1 Billllllion chips

So.... this took a long time, and with lots of ups and downs... but I have finally reached 1bn chips.

• Hours of non-stop shitty hands.
• Tonnes of amazing hands beaten.
• Lots of hands lost on the river
• Lots of chancers getting lucky
• Lots of chips won on Fri and Sat night.. everyone else pissed ?
• Lots of chips lost whilst trying to make dinner at the same time
• I lost 100M twice going all in on KK to be beaten by AA
• I received lots of donkeys as presents

Most profitable hands from 500k - 1m table:

• K3 same suit vs a large raise - hit another 3 on the flop, hung in there, and hit another 3 on the turn.  Pot size:  180M
• 44 vs large raise. 6 players all in. Hit a 4 on the flop. Pot size: 90M
• 99.. raised a lot, had a ten and ace on the flop, raised again with not much resistance, went all in to find opponent with QJ. Pot size: 100M
• AK.. raised a lot, hit K on flop. Pot size: 100M
• 8T same suit.. called a big raise, flop had 2 same quit, called 2 big raises, and hit flush on river. Pot size: 80M
• 88.. 8,4 and 9 on flop... opponent all in with A9. Pot size: 50M
• TJ... T J 6 on the flop, went all in. 4 players called. Pot size: 50M

Most profitable hands from 1m- 2m table:

• QQ.. called 20M raise.. AQK on the flop.. 4 players All in. Pot Size:  340M

What have I learnt ?

All In / Large Raises (Up to 10 times the Blind)

• Don't be afraid to call a large raise with a low hand if there are lots of people all in already, and you have a lot of chips, and there are a good amount of chips to be won.
• On Facebook at least, call a large raise with a top 15 hand, you should win in the long run
• If only one person is all in, it's worth playing them with a low pair

Common Mistakes

• People raise too much with Ace King.. even if they don't hit the flop
• Play on a table that's small for you or you can get bullied
• You may have a good hand, but don't overplay it
• If someone folds 10 hands in a row, don't call their raises.
  • There are some players out there who wait for AA, AK, KK, QQ or AQ, and then go all in. However, they normally play with small amounts of chips so the real money should be made from the other players
• Ace with a low kicker is a poor hand if you hit the ace on the flop, but don't hit the kicker
  • Try to stay in the hand and look for a pair
  • With a pair, your low kicker may not come into play
• Don't play emotionally
  • Don't play with revenge in your mind, you will lose more
  • If someone gives u a donkey or a chicken, thank them and remark how tasty they were
  • Be careful of making friends, chatting too much or rising to insults.. this can cloud your judgement

Strategy

• Vary the way you play good hands.
  • Raise some, don't raise others
• Play some crappy hands, and try to catch people overplaying their hand
• Try to get known as a bluff raiser for small amounts
• Only extremely rarely (and against a conservative player) bluff raise big hands
• Don't raise much with an ace and same suit card
  • Play the flush, and let the opponent lead the raises
  • If you hit the flush, and there's no full house on the board, you will have the highest hand
• If you have hit the flop, and there are 2 cards of the same suit, raise a lot to try to avoid the flush
  • The odds will move massively in your favour if there's no flush on the turn
  • If there are 3 cards of the same suit at the turn, don't raise any more unless you suspect the other players are not playing the flush
• If you're playing noticeably conservative, only raise small or everyone will fold
• Think carefully about the kind of hands that are playing based on the pre-flop raises
  • Large raises  => lots of picture cards
  • Be careful of the straight to ace if you're playing the ace
• Think of your betting as an investment.. are you throwing good money after bad ?
• The lower the raise in relation to the total chips a player has, the crappier the hand you can play against it
• Re-raise if you have the chance and suspect you have a better hand than the opponent
  • You can drag a bad hand all in with a re-raise as it annoys people to fold
• Conversely, don't expose yourself to re-raises
• If you're the main raiser pre-flop, you have a bluffing advantage when the flop arrives
  • Occasionally, and especially if everyone checks, try a big raise.
  • Watch out for flushes / straights on the turn
  • Give up quickly if you are re-raised
• Most importantly, play the right hands to suit the amount of chips there are to be won.
  • Don't play the straight / flush if you are likely to be all in on the flop
  • Straights and flushes often take a while to happen
  • If you're playing a staight or flush, play it !... don't fold too early on a big raise if there are lots of chips left on the table.
• With a good hand, check on the river against an aggressive player / bluffer

Oh, and don't type your Facebook password into any other site than the Facebook.com that you have saved in your favourites !.. NEVER click on any links to login, these are redirection scripts, and you end up on a Russian mirror site...and no, your account won't be suspended.

Good luck

Nick