strategy. I can
tell you that in general, players will start off playing loose in a tournament.
But that’s not always the case. In general in a low limit cash game they play
very loose but can play very tight. If you go in there with a ‘cash game’
strategy, then when players react differently, you’re not going to be able to
adjust properly. Once you understand the conceptual basis for what drives your
play, it doesn’t matter which situation they put you in.