Ed Miller's June 2014 video for Red Chip Poker

1. Ed Mi l ler
HOW TO USE YOUR
OPPONENTS’
AGGRESSION AGAINST
THEM
GET THE VIDEO AT

2. DON’T STAY STUCK IN 2006
 Ye ah, p oke r’ s g ot te n tou g her
 Stop relying on the same tired, oversimplified rules of thumb
 $1-$3 is “showdown poker”
 Keep “initiative”
 Always bet your own hands
 Tod ay’ s regs, even not -so-good ones, know how to bet in
obvious situations.

3. IN FACT…
 Many regs routinely bet too frequently in cer tain predictable
situations.
 A major par t of my game at $2-$5 and $5-$10 is to al low
these players to make their bad bets and then to capitalize.

4. CONTINUATION BETS FROM OOP
 Dynamic flop types privilege position.
 7d6s2s
 4d3s3c
 Jd9d7s
 Flops with a low top card, with flush and straight draws, and
combinations thereof tend to increase the value of position.
 OOP players should bet these flops less frequently and with a
stronger range.

5. CONTINUATION BETS FROM OOP (CONT.)
 Many $2-$5 and $5-$10 regs d on’ t u nd e r st and t h i s c onc e p t ,
a nd / o r t h ey a s s ume t h a t t h ey wo n’ t b e p u ni s hed fo r
overaggression.
 T h e t a c t i c i s s imp le. Do n’ t fo l d e a rl y i n t h e h a nd , a nd wa i t fo r
cards that change the board complexion.

6. EXAMPLE
 A reg opens for $20 in a $2-$5 game with $1,000 stacks. A
player cal ls, and you cal l on the button with 6s5s. The bl inds
fold.
 The flop comes 7s3d2c. The reg bets $40, and the next player
cal ls. You cal l .
 The turn is the Ad. The reg bets $90, and you cal l .
 The river is the 7c. The reg checks. Bet $300 and take it down
more than half the time. Or overbet $500 and get select regs
to lay down AK for a huge fold rate.

7. EXAMPLE (CONT.)
 Also options are to raise the flop or the turn.
 When you raise the flop, you rep a set, which is a little difficult to pull
off, but you should do it sometimes. With so much money behind, you
can apply enough pressure.
 When you raise the turn, you rep aces up or a set, which is a little
more credible. It’s a good option.
 The main problem is that the typical preflop raiser is betting
this flop with too many overcard hands.

8. A SECOND EXAMPLE
 You open with QcJc from the cutof f for $30 in a $5-$10 game.
An reg in the big bl ind who 3-bets a lot makes it $100, and
you cal l .
 The flop comes 9d7d7c. The reg bets $100, and you cal l .
 The turn is the 6d. He checks, you bet $220, and he folds.
 A g ain t h e p rob l em i s t h at h e ’ s c -betting al l his overcards or
other l ight 3-bets.
 This board neutralizes the power of his preflop range and
favors the player with position.

9. CONTINUATION BETS FROM OOP WRAP-UP
 Dynamic boards di lute the value of hands l ike AA and KK in a
preflop ra i s er’ s ra ng e a nd f avo r t h e p l ayer wi t h p o s i t i o n.
 Many $2-$5 and $5-$10 regs fai l to understand this idea, and
they c-bet too frequently from out of position on these boards.
 Do n’ t fo l d o f te n. At l e a s t s t i c k a ro u nd wi t h a c a l l . Yo u c a n a l so
chal lenge these bets with raises.

10. INDUCE VALUE BETS WITH CAPPED RANGES
 This is one of my bread-and-butter plays against low- level ( i .e. ,
$2-$5 and $5-$10) professional players.
 These players tend to play a style designed to take advantage
of the typical regs in these games.
 This means they take aggressive risks in spots they rarely get
punished for them.

11. WHAT’S A CAPPED RANGE?
 The concept of a capped range is a critical one.
 A c a p p ed ra ng e i s o ne t h a t c a n’ t ( o r i s ve r y u nl i kely to )
include the nuts or near -nut hands.
 These ranges are always vulnerable to big bets, especial ly if
your range is uncapped ( i .e. , you can plausibly have the nuts) .

12. INDUCE THE THIN RIVER VALUE BET
 Two players l imp, and the pro raises the the hi jack to $30 in a
$2-$5 game. You cal l in the big bl ind with AcQc. The l impers
fo l d , a nd i t ’ s j u s t yo u a nd t h e p ro .
 The flop comes 9d4d3c. You check and cal l $50.
 The turn is the Qd. You check, and the pro checks.
 The river is the 2h. Check again to induce a thin value bet.

13. INDUCE THE THIN RIVER VALUE BET (CONT.)
 T h e p ro’ s rang e i s e f fec tivel y c ap p ed. T h e nu t s i s a fl u s h , b u t
when the pro checks back the turn he ef fectively denies a
flush.
 Your range is uncapped. You could easi ly have a flush, at least
up unti l you check the river.
 By rights, the pro should be very cautious about betting the
river. Betting a capped range into an uncapped one is tricky
business.
 In reality, many pros have become accustomed to making thin
value bets in this spot because they are rarely punished.

14. INDUCE THE THIN RIVER VALUE BET (CONT.)
 Why not value bet your top pair on the river?
 Your range is uncapped, so when you bet the river (at least if you
make a big bet), you have rendered your opponent’s entire range a
bluff-catcher.
 Pros tend not to bluff-catch much in these games.
 While AQ is likely good, it’s not even remotely the strongest hand you
can have in your range.
 I f you check, your opponent wi l l l ikely value bet al l lesser
queens as wel l as hands l ike TT or even A9.

15. BLUFF-RAISE THE THIN VALUE BET
 Same action, except this time instead of A-Q, you have 9c8c
for a flopped top pair and backdoor flush draw.
 I f you check, you wi l l induce bets from hands that beat yours
( i .e. , TT) , and you wi l l also perhaps induce some bluf fs. Your
opponent may tend to check down hands that you beat in a
showdown ( i .e. , 77) .
 I f you check-raise the thin value bet big, you wi l l l ikely
maximize the value of this hand.

16. BLUFF-RAISE THE THIN VALUE BET (CONT.)
 Two l imps, pro raises, you cal l in the big bl ind with 9c8c, and
the l impers fold.
 The flop comes 9d4d3c. You check and cal l .
 The turn is the Qd. I t checks through.
 River is the 2h. You check.
 I f i t c h e c ks t h rou gh , t h e re’ s a d e c e nt c h anc e you ’ l l wi n,
b e c a use…

17. BLUFF-RAISE THE THIN VALUE BET (CONT.)
 Many p ros c an’ t re s i s t val u e b et t ing t h i n i n t h i s s p ot , eve n
though their range is capped.
 Yo u ’ l l u s u a lly s e e a f a i rl y sma l l b et . S o i n t h i s $ 17 0 p ot , yo u
might see a $70 bet.
 Check- raise to $ 3 0 0 . Yo u ’ re repping a flush. Your opponent is
u nl i kely to h ave a fl u s h. My ex p erienc e i s t h at h e ’ l l l i kely fol d .
 This is much better than check-calling the $70 only to lose to
TT.

18. DON’T BE STUCK IN 2006
 You r op p one nt s are n’ t tot al p u nc h ing b ag s anymore. Don’ t
think of them that way.
 They make bets. Sometimes, however, they are insensitive to
factors that make betting unwise.
 I t ’ s o f te n u nwi s e to b et f rom o u t o f p o s i t i o n o n d y namic fl o p s
wi t h d e e p s t ac ks . Wh e n you r op p one nt s d o t h i s , d on’ t make i t
easy on them.
 You can of ten induce thin bets from pros just by checking two
streets in a row. They may ignore the fact that their range is
capped or too weak compared to yours to justify a bet. Set up
situations for them to make this error, then punish them.